One of the many micro-breweries – ‘Freshly brewed Beer’ places in Gurgaon that not only serves good beer but also beer cocktails & thankfully focuses on serving some excellent food as well.
Micro breweries are popping up every here & there in Gurgaon. It all started with Howzzat few years back in Galaxy Mall. While all of them serve 2-3 options of fresh unbottled beer, most of them serve really average food. My experience of food at Lemp has been very average – same for Downtown & of course for Rockman’s & Howzzat. Its different that post a couple of glasses of beer the tastebuds tend to numb & taste does not really matter at that time, but food is surely not the forte in most of these places – all of them have some good / popular / chatpata items but in general food is average to good – not outstanding / excellent.
A view of the bar area
Brauhaus is an exception. I was pleasantly surprised by the good food (I tried the German food section only) at this place & am willing to get back to try & ‘eat’ more stuff – a feeling that I have not got in other places so far.
The interiors are very good – high ceilings ensure that the place seems airy & non-claustrophobic. However, the seating area is quite cluttered. In fact the seats are so near that if the music stops, u might be able to catch a whisper from the table beside u. A part of the seating area has trees (with leaves) etc & u get the feel of sitting beneath the tree (without the threat of bird droppings).
The crowd was almost a 50:50 mix of Indians:Expats.
Music was good. I liked the little note-slips kept on the tables that looked like audio cassette covers – they were meant for music requests to the DJ.
Music request slips that look like audio cassette covers
The waiting staff who was in charge of our table was a very good guy & he positively contributed to us having a very good experience.
Detailed Description – In case u have the time to njoy reading:
This is a review of Breakfast at The All American Diner
In a nutshell:
A drop of water in the desert – that’s what this place was like, but take note, the water is surely not a mineral water like ‘Evian’ but it is pond water carried in leather bags on a camel back for maybe 2 days!!!! To top it all, its offering is not as unique as before.
The logo outside the restaurant
Address & other details:The All American Diner
Meal for 2:Rs. 500 onwards
the beautiful interiors at All American Diner
Cuisine Type: Vegetarian & Nonvegetarian
Short Description – In case u r in a hurry:
The Restaurant is Better than some other similar options in Delhi (in terms of food) but surely not comparable to good American Breakfast joints in America. Infact, Restaurants in Delhi like Choko la Khan Market , L’ Opera Khan Market, Eggspectation Vasant Kunj etc which r not just American, serve better breakfast egg dishes.
interesting competition at All American Diner
The Price is Indian for sure. That’s one argument that the Restaurant might have, for serving sub-optimal taste – An American Breakfast for approx. US$4 per dish? – u don’t get that in US for sure.
The interiors r superb – Black & white tiles , lots of bright colors, a colourful jukebox, outstanding posters all over the wall – Automobile ads of the past, Marylin Monroe ads, Alcohol ads & food ads like ‘People eat People’s meat’ – refers to a brand of meat called People’s meat. Peppy retro music that played in the background was enjoyable too.
The Guy who planned out this place is a genius & I admire his/her attention to detail. However, I am surprised at how they have left out the shop management in the hands of a bunch of uninterested people.
Retro stuff inside the diner
Service is much worse than even the smallest of most roadside eateries I have visited of late – at least in Dhabas waiters smile, greet, do not usually forget to inform ur order to the kitchen & try to accomodate people in a rush hour.
bacon & eggs platter at All American Diner
You may skip the description of our experience of bad service (in italics) if u r in a hurry –
The experience here at AAD was a disaster – We reached the Restaurant at 9.15 am. As we entered, we saw loads of people waiting. The guy in Black tee shirt (all others wore White Tee shirts) & a notebook in his hand appeared before us after about 5 minutes – till then we were looking all around trying to figure out what was happening. Even in Saravana Bhawan, a security guard notes ur name as soon as u reach there. As we asked him to note our names for getting a table, he looked at us with a facial expression that clearly said ‘oh S**t, two more morons’. Leave about being excited about getting customers, he was actually pissed. The sentence that he spoke post this & the tone was even more shocking ‘ There is a waiting of 1 hour. Do u still want to wait?’. I was getting the feeling that I was in a Govt. run ration shop where every customer is looked at like a pest who has come to spoil the shopkeeper’s time.
