There's a hush inside the dimly lit Rue du Liban, like a fine-dine in a romantic movie. There's muffled laughter, the controlled clanking of cutlery, delightful gasps and suppressed coughs. A richly inviting aroma pierces through this all. It's coming from the food, an exquisite spread from the Levant, made especially for Eid and with such care... so delicately that it can disappear into the flesh of your palms.

The mushroom hummus (Rs 550), Lebanese chef Chadi Bayram — who has put-together the on-going Levantine food festival at the restaurant — explains, is made with a lot of care. On the surface, a mere spread made with chickpeas, it actually employs careful technicality. The test of a good hummus, Chadi adds, lies in the palm of your hands. "It should be smooth. So smooth, that when you rub it on your skin, it should disappear. Like cream," he asserts, and it does.