My Humble House

ITC Maurya, Diplomatic Enclave, Sardar Patel Margh, New Delhi

(011) 2611 2233

Open for dinner only 7pm - 11.45pm daily

In the nakedly brash, aspirational, eternally grasping and materialistic city that is New Delhi, one way to get people to take notice is to draw attention to your humility. I initially thought that to be the MO behind the naming of one of the ITC Maurya/Sheraton* hotel's restaurants. However it turns out that My Humble House is actually the India installment of a pan-Asian chain that has its roots in Singapore. 

The flagship Singapore MHH, in fact, appears to be quite legendary, having won awards such as the World Gourmet Summit Awards of Excellence Best Asian Restaurant for 2009. There are also restaurants in Beijing and Tokyo. 

The cuisine is neo-Chinese, with the added gimmick bonus of poetic names. Dishes like chicken stirfry are elevated to haute status with names like Dewdrops on a Monkey's Tongue, or duck in black bean sauce called Pearls of Delight Sent From Heaven.

I am, of course, making these names up, although the actual dish names are not far off. Despite at least five requests, the hotel's PR has failed to reply to my request for a media pack and a copy of the menu so consequently I have to rely on my rather shaky memories of the night I dined there last month, hazy thanks to good company, good cheer, copious wine. 

Impressions:

- Decor is beautifully minimalist, Japanese-inspired, neutral polished concrete floors, stark walls, good lighting. A great canvas for designer-clad diners.

- Expensive: even with a gift voucher it came to about 5,500rs per couple. 

- Beautifully presented food, beautifully prepared. We had pork, chicken, duck of various compositions. All were delicious without being particularly memorable. 

Conclusion: I would go to My Humble House again - particularly if someone else was paying - and would most likely take people who were difficult to talk to: extended family, business consorts, people I didn't know. Those menu descriptions are a great icebreaker, guaranteed to fill up at least three units of time. Handy for awkward silences.

*I believe the hotel's official name is the ITC Maurya; yet everyone knows it as the Sheraton. 

(Image reproduced from My Humble House website)