In a nutshell:
YUMMRAJ was impressed with the much better food & ambience than that at erstwhile Dhaba , Claridges, Surajkund. Great place for an evening out with family, friends & 100% recommended for ur gora & NRI friends.
Address & other details: Dhaba
Meal for 2: Rs. 2000 onwards
Cuisine type : Vegetarian & Nonvegetarian
Disclaimer: All restaurants / eateries reviewed by YUMMRAJ were visited by YUMMRAJ himself & he has paid for the full Bill & tips also. http://www.yummraj.com does not have even one featured / sponsored reviews. YUMMRAJ believes in going to a restaurant in anonymity, as a normal guest, experience everyWe & thing & give a honest account of the same to you.
I rate all the food items & then give a final overall rating which is a simple average of the individual item ratings. What the ratings stand for: 5 = Excellent, 4 = Very Good, 3 = Good, 2 = Fair, 1 = Disaster.
Short description – in case u r in a hurry:
Had been to Dhaba at Surajkund sometime back & reviewed it as well. My comments were ‘Recommended strictly for taking ur NRI / Expat friends to give them a hygienic but pseudo version of the quintessential roadside truck drivers joint – Dhaba. Surely not for foodies who have had the real thing & wud hate to compromise.’
I did not think I wud revisit. However when Dhaba came to Cyber Hub, Gurgaon, we got enticed to chk it out. Went to the restaurant to take a look. A peek into it was enough to attract us in.
Most of the days this restaurant remains full. On weekends thrre r queues outside the restaurant. They do not take bookings. I hv seen advance spot bookings of upto 1 hr, after which they refuse to take further bookings.
The interiors r inspired by the colorful Indian trucks & the elements associated with trucks & roadside dhabas.
The first thing that strikes the eyes r the colorful Truck style floral pics all over , on table tops, on walls everywhere & the one liners.
Bollywood music was on. Suddenly music volume went up. We were a bit irritated – so were people in other tables but soon the frowns converted to smiles. The staff members gave a Live dance show to the song ‘Badtameez dil’ & everuyone gave a standing ovation to it…………….
Staff members were quite good and knew about the food items.
Menu card was very colorful, humorous and short & crisp.
Food in general was good with some real stars.
Detailed description – in case u have the time to njoy reading:
We started our dinner with Amritsari fish. It turned out to b fried. I personally like the tandoori version better. Good marination. Not too much spicy / hot, not too less.
Very flaky, soft & juicy fish. Not oily from the outside. Not on the face masala taste. Loved it & rate it 3.5/5.
We also ordered Tawa meat for starter. It turned out to b suboptimally salted. On adding salt, it got back life. Chat pata, very soft, spicy (not over done), mild gravy.
Good to taste. Loved it as it is and also with the green chutney. Rate it 3.75/5 (without salt episode it wud hv been 4.25/5).
For main course, we ordered Kanastari baingan. Brilliant. It was served in a square metal box container (kanaster).
Almost as good as the baingan ka bharta at kesar da dhaba, Amritsar (without the excess ghee dripping). Super loved it & rate it 4.5/5
Amritsari vadi curry was a gravy with many broken vadi pieces. The vadis were not too soft but were not hard as well. Just OK. The gravy was very ordinary and had no special direction. It was a confused curry. It was not inedible but nothing good to talk about. Rate it 2/5.
Balti meat had an excellent gravy. I kept on licking the gravy till the end. Felt like pouring it in a shot glass and having it. I rate the Gravy 4.75/5.
The gravy, said the Chef, was Cooked in meat broth. The Meat was predominantly soft. Some pieces fibrous. Others very soft melt in the mouth, not fibrous. Meat gets 4.25/5.
Overall rating for this dish averages out to 4.5/5.
Jaljeera was very good. It was Spiced optimally. Spices came to mouth. Pt Ved Prakash nimbu Pani waley is way better in terms of balance of taste. Rate the jaljeera 4/5.
We also tried Kala khatta drink. This was a bit too light. I wud hv surely wanted a lot more of the concentrate, Like the kala khatta of Bombay kulfi stall at surajkund mela. Rate it 3/5.
Santari – Fresh orange and vodka based drink. This was served in a cool way – in bottles. Balance of taste cud hv been more optimal. It was refreshing. Rate it 3.5/5
WE ended our meal with Rabri – it was just awesome. Optimally sweet, grainy, lumpy, creamy and just too good. Garnish was excellent. Rate it 4.75/5.
Overall rating of Dhaba food and beverages averages out to 3.8/5.
I might take my firang guests here just for the sheer experience and also my non Punjabi / delhiite friends. For just me, will I revisit? Maybe yes. Coz some food here is too good & I just love the ambiance. How about u?
