Jonathan's Kitchen - Menu Revamped
Any suggestions asked for fine dining and elaborate menu experience or must go dining spots where you can unleash yourself? Any place for team outing other than your regular BBQs or buffet spots? Where can you think of hanging out on weekends to laze around for some amazing drinks and if you change your mood to feast on some elaborate choices of menu scattered across cuisines? What's your suggestion(s) would be? Well for me and many of them who have been, everything above is answered with one place - one pit stop - Jonathan's Kitchen . I have been there may be few times but the experience and service received is unparalleled and for most of the foodies whom I know this place is a regular hangout spot where everybody unleashes themselves without the hassles and rush of this IT crazy crowd in that area.
GastroHogger finally was here to relish their newly revamped and more impressive menu and post my dining experience, I should say Jonathan's Kitchen has definitely proved how to "Improve from being the best to bestest of the best". Chef Vijay Bhaskar Reddy has definitely revamped the menu to a whole new gastronomic level and the finesse of the dishes definitely speaks volume on the food-artistry.
The new menu leaves you plethora of choices to choose from based on your dining mood and yes it does cater to anyone's ask from any food cuisine. When it comes to salad, its all about freshness and that's delivered in Kale & Melon Salad. The salad loaded with dry fruits, nuts, honey mustard and lemon zest is perfect in balance by it nature. The crunchiness, the freshness from the veggies and the aroma from dry fruits makes you want more and more. While the other serving Creamy Burrata (Burrata is a fresh Italian cheese made from mozzarella and cream. The outer shell is solid mozzarella, while the inside contains stracciatella and cream, giving it an unusual, soft texture. It is also defined by some sources as an outer shell of mozzarella filled with butter or a mixture of butter and sugar. It is usually served fresh and at room temperature. The word burrata means "buttered" in Italian.) had a unique explosion of flavors in each bite mainly due to the creamy burrata itself and the tad salty nice and fresh ripe tomato slices. The amalgamation was just splendid.
If your mind goes for sushi and you love the fresh cut Japanese delicacies, then stop not as their offerings in sushi is as best as it can get. We tried a wide variety from their sushi menu - Tuna Nigiri, Philadelphia Nigiri , Crispy Veg Uramaki, Salmon Uramaki & Spring Veg Tamgoyaki.Their offerings are absolutely delightful and my top pics were the Spring Veg Tamgoyaki which has the spring veg fillings and wrapped with omlette and Tuna Nigiri which was splendid in flavors and the freshness of the fish was absolutely evident.
Their elaborate menu has appetizes ranging from different cuisines and you might be spoilt for choices. We had Chicken Gyoza served in traditional dim sum steam pots and it couldn't be any perfect. The sauce condiments elevated the softness and aroma of the splendidly made dim sums. Then came the Chipotle Chicken Fingers which was crispy, aptly sized and perfect for finger food people. Do not miss this as it's just that amazing. When the chicken dishes were impressing us, in came in the secret veggie marvel, Sesame Lotus Stem which was the most intensely flavorful dish in the dinner. The crispiness on the stem and the tanginess coming from the sauce accompanied by the aptly drizzled sesame seeds, the dish couldn't be any more perfecto.
While the appetizers from International flavors were impressing us, Indian counterparts in their menu are no less. The not so much available on fine dining menu - Peshawari Chapli Kebab was served in simple authentic way and one bite you know the quality of the meat in it the crispiness and perfect temperature on the kebab was evident of chef's skills. Amazingness didn't stop there and it was followed by Murgh Ke Parchey which is your perfect dish if you not a spice lover as many in Hyderabad. The dish with perfect cook on the chicken itself is flavorful and definitely packs a lot of punch. While the two dishes kept enthralling us , in came the start dish of the night - Nawabi Shikampuri Kebab. The richness coming from the cream on top of the kebabs and the softness from the kheema mince was exquisite and was melt in your month kind. DO NOT MISS THIS. Perfectly made appetizer dish and absolutely divine.
