Restaurants, Eating Out, Food...

Wenger's Deli, Connaught Place, New Delhi

2015-06-22T06:16:00.000-07:00

Note - This place takes its last order at around 8:30 PM/8:45PM. You feel this is bad - this is actually much later than the legendary sister concern which shuts door at 7:45 PM.

Wenger's Deli, Connaught Place

Wenger's Deli is sister (and very new) concern of the legendary Wenger's. We all know about Wenger's, which is just phenomenal in terms of value for money it offers. Wenger's Deli is an attempt to get into next level - from Bakery to Delicatessan - but with same focus on 'value for money'.

It is located adjacent to Keventer's in A-Block (on the radial road), Connaught Place. With the legendary Wenger's two shops away, this place is rightly placed for attracting the crowd. But it gets a bit hidden due to its location. However once you step inside, you will find the same quality as Wenger's and will feel satiated with very less hit on the wallet.

Decor
Remember, this is a Deli - better suited for a pick-up or a quick bite between work. This is not a fine dining setup at all. Decor is very minimal. Actually, the place itself is very small - hardly 10 or 12 seats (bar stools, to be precise) are available for seating. During rush hours, the waiting can go long due to limited seating - best is to order first and wait or grab the food and step out. The seating is also much in a bar fashion with stools facing the walls (window) and fixed tables in the walls. The caricatures on both walls make the setting a bit light and makes it feel much like a Deli. Overall, seating is less but the decor is good (or maybe perfect for the venture).

Service
The Deli has an open kitchen - actually kitchen probably has same amount of space as the front desk and the sitting area. The kitchen is visible through an open glass panel. That kind of sets a good tone as you can see your order being prepared in hygienic way. The service is just about okay. I have found it to be very quick at times and then slow at other times. Also, it depends on the rush and orders in the queue.

Food and Drinks
Now comes the main part - Food.

Food at Wenger's Deli is amazingly fresh, cheap and quantity is good. This frankly stands out in whole of Connaught Place. After trying various items from their menu, here is what I would recommend

Salads - Cucumber and Grape one; really nice combination and flavor.
Panini - Go for Greek Hero or Vegan Delite (yes the one with aubergine) in vegetarian section or Peri Peri Chicken in non-vegetarian section.
Waffles - All of them are good; perfectly baked. If you are into waffles, try them here.
Smoothies/Shakes - Zacarito or Hawaiin (if you like it in Coconut milk)
Burgers - The non-vegetarian section rules here. Sorry for the other side but the classic Chicken burger or Mutton Shami burger are both awesome. They are very filling and have perfectly prepared patties in them. A bit on spicy side though. But we, Indians, love it that way. Don't we?

So, what is missing? In my opinion, coffee is surely missing from the menu. Well, no hot drinks till now on their menu. I fail to understand why. I hope they get this corrected soon.

USP
Three things - food preparation, food quantity and price. Perfectly sums it up.

Here are the ratings on different aspects
Decor - 3/5
Service - 3/5
Food - 5/5
Drinks - 4/5

Details
Wenger's Deli
A-18, Radial Road
Connaught Place,
New Delhi

Mumbai Matinee (The Bollywood Cafe), Sector 18, Noida

2015-06-15T23:59:00.001-07:00

This review comes after a long time. First things first, I have decided to change the format of reviews to include different aspects of the place and give ratings to each one of them. Most common aspects would be - food, decor, and service but there could be other occasional things which are worth mentioning for a particular place like music, drinks or USP etc...

Mumbai Matinee (The Bollywood Cafe), Sector 18, Noida

Discovered by chance while roaming around in Sector 18 market and after being to this place three times, this place does not live up to its "name" hype. Well, for a place called Mumbai Matinee, one would expect blockbuster food - isn't that what Bollywood is all about. But Mumbai Matinee fails miserably in food department. Seriously, how can one go wrong with Vada Pav.

Decor
Nostalgic. Do I need to say more. For someone who grew up in 80s & 90s and had always loved the wonderful bygone era of Bollywood, this place is really nostalgic. It has posters from old movies - some of them which even I had not seen till now. And then it has the LPs (not the real ones but very much realistic fakes) on the ceiling. Plus it has famous dialogues from some of the movies in the outer room (on first floor). To complete the look, there are boxes created out of old cassette covers - remember those tapes we used to play in our cassette players. Now this one is old for some of the readers to understand:)

One thing which hurts me in the decor is the 'Wall of Legends'. It contains a small biography of legends of Bollywood. Nice concept but the hurting part is
- There is no mention of Dilip Kumar there. I mean - this is tragic!!!
- And then there is Parveen Babi and Firoz Khan. With all due respect to the latter, isn't this too much and then Parveen Babi - seriously ???

Music
For someone who has grown up hearing 80s and 90s music - don't laugh - this is a good place to enjoy those songs. Music is indeed good here - one can enjoy oldies as well as 80s/90s music. The volume can be tones down a bit due to the small place and closed interiors but then it depends on your mood as well.

Service
Overall pass-able. I have not waited too long for my orders ever - which is what matters. Plus the staff is courteous. Only thing which I noticed was the staff to be less knowledgeable. For example, if they cannot understand a demand for Pesto sauce pasta then something is missing. But then, Noida has always been devoid of good knowledgeable staff in restaurants. No surprises on this one.