interesting retro posters & pics all over the walls
We decided to wait & to sit on the high stools on a side. We asked the same guy to give us a menu card so that we cud order some shake / smoothie to beat our hunger (we travelled all the way from Gurgaon). ‘Sorry, we do not serve food on the high stools’. We said – ‘We r not asking for food but drinks. This is a Rs. 1000 note – now that u r assured we will not run away, pls get us the menu card.’ He reluctantly handed us two menu cards with disgust writ all over his face. We decided on 2 drinks & as we wanted to place the order. The guy walked in front of us 3 times pretending not even to see us – almost running away & consciously avoiding eye contact. Finally we had to actually hijack his attention by getting in his way to stop him to take the order. See how desperate become when someone plays around with their hunger!!!
We got the seats at around 10.00 am – that also after one waiting guy in white tee tried to tell us that our name was not listed in the waiting list & I challenged him to get back the notebook in which names were written. He came back, without the notebook & said ‘ ur seats r ready’!!!
Orders were placed at 10.00am as soon as we sat & at 10.15 the guy returned to us – ‘Sorry, I forgot to punch the order on the system. Can u pls repeat the order’!!!! I failed to understand how that is possible. We obliged & finally got the food at 10.35. I had no idea it cud be such a struggle to get a breakfast after paying for it!!!!
the bar area at All American Diner
I also noticed that while there were people waiting, there were few couples seeing pictures from a laptop, or another group just chatting & not really eating something!!! Try that in other high traffic Restaurants like Saravana Bhawan & see what happens.
The food is not bad but not great either. I guess the myth of All American diner stems from the fact that when it was launched, there were no good alternatives & this was probably the best choice in town. Its surely time to deconstruct the myth – how about this:
If the joint is so popular & has so much waiting, why not have some more Restaurants? Why not have some more space? Why have snobbish staff with disasterous body language? Where does that pride stem from? The waiting guys? …………………… Well, nothing lasts forever. If someone else opens up a similar joint in Delhi on a larger scale, this one will not take time to wither.
another view of the interiors
Detailed Description – In case u have the time to njoy reading:
In a nutshell: A take home joint that serves pretty good Kolkata Biryani & rolls & excellent Chaap. Meal for 2: Rs. 150 onwards Home Delivery Numbers: +91 9999311547, +91 9312733913 Cuisine Type: Vegetarian & Nonvegetarian Short Description – In case u r in a hurry: Bongo bondhus in Gurgaon, good news for u. At last there is a Biryani shop that serves good Kolkata Biryani in … Continue reading Mughlai treat (Shop no. 26, Sushant Tower, Sector 56, Gurgaon)
An Indian foodie’s experience at a Specialized Asian Food court in HongKong
In a nutshell:
It’s a great concept place planned perfectly where u can sample food from all Asian countries & different kinds of cuisines within a country as well.
Food Republic – Asian Speciality Food Court at City Plaza Taikoo Shing, Hongkong
Meal for 2: HK$ 80 onwards
Cuisine Type: Vegetarian & Nonvegetarian
Description:
I was wandering in City Plaza Mall in Taikoo Shing, Hongkong, when I noticed a huge corner with food stalls. The foodie in me cud not resist & I walked in. I started looking around at the stalls soon to realize that it was a well-planned & nicely laid out food court.
peking duck on display
The Design of the food court was uniform for all stalls – in terms of size, façade, Shop fronts etc. This was quite different than the over-cluttered multicolored multi sized facades of stalls in Food courts in India.
