Absolutely Original, Clever and diligent — Whistling Duck, Chandigarh.
I almost knew where the place was situated, Whistling Duck is tucked hidden in backlanes of a shopping mall in a queue of typically night clubish location. You’d expect the place to be like many of those with high tempo music, talking aloud of opulences and imagery of everything frilly. Well, this is where the story begins to get interesting.
Whistling Duck cleverly conceals itself in the array of drinking holes as it is trying to shy away from those wanting to come in for those large patialas. The moment you step in the courtyard, chic minimal post modern vibe takes over setting it apart from its cousins as they stand together in a line. The decor is extremely similar to the Asian coffee shops with its modern minimal Scandinavian design with Indian design infused in the manners ingenious.
Ragini, being a delight herself as the host and co-owner confesses, it is just her restaurant and kids that does not let her get bored in the city, otherwise her Delhi girl instincts would have taken her out years ago. She explains as how her brand consultant husband, Amber Mehrorta and herself run the place from detailing on the menu to the philosophy of the food.
Before ordering the food and working on an expansive selection for the food, it was Richa Johri, where we started to mark stamps on the culinary landscape and the idea behind what goes inside her kitchen. With expertise in Indian cuisine, it was interesting to try and reflect on the Food with inspirations drawn far and wide from Korean to East Coast NYC(Read Brooklyn).
We started off with the Karela Salad which is a spanky representation of Fried bitter gourd, with tempering of turmeric to take away the bitterness, a classic method in North Indian cuisine(read marwari! nice deduction right?!) We moved on to another salad with prawns, seasonal veggies tossed with sun dried tomatoes and rocket. It was just with salads we got the insights into the deftness of Chef Johri’s kitchen.
We also tried the chicken kebabs done is certain honey sauce which was unusual and on the lines of Asian influences. The Fish was tender and as it should be, mildly flavoured with fennel and served with ones of the most soulful green chutneys. The Chef beams as she notices me type in zest a note about how it was fish that reflects on precision that goes in her kitchen.
Another reflection of how the menu is curated is with the understanding of the palate, while it also pushes its people to try new things as well. Spätzle with its never ending debate of whether it is a pasta or dumpling gets it texture treated right in its disciplined German form, adjusted to work with Lamb Ragout spiced just right for the Indian taste. We also could not hold ourselves back trying the Gnocchi, with spinach and porcini seasoned with nutmeg, it did miss a beat with porcini and spinach getting a little confused with mace and nutmeg.
Where the kitchen not even once shied from experiments which are only been a part of Michelin chef properties(are they listening?). The east meets the west and sits down on a table to share a plate, the food is not just a hardworking minds produce but also has its added frolic in the form of the Rosemary and Mushroom Brioche. Which is outlandishly humorous yet as mentioned repeatedly deft and very inspiring to do creative culinary practices.
As we proceeded further, chef introduced to another dimension of her skill by throwing in her a dash of her life long learnings. With plating Kra Pao Gai, the icnonic Thai chicken dish, Vietnamese Topaz Prawn Curry with gluten free gram flour jhala, Nasi Lemak with steam fish and fried egg and finally The Kathal(Jackfruit) cooked in infusion of coconut oil, marathi mogu, kapasa and most importantly kokam with onion and tomato gravy, each of these dishes with its origin and extreme dexterity makes it special. Where the original elements remained the same, chef like an artist has made each of her dishes signature without making significant departure from the origins. Whether it be kokam in her baked jackfruit or the coconut cream in Nasi Lemak, the dishes are reflecting the understanding of how this food is engineered with right propositions while the philosophy around it is crafted by heart. My personal recommendation will remain the Jackfruit as it represents how fierce is the culinary stronghold of modern Indian chefs in preserving the traditional foods.
We were so engrossed in exercising our palate that we completely forgot to indulge ourselves in the alcohol bit of the restaurant. We tried the Thai iced tea with a twist of coconut cream,kafir lime and lemon grass and beetroot juice with celery and grapes was a refreshing drink as well. With a standard coffee liquor cocktail little by little help us calm down our overwhelmed senses at the food trials. One should not feel sad if you miss out on back drifters (Bombay Sapphire with rose water/rose reduction) as it is like many other on/off the menu markings.
Well would I suggest this place to more people? Yes, there are loose strings with the gnocchi and the acidity of the salad in the mixing but that should not deter anyone to miss out on ordering these or more from the menu.
It is a reflection of Amber and Ragini, perhaps they are serving what they would want to eat everyday and hence it comes in a form which looks genuine. Or probably its a playground for Chef Richa Johri, where she tests and turns flavours and technique to her amusement. She is also a traveller where she maps the culinary world through her lunches and dinners.
This couple and The Chef as sitting in oblivion, serving the best; Chandigarh could ask for. Whistling Duck unlike most, will run its course with its refreshing originality and a lot of deft dining experience that it delivers to its people.
And as always the food goes to the stomach, dessert to the heart. We could not stop ourselves but to stare in amazement how the lady incharge could present basic flavours of basil and balsamic reduction and make an average cheese cake such a piece of art!
You can find my ratings on Zomato.
