Category: Italian

American, Bakery & Breakfast, Continental Cuisine, European, Italian

Phoenix Downtown Sheraton (Phoenix, Arizona, USA)

An Indian foodie’s experience of American & European food in USA vs.& comparison with same dishes available in India.

In a nutshell: Tried eating a whole lot of different things & hit rate of good vs. not good was just too high.

Address & other details: Phoenix Downtown Sheraton

Cuisine Type: Vegetarian & Nonvegetarian

Meal for 2:US$ 60 onwards

Description:

A stay in this Hotel for a week gave me an opportunity to eat different kinds of food. Here is the story of those.

First day in the Hotel, we went for the breakfast buffet. A simple Breakfast spread in which each & every item was good – the sauteed potatoes with a strong taste, the crispy bacon with a juicy aftertaste, the outstanding flavorful sausage that was uneven, lumpy & juicy within, the simple yet tasty scrambled eggs that had much less salt than what an Indian wud expect in an egg dish, a bit of salsa & another cool bread called ‘biscuit’. The ‘biscuit’ was flaky from outside & very soft within. It had a good flavor & was good to b eaten on its own.

Loved the breakfast at Phoenix Downtown Sheraton

I tried ‘Cedar Roasted Organic Salmon’. Interesting – not heard of wood grilled Salmon in too many places in India. The huge fillet of grilled salmon was placed on a bed of potatoes & veggies. It was served ‘perfectly grilled’, garnished with aromatic herbs. The fish was flaky & nice within – thoroughly enjoyable.

Cedar roasted Organic Salmon

I also tried the All American Burger with an 8 oz hamburger patty. For filling it had lettuce, tomatoes, onions, Dill Mayo, & Schreiner’s Bacon………all in one!!!!! I enjoyed the burger with mustard sauce on some bites. Interesting &Very Good – I guessthe patty wud have beenjuicier &better if I wud have had it as soon as the patty was made. Room service meant there was a transit time& hence the patty was on the borderline of being ‘dry’.

All American burger

A very interesting food that I had here was the ‘Garden Veggie Thin crust Pizza’. It was thinner than any thin crust I have ever had anywhere. We had this with extra topping of Italian Pepperoni. Unlike any other Pizza I have seen before, this one was square!!!!The crust was super thin – almost like a chapati / roti – crispy towards the corner.

Garden veggie thin crust pizza with extra pepperoni topping

Super loved the taste, texture, juiciness & everything about it exceptthe excessive cheese. Excess Cheese than a normal Homosapean can manage in 1 meal – it being the USA.

Continue reading “Phoenix Downtown Sheraton (Phoenix, Arizona, USA)”

yummraj1 Comment
Continental Cuisine, Continental Grilled, European, Italian

Sen5es (Pullman Hotel, Gurgaon)

In a nutshell:

Good Ambience, warm service & an awesome buffet spread that exude the passion of the chefs.

Sen5es

Address & other details: Pullman Hotel

Interiors of Sen5es

Meal for 2: Rs. 1000 onwards

outstanding pizza at italian section, Sen5es

Cuisine Type: Vegetarian & Nonvegetarian

Short Description – In case u r in a hurry:

I am not a big fan of Buffets coz in most places buffets aim at ‘eating a large variety at less than collective alacarte price’ & also ‘popular version that shud be liked by all’ kind of mindset. Among the buffets that have left a mark on my mind are – the brunch at 19 Oriental Avenue, Shangrila Hotel Delhi……………. & now Sen5es got added to that list.

Colorful decoration on the wall

The buffet here is of 5 kinds: Continental & Desserts, Oriental & Desserts, Italian & Desserts, Indian & Desserts – all for Rs. 900 per person (including taxes). The fifth option is all of the above sections – Rs 1700 per person (including taxes). Let me tell u that unless u have the appetite of Bhima (Mahabharata), u shud stick to any of the first four.

We chose the Italian option & at the end of 2 hrs we just managed to roll out of the restaurant – smiling.

Zooming in – Dining hall

As mentioned above, the setting is visually very nice – the three sections have their own visual merchandizing. The people are very warm, informed, helpful & nice. I just hope they continue to be the same in future once the crowds increase.