Food Republic at City Plaza
What impressed me was the fact that the Mall Guys have actually planned the renting out of stalls to ensure that all Countries & the cuisines of Asia (sans Indian subcontinent) are represented. The shops included a Japanese open live teppanyaki counter, a Chicken rice counter (Singapore), a Noodle & congee shop, a Japanese wazen shop – what was been sold here looked like a lunch box (bento box), a Vietnam stall with many ‘pho’ dishes – of diff varieties like chicken, duck, beef, seafood etc, a Chinese stir fry, a Thai stall, a traditional rice noodle house, a ‘in-house made’ Japanese udon noodles stall, a Shanghai & Sichuan counter, a Korean counter, a Dimsum house & a shop selling Taiwanese food. There is a dessert shop as well. I guess it will take a month for a person to xplore all the shops & may be 6 months to try all dishes sold at these shops.
Roasted meats on display
The first shop on the right was Bread Talk that we have at Spencer’s Gurgaon. Till I saw this I had no idea that this Bakery shop in Gurgaon was an International Chain.
Bread Talk at Hongkong
I must say – amazing variety, amazing planning & great execution & popularity shows – The Food court is always full at meal time.
Some stalls had almost real looking plastic look-alikes of the food that was on offer.
look-alikes of food on display
Some others had all their real roasted food on display.
Roasted meats on display
In case u r visiting Hongkong & want to have a taste of Hongkong & other Asian Countries, get to this place. I wud not say that the food served here is the best in their respective category but they are surely good.
Detailed Description – In case u have time to njoy reading:
Best Kashmiri Food in Delhi & an unforgettable experience that must not be missed by anyone visiting Delhi specially non Indians & NRIs – a good selection of dishes from the 30+ course famed Kashmiri Wazwan & also food from other places in India, Old World Service & a unique & curious decor.
inside Chor Bizarre – A vintage car acts as a street-food buffet
The Restaurant is situated in the Ground floor of Hotel Broadway in Old Delhi. Its name ‘Chor Bizarre’ refers to “Chor Bazar’ which means ‘Thieves market’. Everything in the restaurant has a reason to be ther. All table – chair combos look different & the cutlery is different as well. The wall – furniture & other knick knacks r one of their kind. The menu card says ‘ If u like a particular piece of cutlery / item, just ask ur waiter – He might offer a price & u can go back home with just not a dinner but a piece of memory’.
the interiors of Chor Bizarre
An unforgettable sight in the Restaurant is a vintage car turned into a ‘chhat corner’ – Streedfood buffet atop a vintage car.
buffet on a vintage car – at Chor Bizarre
As I mentioned, this is a must-visit for everone visiting Delhi, specially for all non Indians & NRIs. A concept restaurant that stands out from the rest & whose uniqueness & attention to detail makes the experience unforgettable. I wud say that the person who conceptualized this is a genius & a huge applause also goes to the guys who executed this.
They also organize food walks, heritage walks etc. YUMMRAJ recommends all non Indian / NRI Guests to visit this place for food & the experience. Infact, during the whole evening, we were the only Indian diners!!!!
General view of the Dining Hall at Chor Bizarre
The detailed menu card of this place pleasantly surprised me. It listed food from all parts of India & mentioned the same as well. However the highlight of this place is Kashmiri food – This is a cuisine that not too many Restaurants serve & it is a cuisine that not too many restaurants have the caliber to make. In fact, the traditional Wazwan chefs called ‘Wazas’ rarely share their secret recipes with Restaurants.
the interesting menu card of Chor Bizarre
Wazwanis a multi-course meat heavy meal in Kashmiri cuisine, the preparation of which is considered an art and a point of pride in Kashmir. Guests are seated traditionally on the floor, in groups of four and share the meal out of a large metal plate called the tarami.
Chor Bizarre menu card has a subset of the full 30+ course dishes. They however organize a full course Wazwan for minimum of 20 Guests – all u have to do is to call them in advance &they will arrange for the same. They organize this in the traditional manner in which one has to sit on carpets on floor & share the food.
The service is Old World – The waiting staff is not necessarily a ‘Hotel Management’ Graduate but has that old world manners, knowledge, warmth, authority & relationship. That’s quite a rare experience nowadays.
