Nafees Restaurant, (30-B, Apollo Avenue, Old Palasia, Indore)

In a nutshell:

Traditional intricate & ornate look interiors, good service & some good kababs, curries & Biryani.

The view from outside

Address & other details: Nafees

Meal for 2: Rs. 300 onwards

Cuisine Type: Nonvegetarian & Vegetarian

Short Description – In case u r in a hurry:

I was told that this Restaurant is owned by The Uncle of Bollywood star Salman Khan.

The Glass inside the Restaurant & at the entrance has intricate floral design. The Furniture & the interiors look traditional & intricate. It has a feeling of a 19th Century Palace interior. There are separate seating sections for stags & family. A bit crowded but overall, a good ambience.

the interiors

With all that Grandness, the menu card looked quite ‘cheap’. It had bad quality badly edited photographs, strange fonts, inconsistent font sizes & overall a lack of class. I hope they imnprove it going forward.

The service level was beyond expectation – warm, knowledgeable, enthusiastic & friendly. When I told the guy serving us that such ‘passion & involvement’ is rare nowadays, he said – ‘U have come here for the first time. So I am taking special care of u so that u enjoy the experience this evening & remember us for long’.

The food was very enjoyable as well. I usually order three things in my visit to a Mughlai Restaurant – Sheekh, Burrah Kabab & Biryani as this is a test for the restaurant. I usually never revisit restaurants who fail in these basic dishes. On future visits to restaurants that pass the test, I usually try out other food.

cool visual display of accompaniments

The Sheekh kabab passed the test with Flying colors, the Burrah was enjoyable. The Biryani gave me mixed reactions – The rice of the Biryani was awesome. The goat whose meat was in the Biryani seemed to be a fan of Salman Khan – It must have been too muscular – .resulting in stiff, unedible meat pieces of Biryani.

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Chatori Gali, Bhopal – Street food

In a nutshell:

Utopia for meat lovers , this gali (street) is full of tiny shops selling fish & meat dishes with strong & rustic flavors & taste at prices that u wud have heard ur grandfather talk about.

chatori gali - the lane

Address & other details: Just get into an autorickshaw & ask for Chatori Gali. U will b transported there. It seemed as easy as asking any public transport driver in Agra to take u to Taj Mahal !!!!

There is a small parking that can accomodate 10 – 12 cars just opposite Chatori Gali – In case u prefer to take a car.

Meal for 2: Rs. 70 onwards

prices so low that even ur Grandfather wud compare with his college days.

Cuisine Type: Nonvegetarian

Short Description – In case u r in a hurry:

This place is just a road on which there are small shops on both sides that sell YUMM meat & fish products at very low price & high volumes. Everything here is very chatpata in taste – rustic, robust.

first shop in the corner - Chatori Gali

For those of u who go by the hygiene displayed by the Restaurant / the shop, u will b disappointed. Its different that in the kitchen of many (not all) Restaurants, it is not very neat & clean – the only difference is that u do not get to see that.

For those of u who r frightened to eat fried food or food with fat in them, this is not the right place. BUT, if u r one of those who believe in pampering ur tastebuds & then work out harder to burn those extra calories, then this is the place.

the corner shop with a rotating chicken roasting machine

The people at the counters are quite friendly & ‘to the point’. But as I always say, they do not undergo modern day ‘Retail Management Training ‘ that preaches ‘Customer is the King’ etc. So they behave with u in a one to one basis & treat u as another person they r dealing with & not a ‘Customer’. So if u r friendly, that is reciprocated & vice versa.

Marinated meats & fishes are displayed in front of u & are made on request right in front of u. So there is almost nothing that is made & stored.

marinated miscellaneous meats

I was surprised to see that one shop had an automated rotating Chicken Roasting machine too.

