In a NUtshell:A memorable culinary journey of middle eastern food, friendly service and good ambience Address & other details: Souk Meal for 2: ₹1500 onwards Cuisine type : vegetarian and non vegetarian 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 … Continue reading Souk ( Taj bengal, Alipore, kolkata)
In a nutshell: A Mumbai based chain with restaurants in Mumbai & Pune where food is the prime focus & they serve YUMM Mediterranean food. Address & other details: Moshe’s Meal for 2: 1000 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 … Continue reading Moshe’s (7, Minoo Manor Building, Cuffe Parade, Mumbai)
In a nutshell: Nice ambience and great friend & family place during day, full blown entertainment including belly dancing in the nights, good staff & some very good Moroccan & Middle Eastern Food. Address & other details: Zerzura Meal for 2: Rs. 2000 onwards Cuisine type : Vegetarian & Nonvegetarian Disclaimer: All restaurants / eateries reviewed by YUMMRAJ were visited by YUMMRAJ himself & he … Continue reading Zerzura (Clarion Collection – Qutab, Shaheed Jeet Singh Marg, Near Katwariya Sarai, Qutab Institutional Area, New Delhi)
In a nutshell: Very enjoyable Southern European & Mediterranean food in Delhi, great variety of ingredients & options, a nonvegetarian’s paradise & a vegetarian’s delight, indoor seating & also open air covered cabannas great for a romantic evening Address & other details: Sevilla Meal for 2: Rs. 3000 onwards Cuisine type : Vegetarian & Nonvegetarian Disclaimer: All restaurants / eateries reviewed by YUMMRAJ were visited … Continue reading Sevilla – The Claridges (The Claridges, 12, Aurangzeb Road, New Delhi)
This post is about Christmas brunch 2012 at Olive Beach…………………….
In a nutshell:
Today’s Christmas brunch got me back to Olive Beach after many years & filled me with some good foodie moments that I wud remember for some time to come.
Address & other details: Olive Beach
Meal for 2: Rs. 2000 onwards (usually). Special pricing for Christmas Brunch.
Cuisine type: vegetarian & nonvegetarian
Short Description – in case u r in a hurry:
The advantage of having a huge spread is that people can choose what they like. This is what exactly the situation was like, at today’s Christmas brunch at Olive beach. However what is important is not just the width of the spread but also some winners & some ‘item numbers’/ show stoppers that people take home memories of. The good thing is Olive Beach had more than expected number of winners & of course they had ‘item numbers’ – Roasted suckling pig & Roasted Turkey.
The Restaurant specializes in Mediterranean cuisine & hence its interiors r done according to the theme. The guys serving us were quite efficient till the peak hours, after which they needed reminding on few occasions. The Chefs at the live counters were very interactive & I enjoyed little chats with few of them.
Music was obviously Christmas themed.
Detailed description – In case u have the time to njoy reading:
Continue reading “Olive Beach (Hotel Diplomat, 9, Sardar Patel Marg, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi)”
In a nutshell:
I loved my Mezze platter here after a long list of disappointments in Delhi NCR. I wud say as good as it can get on a food court by current standards in Delhi NCR.
Address & other details: Mezze grill
Meal for 2: Rs. 300 onwards
Cuisine Type: Vegetarian & Nonvegetarian
Short Description – In case u r in a hurry:
We chanced upon Magic Moments Mall yesterday & were pleasantly surprised by its interiors – Huge, Glitzy, large open spaces, high ceilings & so on – much better than most Malls in Gurgaon with the exception of Ambience. The Mall hosts a Huge & spacious Reliance Retail outlet (unlike thecluttered & stuffy Ambience Mall Gurgaon one), a huge ‘More’ supermarket, loads of brands, an Ice skating bar, a big kid’s play area etc. The food court named DEL15 was a revelation to me too. I think it is worth a visit to this place even if u do not stay in this part of the city.
