CIBO House

Happened to be around Hi-tech city last week and while pondering about where to have lunch, my eyes fell on CIBO House. Though I had been wanting to eat here for some time, I hesitated because of some not-so great reviews.

Still, love for Italian food drew me to this place. And am I glad I did. Though the place is small, the ambiance was great, and the food greater still.

I opted for their vegetarian buffet which cost me 610/- including taxes.

The meal started with pumpkin soup. Very tasty, rightly spiced and served piping hot.

Pumpkin Soup

In the vegetarian section, there were four starters served with three accompaniments, the salsa, honey mustard and coriander-jalapeno sauce.
The salsa was fresh and tasty, though it could do with some more spiciness, the honey mustard was great (don't know if it was made in-house though) but the coriander sauce was rather tepid.

Dipping sauces

Four starters were served: baby corn in spinach paste, grilled cottage cheese, potato fritters and stuffed mushroom.

The baby corn was not well-cooked, neither was it appropriately seasoned. The cottage cheese was good. The potato fritters were awesome, very crisp and light. But what surprised me was my liking for the stuffed mushroom. I normally keep away from mushroom but this was so delightful in taste, I asked for a second helping. When you split the mushroom open, you find creamy sauces oozing out. 

Vegetarian starters

Also on offer was a bottomless glass of Virgin Mojito. This was okay but was rather a diluted version of the original. It could definitely use a little more punch.

Virgin Mojito

Coming to the main course, it far surpassed anything on offer so far.  Of the three sauce options, we chose pasta in Alfredo sauce. The pasta was cooked just right. You would be right in saying, 'this is how a pasta should taste.' Amazingly flavored!

Pasta in Alfredo sauce

This was followed by Butter Rice with three accompaniments, veg ratatouille, potato en carozza and Au gratin.

The butter rice itself was mildly flavored but each of these accompaniments complemented its taste nicely.
The most beautiful part of the dishes was that each one carried a distinct taste by itself. The veg ratatouille had large chunks of various vegetables cooked in tomato sauce. The crunch of the vegetables and its freshness was delectable!
The potato en carozza had boiled and thickly sliced potatoes cooked in a cheese-tomato base and was equally great in taste. The au gratin was also served hot in a cheese gravy with fresh and crunchy vegetables. Words will not suffice to describe this wonderful main course.

Next we had the lasagna which was quite tasty too. Though I am not a big fan of lasagna, I loved the way this was cooked with right amount of cheese covering the tomato sauce and layers of lasagna beneath.

I usually go light on desserts. But for the first time in a buffet experience, I took a second helping of the desserts. For a person with a sweet tooth, this is heaven on earth. I tasted five of them though there were a few more.
What literally took the cake was the Tres leches cake. Cooked in three types of milk, (evaporated milk, cream and condensed milk), this is a not-to-be-missed one at all.
All others, though good in taste stood only second to this. In order of taste, the next was the strawberry cheese cake, truly lovely, third was the caramel custard, again perfect in its caramelization, next was the kiwi pannacotta, a little dense and the last was the custard which was just about okay.

The excellent freshness of the dishes, the exact flavors, the ambiance...the super clean plates on one hand and the washrooms on the other, the well-informed waiters who bend backwards to bring a great service... all these made a great impression.
Rs.610/- for this fare is a good value for money.
They can work a little on the starters to match the tastes of the wonderful main course and desserts.

This fare may not appeal to the spice-lovers' palate.The dishes all have the right condiments in a great balance but are definitely not spicy.