Indyaki, Radisson Blu Hotel

Nestled in the heart of West Delhi, Radisson Blu Hotel New Delhi Paschim Vihar offers a harmonius blend of contemporary design and upscale interiors. The hotel has been developed in a Neo-Gothic theme; the majestic decor reincarnates the ancient splendor giving it a matchless nerve. The hotel features meticulously planned guest rooms to exude warmth and comfort to the guests. The hotel is adjoined with D-Mall, an upmarket shopping mall showcasing designer and premium brands for a unique shopping experience, making the hotel stand out amongst other New Delhi hotels.

The Radisson Blu Hotel New Delhi Paschim Vihar features meticulously designed guest rooms and suites developed in synchronization with the Neo-Gothic theme of the hotel, offering a sense of indulgence and elegance.

The hotel features a wide range of business and recreational facilities including a 24-hour Business Center, Vyoma Spa, a fully equipped Fitness Center, outdoor swimming pool and a kid's wading pool.

With an extensive area of approximately 20,000 square feet for social and corporate events and the additional benefit of a large parking area, Radisson Blu creates exceptional events aimed at creating a lifetime of memories.

The hotel offers distinctive dining options, with fresh concepts including live Indian food counters, interactive kitches and the soon-to-open first nightclub in New Delhi.

The plush, modern hotel is ideally located in West Delhi, 19 kilometres from Connaught Place, the city's most central area. The hotel is near several shopping centers and local attractions such as Chandni Chowk, one of India's oldest markets. It is a 40 minute drive to the Indira Gandhi International Airport.

Radisson Blu sits in an island, together with a shopping mall, in much the same way that Leela Gurgaon does next to Ambience Mall on the other side of the NCR. Besides a bar and an all-day diner, there is an Indian restaurant that packs quite a punch. Now that it has been established that traditional Indian food has gone the way of the dinosaur, restaurants are finding ways to repackage an old favourite. Indyaki has chosen a clever way indeed: it has two teppanyaki counters, an open kitchen and a chef de cuisine with an enviable track record.

You can choose to sit at the teppan counters, on high chairs and watch as the chefs indulge in a bout of jugglery with their spatulas. You can have your entire meal from the teppan counter - soup, starters, salad, mains, rice and dessert - for Rs 1,050 / 1,200 vegetarian/non-vegetarian. And if you sit at a table with comfortable chairs, you can still watch the chefs juggling and order from the teppanyaki counter. Do keep in mind that you will have to book a table in advance. Though the rest of the hotel has yet to pick up, Indyaki is full most nights. And do bring a torch along: the dim lights together with the tiny print on the menu are a challenge.

Roti pe boti (Rs 400) is a great starter: a few small cubes of lamb in a clinging sauce atop two mini parathas. Made by a sophisticated hand, the cardamom and kewra that the menu promised were in the background; not, as I feared, a screaming top-note. Chicken apricot kebab (Rs 350) was pleasant enough: the minced chicken actually had succulence and a pleasant, assertive amount of pungence. Sadly, the apricot was notable by its absence. I was expecting a combination of tastes a la Iran, where sour, fruity apricots and chicken combine to great effect.

I didn't know whether I loved or hated my third starter: Karavalli prawns (Rs 650). On the plus side, they were cooked to rare perfection. Even fancy South Delhi chefs would have tended to overcook them by a few seconds. Here, they were as crunchy as if Indyaki was a Japanese restaurant. On the minus side, there was far too much oil and the spices were ladled on with a rather Punjabi touch.

For my main course, keema kaleji gurda (Rs 700) turned out to be a dhaba-like dish, which was exactly what I was hoping it would be. In fact, the kitchen could crank up the rusticity of this great dhaba standby a couple of notches: in Amritsar, a sprinkling of kala tawa masala would have gussied it up no end. The one vegetarian dish I ordered, kofta khaas Indyaki (Rs 600) turned out to be a local crowd-pleaser. It is no secret that Paschim Vihar is located in the heart of a largely vegetarian community, so there was everything in the koftas for a vegetarian: dry fruit chopped coarsely, cream for richness and a slightly citrus tang.

The finest dish of the evening (Indyaki only opens for dinner) turned out to be usmani korma (Rs 700). It was obvious that someone in the kitchen was on home turf!

All five desserts have been specially created in the restaurant's kitchen. Chukander aur mewe ka halwa, Bournvita kulfi and thandai brulee (Rs 350 each) are all praiseworthy.

The rooms are furnished in a contemporary style, suiting the varied tastes of every kind of traveller. The facilities common to all the rooms are cable television, direct dial telephone, mini-refrigerator, daily newspaper, wake up facility, 24 hours room service, as well as an attached bath with hot and cold running water.

42" flat-screen television, High-speed Internet and Wi-Fi, Oversized work desk with table lamp, Direct International dialing, In-room electronic safe, Tea and coffee maker, Complimentary wireless Internet, Business Class Lounge, Photo copier and fax, Secretarial and courier services.

New Delhi, Agra, Mathura - Brajbhoomi and Vrindavan, Varanasi, Dudhwa National Park, Kaushambi, Fatehpur Sikri, Lucknow, Pushkar, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Jalandhar, Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary, Bhindawas Bird Sanctuary, Ludhiana, Chandigarh, Karnal, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Golden Temple, Connaught Place, India Gate, Laxmi Narain Temple, Red Fort, Raj Ghat, Jama Masjid

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