Kava - The star of Hotel Fairfield Lucknow..

Food, flavours, taste... Something which is not unknown to the people of Lucknow. Just speak the word and you’ll have a variety of delicacies floating right before your eyes in the various parts of the city. I got the chance to review “Kava”, the restaurant of Hotel Fairfield, Lucknow by Marriott. 

There is something different about Kava, it’s nothing more but just a very big open space which has been set up in such a way that you have the bar, the seating arrangements, the buffet system all in one place but it doesn’t feel cramped or suffocating. Part of it is also to the fact that big windows on two sides give ample natural light. Its a buffet system but I was also served the la carte style , all courtesy of the chef. I had told him my taste bud preference - a bit spicy. Now let’s see that how much did it actually meet the standard of spiciness. I tried majority of the Indian Cuisine..

Akkad bakkad with 4 flavours

The very first starter dish was the Gol Gappa.. The signature dish of every chatpata foodie. There were 4 flavours of water to choose from – Imli (tamarind), Heeng ( Asafoetida ) one sweet and a new one which was sort of a type of soup. The flavours were quite good and one thing which I noticed was that flavour was in the water, kinda balanced between just the right amount of spices. In other places you find a heap of spices to give it that flavour but here it was not so. It was not the overdose of anything. 

The overloaded cousin..

Next came its cousin- Dahi ke batashey. Standalone taste wise it were just okay, but if I compare it to the Gol Gappas then I would say that they were a dampener. They were loaded or I should say overloaded with a bit of curd more than necessary. The "Sonth" which is a trademark of such dish was found lingering at the bottom.

Kava Delight

Next came my partner in crime - the mocktail “Kava Delight”. It’s a very refreshing drink. What made me fall in love with it at first sight was its colour. Filled half with the drink and then topped it with crushed ice all the way up to the top and a mint leaf to finish it off beautifully. I have rarely seen a mocktail drink reflect some three colours in a single glass. The ice surprisingly did it its work to cool the drink but not to make it too chilly that you can’t drink it. God, I would have to find a way to get the lifetime supply of this drink. This drink surely stood up to its name.

Haryali Paneer

Next up- the Haryali Paneer. This paneer dish is a bit deceptive. It looks like just any other paneer dish you would find everywhere in the country but the surprising factor is the thickness of the paneer cubes and how soft they are. It’s not like big cubes put together and finished off. It stayed true to my requests of spiciness and yet it was tender. Quite soft. 

Straight from the grill to the
plate

Next came up chicken straight from the grill to our plates brought by the chef Prashant himself. It was steamy, piping hot that for a few minutes I could only stare at the marvel at my plate. This got me thinking that this is what is lipsmacking cuisine. The flavours just right and on the grill the chicken cooked just perfect. Seemed like I had wandered to the sets of Masterchef Australia to taste food.

Its the sarson wali machchi ( Mustard oil fish)

Next- Fish prepared in mustard oil. Apart from the beautiful decoration of the plate the fish had me stumped. As you dig into the fish you find tell tale flavour of mustard oil hitting your nostrils as well as lemon juice seeped in every piece. You’ll find mustard oil and lemon both till the very last bite that you have. A surprise attraction and a nice one in that regard. 

Spicy Asian Salad

For the so called health conscious there was a "Spicy Asian salad". A combo of spiciness, tanginess, sprouts, chopped onions this was something which you could not put down once you had a bite out of it. For those who can’t handle spiciness I suggest you stay clear of this but for those who live for spiciness and चटपटा चटोरपना, I suggest you look no further. Like they said "ज़िन्दगी का मज़ा तो चटपटे में ही है". Yummy...

The salad and dressing table

Thats crshed ice

I took a break from all this eating and went to explore the buffet tables. On the dressing and salad table itself there were at least a dozen dishes and all of them were kept on crushed ice. Yes you heard it right, I mean read it, it was crushed ice. 

Pickle lot..

For the pickle crazy mothers there are big jars waiting to be relished. These are not the standard 10 ml small bowls that you find elsewhere. These are “just dig in” types. 

Then there is a bread and cheese station which serves you at least three types of different cheese all catering to your individual taste buds – the Feta, the Cheddar and the Emmental. The buffet is a variety of dishes with the colour of the vessels displaying either veg. or non-veg for quick identification.

Having eaten so much in the starters, I was doubtful whether I would be able to have something in the main course or not. Even by my own भुक्कड़ standards I had more than I could’ve thought of managing. The main course was a low-key affair for me.

Chilly chicken

Murg

I had the "Chilli chicken" and “Murg Dumkhum” as the 2 dishes. Chilli chicken disappointed because it did not stay true to its name. It was soft, no doubt about it but the gravy was sweet. Come on, you name it chilli but it turns out to be sweet just like a sauce. I would give this dish a thumbs down.

The Murg Dumkhum is the dish which by my reckoning was the balance of flavours between too much spice and gravy. The assortment of breads was also there to try out the various varieties.

Fish on a platter with baby tomatoes

The surprise element all of a sudden was a Fish on a platter. I forgot the name of the dish at I can say that the fish was extremely soft and totally melt in your mouth. For a moment I was utterly confused as to whether I was really having fish or not. The softness, texture, flavour would really surprise you. Its very soft...

The dessert station has a variety of cakes etc. to satisfy your sweet tooth. For the kid in everybody, you also have 2 jars filled with toffees and Marshmallows. Seeing the tofee I went into the "जब मैं छोटा बच्चा था , बड़ी शरारत करता था " mode. My sweet drink was a glass filled with Rabri and Gulab Jamuns( 4 in a glass, kind of a treasure hunt..dig in, find it. ) . A sweet way to finish such a hearty meal. वो कहते हैं न, पेट भर गया मगर नीयत 

नहीं .

Except for the Dahi ke batashey and the Chilli chicken every dish was good partly because of the fact that the flavours were there which I wanted... and in case you are wondering about the crushed ice fundae, Prashant told me that its done to retain the natural flavour of the dressings and salads because at room temperature they tend to lose it all. 

For such a wonderful experience it was all thanks to my host Fatima, Prashant and his chef team, Sankalp and the service, Vishal and the others.

The bar

The team behind all this

Marketplace

If you like to munch while waiting, in the lobby of the hotel there is a section known as "Marketplace" where you can have coffee, tea ,juices, pastries, munchies etc. and even buy the small everyday household items.

Kava is the heart of Fairfield and it makes sure that it keeps both your heart and palate happy.

Rating- 4/5.

Kava

Hotel Fairfield, Gomti Nagar, Lucknow.