Out with the old and in with the new. With days to go before the New Year, Abcos Food Plaza is rejigging its menu and rolling out a host of new dishes. These items get introduced on Friday and are spread across all the cuisines served at the restaurant.
“Abcos has been serving foodies since 2001 and to stay young and fresh we must constantly reinvent ourselves,” says manager Samiran Mitra, who had got chefs of all their five kitchens experimenting with the recipes.
A glimpse of the new continental dishes with the Grilled Vegetable Platter in focus
One can start sampling right from the appetizers. Oriental chef Amit Das recommends authentic Tibetan Momos, which taste much richer than the regular fare what with generous doses of chives, celery sticks and sesame oil added. “Chinese cuisine has always been popular in our city but people now want exotic fare like Tibetan, Japanese and Korean too,” says Das.
So there’s Teriyaki Fish (Rs 657), which is betki cooked in homemade Japanese-style teriyaki sauce. “This sauce is a balanced blend of the salty light and dark soy sauces as well as the sweet thick soy sauce,” he says. Do not miss the Thai Barbecue Chicken Wings either, which is coated with yummy barbecue sauce but emanates flavours of galangal, lemongrass and lemon leaf.
“Our research shows that diners are also quite health conscious these days so under continental fare we’re introducing Poke Bowl, that is quite the rage in the West now. It’s a meal in a bowl comprising either chicken or paneer tossed in butter and served on a bed of steamed rice along with vegetables like golden corn,” says Mitra.
Their Grilled Vegetable Platter is as tasty as it looks, with slices of brinjal, zucchini, carrot, baby corn and beans spread on lettuce leaves. Salad lovers can choose from Chicken Tikka Salad and Chickpea Salad.
Oriental chef Amit Das speaks about the Chili Garlic Fried Rice
Indian chef Sk Shahnawaz bets big on the Liver Pepper Roast (Rs 489). “This mutton liver dish goes very well with drinks, and customers have been asking for something like this. It’s got onions, tomatoes, curry leaves, green chili and dry ginger. It’s my favourite among the new dishes,” he says.
Tandoor chef Dipak Shaw explains how the vegetarian version of Galauti Kebab came about. “Instead of minced mutton we’re using mushroom, that is a versatile vegetable. This dish is less spicy than the original, relying more on garam masala, cumin, ghee and roasted almonds. But it’s soft and melts in the mouth,” he says.
Thai Yellow and Green Curry and steamed rice
Abcos has a steady flow of south Indian clientele and for them, they are offering Rassam, the tangy tomato and tamarind soup, and Mangolearan Fish Curry (Rs 600) which is also tamarind paste-based Bekti.
Other newbies from various kitchens include Mini Chicken Samosas, Singaporean Noodles, Thai curries and Meatball Pasta. For dessert, try Nikhuti Cheese Cake, a fusion dish that envelopes bite-sized sweetmeats like gulab jamun inside cake.
“The new menu has been curated with a lot of care and we are confident that it will be a hit. And we’ve chosen the festive weekend to launch it as everyone’s in the mood to enjoy and eat out now,” said Mitra.