Continental Cuisine, Indian, snack

Special French Omelet (Shyam Palace, Sec 4 & 5 Chowk, Dhanwapur Road, Old Gurgaon)

In a nutshell:

A roadside ‘French’ Dhaba which has no French Connection but serves lipsmacking good egg dishes.

French Omelet

Meal for 2 : Rs. 80 onwards

Website: French Omelet

Google map: French

The shop facade

How to get there: Take a right from Rajeev Chowk on NH8 (if facing Jaipur), Keep going straight. At one point the road narrows & u pass thru a congested market. After u cross it, u find Shiva’s idol in the road divider. Keep going straight till u reach a small roundabout (gol chakkar). Cross this & keep going forward till u come to a crossing with Atul Kataria Marg. The store is right in the corner of this crossing. Just ask someone at this point.

Cuisine Type: Egg dishes

Description:
We were curious to visit the place when my friend told me that there is a shop called French Omelet in Old Gurgaon. It sounded as crazy as a Dhodha shop in Paris!!!!!

Since the original recipe was continental & since it has been Indianlized, it is dual classified under Indian & Continental.

Seeing that my friend was very upbeat about the food here,we along with some foodie friends visited the shop. The shop looked like any other roadside shop that sells food in India. We asked why it was called French Omelet & what was the French Connection. The answer we got was quite cloudy & I guess it meant that the term ‘French’ sounded good – So it was chosen as a name.

We first ordered for Omelet with half fried toast. Some people call this French Toast in India. It is conceptually an omelette & bread stuck to it & is salty (not sweet like the original French Toast).

On top of the omelet-bread, they sprinkled a dark powdered masala, onions, few drops of lemon & minced coriander leaves. The masala as it is tasted like churan but it gave an unbelievably good twist to the taste of the Omelet-bread. All this was then served with a green chutney which apart from the usual dhania (coriander) & pudina (mint), also had nuts in it !!!! The chutney was marvellous & before I ate this combination, I had no idea how good bread, egg & chutney can taste when they land on ur tastebuds.

omelet bread

They used a quarter of an 100g Amul Butter pack per dish for frying. That surely contributed to the taste.

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Continental Cuisine, Mediterranean

Mediterra (Sayaji Hotel, Vijaynagar, Indore)

In a nutshell:

Pretty interesting food & nice decor with some masterpieces.

line up of dips at Mediterra

Address & other details: Mediterra

Meal for 2: Rs. 2000 onwards

Cuisine Type: Vegetarian & Nonvegetarian

Short Description – In case u r in a hurry:

Situated on the top floor of Sayaji Hotel, the restaurant gives a bird’s eye view of the city. It is open air & has natural heaters – wood-fire pits for cold winer evenings.

When my friend suggested that we go for Mediterranean food, I asked ‘Is the environment noisy or we can sit & talk? We finally decided to go here – Food was not my agenda as we needed to discuss something important. I had low expectations from a Mediterranean Restaurant at Indore – with the background that even in a ‘full of restaurants’ city like Delhi, it is difficult to find outstanding Mediterranean food.

The starter platter was quite ordinary, the prawns in arabian spices was mind blowing good, so was tehlamb rack, vegetarian phyllo wrap was very good & the Marinated Cottage cheese with stuffing of parmesan & sundried tomato was quite interesting.

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

Before the meal arrived, we were served a platter that was on the house – all looked good but turned out to be very ordinary. Dip made with Belle pepper paste, a hung curd & grated cucumber that tasted exactly like hung curd & grated cucumber!!!! A paste made out of aubergines & herbs (similar to baingan ka bharta) & hummus – look forward to a Hummus recipe that u can make at home & it will taste much better than this – coming up soon on yummraj.

the starter platter that is served 'on the house'

The ensemble also had golden fried garlic in olive oil, sun dried tomato in olive oil & some excellent breads of different shapes & sizes. Only the plain bun kind of bread was bad – not soft, not warm & almost tasteless. In fact it is so hard that if it falls from the table, u might hear a thud as well!!!

ensemble of breads

For starters came Rubyan Mashawi prawns – marinated in Arabian spices. This was the first instance when I started taking the place eriously. That feeling increased with every bite – soft, tasty prawns marinated in Arabian spices & herbs. The sauce had a buttery texture & with every bite the prawns were bursting with flavors & juices inside the mouth…………..Magical. The plate was wiped off till the last drop.

the outstanding tasty prawns

Post this sudden unexpected experience, I requested the Serving staff to suggest something between a lamb rack & a grilled salmon. I said ‘After such a great experience the next dish should be as good or better. He did not want to take a risk & hence the Chef was there with us. He suggested the lamb Rack.

