Description: Abdullahgunj is the commonly used name of this place. On Road signs however it reads Obedullahgunj. It is a small hamlet on the highway that connects Bhopal City & the famous Bhimbetka Caves where u can see Cave paintings upto 12000 years back. The signboard on top of the shop shows a picture of a pahalwan (wrestler) & it says – ‘ekbaar khayenge to … Continue reading Puran Pahalwan Sweet Shop (Abdullahganj , onway from Bhopal to Bhimbetka)
I was told that this Restaurant is owned by The Uncle of Bollywood star Salman Khan.
The Glass inside the Restaurant & at the entrance has intricate floral design. The Furniture & the interiors look traditional & intricate. It has a feeling of a 19th Century Palace interior. There are separate seating sections for stags & family. A bit crowded but overall, a good ambience.
the interiors
With all that Grandness, the menu card looked quite ‘cheap’. It had bad quality badly edited photographs, strange fonts, inconsistent font sizes & overall a lack of class. I hope they imnprove it going forward.
The service level was beyond expectation – warm, knowledgeable, enthusiastic & friendly. When I told the guy serving us that such ‘passion & involvement’ is rare nowadays, he said – ‘U have come here for the first time. So I am taking special care of u so that u enjoy the experience this evening & remember us for long’.
The food was very enjoyable as well. I usually order three things in my visit to a Mughlai Restaurant – Sheekh, Burrah Kabab & Biryani as this is a test for the restaurant. I usually never revisit restaurants who fail in these basic dishes. On future visits to restaurants that pass the test, I usually try out other food.
cool visual display of accompaniments
The Sheekh kabab passed the test with Flying colors, the Burrah was enjoyable. The Biryani gave me mixed reactions – The rice of the Biryani was awesome. The goat whose meat was in the Biryani seemed to be a fan of Salman Khan – It must have been too muscular – .resulting in stiff, unedible meat pieces of Biryani.
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In a nutshell: U can just walk up to this Sweet shop for buying good sweets or for eating dessert post ur meaty & fishy snack / Dinner at Chatori Gali Bhopal. Description: They have a huge variety of Chhena (cottage cheese) based sweets in addition to the usual Kheer / Khoya based sweets & daal based ones. We walked up to the shop & said … Continue reading Jain Mithai Bhandar (besides Chatori Gali, Bhopal)
Good fish & meat kababs with strong & rustic flavored & taste, some very interesting Biryani that made me rethink my list of ‘best Biryani’ & one of the best Mutton Kormas I have ever had..
best Mutton Korma I ‘ve ever had
Address & other details: Just get into an autorickshaw & ask for Jamil Hotel near Chatori Gali. U will b transported there. In case the auto driver does not know, ask him to take u to Chatori Gali. Once there, just ask for Jamil Hotel situated on a road opposite Chatori Gali.
Meal for 2:Rs. 100 onwards
Cuisine Type:Nonvegetarian
Short Description – In case u r in a hurry:
Like Chatori Gali, everything here is very chatpata in taste – rustic, robust.
For those of u who rate the look & feel of a restaurant highly, u will b disappointed here. It has quite a shabby appearance, has old metal tables & bench seating. The shop does not even have a signboard. People just know this place.
The interiors
During my chat with the owner, he told us that they will move in to a new bigger building right opposite the existing one & that will b like a regular Restaurant.
For those of u who r frightened to eat fried food or food with fat in them, this is not the right place. BUT, if u r one of those who believe in pampering ur tastebuds & then work out harder to burn those extra calories, then this is the place to be.
the open kitchen
The serving staff at the shop are quite friendly. But as I always say, they do not undergo modern day ‘Hotel Management Training that preaches ‘Customer is the King’ etc. So they behave with u in a person to person basis & treat u as another person they r dealing with & not a ‘Customer’. So if u r friendly, that is reciprocated & vice versa.
We were lucky to have the Chef come up to the table post the serving staff ran out of answers to my questions. The Chef was really nice & explained things. When we ordered an extra Biryani to end the meal, he gave a complimentary ‘gravy of Mutton Do Pyaza’ to taste.
As u enter the shop, u r greeted with the sight of Marinated meats & fishes. These are cooked on request right in front of u. So there is almost nothing that is made & stored. So we had some good kababs, some outstanding Korma & a very very interesting Biryani.
marinades displayed right at the entrance to the shop
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Utopia for meat lovers , this gali (street) is full of tiny shops selling fish & meat dishes with strong & rustic flavors & taste at prices that u wud have heard ur grandfather talk about.
chatori gali - the lane
Address & other details:Just get into an autorickshaw & ask for Chatori Gali. U will b transported there. It seemed as easy as asking any public transport driver in Agra to take u to Taj Mahal !!!!
There is a small parking that can accomodate 10 – 12 cars just opposite Chatori Gali – In case u prefer to take a car.
Meal for 2:Rs. 70 onwards
prices so low that even ur Grandfather wud compare with his college days.
Cuisine Type: Nonvegetarian
Short Description – In case u r in a hurry:
This place is just a road on which there are small shops on both sides that sell YUMM meat & fish products at very low price & high volumes. Everything here is very chatpata in taste – rustic, robust.
first shop in the corner - Chatori Gali
For those of u who go by the hygiene displayed by the Restaurant / the shop, u will b disappointed. Its different that in the kitchen of many (not all) Restaurants, it is not very neat & clean – the only difference is that u do not get to see that.
For those of u who r frightened to eat fried food or food with fat in them, this is not the right place. BUT, if u r one of those who believe in pampering ur tastebuds & then work out harder to burn those extra calories, then this is the place.
the corner shop with a rotating chicken roasting machine
The people at the counters are quite friendly & ‘to the point’. But as I always say, they do not undergo modern day ‘Retail Management Training ‘ that preaches ‘Customer is the King’ etc. So they behave with u in a one to one basis & treat u as another person they r dealing with & not a ‘Customer’. So if u r friendly, that is reciprocated & vice versa.