Food
Coming to the probably the most important in a restaurant, food fails to make a mark to me at this place. On all my visits, I have tired nearly all items from their 'Mumbai Matinee Special' section and some pastas for my young one. Anything listed as 'Special' in the menu should be special but I am afraid they fail to make a mark. It is not that they are bad but they are just not special. I have tried Misel Pav, Vada Pav, Keema Pav, Pav Bhaji - nearly covering the whole 'Special' menu but none of them are outstanding. Moving on to pastas, they are very much 'Indianized' so to say. The sauces smell and taste very much Indian. Overall, food needs a huge lift in this otherwise good conceptualized eating joint.

Drinks
Well, this the part I have been there 3 times - specially their cutting chai. If you want to get a good cutting chai - this is the place to be in Sector 18. The cutting chai is just the right quantity of tea one would want to enjoy with the food. Made with perfect amount of milk and perfectly sweetened, it makes the food taste somewhat better.Perfect for a rainy day.

Here are the ratings on different aspects
Decor - 4/5
Service - 3/5
Music - 4.5/5
Food - 2/5
Tea - 5/5 :)

Details
Mumbai Matinee
J-19, Sector 18
Noida
National Capital Region (NCR)

South Indian Snacks Corner, Jantar Mantar

2013-09-18T22:20:00.000-07:00

Important - Please note that this place is not open on Sundays.

For my first 2-3 visits to this place, I never asked the name of the place at all. Food is so yummy that you forget everything else. But then, during a visit, when I asked the name of the place from the guy who stands there taking the orders most of the times, he just said 'South Indian Snacks Corner'. The most generic name (and maybe most apt) one can have for such a place.

For once, this could be just another fill-in-my-food kind of place but run out of a small kiosk and its adjoining one for past many years - some say around 20 years, this place dishes out amazing flavors through its hot South Indian snacks on dirt cheap rates. I think the most priced item on the menu would still be of 70-80 rupees only. Even the parking in some of the malls cost more than this in Delhi. Dirt cheap does not mean low on taste. The preparation of food is awesome here - I have never ever eaten any hard Idlis here or over-fried Dosas here. Move over Sagar Ratnas...

The place does not have a sitting area at all and you can see utensils being cleaned in a corner. It is like an half open kitchen with a huge boiling cauldron of Sambhar just outside of the kiosk. If you are too much into ambiance, move on to CP. But if you want to enjoy Delhi food where it is best then this is the place to be. The popularity of the place can be seen anytime you go there with sufficient enough attendance but during lunch hours you can see hordes of loyal office goers from the neighbourhood for their value-for-money meals. The service is amazingly fast and you can enjoy coffee/lassi/shakes from other shops around.

Coming back to food, I do not know where to start from and where to end. You can pick any item from the menu and it would be wonderful in taste. Everything here comes with pure coconut chutney (no dal chana in there), hot Sambhar and the Red chutney. All of them are just rightfully spiced - nothing over the board. On the main dish front, Dosas are just appropriately filled with stuffing and are never over-fried. Idlis are appropriately steamed and soft to enjoy them being dipped in Sambhar. Dal Vadas are not much interesting but till now I have never eaten Dal Vadas which can just blow my mind. Sambhar Vada is one of my favorite here since they are appropriately fried and make wonderful combination with their Sambhar. And this is the only place, where I do eat Upma. Yes, the Upma is just amazing - no fancy ingridents there - just the mix of coconut and dal. They do have other varieties of Dosas and then there is a dish of the day as well. Maybe someday, I will get bored with their regular fare and would move to more dishes but as of now the regular fare is keeping me engaged. Having said that, Rava Kesari is a good way to end the meal here - no fancy stuff but an honest home-food feeling.

And I think "home food feeling" is the best description of this place.

Average cost for two would not be more than 120 rupees

Details:-
South Indian Snacks Corner
In front of designated protest area, Jantar Mantar
Jantar Mantar Road
New Delhi

Andhra Bhawan Canteen

2013-09-15T07:44:00.001-07:00

Andhra Bhawan Canteen at last - after living for more than 10 years in Delhi.

But as it is said - there is always a right time for everything. So, mine happened on one Saturday in early September when I finally reached for a lunch at Andhra Bhawan Canteen. First thing which I noted is lack of proper parking - one has to park on the road alongside. After driving in circles for two times, I decided to park in the free parking lot of Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, just across the road. This looks like a good and more secure way of parking.

On reaching at the canteen,there were people already waiting. For a second, we thought of turning back but then I remembered that their management is efficient and one does not have to wait for too long. Good that we stayed for the experience - we had to wait only for 4 minutes or so.

They serve breakfast from 7:30 to 10, lunch from 12 to 2:45 and dinner from 7:30 to 10. Ordering is simple as there are fixed menu option. Breakfast has idli + dosa + vada along with tea/coffee while Lunch & Dinner has two veg. curries, plain rice, dal pappu, sambhar, rasam, curd, sweet, papad, pickle, and puri (lunch) or phulka (dinner). They serve Hyderabadi Dum Biryani on Sundays only. Plus you have options to take non-veg side dishes like chicken curry, chicken fry, mutton curry, mutton fry, fish curry, fish fry or prawn curry as an add-on.

Pretty simple for someone to make a choice. Prices are just too low to be real. Pay, take a token and then wait for your turn. And while you wait, do make sure to take a note of the efficiency of managing such a place. Place is just a simple-no-frills setup, do not expect fine dinning here. And take a note of the guy managing the show - an amazing guy who calls out the token numbers in such an interesting way, alternating between English, Hindi and Telgu. Just amazing.

