My Sundays have always been about Good Food!
As far as my memories take me, I can see that Sundays have always been about lazy mornings and hearty afternoon luncheons. Mumma ensured that she cooked an interesting and an elaborate meal on this day and the whole family sat together and ate together. Sometimes, friends and extended families were sent an invite to join over. At times, they would bring in food from their homes and the next couple of hours would go in savoring the delicacies. The aim was to meet, make conversations, keep a tab on each other’s life and rejoice over great food. Even today, after the hectic routine of the weekdays and with the Saturday spent in the house-chores, Sunday is the day when we usually skip the breakfast and love to indulge in a sumptuous brunch. In fact, don’t judge me but I would love to mention that lovely aromas waft from neighborhood kitchens too, especially on Sundays. Before I get into yet another Sunday story, let me know what are your Sundays like?
#SocialSundays – a quirky initiative to socialize!
Now that I have been talking only about food, I am hungry already. But at the same time, my heart also goes to all those people who have been cooking for me and making my Sundays so happy and yummy. A person like me who hardly spends time in the kitchen knows that its not easy to cook up a great meal. And yes, there are days when the lady of the house needs a break and the cook needs a leave too. That is why Hyatt Place has come up with #SocialSundays. I like the concept where they say celebrate your Sunday, be a little social and ease out at a special gallery buffet.
Being Social at the Gallery Cafe
I had an invitation to a blogger’s table and on 24th April, hubby and I decided to go for it. We got up late, cleaned the house for a while, got ready and then booked a taxi to take us to Udyog Vihar. We decided to skip driving to keep the Sunday absolutely fun and stress-free. The drive from Sector 28, Faridabad to the Hyatt Place premises lasted for fifty minutes and we were there by 1:15 p.m. Thankfully, there were no jams to crib over and the sun was not as scorching as today. Once we were there, we were cordially greeted by the staff and the chef. After the brunch, I was also taken through a walk around the property to get a close peep into the rooms, an update on the amenities and an understanding around the tagline- Hyatt Place ‘Welcome to a Different Place’. Keep with me to explore the foodie adventure of that sunny day.
For the uninitiated, I must share that Antipasti is an Italian term meaning ‘Before the meal’. It is a course of appetizers consisting of an assortment of foods, as olives, anchovies, sliced sausage, peppers, and artichoke hearts. The Italian influence was obvious because Chef Gaurav, the one who supervises it all is an expert at Italian cuisine. When I had interaction with him, I learnt about his background and his expertise. With his interesting food innovations, I am sure he is gonna take Hyatt Place to places.
By this time, Prashant Sharma, the Marketing Executive at Hyatt Place Gurgaon/Udyog Vihar had already filled us with details about the whole concept of #SocialSundays. The concept really appealed to me because as per me Sundays have always been about socializing and catching up with close ones. We Indians love talking and love eating all the more. So isn’t it a great idea to combine both the things and make it a happy brunch time to chat with family members and friends. If you have been following my foodie adventures, you would know that Hubby and I make great foodies. Thus for couples like us, it could easily make a lovely afternoon date.
While hubby was tempted to start with the desserts which he usually does, I was attracted to the Salad spread and the breads. But before we jumped into our temptations, we realized there was a street food corner too. Well, I bet there is anyone in North India who can ignore a treat of Golgappas. Along with it we also ordered Spinach Chaat and Pao Bhaaji.
After these spicy treats, I went on to do the salads. I had read each and every food tag and was already eyeing some of the unlikely combinations. The chicken and pineapple salad and the peppered fish with mango (the top most picture) were top on my list. As my taste buds would have it, I loved them both. Paneer and tomato, lettuce with Almonds tasted good too. After taking a bite of almost all the salad combinations, I went on to the breads and veg patties. The patties were fresh, soft and delicious.
After exploring the Antipasti table, I went ahead with the starters. There were two options on the Indian side and two on the oriental side. The food theme was a combination of Indian and oriental, each with two starters and six dishes each. Along with it there was a live counter which served omelettes, Dosa, uttappam, etc. While I dug in some flavorful chicken tikka, hubby ordered an omelette for himself. He went ahead and brought some paneer tikkas too. Since, this is a buffet, everything is placed at its place. Guests need to walk to it and fill their plates. While the chicken tikkas were juicy, I felt the paneer tikkas had lost their crunchiness and had become soggy, being kept in a closed utensil. I think they must be served directly off the fire.
Now, we were only left with the last course. By this time I was more than half full. The best part about buffets is that you really don’t have to rush in them. Second, there are lot of choices to make. Lastly, the most delicious items finish off soon and its not easy for the chef to replenish them quick. I say this because I could see the peppered fish and the mango tarts diminishing super quick.
Herb crusted Potato wedges and Vegetable Moussakka were delightful in the oriental section. Hubby is a vegetarian and he really enjoyed these two dishes. I tasted the non-veg part and for me Fish cooked in Hongkong style was amazing. The fish was soft, delicious and cooked in the right flavors. The stir fried vegetables and fried rice combination was equally nice. There was more choices to make but we kept only to these.
In the next round, I brought some more fish in Hongkong style from the oriental section, peas pulao and some chicken curry from the Indian section. All in all you can see how much I ate and yet I could not eat everything. One spoonful of each made it a lavish luncheon for me. The best part is I took it easy and ate it all over a span of two hours. You can do that over three hours. The official timings for Social Sundays is 12:30 to 4 p.m.
I do not have a sweet tooth and thus I refrained from the desserts. There was a delightful collection and hubby did taste a few but I limited myself to these mango tarts. I must say it made a delicious treat.
PROPERTY WALK
After the lunch, Mr. Prashant walked us through the property. I was really curious to know what makes it a different place. I went to one of the rooms, checked the swimming pool, gym, the market and the conference rooms. Some of the things that did stand-out are as below….
The Gallery that takes one to the bar and then the restaurant looked very bright and cheerful to me. It had lot of sunshine walking in. And moreover, it looked like a casual place to come down from the room, sit down here with coffee or a drink and simply work on a laptop.
Market as the name says is the place where you can buy the needful at the retail price. I am sure anybody would be happy to learn that all the chips, toffees and souvenirs were being sold at the retail price.
To my surprise, the rooms were spacious. Trust me, the sofa cum bed was the best thing that one could have in a room. You really don’t have to be on the bed when you just want to take a power nap in the day, sofa is the best place to do that. The glass window gave a nice view outside.
Overall, it was yet another unique experience for me and a day well spent. This is what I love about my job. I get to learn something new every day, I get to taste amazing things and then I get to pass on the information to others too. Isn’t it thrilling?
Now, if you have been looking for good places to eat on a Sunday afternoon, try this one and don’t forget to share your experience here. The buffet costs Rs. 999 +taxes per person.
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