I had one of the best ever Hamburgers (pao Kabab) in this place, a very unique & enjoyable paaya soup, good sheekh kababs, outstanding beef kababs,

the finger licking good beef kababs

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Bijoli Grill (Dilli Haat, opposite INA Market & Banga Bhawan, Delhi)

In a nutshell: A pretty good option for those missing good Bengali food in Delhi / those who want to try out Bengali food without spending much. Good but not the best for connoisseurs. Meal for 2: Rs. 250 onwards Cuisine Type: Vegetarian & Nonvegetarian Description: Fish fry was excellent – Flaky & juicy fish within, flavors of Dhania & very crisp crumb outer layer. … Continue reading Bijoli Grill (Dilli Haat, opposite INA Market & Banga Bhawan, Delhi)

Aafreen Restaurant (besides Metiabruz Police Station, on main Akra road, Kolkata)

In a nutshell:A hidden wonder lost in a large metropolis – best Kolkata Biryani in Kolkata

A view from the main road

Cuisine Type: Nonvegetarian

Address & other details: AAfreen, R-38, S.A. Farooqie Road, Akra Road, Kolkata

Meal for 2: Rs. 150 onwards

Short Description – In case u r in a hurry:

YUMMRAJ shifts the crown of ‘Best Biryani in Kolkata’ from Arsalan after eating for the second time at Aafreen. Arsalan is now ‘Best Mutton Biryani in Kolkata’. This shift is purely on the basis of taste – not anything else.

drooling good biryani at Aafreen

Crispy Layered laccha parathas, super tasty subtle rezala , fiery looking bhuna that is very tasty & yet not half as fiery as it looks, a grainy & robust tasting Chhap, a subtle burhani to cool all this & the showstopper – As I write, I am salivating just at the thought of the biryani, even a week after munching it……… soft, melt in the mouth rice, not dry but not very greasy as well & unbelievably tender & tasty meat.

Chicken Chhap on slow fire

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Arsalan (Park Circus, Kolkata)

In a nutshell:

Best Kolkata mutton Biryani in Kolkata. Aafreen Biryani tastes better but that is not mutton biryani.

Address & other details: Arsalan

arsalan (exterior view)

Meal for 2: Rs. 250 onwards

Cuisine type: Predominantly Nonvegetarian with vegetarian options thrown in

pictorial & 'historical' table mat at Arsalan

Short Description – In case u r in a hurry:

The menu card is long. My reco to friends is that do not waste time & energy & imagination – just order Arsalan special Biryani with Mutton kosha, ishtew & chhamp as side dishes. For Kolkattans, a Mutton Burrah wud alsob a good idea. For Dilliwallas, The Burrah of Karims is a few shades better.

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Oh Calcutta, (Nehru Place New Delhi & also at Forum Mall, Elgin Rd Kolkata)

In a nutshell:

Superb subtle & unique taste of food from Bengal – traditional with a twist.

Address & other details : Oh Calcutta

Cuisine Type: Vegetarian & Nonvegetarian

Meal for 2: Rs. 700 onwards

Short Description – In case u r in a hurry:

Both veg & non veg food is good. Starters like mochar chop (pakora of banana flower), Gondhoraj Bhetki, Smoked Hilsa, Kaankra Chingri Bhape are unique & drooling good. Daab Chingri, Potoler Dolma, Chhanar dalna, Jhingey Posto, Chingri macher malay curry, Kosha Mangsho, Rezala are some brilliant dishes available here as well. Kolkata Biryani is good but few notches less than Arsalan Park Street Kolkata. Bhapa Sondesh, Nolen Gurer ice cream are very unique desserts served here as well. Overall – Need several visits to taste the variety available – strongly recommended by ur Bong Foodie friend YUMMRAJ

My reviews on this restaurant in Zomato , tripadvisor

Detailed Description – In case u have the time to enjoy reading this + if u have not understood the bong names of dishes mentioned above:) Continue reading “Oh Calcutta, (Nehru Place New Delhi & also at Forum Mall, Elgin Rd Kolkata)”