It's an almost perfect Sunday, at least weather-wise

It's an almost perfect Sunday, at least weather-wise. Slate gray sky, constantly threatening to unleash some rain, and we get to watch it against the suburban skyline from the second level of Azok by Vineet, Oakwood Premiere. Vineet Bhatia's restaurant, which has temporarily turned to an enclosed dining space thanks to the monsoon, has just introduced a Sunday brunch.u00a0

Dark chocolate cane furniture with a dash of red, courtesy a bunch of red orchids on every table, is easy on the eye and superbly comfortable. Very Sunday. You can sit here for hours, just watching the drizzle outside, chit-chatting, and of course, having your share of a more than heavy brunch.

Chef Bhatia's specialty is fusion food; he loves adding a dash of the local to a western dish, and vice versa. The brunch here is part-buffet, part a la carte. The sweet and gracious but uninformed staff tell us that salads, bread and cold cuts are on the display buffet table; the rest of the items come from a neat scroll of handmade paper on our table.

Appetisers
So far so charming. We start off with a Cucumber Salad served in single bite-sized portions on crackers. It's tangy and crunchy; theu00a0 perfect appetiser. We order for the soup: Kidney Bean and Spinach, before exploring the buffet spread. There's none of the usual brunch items you'd expect: no eggs, waffles, pancakes. We pick up a couple of the salads, grilled veggies, fresh watermelon juice and head back. Buffet highlight: the Achari Grilled Veggies. Thick strips of carrots, and red, green and yellow peppers, and round slices of aubergine all drowned in a pickle-masala marinade and then grilled lightly, it's delicious and we go in for seconds.

A Smoked Seafood Salad has shellfish and prawns in a noodle salad, which is vaguely reminiscent of Maharastrian poha. It's interesting, the mustard tadka and coriander garnish, but ought to have been chilled. The fish and noodle salad is stringy and dry. The multi-grain brown garlic bread is a perfect accompaniment for the soup that reminds us of a south-Indian curry meant to be eaten with rice (we mean that in a nice way).

It's piping hot, comfortingly thick, with a drizzle of tadka and strong tones of ginger.

We call for a platter of starters but these are disappointing. The Almond Crusted Vegetable Tikki flaked with almonds is too spicy, as is the Chicken Mint Drop. There's another chicken starter, the Kulfi Kalmi, that we can't eat too much of. A whole leg of chicken dressed with a rich layer of malai and mild masalas, it's very heavy. But the Soybean Tikki is what disappoints the most. It's bland; no salt, no spice. Even its tangy sweet-spicy sidekick (the Pineapple Chutney) can't save it.

Mains
For the mains, we go for a Backwater Boti Burrito and a portion of the exotic sounding Lauki Laziz. The Backwater Burrito is lamb encased in the flavours of bell peppers, onions, and cheese, stuffed into deep-fried burritos. The accompanying fresh sharp salsa and crunchy French fries are perfect. Thumbs up to this one. The Lauki Laziz however, must be an acquired taste. Thick round slices of snake gourd are stuffed with spiced mawa, that would do better in a mithai than a main course dish. The flavours of kesar and other whole spices are a bit too strong and we can't eat much of this.

Dessert
The desserts are a mixed bag too. While the Mirch ka Halwa excites us no end (we thought it would be spicy-as-fire and sweet red chillies) it's actually a rather unappetising green bell pepper halwa studded with cashews, malai and loads of sugar, which doesn't do anything for the original flavour of the pepper.

The Kesar Cr me Brulee is a relief then, right from the brittle as glass caramel topping to the tiny strands of saffron at the bottom. It's mildly sweet, creamy and sinful. Another indulgence is the Wasabi Kulfi which leaves the unmistakeable horse-radish twist in our tongue long after we are through.

It's been an interesting meal, but a risky one too. The setting, the weather, the ambience -- perfect for a Sunday brunch. The brunch itself is a mixed bag.

Sunday brunch at Azok by Vineet Oakwood Premier, Behind PVR Cinemas, Juhu. Call: 66238888.
Rs 1,500 per person (unlimited)
Verdict: Go for it but choose wisely