Decade in the Sun

Of the four dishes that featured in their opening menu in 1999,the black pepper crusted tuna was most charming as the pepper adds diversity to the tuna which is succulent in the centre. However,this dish epitomises the exasperating flaw in any Indigo menu—sometimes it simply tries too hard. Some combinations are an exquisite symphony but in this dish,the red wine vinaigrette was too sweet,the caponata bitter-sweet and the white beans,while creamy,didn’t interfere with the tuna,but didn’t enhance its taste either.

The famed lobster risotto,however,didn’t fail to impress. Three chunks of succulent lobster meat were in conjugal harmony with the kalamata olive tapenade,which not just complemented,but also enhanced the lobster. Unexpectedly,two of our favourite dishes were vegetarian; the curried leek tart flawlessly balanced creamy with crunchy. The other re-affirmed our faith in simplicity; fusilli with mozzarella and broccoli sounds dreary but the garlic and chilli were just right and the tomato mercifully subtle.

We couldn’t escape the inconsistency curse as the pan-roasted duck would have been perfect but for its chewy skin—the accompanying baked turnip puree was laudable and the orange glaze worked amazingly. Camembert soufflé,Indigo’s specialty,had only a hint of camembert and was served even though it hadn’t risen. Chef Pamnani admitted that soufflé isn’t normally served unless it rises.

Thankfully,the desserts we tried were predictably faultless. Dessert soufflé put camembert soufflé to shame despite the usage of blackcurrant puree rather than fresh berries. Baking mascarpone and strawberry into the tart was a stroke of genius,only out-done by the subtle usage of balsamic.

It is daunting to reduce 10 memorable years down to one single menu; it is harder still to critique all that success. Now is clearly the best time to visit Indigo; we are thankful that we found a middle-ground in our opinion of its food. Thankfully,not everything in life needs to be either a 1 or a 0.