The food was excellent – what made a difference was the attention to detail & the passion to be perfect in each & every dish of that large spread.

Detailed description – In case u have the time to njoy reading:

Continue reading “Sen5es (Pullman Hotel, Gurgaon)”

yummraj9 Comments
Continental Cuisine, European, For the Chef in u……, Guest Blogger, Italian

Pasta with homemade basil pesto

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……………

pasta with home made basil pesto

It was one of those days where I was struggling to think of a good ‘different’ dish for my vegetarian friend…………………… Search happened & I came across a very cool recipe.

Ever since then, my friends who have tasted this so far, talk about it & keep asking me to make this again & again.

Boil water in a large vessel. Add 1 teaspoon salt & 1 tablespoon vegetable oil.

the pasta we chose – floral

Add 200 grams of pasta (we chose the ones seen in the pic above just bcoz it looked good – u can choose any pasta) after the water comes to a boil.

boiled pasta

Keep boiling pasta till just cooked – not overcooked. Drain, refresh the pasta with cold water & keep aside.

In a blender jar take 3 tablespoons of chilgoza (pine nuts), 4 large cloves of garlic, ¾ cup of grated parmesan cheese,

parmesan cheese grated

 1 cup fresh basil leaves, 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil & salt to taste.

Chilgoza & basil leaves

Continue reading “Pasta with homemade basil pesto”

yummraj2 Comments
Continental Cuisine, Italian, Mediterranean

Cafe Bel Cibo (Ground Floor, Ninex Mall, Sohna Road, Gurgaon)

In a nutshell:

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

Short Description – In case u r in a hurry:

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.

Detailed Description – In case u have the time to enjoy reading:

Continue reading “Cafe Bel Cibo (Ground Floor, Ninex Mall, Sohna Road, Gurgaon)”

yummraj2 Comments
Italian

Tonino (Opp 1 MG Road, Between Chhatarpur & Sultanpur Metro stations New Delhi)

In a nutshell:

Romantic restaurant with excellent ambience & service, serves very good food but not the best in the category.

Address & other details : Tonino

Cuisine Type : Vegetarian & Nonvegetarian

Meal for 2: Rs. 3000 onwards (similar spread as described below) Beverages extra

Short Description – In case u r in a hurry:

Before the food is served, came the breads & a tiny bowl of dark green ‘Olive pesto’……. Simply awesome. For starters we had fairly good calamari aglio. Then came the super thin crust signature Pizza – Provencale (vegetarian) baked on woodfire in a stone oven that u can see in one corner of the Dining Room of the Restaurant. Very good Pizza I must say, especially after we topped it up with some lamb salami, homemade red chilli flakes & oregano. The Grilled sole in Olive oil was good but have had better elsewhere. The Chocolate Lasagna dessert was again excellent with layers of not too sweet chocolate (with a slight hint of salt) amidst a non-fluffy chocolate cake, topped with Vanilla flavored ice cream. Loved the experience overall – Tastes r great but cud have been even better – prices r on the higher side.

Detailed Description – In case u have time to enjoy reading:

Continue reading “Tonino (Opp 1 MG Road, Between Chhatarpur & Sultanpur Metro stations New Delhi)”

yummraj2 Comments
Continental Cuisine, Italian

Spagetti Kitchen, Sector 29 Gurgaon (Bikanerwala Parking)

In a nutshell:

Second best restaurant in Gurgaon to have hand made thiiiiiin crust pizzas, pastas etc + some mouthwatering main courses

Address & other details : Spaghetti Kitchen

Cuisine Type : Vegetarian & Nonvegetarian

Meal for 2: Rs. 800 onwards

Short Description – In case u r in a hurry : 
Spaghetti kitchen in Select city walk saket has a branch in Gurgaon. Have dined in both & they are identical.

Spaghetti kitchen near Bikanerwala parking, Gurgaon, I would say is the second best pizza place in Gurgaon (after the restaurant at Trident Hilton, Shankar Chowk Gurgaon).

Detailed Description – In case u have the time to read & enjoy the details:

Continue reading “Spagetti Kitchen, Sector 29 Gurgaon (Bikanerwala Parking)”

yummraj6 Comments