In a nutshell: Very understated on appearance but excellent tasty food – A must try for hardcore foodies. How to get there: Turn right from Rajeev Chowk (if u r facing Jaipur). Keep going straight. At one point the road really narrows – u pass thru a market place, post that keep going straight till u see a blue Road sign pointing to New Colony … Continue reading Kishu di Hatti (Opposite Post Office, New colony, Old Gurgaon)
In a nutshell: We had an outstanding experience here – no idea about the rest of the menu but the three dishes that we had here were too good. Will revisit & update. Address & other details: National Cuisine type : Vegetarian & Nonvegetarian Meal for 2: Rs. 300 onwards Description: ‘Pure desi Ghe used’ is what is written on the board outside & if u have … Continue reading National Restaurant (Outer Circle, Connaught Place, near Kake da Dhaba)
In a nutshell:
Pretty good Chindian / other Asian food & a very exciting & cool live Teppanyaki station – must experience it.
Address & other details: Dine Esty
Meal for 2: Rs. 1000 onwards
Cuisine Type: Vegetarian & Nonvegetarian
Short Description – In case u r in a hurry:
The Chindian (Indianized Chinese food) is tasty & nice but lacks on the authenticity front. For ‘close to authentic Chinese food’ in Gurgaon, YUMMRAJ recommends The Monk, Galaxy Mall. However, if u do not give a damn to authenticity & r willing to dig into anything tasty, Dine Esty is a good choice. Infact its a very good choice for a nice evening out with some good food.
We have been to Dine esty several times & always had been eating at the Live Japanese Teppanyaki (Japanese Grill) Counter. This time around we decided to sit in the main dining hall & ordered some Chinese (turned out to be tasty Chinjabi) alacarte section.
The menu card was almost 10 pages long & really requires a great deal of study by foodies to decide on food. Too many interesting names pop up before the eyes & ity becomes a challenge (in a good way) to narrow down & finalize the order. In the menu card there are sections like soups, dimsums, starters, main course etc like everyone else but all these section in turn have detailed sub sections – chicken, pork, lamb, vegetarian, duck, fish, crab, seafood. I saw some interesting items like seafood dimsum, crystal dimsum, pork gouza, prawn harkaw (a dimsum that has potato starch as wrapper) – I fondly remembered harkaw that we had at Royal china. To summarize, every Chinese place has sections but this one was in great details.
The interior has three sections – a lounge & bar setting on the left (as u enter) & this is covered by a see-through wooden partition. Then there is the Main dining Hall with Restaurant setting & at the end is the Live Teppanyaki counter where u can sit on the counter & njoy seeing the food being prepared in front of u. A chat with the chef is also an interesting option. Getting the food made with ur choice of sauces is surely another option.
The Japanese concept of teppanyaki is very cool though – it is essentially a flat Metal plate (say 1meter by 2 meters) that is heated at all times. The customers have the option to sit around this hot plate & the Chef stir fries veggies / fish / meats in front of u & serves fresh out of the Teppan.
Inspite of the fact that the sauces here r tweaked to cater to Indian tastes – the overall taste is very enjoyable. ………….. Infact not too many people might b able to appreciate the 100% original taste the way it is served in Japan or China. I Do love the original though & do not mind the tweaked versions at times.
Detailed Description – In case u have the time to enjoy reading:
Continue reading “Dine Esty (Sushant Lok 1, near Park Plaza Complex, Gurgaon)”
Meal for 2: Rs. 20 onwards Description: I was waiting in front of Alipore Post Office – noticed a roadside thela on the footpath. The guy was making dosas & talking to customers in Bangla & Hindi. Suddenly another guy came & they started talking in Tamil………..and that…….increased my interest manifold. So I decided to check out what was on offer (assuming that if the … Continue reading Thela serving South Indian Food outside Alipore Post Office, Kolkata
In a nutshell: From Traditional to innovative Fusion Sandesh – approx. 25 varieties of excellent sandesh under one roof. Meal for 2: Rs. 40 onwards Description: It’s a sea of sandesh & as u drift from one to another u wonder ‘oh, I hope my stomach does not send ‘parking full’ signals’ – The sandesh here is just too good. Started with nolen gurer Kanchagolla … Continue reading Nalin Chandra Das & Sons (313 Rabindra Sarani, Nutan Bazar; 57 Ramdulal Sarkar street; 84 Rashbehari avenue, besides Melody, Kolkata)
In a nutshell:
Stood the test of time – excellent south Indian vegetarian food – one of the best I have had in Kolkata so far.