Marinated meats & fishes are displayed in front of u & are made on request right in front of u. So there is almost nothing that is made & stored.
marinated miscellaneous meats
I was surprised to see that one shop had an automated rotating Chicken Roasting machine too.
I had one of the best ever Hamburgers (pao Kabab) in this place, a very unique & enjoyable paaya soup, good sheekh kababs, outstanding beef kababs,
the finger licking good beef kababs
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This is a part of the series ……. For the Chef in u Contributed by YUMMRAJ’s favourite Chef ANONYMOUS Super easy to make & Super good to eat…………… For all those of u who think salads r boring, this one will make u sit straight & rethink. It all started with an impulse purchase of orange, elliptical shaped cherry tomatoes – something that we do … Continue reading Fresh Salad with Veggies & Tangy Mayo dressing.
Exceeded expectations when it came to eating superb subtle Assamese food in the land of strong flavors & taste – Delhi.
Near the entrance of the Restaurant
Address & other details: Jakoi
Meal for 2:Rs. 700 onwards
traditional setting in open air sitting area
Cuisine Type: Vegetarian & Nonvegetarian
Short Description – In case u r in a hurry:
The Assam Bhawan Canteen is managed by Jakoi, a restaurant Chain in Assam. The eatery has a nice & warm traditional look & feel to it. U can choose to sit indoors or outdoors. The outdoor seating is quite interesting conceptually – large hand painted metal trunks form a table & people sit around them on cane chairs.
hand painted metal trunks serve as tables.
Traditional bamboo products like fishing hats, fishing nets (jakoi) etc are displayed all over. In the indoor section, there are displays of traditional Mekhla Cloth, silk worms & a lot of interesting things.
Traditional fishing instrument Jakoi & other things on display
The menu card looks like a Jakoi. There are options of set menus as well as ala carte. Vegetarian & Nonvegetarian options are available. Assamese names of all dishes were printed. On the table there was a small ‘special menu’ which was just Assamese words written in English Script……….
Menu card that looks like Jakoi (2D of course)
……….& that is what sparked off a debate. We had heard about a pepper called Bhut Jalokia which is hot but in a different way than Chilly. So we wanted to have a preparation with that. In our conversation with the staff, neither of us understood each other & we got what we did not order. After a tiny debate, the Manager came in & changed the dish to what we wanted. This could have been avoided if the additional menu wud also have had an English Translation.
beautiful traditional decoration inside
Food is subtle & not ‘on the face’. Flavors r enjoyable. We loved the thali so much last time that we again went for the thali. We were pleasantly surprised to find that all of the dishes in the set menu were good.
parampara thali at Jakoi
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Cool interiors, nice ambience, warm staff, good place to hang out with friends, good for a date as well, but food – average, inconsistent – good at times & bad at other times.
cafe bel cibo
Address & other details: Cafe Bel Cibo
Meal for 2: Rs. 800 onwards
the interiors - long shot
Cuisine Type: Vegetarian & Nonvegetarian
Ninex Mall
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You’d love the atmosphere. A bright colorful interior with lots of super cool detailing, a large graphiti,
cool graphiti on the wall
nice little figurines,
figurines
books
books & other stuff on shelves
……………… The interior designer excelled in his / her work.
I heard from two different sets of foodie friends that this new place is good. Both of them have had good experience here. So decided to go there for the first time to have some pizzas.
cool NO SMOKING guy on the wall
We were impressed with the look of the menu card as it arrived – the design, looks & feel.
the cool menu card
Menu options were focused, not too many & not too less – soups,salads, pizzas, pastas, lasagnes, starters, sides & a mezze platter.
Service was good.
The food looked great & very appealing. Some of the food was good. Rest was a disaster. Since my friends have liked it on previous occasions, I guess it was my bad luck – maybe the chef was not around / absent / left the restaurant & the trainee / someone novice was around to cook our food.
Cool Presentation of food
Whatever be the case, it was frustrating to pay full price for the food & get something stupid on the plate. In fact if u r as unlucky as me, U might also turn up there on such a bad day.
I am surely not going back there to re-try & waste my hard earned money.
We ordered a mezze platter, a pesto based pizza & a Belgian Chocolate drink & fresh lime soda. A part of the platter was good, part average. The Pizza was a disaster. The Chocolate drink was good but not what we expect in Belgian Chocolate. It turned out to be like a Belgian ‘Milk Chocolate’ – not dark. The fresh lime soda ‘sweet & salt’ was ok.
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It’s a small cozy restaurant in Supermart besides the super popular Needs Supermarket. The ambience is nice. The ceilings have metal beams thus giving a retro look. There is a tiny bar area that looks smart. There are sofas in lounge style on one side & normal restaurant seating on the other. Due to lack of space, the seats are a bit near to each other but not disturbingly near.
inside the restaurant
They were playing a peppy piped music that was enjoyable but non intrusive. We cud talk.
The members of Staff were very warm,polite, helpful & knowledgeable. In fact, the waiting staff noticed that we did not finish one of the meals. So he asked us ‘did u not like it’ we said ‘yes’. Immediately after that the Chef walked up to us to discuss what was wrong.
We tried a fondue that had great accompaniments but the cheese dip was too runny. An outstanding Bratwurst sausage & an interesting Italian Prawn preparation that was tasted good but had major issues in texture. The mead ‘drink’ that we had was very ordinary.
They make some good stone oven thin crust Pizzas as well, both vegetarian & Nonvegetarian.
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