It
was started in 2011 with the name Harem, very recently, it re-launched as Harem Meeza. It has been a party destination with an
outdoor place. The journey to making it 'Meeza' with Indo-Middle
Eastern overtones to the place and a new menu that gives the
restaurant and lounge both an identity of its own, and takes both
partying and regular dining one notch up. Just come and experience
the land of Meeza for best food and fresh ambiance.
When
food meets mystery, the expression is Harem Meeza. This Indo-middle
eastern specialty restaurants in Delhi Garden of Five Senses is
not just a culinary delight; it is pretty much a culinary journey
into, not just world cuisine but also revisiting the influences into
Indian cuisine, mostly North Indian.
Food
the makers of Harem Meeza have taken pains to marry middle-eastern, chiefly Moroccan, Indian and comfort food into one seamless whole. So
you find your pita breads and shawarmas jostling for space alongside
chaats, Awadhi food while pizza and salads also find a pride of
place. Welcome to Harem Meeza.
Chilly
Tamarind Mojiti: We began our Harem Meeza journey with a hot and
tangy Chilly Tamarind Mojiti (Rs 375 plus taxes). It instantly
‘wakes’ you up to reality with its green chilly and tamarind
flavours, never mind other flavours like rum, lime…
The
Harem Chaat Platter: Next on the table was chaat platter, Harem’s
array of chaats – gol gappas, raj kachoris, etc dominating the
scene. What’s interesting is you can try your gol gappas in four
different flavours – tamarind, pineapple, ginger & sweet
tamarind. Quite popular with Harem’s customers, we were told.
Arabian
Dhows: Let’s explore further into Harem Meeza’s culinary
collection with a typical middle-eastern dish, the Arabian Dhows.
This
dish imitates a dhow, an Arabian boat with typical sails. Here’s
what it is --Tabuleh (an Arabic salad made from Bulgar, tomatoes,
finely chopped parsley, mint, onion and garlic) with Bocconcini (kind
of cheese) and crispy bread sails (thin crispy bread shaped like an
Arabic sail) served with Pomegranate-Sumac Aspic (kind of spice).
This
is quite exotic; the bread tastes quite like our papad (only there
isn’t any spice) and is eaten with the succulent and finely-chopped
salad--quite delectable. Certainly, a must-try though some might find
it a bit dry
Tajine
with Cous Cous: Here comes the signature Moroccan dish - Tajine with
Cous Cous. To the uninitiated, Tajine is a typical Berber earthern
pot in which much of Moroccan food gets cooked while Cous Cous is
somewhat close to our dalia (made from wheat extract).
Tajine
is also the curry, prepared from chicken, lamb or other meats and a
wide variety of Indian food and vegetables. They are fragrant, spicy and sweet.
Tehteh
Paneer: Here’s another one from the desi kitchen--a staple paneer
dish that comes in layers (hence tehteh). It’s stuffed cottage
cheese with mint and gravy. Sample it only if you don’t wish to
experiment with middle-eastern food.
Chicken
Tikka Platter: This is your routine tikka platter with four kinds of
Chicken tikkas - Murg Soole, Kesar-black chilli, Dhaniya garlic Tikka
and Malai Tikka (with mint sauce and marinated onions).
Both
the above two platters are from the Indian collection, as the names
suggest.
Baoli
Handi: Here’s one straight from the kitchen of Awadh--the classic
Indian curry with lots of spices. The difference here is that it has
yogurt (dahi) as an important ingredient and it is cooked in a
terracotta pot in ‘dum’. We tried Murgh variation though it comes
in paneer option too.
Fattoush
Salad: The tossed green Lettuce salad in a lemon and parsley dressing
we tried wasn’t quite up to the mark. Quite passable actually.
Kunafa
with Rose Petal Ice Cream: Here’s another interesting dish – this
sweet dish is made from our sevayaiin, the thin crispy variant
(vermicelli) and was quite heavenly. It was crunchy, it was sweet yet
wasn’t dripping sweatness as it has a cream cheese filling in the
center. Ideal dessert. The Rose Petal Ice Cream was a perfect add-on.
Note:
We also tried Mojito Fish Tikka . and Mediterranean Grilled Vegetable
pizza.
Inspiration:
Harem Meeza is a concept restaurant – it derives heavily from
Rihla, a book of travels by the 14th century Moroccan explorer Ibn
Batuta. Price for two: Rs 2000 (without alcohol) and Rs 3000 (with
alcohol)
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