Impressive Asian Fare
Restaurant: Triple8
Reviewer: Aalok Wadhwa | 12th May 2018 | Reviewer Rating (Out of 5) 4.00

Please note: This review was done on an invitation from the restaurant to taste their food, and no bill was presented to the author. While the author assures you of objectivity, the review may be influenced by the personalized attention the author got.

Triple8 is the latest entrant to the City's quickly getting crowded Asian restaurant landscape. Drawing inspiration from the Asian lucky number 8, the restaurant offers eight delicious signature dishes and cocktails inspired by the region's traditional spices and flavours such as miso, lemongrass, matcha and pandan. The culinary team at Triple8 is led by the Indian Accent’s Chef Vivek Rana, with Japanese Chef Hiroshi Isomura who brings with him over 40 years of culinary experience, dishing out some good sushi and sashimi at the live Sushi Bar with ingredients flown in fresh from Japan.

 

I am here to taste the various dishes on the menu of this month old restaurant. The interiors here have a distinct modern touch with a yet to be open bar and cozy seating. Chef Rana joins me for the tasting and is ready with a degustation menu that will allow me to sample a lot of dishes without burning myself out.

I start with a pleasing amuse bouche of an unusually while shot of tom kha along with crispy lotus stem pickled enoki. Soon thereafter I am pampered with a creamy and delicious 5 spiced Goat brain tempura and spicy mayonnaise (Rs 425) which has goat brain cooked with 5 spice powder kept overnight to get the flavor, rolled into balls and deep fried with tempura batter. This is served with a sweet and sour cabbage kimchi to cut the fatty texture.

 

The vegetarian green apple tofu roll, panko, sweet chilli (Rs 395) has compressed tofu mixed with chopped Thai herbs (lemongrass, kaffir lime, chili, galangal) and coconut milk and stuffed with green apple compote, coated with Japanese crumb and fried. A competent snapper fish banana leaf parcels (Rs 525) follows next. Not so impressive is baked quail eggs (Rs 425) which is a somewhat over spiced version of Mexican breakfast baked egg in tomato Huevos Rancheros.

 

Next comes the tasting portion of pork belly yaki-tori, spiced miso glaze (Rs 525), which is slow cooked pork belly cooked for six hour and then seared on grill and basted with miso soy. It is very difficult to go wrong with pork belly and the restaurant cooks it well to a melt-in-mouth consistency. Chicken winglets ‘kai yang’, skewered with pineapple (Rs 395) is not extra-ordinary, though the dim sums are delicious.

 

Edamame and Himalayan morels, black bean chilli (Rs 345) is good, and Pork and leeks dim sum spicy tomato (Rs 375) is among the juiciest and tastiest pork momos I have  tasted in NCR.

 

Next comes Japanese Chef Hiroshi Isomura’s colourful and mouth-wateringly looking sushi-sashimi platter with twelve pieces of assorted sashimi and two pieces of nigiri; and it tastes even better than it looks.

In the main course I first taste a delectable lamb (goat) shank malaca, fried mantao bun (Rs 1250) where the shank has the meat so tender it is falling off the bone. I am not such a fan of the malay curry served but the fried mantao buns (Chinese steamed buns) it is served with are simply delicious.

 

Miso black cod, smoked eggplant (Rs 1750) has a decent miso black cod baked served with a somewhat pointless smoked eggplant which tastes like our desi baingan bhartha. The vegetarian whole roast broccoli (Rs 425) with wasabi mash lacks character.

 

Coming to desserts, night market custard bun (Rs 350) with yuzu cream, condensed milk drizzle is sinful and indulgent and palm sugar coconut ice cream (Rs 275) is a yum, loving dessert.  

 

Triple8 is a welcome addition to the oldest mall in Delhi, Ansal Plaza. Food here is delicious mainly due to the sheer quality of ingredients used and the skills of its chefs. Do try it if you are in the area.

Ratings (Out of 5)

Food: 4.0 | Ambience: 4.0 | Service: 4.0 | Value: 4.0 | Overall: 4.0

Meal for two: Rs 2500 | Alcohol: No | Credit Card: Yes | Wheel chair friendly: No

Address: B -103A, First Floor, Ansal Plaza, Khel Gaon Marg, New Delhi. Tel: 084480 38886

About the Author
Aalok Wadhwa Aalok Wadhwa
Restaurant Information
Triple8 Triple8
B -103A, First Floor, Ansal Plaza, Khel Gaon Marg, New Delhi
Telephone: 12Noon to 1AM view on a map
Opening Hours:
Average Price: Rs. 2000 - 2500