Sitting could be shared - although we got lucky with a full table to ourselves. As soon as one we were seated, thali was served, and then there were always servers running around shouting "currrrry", "riiiiice" and so on. Dal Pappu was amazing - I could just have taken the full thali only for that Dal Pappu. Rest of the stuff was also fine - but nothing that amazing. Chicken Fry was typical though and loved it a lot.

Overall, the experience was over in less than 8 minutes. Phew!!! This is not the place if you are looking for any indulgence. This is basic canteen but the food is worth a shot. A must have (at least one)...

Average cost for two would be around Rs.300 - this is the best part.

Andhra Pradesh Bhawan
1, Ashoka Road
New Delhi

Lighthouse 13, MGF Metropolitan Mall, Saket

2013-03-13T02:19:00.001-07:00

Went to Lighthouse 13 once last year (2012) while we were roaming around in the Saket malls. Since it was Sunday, opted for the Sunday brunch (or buffet) but it left us a lot disappointed. Seriously, the place is charging too much for literally very average food.

Seating is good, music was good but the main lifeline (food) of restaurant was very weak. The food buffet preparations were ordinary. They had nearly everything covered - Indian, Continental, Europeran etc... but I think that is the trap which they have fallen into. Too much options are actually spoiling the quality of the food there. The hotness quotient of the food was also missing - so the breads were actually coming out not-so-hot from behind the scenes. Overall, a disaster for us to go there, I must say.

Have not gone back to the place since then although Saket features regularly on our shopping or weekends activities. Maybe someday we will try to have courage to go for a-la-carte there and hopefully see much better results than last visit.

Till then, Lighthouse 13 is not where my ship is going to anchor :)

Average cost for two would be around Rs.2000 (without alcohol).

If you still want to go, here are the contact details:-

Lighthouse 13

13, 1st Floor,

MGF Metropolitan Mall,

Saket, New Delhi

Phone - 011-49422265

Karim's, Jama Masjid, Delhi - 6

2011-05-22T22:55:00.000-07:00

Karim's, an institution in itself, is something which should be placed as one of the "places-to-eat-at-before-you-die" list. This is indeed true for carnivorous humans who love Indian food.

Although Karim's has various branches across Delhi and NCR, but the best one still remains the original one at 16, Kebabian Gali, Near Jama Masjid, Delhi. It is not very hard to find - ask anyone around and you will know - but it is surely not one of the most wonderful ambiance to have a restaurant. But nevertheless, with whatever Karim's has to offer, anything is good. And believe me, if you like Indian food and that too Mughlai-style then Karim's is a must must visit. There is long history behind Karim's but in short they were the original chefs/cooks for the Mughals. And it is said that the recipes of all the dishes have carried over generations without much alterations. So, basically you are eating what Mughals ate centuries back.

My recommendations are Tandoori Burra - its just the best you can have, Nahari - only Saturday/Sunday and that too in the morning, Murg Mussallam, Jahangiri Qorma, Badshahi Badami Pasanda, top this all with Naan and specially Sheer Mal.

Average cost for two would be around 500 or so.

Contact Details:-
Karim's
16, Gali Kababian,
Jama Masjid,
Delhi

Phone - 011-23269880, 011-23243343, 011-23264981, 011-23243342, 011-65653802

New Town Cafe - Park Plaza, Noida

2011-05-20T03:25:00.000-07:00

After nearly one year break on this blog, I have now decided to pen down my experiences and reviews once again. Let's hope this stretch continues unremittingly.

So, the first one after a long hiatus is New Town Cafe at Park Plaza, Noida. Over the time this restaurant has become one of my families preferred choice to spend a relaxing, cool evening out. Main reason is the relaxed ambiance plus lots of space for our daughter to roam around. The only drawback is their focus on buffet leaving their a-la-carte menu limited in choices. But nevertheless, if you want to relax and have good food, this is the place to go although a little bit costly than most of the other places in Noida.

NTC surely have the most elaborate buffet menu in whole of Noida. The choice of dishes specially the starters, cold cuts and deserts is sufficiently wide. And that is the main reason for us to not try that - we basically do not eat a lot. From the a-la-carte, worth trying are Antipasti Platter in the starters, Nasi Goreng from oriental selection, Grilled tenderloin steak or Ratatouille Lasagne from international selections, Nalli Awadi Korma (slow cooked lamb shanks in a curd based gravy) or Anjeer Ke Kofte (cottage cheese dumplings stuffed with figs and cooked with tomatoes). Their Indian dishes are served with rice/choice of bread, salad, pickle and Dal Makhani (black lentils). Top it up with Paan Ice Cream at the end.

Also, one of the places in Noida where you can get good food till 1 in the morning. Meal for two would cost something like 1600 bucks.

Contact Information:-
New Town Cafe
Lobby Level, Park Plaza
C Block, Sector 55,
Noida
Phone - +91-120-4678888

Kaustubh - Great India Place, Noida

2010-05-28T02:54:00.000-07:00

Last evening, after not being able to handle the scorching heat of Noida, me and my family decided to spend some cool time by window shopping in Great India Place and increase the footfall in the mall by some numbers.

