Winter Afternoons at Tara, Roseate House

I might keep cribbing about my inability to move from one room to another simply because then, I would have to creep out of my fuzzy blanket, and the chill might yet again hit me to the bone, but there is one reality that I cannot deny. That Delhi is the best in winters. The balmy sun tries to comfort people like us, and replenishes our starved bones with natural vitamin D. It also is a fabulous season to eat to your heart’s content because the lards deposited will be nicely concealed by the multiple layers of woollens.

That was the thought in my mind when I walked into Tara, the Japanese restaurant situated on the sixth floor of Roseate House. It is an open-air space that over looks the blue infinity pool and is helmed by deck chairs, the spa and wellness section of the extreme left end. A live kitchen sends out freshly prepared Japanese fare to the guests. I liked the fact that we would be eating wholesome Jap preparations enjoying the sun.

Now before I forget, Tara serves only dinners. But, who wouldn’t want to use up the beautiful exteriors in the months of January and February. So, the restaurant will be serving lunch the whole of these two months before returning to the old format. Sunday brunches, with live grills and barbeques will be introduced in the next 15 days. Now that is one sunny bit of news for foodies in the city.

The sun can really spin your mood around in a positive direction. I threw caution to the wind and tucked into delicious prawns as well, little caring the effect it would have on my allergy. Anyway, so here’s what you must try if at Tara (hoping you go really soon before the sun gets cruel), or these are what stood out among the usual tested Japanese spread.

I am not too keen on sushi but the sushi rolls here were well bound. The ebi tempura (prawn rolls) were soft on the inside and crispy outside. The vegetarian rolls were better because of the condiments packed in. I loved the miso soup because it had a generous serving of tofu in it, teamed with fresh seaweed and spring onions. It had the perfect blend of spices.

The tempuras were adequately crisp and wholesome but what made them better was the bowl of temura sauce, a liquid concoction that was part sweet and part tangy.

I feel the high point of the spread were the salads and the Kiwi lamb chops (coated with an interesting spice mix that that wasn’t to hot yet very tasty. The salads, lettuce with Wafu dressing, and Tuna Tataki with Ponzu sauce, were really good, both in terms of taste and presentation.

I was a let down by the desserts because they lacked the punch. The Yuzu lemon tart wasn’t tart enough and Black Hole was a very usual chocolate walnut brownie served with ice-cream. I was expecting a fancier finish to my meal, I think.

I’ll tell you what. The meal was tasty and wholesome, even if it wasn’t unique or innovative. But I think the ambience and the banter with friends made up for it. Something you will also like, if you visit Tara with your loved ones.