Marketplace @ Foodhall

If there’s something that excites me more than the shoe department at Harrods, it’s a gleaming grocery store. I know, boring right? The thrill of a well stocked Grocery store is very underrated. Large looming shelves full of interesting treats. One gets to discover new products, brands & the brain teems with ideas when you look at all the different & fresh produce.

So, when Foodhall opened at Chanakya, my excitement knew no bounds. When the malls are an easy 45 minute drive away on a good day, a Foodhall opening 15 minutes away is fantastic news. What’s better than walking down these endless aisles gazing at Ragi Dosa mixture packets and Liege Waffles? It’s dining here. The marketplace is a unique concept to Delhi. It reminds me a bit of the food court on the 4th floor of Selfridges but it’s a lot more luxurious and services are world class.

The menu boasts of key international cuisines and it’s divided into Asian, Mexican, Italian & Indian. The Asian section is vast and sushi, dimsum, teppanyaki & Thai curry are all slotted together, the Mexican is inspired, the Italian is concise and the Indian is standard fare. We did a quick dinner here and thus didn’t end up ordering for any dessert. Though, by the looks of it the Tiramisu seemed to be a winner.

We started with their Grilled Chicken Soft Tacos. Soft, small chunks of chicken tossed with finely chopped onions, tomatoes & fiery green chillies were topped with a creamy well balanced Guacamole. The shell was a nice, freshly-made corn tortilla. The dish was nice, but not extraordinary. We followed it up with their Cod which is surprisingly very affordable. The fish was nice & succulent albeit a tiny portion with a single spear of asparagus and a single slice of Zucchini explaining the pricing. The mashed potatoes that came with it were soupy and disappointing. The Udon noodles with shiitake & celery were again, just okay. We had to add quite a few of the accompanied sauces. The Nihari was just inedible as the meat was tough but the Laccha Paratha was flaky & just right. 

What I really missed was the fried egg that should’ve come on top of the Nasi Goreng I’d ordered. Instead, I got a steamed rubbery egg of sorts shaped like a katori. The rice though, was flavourful but not authentic. The crackers & satay were spot on.

With a few hits and quite a few misses, I feel this place has teething problems. The concept is phenomenal and just gazing at the shiny aisles with an array of exciting exotic ingredients up for purchase, I enjoyed the evening. Another plus point was that we bought raw juices from The Deli and had them on the table instead of the mundane iced teas & shakes. I would go again, maybe just to have a snack to refuel mid grocery shopping.