Google Map: Jyoti Vihar
Cuisine Type: Vegetarian
Meal for 2: Rs. 100 onwards
Short Description – In case u r in a hurry:
YUMMRAJ’s favourite South Indian Restaurant is Murugan Idly Chennai. So, any good South Indian restaurant gets compared to Murugan.
If ur usual lunch time is 1.00 in the afternoon, pls plan to reach 20 – 30 minutes before coz that is the waiting time. There is a fruit vendor in front of the restaurant who does good business while u wait, cut in front of u & served. The empty ground floor of the restaurant also serves as a waiting area. I wonder why that empty place is not used for seating people!!!!
The food is very good – dosas, idly, vadas, uthapams etc & very good filter Coffee – I maintain Murugan is still better. But if we do not compare with Murugan, this place is super good. A must try.
Detailed Description – In case u have the time to enjoy reading:
Continue reading “Jyoti Vihar (3A/1, Ho Chi Minh Sarani, Kolkata – near US Consulate)”
In a nutshell: Very good & authentic South Indian Vegetarian fare at prices that r unthinkable in other Metro Cities of India – surely worth a try when ur pocket is not in a good mood. Meal for 2: Rs. 50 onwards Cuisine Type: Vegetarian Description: As u enter this place u realize that the restaurant is just a small 200 sq ft room. A part … Continue reading South Indian Coffee House Restaurant (besides Panna Sweets, Bramho Samaj Road, Behala, Kolkata)
In a nutshell:
If u want to treat ur non Indian/ NRI guests to Indian food, this is a really great option. If u want to delve deep into the various kinds of kababs (under the same roof) that r popular in India, this is the place to be. If u want ur kababs to be made with the best ingredients in a healthy manner, this is the place to be – The Great Kabab factory offers u a multitude of great Kababs in an excellent environment & very warm service.
However, if u happen to b an Indian foodie like YUMMRAJ (who just goes by the taste of food – not ambience, not service, not anything else), u wud say – The Great Kabab Factory is a ‘jack of all trades but master of none’. So, U wud rather prefer to sweat it out in the lanes & bylanes of Chandni Chowk or Kolkata or Lucknow to get a better deal for ur tastebuds.
Info in this post has been Updated on August 2012 In a nutshell: Love the cold selections – sandwiches, dislike the hot food category served cold –paranthas. However, choice of beverages is quite good. Cuisine Type: Vegetarian & Nonvegetarian Meal for 2: Rs. 250 onwards Description: Inflight food is something that we were used to for long. Most of us have fond memories of good … Continue reading Indigo inflight food (30000 ft above the ground Indigo airlines)
In a nutshell:
Cool place to hang out with friends, rediscover ur sporty side or the absence of it, fairly good drinks, nothing extraordinary, overpriced ‘above average’ food ……………. In other words, they r the underdogs when it comes to good food.
Address & other details: Underdogg
Meal for 2: Rs. 1000 onwards (without alcohol)
Cuisine type: Vegetarian & Nonvegetarian
Short description – In case u r in a hurry:
If u ask me whether I will revisit, my answer is yes – to hang out with friends but surely not to eat out.
When it comes to food, the answer is no.
We tried the Tenderloin kabab – nice tasty juicy creamy slightly tough & chewy towards the end , something that we wud hate to have in an Indian kabab & something taht totally takes away the fun of a kabab.
Same for mutton kabab
I have surely have had much better versions of kababized meat in India & abroad where the meat is hand pounded & hence has some kind of a texture & retains the juiciness & taste of the meat, unlike what we had here.
Continue reading “Underdogg Sports Bar (Ambience Mall, Vasant Kunj, Delhi)”