So, having gone through some shops specially Odyssey, we decided to have dinner in GIP itself. With my father-in-law opting for a Dosa, and me being not so excited nowadays for South Indian food, I thought why did I actually gave him the choice :) :)

But in the end, we decided to step into Kaustubh, a super specialty South Indian restaurant, on the third floor. Kaustubh is a chain of South Indian QSR (Quick Service Restaurants), which have now opened their branches in NCR region - one in Saket and another one in Noida.

And I must say that having South Indian food there was a different experience altogether. It was wonderful to see so many varieties and proper main course offerings. As a part of menu offerings, the restaurant offers a wider range from all the four states of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. This is something hard to find in NCR since most of the South India restaurants either offer just the 'dosa-idli-vada' thing or include North Indian offerings in their menu as well.

But the food at Kaustubh is South Indian only. Although, they have 30 kinds of Dosas with them, I would suggest to go for more traditional cuisine like Chettinad or other local cuisines. The flavor is truly wonderful and the preparations speak of someone who knows the South India cuisine. They also have fixed meals and thalis to sample different items but most of them are restricted only to normal dosas, idlis, vada and do not include other specialty cuisine items.

Although the service could have been better for a QSR but overall a must go. Meal for two would cost something around 350-400 bucks.

Contact Information:-
Kaustubh
3rd Floor, Great India Place
Noida (U.P.)

Also at
D-2/5&6,
Southern Park Mall,
Behind Select City Mall,
Saket,
New Delhi-110017
Tel:44625611/22/33

Stay Tuned

2010-04-05T02:10:00.001-07:00

I haven't stopped eating out.

I have been just lazy enough to not write about them.

But...

Breakfast @ Café Style, Noida

2009-09-05T10:50:00.000-07:00

UPDATES (16 Sep 2013) - Cafe Style is closed now. Something which was becoming evident due to low turnouts at the place. There is a Bikanerwala at the same place.

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It was a relatively free Saturday today, after few last weekends, when we decided to have breakfast outside. We have thought about having breakfast out of home earlier as well but there were not enough (read good) options for that in Noida. In Dehli, there are better breakfast and brunch options for the weekends but traveling to them and that too empty-stomach is not a good thing to do for me:)

But I have read about this place in Sector 18 Noida, where they have good breakfast menu. So, we decided to check it today. The place is near Superstars and called 'Café Style'. It is a new joint but has received good reviews wherever I have read about it. It is quite laid-back, spacious and 'stylish'. The first thing that you notice on entering the place is the whole concept. The sofas are comfortable and the chairs are more than spacious. The place is spread in two floors and they have some outside sitting as well. They have some old artifacts (mostly from UK of 50s and 60s) spread across these sitting area - a 1954 scooter, a 1962 car and more.

Since we were there for breakfast, we decided to stick to their breakfast menu only. The breakfast menu is available from 8 AM to noon and has well thought variety. There is a Punjabi style breakfast (Alloo parantha along with curd, pickle, butter and tea), a Mumbai style breakfast (Pao Bhaji along with tea), an English style breakfast (three egg omelette of choice - masala, mushroom, cheese, toast, salad), an Obama style breakfast (bowl of cereals with milk, fruit salad, sausages, croissant and choice of juice) or just plain old cornflakes.

We order one Punjabi style breakfast and one English style breakfast. All the preparations were well done - paranthas were not oily at all and appropriately stuff, toast were properly 'toasted', omelette was also wonderful. And this all topped with masala tea was wonderful. Overall, we had a good experience. We did not go further than the breakfast menu - something left for next time.

Contact Information:-
Café Style
K-1, Dharam Palace,
Sector 18,
Noida
Ph. 0120-4548472

QBA, Connaught Place, New Delhi

2009-09-02T01:47:00.000-07:00

Some months ago, in the heat of Delhi's summers, I was in the CP and surrounding area and was looking for some good place to eat. Due to vegetarian people in company, we wanted to go to a place having good enough vegetarian options. Initially thought about going to TGIF but then figured out that TGIF at CP is closed. So, we went to QBA, in the middle circle (or is it inner - CP always confuses me).

The entry is quite hidden which is usual with most of the place in CP. You would search for the entrance, which is toward the rear of the block. You start walking in the dingy looking, narrow alleyway, almost tempted to turn back. But suddenly you would see the reception at the ground floor. Once you reach to the restaurant through lift, you feel a calm and soothing atmosphere inside - especially when are coming from hot Delhi summer outside. The place is in cool blue interiors with two levels and a terrace for sitting. The first level is more like a lounge with sofa sitting plus bar area while the second level is more formal sitting. The terrace would be a nice sitting option in the winters - to eat food and talk while the crowd at CP running underneath.

Food is not at all good - just okay. Although we were looking for vegetarian place but QBA did not turned out to be one :). The prices are surely more than they should be. Although I was quite disturbed there by some socialite ladies discussing their families - mom-in-laws and all that (and disturbing our talks in between) but it was otherwise quite silent in the lunch time. They have live band in the evening which I have heard is also not very bad. We had very little food - mostly appetizers only.

I would certainly recommend the place to relax and enjoy rather than for the food. The sitting is relaxed, ambiance is cool and the space they have with them is awesome right there in the middle of CP.

Contact Information
QBA Restaurant & Bar
E-42/43, Inner Circle,
Connaught Place
New Delhi
Ph. 011-41512888

TGIF, Great India Place, Noida

2009-09-02T00:51:00.000-07:00

A very long break from this blog. Life has been quite happening and I have been quite lazy to put something here.

