Pooja Bhandari
It all comes back to the basics. Serve customers the best-tasting food at a great value in a clean, comfortable environment, and they’ll keep coming back.
The rules are simple but worth following. And believe me, the results are what it needs to be the best in the competition. Recently, R4review visited one such place which is above the set standards in its segment. And it is the “Spice it” at Ibis, Gurugram. It’s the restaurant of a 3-star property located just next to the Rapid Metro Station. So you can comfortably reach there without experiencing the drastic traffic condition of the city.
About the place
The Ibis Gurgaon Golf Course Road Hotel is one of the most popular economy properties for business and leisure. This 3-star hotel is in the vicinity of Airport, Shopping centres and some of the top-tier hospitals, offering a very convenient base for all the travelers in the city.
The restaurant of the hotel is the perfect place to give your taste-buds the spice of its own kind. And why not? After all, it is meant for “Spice it”. It offers a unique opportunity to explore Indian, Oriental and European spices.
On the day of Event
On the day of the event, we reached the venue by 12:00 in the noon. The General Manager of Ibis, Prashanth Kumar briefed us about the facilities at the hotel and its specialties. After a short conversation, he gave the opportunity of summarizing the USP’s of “Spice it” to its management team. The team, then, detailed out the idea behind the theme of the restaurant and innovations included in it. One particular idea of taking the buffet lunch not just in the allotted slot but for quite extended time is quite a call for its in-hotel customers as well as visitors. Even the breakfast continues till the late noon. There are varieties of flavors that are offered and believe us each comes out as one of its kind. Familiar in name but different in taste!! You cannot avoid getting yourself indulge in them. Truly exotic!
So on the event day, as we took our seats over the tables after experiencing the scorching heat of Delhi to reach there, they helped to bring down the temperature and served us with some cool slush. In particular, their orange slush was like falling ice in the heat.
Then we headed towards the buffet area where sumptuous lunch was waiting for us. It was all set to welcomes its guests.
We started with salads which included enough of lined-up ingredients to fill up your plate for the first go.
Vinegared Onions, Marinated Zuchchini Salad, Cherry tomatoes, fried corns, Som Tom Salad, Deli house salad, Waldrof salad and Dahi papdi chat (as icing on the cake) were the few of names to mention.
All of them were tempting at their first look, healthy to bite and worth a definite try.
After having enough of salads and soups, we set our eyes on the main course which looked nummy and toothsome. The restaurant menu changes every day and each day it offers a variety of scrummy and finger-licking delicacies for both vegans and non-vegetarians.
On that day, the table d’hote included Kung Pao chicken, Green long with minced soya black bean sauce, Paneer Long latta, Bhuna Gosht, Vegetable Mousakka, Braissed Fessel Fasa fish, Malai kofta, Gatta masala, Dal makhani, Dal Fry and much more.
We are foodies!! Seriously!! And that made our appetite for the delicious food reach its height.
We were in no mood to put the brakes on our taste buds and hence tried each flavor, giving our tongue its complete time to taste all the mixed spices with their fullest tang.
All the delicacies did not disappoint us and were cooked with perfect combination and quantity of spices.
The starters that were served to us on our tables included nachos, kebabs and fried naans served with green chutney and dal makhani.
Although my stomach has reached its limit to take anything inside anymore, yet the pulao and deserts were untouched. And leaving without savouring the taste of finger-licking desserts!! Not even in dreams!! So I grabbed another plate from the desk, turned towards the desert counter and picked up one from all of them.
That included Mango fudge, hot Gulab jamuns, Chocolate pastery, Papaya, watermelon, Indian sweets (barfi, mawa sweets, cham-cham, rasgulla etc) and ice-creams (vanilla and chocolate). And it completely made our day. From tongue to toe.
To end the meal of the day, I chose the hand-beaten coffee over tea (on chef’s recommendation). And I thanked him for the amazing drink. It reminded me of all the memories of childhood when my mom used to make me this style of coffee.
Goodies by Spice it
R4review call-
If you happen to be in town for business or leisure, want to taste a variety of cuisines under one roof and experience the 3-star hotel hospitality, give Ibis and Spice it a definite try.
Food: 4.5/5
Hospitality: 5/5
