In a nutshell:A cool new French Patisserie & Boulangerie (Bakery) in Gurgaon – At last there is a Bakery where u eat & think ‘this is exactly what I have eaten in Europe / US’, in terms of the flavor, feel, taste, texture & everything else associated with a yummilicious experience.
The signboard on the facade
Address & other details: L’ Opera
Every large ‘Party Cake’ also has a smaller version
Meal for 2: Rs. 400 onwards
Colorful macarons on front window
Cuisine Type : Vegetarian & Nonvegetarian
The Quiche section
Short Description- In case u r in a hurry:
This little French Bakery Chain has 6 branches in Delhi as of now. They have a french Chef who has surely brought around a point of difference in the Bakery options in Delhi NCR. We have always been to the khan Market one & were pleasantly surprised to see a new store open up in Gurgaon.One of those six shops is inside the French Consulate in Delhi as well & another is inside DLF Golf & Country Club, Gurgaon.
Croissant Section
The stores in Khan Market & Galleria have similar layout – A beautiful ’glass & wood’ shop window in which large decorated cakes share the space with super colorful macarons & a tiny ‘Eiffel Tower’. The large cakes have smaller versions inside the shop as well.
Store window
As u enter the shop, u get a huge Glass display Counter for all items. There r different sections for cakes, tarts, croissants, sandwiches & other baked items. A section of the wall has huge display of different kinds of breads & sandwiches.
Breads section in L’Opera
The Seating area is little & in the back-end of the shop. It has high stool seating around tables & I am sure u wud struggle for space in peak hours. The interiors overall are very tastefully done & have a nice Classic bakery feel.
The interiors of L’Opera
Super Loved our breakfast here & all those things that we got packed post the breakfast.
Detailed Description – In case u have the time to njoy reading:
We went to this place many years back when we got to know that they serve Eggs Benedict. Loved it then & somehow never managed to get back again.
The Restaurant serves as the Coffee Shop of the Vasant Continental Hotel. However Eggspectation is a Canadian Chain Restaurant that started in 1991 that crossed the border & forayed into the US & of course came all the way to India as well.
The theme as u can guess by this time is eggs & there are many innovative & unusual dishes around eggs with equally interesting names like eggkuri, eggchiladas, eggstravaganza, an omelette called eggspectation & so on. Of course, for people who are not too fond of eggs, there r dishes without eggs too.
shrimp benedict at Eggspectation
The service was good last time when I went at around 11.00 am. This time we were there at 9.00 am & it was peak hours for breakfast buffet for the guests of the hotel. It seems that is the reason why the staff were less attentive & slow in executing the orders. They did not positively contribute to the breakfast experience at all.
The ambience was nice with two prominent huge figurines of clowns – one male & the other female. The male is in the act of juggling – eggs!!!!!
The Juggler juggling eggs!!!!
The kitchen is open & see thru. U can in fact walk up there & have a little chit chat with the chef & his team.
Detailed Description – In case u have the time to enjoy reading:
A marvel hidden in a totally unexpected place. Reminds me of the story of Rapunzel – A princess tucked up in a tower in the middle of a forest. Swiss Bakery in Ghitorni Village!!!!
The store did not seem to be doing too much business but I was told that they have a good sale coming from cutomers in Gurgaon & South Delhi – They get orders ranging from cakes to breads to breakfast to lunch – delivered at home. Expats seem to like this place a lot.
They have a host of breakdast options (not a very long list though) which can be delivered to ur home or can b served to u with a day’s notice. French hearts were on display & so were a decent variety of breads.
Chocolate eclairs – Bought it at 12.00 noon, left it in the rear seat of the car & ate it at 2.30 pm. Result – the best ever chocolate eclair I have had so far with the molten chocolate filling oozing out with every bite. A subtle light brown filling within & a dark chocolate layer on the top.
This is a part of the series ……. For the Chef in u
Contributed by YUMMRAJ’s favourite Chef ANONYMOUS
Homemade pancake with topping of maple syrup & fresh strawberries
Super easy to make & Super good to eat……………
Nice & soft fluffy freshly made tasty pancakes are served in very few eateries. U can however make them right in ur kitchen without much hassle.
Add one tablespoon of sugar, a generous pinch of salt, 3/4 tea spoon of baking powder & ¼ tea spoon Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) to a cup of refined flour (maida). Mix the powders with a spoon.
mix all the powders
Mix ¼ cup of yoghurt, ¾ cup milk & ¼ cup melted butter. Add an egg & whisk well.
the liquid mix
Mix the liquid ingredients with the dry ingredients with a spoon / spatula. Do not use mixer / hand blender. Do not mix too vigorously. What u get is a thick slightly lumpy batter.
thick lumpy batter
Use a flat surface nonstick pan, brush it with butter & add ¼ cup of the batter – It will slowly spread out on its own.
