This is a review of Breakfast only at Asia Alive

In a nutshell:

‘Classic’ Continental buffet spread that is very good on its own but there r better options in Gurgaon.

Address & other details: Asia Alive

Meal for 2: Rs. 1500 onwards

Cuisine Type: Vegetarian & Nonvegetarian

Short Description – In case u r in a hurry:

It was a Saturday morning & we were upto our customary ‘Earn ur breakfast’ – Walked 5.8 km to reach Asia Alive to enliven ourselves. Called up the Restaurant the night before & confirmed that it will b open in the morning. So we walked all the way excited to have Asian food for Breakfast – like at Sakura / Sen5es.

We were very disappointed to find Continental & Indian spread in place of an Asian spread for breakfast. In fact we were expecting live dimsum / congee / stir fry counters but ended up at a live Dosa counter!!!!!

The decor was obviously nice but nothing special to remember.

The staff members were very warm, attentive & efficient. They surely took care & contributed positively to our breakfast experience.

Food was very good in general that does not qualify for a ‘wow’ though. Loved the breakfast here – small spread, good ingredients, simple but good food without any twists / turns/ surprises. Sen5es Pullman Hotel breakfast spread beats this hands down on spread & the wow factor.

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

We stuck to the Non Indian section.

We started our buffet meal with a Vegetable quiche – this is not something that I usually pick up in a large buffet. But since the spread was small & the quiche looked attractive, I decided to go for it. ….. & not only did I not regret but it exceeded my expectations. The case of the quiche was layery & crispy outside, the veggies within were fresh & flavourful, the cheese was just right & most importantly the taste & flavour of the veggies were speaking out.

The next item we tried was a chicken cold cut. It was prepared in-house. Subtle & enjoyable are the words for this.

The smoked salmon was very good – capers added zing to the taste.

The chorizo salami had a robust taste & intense flavours. Loved it.

The pork sausage was relatively bland & did not stand out. It was soft & juicy though.

I also tried the pre made breakfast cereal with miscellaneous condiments – liked them.

Our server brought us a freshly squeezed Watermelon juice & freshly squeezed sweet lime juice. The water-melon juice was just watermelon juice. Chilled as it was, it tasted great.

We opted for a Tailor-made European style omelet. We asked them to serve us non Indian Omelet version – so there were no corainder, chilly etc. They added some bacon (really good ones), mushrooms, sundried tomatoes, onions etc. It was simple but tasted superb.

We also ordered an Eggs Benedict (outside of buffet) – We ordered this separately from alacarte section. It was good but the vegetarian (non salami version) of Eggs Benedict at Choko La Khan Market & the miscellaneous Eggs Benedicts at Eggspectations, Vasant Kunj r much better than the one at Asia Alive.

Post this we tried stir fried veggies & stir fried noodles. The stir fried veggies were good to taste but very bad in texture – a stir fry shud have been served fresh out of the wok & not kept cooked – the veggies had lost out on crunchiness.

The stir fried noodles with real Chinese flavors (not chinjabi) were good.

The most dramatic item of the whole breakfast was the tailor-made ice cream teppanyaki – We stood at the counter & the chef created magic in front of us while talking to us. A muddy textured ice cream was poured on a cold plate & spread out with a spatula – the way a dosa is made from a mix. The way it was being spread was however different from that of a dosa. The ice cream when spread so thin was solidifying instantly (due to the sub zero temperature of the plate). The chef then put all the toppings of our choice – nuts, jellies, sauces, snickers etc & wrapped up the ice cream. It was heavenly – better than the one at Sen5es.

Overall – Wud not go to the breakfast again inspite of the food being good as it is, but becoz there r better options in Gurgaon. Wud surely revisit this place for dinner & look forward to that.