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For the Chef in u……, Guest Blogger, Indian, sweets

Gajar ka Halwa

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…………… Gajar ka Halwa (carrot pudding) is an age old dish for which every person cooking it has his/her own variant. The ones available at shops are usually richer & different than the ones made at home – … Continue reading Gajar ka Halwa

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Asian Cuisine, Eating outside India

Excelsior Hotel (281, Gloucester Road, Causeway Bay, Hongkong)

In a nutshell:

Exceeded my expectations as usually Coffee Shops in Hotels r not the best places to have a memorable meal. Liked it.

Excelsior Hotel, Causeway Bay, Hongkong

Meal for 2: HK$ 300 onwards

Cuisine Type: Vegetarian & Non Vegetarian

Description:

Have been staying in this Hotel for the past two days & have had different kinds of food so far. Here is how it was.

Room service

We asked for Fried seafood noodle – It turned out to be what we know as American Chopsuey in India. Deep fried thin noodles, Hard & crispy in texture, looks like a nest, placed at the base of the plate. Gravy poured on top of that. The gravy soaked noodles tasted better than just the dry crispy ones coz those were different from normal noodles but attained a very interesting texture.
Pok choy was the only green vegetable in the noodle & among the seafood were large prawns, calamari (squid) & some excellent scallops. The scallops were very soft in texture & had a very robust taste. Prawns were soft, mildly juicy & not at all chewy. The calamari was a bit short of optimum in terms of the texture. Overall, a very enjoyable meal.

Fried noodles with seafood

Fried Oyster cake with leek & egg omlette – A deep fried food, this conceptually cud have been a baked dish as well. A bit more oily – the texture initially reminded me of Fish Batter fry that we used to eat around at Benfish Kolkata. However, quite quickly I figured out that it was closer to fish Kabiraji.

oyster omlettes

The inside was deshelled oysters (as it is) bound together by egg & sprinkling of leeks. I found the same dish being served at the traditional Roadside eatery at Temple street night market. Tasty, Enjoyable & interesting dish but a bit too oily for some people. Maybe this one wud have felt much better if it was cooked by any method other than deep frying………… but who am I to comment on traditional dish of this place??………….. just a humble foodie.

fresh fruit platter to end the meal

Breakfast & Lunch spread:

Its got a huge breakfast & lunch spread wth Oriental & Continental sections.

There was a tiny Indian section too. Live stations constantly had queues. Needless to say that the Indian food was just ok. Nothing great.

Special mention to the salmon sashimi at the Japanese counter, Peking duck at the Chinese Counter, a very large dessert & fruit section. The sashimi was outstanding & the wasabi was good at hitting the sinuses. The Peking Duck at China Garden, Hyatt, New Delhi is much better.  The choice of everything was so high that at times I was feeling like a kid in a candy shop.

peking duck, sashimi & honey pork

The coffee shop

Went for Thai Fish cake & salad with Nuoc Cham dressing. The texture reminded me of crab cakes. The fish cake had a slightly thick outer layer & very soft & juicy inside. Tasty & cool – though some people might find it a bit oily since it is deep fried. I liked it & likely to order again.

thai fish cakes

For main course, had ‘fish balls with flat rice noodle soup’ – Though the menu card mentioned fish balls, the dish had fish ‘cuboids’ as well. Loved it so much that had it again next morning at the live food station. So here is how it was made:

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Asian Cuisine, chinese, Eating outside India, Hongkong, Travel

Hongkong Street Food – Tong Tai Seafood Restaurant (Temple Street Night Market, Hongkong)

In a nutshell:

A roadside Chinese Dhaba in which u actually sit on plastic chairs on the road & eat from makeshift tables – some marvelous fresh seafood & other Chinese food. I wud have regretted to have missed this place.

te facade of the shop

Meal for 2 : HKD 200 onwards

people sitting on plastic chairs & tables on the street & eating

How to get there: Get to Kowloon station & take a taxi to ‘Temple Street Night Market’.

live (most of them) seafood on display

Cuisine Type: Predominantly Nonvegetarian, limited but good Vegetarian selection.

live seafood – view 2

Short Description –In case u r in a hurry:

In many years of my regular visits to Hongkong, there has hardly been an occasion when we have not visited the Temple Street Night Market. It is a makeshift market that comes up everyday post sunset, on a place that is a road in the daytime!!!! I guess there are hundred or more stalls in this place & they sell a huge variety of merchandise like – Chinese traditional dresses for adults & kids, very innovative toys, paintings, a plethora of things that u can use for decorating ur home, Hongkong memorabilia, DVDs & fakes of all kinds of brands from clothing to accessories & shoes.