So, to start with again, I thought why not start with my current favorite at this point of time - TGIF (Thank God It's Friday).

I have always been fond of Tex-Mex cuisine mostly due to lots of cheese in it:). I liked going to Ruby Tuesdays earlier but they just got their menu all wrong and when I saw that they have removed Chimichanga from their menu, I stopped going there. I recent times, TGIF Noida has been my favorite place to eat food and have beer.

TGIF is a chain of restaurants worldwide and the whole concept of having old artifacts, different assorted items, bar and sitting setup is more or less same at all outlets. The overall feel is like of a relaxed Friday's evening when the work has finished for the week and you want to start weekend with some food and drinks. I really like the setup. The music is also not very much loud - one more thing which I like in an eating place. Overall, for me, a good place to go either with family or with colleagues. They have recently changes their menu - and Chimichanga is here now :)

Since I have been there a lot of time, I have nearly tried most of the stuff. My recommendation would be

For vegetarians - try 'Grilled Pita Dipper', 'Fried Mac & Cheese' or 'Dynabites' in appetizers. Try 'Broken Noodles' pasta or 'Quesdillas' or 'Chimichanga' as the main dish. Top it up with 'Fridays Sundae' - Vanilla ice cream topped with hot fudge, caramel sauce, nuts and cream. Yummy :):)

For non-vegetarians - try 'Chicken Fajita Nachos' or 'Three-For-All' scheme where you get three appetizers in one serving. For main dish, try 'Sizzling Chicken and Cheese' or 'Fridays Shrimp'.

The menu keeps changing and there would always be some offer at the Noida outlet since they are new and want to establish themselves. For example, they are currently having buy one and get one free offer on food and drinks both.

Contact Information
T.G.I. Friday's
319-320 (3rd Floor),
Great India Place, Sector 38A
Noida - 201301
Tel: 120-4221 000
Email: t2238@fridaysindia.com

Lodhi - The Garden Restaurant, Lodhi Garden

2008-11-13T08:57:00.000-08:00

Situated near gate number one of the Lodhi Gardens, this restaurant is one of the best ambiance restaurant (except the ones in the five stars) in the city. As the name suggests, it is kind of inside the Lodhi Garden itself. It is situated in two parts - the first being the garden itself where there sitting is in open and have garden furniture for siting while the second is the closed sitting area where the sitting is more formal. They have some space on the first floor as kind of balcony where the sitting is again in open. The blend between greenery and furniture is quite dramatic yet they gel pretty well.

The food is more inclined towards Mediterranean & European cuisine yet there are some India-nized versions of the dishes. The place is quite a hit among tourist as well which you could figure out while eating there. The staff is quite gentle and well dressed. The open garden restaurant generally serves buffets while the closed area is more for groups or a la carte. The menu has more options for non vegetarians then for the vegetarians but the small number of options does not reflect into them being not good.

In starters, one should try Mezze Platters (both veg or non-veg). You can choose from different dips each one of them as delicious as the other one. The platter is quite a hit there. In the soup, try Scottish chicken and baby leek soup or the seafood broth. For the starters, the vegetarians should stick to pasta - they have quite a variety. For the non-vegetarians, the options are unlimited - one should try dishes from their lamb cuisine. And the best thing about the place (in terms of food) is their bread. They are served with most of the salads and pastas and are quite soft and delicious. Meal for two would cost around 1700 bucks.

Overall a great place to have a quite lunch or dinner. Very high on romantic index.

Contact Info:
Lodhi - The Garden Restaurant
Lodhi Gardens
Near Gate 1
New Delhi - 110003
Phone:- 011-24655054/24652808

Dimsum Lunch @ Mainland China

2008-09-07T23:52:00.000-07:00

Once again I was back to Mainland China. Yes, it is surely my favorite Chinese restaurant in the whole city. Great food and cheap too. And one more factor for my frequent visits to this place, is my wife's preference of this place :)

So, last weekend I went to Mainland China - this time for a dimsum lunch. Although they do not have a fixed dimsum menu lunch but one can order dimsum from their a-la-carte menu. And that is what we did as well. We ordered SuiMai dimsums filled with chopped vegetables (one of our favorite there), steamed vegetable wontons in a rather unique sauce, silken tofu delight vegetable dumplings (chopped vegetables filled in a soft silky tofu covering and base) and XO sauce flavored chicken and prawn dimsums.

Nearly all of them were very good. Apart from these, other notable dimsums are vegetable hargao, prawn hargao & seafood dimsums. Overall, our dimsum lunch was worth driving down all the way from Noida to G.K. - Mainland China has never disappointed us till now. The bill for a dimsum lunch for two (consisting of five different dimsums) would be around 900 bucks. On weekends, make sure to go with prior booking - this place sells like anything.

Contact info:
Mainland China,
Plot No. 4, Local Shopping Centre,
Masjid Moth, Greater Kailash - II,
New Delhi - 110048
Tel : (011) 40535525 / 26
Email : mlcdel@airtelbroadband.in

Mrs. Kaur's Premium Cookies

2008-09-02T10:41:00.000-07:00

They are just wonderful - who???

Well, cookies from Mrs. Kaur's Premium Cookies are just wonderful. When I was a child, there were no cookies around - only biscuits. And no one knew the difference between cookies and biscuits. Then came the liberalization and we got cookies in India as well. But then not every cookie is actually a cookie in true sense. You have to taste cookies from Mrs. Kaur's to understand what a true cookie is.

Nearly all of the cookies are very tasty. And each one of them is available in eggless form as well. Try Chocolate Chip, Florentine, Oatmeal Raisins, Almond Chocolate Chunk, All Spice Molasses & Cocoa White Chocolate. They offer brownies as well - try Chocolate Brownie (this is 'pure sin') & Cocoa Banana Bar.

You can buy the cookies at Khan Market or East Patel Nagar. You can also order online on their website here.

Location Information

73A,
Khan Market (Middle Lane)
New Delhi 110003

Arcade E,
Inside Gallery, Khan Market
New Delhi 110003

29/6 East Patel Nagar
New Delhi 110008

Website: http://www.mrskaurs.com

China Garden, G.K.-II

2008-06-27T09:41:00.000-07:00

China Garden, located in the M-block market of Greater Kailash-II, is a branch of the famous China Garden chain of restaurants across the country. The chain is founded by Nelson Wang, a famous chef and the guy who could be quite literally termed as the one who has a big hand in popularizing Chinese food in India. As the story goes, he arrived in Mumbai from Calcutta in early 70s with only 27 rupees in his pocket. His first restaurant was opened in 1984 in Mumbai. And since then the name has grown bigger and bigger. He is the one said to have invented 'Chicken Manchurian'. Wang also started a women exclusive nightclub called Piano Bar in Mumbai.

Delhi's China Garden is another good Chinese option in the city. The ambiance of the place is soothing. There are glass stairs, wonderful oriental artifacts and simulated water fall. The whole setup is wonderful. The food also does not lacks behind (although in some areas only). Chinese, Thai and Japanese is served at this place. Nelson Wang's philosophy of cuisine with a twist can be felt quite easily in the dishes.

In soups, try clear soups rather than the 'filly' ones. Clear soups are tangy and quite apt for a start. In the starters, I have tried dim sums only and could not found them as good as at other places (say Mainland China). Veg Sui Mai was quite spicy and the covering was not as thin as we like it to be. For the main course, try Teppanyaki, quite filling and wonderfully done. One can also go for Prawn in Pepper Garlic. Rice and Noodles are all properly cooked and are of good quality.

Overall, surely one of the good options in the city for Chinese cuisine. The rates are also not as high as other places like House Of Ming. Average cost per person would be 600 rupees. They have lounge as well as a Piano Bar.

Contact Info:-
China Garden
M73
M Block Market
Greater Kailash - II
New Delhi - 48
Ph. +91 11 29223456-59

Sona Sweets, Nehru Place

2008-05-08T10:08:00.000-07:00

I remember Sona Sweets from my days while working near Nehru Place. Nehru Place has lots of wonderful small eating places - Sona Sweets is surely one of the best there. It is a small eatery joint which offers nearly everything in India fast food - from Chhole Bhature to Aloo Parantha, from Chaats to Pao Bhaaji, from Idli to Dosa and much more.

It has a large (as per Nehru Place standards) open kitchen area where there are large stoves and large flat tawas. You can actually watch your paranthas or dosas being made right there (it is not a good experience watching though). The place is nearly filled each day during the lunch hours and you may have to squeeze yourself first to make an order (do payment and take a coupon) and then squeeze yourself more to get the food at your table. In the meantime, I forgot, you need to watch for a table as well. But let me tell, all this hardship is worth it. Truly amazing food at reasonable cost, especially the Aloo Parantha is tasty and filling - one is enough for me. But the best thing is Lassi there - served in a large (Punjabi) style glass, it is one of the best I ever had till now.

So, go there for Aloo Parantha and finish off with Lassi. Just make sure that you do not rush into lunch hours.

Contact Info:
Sona Sweets
G 1, 27 Saraswati House,
Nehru Place
New Delhi - 19
Ph: 91-011-26426777

Khandani Rajdhani - Great India Place, Noida

2008-04-27T11:24:00.000-07:00

UPDATES (16 Sep 2013) - Khandani Rajdhani is closed now. It has been replaced with Thali Vadi - same setup but different name. Have not tried it yet.

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To get over the Nirula's experience, we headed to Great India Place again to celebrate. This time we did advance booking for Pind Baluchi but once again we were not supposed to eat there. Just as we reached there, we found out that it was filled with women kitty parties:) It was like sitting in between firing across the border with tambola numbers flying through our ears. Since, it was just not the setting we would have liked, we decided to move on to Rajdhani restaurant nearby. And, this time it was a good move.

Khandani Rajdhani is a chain of restaurants which offer the traditional thali concept. They offer unlimited thalis with different items each day on a reasonable cost. The decor and ambience is calm and serene here - no frills and no fuss. So, do not expect luxury here but do expect wonderful food. The thalis consists food items mostly from Rajasthan, Gujrat and Maharastra. Just as you settle down the server will come with warm water to wash your hands - tradition style. And then you are served with welcome drink - in our case it was skimmed milk and aampanna. Then came the starters (Farsan) - White Dhokla and Aloo Tikki. Next in line was main course - a lavish spread of nearly 2-3 chutneys, 5-6 dishes, 2-3 types of breads, and 2 types of rice. So we had, potatoes with gravy, dal, Rajasthani kadi, bhindi rajasthani style and more in main course dishes. While there were green chutney, imli chutney and mirchi chutney along with roasted papads as accompli. Apart from this they had Rajasthan speciality - Dal, Batti and Churma. In the sweet dish, they offer Aamras, Aam Rasmalai and Moong Dal Halwa.