Cook on low heat till bubbles appear on the surface.
This is a part of the series ……. For the Chef in u Contributed by YUMMRAJ’s favourite Chef ANONYMOUS
chocolate french toast with balsamic Strawberry topping
Super easy to make & Super good to eat…………… It all started when I discovered a bottle of balsamic vinegar in one corner of my refrigerator – about which I had a year-long memory loss. Then began the searches on the web & I stumbled upon a comment that balsamic vinegar goes well with strawberries. Since strawberries were not in season, I preferred to wait for another two months. A usual weekly visit to the vegetable-wallah got me face to face with fresh red juicy seasonal strawberries. Within seconds, they were in my bag & thus began the story……..
fresh red juicy strawberries facing the heat
So, I had a good idea for a topping but was yet to figure out what to top it on……….. till I figured out it cud b good with French toast. Google time again & here I was was a cool idea for a chocolate French toast. Well, post that tiny story of mine, lets get to the cookology. Continue reading “Chocolate French Toast with balsamic strawberry topping”
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 everything & 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
This was our first dinner in a restaurant ever since cities got locked down due to COVID. We were deliberating between different options & narrowed down to spectra. We were looking for European food. Very Glad that we came here – the experience was totally worth it.
The restaurant is situated inside leela ambience gurugram. As we alighted from our vehicle, a guy in uniform came for valet parking. I handed over the keys & the car. He asked my phone number (he said it was mandatory). I asked for the receipt. He said physical receipt will not be given & that I will receive an SMS in 10 minutes. The SMS however never came. After our dinner I walked out of the gate, told the security about my car. He asked me for SMS. I said I did not get. He got me the car & handed over the keys!!! So imagine someone can quote another person’s Bentley’s number & drive it away!!! Super wierd.
As we entered the hotel we were asked to put all our metal belongings in a tray and pass through the security so that there is no need for physical patting and checking. As we reached the lobby, we were asked to stand in front of a machine that could measure the temperature without physical contact.
After this,when we moved on to the restaurant, it was about 7:40 PM and the restaurant had about 4 to 5 tables occupied. it was as silent as it could be it. No chatter, no clattering of cutlery. It seemed like walking into a restaurant in a hotel at 7 AM in the morning for breakfast on Sunday, sharp at the opening time.
When we had called earlier, the guy did not tell us that the last order will be before 8 pm. We were lucky we walked in at 7.40. Else we would have to return.
Our server was extremely warm and constantly kept us engaged throughout our stay in the restaurant. We felt like being guests at his home.
As we sat, he got us a scanner. It had a QR code, which we had to scan from our camera of the phone. immediately as we scanned the code, a link appeared and it had the entire menu of all the restaurants in the hotel. The E-menu was Crisp and very very easy to navigate through. it was very user-friendly, I must say.
The final check however came in traditional printed paper. Thankfully, inside the restaurant we could takeoff our masks because the tables are apart anyway and due to low occupancy people were seated far from each other.
Few customers in the restaurant and imports not yet being normal, led to some ingredients being absent in the kitchen. so few of the dishes that we wanted to have , cud not be served to us. However, whatever we had was outstanding and by far made up for not getting the ones we were looking for.
Absolutely loved the food
Detailed description – in case u hv the time to njoy reading:
As we waited for the food, we were served a complimentary Immunity booster – it had strong celery flavors, had a tinge of salt, it was not too sweet & overall it was a great refreshing drink. Rate it 4.25/5
We ordered grilled Norwegian salmon. It was just brilliant. It was so juicy that At times it felt like that I was having watermelon!!! The fish was flaky, full of flavors and perfectly cooked. the skin on top was Crisp & super enjoyable. Chef had made a marmalade Inhouse, that was spread on top of the fish. excellent. Loved it so much that our plate was polished white by the end of the meal. Rate it 4.5/5
Grilled lamb chops were perfectly cooked as well. The pieces of meat used in the lamb chops were also excellent. The meat pieces had a layer of fat in the corner. These had become Crisp outside. as we would bite into the meat, the Crisp thin layer of fat wud burst into a flavorful thick liquid. Outstanding is an understatement. rate it 4.75/5
For dessert we had banana walnut caramel tart. The tart base was very good. The filling was good, the caramel sauce excellent, the bananas were very ordinary, flat taste ones – not too sweet, a hint of salt. Overall the dish was very good. Rate it 4/5.