We slowly moved onto mains and again there were plethora of options but how can you miss picking Khow Suey when its in the offerings. Chef was courteous to offer us samples of all 3 variants - veg, chicken and prawns Khow Soey. the secret of delivering a perfect Khow Suey is the aroma that the coconut milk fills you in the vicinity and the array of condiments its offered with. JK scored in both areas and all 3 variants were flavorful and intensely tasty I particularly liked the crispy veg variant which had crispy fried peas which added that extra layer of crunchiness to the dish. Do not miss mixing all the condiments, makes the rich all the more richer and intensely tasty with all sorts of textures coating your palate.
Then came the seemingly simple Spicy Prawn Pizza which oozed loads of olive oil drizzled all over but that did the magic. The perfectly spiced prawns added the flavor profile for the pizza while the extra drench of olive oil elevated the overall flavorful and made it another WOW offering in the menu.
If you are pasta lover like me, JK has a scintillating options in this category as well and we tried 4 of them proving that Chef knows his dishes and Italian cuisine in and out. The finesse of the dishes and the flavor profiles keeping it simple and cherishable in every bite was brilliant. Tortellini Di Valeggio comes in the list as show stopper in pastas with its splendidly hand made tortellini stuffed with minced chicken , butter and drizzled with sage. The dish was absolutely mind blowing and you should not miss it. Then came in the Gnochhi with Prawns which was another nice and well balanced flavorful dish but I felt the gnocchi could have been little more smaller and much more softer. The sauce and the cook on the prawns were also equally superb. Ravioli and Risotto were also in the serving but both of them didn't impress me much considering the authenticity and the expcted flavors from them. I wish the risotto had more creamy texture to it and less of veggies. Feedback was given to Sous Chef Mohan in this regard.
You cannot complete your meal without trying their beef dishes and both of them scored home run in flavors , presentation and the finesse of preparations. Beef Shank served with couscous salad and rich creamy gravy was "melt in your mouth" cook on the meet by itself and all you had to do is just slide your knife over it to slide it all the way through. The dish and its flavor speaks for itself and do try it out for yourself. Filet Mignon , served with mashed potatoes, sautéed butter veggies and mushroom sauce was artistry on a plate. The little close to medium-rare cook on the meat , the rich fattiness coming from the meat was just oozing and slurp Unlimited is an understatement. They do know their meat and its temperature for sure. Grilled pomfret was another brilliantly made dish if you a fish lover like me and the cook on the pomfret was simply amazing. Overall the main dishes delivered top notch flavor profiles and scored even on artistry of plating that suites JK's reputation.
Any Dining Experience isn't complete unless desserts rack you up and deliver the finale punch. JK knows its art and they served u 3 absolutely mind boggling ones - Ghevar with rabdi which is part of their new menu was looking so deliciously decored and the silver glaze on it made it even more wanting. The flavor was too sweet for normal people but for sweet tooth like me, it was HEAVEN ON EARTH. Philadelphia Cheesecake has to be the best cheesecake ever in Hyderabad and I have quite a many. This is absolutely melt in your month as you scoop in every bite and the richness from the cheese was beyond words. In comes in an interesting offering Tres Leches (A tres leches cake (Spanish: pastel de tres leches or torta de tres leches), also known as pan tres leches ("three milks bread"), is a sponge cake—in some recipes, a butter cake—soaked in three kinds of milk: evaporated milk, condensed milk, and heavy cream.). The unique layering of this cake and the spongy texture throughout made it a delight for any dessert lover.
Verdict:
Jonathans Kitchen -with its new revamped menu (of course we relished it tad late as its in their regular offering ala carte menu) is a testimony to showcase how JK , Chef Vijay Bhaskar & his team have notched up on top of their already ravishing menu with new additions and making them even more delectable and the toughest for foodies like me to pick favourites from them. with the new menu and their Chef, its only going to garnish more laurels from all caders fo customers. Good job Raashid Ali, Chef Vijay & Team JK.