Overall, a truly wonderful experience - all traditional home style food. Meal for two would cost less than Rs.400 here.

Contact Info:-
Rajdhani - Noida
The Great India Place Mall,
3rd Floor,
Sector 38A Noida - 201301
Ph:- 91-9311759990, 91-0120-6488933/4

They have branches all over the country. Have a look here to find out if they are open near you.

Nirula's, Great India Place

2008-04-20T10:19:00.000-07:00

Last week, colleagues in my office decided to celebrate an occasion with eating out. So, we decided to go to newly opened Pind Balluchi at Great India Place. Once we reached to this place, we were told there is around half-an-hour waiting due to some kitty parties going on. Dejected, we went to TGI Friday’s but discovered probably world’s only TGIF serving no liqueur leading us to once again looking for a new place to eat. Running out of options, we zeroed-in at Nirula’s. They have this so called multi-cuisine restaurant.

I have read somewhere that sometimes you take wrong turn in life and regret it later on. Going to Nirula’s on that day was surely such a wrong turn. It was the worst food, worst service, worst staff and worst value-for-money I have ever seen in my life. I have to Nirula’s other outlets in the past like the CP one or the one at Noida Sector-2, the food has been just about okay – nor too bad neither something to go ga-ga over. But the food at this place is worst one can make and even charge heavily for it.

Since we were in a group of 12 people, we nearly tried at least one item from each of their sections. We tried assorted non-veg kebabs, non-vegetarian kebab platter with dal / roti, chicken fillet burger, chicken chop, fried chicken, fried fish, non-vegetarian thali, mutton sausage pizza and non-vegetarian pizza - and nearly each one was equally bad. Only good thing was a starter called samosa sticks. I do not how one can consistently make each dish as bad as previous one – but it was surely done by the cook at this place. Also, the staff was aloof – not well trained and the place was full of flies all around. Water was warm, cold drink machine not working, food was served pretty slow and air conditioner was not working.

I hope somebody from Nirula’s upper management reads this blog or my comments with the local management at this place and do something about it. It is like killing a brand – if they continuously keep serving such stuff customer after customer.

Never ever go to this place.

Swagath Restaurant

2008-04-16T22:31:00.000-07:00

Swagath Restaurant is a famous chain of restaurants in NCR which specializes in Indian Mughlai food and Coastal food. It is surely the best restaurant in the coastal food category in Delhi and NCR. The main restaurant is at Defence Colony with branches at Malviya Nagar and Noida. It is a non-vegetarian foodies paradise - nearly any non-veg item from their menu is worth ordering. Vegetarian food is also quite good - although it is more famous for its non-vegetarian offerings.

For the starters, try Fish Tikka Ajwani (Boneless Fish Marinated with Yoghurt, Ginger, Garlic and Gram Flour; flavoured with Ajwain cooked in Tandoor), Mutton Seekh Kebab (Minced Lamb Marinated with Ginger , Garlic Paste with touch of red chilly, finished in clay oven) or any Fish Fry. For the main course try Chicken Stew, traditional Butter Chicken (some of the critics do rate it as one of the best butter chicken in Delhi) or Chicken Masala Chettinad. Try Mutton Biryani or Subz Biryani - they are really wonderfully cooked. Since I am not a great admirer of coastal food, I have not tries their coastal food options more but they are surely regarded as the best in Delhi.

They also offer Chinese food but I will suggest to just skip it since this is not what they are best at. The cost is little bit high but it is worth every buck you spend. Food for two would cost around 900 bucks (without drinks). They do home delivery as well and their portions for home delivery are quite large.

Contact Info:-
Swagath
14, Defence Colony Market
New Delhi
Ph:- +91-11-24337538

Swagath
C-8, Malviya Nagar
New Delhi - 17
Ph:- +91-11-51830622, 51830613, 51830640, 51830649

Swagath
J-57, Sector - 18,
Noida (U.P.)
Ph:- +91-120-2516066, 4240619

Lemon Twist

2008-04-13T21:56:00.000-07:00

Lemon Twist, at Sector 63 Noida, is a new restaurant from people behind Lotus Pond, Delhi and Bamboo Shoots, Noida. The restaurant is a variation from their older tradition Chinese cuisine restaurants - here the focus is more on fusion cuisine. The restaurant is situated in two floors - the lower one is a tradition restaurant setting while the upper one is a open terrace setting along with a grill. They are promoting the place as a Oriental Wok and Grill place. Since I visited the place for a lunch, I was seated in the lower part of it. The decor is good - place feels comfortable. The staff is surely not up to the mark - they seems less knowledgeable about Chinese food (which is a bad thing if the place is termed as Oriental Wok place).

We ordered two starters - Vegetable dim sum (which they called SiuMai - although they were no way close to the SiuMai we are fond of) and Crispy Spinach With Red Peppers. The second one was good but the dim sums were just okay. In main course, we went for Exotic Vegetables In Lemon Chilli Sauce, Shitake Mushroom In Fried Sesame Rice along with American Chopsuey. I think this was after a long time that I had order Chopsuey at some place - and I was again disappointed with it. The main course and rice were good although the rice quality could have been better. Overall, we left with a mixed feeling towards the food - sometime good and sometime not-so-good.

