I met Aby Mathur and Ankit Tayal for the first time yesterday, when my colleagues at The Writers Collective Of India - our Group and The Writers Collective Of India - our Page and I, went to Review their New Restaurant, WPJ - World Pizza Journey. Without knowing this young pair (they could not be older than 30, thus at least that many years younger to me .. :) :) ) at all, I had, for some time, been admiring Moonshine Cafe & Bar and Moonshine Backroom, the sprawling space that the two have successfully converted into a super chic Entertainment Zone on the Second Floor of the Powerhouse Building in Hauz Khas Village. I am told that it is going great guns. I still do not know too much about their background - hope to remedy that soon - but the Restaurant Business must be in their genes somewhere because, to my mind, they have come up with another Winner in WPJ. When my dear Friend & Colleague, Veta Ratra, introduced TWCI to WPJ and I learnt that good friends Deepak Khera and Viju Raj were involved in setting up the Food and Booze parts, of WPJ, respectively, I was naturally intrigued and keen to visit this Pizza place which provides a gastronomical journey of the World. I was the designated co-ordinator for this Review (at TWCI we do this as per geographical zones, mostly), so I reached early to do the pre-ordering and was met by Ankit - a most gracious Host. We were, shortly after, joined by Deepak, and a Select Tasting Menu was fixed. When Aby dropped in too, I, for the first time, got to know of the Moonshine equation. Sometimes, when close friends are involved, your judgement may get colored by your closeness to them. All that I can quite honestly say is that yesterday I could hardly say a word amiss to Aby, Ankit and Deepak. From the Minestrone Soup (made just the way I like it and with some super garlic bread) to the House Caesar and Thai Green Papaya Salads, the stage was set for a succession of Pizzas that were as inventive as they were delicious. My personal favorites were: - Sicilian Pesto Pizza which was totally bursting with the flavor of fresh pesto and pine nuts. - Pizza Peri Peri where Chicken, Asparagus and Peri Peri Suce played a delightful medley.. - Barcelona Bailando which had Chorizo Sausages and Jalapeno stimulating each other. - Fish and Chips where the base was tomato ketchup and beer battered fish provided the topping, with black olives scattered around .. this pizza actually came with Fries, another lovely little touch. - The Brazillian in which a trio of bell peppers made awesome love to salsa and mozzarella ... what an orgy ... :) :) We had about I4 different pizzas as Deepak pulled one trick after another out of his Magicians Hat, and the outstanding part was that each was paired with its own signature cocktail, about which I will write in detail, soon. Naturally we were stuffed and still, when a sensational Bangers n Mash (not a pizza, but a Main) was placed in front of us, none of us resisted the seductive temptation. I was told that a selection of pastas is soon to be included too, which, by the normal Indian palette, will quite round off the menu selection. The Desserts, as is quite normal these days, are outsourced and need some improvement but that is a minor quibble in the overall scheme of things. If one compares the vast expanse of Moonshine with the cozy comfort of WPJ they are like chalk and cheese, so one cannot but admire Aby and Ankit for being able to pull together two such vastly different shows. I will watch, with interest, how this talented duo progresses and would like to wish them great success .... Cheers.
Posted on: Thu, 22 Jan 2015 05:25:48 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015