Venue: Sundar Nagar Market
Date: 15 July 2016

Our major connect with Sunder Nagar is the famous Sundar Nagar Diwali Mela every year and we visit it as a ritual. It’s only recently that we noticed this new restaurant interestingly called Number 8 in this market and visited for an early dinner.

The restaurant is spread on different floors and we sat on first floor where we could see the kitchen that serves Continental, Mediterranean and Indian cuisine. Decor is dimly lit and understated. We loved an abstract looking chandelier on top of one of the tables.

After soaking in the ambiance we got to the business. We checked out their menu for drinks and starters. We had a few starters like Grilled olive chicken and Andaa parantha with Bhuna gosht. We enjoyed these starters with Red wine sangria and gin tonic with fresh pomegranate and basil. The freshness of basil took over the bitterness of the alcohol and a hint of pomegranate only enhanced the taste. We also tried Vegetable money bag and Steamed shrimp. These starters looked fabulous but somehow the taste didn’t match up to the looks. Both of these starters lacked flavour.

From main course we had mac and cheese, Pork belly ramen bowl on chef’s recommendation and seabass with charred corn risotto. The main course totally bowled us over. Mac and cheese was bland in an awesome way. Love at first sight. Seabass with corn risotto was also one of the better dishes we have tried recently. Pork Belly ramen bowl was pork and noodles served in a bowl with broth in a kettle. Look and taste – spot on. We also tried Chicken krapaw with fried egg. This dish with eggs sunny side up was quite spicy and flavorful.

Though we were full by now, we were also tempted to try their desserts. We had Crumb fried mango with hot chocolate mango coulis. This was tasty but we didn’t like the idea of frying a mango slice. The frying somehow created a conflict with freshness of the mango. We are no experts in cooking but we’re sure, with a slight modification this dish can be made much better. Fresh mango and coconut mousse was served in a coconut shell and it was smooth, silky, subtle and delicious.

Overall a great dinner with some memorable dishes at Number 8 – Restaurant and Bar in Sunder Nagar

Recommended: Mac and cheese, seabass with charred corn risotto and grilled olive chicken