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)
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:
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.
Detailed Description – In case u have the time to enjoy reading:
Good fish & meat kababs with strong & rustic flavored & taste, some very interesting Biryani that made me rethink my list of ‘best Biryani’ & one of the best Mutton Kormas I have ever had..
best Mutton Korma I ‘ve ever had
Address & other details: Just get into an autorickshaw & ask for Jamil Hotel near Chatori Gali. U will b transported there. In case the auto driver does not know, ask him to take u to Chatori Gali. Once there, just ask for Jamil Hotel situated on a road opposite Chatori Gali.
Meal for 2:Rs. 100 onwards
Cuisine Type:Nonvegetarian
Short Description – In case u r in a hurry:
Like Chatori Gali, everything here is very chatpata in taste – rustic, robust.
For those of u who rate the look & feel of a restaurant highly, u will b disappointed here. It has quite a shabby appearance, has old metal tables & bench seating. The shop does not even have a signboard. People just know this place.
The interiors
During my chat with the owner, he told us that they will move in to a new bigger building right opposite the existing one & that will b like a regular Restaurant.
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 to be.
the open kitchen
The serving staff at the shop are quite friendly. But as I always say, they do not undergo modern day ‘Hotel Management Training that preaches ‘Customer is the King’ etc. So they behave with u in a person to person basis & treat u as another person they r dealing with & not a ‘Customer’. So if u r friendly, that is reciprocated & vice versa.
We were lucky to have the Chef come up to the table post the serving staff ran out of answers to my questions. The Chef was really nice & explained things. When we ordered an extra Biryani to end the meal, he gave a complimentary ‘gravy of Mutton Do Pyaza’ to taste.
As u enter the shop, u r greeted with the sight of Marinated meats & fishes. These are cooked on request right in front of u. So there is almost nothing that is made & stored. So we had some good kababs, some outstanding Korma & a very very interesting Biryani.
marinades displayed right at the entrance to the shop
Detailed Description – In case u have the time to enjoy reading:
If u r a health freak, either do not go there or go there & forget that u not supposed to eat such things – just switch off & enjoy. Calories will come & go if u exercise regularly – so why make ur taste buds abstain from such pleasures.
Parking options r little – b prepared.
U can eat standing in the winter afternoon sun or in the summer evening breeze. If u r lucky, u get to set in one of the two six seater tables in a room so tiny that u can barely park ur motorbike there. Ther are a lot of flies around – so ur left hand will constantly fan over the food while u use the right hand for eating. The other good option is to walk with the plats to ur car & eat inside in the comfort of airconditioning.
The waiters r obviously not trained. So they will behave like normal human beings – If u r nice & smiling to them, they will be very nice to u, else if u r grumpy & treat them not so well, he might also behave strangely.
The kitchen is kind of open & u can take a peek at what is happening inside.
Coming to the food, this is their forte. Rest are not – as u must have figured out by now.
Detailed Description – In case u have the time to enjoy reading:
I originally wrote this post in 2011 but hv been revising it from time to time. latest update being 30th april 2015
crowd @ Kake di Hatti
Some of the best Dilli food is found in Chandni Chowk & adjoining areas like Chawri Bazar as many of the shops have not changed much from what they were about fifty to hundred years ago. This is not a comprehensive list but is a fairly large list which u will need few visits to cover – Some of the eateries mentioned below (e.g. Karim’s ,Jalebiwala etc) have been covered in detail (in other posts) in this blog – u can read those & enjoy the pics as well.
Attached is a hand drawn (by YUMMRAJ) map without which you will never find anything. You may need to take a printout and carry it with you as, without a map, you can easily get lost here. Let me tell u that inspite of the printout u might need to use Indian GPS – ‘Bhaisab, ye ved prakash lemon wale ka dukaan kahaan hai?’
click on the picture to enlarge it – so that u can read it, suggest u to carry a printout of the map
The best way to get here is to park your car in CP (Connaught Place) and take the metro to Chawri Bazaar or Chandni Chowk. Let me warn u though that there r huge queues at the ticketcounters of Chandni Chowk station on the way back. The other option is to park the car at CP & take an auto rickshaw.
Daulat ki chaat being sold at Chandni chowk. Winters only. Multiple vendors. Must try…
As u alight from the metro at Chawri Bazaar, take the gate towards Hauz Kazi. Once you are up on the street, you will see a clearing/intersection of roads. Go to the diagonally-opposite corner of the road, towards your right. You will find a tiny shop called ‘Ashok Chaat Corner’. You will see the red-coloured Times Food Guide certification on its wall. Ask for their signature offering – kalmi chaat and urad daal chaat. They use a kachalu chutney which is totally different, and simply awesome. Avoid the paani puris – they r no different from the rest of the places.
To try one of the best kulfis in town, check out Kuremal Mohan lal kulfiwale. Do not miss their stuffed mango kulfi during summers / jamun / lichi….
Contributed by Guest Blogger: Neha Manchanda YUMMRAJ is yet to visit the new Gurgaon store. YUMMRAJ however has very fond memories of Tunday kababs in Lucknow – Tunday is the name of teh shop & the kind of kabab served here is called Galawali – melt in the mouth, slow cooked on a copper tawa on a wood fired oven………….served with freshly made laccha parathas……..mouthwatering … Continue reading Tunday Kebabi, (B-002, Qutab Plaza Market, DLF Plaza Tower, DLF Phase 1, Gurgaon )
the awesome 100% herbivorous salad that even hardcore carnivores wud not b able to keep distance from
Short Description – In case u r in a hurry:
I have never been to the Arab countries & hence have no idea of what an authentic Arab food is / how it tastes. However, when we ate at the newly opened Zaitoon, the food was mind blowing good – Have no clue how authentic it was but the taste was just beyond all expectations.
Menu on the wall 1
They have equal number of options for mutton freaks, Chikenetarians & Vegetarians. The little taste of Veggies that I got in our platter was very good.
We went for a Zaitoon Mixed Mutton platter – A ‘to die for’ Mutton Basrawi Tikka, Mutton Baghdadi tikka, a kind of hand-made pizza called Mutton Arayes, Superb Mutton kabab, nice pita bread, hummus, tahini & a really hot chilli dip, a ‘never had it so tasty’ salad, turshi & some unwanted French Fries & Coke!!
the platter
Going by the little bits of vegetarian that we had + the overall intent of the guys to really serve good tasty food makes me believe that the vegetarian food is very good as well.
Detailed Description – In case u have the time to enjoy reading:
