In a NUtshell: A nice, evening place, with retro live music , serving Indian food (from across the country) by a chef who has thousands of fans in gurgaon – Sushmit Daniels Address & other details: anticlock Meal for 2: ₹700 onwards Cuisine type : vegetarian & non vegetarian Disclaimer: All restaurants / eateries reviewed by YUMMRAJ were visited by YUMMRAJ himself & he has … Continue reading Anti clock (park inn by radisson, Moolchand, New Delhi)
In a NUtshell: A visually beautiful restaurant in mumbai race course (accessible to all) that served some very good food, great for romantic dinners as well as catch up with friends, hosts were warm people who were confused on product knowledge. Address & other details: Neel Meal for 2: ₹2000 Cuisine type : vegetarian and non vegetarian Disclaimer: All restaurants / eateries reviewed by YUMMRAJ were visited by YUMMRAJ … Continue reading Neel – tote on the turf (gate no. 5, Mahalakshmi race course, mumbai)
In a NUtshell:A restaurant manned by ‘cold’ people, members of ‘no laughter club’ , the restaurant has average ambience and serves very good food Address & other details: The calcutta club Meal for 2: ₹500 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 & … Continue reading The calcutta club (22, link plaza, near police station, Oshiwara , Andheri West, mumbai)
This is a review of Sunday brunch In a nutshell: An unforgettable brunch, one of the best we have had in years, in terms of spread, amazing attention to detail by chef and team, brilliant conceptualisation and seamless execution. For seafood lovers in india, this is specially more interesting. Address & other details: Meal for 2: ₹6000 Cuisine type : vegetarian and non vegetarian Disclaimer: … Continue reading J W Cafe (J W Marriott, sahar , mumbai International Airport area, mumbai)
In a nutshell – A super YUMM ‘bhar pet’ Mughal cuisine lunch for Rs. 247 for 3 people in Delhi, with few dishes much better than the famed Big Boys of Mughal Cuisine like Jawahar or Karims. Address & other details: Pahalwan Dhaba is the second shop to the entrance of the Dargah of Sufi Saint Qutubuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki. Best way to reach here is … Continue reading Pahalwan Dhaba (near the entrance of Dargah of Qutubuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki, Mehrauli , Delhi)
My childhood favourite – Re-visited after many years & Loved the simple menu , some good & some great food at prices that surprise.
Bengal Hotel – Moton o fowl
Address & other details:Bengal Hotel
Meal for 2: Rs. 200 onwards
fish fry at Bengal Hotel
Cuisine Type: A bit of Vegetarian & predominantly Nonvegetarian
Short Description – In case u r in a hurry:
As kids we used to go to this super tiny restaurant to have fish cutlets. The ambience did not matter then coz we were not aware of ‘ambience’ in an eatery & now it does not matter to me as long as the food is superb. We used to drool over the food then & this time around I found it very good, if not as good as before.
mutton cutlet at Bengal Hotel
The owner sits right at the entrance – He handles cash & remote manages the place. There is one guy who I have seen as the manager for many years now – order taking from customers & coordinating. Food is served by ‘chhotus’.
Fish roll at Bengal Hotel Behala
The most interesting thing at this restaurant is the rate chart. The menu is printed on a board on the wall – permanent (I think it was same when I was a kid). The price of the dish is written with chalk everyday besides the description. All items r made in limited quantities & as soon as an item is sold out, the manager runs to the board & rubs off the price. Popularity still soars & by 6.30 pm onwards one by one the items start getting sold out. The shop opens at around 3.30 pm & shuts by approx. 8.00 pm.
The ‘interesting’ rate chart at Bengal Hotel, Behala
They also pack ‘fry & eat’ chops & cutlets. I have heard that NRIs carry these back home. I carry these back to Gurgaon at times.
‘fry & eat’ chops & cutlets in case u want to pack it for home
The food is Anglo Indian – Chops & cutlets that have become Bengali now & mutton & chicken curries that have a wide following in Britain these days. We tried the mutton cutlet, fish roll, fish fry & also mutton kosha. Liked the mutton cutlet, liked very much the fish roll & fish fry & super loved the mutton kosha.
Detailed Description – In case u have the time to njoy readin:
Famous for its rolls that I found to be expensive & good but not upto the expectations, this tiny takeaway place also sells some good biryanis, kababs & curries.
Kolkata has come up with some innovative permutations & combinations in kathi rolls (generally called rolls) over the last decade or so. What started as a basic egg roll, has now I guess 20+ combos like double egg roll (made with 2 eggs), double egg chicken roll (2 eggs & 1 portion chicken), double egg double mutton roll ( 2 eggs, 2 portions mutton) , paneer roll (no egg & 1 portion of paneer )etc …..just to name a few. So most places selling roll wud have a long rate chart that wud list prices of these. While going thru the rate card at Zeeshan , Park Circus, I noticed they sell bheja roll (goat brain roll), bheja egg roll etc as well. Fish being a bong favourite, has also rolled into rolls of late.
As of today none of those rolls cost more than Rs. 60 (the 2+2 combos), including Nizam’s Kolkata. Nizam’s Gurgaon however charges Rs. 160 for a double egg double chicken roll which is surely high by any standards. I am a person who comfortably parts with huge amounts of money on food if the food is that good – but this seemed more to me as well. However, we decided to order expecting that at least our tastebuds wud rejoice after eating roll from the legendary Nizam’s.
We also ordered Mutton Burrah Kabab as that is a dish which clearly demarcates the great Mughlai chefs from the Good, ordinary & bad Chefs.
