Fortune Park JPCelestial
on Race Course Road

In a burgeoning dining scenario, the art of Menu Engineering is the name of the game- be it a downtown, upscale, newly opened or well established restaurant. Though a Welcomgroup franchise, Fortune Park JP Celestial located on Race course road had to innovate to be competitive. The 45 dish Big Buffet that is spoiled for choice both for the vegetarians and the non vegans, with an accompanying pint of beer and soft drinks seems to be a hit as the restaurant ORCHID was house full on a cold December Monday night with three parties in full throttle. It's VFM at Rs 400/=, though putting such a platter is no mean task and the Exec. Chef Priya has credited herself very well. The minimalistic interiors in wood give a cosy but no nonsense ambience with the open kitchen counter adding to the warmth. If one has the appetite then 'you can eat your heart out'.

With the pint of Beer/ cold drinks was served a veg starter- a Crunchy spicy roll that was a disappointment. Stuffed vegetables wrapped in soji covering that flew like missiles from some plates as the fork simply refused to dig into the hard covering. Some of us were saved the embarrassment for using fingers. A Maida/ Corn outer would have been a better option. The non veg starter was Murg Angara- not the regular chicken tikka but a little spicy to stand up to the reputation of the Angara (fire) nomen, served with mint chutney and garlic sauce. A few more starters would have pepped the meal. Then we had the Soups-Hot and Sour-very spicy and Chicken and mushroom Broth which is a light and clear soup and comparatively better.

In addition to the five varieties of salads,there was the option of making one's own combo of salads with 3 variants of dressings. There were the cold cuts like Chicken Salami, Chicken Mortadella and Black forest Ham so named as it originated from Germany's black forest area. This is locally out sourced. It is similar to the Salami but has a smoky flavour.

The Live Pavbhaji counter handled by Priya was a big hit. The bhaji was laced with the right amount of mashed potatoes, tomatoes and spices. She was serving it with a smile past 10 pm and that made all the difference. For the rice lovers there was Steamed rice, Peas pulav and Kozli Dum. The peas and rice were both under cooked and tasteless. A big disappointment there. The South Indian Chicken Biryani had just the hint of whole garam masalas and the right blend of spiciness with sizeable chunks of chicken. Full marks. The Dal Miloni with four dhals perfectly cooked with tadka was superb by itself. The Potato and aubergine curry was nicely fried and the onion and tomato base was not overpowering. The Fennel roasted potato in Continental style had the fennel flavour gently wafting from the potatoes. There was the Chinese diced vegetables in oyster sauce and Cauliflower and corn in cheese sauce.

The other main courses - Sunheri Paneer had the paneer done home style, just cooked along with American sweet corn in yellow gravy. Subz Labadar was unusual with the mixed vegetablesnestling in a buttery gravy flavoured with capsicum. Gobi Melagu Peratal is a Kerala variant of Gobi with sautéed onions, green chillies and pepper making its presence felt that was a tongue tickler. The Gosht Shimla Mirch is tenderloin chunks marinated and seared well in whole spices till they turn a nice yellowish brown colour, a sign that it's nicely cooked. The Nellore chicken curry though spicy was nothing close to the original, the red colour coming from the Kashmir chillies and not the Guntur variety. The flavours were very subtle.

There was an innovative Low Cal section with Steamed sweet corn, veg and chicken dim sum. The tiny dim sums could have a bit more stuffing, were tasty as it was soft and fresh being placed in a perforated pan and did not dry out. This is one dish that warms you up being a wholesome winter delight. The minced meat and vegetables stuffings are popular. It takes certain skill to fashion the dim sums. The Steamed assorted vegetables, wok tossed Chinese greens (green veggies like broccoli, Chinese cabbage) Pokchoy-cabbage and Chinese cabbage with white stem, garlic tossed in the minimum of oil were good. The grilled fish in fine herbs, grilled Vietnamese Basa (fish sourced from Vietnam through a supplier. The fish was delicate and soft, though this is a sea variety it's without the sea flavours). It was nicely done and worth the second helping. The ubiquitous Curds rice with 6 pickle varieties of ginger, tamarind, garlic, tomato, gongura and a mixed vegetable one, papad and raitha paved the way for the desserts.

Soji ka Halwa in the hot sweet category was divine with the soji well fried and crunchy to the bite and thankfully not a mushy mass as the Kesari bath. The Chocolate pastry and the Milk cake were light. The Chenna toast is paneer cooked for a long time in thick sugar syrup. It was succulent and not too sweet. The Fruits strudel, Sugar free rose Jelly, 3 varieties of ice cream, Yoghurt based Smoothie, flavoured yoghurt and sliced fruits closed this section.

The 45 dishes dinner buffet is an innovation in terms of variety though the diners can only peck at the range, so it's a Win- Win situation for all. The restaurant's other innovation has been the home style food for the in house guests which is very popular. In addition there is the exclusive Bar section- Nevada which serves a LIQUID buffet for Rs 550/= where a diner can enjoy 2 hours of unlimited drinks with a veg and non veg starter. Seems quite a steal.

Ambience 3
Food 3.50 (.50 for the chef)
Service 2.75 (though buffet, the soups, rotis, drinks, ice creams were served at the table. The waiters were hard pressed dueto the shortage of hands or due to the rush)

Add: 5/43, Race Course Road.
080-39884433

Githa .U. Badikillaya