Well, my personal fables (sans imaginary audience) came to life as I travelled through the maze of pillared lanes (though so square they were) to be in the arched world of Flavors of Mughals. Though the bit crammed settings short-changed the ideal idea of Mughal grandeur but somehow the ensuing authenticity of flavors made up for it.

The stairs lead three of us; a pretty mellifluous host with a bad throat and a bit whimsical management trainee with a bad appetite, who accompanied me, to the comfort of black and golden cushioned miss en scene with baroque ceiling and dangling antique chandeliers. However, the music for first half an hour gyrated around typical 90s Bollywood numbers but later while we gazed at the black- and- white trite images of Mughal era sitting insipid on the menu, it mellowed to Sufi beats for much of our ease.

The ongoing Kebab festival at the restaurant came as a savory surprise as the Chef Bishn rolled out some really scrumptious kebabs – one of them was the Donali kebab, made of two layers of chicken and mutton, and complemented by Bacardi based Double Apple Cinnamon Mojito. Meanwhile, the vegetable special platter comprising of Kesari Gobi and Mushrooms only whetted our appetite with a round of a Vodka-based tangy spicy Comfortable Screw.

So, as we kept eating with our eyes over natters ranging from a loftily courteous mustached butler roaming around to some fashion bickering, the stodgy main course made an entry with a mesmerizing aroma of Mughlai buffet. From perfectly spiced up Green Chili and Red Pepper Rotis to tad sweet Butter Chicken, spicy Mutton Nihari, Biryani with no redundant garnishing and thick Daal simmered for more than 12 hours in an open cauldron, the whole affair left us delectably bloated.

Finally, the desserts came in the form of subtly flavored Phirni, to only be followed by Paan with a clove stick, served in a dainty silvery artifact, exuding an interesting mix of flavours of Mughals which come with a tadka of contemporariness.