A very common sight in Hongkong – Full roasted birds of all shapes & sizes hung – with their beaks intact

What this market also has is a few roadside eateries that served fresh seafood & other Chinese food. On the display is a host of sea animals of different shapes, colors, textures & sizes. U can choose from them & they will cook it for you in the way you want (u will have to choose from multiple choice questions). U can also order from a printed menu card in which almost every item has a colored picture.

the aquarium section – u choose ur food

We generally used to go to one of these eateries for a long time – The food was great but the service was dramatically poor. They wud not come to take the orders for long, u wud struggle to get a fork (food is usually served with a pair of chopsticks), they might forget serving one of the things that u ordered etc. We always thought that all popular street food joints are like this only. Yesterday it crossed our mind to try out a new joint. To our pleasant surprise, the service was perfect, so was the behavior & the food was awesome. The food was actually better than our earlier joint.

from shelled beings to swimming fishes (background)

What is interesting is that on each table u will get a toilet paper roll – in place of tissue paper, for wiping ur hand!!!
Incase u r a nonvegetarian beyond just boneless Tandoori Chicken, do not miss this place if u happen to be in Hongkong. This is a foodie’s heaven.

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

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India, Indian, Maheshwar (MP), north indian meals

Guru Kripa Restaurant (Off Janta Talkies Chowk, Maheshwar, Dhar District, Madhya Pradesh)

In a nutshell:My good luck that I broached the topic of lunch while we were passing thru Maheshwar & we were taken to Guru Kripa. Visually unimpressive but taste-wise very good Meal for 2: Rs. 100 Cuisine Type: Vegetarian Description: We happened to be entering Dhar during one of our long distant car rides & I asked the Driver ‘ What is a good place to … Continue reading Guru Kripa Restaurant (Off Janta Talkies Chowk, Maheshwar, Dhar District, Madhya Pradesh)

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Continental Cuisine, experimental

Smoke House Room (3rd Floor, The Crescent, Lado Sarai, Mehrauli, New Delhi)

In a nutshell:
A series of quirky masterpieces served one after another in equally quirky & masterfully done interiors. This coupled with well informed, warm & attentive service contributed to our best continental eatout in Delhi so far.

A beautiful partition wall at The Smoke House Room

Facebook page: Smoke house Room

Cuisine type: Vegetarian & Non vegetarian

interior of the restaurant - look at the mushroom shaped pillar

Meal for 2: Rs. 8000 onwards

Short Description – In case u r in a hurry:

We went for a Grand ‘Degustation’ menu at Smoke House Room last week. At times it felt like a magic show also ………… A powder looking like paan parag turned out to be a Duck liver pate (once it hits ur tongue), a sunny side up was made not with eggs but coconut froth resembling the white & passion fruit resembling the yolk!!!!!!!!

watermelon Caprionshka with mint foam

It was a ten course menu excluding snacks & Petit Fours (confectionary eaten at the end of the meal). Some of the dishes were created using ‘Molecular gastronomy’. Each & every dish was a work of art – both for the eyes & on the palate.

So lets see what Wikipedia has to say about Degustation – It is a culinary term meaning a careful, appreciative tasting of various foods and focusing on the gustatory system, the senses, high culinary art and good company. Dégustation is more likely to involve sampling small portions of all of a chef’s signature dishes in one sitting. Usually consisting of eight or more courses, it may be accompanied by a matching wine degustation which complements each dish.

This is what wiki says about Molecular Gastronomy – It is a subdiscipline of food science that seeks to investigate, explain and make practical use of the physical and chemical transformations of ingredients that occur while cooking, as well as the social, artistic and technical components of culinary and gastronomic phenomena in general

The restaurant has three interesting named menus – The Hunter (nonvegetarian), The Gatherer (Vegetarian) & the Grand Degustation menu (with or without wine pairing). They also serve alacarte.

Champagne topped with frothed creme de cassis

The visual theme of the restaurant is mushrooms – so there r mushrooms printed on the table napkins, mushroom shaped badges on the shirts of all the members of staff & very interestingly, the pillars & the space around them was also mushroom shaped.

It is mandatory to inform a day in advance if u go for a Grand Degustation menu. We did that & were pleasantly surprised to see a specialized menu created & printed just for us with the date of visit mentioned on it. This menu was prepared post a discussion over the phone with the Chef on our ‘food restrictions’ if any – Needless to say we opted for the ‘no restriction’ option & left the menu to the Chef’s imagination.

menucard tailormade for us - right click & save it to desktop if u want to read it (very interesting)

What came on our tables post this was way above expectations.

Since this is a new concept to India, the members of the staff come & explain a lot about the concepts. A very good experience for foodies. For those who love eating food but not interested in the backround, they might just request ‘ pls excuse us – no stories, only food’.

