Tailoring a meal to individual tastes is one of the many ways in which the JW Lounge at the JW Marriott, Kolkata, sets itself apart from the rest. This season, they will embrace the tropical heat by subtly incorporating summery fruits such as lychee and mango in a delectable a la carte menu, available throughout the month. The menu starts with a list of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages to go with their range of salads, and concludes with an array of desserts. “Both lychee and mango are natives of South East Asia, and in Marriott, we always encourage the inclusion of locally sourced stocks. However, we have tried to bring the East and West together by inculcating the fusion through our fare,” says Prakash Chettiyar, executive chef of the 5-star hotel.
Our gastro journey kicked off with the well-balanced Mandarin Mango Lychee Salad with Tofu and Sesame. It made for a perfect mix of melt-in-the-mouth tanginess from the king of fruits, along with the medium-firm sponginess of tofu. Next followed the show stealer — the Prawn Ceviche with Avocado, Lychee, Mango and Pesto. The dish, of South American origin, consists of chunks of avocado and decapods marinated in lime juice, garnished with onions, mango and lychee pulp, as fresh as they can be. The delicacies were presented alongside large pours of Alphonso Sour, a whiskey-based cocktail blended with mango juice, egg whites, freshly squeezed lime juice and topped with homemade mango jam. Aamras with mango foam too was served — a mocktail made of mango juice, passion fruit and lime juice, adorned with mango foam.
“We have sourced the lychees from Muzzafarpur in Bihar, and we were lucky to receive the first fresh supplies of the season. The fruits are yet to reach their optimal, in terms of quality, and we hope to lay our hands on the best of the lot, in another week’s time,” added Chettiyar. Next arrived a bowl of Smoked Chicken with Melba Crisp, Stewed Lychee and Beansprout along with Get Together — a steamy concoction of rum, lychee, mango and lime juice with swirling clouds of maple smoke rising from it. The latter at once reminded us of The Rose from Antoine de Saint-Exupery's Little Prince, as it was served in a dome-shaped glass case. Our appetising jaunt came to an end with a crunchy Lychee Cake, graced with tempting dollops of rose yoghurt mousse, and a disc of lychee confit that one would find hard to resist.
Prices start at Rs 299