Food review: Alive, Gurgaon

A new eatery in Gurgaon is always welcome. After all, anyone who lives in Gurgaon has three abiding passions – shopping, movies and eating. Unlike Delhi, we don’t yet have options such as watching a play, going to a concert or even a day at an amusement park like Adventure Island. So we mall hop, we watch films and of course, we eat out.
Alive is our latest zing thing. A fresh new 40-seater café, Alive is VLCC’s foray into the restaurant business and judging by the fact that they’ve just won the Most Admired Retailer of The Year -- Innovative Concept award at the recently held Images Retail Awards in Mumbai, the enterprise is definitely going good.
Located in MGF Mega City, the mall that houses Spencer’s, and just a stone’s throw away from the food court, Alive immediately catches your attention. You can’t pass by without noticing the neon green and the nattily dressed waiters in bright reds. White walls give the restaurant a break from colour and trendy plastic chairs give it an airy feel. The plates are not regular shaped and the cutlery, embossed, gives it the sophisticated touch of a sit-down.
But where Alive really scores is the food. According to VLCC, the expertise of over 500 nutritionists and a dedicated team has been used to come up with the 80 dish plus menu which covers the entire gamut from soups to starters to salads to a range of grills – both Indian and Continental. Healthy cooking techniques such as baking and grilling have been employed and fresh, seasonal ingredients have been integrated into the menu to give it a delicious yet nutritious touch. So even if you’re not on a diet but would rather have a meal that looks appetizing, is absolutely yummy and not rich in fat and butter, choose Alive. The ambience is appealing and it’s great to catch up with a friend.
We started with Mint Iced Tea, Lemon Iced Tea and Ginger Mint Cooler. The Iced Tea was freshly made versus a sachet and was very refreshing. For starters, we sampled the Barbeque Cottage Cheese Shaslik and the Basil Chicken Strips. The latter was outstanding with just the right flavour of basil: not too overpowering and not overshadowed by the chicken. The tofu tikka was also surprisingly good and anyone with a heart problem should try tofu at Alive to know that it can taste this good. I’m a pucca non-veg, but I have to say the vegetarian fare at Alive was so good, I wouldn’t mind having a veg meal there. Apart from the tofu and the all green salad, what bowled me over was the Stuffed Vegetable Canneloni. But to come to the high points of my meal, they were the Grilled Prawns and the Herbed Chicken Chops. While the prawns were prepared in a creamy lemon sauce and served with fresh vegetables, the chicken was marinated in fresh thyme and grilled. Both were excellent.
Just when we thought there was no space for dessert, a sinful looking Chocolate Risotto (yes, you read it right) fetched up on the table. Made from Arborio rice which is used in risottos, plus diet chocolate, sugarfree, low fat butter and low fat cream, it’s served with a diet chocolate sauce and is unique and delicious. Never has healthy eating been so much fun. We also tried the Irish Coffee Mousse which was good too, but I give the Risotto top marks in desserts.
The menu is easy to navigate and lists the ingredients in each dish telling you what good each one does for your body or mind. The restaurant also has a Goodness Count, which helps you figure out the calorie intake and the nutritive value of each dish. All in all, a must-try.
A meal for two: Rs 500-700
Address: 2nd Floor, MGF Mega City, MG Road, Gurgaon.
Phone: 0124-4375335