Tastebuds Tango at
Rohit Bal’s Cibo
By Ravi V.Chhabra
Italian
for food is Cibo but the restaurant reeking of
opulence at the very entrance onwards with the
Roman-Scillilian facades and lavish interiors is
not just that. The 700-seater fine dining with a
private room has a well-stocked bar replete with
superb Chilean, Californian wines and all the
Glens (single and double malts from highlands of
Scotland) plus the vodkas, gins, mocktails et al
is manned by a highly experienced bartender
Parvesh katoch, a professional juggler (Jinx and
Olive).
The appetizers
comprise fine assortment of Scarmoza Al Forno
– smoked Italian cheese melted in wood fired
oven, while non-vegetarians would love Antipasto
Misto – a variety of Italian aged hams,
salami and other meats with vegetables, nuts,
cheese and honey. A variety of salads that
includes beetroot and goat cheese salad with
rucola and in-house (grown in the Cibo courtyard)
sun-dried tomato dressing is highly refreshing.
Chef Choubey, indeed, needs to be complimented for
adding the fruit finishing touches for most of the
preparations as dressing/garnishing as much as he
plays with fresh greens with minimalistic oils and
sauces.
The 31-years young Executive Chef Nishant Choubey is an IHM Bhopal graduate with 7-years hands-on, he has worked both in India and abroad in Dubai. He recently won the SUSTA (Southern United States Trade Association) sponsorship to the US for Gumbo Cook Off and says: "I was recommended by a co-chef, who liked my impromptu offer to let him try some of my European delicacies. I had a great training at thibodaux in the state of louisiana in which I learnt as a classroom session . there was an itinerary which we followed which has cuisines from different parts of southern US like Delmar Island , Virginia , West Virginia ,Tex Mex ,Barbecue and this training is so handy for the future . I also travelled to New York after that and spent some good 20 days there eating in the best restaurants of the world like PER SER , NOBU AND AUTTO. Its been a knowledgeable tour which has given me lots of confidence and nurtured me to become a better chef in most ways”.
The initial course
at Cibo on a Monday (I did not want to go on a
packed weekend evening, being a silent diner who
only wants the company of close ones and
enchanting music) included a fine thinnest crust
pizza that I had eaten till date! Thus,
Cibo’s Gnocchi Di Patate Al Pesto should
definitely be on your agenda when inside this
restaurant. The homemade potato pasta simply melts
in your mouth, while the spaghetti alio olio
pepperoncino with salumi is a sublime option for
meat eaters.
The main course
has a variety of chicken, lamb and seafood dishes.
An absolute must are some Italian meat skewers in
the form of Bocconcini Di Pollo Allo Spiedino,
where chicken/lamb is marinated with garlic, extra
virgin olive oil, chilly flakes, sage and
rosemary, and cooked on charcoal. The exotic
tenderloin with foie gras done to guest’s
likings and the confit duck leg is a delicacy and
so is the duck breast.
While my
vegetarian-for-Mondays guest loved the risotto in
the form of three mushroom risotto with truffle
oil and artichokes and polenta and the hint of
Mediterranean is never discarded in the form of
seafood bisque. The parma-wrapped chicken is a
speciality from the parma region of Italy. I for
one, loved all of these: Milano paper pizza with
parma ham, Greek mussel stew, Pan fried polenta
with bruled grapefruit and artichokes. Three
mushroom risotto with twice cooked duck leg,
tomato and jasmine tea with truffle oil, Gnocchi
with pesto sauce and grilled basa fish with pesto
and lime emulsion. Chef Nishant’s signature
recipes non-boastfully are the Milano paper pizza
with parma ham, charcoal roasted mushroom. Slow
cooked pork bellly with sautern sauce and
chocolate bonnet with 24 k gold leaf.
With India's fashion
czar Rohit Bal and Alok Agarwal (co-owners)
penchant for good music, I was distressed while
having to sit through all of the recorded trashy
Kenny G on such a fine evening and a visibly
powerful party surround sound system. I was told
there is an in-house DJ as well. On further
probing why this musical jinx for the fine evening
and if I could instead have some opera or chopin
as respite, Chef Nishant extolled that almost
everyone, including the DJ had flown off to Mumbai
for the inauguration of the first Cibo in tinsel
town and the high-tech DJ equipment had become
almost defunct for now.
We wish this bistro well in Mumbai as long as they go low on the loud décor and play sensible music for the mindful! A meal for two at the Janpath Cibo costs Rs 2000 upwards. Cibo knows Italian tastebuds best in the capital city of food and is one restaurant that’s indeed chef-driven and that is its strongest point. Good going Chef Nishant.