DEL15, the Food court, is enormous – by enormous I mean enormous. Much bigger than any food court in Gurgaon. The look & feel is new & fresh. It is a mammoth squarish hall with Food counters on 3 of the 4 walls. The furniture is smartly done, lightweight modern chairs / sofas with wooden tables. There seemd to be a planned zoning in DEL15 like in food courts in other countries e.g. Food Republic, Cityplaza,TaikooShing, Hongkong.
For buying food, money has to be paid at a common cash counter – One has to buy Coupons that can be Redeemed at shops. Quite surprisingly, the purchase of coupons is strictly against cash – no debit or credit cards accepted. Though there are some restrictions, I am sure there r ways out of this. Not taking credit card is archaic in today’s world where most office goin youngsters live on cards. I am sure that the Mall owners can find a way out of this system by talking to tax experts.
I noticed quite a few diverse cuisines at the stalls run by Karim’s, Paranthas 21, Berco’s express, KFC, Subway, Haldiram’s, Vaango etc & of course Mezze Grill.
The Guy at counter of Mezze Grill was quite knowledgeable & seemed eager to answer all my questions. Not sure if rest of the staff members are like him / how he might behave in rush hour. Must mention here that we were there at 12.00 noon & the place was quite empty.
As I was talking to him, I noticed a large number of containers on the counter with names written on each. They contained the different dips that r served with Mezz food. I asked about an unusual looking salad & before I understood what was happening, he gave me to taste the salad on a tiny plastic ‘tasting’ spoon. I was feeling a bit shy but he insisted – not expected in food court. He also told me that the Chef is an Indian who has worked in Restaurants of Dubai & learnt the ‘real’ thing.
As we started to decide on what to have we realized that they actually have a huge Menu. We chose the Mezze grill platter as it seemed to be a little bit of lot of things – Chicken Shish Taouk, Mutton CheloKabab, Grilled Fish Kabab, Rotisserie chicken, Chicken bites – all of that served with hummus, muhammara, Tzatziki, babaganoush, rice with gravy & tabouleh salad.
We cud not try the usual Shawarma roll / doner kabab roll as two of us were full after eating a Mezze Grill platter. (Note – Our appetite is average)
Detailed Description – In case u have the time to njoyreadin:
Continue reading “The Mezze Grill (Food Court, Magic Moments Mall, Kirti Nagar, New Delhi)”
In a nutshell:
A tiny but masterfully done ‘hole in the wall’ Full service Restaurant that serves ‘just OK to good’ Arabic food at a moderate price.
Address & Other details: Arabica
Meal for 2: Rs 250 onwards
Cuisine Type: Vegetarian & Nonvegetarian
Short Description – In case u r in a hurry:
At the entrance to this super tiny restaurant, is an Industrial Shawarma machine from where customers choosing ‘takeaway’ option can buy their food. There is only one machine & it being Gurgaon, the only meat on roast is chicken.
As we entered the Restaurant on a hot summer day, we were welcomed by the chilled air-conditioning inside & also by a warm welcome smile by the lone server at the place. The seating capacity at this place was looked to be approx. 15. The furniture was all made of pristine white colored cane, beautiful ‘Arabic – look’ pictures adorned the walls & interesting things e.g. traditional hookahs, jars, vessels, traditional lampshades added to the beautiful decor.
The walls were made to look like those inside typical dwellings in the Desert – as if roughly coated with mud & painted white. Little boxy shelves were also made on the wall – exactly the way u see in those desert dwellings.
I must say that the owners of this Restaurant had come across a superb interior decorator / designer who optimized this tiny space into a ‘wow’ ambience Restaurant.
However, I only wish they cud hire a chef of such High Calibre.
Detailed Description – In case u have the time to njoy reading:
Continue reading “Moet’s Arabica (132, Central Arcade, DLF Phase 2, Gurgaon)”
In a nutshell:
Much above the average Arab food in Delhi NCR –however, almost nothing except one item in our dinner cud be termed ‘outstanding’.