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

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Indian, snack

Kolkata Egg Roll

This is a part of the series ……. For the Chef in u

Contributed by YUMMRAJ’s favourite Chef ANONYMOUS

egg roll

Super easy to make & Super good to eat……………

Kolkata Egg rolls are different from Mumbai’s Frankies, Delhi’s rumali roti based rolls, South American Tortilla wraps & Mediterranean Shwarmas. The difference is that the ubiquitous egg roll is paratha based instead of maida roti based. Kolkata rolls also have two major types – the handcarts that we see all over the town vs. the traditional Muslim eateries. The rolls in handcarts have a thin oil fried paratha whereas in the traditional Muslim eateries like Zeeshan or Nizams, the rolls are made with thick layered parathas that are fried in ghee / dalda.

Welcome to my take on the ever popular egg roll that is inspired in parts from both the above-mentioned varieties of Kolkata egg rolls.

For the filling, add tomato chili sauce & mustard sauce (Kasundi) to a bowl of two freshly chopped onions & finely chopped Green Chillies.

ingredients for the filling

Add salt & half a tea spoon of Chaat masala, mix well & adjust seasoning. Keep aside.

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Afghani, Asian Cuisine

Afghan Durbar (Saket, Delhi)

In a nutshell:

Very ‘different but similar’ tasting Afghani food served by Afghan Nationals living in Delhi who cannot speak anything other than Afghani.

The facade & shop board

Address & other details : 36F Hauz Rani, Malviya Nagar – At the Traffic crossing of Press Enclave Marg & the road that runs besides DLF Place Mall, Saket.

Meal for 2: Rs. 300 onwards

Cuisine Type: Vegetarian & Nonvegetarian

Short Description – In case u r in a hurry:

Read about this place from a post by our friend  Chowder Singh. So went to try out.

Very nice ambience. Almost six to eight guests were seated on tables & chairs. One guest was sitting & eating on a special makhmal gaddi seat with folded legs .

picture on the menu card cover

Two Afghan guys were the hosts – We found them quite shy as they were talking in their language & not making eye contact with us even after noticing us walk into the restaurant . As we took a seat, we watched the two Afghans talk & it seemed from gesture that one was asking the other to hurry up. We slowly started getting bewildered, as to whether anyone will come at all…………& Then came an Indian Chhotu who knew Hindi. Came to know that these Afghans cannot speak Indian languages but they r running their business from here. Chhotu used to work at their house years back & that is how they picked up Afghani language. So chhotu has a better occupation nowadays.

Afghani momo kind of food – called mantu

Had some unique Afghani momos called Mantu, very good Kabuli Uzbeki mutton pulao, good but not great Boran baingan & Saalan baamia okra and some traditional Afghani bread – taftan.

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

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Continental Cuisine, Gurgaon, India, Mediterranean

Fresc Co Restaurant (Ambience Mall, NH8, Gurgaon, Terminal 2, Domestic Airport, New Delhi)

In a nutshell:

A roller coaster experience for us & our tastebuds, an evening with moments of dissappointments & ecstasy…………thankfully eventually we walked out smiling.

The warm interiors of Fresc Co

Address & other details: Fresc Co

Meal for 2: Rs. 1200 onwards

Cuisines of the countries that are served at Fresc Co

Cuisine Type: Vegetarian & Nonvegetarian

Short Description – In case u r in a hurry:

Day 1 (Ambience Mall):

We walked in seeing a huge poster of Pizza with seafood, took a seat, waited for the waiting staff to reach us (which incidentally took a while), & to be told that it is not being served. So we asked, ‘why do u have the picture outside?’ – pat came the answer ‘sir, we change our menu card often. We do not have this any more in the current menu’………….. was that a joke??? Isnt one supposed to replace product advertisements for which the product has been discontinued? Very frustating start.

The Huge picture of seafood pizza outside Fresc co which is not a part of the menu!!!!!

The overall service was slow, it was very difficult to make an eyecontact with the staff even though at times we saw them chatting near the counter. It felt like Castaway Tom Hanks in the island trying to wave at the aircrafts flying above to rescue him but those guys r busy flying.

Must mention that when they are at the table, they are very nice to us & in fact some of them are real smart & have good product knowledge.

What surely needs a mention is the live music. That is something for which we might revisit – performance by Gregg on Friday, Saturday & Sunday evenings.

They have some good vegetarian & nonvegetarian buffet spreads. I wud not drive from home to go & eat at that buffet again but if I am around & am hungry, will surely consider this as an option. Fresco at the Domestic Terminal however feels like an Oasis – Relatively much higher standard of food than the regular fast food kind of chains that r present at the Airport. Infact I have eaten more often at Fresco in the airport than at AmbiMall.

Excellent Sicilian Pizza at Fresc Co

In alacarte we had some cool Greek style prawns, some weird Chelo Kabab, an excellent Sicilian Pizza & a very enjoyable virgin mojito.

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

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