Special curated seafood menu for The Spice Route’s Winter Collection at The Imperial Delhi
Winter is finally here and what better way to bring it in than with the warm, spicy flavours of The Spice Route! If you’ve been following this blog long enough, you would know that I am a huge fan of seafood and South East Asian flavours, varied as they are. So when we were invited to sample the brand new Winter Collection at The Imperial Delhi’s Spice Route, how could we say no?

View for outdoor seating
Even though Chef Veena Arora, Chef de Cuisine at The Spice Route comes up with a special Winter and Summer collection every year, there’s always a new twist to her interpretation. This year, as we sat around a table with a fun bunch of journalists and bloggers, we had a wonderful food-filled discussion about street food in Delhi vs Kolkata, each of our travels and food stories from different parts of SE Asia and, of course, Chef Veena’s lovely stories about her days growing up in Thailand!

Chef Veena Arora, Chef de Cuisine at The Spice Route

Yes, I managed a selfie with the (camera) shy chef!
The Winter Collection is pretty extensive and is an addition to the regular a la carte menu but we sampled quite a few dishes from it. Drawing influences from Kerala, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, Chef Veena has put together a lovely collection. The stellar dishes for us were Yera Aravat Anjj (a spin on Chicken 65 with Tiger Prawns), the Meen Rassam (a mixed seafood rassam soup), the Rendang Udang (a Malaysian curry typically made with Beef, but Chef Veena adapted it to Prawns) and the Phad Khing Pla (sole with ginger and black fungus). This last one may have won my heart because I’m such a sucker for both ginger flavoured fish and black fungus!

Yera Arvat Anjj (Tiger Prawns) – Photo Courtesy: The Imperial

Meen Rassam (mixed seafood rassam soup)

Rendang Udang (with Prawns)

Phad Khing Pla (Sole with Ginger & Black Fungus) – Photo Courtesy: The Imperial
If you do visit to sample the seafood menu, then don’t forget to try the silky beancurd ice-cream. You wouldn’t believe that it has no dairy and yet is the creamiest, most delicious ice-cream you could taste. It comes in many flavours but the coconut and the green tea flavours were my favourite.
Don’t forget to soak in the beautiful interiors of the restaurant or, even better, get a lovely outdoor table while you enjoy your food. The restaurant took 7 years to make and the murals are hand-painted by traditional mural painters brought in specially from the Guruvayur temple in Kerala. The Spice Route truly is a feast for all your senses.
Where: The Spice Route, The Imperial Hotel, Janpath New Delhi
When: 15th November 2016 – 31st January 2017
Cost: INR 10,000/- plus taxes for 2
Restaurant Contact: 011-41116605 (Reservation recommended)
Restaurant Website: http://www.theimperialindia.com/restaurant-menu/the-spice-route/
Full Disclosure: We were invited for lunch to The Spice Route and we did not pay for our meal. However, all opinions expressed are my own.