F Lounge.Bar.Diner in Parel is serving up some old favourites like puchkas, paapdis and rasmallai with unexpected twists,

Fashionable, yet familiar food hits the F­­-spot

F Lounge.Bar.Diner in Parel is serving up some old favourites like puchkas, paapdis and rasmallai with unexpected twists,

Indian food has been traditionally resistant to the kind of innovation required of fine dining. But what would you make of a meal which serves up puchkas, samosas and paapdis as Michelin-starred creations? Good ole' favourites such as these, but with a twist, form the basis of the concept behind the menu of the F Lounge.Bar.Diner. Ensconced between corporate offices on the third floor of the One India Bulls Centre, its location seems ideal for attracting white collar workers in search of an after-work drink, or a dinner ideal for wooing clients. But when we arrive, the dimly-lit bar, as well as the upstairs restaurant, isn't entertaining a single patron. The walls are covered with distracting projections of fashion models, and each table is well-lit with halogen lamps. “We don't want to offer something completely alien to our customers,” explains the corporate chef Rakesh Talwar, who has a large tattoo of a red devil complete with a chef's hat on the side of his neck. This would explain the inclusion of some Mumbai-favourites in their menu, albeit with a twist. One of their innovations is the puchkha appetiser. While it is served with the same spicy water you're accustomed to at your neighbourhood stall, these are stuffed with cracked seaweed, couscous and mango and served perched on a shot glass. The non-vegetarian version of this dish features prawns. The inclusion of couscous is a crunchy and pleasant surprise; and the mango chunks contract nicely with the spicy water that we gulp down in an instinctual single swallow from the shot glass. Another interesting twist is the amuse-bouche of paapdis topped with pine nuts and thick gravy, with a squiggle of orange cheese on the side. Other innovations include the pav bhaji vol-au-vent, chicken wings served with a peanut butter sauce, the aloo-chaat martini, and the goat cheese cigar, which is basically a cylindrical samosa. “We top one end of it with fennel and black sesame so that it looks like the burnt end of a cigar,” says Talwar, gesturing to the fried 'cigar', nestled in a glass of garlic mayonnaise. He is not new to serving up old favourites with a new twist. He remembers what he regards as his most daring innovation — a penne alfredo pasta with chicken tikka, which despite his boss' trepidation, earned him a standing ovation from a diner. The goat cheese cigar and the puchkas are the stand-out appetisers; and the main courses are a disappointment after the excitement of the appetisers. The kaali mirch murghi, maa ki daal and the allu flower sabzi are good, solid dishes that will fill your stomach. But they fall far below expectations in that they do not offer anything new or experimental. The desserts make up for whatever enthusiasm you might lose while ploughing through the main course — we try the coconut panna cotta with bubblegum jelly and paan ladoos on the side; and the mango rasmallai lasagna with rabdi, drenched in a blue alcohol. The panna cotta is delicious and fresh, and the bubblegum jelly is an unexpected harkening back to the flavour palette of a sugar-craving childhood. The mango rasmallai lasagna (called lasagna because the two ingredients are layered on top of each other) is squishy comfort food at its best. ?“There's a lot more value in Indian food than most chefs assume,?” asserts chef Talwar. “As long as you hold back on the heaviness — caused by excessive creaminess or oil — and make sure you roast each spice according to the heat level required, ?and not all together, ?the dishes served can be exceptional.” d_apoorva@dnaindia.net