This is a series about how eating out is, post COVID lockdown – dine in, self pick up, home delivery. Read about the previous dining out experiences after the COVID pandemic lockdown here – amar Jyoti tres spectra threesixtyone Tenali hello panda In a NUtshell A beautiful theme restaurant, great place to catch up with friends to chit chat over a good meal, warm staff, … Continue reading Bagundi (opposite Connaught circus fire station, Connaught Place, delhi)
This is a series about how eating out is, post COVID lockdown. Read about the previous dining out experiences after the COVID pandemic lockdown here – amar Jyoti tres spectra threesixtyone In a NUtshell A nice theme restaurant, great place to catch up with friends to chit chat over a meal, warm staff, good food for people new to the cuisine. Address & other details: … Continue reading Tenali – the Andhra kitchen (green park main market, delhi)
11th july 2020. Our First non 5 star dineout experience after the COVID pandemic lockdown Read about the previous dining out experiences after the COVID pandemic lockdown here – tres spectra threesixtyone In a NUtshell It was more than ‘worth the drive’ from gurgaon to sarojini nagar market, just to eat lunch here – special mention to the butter chicken that made our day. Address … Continue reading Amar Jyoti restaurant (sarojini nagar market, delhi)
In a NUtshell A lovely dinner of Purani dilli recipes by home chef Shaista Iqbal, loved it. Address & other details: diya Meal for 2: ₹2000 onwards Cuisine type : vegetarian & non vegetarian Disclaimer: All restaurants / eateries reviewed by YUMMRAJ were visited by YUMMRAJ himself & he has paid for the full Bill & tips also. http://www.yummraj.com does not have even one featured … Continue reading Pop up by home chef Shaista Iqbal (Diya, Leela ambience gurgaon)
In a nutshell: Good décor & ambience, well mannered staff, overpriced food, smelly old meats consistently in all dishes, non authentic taste in general, with a few exceptions. Address & other details: Tarami Meal for 2: Rs. 1800 Tarami platter, Rs. 800 onwards for 2 alacarte Cuisine Type: Vegetarian & Nonvegetarian Short Description – In case u r in a hurry: My perception of overpriced … Continue reading Tarami (30 A, 1st Floor, Hauz Khas Village, New Delhi )
If u have expat guests & want to give them a taste of good Indian food that will not give them a Delhi Belly, this is the place. If u want to go out on a date & have indian food, u might consider this. If u r thinkin of meeting friends in a nice environment with some good food , this place is a good option. A family outing to a nice restaurant for celebration – once again this qualifies. However, if u r a hardcore foodie to whom tastebuds only matter & not ambience, or to whom a dori kabab on an Old Delhi roadside amidst huge flow of human traffic butt brushing u constantly is super exciting, then this Restaurant might throw up some disappointments.
Well let me try to xplain this. There r very limited ‘excellent’ Indian food Restaurants in Delhi. If u narrow down to Awadhi cuisine (Lucknowi food), then ur options r highly limited to say the Legendary Dum Pukth, Kainoosh or say Indian accent. Indian fine dining is rare & specially if u r a fan of Dum food (slow cooked over low fire – a Lucknowi tradition).
My experience at Dum affairs was very good but has been surely better at Kainoosh, IndianAccent & the big Boss – Dum Pukth. I will happily part with Rs. 6000 for 2 at Dum Pukth but having paid Rs. 2800 for 2 at Dum affairs, I feel it is a bit overpriced. Its like a 2 hrs flight vs. a 14 hrs AC 1 Rajdhani. That is the difference.
The staff is extremely courteous & have good relevant product knowledge. They were quite attentive too, to our needs.
The ambience, as I mentioned, was very good. Nothing Awadhi about it but just plain good. Music was modern day Bollywood – I did not really get the connection of that with Lucknow.
innovative dessert
The food was a mix of outstanding & average. Authenticity did not seem to be a focus & the Chef has done a good job at doing some of the fusion cuisines. However, it wud have been good if the menu card displayed which ones r fusion & which ones authentic. For some dishes, that was obvious but it wasn’t obvious for the rest.
The first page of the menu card was a shocker to me – It had a section called ‘For the health freaks’ with salads etc. That was the most inappropriate section in a Lucknowi Restaurant – ‘healthy Lucknowi food’ is nothing short of an oxymoron.
Detailed Description – In case u have the time to njoy reading:
In a nutshell: My favourite from a decade back (Kolkata chapter) – Re-visited the Gurgaon restaurant after many years & Loved the food overall except one. For seeing pics of food at this place, pls click here. Address & other details: Mainland China Meal for 2: Rs. 1200 onwards Cuisine Type: Vegetarian & Nonvegetarian Short Description – In case u r in a hurry: Have … Continue reading Mainland China (Shop 2, Ground Floor, Block A Wing, Building 9, DLF Cyber City, DLF Phase 3, Gurgaon)
We had a really good time with some good Japanese Teppanyaki that however does not qualify as ‘the best I have ever had’ – A Japanese Restaurant in Delhi that has a live Teppanyaki counter, a sushi bar & more with very warm & interactive chefs who create good food from scratch right in front of u.
A general view of the Dining Hall of Kylin Premier Ambience Mall Vasant Kunj Delhi
Situated in Ambience Mall VasantKunj, this restaurant serves Japanese & other oriental cuisines. They also have a ‘Kylin Express’in the same Mall – at the food court.
The Restaurant is very tastefully made. As u enter, u realize that the Restaurant has a dim Lighting with individual lights near tables. Amidst this dim lighting, on the right hand side is a glass box that is illuminated & hence it totally stands out –different types of visually appealing sushis displayed in it. A little further, there is the bar area & then is the restaurant area. Beyond the Restaurant area is the area that appeals to me most in a Japanese Restaurant – Teppanyaki counter (Japanese live grill).
typical teppanyaki set up @ Kylin Premier Ambience Mall Vasant Kunj Delhi
The people in the Restaurant were very warm. I indulged in a little chat with two of the Teppanyaki Chefs. They are Indians but they have worked in Japanese 5 star Restaurants with Famous Japanese Chefs. The constant interaction with the chef as he was making our Dinner right in front of us – it was very interesting & enjoyable.
fried rice in the making on teppan @ Kylin Premier Ambience Mall Vasant Kunj Delhi
For the choice of food we stuck to the Japanese section & avoided the obvious non-Japanese hits like prawn butter garlic etc. We went for two Teppanyaki dishes – one recommended by the Chef as ‘must not miss in Kylin’ – Prawn & the other of our choice – Soy Salmon. New Zealand Lamb Chops & Pork Ribs also feature in ‘Chef’s recommendation’ according to the menu card – But we cud not manage to taste those due to sheer lack of space in our stomach pouches.
Noodles being made on the teppan
As I have mentioned above, the food was very enjoyable though not the best TeppanyakiI have ever had. This however has been one of the best Teppanyaki I have had in Delhi so far.
A view of teppanyaki counter & the background from our table @ Kylin Premier Ambience Mall Vasant Kunj Delhi
Detailed Description – In case u have the time to njoy readin:
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:
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