Bar menu in a bottle that opens into half!!!!! at Chor Bizarre
We ordered for a Kashmiri platter ‘Tarami’ – turned out to be the best Kashmiri platter in Delhi NCR – haaq (saag), Gushtaba (hand pounded meat balls), Roganjosh, Rajma, Tabak Maaz (Kashmiri style fried lamb ribs), crispy fried lotus stem, Kashmiri kukkad (chicken) on a bed of long grained perfectly cooked rice. We also tried palak rishta & an excellent nadru (Kamal Kakri / lotus stem) yakhni. A mooli akhrot dip (radish + walnut) served with the food was superb. Finished the meal with very good phirni (dessert) & Kahwa (Kashmiri tea). Even the mouth-freshner was presented in a very interesting way.
Mooli akhrot dip – served at Chor Bizarre
Detailed Description – In case u have the time to njoy reading:
This review is only for Breakfast ‘set menu’ at Sakura.
In a nutshell:
Loved the breakfast set menu offered by Sakura – served at the Coffee shop of Metropolitan Hotel
Japanese (fusion) salad @ Sakura Delhi
Address & other Details: Sakura
Meal for 2: Rs. 2400
Timing: Breakfast
Cuisine Type: A set menu having both Nonvegetarian & Vegetarian food.
Short Description – In case u r in a hurry:
We read about this breakfast at Sakura quite some time back & had planned to go there for quite some time. A day before, we called the Gurgaon Sakura & asked about breakfast & they said Breakfast is available only at the Delhi Restaurant.
sweet omelet, pickled cherries, seaweed, baked salmon – part of a breakfast set menu @ Sakura Delhi
As we reached the Metropolitan Hotel near Connaught Place, we were taken to the Coffee shop. We said ‘but we want to have breakfast at Sakura’. The answer shocked us ‘Sakura is closed in the morning. Opens at 11.00 am!!’ We asked them to check with (I think) the F & B manager & this time the reply was different – ‘Yes, u can have the set Japanese breakfast but that is served in the Coffee shop’. We were obviously fine with the offer as eating the Japanese breakfast was our only motto & not necessarily sitting at Sakura.
The Manager of the Coffee shop walked up to us & greeted us after maybe hearing we had come for Sakura Breakfast – I didn’t know breakfast at Sakura was such a ‘unusual’ occurance. Anyway, the offer that came along with his visit was great – we cud pick up any juice / fruits from the regular coffee shop breakfast.
The service was very good post the initial ‘confusion’.
multicolored tea bags of diff flavors @ Sakura Delhi
Loved the food that was served to us in a set menu platter – salad (different from the usual ones), a superb miso soup, a tofu dish that looked superb & was good to taste, salmon baked, an excellent seaweed, a radish based preparation, a jumbo scoop of sticky rice & smartly cut melon.
Detailed Description – In case u have the time to njoy reading:
Outstanding Nihari, nalli & few other traditional Mughal food in a simple setting with warm people & fast service.
Super YUMM Nihari at Haji Sharbati Nihariwale
How to get there: Get into the lane perpendicular to Gate no. 1 of Jama Masjid. Keep walking till u reach a ‘y’ point. Take the road on the left – almost in the same direction as u were walking. U will an old gate to a Haveli on ur left. Walk into the gate & on ur left is Haji Shabrati Nihariwale.
Jama Masjid, Delhi
The smartest thing to do is to take a rickshaw from Chawri Bazar metro station & entrust him with all the above details. U shud be there in not much time.
Road perpendicular to Gate no. 1, Jama Masjid
Meal for 2:Rs. 150 onwards (see rate chart as of July 2012)
The menu card (hung on the wall) at Haji Shabrati Nihariwale
Timings: Summers – 6.30 pm to 9.00 pm (best time to go 7.00 to 8.00), Winters 5.00 pm to 8.00 pm. The shop is shut at all other times.
