The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
New Look Forward
The revamped Fabindia store in Vasant Kunj takes fashion to another level, with a wellness centre, children’s playground and a cafe
THE COMMUNITY centre market off Nelson Mandela Road in Vasant Kunj is a quintessential local hub — a handful of roadside eateries sell Mughlai food, a couple of florists sit in the far corner, a defunct travel agency and real estate outlets make up the rest. The Fabindia store here, spread over five floors and 10,000 sq ft, has been its defining feature.
Now, after a revamp, the branch, which reopened on March 15, has transitioned into an “experience centre” — a hat tip to a cohesive shopping experience outside of a mall. First things first, besides its fabulous Greater Kailash, N Block market outlets, this branch has one of the most extensive collections. The basement hosts the interior design cafe and home section, the ground floor the children’s section and a wellness centre, where the focus is on its organic range of cosmetics and food supplies. A dietary consultant is available for advice on stress management and other woes of modern living. The women’s section on the first floor left us yearning a little bit for their beautiful cotton ajrakhs and breezy kotas that usually accompany their seasonal collections (This season, it’s chikankari). The men’s section, though, sufficiently makes up for any disappointment. From linen shirts to summer shorts to a fabulous range of well-tailored trousers, it has an enviable collection. The crowning glory is a really zippy alteration centre — waiting time on a busy Saturday was about 20 minutes.
In its past avatar, the elevator in this outlet was never its strongest point. This time, too, it was under maintenance. The climb to the third floor, to the Fabcafe, however, was worth the brief surge of activity on the Fitbit. The cafe, a lovely open plan setting, is anchored by the children’s play area in one corner, where three attendants stand guard over toddlers busy with the available toys.
On a bustling weekend, with the stillpleasant sun filtering in through its high windows, the 44-seater cafe built up our expectations. We started off with a glass of refreshing shikanji (Rs 120) and Coromandel Iced Coffee (Rs 210). The coffee was strong and bitter, just the way we like it, and the shikanji, the right mix of sweet and tangy. Rather than a full-course meal, a mix of small plates seemed just perfect after a few hours of shopping. We started with the Beetroot Lotus Stem Tikki Chat (Rs 220), grilled fish with fenugreek and coriander pesto (Rs 380) and a side of mutton galouti on buckwheat blinis (Rs 320). Cooked in mustard oil in a marinade of green chilli, coriander and methi, the succulent fish was the star of the show. The Beetroot Lotus Stem Tikki Chaat brought back memories of Cafe Lota’s excellent Palak Patta Chaat. Our only gripe was that the lotus stems were not crunchier. It would have added to the texture of the dish.
A ripple of excitement at the next table drew our attention to the beautifully served Golgappas with Spicy Dal Sprout (Rs 180) and we ordered a portion for ourselves. The north-indian golgappa, with all due apologies, doesn’t stand a chance with the spicy mashed potato filling that is served in the eastern part of the country. Our inner golgappa snobs rejoiced at the crunchy shells, but craved more of spices in the filling. For desserts, we settled on a portion each of honey and walnut tart (Rs 240) and anjeer and date kulfi (Rs 180). While the kulfi was standard comfort fare, the filling of the tart was a gooey delight, though the pastry shell could do with a bit more crispness.
Helmed by chefs Tirath Singh and Sunil Chauhan, the cafe focuses on contemporary Indian food made out of homegrown produce (Think cold pressed oils, complete proteins and healthy fats). “We are not claiming to be just organic because of the various challenges behind that, but we are following Fab’s philosophy. We are focusing on health, on Indian food and we are going back to basics, using forgotten materials that were used 50-60 years ago. We are banishing the use of refined products,” says Singh, whose previous stints included the Taj group and at India Habitat Centre.