Detailed Description – In case u have the time to njoy reading:
Hot & spicy mutton sheekh kabab at Jammu & Kashmir House
Short Description – In case u r in a hurry:
The Restaurant is the canteen of Jammu & Kashmir House in Chanakyapuri. Unlike some other states – Assam Bhawan (Jakoi), Odisha Niwas (Dalma) etc, who have let private bodies manage their Canteen professionally, the Canteen at J & K House is still run by the State Government. Food is made based on the occupancy of the Rooms upstairs + some extra for guests like us. The menu varies according to availability of ingredients & also from day to day – to offer some variety to the ‘long stay’ guests.
The Dining hall is small but has very nice & expensive, heavy, pure wood furniture & even the walls have wooden panels that are seen in posh Kashmiri Restaurants / Showrooms. The airconditioning works excellent & was good enough to keep the room chilled while outside it was 42 degrees.
Woodwork on the walls of Canteen at Jammu & Kashmir House
The guy serving us was surely not professionally trained, did not wear gloves, did not shave, did not have a uniform on nor did he wear shoes – he had slippers on. For me none of that made a difference & what overwhelmed us was the fact that he always had a smile on his face, said ‘sab accha hai (all items r good) ’ when asked for suggestions on the menu & made us feel at home. In fact he treated us as if we were guests at his home. With him it was more a human to another human interaction instead of a customer – waiter relationship that u come across in professionally run setups.
Mutton Roganjosh at Jammu & Kashmir House, Chanakyapuri
So I guess that u have already guessed that there is no printed menu card. Infact there is no blackboard on which the ‘menu of the day’ is written with chalk. The menu is rattled out by the guy serving u.
On the day of our visit, the menu was daal, pumpkin curry, chicken curry, mutton roganjosh & mutton sheekh kabab. I asked ‘what about haaq (a splendid Kashmiri saag preparation) , Gushtaba & Rishta?’ He said ‘We do not have haaq today, we make it at times though. Gushtaba or Rishta is made on special occasions when more guests are expected or can be made on order for a group of 8 – 10 people. Just call a day in advance & ask for it.’ For the uninitiated, Gushtaba & Rishta are Kashmiri meatball curries – one red in color & the other white in color.
The guy also clarified that the meat balls are made in the traditional way – the meat is hand pounded with spices & not on the machine. That made my eyes to glow & my mouth to salivate.
chicken curry @ Jammu & Kashmir Bhawan
We settled for the kabab, chicken curry & mutton roganjosh………………… & we did not regret at all. Interestingly, 3 nonvegetarian dishes + rice costed us Rs. 350 for 2 people in Delhi!! Quite a steal.
Detailed Description – In case u have the time to njoy reading:
Freshly made Finger licking good desi chicken (also called Gaonran / Gawran chicken in local parlance) & a unique overall experience.
Address & Contact Numbers:
Address & phone numbers – In case u want to call for directions
Meal for 2: Rs. 400 onwards
Cuisine Type:Vegetarian & Nonvegetarian
Short Description in case u r in a hurry:
On hearing that we are off to Aurangabad (base town for Shirdi, Ajanta, Ellora & Daulatabad) , my foodie friend Rakesh Kumar told us ‘As u drive on the Baijapur road Jalgaon road, u wud come across local dhabas on both side where u wud get gaonran chicken, freshly cut & made as per ur taste. Tell them – half dry & half curry’.
Lipsmacking Dry desi chicken at kalim’s Moonlight
With this info in hand we set out to this place, to realize that the road is also referred to as Mitmita Nasik Road. We walked into Kalim’s Moonlight Dhaba. The Dhaba looked neat & clean from outside & it was actually very well maintained inside as well. Well done lawns, outdoor seating, covered seating, Toilet facilities, parking facilities etc.
the entrance to the dhaba
They serve all kind of North Indian Dhaba food including vegetarian & also South Indian food.
the dining hall
The people at the Dhaba were also very nice.
The story that u shud not miss:
As we entered, we noticed many gaonran (desi) chicken playing around in the lawn. One of the hens had laid an egg & was hatching it in a corner.
Gaonran chicken roaming around in the lawn
When we said we came for Gaonran chicken, the first question that I was asked , stumped me. He said – ‘which one’. I said ‘What do u mean’. He said ‘ U choose from the ones that are roaming around. We will catch it & cook for u’. I was like ‘whhhaaat?’ in my mind. I realized quickly that this is what my friend had told but it did not seem so explicit then.
I said – ‘I have no idea. Pls choose one for me that is so good that we remember u for long’. The gentleman looked at me, frowned, thought for a while & consulted with one of his aides. Then they decided on a red colored chicken that was in one corvner of the lawn.
This is the best example of ‘Free range’ chicken that I have ever seen. For the uninitiated, free range means ‘Chicken that are not caged & kept in natural conditions. They are also kept on natural diet – not artificial medicines & hormones’.
What happened next was something I will never forget. A whistle by the gentleman led to all employees of the Dhaba descending on the lawn & then began the chase. The postures looked like fielders in cricket or like in a game of kabaddi. The men started approaching the hen slowly. For some time the hen did not quite understand what was happening. As soon as it understood , it fluttered & flew up to a tree. They shaked the tree, it flew down to a bush. They ran into the bush.The hen escaped from the other end of the bush. They surrounded the bush from all sides. The hen flew out last moment fluttering. This kind of activity continued for quite some time with eight men chasing one chicken. Then the men grouped together to strategize & applied some trick. Something did not work out well – so they had a little 30 seconds fight (subdued, in low voices) I cud see accusations flying here to there questioning each other’s mental prowess & hunting skills. …………… & at last after almost 10 minutes later, they succeded in catching the red chicken!!!!! This was the funniest commotion that I had come across outside a movie.
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