Note:

This review is only for Breakfast ‘set menu’ at Sakura.

In a nutshell:

Loved the breakfast set menu offered by Sakura – served at the Coffee shop of Metropolitan Hotel

Address & other Details: Sakura

Meal for 2: Rs. 2400

Timing: Breakfast

Cuisine Type: A set menu having both Nonvegetarian & Vegetarian food.

Short Description – In case u r in a hurry:

We read about this breakfast at Sakura quite some time back & had planned to go there for quite some time. A day before, we called the Gurgaon Sakura & asked about breakfast & they said Breakfast is available only at the Delhi Restaurant.

As we reached the Metropolitan Hotel near Connaught Place, we were taken to the Coffee shop. We said ‘but we want to have breakfast at Sakura’. The answer shocked us ‘Sakura is closed in the morning. Opens at 11.00 am!!’ We asked them to check with (I think) the F & B manager & this time the reply was different – ‘Yes, u can have the set Japanese breakfast but that is served in the Coffee shop’. We were obviously fine with the offer as eating the Japanese breakfast was our only motto & not necessarily sitting at Sakura.

The Manager of the Coffee shop walked up to us & greeted us after maybe hearing we had come for Sakura Breakfast – I didn’t know breakfast at Sakura was such a ‘unusual’ occurance. Anyway, the offer that came along with his visit was great – we cud pick up any juice / fruits from the regular coffee shop breakfast.

The service was very good post the initial ‘confusion’.

Loved the food that was served to us in a set menu platter – salad (different from the usual ones), a superb miso soup, a tofu dish that looked superb & was good to taste, salmon baked, an excellent seaweed, a radish based preparation, a jumbo scoop of sticky rice & smartly cut melon.

Detailed Description – In case u have the time to njoy reading:

The miso soup was excellent – full of flavors & great to taste. The tiny slices of tofu in the soup were super soft, melt in the mouth & just too good.

The Salad looked interesting – super thin (unbelievably thin) sliced cabbage, mashed potato, noodles, mayo & tomatoes. But what made a difference was the Japanese sauce at the bottom. Once mixed with the sauce, the salad metamorphosed to a different level altogether. Loved it.

The Tofu was super duper soft, mildly flavored, topped with a lump of ginger paste, a slice of tomato, thinly sliced spring onion & shavings of another ingredient that I cud not figure out . The taste of tofu was bland but a bite with all of these together was really a rewarding experience. The full piece of tomato (that is difficult to cut) atop a very soft tofu wasn’t a great idea as the tofu was breaking off while I applied pressure to cut the tomato!!!!

The seaweed was something I loved a lot. It was over-salted though (supposed to be). It tasted great on its own & even better with the rice (salt got balanced).

The baked salmon tasted good but was overtly dry. I am not sure if the Japanese have it this way but it surely tasted suboptimal as compared to other baked / grilled salmon dishes that I have had. The dryness hampered the texture of the fish in a negative way.

We also had a cube made of egg that was more or less like a tight omelet, but sweet in taste. It tasted good as it is & superb with the Japanese Soy Sauce that was served alongwith.

Two cherry look-alike red fruits with a seed in the center were crispy to bite & tangy ‘n pickled to taste.

The radish based dish called Kiriboshi Daikon was good to taste & I thoroughly enjoyed it. I am not able to think of a comparable food to describe the taste.

The most curious presentation in the set menu was that of the melon – Look at the picture of how a tiny melon piece is placed between the peel & the fruit for ease of eating.

The drink that accompanied all that was Japanese tea – Oacha. Refreshing & good to have.

Overall – Loved the unique tastes & flavors at Breakfast & loved the experience as it is. The price is surely on the higher side: not in absolute terms but vis a vis the perceived value of the product – the food in this case.