Address & other details: FOA (Flavors of Arabia)
Meal for 2: Rs. 1000 onwards
Cuisine Type: Vegetarian & Nonvegetarian
Short Description – In case u r in a hurry:
I was overwhelmed by Arab Food at Persian Room, Arizona , USA & was looking out for a good Arab meal in Delhi NCR. My friend mentioned this new Restaurant that has come up in Gurgaon & so we set out for it.
The restaurant is situated in Ninex Mall that still has serious footfall issues. As we walked into the mall, we noticed a welcome desk of FOA. The Guy had the menu card (that we had browsed on the net already) & walked us up to the lift.
The Restaurant had nice interiors, a bit too dark though but not bad. There were lamps on each table that not only illuminated the food but also gave a mystic feel. In fact, a great place to have a candlelight dinner. Seeing the darkness I was thinking that maybe I wud not b able to take good photographs – but nothing of that sort happened. Came up with quite good pics.
Beautiful plush sofas with abundant cushions contributed to the cozy setting of the dining tables. I noticed a uniform design of grill on all windows & separators – Typical Arab look. Also saw interesting decorative items on table tops.
There is an open air section as well – shud be great during Autumn & Spring. There are two party rooms as well that can be booked- a small one & a large one. We went to take a look & found those to be quite interesting.
In the background they played peppy Arab music as well.
The people were quite warm & knowledgeable. One thing was very irritating though – One guy is placed in the middle of the Dining room (see picture above) with the intent of attending to needs of guests. However, what he ends up doing is staring at the guests constantly. So every time u happen to look there, u might have an eye contact. I was getting the irritating feeling that I was being watched all the time – as if I was under house arrest. The intent is good but the training has been bad.
The Menu card is huge & has more than 10 pages. Lots of known & unknown food on offer. Good place for veggies as there are many options in all sections. There is seafood & fish on the menu as well. Fusion dishes are marked with a ‘*’ on the menu card. Authentic ones do not have ‘*’. I was told that the Restaurant is open since about 3 months ¤tly has no alcohol license – though expected soon.
Detailed Description – In case u have the time to njoy reading:
Continue reading “Flavors of Arabia (Ninex Mall, Sohna Road, Gurgaon)”
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……………
Shawarma is nowadays available in every other eatery in Delhi. Shawarma meat grilling machines are seen in loads of places as well. It seems to have become quite popular in a short span of time.
I wanted to make it at home for quite some time – without buying the machine of course. So started my research on the same & as expected, came across many versions of shawarma. My experiments began & I came up with this version that is of course Super easy to make & Super good to eat……………
Lets start with Grilled chicken –
Marinate 4 boneless chicken thighs in 1 tablespoon lemon juice, ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning, ¼ teaspoon freshly crushed black pepper, 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, 1 tablespoon tomato sauce, 1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder (or to taste), 1 teaspoon white vinegar, 2 tablespoon plain curd (yoghurt), 1/2 teaspoon each of ginger & garlic paste, salt to taste. Refrigerate overnight.
Preheat oven to 180 degree Celsius. Grill the marinated chicken for 10 minutes on each side. In case u do not have an oven, worry not. Cook the marinated chicken on a nonstick pan till the chicken is done within & slightly brown on the outside.
Shred the chicken after it cools down as shown in the picture above.
Chop 1 medium sized cucumber (deseeded), 1 medium sized onion & 1 tomato into ½ cm sized cubes (as shown in the picture). Also cut 8 – 10 kalamata olives into 8 pieces each.
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……………
I had Middle Eastern food – Hummus for the first time in Varanasi – one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and the oldest city in India. I liked it instantly.
Since then I had been tasting this at different places in Delhi NCR & liked it.
In one of my net browsing sessions I stumbled upon a recipe to make Hummus & that made me think – Is that really so easy?
So I started my experiments in the kitchen & here is my version. Let me tell u that on every occasion I have served this, our friends have been seen finger-licking.
Interestingly, this homemde hummus actually comes out to be much better than what is served at most Restaurants in Delhi NCR.