Although they are terming their place as the one where a "portion" of salad, soup, starter or main course is sufficient just for one, it is still enough for two people in most cases. The rates are not high, when compared to Bamboo Shoot or Lotus Pond. But then the food is also not that good. In my opinion, worth an occasional visit only. The location surely makes it an easy access for people working in Sector 55/56/58/62/63 and other nearby sectors.

Contact Info:-
Lemon Twist
H-1A/16, Sector 63
Noida
Ph:- (0120)4217500

Sampan @ Crowne Plaza Surya

2008-04-10T10:56:00.000-07:00

Sampan is the Chinese cuisine restaurant at Crowne Plaza Surya. The best thing about Sampan is its location. It is situated on the top floor and offers a panoramic view of the city specially a marvelous view of the DND road with its curves and elevation properly visible. Sampan, meaning a flat bottomed boat in Chinese, has good décor and Chinese artifacts. Apart from these two good things, place is not much worth to write about.

The food is not that good as other Chinese joints in the city. And the cost is too high for the place and the food. Food for two will cost around 1600 to 2000 bucks. Crowne Plaza Surya is not regarded as a good hotel in Delhi and Sampan also lives to this reputation. There is nothing spectacular about food here. It serves Szechwan and Cantonese varieties mostly. One can try Crispy Spinach and Corn for the starters. While in main course, try Chicken in Sichuan Sauce or Vegetables in Garlic sauce variants. One can also go for their buffet which happens daily on weekdays in the lunch timings (from 12:30 to 2:30 or something of that sort). It is cheaper and would let you try various things without worrying about shooting your bill upward.

Nothing great for me expect the views it offers.

Contact Info:-
Sampan
Crowne Plaza Surya
New Friends Colony
New Delhi – 65
Ph:- 26835070, 41672222

Jade, The Claridges

2008-04-05T20:09:00.000-07:00

Jade (earlier known as Jade Garden) is the oriental cuisine restaurant at The Claridges in New Delhi. The setting is good - on the ground floor of the hotel along a grove of bamboos. The atmosphere in professional and the staff is courteous.
For the food part, it offers Chinese and Far Eastern Oriental cuisine. It may not be the best Chinese in the town but it is surely the one where you can enjoy the kind of Chinese food which gave birth to the Chinese cuisine culture in India. Do not let go of the complimentary fried prawn munchers served along with food - they are delicious. For starters, go for Shredded Spinach - a rather crispy item - it is truly wonderful. In the main course go for Stir Fried Chinese Greens or Bean curd with Mushroom. Their quantity is just enough - so order just the right amount for your guests.
It also offers an exclusive dim sum menu which includes vegetarian and non-vegetarian dim sums plus sweet dim sums as well. They have a large variety of dim sum - around 35 to choose from. Apart from this, they also offer executive lunch on weekdays - wonderful stuff at a cost - but worth a shot if you feel it. I would suggest to go à la carte here since other options are quite costly. But Jade is surely worth a visit (or maybe more).
Contact Info:-
Jade
The Claridges
12, Aurangzeb Road,
New Delhi - 110011
Phone:- 23010211

Brahmputra Complex, Sector 29, Noida

2008-04-02T10:14:00.000-07:00

This is road-side eating at its best - the evening food stalls at the Brahmputra Complex, Sector 29, Noida is just fabulous. The food at these around 15 stalls offers great variety while being not heavy on your pocket. You have to eat standing up or in your car but you will not regret coming here just for that.

In vegetarian food, there are momos, soups, chaat, aloo-tikki, steamed corn and bhelpuri. The aloo-tikkis are crisp and good on your tongue. Bhelpuri is also spicy and you would surely ask for second helping. In non-vegetarian food, the variety increases a lot. Numerous stalls offer different tikkas, seekh kebabs, boti kebabs, shammi kebabs, chicken/mutton korma along with roomali roti and chicken/mutton biryanis. The tikkas and seekh kebabs are specially worth trying along with mutton korma. But there is a warning here - some of the stalls serve very spicy food, so be ready to deal with it. And then there are two good juice shops if you feel to beat that heat on your tongue or in your throat. Plus, you can always try some sweets from Evergreen later on to complete your dinner.

Surely, worth a place for good enough food at reasonable price - provided you are not too keen on ambience.

Maamouchee

2008-04-01T09:34:00.000-07:00

Maamouchee is a snazzy restaurant offering different cuisines. It is situated in the Centerstage Mall, Sector 18, Noida. The setting is quite subtle - which is the best part about it. You can just be lazy on its lounge sitting and take your time while ordering your drinks and food. The view of the busy market as seen from its large glass walls is quite good. The place is generally not crowded - so you would be able to spend quality time here as your own pace.

They offer Indian, Lebanese & European cuisine. The focus is on the fusion cuisine as is the trend now-a-days. Do try non-vegetarian platter (the hot seekh kebabs are good), mezze platter (hot - since cold one is not as tempting) or the grilled fish. Not extraordinary but still not bad either.

Worth an occasional visit but that too with your friends - just drink and talk - do not think about the food anymore. They offer seperate party area on fifth floor for groups. They also offer 2+1 scheme in happy hours or 20 percent discount (for corporates) - whatever you like.

Contact Info:-
Maamouchee
4th and 5th Floor
Centerstage Mall
Sector 18
Noida
Phone:- (0120)4312241, 2517037