As per the 16th century etymology, Lounge means in the sense ‘move indolently’ perhaps symbolic of slow movement. But here comes a complete revamp of the 21st century Lounge making it an indulgent affair.
The redefining of a lounge could not have been better as it has been done here, the ‘Plaza Premium Lounge’ at the New Delhi airport for which I was fortunate to witness the simple yet subtle changes that go into giving it a highly prestigious appeal for everyday travelers.
The Plaza Premium Lounge management has taken itself to ensure that people traveling international or domestic should not miss out on their breakfast, the most important meal of the day!. They have made the Plaza Premium Lounge experience of breakfast “fit for a king” for which I doubly agree after seeing some of the interesting, quick and delicious recipes shared out of the vast menu with us few bloggers.
After a long ride from home to the lounge I was greeted by Mr. Harmandeep Singh, he told me that by the 1st of August there be this new lounge experience, later I discussed with him the plans they have incorporated and how it is different from the previous provisions which I shall reveal at the end.
As I entered the lounge I was greeted by smartly dressed receptionists as air hostesses which made me feel like I had a flight to catch, and what a flight of yummy food it was. Greeted by a refreshing drink called ‘Kiwi Surprise’ I was then treated to the soft raspberry, lemon and chocolate macrons which blindsided me of the cookies though.
I would like to introduce the chef, Ankit Mangla, who originally belongs to Delhi but has mastered the art of Italian cooking to perfection. His personal favorite is Thai but he dabbles in Mediterranean, Italian, French, Lebanese, Greek, Spanish, Moroccan, Turkish and South American cuisine whew! Long list.
I shall now unfold my food affair as I really enjoyed the 5 dishes. And trust them when they say it’s nutritious, interesting and fit for a king!
My first was “Apple Cinnamon Pancakes”, Cinnamon has such a strong and powering aroma that in an instant the room was romantic with cinnamon and glazed apple smell. It is important for the pancake batter to have a good consistency so as to have a good fluffy texture. The end result was breathtakingly beautiful and delicious. There was slight crispiness to the pancakes but it was warm and soft in the middle, the interesting part here was the apple sauce. Ankit had used peeled and diced green apples and glazed them slight and this gave you that blast of apple juice… that’s what I call a real burst of flavors!
Chef Ankit also suggested another combination of Pineapple, star anise and ginger pancakes; I could only imagine the passion of such flavor would be.
Second was a “Bannofie French toast” , Bannofie simply means Banana and toffee and here I must confess I have been a great fan of banana but having it with French toast never occurred to me. Here the room changed its color and changed into vanilla and as the bananas were turning into toffee by the use of brown sugar another aroma wafted in the air.
Although chef Ankit used French bread which is very hard, what I had on my plate was sweet banana on cheesecake; yes the French toast was so moist and gooey that it melted in my mouth.
Chef Ankit had put some coffee but being a coffeeholic I guess I needed a bigger dose.
This is where my sweet ride ended and my savory ride began. Chef Ankit began with a German dish called Rösti.
This where I can see that Premier Plaza Lounge has included a global cuisine, this dish is a little bland for an indian spicy palate but with homemade salsa my heart began to sing.
What I love most about this dish is it includes veggies like raw pumpkin, zucchini, carrot and potato.
Indians will refer it as modernized tikkis but technically it almost tastes like grated hash browns. I did suggest the chef to include some more flavors like mint or cheese for people who aren’t very salsa friendly.
Next in line was the “Shakshouka” meaning “a mixture” in Arabic, but as per the interesting part, Chef Ankit prepared it like the Egyptian style poached eggs!
And I have to be honest I have never tried eggs in such a way. There seems to be a myriad of bright colors and such a beauty.
It broke my heart to break the yolk but was mesmerized by such a simple yet exquisite dish.
Last and the heart breaker was Sriracha styled sausages; the special ingredient here is the Sriracha Sauce which is a “type of hot sauce or chili sauce made from a paste of chilli peppers, vinegar, garlic, sugar, and salt” and I had to search to find out.
So simple yet such marvelous taste. Gone are the days of grilled sausages and here comes the color of love, red and with slight hint of onion sweetness that not only melts in your mouth but also your heart.
It was a transcendental ride from Sweet to Savory; from yellow butter to golden olive oil and from browns to downright bright mix of colors…the only thing remained consistent was that each and every dish had a unique flavor, made within a time span of 10 minutes and was like comfort to a traveling Soul.
I would like to conclude by giving my definition to the plans that were shared to me by the PR & communication managers is that not only the Plaza Premium Lounge management has taken upon itself to lure the travelers into the lounge they wish to surprise us with not only comfort at an airport but having and indulgent affair with the food. The idea here all in all is to ensure no traveler should go without the meal. I wonder when there are so many dishes at breakfast, each day each meal when prepared with so much of finesse by Chef Ankit, can make it an affordable luxury accessible to not only travelers but to non travelers foodies like me too. Rates per head range from 1000/- for domestic and 1500/- for international airports which also includes unlimited alcoholic beverages for the latter. I must extend my thanks to the most hospitable management Miss Linda Duo, Mr Harmandeep and of course our Chef Ankit Mangla. I am sure to pay a visit for this yummy food the next time I am traveling.
Location: Premium Port Lounge Management Company Private Limited Room No. 11, Terminal 1D, Domestic Departure, Indira Gandhi International Airport, Palam, New Delhi – 110037, India
XOXO
Shivangi
Review Credit – Deviyani Srivastava
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Woooww..the food looks mouth watering 🙂 Would definitely give this lounge a visit 🙂
Thanks Deviyani, It was a pleasure having you over!! I am glad that you loved all the offerings 🙂