Cuisine Type:Nonvegetarian
Short Description – In case u r in a hurry:
In case eating out for u includes ‘ambience’ / ‘professional service’ as a must ,pls do not go here. If ‘eating = health food’ for u, I wud strongly advice u not to even think of going here. However, if u r a foodie & believe that there is only one life & we shud make the best out of it, u must give this a try. Ur tastebuds will thank u for taking them to Haji Sharbati. All u will maybe need to do is to increase ur dosage of cardio exercises the following week.
curry made with nalli (bone marrow)
The shop is very old & does not seem to have been renovated for years. Everything there seems to have stood the test of time. Even the signboard outside the shop had almost turned black due to the smoke of the ovens. There are elements that might look messy but no one really cares. People come, wait in queues, eat & go.
the facade of the shop – the signboard with the name has also faded / blackened out
As u stand outside the shop u see a huge Handi (metal cooking container) fixed to the oven with clay atop a platform that is almost 2.5 feet high & an elderly gentleman sitting besides it & serving the contents to eating plates. Behind him is a tandoor & a guy sitting there is constantly making tandoori rotis here.
The elderly gentleman sitting on the platform in front of the huge handi
The platform (with the tandoor) covers half the shop & the rest is the sitting area.
View of the platform from inside the shop
The furniture is as basic as it can get.
the simple seating area at Haji Sharbati Nihariwale
The guy who serves the food is just another Human being & his responses are exactly like that – unlike trained restaurant waiters who are smiling & polite even when yelled at. My smile & friendly behaviour ensured that he treated us like his personal guest & we really had a good time.
A view of the entrance from inside the shop
The food rules – This is one of the best Niharis I have had so far. The gravy beats the Karim’s one hands down. The meat at Karim’s is slightly better textured than at Haji Shabrati.
Detailed description – In case u have the time to njoy reading:
Superb unstoppable chatpata dhaga kababs in a neat & clean tiny ‘hole in the wall’- something that is not worth a miss – my tastebuds gave the kababs a standing ovation.
YUMM dhaga kabab – streetfood near jama masjid, Delhi
Address & other Details: Get into the lane perpendicular to Gate no. 1 of Jama Masjid. Keep walking till u reach a ‘y’ point. Take the road on the left – almost in the same direction as u were walking. U will find Mohd. Shakir, the current owner of the stall, making kababs on ur right hand side from a neat & clean white ‘hole in the wall’. U may also call 01123244205, 9899362993 – I am not confident though that someone will respond.
Shakir bhai’s – one man show
The smartest thing to do is to take a rickshaw & entrust him with all the above details. U shud be there in not much time.
Meal for 2:Rs. 60 onwards (each kabab for Rs. 6)
Cuisine Type: Nonvegetarian
Short Description – In case u r in a hurry:
Its a ‘one man show’ – Shakir Bhai, as he is known here, sits on a low platform with a neat & clean metal sigri (barbeque) & sells what he calls ‘dhaga kababs’ (dhaga means thread). When he is not around, his brother is the solo guy.
He has a thick bunch of leaves that look like paan leaves stacked on one side. On the other, he has a ‘gumla’ (vessel) full of spiced up meat paste. Almost mechanically he picks up some paste, rolls it around the sheekh, wraps it up with a cotton thread & tears off the thread with such ease & speed as if it were no thread, puts it on the barbeque, adjusts the coal, fans the barbeque, rotates the kababs so that they cook uniformly, served the same on a plate, takes the money, returns the change & also takes back the ‘used plate’ !!!!!!!
Kababs – in the making
He uses charcoal to fire the barbeque & the ‘sheekhs’ (metal rods) used by him for making the kabab are thick & made of steel.
He also caters to Marriages & parties in which case the offering widens – sheekh kabab, shami kabab, chicken, fish & paneer tikka, chicken & fish fry & also rumali roti. I am sure those are made at his home & delivered.
He told us very casually that the shop has been around since ‘before 1947’ but I spotted maybe the sense of ‘accomplishment’ in his eyes. As we started chatting up with him, we found that he has been doing this himself for last 22 years (he was in school then) – started with assisting his father.
one more shot of the one man kabab shop
Needless to say, the kabab was outstanding.