Overall rating of food & beverages average out to 4.25/5
Really happy we went there. Wud go for a Japanese dinner some day.
Below is the original post from 2011
In a nutshell:
Loved the experience & the food – a few ifs & buts though on the food. Will surely revisit to try out other cuisines.
Cool & colorful decor at Spectra Leela kempinsky gurgaon
Short description – In case u r in a hurry:
As u walk into Leela & then into the Coffee shop Spectra, ur eyes r overwhelmed with the decor & the look. I wud not say that it is the most artistic place I have been to but it is a visual delight.
........... a visual delight
As u walk in the restaurant u realize that the staff is very warm. I have this funny habit of wearing the most ordinary of clothes to a 5 or a 7 star & then asking for non bottled filtered water – The reaction is very interesting to see coz a section of the staff in most of these places tend to judge u by these initial parameters. Here at Spectra the reaction was as warm & normal as it could get & they passed my funny test with flying colors.
The Coffee shop has a very very interesting Japanese counter where u can chat with the chef, tailor-make ur sushis & sashimis & sit & eat on the bar table. The Chef rolls the sushis in front of u from scratch &serves.
A little away from there is the Chinese counter. Here again u can sit on counter, chat with the chef , tailor-make ur food & eat soups, stir fries , soupy noodles like thukpas etc. All ingredients are kept there as well & the colors of them are a visual delight.
There are also a good representation of cuisines that u usually do find too many Top end Restaurants specializing in. e.g Arab cuisine, Thai, Malaysian, Singaporean . They also have a large list of good unusual food (unusual when compared to menu cards of other delhi restaurants).
The menu card has a very large & wide selection vegetarian section.
Other interesting options are a breakfast spread Rs. 750 + taxes, a Lunch buffet of Rs. 1600 + taxes , a Sunday Brunch (with sparkling wine, house red & white wine, beer & vodka cocktails) & a Champagne Brunch for Rs. 3500 (Champagne in place of Sparkling wine + everything else) .
We liked the seafood soup, loved the Moroccan seafood grill & Freaked out on the outstanding tenderloin steak.
Detailed Description – In case u have the time to enjoy reading:
U can walk in to the counter & buy tenderloin, salmon, pork ribs, hamburger patty, marinated (continental style) corn fed free range chicken & lamb etc – something that I have not come across in many places in Delhi NCR.
What is interesting is u can buy & take them home / ask them to cook it for u for a ‘sit & eat’. U can also order food & drinks from a 8 page menu card.
inside the restaurant cum store
Everything at the cake counter looks very enticing & a large array of different kinds of bread look interesting too.
seafood stack
We had an excellent juicy tenderloin steak, a finger-licking-good seafood stack – calamari, prawns & fish. On the menu card the fish mentioned is basa but we requested it to be replaced with salmon & offered to pay extra. The request was granted. For desserts came the unique (for Delhi) & very tasty banofee pie & date walnut pie.
Detailed Description – In case u have the time to enjoy reading the details:
In a nutshell: One of the best standalone (non 5 star) Pastry shops in Kolkata – Almost everything that u get here is very good Address & other details: Kookie Jar Short Description: Pastries, Muffins, Cakes, Cup cakes, croissants, patties, puffs and so on…….I am not mentioning separately but all of them r very good. Like the chicken sandwich very much as well. The dark … Continue reading Kookie Jar (Alipore Road, Rawdon street, South City mall & City Center Mall Saltlake, Kolkata)
I always like to get a grub here if it’s a morning. My comment after first several visits : “Love the breakfast. Also good things r – a bright & colorful decor, peppy music, fun & cool staff – they actually crack jokes at times, make u feel like u hv come to a cool hangout place.” Experience on my last visit – We came across a disaster of a waiting staff – worst than anyone I have come across anyehere in Europe / USA.
The Giraffes at Heathrow airport
Had a breakfast set menu – Soft & creamy scrambled eggs with some really good bacon, rich & super tasty sausages, baked beans , grilled tomatoes & some really crunchy potato fries.
A graphiti on the wall inside the restaurant
Detailed Description: In case u have the time to enjoy reading:
Sweet Obsession has a homely ambience. There are deep red leather couches and a low coffee table where they serve the food. There are counters next to these couches which have board games which guests are free to play. Even their menu card is quite witty and immediately creates an amazing first impression about the place.
