As expected of the swish Palladium, at Velachery, their all-new food court is touted as swankier than the others in the city. While the nearly 200-seater is not about size, it is definitely about the food. With a bunch of brands choosing the Palladium food court to launch their first kitchen in the city, we start with Lyfe by Soul Garden Bistro and we dare say that retail therapy might take a secondary place at this mall.
Bowled over
With the new surge of interest in eating clean and healthy — Jignesh Pujara, the owner of the food chain, Soul Garden Bistro, and the brands 196 Degree Below, Antari (known for their Mexican coffee buns), has scoped the food trend in the city well and has created the brand, Lyfe. We sip on a mild and refreshing Pineapple Kombucha as we scan the menu — from sourdough pizza bases to wholesome bowls of exotic salads, even the dessert here is about healthy ingredients. “It is not just about a trend. It is also a personal choice for me. After watching The Game Changers on Netflix, I am now motivated to turn vegan! I want to give a better quality and variety of food for those who believe in vegetarianism and veganism,” says Jignesh, who has keen interest in ethical sustainable food practices. Ensuring that the packaging and the crockery is eco-friendly, they also use cast iron vessels in the kitchen. (If you bring back their take-away boxes, you get an impressive discount on your next meal!)
Fantastic seven
At Lyfe ‘it’s just not about clean or healthy eating anymore. It’s also about choosing the best ingredients.’
Hydroponic greens | Organic cheese | Organic chocolates | French breads | A2 milk | Organic khandsari sugar | Durum wheat (No maida)
Pozzetti to our ears
The creamy broccoli soup is vegan and blended with almonds for the nutty flavour. The large Harvest Bowl of salad has red rice, Brussels sprouts, sweet potato, lentil, lettuce — and all things healthy and nice. However, we have to concede it is their pizza that is worth the trudge across the city to Palladium! At INR 1,499, the Truffle Funghi artisanal pizza is delectable with a drizzle of truffle oil and shavings of the fungi. This pizza saw us dunking the customary leftover edges in a cheese dip and polishing off every last crumb!
Holding court: What else to expect at the new food court
From the nearly dozen outlets here, only half are open for service, including Lyfe, Belgian Waffle and VB Signature. We recommend Smoke, the sizzler house from Bengaluru, for their Chicken Lollypop Steak plate. Filling, quasi-street food, this one has heaps of saucy noodles with a side of chicken, veggies and batter-fried potato wedges. The quantity is large and the sauces are piquant and homely. Meanwhile Wow China, a Kolkata-based brand, wooed us with their exhaustive range of oriental dishes including unique ones like the Khow Suey with Thai Green Curry. While it was not a poster child for Thai cuisine, it was well doused with coconut milk to qualify as comfort food. The shrimp in the blanket consist of large chunks of batter fried and saucy starters of prawns wrapped in chicken. If you are the sort that makes a meal of your dessert — then the Freak Shake from Patissez is perfect. Expect jars of thick, creamy ice cream, stuffed with milkshake, Nutella and
the like!
For a sweet finish, the Organic Dark Chocolate gelato, a result of a collaboration with Kocoatrait, looks deceptively mild but has a robust burst of chocolate flavour. We suggest you go for a tray of piccolo — six miniature cones topped with six different flavours from the pozzetti that include cheese cake, mint and berry flavours, among others.
Meal for two at about INR 750.