Day 49: ITC Gardenia

Had been to ITC Royal Gardenia last thursday for a team lunch. This is the first time i was visiting the place. First time at such a high profile place, for that matter. I was for once conscious about the way i looked and how i carried myself. But once i stepped in, it did not seem to matter at all. The place has a relaxed feel to it. The lobby is large and airy and done up in a minimal sort of way. There are shelves lined with the high end ITC products. The lotus pavalion that sits in the center of the building is a highlight. Shaped like a lotus and surrounded by water, it has an open air seating that can accommodate about 50 people. Pity it is a lounge and not a lunch serving restaurant. For lunch, we went to Cubbon Pavalion. The place is famed for its vertical garden. It is amazing that they maintain the place pest free and also put in so much into a garden. Just to be different, they want to spend so much into maintaining a truckload of plants suspended onto the wall!

Coming to the food, I liked the way they had separated the veg and non veg salads into two separate sections. There were some exotic things on the salad menu, and i don't know the names of the dishes :) Familiar veggies, done up in a totally unfamiliar way. The main course was just about average. I did not even consume a lot of it for lack of spice. I suppose the food in all such places is tweaked to suit the foreigner's palate. Saved up all the place in the stomach for the desserts- the most amazing spread that i have seen till date. There were more than twenty of them- indian sweets, cheesecake, souffle, mousse, mud cake, cookies, ice cream, fruity stuff. And i cannot remember even one name- most of them were tongue twisters for me. Most of us tried hard to finish up what was on the plate, but failed to do so. And unabashedly i will say that this was once i felt there should have been an option to parcel stuff from the buffet simply cause i was too fill to gorge at that time.

Once we were done with lunch, we took a walk around the place. The architecture is so good that it is breezy all the time. And the antique furniture adds charm to the lobby. The food is good, nothing great for my indian tastes. But the ambiance makes up for it. It is an experience. The one thousand rupees buffet did buy me an experience that made me happy. To get to experience more luxury, i guess one should check into their hotel sometime!