Feast for the senses

A simple smoked duck salad at the European diner Manre attempts the unusual.

For several new restaurants in the city, the food plate looks like an artist8217;s canvas

A simple smoked duck salad at the European diner Manre attempts the unusual. It is served as a beautifully sculpted portion, the paper-thin sheets of smoked duck neatly stacked over a bed of pok choi with a light drizzle of peanut sauce dressing and a sliver of caramelised orange delicately perched on top. Restaurants, till recently, garnished their spaghetti with piles of parsley, laid down meats over herb-flecked risotto and everything arrived with a drizzle of pesto. Today, chefs cast a beady eye over the finer points of food presentation and the aesthetics of the plate now involve drafting the right colour scheme and delicately sculpting a dish before it reaches your table.

8220;A dish must appeal to the eyes first. The right presentation can whet your appetite even before you taste the food,8221; says chef Anil Mohan of The Oak Tree in Gurgaon. 8220;Earlier, dishes were decorated with loads of grilled tomatoes that would come back to the kitchen uneaten. We now use a lot of tomato coulis and reductions like balsamic vinegar to add a new texture and flavour.8221; Consider a watermelon salsa served with grilled vegetables, lamb chops served with grilled peach or pan-seared mangoes complimenting a fish fillet. These colourful fruits are integrated into main courses to add a new texture to the dish and perk up the flavour and colour.

Indian dishes, too, are getting a makeover. The tikki chaat or a masala sea bass at Varq, a contemporary Indian diner at Taj Mahal hotel, looks like a grand French treat. Similarly, at Varun Tuli8217;s Chinese specialty diner The Yum Yum Tree, a regular steamed fish and tofu dish is transformed into a visual treat. 8220;We stack the fish and tofu in layers and blanket it with black bean sauce. It adds a character to the dish and the flavours are intact,8221; saysTuli. 8220;We have to ensure that the garnishing is edible and often use the ingredients of the dish to bring out the visual appeal. The restaurant also uses aioli, a sauce made with garlic and olive oil, as a regular garnish in some of its dishes.

8220;A perfectly assembled dish is its own best advertisement. We experiment with a lot of imported vegetables to add a new character to the dish,8221; says Vinay Kumar, executive chef at Qashqai that serves soups in bowls that resemble upturned hats.

Kula Naidu of Kayalan, which home delivers Malaysian food in fancy packaging agrees with Kumar, 8220;Presentation is as important as the flavour of the dish.8221; Even a simple Malaysian chilli chicken will arrive at your doorstep wrapped in banana sheets and packed in wooden boxes.

At The China Kitchen at Hyatt, the blue tableware is just a prelude to the exquisitely decorated food it will hold. 8220;Food is more that a biological necessity. It is an art form that is meant to be savored. Most chefs are trained in turning the platters into things of beauty,8221; says chef Marcus Mathyssek of Hyatt. Clearly, some works of art are good enough to eat.