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| La Cucina Hyatt Regency Kolkata |
I am sitting with a glass of Prosecco in my hand, watching the crowd brave the torrential rain and enter the intimate space of La Cucina, Hyatt Regency. Around me, glasses clink, mirth spills, and there is a general sense of merriment which comes, perhaps, with anticipation.
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| Princess Sabina Corsini |
Princess Sabina Corsini reigns over this space, walking around in all her glory, introducing herself to the guests, and indulging in conversation about the wines she will be presenting to the Indian market. J looks around rather anxiously till the meal begins, and I make my selections quickly, anticipating an evening of mirth, a few bottles of good wine, and perhaps something more, and so, of course, glasses are filled, and re-filled, and the sound of wines being poured is always a beautiful sound to me.
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| Caprese |
Our menu has been kept simple, to match the wines served to us on the table. A simply designed dish of Caprese is presented on a bed of Zucchini Carpaccio, the slivers of the vegetable mildly aromatic with the olive oil, and the Mannara Pinot Grigio, which is cold and sharp, with citrus notes and a rather dry finish, a nice way to wake my palate up. Although I am not much of a fan of dry whites, the sharpness does complement the milky mozzarella slices of my salad.
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| Mannara Pinot Grigio |
A rather intriguing Caramelized Onion and Cheese Tart is next in line, and although I find its crust a bit too hard for me to cut through, the onions are sweet and a hit of rocket livens it up with its peppery notes. The light drizzle of balsamic is needed to balance the flavours of the shards of Parmesan.
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| caramelized onion and cheese tart |
With this, we have a rather new White from Villa Antinori, with fruity notes, and a zesty hit of citrus to keep things interesting.
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| Villa Antinori Blanco |
For our mains, I choose one of my favourites – the signature Lamb Shanks at La Cucina which Chef Sumeet Priyadarshi excels at. I tasted these a few weeks back, and could not forget the taste, so a re-cap was necessary.
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| Lamb Shanks at La Cucina |
And Chef Sumeet does not disappoint. The Lamb Shanks are succulent, tender, but not mushy, the roasted vegetables accompanying it are fork-tender, and I pick up a bread roll to mop up the juice.
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| Durvillea Marlborough Pinot Noir |
With the robustness of the lamb, I sample the Durvillea Marlborough Pinot Noir 2011, which has rich cherry and currant notes, not too sweet, and a finish which I am not much of a fan of, but I find myself finishing my glass all the same.
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| la cucina Hyatt Regency |
We have a lovely light dessert, the Truffle Panna Cotta, with a generous hit of strawberry coulis on top. I did miss the rather beautiful Sant’Andrea Corsini, which is an excellent wine to be had with some cheese, but at this point, I was pleasantly full and quite mellow from the wine and food. Corsini wines are going to be served in India soon, and you should look out for their Chianti, where I dare say, there are a few winners.
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| Truffle Panna Cotta |
Disclaimer: Poorna Banerjee dined at Hyatt Regency at the kind invitation of the management.
