The restaurant is hosting ‘fish trap’ – a fish festival with a selection of the favourites from around the world and India – all under one roof

“It’s a big catch” – Delhiites perhaps do not expect such greetings when they walk into a restaurant in the Capital. Being far away from the coastline, ‘a catch of the day’ is not a regular saying. 

Yet fish is becoming quite the hit in the city, with restaurants and even roadside eateries offering a varied menu of fish. On this note, Café Delhi Heights, is hosting “Fish Trap”- a fish festival with a selection of the favourites from around the world and India – all under one roof.

Despite having a mix of different cuisines, the one thing that remains constant is that they have the freshest of catch. Nothing beats fresh fish, no matter what the preparation. 

On a personal note, being a Bengali I have quite a weak spot for fishes and this festival did not disappoint me. 

Set on the table in blue with fish motifs on it, their festival menu is hard to miss. Right from Salmon to Bombay Duck to Tilapia they have something for all. 

We started with their Tom Yum soup. A traditional Thai recipe, this one is perfect to kick start your lunch on a winter afternoon. Loaded with fish and veggies, it had the right amount of tanginess, added to the heady aroma of fish which makes you want to have more. However do watch out for big chunks of ginger in the soup. You wouldn’t want to bite into it. 

Next we tried their Salmon Tartare, which tasted way better than it looked. This Japanese dish was a pleasant surprise. Served with couscous and assorted vegetables the small pieces of salmon melts into your mouth, all thanks to the wasabi mayo. The creaminess of the mayo with the sharp taste of wasabi makes this dish a must try. 

We wanted to try something closer to home and decided to try a simple Rawa Fry Betki with Smoked Tomato Salsa. You can also have this with Bombay Duck but we decided to go with Betki. While this is one dish that we are quite familiar with, it still managed to bowl us over. The freshness of the fish is very well complimented by the hot salsa. Perfectly crispy, the fried fish is topped with small bits of mashed chillies which I mistook for coriander. The spicy quotient of this work wonders to the dish. 

Taking a break we sipped on their fresh lime soda which was quite refreshing. We couldn’t wait much longer and went back to devouring and this time it was their Whole Oven Baked Tilapia. 

I was particularly excited about this one as I always had Tilapia in a curry. This one looked as good as it tasted. The plate looked wholesome with one big baked Tilapia on one side and loaded with heaps of baked vegetables served with a creamy dip. The fish is stuffed with crushed garlic, herbs and lemons and then roasted in foil. It simply couldn’t get better than that. The baby potatoes, beans, broccoli and bell peppers too added to the flavour of the dish. 

This was followed by their Fish Steak (Sole) and red rice. Needles to say the fish was cooked to perfection. Served with lemon butter sauce and vegetables, this one too is a hearty meal in itself. The red rice went perfect with the creamy soft fresh fish. One can also go with couscous if they would  like to avoid rice.

We finally ended our lunch with Pan Grilled Mackerel, which was served with Oriental fried rice and hot Sichuan sauce. The hot and sweet favour of the fish was quite different from the rest of the food we tried that afternoon. 

While they also had quite a few other options that we would have liked to try, we were simply too full. With a varied menu as theirs, this fish festival left us highly satisfied. The festival is on till February 12. Do not miss out!

(Cover: Whole oven baked Tilapia)

(All photos by Proma Chakraborty)

(Review done on invitation. Available at all Café Delhi Heights outlet)