18 April,2019 07:40 AM IST | | Letty Mariam Abraham
Kissed by fire
Everything about Game Of Thrones is an experience. While the show, emphasising on the constant change in power and the war over it, rarely describes food, Leaping Windows, a restaurant and comic book library in Versova, attempts to showcase its own interpretation of what the delicacies in Westeros would be like.
While the place did not upgrade its décor to suit the theme, it incorporated a new menu at slashed prices to match the tiny portions. We initiated the meal with a frozen appetiser - the Kingsroad (Rs 175), a dish featuring pickled button mushrooms topped with goat cheese with a faint whiff of red wine vinaigrette. While the chef was hoping for subtle flavours, everything got drowned in the overpowering saline of the cheese. We then followed it with Ramsay's favourite toy (Rs 210) and as expected, it was a sausage fest. The pork sausage wrapped in dry filo (thin baked sheets of dough) pastry, served with mustard sauce was a massive let-down. Not only was the dish dry, but it also lacked the soft texture of filo.
Wildling rice
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As the meal progressed, expectations were low, but thankfully, the main course lifted our spirits. We first opted for kissed by fire (Rs 200) - flatbread served with chicken and mushroom skewers. The meat was grilled to perfection while the bread was soft in the middle and buttery on the outside, almost perfect with the cheese sauce. Next, we tested the wildling rice (Rs 295). The dish included chicken gizzard and pork minced rice with two poached eggs and was, for us, the best on the menu. A generous serving of pork, chicken, and mushroom with perfectly runny eggs, was the highlight of this lunch. Every bite exploded with flavour and this dish, we felt, was a tribute to the hardy lifestyle of the free folk in the series.
While we weren't sure how the final season ends, we were looking for a perfect end to our meal with an ideal dessert. Called a bear and the maiden fair (Rs 220), it included apples and pears stewed in mead (fermented honey with water) and was served with goat cheese, nuts, and seeds. The crunchy, salty and sweet taste was a dessert of contrasts.
While the restaurant seems to have its heart in the right place with the GoT inspiration, sadly, the execution lacked big flavours, a disappointment considering the buzz around the big-budget TV show. The menu will be available throughout the screening of the final season.
AT Leaping Windows, Versova, Andheri West.
Time 10 am to 12 am
CALL 9769998972
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Leaping Windows didn't know we were there. The Guide reviews anonymously and pays for meals