Gourmet Central

Grocery,by far,is our favourite kind of shopping. Whether its at our neighborhood kirana store or the nearest outpost of supermarket chains,theres just something incredibly captivating about being surrounded by a veritable army of food stuffs,in all manner of shapes,sizes,colours and flavours,as long as the stocks are in good supply. So when we heard of Foodhall,a grocery store which lays claim to being the countrys premier gourmet food store,we were all agog to visit it and breathe in its hopefully intoxicating air,a medley of spices,fruits,vegetables,meats and rank upon rank of chocolate.

Located at the first floor of DLF Promenade,Vasant Kunj,the store is spread over a large area,bisected by an archipelago of aisles,kiosks and counters that give it the appearance of being smaller than it actually is. The pride of place is dominated by the bakery section which offers freshly made savouries,desserts,cakes,breads and more. The bakery is adjacent to the open kitchen that has sandwiches,salads,and other snacks as well as slightly more exotic tidbits such as pickled olives and sundried eggplants and tomatoes. For those looking to channel their inner chef,apart from the multitude of packaged ingredients,there is a fresh produce section that includes everything from basic vegetables such as potatoes,lauki emphatically marked as bottle gourd and baby brinjal to more esoteric items that include rhubarb,raw chestnuts,dried kiwi,celery root which looks like the doppelganger of a potato and flavoured cottage cheese. European and American cheeses also find place,ranging from the classic,like Cheddar and Danish Blue,to the innovative,Wasabi-infused Gouda.

The meat section,for some strange reason,has been relegated to one corner and is half hidden by aisles. Though the refrigerated shelves were bare when we went,the freezers were chockfull with proteins. The aisles outside,which accommodate the huge range of packaged foods,are cramped and poky,making navigation of twists and turns a trying affair. The most interesting feature of the store is the kiosks which dispense Do It Yourself flavoured nuts,muesli,spice mixes in association with the Denmark-based ASA,spice super specialists and tea as well as an olive oil bar. However,things fall a little flat when we reach the check-out counter. Out of the handful of counters only two were operational and rather ill-manned to boot. But the diversity of groceries makes up for all thats lost at the cash counter.