Detailed description – In case u have the time to njoy reading:
Simple interiors, fast service & good South Indian Nonvegetarian food
the simple but well maintained interiors of Amravathi
Meal for 2: Rs. 250 onwards
Cuisine Type: Vegetarian & Nonvegetarian
the logo
Short Description – In case u r in a hurry:
The restaurant is located inside Hotel Southern & as the name suggest, this place seemed to be occupied only by people from the Southern states of India. The hustle – bustle of this place is seldom seen in any Hotel in Gurgaon. The restaurant has nice, neat & clean, basic interiors that is surely less spacious as compared to the number of people frequenting this place – resulting in queues. Unlike the excellent managed ‘token number’ based queue at Andhra bhawan, the queue here was managed just about OK. At times it felt that the guy who came in later wud get a seat earlier. Like at Andhra Bhawan, no one here gets a table just to themselves. The table needs to be shared with unknown guests. e.g. if u r 2 of u , u will have to share a table of 4 with another 2 people, if u r 3 people, the 4th seat will b oupied by a stranger….
South Indian Mutton curry
The service, as I mentioned earlier is fast. The people here were quite knowledgeable & answered almost all queries satisfactorily.
South Indian Chilli chicken at Amravathi
The menu card surely surprised us – we had expected pure South Indian Nonvegetarian but were surprised to find North Indian dishes as well. The menu card looked good & had a collage of food pics at the bottom. We stuck to South Indian food only, as per plan.
The food was good but non of them except the prawn were ‘wow, this is outstanding’. We tried 4 dishes – an Andhra style fish fry, a chicken of the day – chilli chicken kuttu (that is what I think I heard on the third attempt), mutton of the day – Kerala style mutton & a prawns masala.
menu card at Amravathi
If u r just nonveg hungry & are already around Central Delhi & do not really care for AC or ambience, Chandni chowk / Ashok & Ashok is a better deal for nonveg food. However, if u want specifically South Indian nonveg, this is a good choice.
Detailed Description – In case u have the time to njoy reading:
Loved the Vietnamese food served here, in a romantic setting with some outstanding service & a unexpected chat with the Chef.
the superb interiors of blue ginger
Address & other Details: Blue Ginger
Meal for 2: Rs. 3000 onwards (without drinks)
angus beef vietnamese style
Cuisine Type: Vegetarian & Nonvegetarian
Short Description – In case u r in a hurry:
U enter this restaurant thru a tiny dimly lit passage that reveals the Restaurant only after a point. As u stand at the door, u see normal restaurant seating in the middle of the hallway & the open kitchen at the background. On both sides are semi covered (circular shaped) cubicles that have a sofa seating , a round table at the center that has a revolving top. The only source of light in the cubicles is from a bunch of ‘electronic threads’ that descend from the ceiling whose tips emit a blue light – like a bunch of fireflies hanging up in the air (without moving though) – the look reminded me of a scene from the movie Avatar.
the only source of light at Blue Ginger
The sofa was for a group of 3-4 people but we chose the same inspite of being only two. The tabletop had a beautiful white flower vase & some superb white flowers on them. Quite a romantic setting.
flower vase on the table at blue ginger
The service, as I have mentioned above, was very good. Attention to detail, attention to guests without being intrusive, knowledge of products etc (except one instance) were commendable.
I have never been to Vietnam – so have not had the opportunity to eat there. All I knew of Vietnamese cuisine that it is influenced by Chinese, Indian & French!!! The food at Blue Ginger is Vietnamese. Some are original ‘almost as it is’ & some are fusion – European dish with Vietnamese spices, ingredients, flavours, tastes & concepts etc.
orange ginger creme brulee at Blue Ginger
The icing on the cake was a little chat with the Chef regarding our main course dish & a mind-blowing good dessert that she suggested.
Detailed Description – In case u have the time to njoy reading:
