My Reviews of Restaurants & Pubs

This blog has moved

2010-03-11T04:50:00.000-08:00

Hi,

I have relocated this blog . All future posts will be on http://kimeatsnblogs.blogspot.com/

Sorry for the inconvenience

Kim

Khan Chacha, Delhi

2010-03-11T04:19:00.000-08:00

Khan Chacha
Flat 50, Middle Lane
Khan Market
Delhi
+919810804114, +919811152722, +919810671103

Khan Chacha was an institution in Delhi until some legal, and rental problems forced him to shut shop about a year ago. Recently Al Bake (the New Friends Colony institution) opened a shawarma take away at the same location, which made many Khan Chacha loyalists apprehensive about the future.

Then Khan Chacha reopened about a month ago in a new location (opp Big Chill in the Middle Lane,opp Happily Unmarried). This is a first floor outlet with seating, but its still self service with a few "improvements". You order your kebabs/rolls at the counter, pay your money, you are given a number. You hang around, hoping and praying for a free table. Then your number flashes on the screen at the counter, so you go and collect your rolls. If you are lucky you sit or else you stand and finish your rolls. If you leave your tray on the table, you will be very politely requested to throw your trash in the designated dustbins and leave the trays on top (a la McDonalds)

The kitchen is spotlessly clean and soot free :)Prices are higher than what they were, when they closed, but then inflation has affected us all.

Some old timers of this joint, say that the taste isnt as good as it used to be. Since I have returned to Delhi after 7 years, I don't feel qualified to comment on that statement. But the taste is still good.

The chicken tikka simply dissolves in your mouth. I found the tikkas better as a plate of kebabs than inside the roll. I also expected the mutton sheekh kebab to be softer than it was. I'm hoping this is just initial teething problems for the staff and they will soon settle into a routine to give us the outstanding quality of kebabs that Khan Chacha is famous for.

Swagath, Delhi

2010-03-07T15:03:00.000-08:00

Swagath
M-9, M Block Market
GK 2

I remembered that I had enjoyed the Mangalorean food at Swagath, when I was last in Delhi 8 years ago. Feeling homesick for mums coconut curries and some sea food, it was the right time to see if Swagath still lived up to my fond memories of the place.

The Fresh Lime Soda (75rs) was just right and it is a pleasure to be back in India, where restaurants know how to make this perfect. The boneless Chicken 65 (290rs) was a hot and spicy, deep fried piece of heaven. The Squid Special Masala Fry (330rs) had a wonderful Manglorean spicy and tamarind flavored masala and will go great with neer dosas or appams that are oferred at the restaurant. The crowning glory though, was the
Fish Biryani (475rs) served with a little bit of fish curry on the side.This was the flavour of home that I was seeking and I was not dissappointed at all.

With the Service Charge and VAT the bill was around 1500/-. But the food that I had ordered would be enough for 2 people.

I must add that my experience at the Malviya Nagar branch was not as great as the GK2 outlet. The food did not taste as good and the ambience was not as comfortable.

Kake Da Hotel, Delhi

2010-03-07T14:53:00.000-08:00

Kake Da Hotel
22-23 Behind DDA Market
Panchsheel Enclave
4174 9464, 4174 9474

The irony is that this 2nd branch of the popular CP restaurant is located behind a really dingy market in Panchsheel enclave. so unless one knows that this gem exists, it would be very easy to miss it and dismiss the Panchsheel enclave area as having no decent eating options.

We discovered it simply because we had back-to-back meetings lined up in the area and had no time to drive any distance in the short time that we had for lunch.

The approach to the restaurant was disconcerting and the decor was a bit hodge-podge, so we were quite apprehensive about the food, untill the aromas wafted our way. Then there was absolutely no doubt left in our minds. Until then, the husband had asked me at least thrice, if I wanted to go somewhere else.

Since we were in a hurry, we ordered a 1/2 Murg Handi (195rs), a butter naan (35rs) and a Laccha Paratha (38rs) The half murg handi was more than enough for 2 people and the rotis were very well done. Mineral water was 35rs for a liter. All the prices are inclusive of all taxes and charges.

I wish I had a picture of the dishes, but we were in too much of a hurry and have promised ourselves to go back in a bigger group, so we can sample more of their dishes.

The restaurant is more conducive to home delivery though and I suspect that, that is where his major business comes from.

Hearty dhabha khana in the middle of Panchsheel Enclave at very reasonable rates.

Aap Ki Khatir, Delhi

2010-03-07T14:41:00.000-08:00

Aap Ki Khatir
Middle Lane
Khan Market

Aap Ki Khatir, is a little kebab joint tucked away in the Middle Lane of Khan Market. Patrons who want to eat on the spot, stand around or lounge on 2 wheelers while relishing their kebabs and rolls. The rest pack take aways and carry them home to waiting families.

The reason, I keep going back to this particular kebab joint in the Khan Market, are its 'outstanding' Kakori Kebabs. At 90Rs a plate (2 long kebabs), they are a juicy, melt in your mouth experience, lightly wrapped in a wafer thin layer of crust from the grilling.

All kebabs are served with onions, a dollop of raita and a dollop of green chutney.

Most kebabs are in the 80-90rs range for a plate. The chicken malai tikka is good and not too spicy. The Mutton tikka is extremely soft and on the spicy side.

For 10-15rs more, you can have your kebabs wrapped in a rumali roti or a kathi roll (no egg though), for a quick one dish meal.

If you need a drink to wash your snack/meal down, they serve chilled soft drinks and water for 25rs.

Their kebabs are good and Actress Nandita Das, says this is one of her favorite restaurants in an interview in The Bollywood Cookbook

They do not Deliver food home unless you want them to cater to a party of 50 or more people. They do have takeaway service though and their rolls are a great option for those nights when you know your guests are going to be drinking and couldn't care much for complicated food, but are going to be ravenously hungry at the end of the evening.

Lucille's, Cairo

2010-02-19T02:51:00.000-08:00

Lucille's Burgers
Take Away & Delivery
40 Road 9
Maadi

2378 1530
2378 7975

Time Magazine, wrote an article on Lucille's entitled The World's Best Burger is in Egypt

I have eaten here many times when I was in the mood for some American food in Maadi (which isn't too often, as I prefer the spicier offerings at Bua Khao or Gaya) and their food hasalways been good.

Lucilles has a cosy atmosphere conducive to its home style cooking. Recently they have become completely non-smoking, so its a real pleasure to enjoy a meal without the aromas being suffocated with cigarette smoke.

The in-restaurant menu has a lot of Tex-Mex items including Corn bread and chilli con carne, tortillas, fajitas and other items too are available.

I do love the chilli con carne that they serve with the corn bread, butter and onions on the side. My other favourite is their egg salad sandwiches served with fries. You can ask for brown bread sandwiches and it seems to me that their bread is baked in store.

Most aerated drinks and the Iced Teas (Lemon & Raspberry) come with free refills when dining in.

The place is quite often filled with teenagers, so it feels young and peppy at times.

They offer a seperate Breakfast Menu which also includes waffles, biscuits, french toast and pancakes apart from the regular omelettes. Not too many places in Cairo can give you these options. Breakfast is served till 11:30am daily and all day on Friday and Saturday.

The Delivery Menu is a slightly abridged version of the Restaurant menu and I think they have another facility a little further down the road that actually caters the delivery menu. If you visit the main restaurant, you cna have anything from the menu packed for a take away.

Almost everything on the menu is cooked from scratch by their kitchen staff. They even grind their own burger meat, so you can be assured that the ingredients in your meal are healthy and flavorful.

A great option, if you are craving diner style food in Cairo.

Pictures of the food are visible on Lucille's MySpace Profile

Helloji Sichuan, Gurgaon

2010-02-19T02:50:00.000-08:00

Helloji Sichuan
Food Court
MGF Metropolitan
Gurgaon
124 - 4250 0888

They have a variety of starters averaging 120 for the non vegetarian ones and 80 for vegetarian. Soups are a flat 60 for veg and 70 for non veg. Main coursese range from 110-220 for prawn dishes. Rice and Noodles are 70/80.

I just needed to grab a quick bite about 5ish, before heading out to dinner with friends. Having missed lunch, I ordered the Chilli Chicken dry (120rs) and the Drums of Heaven (120rs). The chilli chicken was average, nothing memorable about it. The batter on the drums of heaven was too heavy and hence it wasn't cooked properly all the way through.

Not a place I would return to given that there are many other options in this food court.

Ambience & Service : Food Court
Food : 2

Gulati Restaurant, Delhi

2010-01-28T13:24:00.000-08:00

Gulati Restaurant
6 Pandara Road Market
Ph: 2338 8836, 2378 2949

One of the many restaurants which have made Pandara Road Market, the "Go-To" place for Punjabi Food.

Generic interiors which could suit any kind of Indian cuisine. The place was buzzing at lunch time and all tables were taken. Their 349Rs buffet seemed to be a great hit given the number of people inside and queuing up at the bufet.

There was the usual assortment of salads with raitas, pickles and papad as starters. A choice of Vegetarian or Non vegetarian soup. Aampanna and lassi were part of the buffet. The main course had a fairly wide spread. The food was very tasty, even though it was a buffet. Some of the best aloo jeera I have eaten in a long time. Butter chicken and Rogan Josh faced tough competition from the vegetarian dishes even for a die-hard meat eater like me.

Indian breads/rotis were being served fresh, but because of the rush, the service of rotis could not keep up. The disaster occurred when I tried to get to the desserts. There was a large bunch of people who were either from college or a call center and one girl took it upon herself to serve all the desserts to all the 20+ members of her team and completely monopolised the dessert stand leaving no room for any of the other diner. Add to this the second helpings that her team mates wanted. A lot of diners like me who were in a hurry, left without a sweet finish. Which may be a good thing for my waist line in the long run :)

They do have an a la carte option even during lunch time. And people who had taken that option seemed to be having slightly faster service.

My Fresh Lime Soda was 60Rs. VAT was added to my bill, but no Service Charge. Cost for one person 480Rs.

Ambience: 7
Service 7.5
Food 8.5

Marzano, Dubai

2009-05-23T14:44:00.000-07:00

Marzano
Pasta Pizza Grill
Old Town Souk
Downtown
Dubai
420 1136

A lovely restaurant with a classy yet relaxed atmosphere in the airconditioned souk attached to Old Town. It has a substantially large menu with various Italian dishes, but on this stopover we needed something quick. We told the Maitre D, that we were in ah urry and when we ordered the risotto, she warned us that it would take some time to be served.

Looking for something quick, we ordered the carpaccio di manzo (52) and the tagliatelle funghetto (46).

The carpaccio was really thin and well sliced, served with rocket leaves, parmigiano cheese and truffle olive oil. My only complaint with this dish was that I wish the rocket leaves had been de-stemmed. It gets a little messy to eat when you drizzle olive oil or balsamic vinegar on it and the leaves bounce as you try to gently raise them to your mouth.

The complimentary hot bread served with a garlic based dip and a sundried tomato dip was excellent.

The pasta was a bit too al dente for me, but the sauce was lovely.

The fresh water melon juice -24- was really fresh and refreshing.

Woudl love to go back here when we have more time for a relaxed meal.

India Palace, Dubai

2009-05-23T14:30:00.000-07:00

India Palace
The Walk
JBR
Dubai
437 0279

The India Palace in Delhi is a greta restaurant that serves authentic Mughlai food. Lured by the name, we walked into this restaurant on the walk.

The interiors were beautifully done and very enticing. Sadly the food did not match up to the standards set by the decor.

It may be easy enough for the India palace to purport to be authentic Indian cuisine to the tourists pounding the sidewalk, but no self-respecting Indian would ever go back a second time.

The Thandaii - 13- almond and cardamom flavored milk based drink - was an interesting starting point which lulled us into believing that better things were to come. Unfortunately other than the stuffed aloo kulcha (7) - Indian bread stuffed with potatoes - nothing else even came close.

We ordered the tarah tarah ke kebab (an assortment of kebabs/grilled meats) - 52- hoping to enjoy a selection of tender chunks and morsels of meat. What was served was dehydrated bits of meat that did not seem to have seen the enfolding embrace of a marinade for more than a minute.

The tadka dhal - 14- yellow lentils was absolutely band without even the flavor of tomato or tempering of cumin.

The banjara kabab - 22- extolled as a cottage cheese dumpling, coated with spinach and nuts cooken in saffron flavored rich tomato and cashew gravy tasted as vegetable dumplings tossed into a generic butter chicken/butter paneer gravy.

Normally in large restaurants, different chefs manage the tandoor (where kebabs are grilled) and the main kitchen. Hoping to strike lucky with some rice, we ordered the ghosht biryani-35- lamb biryani. the rice was dry. Large pieces of mint leaves were liberally mixed into the dish and the meat was dry.

If you want to eat good Indian food in Dubai, stick to Karama. Those eateries may be basic, but they sure know how to cook food the way an Indian mom/grandmom would cook it. Lots of effort + fresh ingredients = unbeatable flavor.

Japengo Cafe, Dubai

2009-05-23T14:10:00.000-07:00

Japengo Cafe,
Multiple Locations
Dubai

Outlet visited:
Dubai Festival City
232 6220

The Japengo Cafe decor looked cool and welcoming, so I selected this location over all the other endless eating options at Festival City. The ratio of staff to customers looked 3:1 and I hoped that it meant quick service at 3:30pm, but unfortunately I was in for a long wait.

I was seated quickly enough by a very polite Maitre D, who gave me enough time to peruse the lengthy menu of Appetizers, salads, sandwiches, sushi, sashimi, maki, temaki, Italian, wood fired pizzas, stir fries in crispy baskets, Oriental, Lebanese, Specials, Sides, Desserts, fresh juices, fruit cocktails, coffes, teas and Persian dishes.

I ordered an iced tea - 16dhs - which arrived soon enough. While ordering the iced tea, I had also ordered my main course. Unable to decide between the grilled lamb chops(72) and the Nasi Goreng (51), I asked the Maitre D for her recommendation. Usually if a Maitre D recommends the cheaper option, it means the restaurant is sure of that dish ensuring repeat customers.

I went with her recommendation, but was in for a really long wait. After 25 minutes of trying to prolong my iced tea, I finally found a waiter who hovered close enough to get his attention and asked for my meal. He brought it instantly and what followed leaves me with no doubt that they forgot to serve me my meal even though it was ready much earlier.

The fried rice was colder than room temperature, the side stick of chicken satay was cold and starting to harden around the satay stick. the roast chicken piece was starting to dry out and was also cold. The rice had no balance in flavour, the satay sauce had potential, but served at low temperatures lost its punch. the roast chicken could have been awesome, but was a solid lump of not too tender flesh. (all 3 were a part of the nasi goreng dish)

With so many staff manning seperate counters for each specialty and with very few customers, I expected much better service. Seems they were more involved in their own conversations and preoccupied with eating their own lunch (which I saw some of them do in the restaurant) than serving paying customers.

Didn't bother ordering dessert as I was already running half an hour late with this delay and couldnt afford another half hour.

Would rather grab a sandwich at Cinnabon, the next time I am in the vicinity.

The BBC Good Food Team seem to have had a better experience at the Mall of Emirates Location:
http://www.bbcgoodfoodme.com/bbcGF/restaurants/Default.aspx?m=rs&v=1&rID=387
Dare I risk it at another location?

Baanthai, Dubai

2009-05-23T13:58:00.000-07:00

Baanthai
Oasis Mall
Dubai
515 4000

Baanthai is part of the foodcourt at the recently re-opened Oasis Mall. At 1pm - lunch time, all the dishes were ready cafeteria style and you just had to point and choose. Each main dish comes with its own side of steamed rice.

We tried the Massaman Nua-25- Massaman curry with braised beef and potatoes. A coconut milk based curry that isnt too spicy (unlike the red and green curries) and still distinctly Thai. It was understated and simple, the meat was well cooked and the potatoes were just the right consistency.

Also had the Gai Phad Med Na Maung -25- stir fried chicken with cashew nuts. This had a sweet and sour taste to it. Although it is a stir fry, it did have a bit of gravy with it to eat with the rice. This dish is also high on capsicum peppers and onions, so its high in fiber and veggie content too.

The tod man pla -15- deep fried spicy fish cake was not as mincy as it could have been. It was a solid flattenned slightly chewy lump, even though it took 15 minutes more to prepare (presumably fresh)

Other than the fish cakes the food was fresh and good. They do have a choice of soups, starters and salad. The prawn curries had really large sized prawns in them.

The menu lists a Thai tea which wasn't available today, but they do serve the entire fountain range of Pepsico drinks.(5/7 med/large)

They do not have desserts, but that was easily remedied by a stop at Subway in the same food court for cookies :)

Staff is pleasant and quite efficient.

Good for a quick meal.

Warning : Estoril Restaurant, Downtown

2009-05-12T15:52:00.000-07:00

We found cockroaches in our drink and in the tomato soup last Thursday night at ESTORIL . I would recommend avoiding this place.

When we complained, the management tried to convince us that they must have flown in when the door was opened and just shrugged their shoulders. The only thing they offered was to replace the drink and soup. But we could not eat another bite after these two simultaneous discoveries and just left the rest of the food (that we did pay for) and walked out.

The Management was completely nonchalant and unapologetic about the episode and that was most galling. Even if the Management did not have the courtesy or the wherewithal to waive our bill, the least we expected was an apology, but there was absolutely no chance of that happening, the way things were going.

This place is best avoided.

Leil Nhar, Beirut

2009-05-01T04:15:00.000-07:00

Leil Nhar
Ashrafieh facing Sagesse School
Hekmeh Street
Beirut
01 325326
www.leilnhar.com

Leil Nhar means "Day and Night" and is a wonderful eatery that is open 24 hours. The vibe we got when we walked in was that of a 60's style diner transported into 2009. The place was buzzing at midnight when all the eateries in the nearby mall had closed for the day. It was filled with young people, just chatting and laughing, smoking cigarettes, having fun and just enjoying the company of their friends. The bright decor and the large screens playing cartoon network with the volume muted but English subtitles, just added to the lively atmosphere

The menu is mostly breakfast kind of items with a few pizzas and desserts thrown in for good measure. The menu is divided into traditional Lebanese breakfast items(1000-4500), various cheese platters(6000-7500), salads (6750-8750), baked potatoes with different stuffings(4500-7000), sandwiches(6250-11000), pizzas(9000-11500), Desserts(3500-6000) and drinks(1000-4500)

We ordered the eggs and potato sandwich (6250) which had mint, tomatoes, olives and olive oil thrown in for taste and I ordered the crab sandwich (7250). My sandwich was excellent - light, crispy and fresh with the lettuce and lemon mayo not masking the delicate flavor of the crab meat. Sandwiches are served rolled in Lebanese pita/eish/khubuz which is a very thin bread compared to what is served as Lebanese bread outside of Lebanon. The closest I could compare it to is an Indian Roomali Roti, but this is much softer.

I also ordered an eggs and bacon (9000) which was eggs scrambled with bacon served with freshly baked Lebanese bread, cucumbers, tomatoes and olives.

To drink we had a carrot juice (4250) and a Lemon Iced Tea(3750), both excellent.

Our first experience with Lebanese food was excellent. Everything we ate was light, fresh, clean and just felt so healthy. No wonder Lebanese are known for their wonderful looks and complexions. if I eat this healthy and fresh daily, my complexion should improve too.

The desserts on display looked excellent especially the marshmallow cake (chocolate cake topped with marshmallows and smarties (6000), but we were quite stuffed with our mains and dessert seemed too decadent after all the healthy food. So we turned it down, which in hindsight we could have indulged in, given the steep climb to reach our hotel! (all those calories would have simply melted away)

Leil Nhar does deliver home except the egg items.

Our bill came to 36750 with 2 large bottles of water. The bill came printed with both Lebanese currency value and the dollar value. There is a 10% VAT added onto the prices. The dollar value was about 25USD.

Service was excellent, quiet, quick, unobtrusive but extremely attentive. We'd love to go back if we were staying longer and I didnt have this compulsive need to try out as many different restaurants that I can in each city that I visit.

Manvaar Restaurant, Dubai

2009-04-30T04:44:00.000-07:00

Manvaar Restaurant
Opposite Reem Residency
Near Fish Market
Karama
Dubai
336 8332

Manvaar serves some outstanding Rajasthani food and while they do deliver home, I would highly recommend eating on location at least once. The experience starts right at the great wooden door and continues to the waiters dressed in costume and the bandhini printed table napkins. Its a lovely place to take non-Indian friends to impress them with the colors of India and lovely food to boot.

Their paneer starters/kebabs are good(in the 20dhs range) as the paneer is of good quality. I love the glotty kebab (8pcs - 28dhs) although it is as far from a Lucnowi galouti kebab as you can get. The Manvaar version is made from pounded mince, but mixed with solid chopped pieces of onion, green chilli and corriander. The Lucknowi version is sometimes difficult to even pick up with your fingers before it disintegrates. If you would like to try out the variety of starters, you can opt for the mix platter (veg-32dhs and non-veg-42dhs)

They have a long list of Rajasthani special mains. The most famous being the dhal batti churma (22dhs) which is excellent. The Rajasthani Phumbi (mushroom 15dhs) was very tasty, but I have my suspicions that the mushrooms came from a tin. We had ordered this as a delivery, so I can't be absolutely sure. Methi Papad, papad ki sabji, gulab jamun ki sabji (I wonder what this is) are listed as other specials.

The Lal Maans (26 with bone, 30 for boneless) is a traditional Rajasthani meat dish made very well. I remember hearing somewhere that this was an easy to cook dish devised by Rajasthani cooks of yore when out on a hunt with the ruling royalty. They used ingredients that were easy to carry and did not need much preparation to cook the game. Nowadays Lal Maans is normally made from mutton. Rotis are between 2-4dhs each and 5dhs for the masala kulcha. The bread basket (20dhs) is a good way to smaple the different Indian breads.

While the Rajasthani dishes and some of the North Indian dishes on the menu are excellent, I would not recommend their biriyani(18-25dhs), simply because Dubai has much better biriyanis to offer. If you want to order this dish with the rest of your meal from Manvaar then it is ok, but not as your main order.

Desserts are also excellent. I would highly recommend the rabri ghewar(12dhs) which is a large orange jelebi (called an imarti in some parts of India) soaked in rabri (Indian version of clotted and whipped cream)

Do visit them on location to enjoy the whole experience of eating a Rajasthani meal.

Bikanervala Restaurant, Dubai

2009-04-30T04:43:00.000-07:00

Bikanervala Restaurant
Karama
Dubai
396 8813

This is a vegetarian restaurant that specialises in Rajasthani sweets and snacks but has now expanded to included South I:ndian dosas, chaat and Indian chinese too.

They offer everything my husband craves from home from Kadhi pakoda and rajma chaaval to parathas and puris. Their chaat is excellent, each in the 5-10dhs range. I love their paani puri, papdi chaat and sev puri. Their badam pista kesar milk (8dhs) is outstanding and worth stocking in the fridge for those hot summer days. They do deliver home, but seem to have some restrictions on timing, days of the week, order value vs distance etc.

Their grilled vegetarian sandwiches are tasty. The dosas aren't exactly like back home (Mangalore/Udupi) but passable. Their thalis include a paneer dish, a seasonal vegetable, some pilaf, dhal, 1 naan, 1 roti, raita, papad, salad, pickle and sweet. This has to be consumed on the premises, it cant be delivered at home.

Il Fiume, Dubai

2009-04-30T04:39:00.000-07:00

Il Fiume
Marina Heights Tower
Dubai Marina
04 422 4664

A charming bistro on the Marina in Dubai. It offers a delectable range of pastries, coffees, juices and meals too. We sat down here to grab a coffee (frappucinos - 20dhs), but liked the ambiance so much, that we decided to have an early lunch. They do serve sheesha at this cafe, so the smell can be a bit nauseous or reminiscent, depending on which way you look at it.

Il Fiume is decorated in a very contemporary style with a glass kitchen so you can keep your eyes on the chef while he prepares your food. They serve Italian and Lebanese food. While we waited for our order, we were served a basket of breads with 4 different dips and olives with cornichons.

I ordered a carpaccio di manzo (34dhs) which was beef carpaccio served with a salad of roccola leaves, halved cherry tomatoes and what tasted like pickled mushrooms in a balsamic vinegar dressing and parmesan shavings. It was good, but I have had much better carpaccio where the raw taste isnt as pronounced and the slices are much thinner. The Grand Hyatt in Cairo serves a wonderful version of carpaccio.

Our other order was a fettucini pollo (45dhs) without the chicken but substituted with mushrooms for the husband. This was outstanding. The pasta was cooked just right, but what elevated this dish to a much higher level was the mixed cheese sauce with herbs and sun dried tomatoes. Comfort food at its best.

They also offer risottos and pizzas on their menu.

Portions are just right. Service as seems usual for Dubai was quick and efficient. They were not at all cranky about the requested substitution of mushroom for chicken. After Egypt, this kind of service takes some getting used to (tongue in cheek-laugh) They have outdoor seating too and Il Fiume will have a wonderful view once the surrounding construction comes to a halt and the protective boards around the construction sites are taken down.

Chop Chop, Dubai

2009-04-30T04:34:00.000-07:00

Chop Chop
Mall of Emirates
Dubai
+971 4 341 3618

Chop Chop is a restaurant in the Mall of the Emirates (famed for its ski slope in the desert) that serves South East Asian food. The menu was extensive and had a gamut of Japanese, Chinese, Indonesian and Thai food.

We tried the Asian vegetable Tempura (22dhs) which was crisp and tasty in conjunction with its dipping sauce. We also had the crisp mushrooms which were excellent. For a main course, we tried the Phad Thai (38dhs) which was served with the 4 customary sides in Thai food - sugar, lemon, chilli flakes and ground nuts. Excellent balance of flavours.

I opted for the Massaman lamb curry (39dhs) a yellow coconut based Thai curry. It could have been spicier, but it was still very tasty. Smooth and creamy with tender pieces of lamb and bell peppers served with a bowl of Jasmine rice.

Avoided the desserts again as we were in a hurry to make it in time to another appointment. Note to self: Do not walk into a mall to grab lunch in a hurry. Too many distractions in the mall and its a long walk each way, from and to the parking.

Service was excellent. Quiet, quick and unobtrusive. Decor was a lovely black and red. We loved the food here, can't imagine why we ever ate fast Food on previous visits to this mall. Husbands dietary restrictions are ensuring we stay away from fast food and we are eating much healthier and more flavorsome food when eating out these days.

Calicut Paragon

2009-04-30T04:27:00.000-07:00

Calicut Paragon
Opp Lulu Centre
Karama
Dubai
http://www.paragonrestaurant.net/
+971 4 3335 8700

Calicut Paragon is a Malabari (Kerala) restaurant with many decades of history in India. This was a restaurant that was highly recommended to me by my Mallu friends in Egypt and given the huge queues outside this restaurant each Friday, I have never been able to eat here on my previous visits to Dubai. For a change, I found myself in this area on a week night and the queue outside wasn't serpentine.

Seating is basic, but comfortable. There was a certificate on display that all the staff had attended some heavy duty hygiene training. All the staff including the serving staff wore hair nets. Hehehe. Men in shower caps with mustaches showing - its quite a sight, I tell you! Fresh fish was on display at the counter, so you could pick your choice.

We settled for a very basic meal, that was reminiscent of home for me. Kerala cooking style is very similar and overlaps with the Manglorean style of cooking, especially in the sea food domain. I had a king fish mango curry (18dhs) and squid varathiyathu (26dhs) with appam (1.5dhs per piece). The fish curry was a red coconut curry made with green mango. The last time I had this dish with prawns, it was made by my grandmother who passed away just over a month ago. Eating this curry, had me close to tears, as I never thought I would be able to taste food the way nana made it, ever again. The squid was a spicy semi dry prepration with roasted coconut and curry leaves. The appams were just right, light and crispy on the outside and soft and fluffy in the center. I could make a meal of just the appams.

All the biriyanis were already over, even though it was not yet 9pm. Husband being on a vegetarian diet, had the kerala paratha (thin, flaky and layered 2dhs/piece) a malabari dal curry (10dhs) and ghee rice (10dhs) The rice had nuts and raisins in it and was more of a pilaf than ghee rice, but very tasty. It was served with chutney, a sweet and a spicy pickle, coconut chutney and two pieces of Kerala Pappadums. (very different from North Indian Pappadums)

A large bottle of mineral water costs 3dhs. I saw someone at the neighbouring table being poured a red liquid in their water glass and I promptly requested my own share of hot water. This was a drink I last had, in copious quantities, over 12 years ago when traveling on a students budget across Kerala. Mineral water in those days was very expensive and not something you would buy, when on a budget. Most small Kerala restaurants in those days served hot water boiled with some herbs in copper/brass tumblers. The herbs turned the water red and imparted a faint taste to the water which wasn't unpleasant. This was the first time, I was seeing this water being served, since ages. Would appreciate it, if someone could tell me what the herbs used in this water are and the purpose of these herbs (appetiser, digestive, cooling for the humid heat?)

My friends had highly recommended the chootu (small fish) fry, but I really wanted the green mango curry and some squid. Paragon does serve some North Indian style food, but its the mallu food that is outstanding at this joint. This is a restaurant that I would love to keep going back to.

Here's a link to Time Out's Review

Shakespeare And Co, Dubai

2009-04-30T04:17:00.000-07:00

Shakespeare And Co
Multiple Outlets
Across Dubai
http://www.shakespeareandco.ae/

Shakespeare and Co has a couple of outlets across Dubai. Their decor is quaint: a mix of a traditional English tea shop, but with a bit of the Mad Hatter's tea party thrown in too. Seating arrangements are different at each table. Stuffed Victorian Style seating and kids play room benches fight for space. Decoupage and pastel colors provide a strange yet pleasing visual collage. Tables were all low at the outlet that we visited (Emirates Hills).

They have a pattiserie on the premises and the pastries, chocolates and meringues were absolutely beautiful to look at and very attractively displayed and it took every ounce of our willpower not to indulge our sweet teeth :) We settled for a natural sugar fix with a fresh watermelon juice (23dhs) and an iced mango lassi (yoghurt drink - 32dhs) Both of them came with no extra sugar.

All attempts of trying to eat healthy went out the window with our food order though. I thought I was ordering a smaller portion when I ordered the Shakespeare special (45dhs), but this turned out to be batter fried calamari, french fries - outstanding, fried lemon slices - my first time trying something like this and halved jalapenos fried - nice and spicy, all served with an excellent tartar sauce. The lasagna al forno (42dhs) was also outstanding. But it is so rich, that it is an ample meal for two or more.

We were served some complementary bread that was fresh out of the oven and completely heavenly while we waited for our order to arrive.

Loved the decor, loved the ambiance. They do not allow photography on their premises (strange for Dubai) else I would have loved to put up plenty of pictures of this place.

Dynasty, Dubai

2009-04-30T04:14:00.000-07:00

Dynasty
Ramada Hotel
Bur Dubai
+971 4 351 9999
www.ramadadubai.com

The Dynasty restaurant at the Ramada is a quiet haven in the middle of the constant bustle of Bur Dubai. The low lighting and quiet but efficient service is very soothing as you walk into the restaurant.

Complementary pickled cabbage was served at the table along with our menus. We tried the crisp mushroom manchurian (35dhs) which had a variety of mushrooms and spare ribs in honey sauce (44dhs) as our appetisers. The ribs were sweet, sticky and syrupy, but we couldn't say that we weren't warned. The wonton soup (28dhs) was a clear broth - Simple, hearty and flavorful.

The American Chopsuey (48dhs) was sweet and tangy with a mix of different meats. The noodles used were not the regular egg noodles but more the style of a rice vermicilli fried snack popular in South India. I could have eaten just the deep fried noodles without any sauce or toppings. The Mixed fried rice (44dhs) was rather plain, but good in combination with a saucy side. Our choice was for the Sinagaporean crab (68dhs) The crab could have done with a bit more spice to be authentic, but the side sauces helped up the spice quotient.

Mineral water was 15dhs for a large bottle.

Dynasty serves a wide variety of vegetarian, seafood and meat dishes including scallops(165 dhs) and lobster(165dhs).

For dessert, choices ranged from ice-cream (15dhs) to almond biscuits (28dhs) and batter fried lychees with ice cream(38). Since we had already indulged in Hagen Daaz ice cream earlier in the day, we decided to skip this section.

Quantities are large and we could have done without ordering the fried rice or American Chopsuey as a meal for two.

Sushi Recommendations in Cairo

2009-04-14T18:23:00.000-07:00

Sushi is one of the few foods, that I do not like. I've tasted it in different forms and locations, but it is not something I have developed a taste for.

Hence I cannot provide a primer on the best sushi in Cairo. But my friend Mona Daoud, loves sushi and this is her list of recommendations for sushi in Cairo.

"Mori Sushi. There are two in Zamalek; one which is right before the fish gardens and the other is a branch in Sequoia (reservation essential) It tops the other branch because they serve alcohol and have a pretty view. There is also a branch in Mohandessin.

In Maadi, there is Gaya on Road 253 next to seoudi market (stick to their temaky, it's awesome)

Then there is the Makani chain (excellent fresh salmon sashimi) but their other stuff is good too. There is a branch in Maadi next to Maadi grand mall and one in Mohandessin somewhere near Syria street. I heard the one in Heliopolis was horrible. There are other branches but I have no idea where.

There is also Sapporo (Fresh and basic, no fusion, no experimentation, authentic and positively succulent) at the Sheraton in Dokki. The prices are like sushi everywhere.

(Gaya and Makani are the cheapest two in Cairo)

Jo Sushi on Mohamed Mazhar street in Zamalek has it's on days and off days. Depends on your luck... just make sure to tell them not to use wasabi while preparing sushi for you because they mistakenly think that if they're generous with it, it will taste better.

There's also INakaYa , 6A Midan Aswan in Mohandessin. They have all you can eat nights for 90 LE on Saturday, Monday and Wednesday. I haven't tried them though, so I'm not sure if they're good. I only heard about them.

Asia Bar on Blue Nile (boat in Zamalek) They have amazing sushi though it's more expensive than all other places, but it's worth it.

And there's Hanami in Giza, overlooking the Nile. 70% of the time their sushi was spot on.

There's L'Asiatique in Le Pacha but I don't like their sushi.

Bon Apetit"

Madhuvan's Village - Mangalore

2009-01-19T10:56:00.000-08:00

Madhuvan's Village
Yeyyadi
Mangalore
221 4158

Currently this is the most famous restaurant in Mangalore for quality seafood. They have been rapidly expanding and each time I visit, I see that they have opened a new seating section. The ambiance in the evenings is wonderful and relaxing as it has a semi open air feel.

The rates of seafood are seasonal. But the rates mentioned here will give you an indication.

The food was all excellent and I have yet to find a dish that I do not like at this place.

For starters we had Chicken 65(85rs), chicken tawa fry (13ors) - highly recommended, squid/baandaas butter garlic (80rs), mussels/pacchile masala fry (70rs), fish tawa fry (1 large slice of surmai/king fish - 130rs)

This all went excellently with our drinks.
60ml bacardi 85rs. Signature Whisky 60ml - 80rs, 30ml-45rs. Smirnoff 30ml - 45rs. Fosters pint 55rs.

Mineral water is 25rs. Soft drinks are 20rs a bottle.

The spicy starters go really well with the drinks, exactly the way most South Indians like it :)

For the main course we ordered an assortment of neer dosas, sannas and appams at 3rs each. As accompaniments we ordered matka fish (130rs) which is boneless fish cooked in old style mud pots. Believe me this adds layers of flavor to the dish and its a complete "naani ki khaane ki yaad aagayi" phenomenon in food.

The traditional Manglorean favorite kori rotti (90rs) includes the rotti as well as a pot of chicken curry. Real value for money if that is what you are looking for.

The kundapuri chicken(90rs) was a spicy semi gravy dish that goes very well with dosas.

Quick tip for Manglorean food. Sannas and shevios taste best with gravies/curries. Dosas and appams go well with both gravies and semi gravy items. There is a more complex algorithm for pairing these rice based dishes with accompaniments that I may go into at a later date.

To soothe our taste buds after the fiery onslaught, we ended with some ice cream(40rs) and caramel custard(40rs).

While the dishes mentioned here may all seem very spicy, it is because we consciously choose the spiciest items on the menu, they have other options too which arent as spicy.

The prices for alcohol include tax, the prices for food and soft drinks have a sales tax that is later added on.

Mini Punjab / Nirman Veg, Pune

2009-01-19T10:42:00.000-08:00

On a quick trip to Pune, we stopped at Mini Punjab which was on our way (didn't have the time to get into the city and eat at any of our favorites) and hence randomly selected.

We were pleasantly surprised by the food.

Its a very down to earth restaurant. Clean and hygienic but not very fancy.

The food was quite good though, except for my biryani(95rs) being served cold.

The manager informed us that Mini Punjab has many locations across the city. We ate at the B J Road, Parmar chambers branch which was clubbed with Nirman Veg restaurants. They have a Tandoor and kebab grill outside the restaurant and the kitchen is supposed to be pure veg, so I think my biriyani came from a different location and turned cold before it could be served at our table.

The kebab menu is limited, but we truly enjoyed both the Chicken Sholay kebab(110rs) and the chicken malai kebab(10rs).

The alu(35rs) and methi(38rs) parathas were also excellent. They were served with complimentary dhal and raita.

The veg hakka noodles were typical roadside Indian Chinese noodles, but you could taste the flavors were fresher and cleaner than you would get on the road.

Interesting place to eat when you are on a budget. 4 of us had a filling meal for 460rs.

Prices include tax.
Phone number for this particular branch is 6603 8190.

Bakery @ Flamenco Hotel, Cairo

2009-01-19T04:45:00.000-08:00

Bakery
@ Golden Tulip -Flamenco Hotel
2 El Gezira, El Wosta Street, Zamalek
Cairo

A German friend of mine, Gertrud recommended this bakery very highly for their German breads and desserts. She felt their authenticity could be credited to the fact that the GM, Mr. Groebel and his bakery chef are both Germans.

The items she recommended to me were the Brezen-stick (stangerl) and rolls and apple pie (not so sweet) and Zopf (like brioche) and the real German dark bread.

Since I was looking for Multigrain bread for my husbands strict diet, I decided to stop here and check it out.

The bakery has a warm welcoming feel to it and is very clean. There are a couple of tables in the bakery, if you would like to sit down and enjoy your treats in-store.

The staff at the counter were very polite and spoke English and knew the names of the items on sale and their basic ingredients. (Given my husbands complicated diet, I have to be very careful about ingredients in prepared foods and its quite difficult doing it in my broken Arabic)
The loaf of multigrain bread was expensive at 24LE (as compared to Monginis loaf of multigrain which retails at 5LE) but it is authentic and tasty.

I also picked up 2 large oatmeal-chocolate chip-walnut cookies for myself. At 4LE each, they were tasty and quite filling.

I have an old soft copy of their menu which I have pasted below, but prices this month are higher than the rates mentioned below. Also some items may have changed. Some items need to be ordered in advance.

Breads
Baguette long 4.75
Baguette half 2.50
Baguette brown long 10.25
Baguette brown half 5.25
Company Bread 7.50
Corn Bread 20.25
Farmer Bread 20.25
Muesli Bread 20.25
Multigrain Bread 22.00
Toast Bread 7.50
Toast Bread Brown 9.00
Vollkorn Bread 20.25
Zopf 18.00

Bread Rolls
Brioche 1.95
Kaiser Roll 0.60
Laugen Brezel 2.75
Laugen Rolls small 1.25
Laugen Rolls large 2.40
Rolls Multigrain 1.10
Rolls Rye 0.95
Schlumberger Weckerl 0.60
Rolls white 0.60
Stangel 1.10
Petit Pain 0.80

Danish & Croissant
Croissant 3.00
Croissant Cheese 5.00
Croissant Chocolate 4.00
Croissant Almond 5.00
Danish Fruit 4.00
Danish Raisin 4.00
Danish Cheese & Raisin 4.00

Sandwich 1 piece
Tuna 10.00
Chicken 12.00
Gouda Cheese 12.00
Smoked Turkey 14.00
Smoked Salmon 30.00

Cookies
Cookies 250g 17.50

Whole Cakes
Apple Strudel 24.00
Apple Tarte large 24 cm 45.00
Black Forrest Cake large 24 cm 75.00
Black Forrest Cake large 20 cm 55.00
Charlotte Royal 65.00
Charlotte Strawberry 75.00
Cheese Cake large 24 cm 82.00
Cheese cake baked 82.00
Chocolate Cake large 24 cm 75.00
Chocolate Mousse Cake large 24cm 75.00
Chocolate Mousse Cake small 20cm 55.00
Fruit Cake large 24cm 85.00
Fruit cake small 20cm 65.00
Mille Feuille large 24cm 75.00
Mille Feuille Chocolate large 24cm 82.00
Mille Feuille Strawberry large 24cm 82.00
Sacher Cake large 24cm 85.00
Sacher cake small 20cm 72.00
Strawberry Tarte large 24 cm 75.00
White Forrest cake large 24cm 85.00
Nougat Torte 95.00
Chocolate Cake 40 x 40 cm 160.00
Chocolate Cake 40 x 60 cm 225.00
Fresh Fruit Cake 40 x 40 cm 175.00
Fresh Fruit Cake 40 x 60 cm 245.00

French Pastries
French Pastry 4.50
French Pastry mini 2.50
French Pastry Soirée 2.50

Pound Cakes
English Cake 35.00
English Cake plain 25.00
Marble Cake 25.00
Orange Cake 25.00
Spanish Cake 32.00

Salison
Salison 250 g 13.75
Pizza 10 cm 2.50
Quiche large 24 cm 35.00
Quiche Mushroom 24 cm 37.00
Quiche small 10 cm 4.00

********************************************
General Manager
Golden Tulip Hotel Flamenco
2 El Gezira El Wosta Street / Zamalek
11211 Cairo – Egypt
T:+20-(0)2-273 50 818
F:+20-(0)2-273 50 819
M:+20-(0)10-680 99 38
www.flamencohotels.com
gmcairo@flamencohotels.com

Hao Ming, Mangalore

2009-01-17T07:14:00.000-08:00

Hao Ming Chinese Restaurant
Yenepoya Chambers
Balmatta
Mangalore
221 8693, 426 8087

The Parent restaurant "Hao Hao" has many fond memories for me. It was the place we were taken for the occasional treats by our parents when we did very well in our exams (first 3 ranks) It was the place we went for our 10th std farewell treat.

By the time, I came to college, Hao Ming had a new improved branch - Hao Ming - a short distance away. We did have a lot of college birthday treats at this place.

Now the management of both restaurants is seperate.

My sister being the current resident expert on restaurants in Mangalore, gave us suggestions on what to order.

The food here is Indian Chinese at its best. Reminiscent of Nanking in Hyderabad and Rice Bowl in Bangalore.

I highly recommend the Drums of heaven(70rs) and the Thai Crunchy Chicken- spicy chicken wrapped in a noodle dip & deep fried(75rs) as starters. For more variety you can tag along fried wontons(80rs) or even try the soups. The chicken spicy soup (55) was a strange Indian and chinese combination with curry leaves (which I have never seen used in Chinese food so far) but it tasted good.

Soft drinks are 18rs and mineral water is 20rs a bottle.

For the main course we tried the Chefs special noodles(75rs) which is noodles served with 2 different sauces. The Singapore Mixed Fried Rice (65rs). Mixed American Chopsuey (80rs) and Ginger Fried rice (65rs). To accompany this carb fest, we ordered Hunan Chicken(75rs) which was outstanding and Dragon Chicken(75rs) which was good.

We ended the meal with a large pot of Chinese (Jasmine) tea (40rs) to help digest all that we had overeaten.

Btw, prices are inclusive of taxes. Service can be slow when the restaurant is crowded (which it usually is) but they do their best. If visiting at night, it is best to make a reservation.

I know the food is good, not just because of nostalgia because we were accompanied by 3 non-Manglorean foodies on this outing who truly enjoyed the food too.

Trishna, Andheri, Mumbai

2009-01-17T06:19:00.000-08:00

Trishna
3 A Crystal Plaza
Opp Infiniti Mall
New Link Road
Andheri (W)
3243 1145 / 3243 3631

I had eaten the signature Butter Pepper Garlic Crab at Trishna in Fort a couple of years ago and still remember fondly, the perfect balance of sweet crab flesh mingled with the saltiness of Amul Butter and the bite of freshly crushed peppercorns. But I much preferred the overall taste of food at Gajalee not to mention the proximity.

On my most recent trip to Bombay I saw that Trishna had opened a branch in Andheri too. We were tired and exhausted from our traveling, but decided to stop in here and savour the food.

The solkadi (40rs) was an apt start to the meal, nicely balanced.

The Manglorean King fish curry (200rs) with 2 large slices of fish, was tart & spicy and went very well with the neerdosa (35rs for 2), appams (35 per piece) and steamed rice (80rs). As we were too tired to clean crabs and eat them, we ordered the squid butter pepper garlic (250rs) which was tasty and served in large quantities.

The vegetarians with us tried the North Indian style food. The alu gobhi (170rs) was spicy and cooked to the right tenderness without being over mushy. This went well with the Tandoori Roti (15) and parathas/kulchas (20rs).

Pineapple Raita was 70rs and the Egg Corn Soup was 50rs.

Add to this a VAT of 12.5%. Its not a very reasonable restaurant, but its worth the price. The food is of very good quality and they get the flavors just right.

Aromas, Kanpur

2009-01-16T16:10:00.000-08:00

Aromas
7/135 Swarup Nagar
Kanpur
253 5190

Tuesday Holiday

Aromas is the most famous burger joint in Kanpur. Unfortunately this isn't saying much! If a burger joint sells Bhel Puri, Chinese soups, Pizza and Pav Bhaji too, that's an indication of things to come. The place has nostalgia value for the older residents and older alumni of the IIT in the city, as it was the only place to get "Western Fast Food" in those days.

Tried their chicken burger for 45/- Nowhere near, even the generic chain burgers. Stand alone burger joints have the potential to be really good as they can tweak the recipes to suit local tastes. My chicken burger had more potatoes and flour than chicken in the patty.

Not a place, I would recommend to anyone. Not for the non-vegetarian burgers at least. Heard a vegetarian mention that their mushroom burger (45) was awesome. I don't think I will venture here another time. But feel free to add comments about own experience here.

Bora Bora, Cairo

2009-01-12T16:50:00.000-08:00

Bora Bora
Zamalek

Located on the Nile, it has a beautiful ambiance and is a wonderful place to relax in the evenings if you visit before 10-11pm, when the party people come in and take over. Until then it is a serene quiet place to unwind, while watching the Nile and the occasional fellucca glide by.

They do serve alcohol. A large Bacardi (60ml) is 65Le. Pint of Sakkara beer is 20.25Le. Their main course mainly comprise of pastas. We preferred to stick to the Egyptian mezze, forgoing the main course. Soft Drinks are 10Le/can.

The food was some of the best Egyptian food we have had in Cairo, second only to Abu El Sid. All the vegetarian dips - tahina, baba ghannoug and Labna are 10Le. The Labna was especially wonderful - a flavour of cream cheese and cheddar cheese, with the consistency of cheesespread.

The vine leaves - again some of the best I have eaten in a restaurant in Egypt were 20Le. They need to be eaten when fresh and hot, else the fat in the stuffing begins to weigh heavily on the palate.

The Alexandian Liver at 42Le, the Alexandrian Sausage at 28Le and the fried calamari at 49Le were excellent. The texture of calamari was just right as was the seasoning. One of the few times we did not even feel the need to squeeze lemon over the dish.

They do serve shisha for 7LE and charge another 4Le for the disposable pipe that they use. They offer lemon flavour which I have not yet encountered elsewhere and it was quite smooth.

Note : it is advisable to reserve a table as this is quite a popular hangout at nights.

Trianon Cafe, Dandy Mall

2009-01-12T16:31:00.000-08:00

Trianon Cafe
Dandy Mall
Cairo - Alex Desert Road
(Near Smart Village)
CairoThis one is by far the best of the Trianon's that I have eaten at except perhaps for the original on the Corniche in Alexandria. (See my reviews of the Mohandaseen and Green Plaza, Alexandria branches.)

I highly recommend the steak with pepper sauce at this outlet. They really do it to perfection and the meat is served just the way that you request it.

The cakes and pastries are similar to the other outlets, but they somehow taste better here :) The walls are hand painted which contribute a lot to the ambiance.

The Moroccan tea is also something that I would recommend for cold weather. Its perfect for warming you up.

Sports Cafe, Cairo

2008-12-13T17:15:00.000-08:00

Sports Cafe
37, El Batal Ahmed Abdel Aziz St.
Mohandaseen
3345 8425/8426/8427

We had heard that this is THE place to go to, to grab a bite while a football match is on, but hadn't managed to catch a match here yet.

Today, it was on our way and we really wanted a coffee, so we decided to make a stop.

The first look inside the Cafe, did not inspire any confidence. It looked tacky and run down. But having heard good reviews, we decided to curb our instinct to turn around and actually brave it.

The interiors were all in red and yellow with seats at the same height as the tables, so it is not the most comfortable of seatings but Its worth a visit.

Their coffee was much better than many of the versions we have had at coffee shop chains around the city. We tried the Cafe Latte (10.95) and Cappuccino (12.95), both of which were very good.

Their Maradona Sandwich was highly recommended but it wasn't available. Oh yeah, most food is named after footballers. We settled for a Zidan Delight - hot dog with sausage and peppers (16.95) and a Zinger Burger (23.95) - this was really huge, twice the size of something at say Hardees.

Food is a mix of American & Mexican influenced cafe food.

The good thing is that there are no extra charges added to your bill. The prices you see in the menu including service charge and taxes. The only other place in Cairo that I have seen this is at Lucilles in Maadi.

Food and drink was better than average. Ambience wasn't too great, but it can be ignored. This looks like a place that students wanting to watch a game would hang out at. Maybe I should return when a big match is in progress :)

Condetti, Cairo

2008-11-28T16:55:00.000-08:00

Condetti Restaurant & Cafe
Locations in Dokki and Maadi
33 Amman Street, Off Mohi ed Din abu el Azz st. 3760 4114
10 Street 82, off street 6. 2359 2440

We ordered a home delivery from Condetti.

Portions are on the smaller side for Egypt. My Ceasar Salad(25LE) was half the size of a similar salad at Crocodile Grill, Fuddruckers, Chillis or Trianon. But I must admit that it had a nice grilled chicken and just the right amount of cheese to give it flavour without beating the purpose of ordering a salad (light and crunchy)

The Fried mushrooms (26LE) and the Condetti Chicken wings (21LE) - chicken wings stuffed with mince and crumb fried - were interesting but lost their punch in the delivery. I'm sure they would have tasted much better at location, freshly out of the hot oil.

The Condetti Burger with cheddar (29LE) was average. The cheese was not the regular sliced cheese, but it was not something I would go back for.

The Quattro Formaggi (33LE) was Penne pasta in a 4 cheese sauce, that was small sized but very filling. They do offer a pasta in white sauce with mushrooms which might have helped bring some texture to the dish.

They charge 4LE as delivery charge and delivery was quite fast. I was suprised to see a man in a full sleeved shirt and tie bring in the delivery. Only in Egypt :)

They offer breakfasts, a wide variety of coffee and other drinks. Soups, Salads, Pata, Pizza, Main dishes of meat, fish and chicken and desserts. Nothing to stand out though.

It was a reasonable experience, but not one I would be enticed into ordering again. I may try the dine in option sometime and check if that will improve my opinion of this restaurant.

Hardees, Cairo

2008-11-15T18:32:00.000-08:00

Hardees fast food locations are spread out all over Cairo and beyond. Their home delivery (19066) service practically covers every corner of the city. Their restaurants are pretty decent to sit down in too.

The nuggets at Hardees in my opinion are much better than those at McDonalds or KFC. The nuggets are sold as chicken stars (7.95 Le/6 pieces, 10.68Le/9 pieces, 11.82 for a happy meal - 4 stars + fries + small drink)

They have a lot of great burger options which aren't available at McDonalds. Tops among these are the roast beef and cheese. Then is the hot dog (remember the kids meal version comes minus the chilli-mince sauce and raw onions). The mushroom n swiss is great but can get a bit messy. The Santa Fe and the Jalapeno chicken are better geared toward the population that likes a hint of spice in their burgers.
Check out their Complete menu

While the curly fries are my absolute favorite item on the menu, I do wish they would bring the chilli cheese fries to Cairo too.

The great thing with Hardees is their large variety of burgers. You will definitely find an option to satisy everyone in your group.

While they do offer home delivery, this kind of food always tastes better fresh out of the fryer. Fries tend to get soggy and both fries and burgers don't taste the same when zapped in the microwave. The cheese goes runny, the crisp lettuce gets cooked, the mayonnaise melts into the bun, ughhh I could go on. So especially with winter upon us, this may not be the best time to order a home delivery from here unless you are really stuck for options at home. But its definitely worth a take away or dine in option.

Thai Express, Dubai

2008-11-15T18:04:00.000-08:00

Thai Express
Dubai

This restaurant currently has 3 branches across Dubai. I've eaten at their Lamcy Plaza (04 334 0445) outlet, but this is my food court stall of choice at the Dubai airport (04 220 0890/892).

Especially as this is normally my last dose of spicy food before returning to Egypt. The Airport branch often runs out of items or may not serve them even if they are on the menu.

The Khao Phad Thai(28dhs) is quite good. Its definitely not the best Thai in Dubai, but a great option at the airport especially if you are stuck in a stopover situation.

They have a lot of vegetarian options too. Soups are about 16dhs. Appetisers are also 16dhs, but I've only found spring rolls available at the airport. The main chicken/beef/seafood dishes come with plain noodles or plain steamed rice. They are in the 28-29dhs range. The chicken red curry and spicy fried chicken with cashew nuts re my favourites altho the sweetness in the second dish gets more cloying as you progress.

They have a pretty interesting lemon grass drink called Nam Traklai-6dhs which is very light and refreshing and not too sweet.

As I mentioned before, this is a decent option if you are stuck in a stopover situation.

Rainforest Cafe, Cairo

2008-11-15T17:28:00.000-08:00

Rainforest Cafe
City Stars, 5th Floor, Phase 1
Nasr City
Cairo

Rainforest Cafe is an American theme restaurant that has recently opened a branch here in Cairo. As the name suggests, the interiors are done up in the style of a rainforest with robotic animals. Cairenes would be familiar with this concept as Planet Africa has had 2 branches in the city since ages. But in my opinion the Rain Forest Cafe is much better in terms of experience, food, service and entertainment for young kids.

We visited the restaurant with friends and their 8 year old son, who thoroughly enjoyed himself right from the atmosphere and decor, to the giant aquariums, the thunderstorms at half an hour intervals, the complementary coloring books they gave him and his kids hot dog meal (20LE)

The property is huge spread over 2 floors, so seating is rarely a problem.

There is a wide variety of drinks, even the Ice Tea (14LE) comes in multiple flavors. Alcohol isnt served, so all the cocktails are actually mocktails. The banana pina colada was 19LE and the mosquito mojito and lemon juice were also 14 LE. I quite enjoyed my mojito and found it very refreshing. Large Bottle of water is 9LE.

The kid had his mini hot dogs for 20LE. 2 good sized hot dogs and plenty of fries which was too large for him. Even the kids meals are huge portions.

The cobb salad was 55LE. The fish and chips at 64 was a little too oily (think Chicken crispers oily at Chillis) for my taste, but my husband quite enjoyed it. The Amazon beef fillet (93) was excellent quality meat. I had the Maya's mixed grill which at 119LE is a bit expensive but it comes with 3 different types of meat and in really large portions, so it can be easily shared by 2.

They had a very interesting looking dessert called "the volcano" We were too stuffed from our main course to even attemot dessert, but maybe next time....

There is a merchandise shop at the entrance which could be quite a challenging expedition with demanding kids. Fortunately the little boy in our group did not fall in this category and we managed to emerge unscathed.

Its a wonderful place to take your kids. although the place is large there is only one entry/exit and the staff at that point are very careful that unattended kids aren't allowed to cross that point. I have heard mothers with younger kids say that the experience was overwhelming for the little ones. 6-7+ seems a good age to take them in.

Read an article about the opening of the cafe on Business Today Egypt

Thai Chi, Dubai

2008-11-15T15:21:00.000-08:00

Thai Chi
Pyramids
Wafi City
Dubai
+971 4 324 0000

Lovely decor and ambiance with the frontage of a Thai house sheltering the glass front of the kitchen. The head chef is the stern yet sweet looking matronly Thai lady who presents her dishes with a flourish across the counter at the glass kitchen.

A complementary dish of fried prawn crackers is served while you wait.

A bottle of water will set you back 18 dhs.
We ordered a sampler appetiser platter which came with 2 pieces each of fried shrimps, fish cakes, chicken in pandanus leaf, vegetable spring roll and chicken set in a mussel shell and deep fried. Quite tasty and served with a variety of different flavored sauces for 142 dhs. Everything was tasty. Nothing was over spiced or over flavored. The sauces were a mix of sweet, salty, spicy and crunchy. (as is normal when serving Thai cuisine)

We then had a phad thai chicken (54) which was served in an egg parcel and was excellent.
We weren't too hungry and couldn't eat too much. Will definitely return another day with a better appetite.

Most dishes are in the 50-60dhs range except for the exotic sea food.

The restaurant serves both Thai and Chinese cusine. You can choose between indoor and outdoor seating. The indoor seating has the air conditioning but the outdoor seating allows you to enjoy the (mostly) live music from the amphitheatre right beside it.

Prices are in the Mid Range for Dubai and there were plenty of groups and families enjoying an evening out at the place.

We were pleasantly surprised to receive a 20% discount as we paid with our HSBC cards. There is also a Wafi City Card which can give you similar discounts across the mall which can be purchased from the Service Counters.

Saravana Bhavan, Dubai

2008-11-15T14:58:00.000-08:00

Saravana Bhavan
Karama
Dubai
04 334 5252/ 336 9109

I first had the good fortune of eating at the original Saravana Bhavan in Chennai over 12 years ago. At that time it was the low cost of quality food that drove me there. But with that initial experience I was hooked, I have since had the opportunity to eat at 2 of their US locations and now the one in Dubai too. What is outstanding is the adherence to quality, hygiene and strict standardisation, so the food tastes the same, no matter where in the world you are eating.

Saravanas Bhavan is a saving grace for many South Indian Brahmins who are posted abroad, especially Tamilians since this is the style of Saravanas Cooking. this is a very similar style to Udipi cooking in the sense that the dishes as named in the menu may seem the same. It is the flavours which differ. this difference makes its most marked presence in the sambhar (lentil and vegetable curry) The Udipi Sambhar has a sweeter flavour to it while the Tamilian one tends to be more spicy.

The only problem with visiting most Udipi and Tamilian restaurants at lunch times is that they will only serve you meals (no idlis, no dosas, no vadas - just meals)

The meals themselves are quite good. Most restaurants will also give you free refills on everything. Saravanas Bhavan is no different. The advantage of visiting Udipi and Tamilian restaurants anywhere in the world, is that you don't have to bother about hygiene at all, as everything is cleaned thoroughly. Part of the cleaning & cooking process of kitchens run by Brahmins (which they used to be and very often still are)

The meals at Saravanas Bhavan are just 15dhs. For this princely amount you can have unlimited quantities of various items. The items change daily depending on what vegetable produce was best that day. There will always be rice as the main item. Some restaurants offer some kind of Indian bread too in the meal.

On the day we ate at Saravanas, we had the following meal. While some items will remain constant, some will change based on availability.
Rasam - a pepper and tomato based thin soup, normally drunk in the beginning as an appetiser and consumed again after the mel as a digestive, sometimes also mixed with rice.
Sambhar - a lentil based curry with vegetables. Always served with idlis and vadas and other snacks.
one more curry on the sour side.
Avial - a curd and coconut curry with vegetables.
Peas kurma - which went excellently with the puris
Potato dry dish.
Buttermilk - to soothes your tastebuds if anything is too spicy.
a sweet fruit salad.
a sweet rice based dish.
Pickles
Rice
Papads
bananas
curd

Very filling, yet very light on the stomach. You can always ask for ghee to be pured on your rice if you crave a slightly richer taste or just have your last mouthfuls of rice with ghee and salt or ghee and sugar depending on what taste you prefer.

A large bottle of water costs 3dhs.

They have a large variety of snacks which are served in the morning and evening in the 6-12 dhs range. There are even packaged snacks and sweets that you can buy to be consumed at home at your leisure.

Nandini Restaurant, Dubai

2008-11-15T14:28:00.000-08:00

Nandini Restaurant
Karama
Dubai
04 335 4389

We were both huge fans of the Nandini chain of restaurants in Bangalore. This was also one of my husbands key accounts when he worked with Pepsi. He has eaten here so often that every biryani that he eats is compared against the Nandini biriyani.

The Nandini biryani is more of an Andhra style pulao (unfortunately I never found an equivalent even in 2 years of being based in Hyderabad!) which goes excellently with the Andhra style chicken chilli. The second dish is not for those with weak taste buds. With my love of chillis, I'm normally leaking out of my eyes and nose and have smoke coming out of my ears, but the dynamite taste is worth it.

After missing these dishes for so long, it was such a pleasure to discover that they have a couple of branches in the UAE. The biryani here costs 15 Dhs. You can ask for extra rice (without the meat) after ordering the biryani for 10 dhs (this concept of being able to order dish B only after ordering dish A is a uniquely South Indian restaurant concept.) The chicken chilly (not to be confused with the Chinese Chilly chicken that is also on their menu) is 13dhs.

As is usual with most Indian restaurants (outside Egypt), the biryani is served with a small bowl each of raita and a side curry.

Watching us relish the sauce with the chicken chilli, the waiter obligingly got us more sauce when we had polished the original plate off. :)

We normally supplement this biryani fest with a side dish of baby corn chilli or ladiesfinger (bhindi) 65 or carrot french fry or something like that in the 11 to 15 dhs range.

A large bottle of water, essential with the chillies is 2.5 dhs.

They do provide complementary pappadums and melted ghee (which goes very well even with the biriyani). The table normally has 4 basic condiments. Chutney pudi (better known as Andhra gun powder) gongura (a kind of green leafy vegetable found only in Andhra) chutney, a lime or mixed pickle and another pickle or chutney depending on the season.

Wonderful value for money with excellent taste.

I heard this restaurant had recently moved locations, will update the address once I find the updated one.

Mezbaan, Dubai

2008-11-15T14:11:00.000-08:00

Mezbaan
Opposite Al Mansoor Video
Al Musallah Road
Bur Dubai
Dubai
Tel: +971 4 351 7863

A little Hyderabadi joint tucked into a corner on a busy street. We discovered this by chance on our last trip to Dubai. We were walking along the street and my nose liked the smells wafting out of this restaurant. The husband never disagrees with my nose test :) so in we went and proceeded to eat one of the best biriyanis and assortment of kebabs I had eaten in a long while. We later proceeded to order the chicken biryani (17) and the dry boneless chicken 65 (14) for dinner, every single night of the following week as a home delivery. He once even delivered at 2am (most restaurants close by midnight)

He has quite an extensive Menu whatever we have tasted from that menu has been a great experience. We have stuck to the Hyderabadi dishes so far and not ventured into his Chinese dishes yet, which I highly suspect would be Indian Chinese.

Excellent food. Not too oily. The biryani is served with green salad, and a small bowl each of raita and a side curry.

The parathas are excellent too for just 1dhs each.

Very reasonable food but the restaurant is clean and the food is very good.

Coconut Grove Restaurant, Dubai

2008-11-15T13:45:00.000-08:00

Coconut Grove Restaurant
Rydges Plaza
Satwa Roundabout
Dubai
04- 398 3800/2222

Small little restaurant located in the Rydges Hotel, it fills up fast, so get there early or try to make a reservation. the restaurant is done up with traditional decor from Kerala but serves food from Kerala, Goa, Mangalore, Chettinad, Balti & Sri Lanka.

We focused mainly on Kerala food with a Sri Lankan dish thrown in to taste and we LOVED it all. The food smelled so awesome, that I couldn't be bothered to take pictures before digging in. The crabs got my fingers all dirty and the camera was the last thing on my mind :)

Service was a bit slow but the food was worth the wait and more. We sipped on a Kurumba punch (tender coconut water, mint leaves and lemon juice - 15dhs) while we waited which was cool and refreshing and helped build our appetites. A large bottle of water will cost you 5dhs. We were served a platter of pappadum strips with a tasty green chutney dip as a complementary starter while we waited for the food we had ordered.

For starters we had the malabar fried chicken - 25 - spicy batter fried bits of boneless chicken, masala fried prawns -50 - batter fried fresh medium sized prawns and deep fried mussels - 30. the chicken and prawns were excellent. Tender, fresh and bursting with flavor. We had asked for our food to be made extra spicyt and the chef obliged. Such a pleasure to eat after what passes as spicy food in Egyptian restaurants. What passes as 10 on a scle of 10 on spiciness in Egypt, would barely be a 3 or a 4 on a similar scale in Dubai or India. The mussels were shelled but were deep fried to a crisp, which meant they werent soft and easy to bite into, they felt a little chewy after the texture of the other starters although the flavor was great.

For the main course, we ordered a crab pepper masala which was excellent at 45. A semi dry gravy this was beautifully complemented with the appams (6 for 2 pieces if plain, 6 for one piece if topped with an egg) and malabar paratha (6)

We also had Gedara Sadu kukulmas - a Sri lankan chicken curry with coconut milk that went well with the idiappam (string hoppers - 3 pieces for 5 dhs)

We rounded off the dinner with 2 from the large choice of deserts to chose from. The Gajar ka halwa (15) was nothing like what my North Indian husband has ever eaten as it was cooked in coconut milk. He was expecting the regular halwa and wasn't too ecstatic about his desert, though he said it did taste good. I tried a famous Kerala dessert called Parippu pradhaman (a kheer made from coconut milk, jaggery and lentils - 15) this is a dish we cook in my hometown too and it brought back many happy memories from my childhoood.

They do have soups and vegetarian options, but the star is definitely the Kerala style seafood.

Excellent restaurant with outstanding food - provided you get a table.

I have heard that eating at Coconut Grove is a gamble. On most days the food is excellent, but on some days the food and service can suck.

Do note that in most restaurants in Dubai the taxes are included in the price of the item as printed in the menu.

Read reviews of this restaurant on
Time Out Dubai
Yahoo Travel

Revolving Restaurant, Grand Hyatt, Cairo

2008-11-15T06:55:00.000-08:00

Revolving Restaurant
Grand Hyatt, Cairo

The Revolving Restaurant is only open for dinner around 8pm. Prior Reservations are required (even if it is a couple of hours before) Jeans, shorts and open shoes for men are a non-no - as the hostess politely informed us over the phone. Jackets aren't required, but wouldn't be out of place either.

This is a lovely restaurant to take your date to with its awesome ambience, phenomenal food, panoramic view and attentive yet unobtrusive service. It is also a place I would recommend for formal business dinners or if you need to impress your (prospective) inlaws or anyone else for that matter.

The lighting is low and the ceiling is decorated with colored LED's forming asteroids, satellites and other heavenly objects :)

The restaurant is situated on the 41st floor. Access is through a private lift on the 40th floor (where you may be seated for awhile but can use that time to order a drink - Yes alcohol is now being served again at this restaurant) The restaurant completes an entire revolution every 75 minutes, situated as it is on the Nile, its an almost panoramic view of the entire city. To disguise its one blind spot, they have created a replica of an Ancient Egyptian temple on the outside.

The Restaurant has an open chef's kitchen. But there were no wafting odors to dull the experience.
Complimentary fresh baked bread was served along with pate and herbed butter. We were hungry and ordered 2 appetisers each. all of which were outstanding.

The Smoked salmon was served with pancakes, mashed potatoes and a salmon mousse.
The Salad St Jacques was pan fried scallops (slightly crisp on the outside, tender juicy & succulent on the inside), served on a crisp potato pancake with marinated red peppers and some greens. I would highly recommend this dish any day.
The Prawn Salad was a combination of king prawns and Scampi with a basil, lemon and avocado base.
The Carpaccio was other worldly. Some of the best that I have eaten. The green dressing and the cheese served with the carpaccio were an excellent combination with the meat.
For the main, I ordered Australian lamb chops which were done exactly the way I wanted. Not too tough, not too soft. The sauce (lamb jus) served with a white bean salad as a base was excellent.
My husband ordered more prawns . But given the superior quality of all the other dishes, he felt this was a bit lacking. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he knew something was missing. This is the only dish that needed something more. all the others were beautifully and perfectly balanced. Since I don't eat prawns unless I have cleaned them myself (long story about allergies) I couldn't check on what was missing. This was served with ratatouille which he quite enjoyed.
We ordered 2 sides of mushrooms and pureed potatoes (Fancy restaurants never say mashed potatoes they say pureed potatoes) The mushrooms were FANTABULOUS!. After all the tinned stuff most restaurants serve as mushrooms, this dish was outstanding. It was a mixture of 4-5 different fresh mushrooms and it had a wonderful woodsy yet fresh flavour. I would even eat this as my appetiser or my main course if I wasnt too hungry.
For dessert, he had the creme brulee which came in three flavours. Mango-jasmine and chocolate were familiar flavors, it was the strawberry-basil flavor that was an eye and taste bud opener.
The choclate fondant that I ordered was my other star of the evening. Crisp exterior, molten interior. Words can't desribe how amazing this desert was. The ice cream accompanying it, could have been a bit better, but the vanilla ice cream was a necessary touch to balance the chocolate. an absolute for anyone - chocoholic or otherwise!
My husband was initially apprehensive about eating French food. Although he had been forced to watch a lot of French cooking programs along with me, he had never encouraged me to try cooking any of these dishes as he felt they would be bland. Fortunatley eating at the Grand Hyatt's Revolving Restaurant has completley altered this perspective. French recipe books are next on the shopping list! (Like I need an excuse)

This was supposed to be a treat for me, so my husband did the ordering without letting me look at the menu. But knowing me for over 8 years and knowing what is good for him, he did let me make my own choices after describing each one to me. I'm not too sure of the rates, but what he said was that appetisers were in the 50LE+ range. Mains were between 80-150LE and side dishes were about 25LE.

Portions are a decent size. Slightly small by Egyptian standards. But it allows you to choose an appetiser, main and dessert for yourself.

Definitely a must visit.

Ataturk, Cairo

2008-09-26T16:51:00.000-07:00

Ataturk Restaurant
20 El-Riyadh Street
Cairo
Egypt
+20 2 3347 5135

11am - 1am

This is a lovely little restaurant and I think its the only place serving Turkish Food in Cairo. (Please let me know if you know of any others)

From the outside, it may look like a small hole in the wall, but it has awesome interiors with stained glass and paintings and little blue and aqua touches that are reminiscent of Turkey.

Especially lovely is a painting near a side table which makes you feel that you are looking out on a mile long garden, even in the middle of dusty, smoggy, polluted, congested Mohandaseen :)
When you dine in, you are served a huge hunk of oven roasted Turkish bread. If you ask for a takeaway, you are served a softer, flat version of the bread similar to Indian Rumali rotis. They do deliver upto Zamalek and some locations in Giza.

This restaurant doesn't serve many of the dishes that I do associate with Turkey and had the pleasure of consuming on a visit to that country, but it does its best with ingredients and spices readily available in Egypt. The menu at Ataturk may look very similar to an Egyptian/Syrian/Lebanese restaurant. The difference is in the seasonings.

For starters, they have a variety of hot and cold mezze from 5LE to 12LE. The almonds salad 6LE (pictured above) is a tomato dip garnished with toasted almonds. I particularly ike their meat sambusak (10LE) as it is more like the Indian meat samosa than the Egyptian sambusak with a finer/thinner dough. The Hummus Shawarma (12LE), yoghurt with spinach (5LE) and stuffed vine leaves are the other mezze that I like at this place and which go excellently with the Turkish bread.
The ankara kofta sandwich (10.5LE) has to be my favourite main. It isnt spicy, but it has more spices and flavours than the traditional Egyptian version. It is rolled in pita bread with slivers of onions and cilantro. It brought back so many memories of the rolls at Fanoos in Bangalore.

The sandwiches at Ankara are rolled in Pita bread and not hot dog buns.

The chicken topkapi 34 LE (picture below) - half a chicken stuffed with pulao - was not very good when I had it in the restaurant. The rice seemed like it was newly unfrozen and wasn't hot, although the chicken was hot. It was tasty, but the mismatched temperatures killed the dish.

The Special Meat Shawerma Plate (Antakia) Doner (30LE) was very tasty with its onion and other flavorings. We have tried the hagi baba rice - veal liver + pine nuts (16LE) - The Ankara rice - minced meat + green peas + pine nuts (12.5LE) - and the rice with nuts (9LE) which have all been excellent. Never served too dry. The rice is an excellent accompaniment to the kebabs and shawarma plates.

As I have said before, I must admit I find Turkish and Syrian food more interesting than Egyptian food, because my Indian palate craves more complex flavors than just salt, tomato paste and the occasional pepper which most commerically available Egyptian food seems to be flavored with.

Using spices in the food does not mean being spicy. The food at Ataturk is just that. It uses spices without being spicy and the resulting flavours are exciting.

We haven't tried the deserts yet. Maybe someoen else would like to comment on them.

I have had better and faster service with home delivery (20 minutes today, even though we ordered at Iftaar time) than at the restaurant. But the decor and ambience at the restaurant is just so relaxing, that it is worth dining in too.

You can call them directly for delivery or order on otlob.com

Jhama Sweets, Chembur, Mumbai

2008-08-29T10:22:00.000-07:00

Jhama is an extremely popular sweet shop in Chembur in Mumbai.

I have an uncle who lives nearby who never fails to pick up a box of their sweets for us when he visits. So I have tried their kaju kathri and various other sweets, whose names I don't even know and found them outstanding!.

Last time, we visited Chembur, I was in the mood for some chaat, so we strolled over to Jhama as we were already familar with the name.

The chaat was as good or even better than their sweets. We had fresh gajar ka halwa, jelebis and faloodas. The process of preparation simply serves to whet ones appetitie.

The gajar ka halwa had so many nuts in it, it was more of dry fruit halwa. But it was still awesome. My words can't convey how good the food was, so I'll let the pictures do the talking.
Notice the dry fruits on top. Cashew nuts, almonds and raisins
Closer look at the halwa itself
Garma garam jelebis
Falooda being constructed.

Finished product. Its much tastier than it looks like.

Jhama also sells a lot of different namkeen, which are extremely tasty.

Definitely pick up some stuff from here, if you are in the area. But if you want sweets on a festive occasion, then make sure you have placed your order well in advance.

Prithvi Theatre Cafe, Juhu, Mumbai

2008-08-24T06:17:00.000-07:00

This Cafe was one of my favorites in Mumbai. Yes, you read it right, it "WAS". (check my previous review)

Close to my house, this was where me and my husband often sat discussing the play we were going to watch over a cup of coffee and light snacks like cheese balls or dissecting and analysing the play we had just watched over raan and Prithvi's famous irish coffee :)

I often visited the cafe when I was feeling low on inspiration and creativity and it was marvelous how just being there in that location with the presence of immensely talented individuals like Makarand Deshpande and Kay Kay (does he go as KK now?) among others could charge me up.

There were the occasional Ekta Kapur actresses who would show up for a play, but they were completely ignored by the serious acting crowd (theatre) and the people who went there to watch talented actors.

This adda was like a 2nd home to me in Mumbai. The husband and me averaged at least one play a week and sometimes more than that. I was at the cafe with him or on my own twice or even more in a week.

Service was sometimes slow, but you could see the waiters doing their best to manage it all and you didnt mind. What few people knew was that the cafe had a really awesome dinner menu and it was amazing to sit under those lights hanging from the trees and enjoy a meal.

Once we moved to Egypt we watched on the news that the cafe had introduced a new, more Mumbaiyya menu. On our trip to India in January we decided to go back to the cafe for old times sake and we were HORRIFIED!

There were a new bunch of waiters who did not even seem to know the menaing of the word "service" It took more than 20 minutes of sitting at a table (which we found ourselves after scrounging vacant chairs from nearby tables) before the waiter even acknowledged our presence. Another 20 minutes to get us a menu. The menu had thrice the number of items than before, but not even 10% of them were available. We found this out the painful way, by ordering some items and then being told none of them were available. This process repeated a couple of times, till we finally asked the waiter, "just tell us what IS available" He hardly mentioned 5 items.

Since we were a group and had already waited that long and gone through all the trouble of parking et al, we ordered one of each and told him to bring each item as it was ready in case some items took longer than others to prepare. 40 minutes after ordering, not a single item had reached our table. We asked the waiter about the status and he said "another 15 minutes" without even a trace of an apology in his voice.

So we told him to cancel the order and we walked out. He looked at us walk away with more relief than dismay on his face!

Doubt I will visit the cafe again, unless something changes drastically and they can match the standards of the previous avataar.

Please observe 2 minutes silence for the passing of a great cafe, that once was @ Prithvi!

Oasis, Chembur, Mumbai

2008-08-24T05:50:00.000-07:00

My SIL chose this place for rakhi (a festival celebration of the brother sister bond) dinner with her bhaiyya (elder brother).

The ambience was really nice, inspite of the loud kitty party like dinner going on on the premises. (in one of the other rooms)

The dining hall was a large open space with white tablecloths and muted lighting. Very romantic setting if you take a table for two.

The food was the star. Being back in India after ages, I had decided I would only drink and eat Indian specialities. In keeping with that, I ordered a masaledaar chaas (70) and asked them to add some finely chopped chillies to the drink. The drink was outstandingly flavored and balanced and the chillies were chopped so fine, that they did not catch in your teeth (they were chopped not pureed)

They serve alcohol and cocktails too. The Singapore sling (130) was a strawberry flavored cocktail that was interesting. A small peg - 30ml of bacardi was 190 and the diet pepsi was Rs60. The kingfisher pint was 120. Water was 50 bucks for a liter.

The aloo cheese balls(185) were good, but I still crave the taste of the old Prithvi cafe ones at 1/3rd the price and thrice the flavor. The corn tikki (165) was interesting and tasty with lots of corn unlike most locations which overdo the batter holding it together.

The makhmali tukda (190) was the most outstanding paneer I have eaten in a long time. The paneer itself was soft and tender which had been seared to crispness on the outside in a tandoor, but not over done. Highly recommended.

Chicken Hazari kebab (215) was tender, soft and marinated in a malai'ish sauce. Malai and white kebabs are not my favorite (I like more kick in my kebabs) unless its is a malai-kali mirch combination, but this one was worth having a second round of.

For the main course, we ordered Paneer mazedar (205) which tasted suspiciously like a butter paneer with minimal jazzing up. I'd prefer the kebabs any day.
Murgh hari mirch (215) which wasn't very spicy, but tasty none-the-less.
Kulchas and makai roti were 35. Butter kulchas 45. Kulchas were soft and easy to tear apart. the makai roti was kadak in a good way.

The star of my evening was the kacche ghosht ki dum biryani (220) I ordered the boneless variety and I was in heaven. Right balance of spices, browned onions, tender mutton. My mouth stil waters at the memory.

For dessert, we wrapped it up with a malai kulfi (95) and gajar halwa (75) Halwa was really good, but the kulfi was rather generic.

I'd definitely visit again the next time I am Chembur, but I will stick to the chaas, paneer kebabs and the biryani. My own little version of heaven on earth :)

Patio, Gajalee, Mumbai, India

2008-08-24T04:17:00.000-07:00

I have always been a huge fan of Gajalee in Mumbai for sea food. I find their sea food better than Mahesh Lunch home or Trishna. (although Trishna's butter pepper garlic crab topples the scales completely)

My husband too loves the food at Gajalee. There was one branch very close to his office in Vile Parle and most office meetings invariably took place there. The days I couldn't send him lunch, he would order in from there. Its a wonder I haven't reviewed this place before, given how often we have eaten there.

Gajalee in Vile Parle is not extremely fancy but it does have an air conditioned room with cushioned seats for those used to those comforts (at a very slight premium) compared to the wooden mess like tables and benches on the rest of the premises.

Our standard order used to be a starter of solkadi (drink made of kokum - red berry- garlic and coconut milk which is an excellent appetiser, digestive and accompaniment to the food) and King fish fry (a large slice of king fish/eeson - batter fried and served with an amazing spicy green chutney which definitely has green mango in it for sourness)

The main course could be a fish or mutton thali (strangely we never tasted the chicken thali) with prawns achari (shrimp in a pickle flavored gravy, high on mustard seeds) on the side. The thali includes rice, a gravy/curry, a dry dish and some vegetable. Very filling and awesomely flavorful.

Amboli - a thick dosa - lentil pancake and ghawne - neer dosa/panpole - a thin flat pancake were normally ordered on the side to enjoy the curries further.

Given that we were both back in Mumbai for 2 days, it was imperative that we visit gajalee for some spicy seafood after Egypt. Since we were closest to Andheri at that time, we stopped at Patio near NMIMS college which also houses a Gajalee. This is a more upmarket version. Prices are higher and they have a lot of North Indian and Chinese cuisine on the menu. Don't let this fool you into thinking that the standard of sea food would be middling. It is not. In fact, it is quite excellent and this restaurant also serves boneless crab.

You have to forgive me for not taking pictures, the food was smelling so good and we were so hungry and craving spicy sea food, that thoughts of taking the camera out of the bag and clicking pictures never even entered my mind!

Back to the boneless crab. While Trishna @ Kala Ghoda does an awesome butter pepper garlic crab, it comes in a shell and that means the butter solidifies as it turns cold while you take time and effort to eat the crab. So while it starts out awesome, by the time you finish, it gets a bit icky.

Not so at Patio. The butter garlic crab comes boneless, so no time wasted and you can eat it with your amboli or ghawne (expalined above). The sweetness of crab meat mingles with the saltiness of the yellow butter, it is cooked in and the garlic adds piquancy to the whole flavor, that just explodes in your mouth.

The dish is a bit expensive at 1250/- but it is completely worth it.

This time they had an innovation called crab green chilli. Similar to the butter garlic crab but with some green chilli thrown in for spiciness. It wasn't over spicy and the chillies did not over power the mild sweet crab flavor, it was just exquisitely balanced. At 1250/- its a must try

Since we had the green chilli crab, we opted for the squid butter garlic (200) which was also outstanding. Not really deep fried or shallow fried but something in between. The texture of the squid was just right with the buttered garlic hugging on to each squid ring.

Of course, we ordered the Solkadi (25) and it felt so good to be drinking this again.

The prawns achari at the Parle location feels and tastes more authentic than the Patio version(250), but husband proclaimed it good (not outstanding but good) . Reasonably medium sized prawns.

The mutton masala (140) was middling. Neither terrible nor as good as the other dishes. While it may have stood out at another restaurant, here it just blended in without making its presence felt.

They did not have king fish, so we couldn't have that.

Ambolis and Ghawnes were 15/- each, soft and tasty. Mineral water was 15.

They do have deserts, but this is the caramel custard, ice cream variety which are a dampener after such a wonderful meal. So I prefer to leave with the flavor of crab or squid in my mouth. But if I remember right, the gajalee in parle outsources some cheese cake and chocolate cake which were very good. I'm not 100% sure of this though.

The other dishes we have often enjoyed are the fried bombil (bombay duck - a fish not poultry) and the stuffed pomfret. The bombil is fresh not the dried variety.

The sea food at Gajalee is always fresh and tasty and this place is a definite must-visit for the pescatarian.

Teriyaki, Mohandaseen

2008-05-26T20:16:00.000-07:00

The unique prospect behind this is that not only is the food prepared fresh in front of you, it is also cooked with water instead of oil. Making it an extremely healthy wholesome meal.

Teriyaki has one location at the al Rehab foodcourt, the other is in Mohandaseen at the intersection of el Gazayer and Gameat el dowal el Arabia. Take the turn at Papa Johns and keep going straight, you will see this on the right. They home deliver too. Call 2522 2221.

The interiors at Mohandaseen are bright and cheery although, it was quite deserted when we went there.

Options are Teriyaki rice meals (26-37Le) which is chicken, beef, shrimp, tofu (or a mix of 2 types) teriyaki served with Japanese rice and fresh vegetables.

The same meal can also be exchanged for Yakisoba - Japanese style flat noodles. (28-39LE)

They were both quite tasty. There are 4 sauces available on the side that you can use to supplement the flavours to your liking.

My only wish is that they provide stronger cutlery at the outlet for dine-ins. The plastic forks are too flimsy for Japanese flat noodles, the spoons too small for the Noodle soup Bowl (26-30).

They have some salads and wraps which are often not available.

they also have some sushi dishes (8pieces for 25 LE) that we did not try.

Light (less than 3gms fat in the chicken and tofu options) healthy, flavourful and filling. Wonder if the healthy alternative will catch on Cairo though?

Teriyaki comes form the same people behind Cinnabon

Cinnabon, Cairo

2008-05-26T19:55:00.000-07:00

Cinnabon is one of my favourite things in Egypt and among my top 10 list of things that I will miss when it is time for me to leave.

This is what I carry home with me as a gift for my siblings and now my cousins who all request this tasty treat as an Egyptian treat. Never mind that it is an American chain (founded 1985 in Seattle Washington) that entered Egypt as recently as 2003!

There are 3 basic rolls.
The first is the basic cinnamon roll where the pastry is rolled with butter, cinnamon and brown sugar and then baked - Cinnabon Classic
The second is the Caramel Pecanbon which is the Classic with the addition of yummy caramel sauce and roasted pecans.
The third is the Chocobon which is a chocolate frosting kind of filling in the roll topped with chocolate sauce.

They all come in 2 sizes - regular (11-16LE) and mini(8-10LE) and some of them come in bite size pieces

I particularly like the cinnasticks (11le-5 pieces) too which are awesome when they are fresh out of the oven and eaten hot with cream cheese frosting.

Cream cheese frosting, caramel sauce, chocolate sauce, roasted pecans all these are available as extra toppings for an additional 2-8LE each.

The basic mixes all come from one location, but the actual baking and rolling happens on site, which is an exciting show to watch as you eat your own cinnabons. In my opinion, the City star pastry chefs are faster and more adept than the other locations (could be because of the faster turnover)

Tacoma coffee and some house blends are available for those so inclined. They are 3-5 varieties of salads and sandwiches for those who would like something non sweet.

Oooh and they home deliver too. This was when we figured our cat has a sweet tooth. After KFC this is only the 2nd home delivered meal she insists on sharing with us :)

Carvel ice-creams are now available a some of the locations.
The cheesecake(18LE) is ok, but I've had better. Same goes for the cookies (8LE)

The Rools are the Star! Fattening but worth an extra hours work out. Awesome stuff!

Mezzaluna - Italian

2008-05-26T17:41:00.000-07:00

Mezzaluna
Next to Bull's Eye Pub
32 Jeddah Street
Mohandaseen
02 3335 3273

According to wikipedia A Mezzaluna is a chopping instrument consisting of a single or double curved blade with a handle on each end. They are often used for chopping herbs or very large single blade versions are sometimes used for pizza or pesto. Mezzaluna is the Italian name (meaning Half Moon after the rough shape of the blade) for the item and is the most common name used in the UK.

I had eaten here once before and really loved the food, but I'm not a frequent Italian food eater. I find a lot of the dishes served in Italian Restaurants (not to be thought of as comprehensive introductions to Italian food) to be high on white sauce and cheese.

We decided on the spur of the moment to visit Bulls Eye pub since we were in the area, but since we did not have reservations, we were kindly guided to their sister restaurant.

They do serve alcohol and I had an awesome tequila for 20LE which did not need to be disguised with salt or lime. (Yes, thats the mark of a good tequila) Vodka was 25LE. They do serve some wines but they also have free corkage on imported wines if you would like to carry your own .

They offered a free starter of bruschetta with an olive tapenade dip, which was great. Light and appealing.

We ordered the fried calamari (32LE) Please ignore the order as a craving for deep fried sea food. I don't think this is a real Italian starter but it was tasty served on a bed of shredded lettuce and with a salty butter dip.

The piece-de-resistance was the Jambon cuit au gratin(24LE) which was a slice of bruschetta with a rolled slice of ham on top, white sauce inside the roll and cascading down the sides. yummo!

Their menu keeps changing regularly, so you may not get tomorrow what you enjoyed today, but there will definitely be some items on the menu that you can enjoy.

Husband had a ravioli gorgonzola (blue cheese stuffing and walnut dressing) - 28LE, which was quite good but not as good as the apricot and chicken stuffed ravioli with almond slivers that I had, had the good fortune of tasting on my previous visit.

The veal Ossobuco (55LE) was falling off the bone and was served with a mildy flavoured turmeric and parsley risotto. A far cry from the traditional saffron flavored risotto except for the colouring, the mild risotto was a perfect foil for the heavy tomato and garlic based ossobuco. The risotto tasted best with the marrow from the bone which was light, yet buttery.

We ended the meal with a decadent chocolate fondue (32LE) which was served with banana, peaches and apricots. I had so hoped for cake and ladies fingers. Hence, I ended up drinking the fondue when I could take no more of the fruit. The chocolate had a fine hazelnut taste which leads me to suspect that it was no more than a melted & diluted nutella. But whatever it was, it was extremely tasty.

Loved the food on both visits and highly recommend it to anyone seeking Italian food in Cairo.

For more reviews check Egypt Today or Al Ahram

Trianon Cafe, Mohandaseen

2008-05-26T17:30:00.000-07:00

Well, inspite of my middle opinion of Trianon in Alexandria I still went ahead and prdered home delivery from them in Mohandaseen.

The first time I ordered the Trianon grilled steak with pepper sauce and mashed potatoes (40LE) the steak was tiny, the sauce and mashed potatoes were awesome and in hindsight the size of the steak was just right for my stomach.

The second time I ordered it, I asked them to make it a little less than well done, (because last time it got too hard) and forgot to mention the extra spicy bit. The steak was done to perfection, but no sauce at all. It was just some pepper flakes sprinkled on the top. I don't know if this is because they completely forgot the sauce or because the previous time I had ordered extra spicy sauce.

The sauce is what gives the steak and the mashed potatoes the kick. Buttery and peppery goes great with the meat and the taters
.
The Ceasar salad last time had a bit too much of anchovies in me and the fishy taste overpowered all other flavours. Plus the salt had formed clumps which exploded unpleasantly in my mouth.

This time's Spaghetti bolognaise (27 LE) was a better experience but too much fat content and not enough sauce. I could feel the cholesterol building up as I nibbled through my husbands dish.

The mocha eclair was large and lovely if it had been left basic. The extra sugar icing on top was just too sweet, but once we scraped that off, we really enjoyed the underlying eclair and lightly flavoured mocha cream.

Wessaya, Cairo

2008-05-03T14:41:00.000-07:00

Wessaya
Multiple Locations
Cairo
11am - 2am

Wessaya is a local fast food joint with a subway sandwich kind of menu. Take a look at the menu here

They are owned by the same company that owns Sbbaro and Cantina Laredo.

Their outlets on the whole are small with limited seating space and they focus on the take-away and home/office delivery clientele.

Their bread is soft and moist when eaten fresh. But because of the toasting it may harden if kept for too long.

The spicy sandwiches are truly spicy and suit my Indian palate, so for me thats a good thing. Go for the regular options if your spice tolerance is low.

My personal favourites are the
Lahaleebo (spicy fried chicken fillet + lettuce + mayonnaise) Large 12.65Le, Medium 10.45LE
Chicken Panee (fried chicken pane + lettuce + mayonnaise) Large 12.10LE, Medium 9.90LE
Mexican Hot Dog (hot dog slices + spicy Mexican sauce) Large 9.90LE, Medium 7.70LE

Their fries are good and not overly salted for a change.
Nuggets are good but not as good as KFC/Hardees.

Since they are open till 2am and they deliver home for a 4LE charge - they are quite good for the midnight munchies.

If you are interested in the business angle behind Wessaya, Read this article from Business Today, Egypt

Trianon Cafe, Alexandria

2008-05-01T17:12:00.000-07:00

Trianon Cafe,
Green Plaza
Alexandria

The same menu as their Cairo counterpart.

Nice setting in the Green Plaza Their sandwiches were yummy as were the fries. The pizza looked good, but I didn't try that.

The Viennese coffee did not look as exciting when it came to the table as it looked in the menu picture. But it did taste pretty good.

I had the angel hair pasta in cream sauce with chicken. It was interesting. Not outstanding, but pretty good.

The pasta and the Viennese Coffee with tax and tip was about 60LE.

Brownies, Alexandria

2008-05-01T16:54:00.000-07:00

Brownies,
Green Plaza,
Alexandria

On the high recommendations of a friend and her niece, I decided I would not leave Alexandria without a stop at Brownies on my next trip to the City.

Brownies is located in Green Plaza in Alexandria which is part of the Hilton Complex.

Unfortunately, we had already had a late lunch and coffee, before we got to Brownies. So as a compromise, I decided to get them packed, so I could reheat them at home for consumption. The menu showed a range of coffees and some desserts and crepes. The brownies aren't on the menu, but they are available all the time.

10Le (tax included) gets you a lovely brownie with a scoop of ice cream and tons of chocolate sauce.

When I reheated the stuff today, the brownie was quite good, good texture but not nutty enough. The fudge melted amazingly well on reheating and regained its consistency once it was poured over the ice cream and brownie. The ice cream was a disaster, that was to be expected since it had obviously melted on the 4 hour ride from Alexandria to Cairo and refreezing it wasn't a good idea. Fortunately I had a tub of vanilla ice cream in the freezer which I used for the brownie. It did taste pretty good.

Not as good as the Hot Fudge Brownie Sundae at Hard Rock Cafe, but pretty good competition. But this one cost just 1/4th of the HRC sundae, so its more VFM. (HRC sundae now costs about 40LE)

Nice open area to sit in the garden, if you plan to eat in. Guess I'm gonna do that next time and enjoy the service too.

Al Tazaj, Cairo

2008-04-26T14:59:00.000-07:00

Al Tazaj
Multiple Locations
Cairo

Common home delivery number 19018

I apprehensively ordered a Roast chicken from Al Tazaj using otlob.com Its the Egyptian franchise of a Saudi chain.

The apprehension was essentially because most commercially cooked roast chickens in Egypt have no added flavoring except heavy doses of salt. And my Indian palate craves flavoring. Not just chilli but any kind of flavoring.

I hit a winner with Al Tazaj. I ordered a Barbecued Chicken Meal Combo from their menu which included 1 whole chicken, served with sesame paste salad + French fries + Pepsi + eish. All this for just 27LE.

I had to wait an hour for the delivery, but it was worth it. The chicken was small (maybe about 750 gms)and hence tender. It was butterflied and marinated in a mix of garlic, lemon, black pepper and a few other herb and spices. The meat was tender and the skin was crisp without being charred. Lovely consistency, lovely taste, amazing flavour. The BEST roast chicken I have eaten in a hotel in Cairo. This is the first time I am eating Egyptian food from a restaurant that I did not add any hot sauce or other sauce too.

Their website states that These tender birds are fed only natural ingredients (our own special feed formula). Then, fresh from the farm they are marinated in a secret blend of fruits and vegetables then grilled to perfection over wood charcoal. The unique, delicious taste of TAZA BarB.Q. is one of a kind! I Agree!

I also ordered a basbousa which came in its individually wrapped box for 4.75LE. It may seem a little pricey for its size, but if my calculations are right, the special nuts they used as topping are more expensive than almonds, pistas or cashewnuts. The flavour was unlike any basbousa I have eaten before. It was a cross between the regular basbousa and an Indian sweet called milk cake (when full cream milk is cooked with sugar till it dries up into little granules) It was topped with those Sudanese (kiri?) nuts.

I'm very happy with this place and know where I'm going to order from the next time, I crave a good barbecued chicken on demand.

They have a delivery charge of about 5Le and of course sales tax of 10%. There is a 17LE minimum charge for delivery.

Grand Snacks and Sweets, Chennai

2008-04-20T07:40:00.000-07:00

Totally inspired by the masala (blend of spices) given to us by our Tamilian friends Lux & Moorthy, I sent a shopping list to my mom who was visiting Madras for her visa. The parcel has just reached me. YIPPEE!

Karakuzhambu paste, onion thokku, pepper rasam masala, and that tamarind thing - is it Pulikachal?

Also she has sent me a bit of sambhar and rasam powder of theirs to try out.

I don't need to cook anything other than rice for the next one month. Hahahahaha

I'm so kicked with myself. Already tasted all of them. They are awesome!

If you want to buy some yourself or get it shipped to you, the address is:
#24
2nd Main Road,
Gandhi Nagar
Adyar
Chennai - 600020

Phone: 044-24914213

Read more about Grand Snacks & Sweets in The Hindu

Hard Rock Cafe, Cairo

2008-01-23T13:43:00.000-08:00

Hard Rock Cafe Cairo
Grand Hyatt Cairo
Corniche El Nile, Garden City
Cairo, Egypt
+2(02) 5321277/81/85

Hours:
Restaurant:
Sun - Sat 12:00PM - 4:00AM
Merchandise:
Sun - Sat 11:00AM - 4:00AM

It started with an Eric Clapton guitar (a Fender Lead II, for the gearheads in the audience). The beginning of something that nobody even knew was beginning.

It was just a goof. A laugh. A joke among friends.

Back in the seventies, Clapton - the original guitar god, founder of Cream and Derek & the Dominoes, creator of the immortal "Layla" - liked to eat at this quirky American diner in London called the Hard Rock Cafe. The place was this funky old building that used to be a Rolls Royce dealership, and it was run by a couple of young Americans who liked to keep it loose. Founded by Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton, two enterprising and music-loving Americans, Hard Rock Cafe was an instant classic. You could be yourself at the Hard Rock. It was good food and a good time.

So Clapton got to be friends with the proprietors and asked them to save him a regular table, put up a brass plaque or something. And the young proprietors said, “Why don't we put up your guitar?” They all had a chuckle, and he handed over a guitar, and they slapped it on the wall.

No one thought much more about it. Until a week later, when another guitar arrived (a Gibson Les Paul, by the way). With it was a note from Pete Townshend of The Who which read: "Mine's as good as his. Love, Pete."

The young proprietors put it on the wall. After that, the guitars never stopped coming. Today there are more than 70,000 guitars, drums, pianos, harmonicas, microphones, shirts, pants, scarves, shoes, handwritten lyrics, cars, bikes, a bus and assorted rock memorabilia - by far, the largest, most valuable such collection in the world - on the walls of over 138 Hard Rock Cafes, Hotels and Casinos in 42 countries around the world.

But it all started with the one.

And about 30 years later, the Hard Rock Cafe opened its doors in Cairo.

With an extremely large seating space, the HRC doubles as a restaurant during the day (with even a special day for little tots with face painters etc) and a club at night.

They boast one of the best selections of spirits in Cairo. And a large variety of cocktails mixed to perfection. My personal favorite is the Golden Rita (All margaritas are 70LE) Long Beach Ice Tea (59LE with cranberry juice instead of the cola in a Long Island Ice Tea - also 59LE) Rum Runner (46LE) Drinks like Cognac are 72LE a peg. Or you can keep the alcohol for a post meal experience by trying one of the Irish Coffees (57LE) with Irish Cream, Tia Maria, Irish Whiskey or Amaretto as the base.

On Fridays they have a special offer of unlimited beer & buffalo wings for 99LE.

The Jumbo Combo (59LE) is a great appetiser with a mix of Onion Rings, potato skins, Santa Fe Spring rolls (although I prefer The Southwestern egg rolls from Chilli's) Buffalo wings & chicken tenders with 4 different sauces. A little bit of everything for everyone on the table to taste.

I've had some great food here too. The pulled lamb sandwiches, Twisted mac (39LE), blackened chicken pasta (35LE) and burgers are all great. They more than fill you up as the portions are really large.

But its the deserts that are to die for. In particular - the Fudge Brownie Sundae (29LE) Its not only awesome, its completely VFM.

The Apple Cobbler (29LE) is also good, as are the cheesecakes.

Decor is the standard Hard Rock Cafe type with guitars, pictures and other rock memorabilia all over the place. What isn't standard is the gorgeous view of the Nile from the French Windows all around. By night or by day, the Nile is a very relaxing & calming sight. The feluccas during the day and the lights at night add much character to the scene.

Staff are friendly, responsive and speak fluent English (English speaking staff is a problem in some of the other restaurants/pubs in Cairo)

They have the standard Hard Rock gift shop with overpriced clothes & pins & glasses which you can shop at if you are a collector. Otherwise the same t-shirts are available in Khan el Khalili for 10LE :) LOL

Caution !!!!! The juice guy at the Khan

2007-11-22T06:48:00.000-08:00

If you are thirsty after trekking the khan and looking for a juice, then the juice guy next to Egyptian pancakes at the Khan is MOST DEFINITELY NOT THE PLACE YOU WANT TO GO !

They are Bl&**$ scamsters !

I have always grabbed a juice there (over 20 times in the last year) with my Egyptian friends and it has never cost me more than 3LE.

I had recommended to my visiting aunts (2 weeks back) that they drink juice at his place if they felt thirsty in the area. I told them it would be about 5LE. (including the doubling of price for a tourist) The guy charged them 10LE for each lemon juice !

I thought it was some kind of mix up and ignored it.

When I went to the khan with my uncles last week, we ate at Egyptian pancakes & got the juice from the guy next door. He came back to me with a bill of 60LE for 5 lemon juice. 12 LE each ! (4 times the actual price !!!!!) He refused to see reason, even when I told him that he was charging us 4 times the price ! (To put it in perspective, a canned aerated drink in the market costs a maximum of 2.5LE)

Since the scamster doesn't have a menu, there's no way you can verify the price. 2.5$ for a lime juice is too much for any tourist (even if he/she is the supposed rich American)

Fix your price with the juice guy before ordering or don't order at all. I am definitely NEVER EVER going to drink a juice there again !

PS : The pancakes guy has a menu, so there's no trouble there.

Iftaar Buffet at Marriott Cairo Hotel & Omar Khayyam Casino

2007-10-01T02:26:00.000-07:00

Attended the Iftaar Buffet at Mariott.

Pretty standard and similar to other Iftaar buffets in the cities 5 stars.

at Mariott, the location is at Omar's Cafe which has a huge seating area.

Tip of the day : Make sure you reach an Iftaar buffet as soon as possible to the fast breaking time, because food gets over very quickly and once the main rush is over, the serving staff also have to eat. So if you reach late you can expect neither service nor food.

What to expect at the buffet ?
The dates soaked in milk to break the fast properly.
6 different types of juices - tamrhind, karkadi,the apricot juice, the almond drink, caroub among others
20 different types of dips
10 different salads - vegetarian and non vegetarian
10 main course items - rokak (bread layered with mince/cheese like a stuffed laccha paratha) Kabsa (biryani) couscous & gravy, veal & beans, chickpeas and other items of the day.
2-3 grilled items - kebabs, koftas, shish tawook - grilled live, if you arrive on time
2-3 deep fried items - kobeba, cheese & meat sambusaks (samosas)
1 live counter - the day we went, it was liver being tossed according to ones taste (choose your seasonings and mixes)
10-15 items along the fresh fruit counter (includes dry fruits)
15-20 varieties of Egyptian sweets including Om Ali and custard.

Food was extremely delicious. Make sure you arrive on time so as to get proper service. Reach so as to finish your complete meal before 7pm for sure. (given this years timings for breaking the fast)

Then you can relax sipping shaai (tea) at the cafe or enjoy the ambiance outside of the garden cafe.

The night club next door has been converted to a prayer room for those who would like to pray before/after eating.

Damages : 145 LE per person. With sales & service taxes and a 2LE donation (I have no clue what it is donated towards) It comes to about 181 LE per person without any additional items being ordered like water or tea.

Omar's Cafe
Marriott Cairo Hotel & Omar Khayyam Casino
16 Saray el Gezira Street
P O Box 33
Zamalek
Cairo 11211
Egypt

Tel : +20 2 2728 3000 Ext - 8240

Reservations aren't necessary but they are recommended

Crocodile Grill

2007-07-19T14:04:00.000-07:00

Crocodile Grill
City Stars
2 Aly Rashad St.
Star Capital 1
P. O. Box 5112 Heliopolis West
Heliopolis, Cairo, Egypt. 11771

Pretty Extensive menu. You can take a look of some parts of it on their website http://crocodilegrill.com/

Although City Stars is supposed to be a completely "No Smoking" Zone, visitors have been showing casual disregard for this for a couple of months now. So I for one was very glad when the restaurant had segregated a section for the non smokers to enjoy their meal without the constant stench of cigarette smoke.

I just ordered the appetiser platter & a Bottomless Iced Tea. As you can see from the picture below, the platter is more than enough for an entire meal for 2 people.

Onion Rings, Spring Rolls, Nachos, Chicken wings, chicken tenders, Mozarella sticks & a choice of 3 dipping sauces - honey mustard, barbeque & a cream cheese mix.

The chicken tenders were amazing. I prefer the wings at Chilli's. The Onion Rings were just right. Crispy on the outside & sweet on the inside. I think the Platter was about 55LE.

Staff was very friendly. Friendliness is their Motto. (Yes, its a stated motto. Its written all over the place)

The Ice Tea was the bottomless variety for about 10LE. They have lots of Burgers, Sea Food & other fried stuff on the menu.

The desserts in the display case looked yummy but I did not have any space left for anything sweet.

What makes them stand apart from the other American Chains in Cairo - Chilli's Fuddruckers etc ? they have a large menu of drinks (non alcoholic) & milk shakes brewed on site. Next time I'm going for the drinks & the dessers only.

The World's Best Hamburger Is in Egypt

2007-07-04T18:00:00.000-07:00

The World's Best Hamburger Is in Egypt
Scott Macleod/Cairo

Having spent a lot of my journalistic life in Cairo, I'm fond of Egyptian food. The garlic-spiced mashed fava bean dish called ful medames, for instance, which we eat for breakfast, lunch or dinner. My teenage daughter repudiated McDonald's after seeing Supersize Me, so when she's out with her friends, they go to a local hangout known for its kushari, a spicy mix of macaroni, rice, chick peas and lentils........

For the rest of the article, click on this link The World's Best Hamburger Is in Egypt

Bua Khao Thai Restaurant

2007-06-04T23:51:00.000-07:00

Bua Khao Thai Restaurant
12:00 to 23:00

No. 9, Road 151. Old Maadi
358 0126

Bua Khao is this really sweet Thai Restaurant way out in Maadi. But is worth a trip at least once a month for the authentic Thai flavours and their wonderful Thai iced coffee.

The entrance is covered by a Thai style roof and is a prelude of the tastes to come.

The staff recognises its regulars and lets them seat themselves. But if its someone new, they will courteously seat you at a table of your choice.

The restaurant has a very cosy feel about it. The staff is pleasant and service is good.

The food is excellent and thats why most visitors become regulars. The ingredients are flown in fresh from Thailand and are not the tinned and canned variety.

Start with the Thai Iced Coffee. The soups can suffice as a complete meal if you order the large size ones. Quantities are excellent and most dishes will comfortably feed two people. Its only the steamed rice that comes in individual portions. Spiciness is adjusted to taste. They make it low on chillies for my Western guest and put enough fire in there for my Indian palate when I request them to.

Definitely worth a visit, if you are looking for authentic Thai food in Cairo.

Individual dish reports follow:
Crispy Calamari had coconut flakes in it 21LE. Excellent
Dim Sum had chicken dumplings & Shrimp Sui Mai for 25LE. Really good.
Tom Yam Goong. We specifically requested the spiciest version as in authentic Thai style 18LE. Excellent.
Thai Chicken Chop Suey 30LE. Very different from what we expected. First of all it was not fried. It was made of glass noodles. Interesting.
Rice with Chicken & Cashewnut was on the bland side 35LE. Should have stuck with the Red Chicken curry (24LE - steamed rice additional 4LE) which I had last time & was excellent.
Pork with garlic & pepper 21LE was soft, succulent. Devoid of fat.
Bacardi was 20LE for a small.
Soft drink cans are 7.
Highly recommend the Thai Iced Coffee for 10LE.

Sales Tax & Service Charge are extras.

Added on 30 Mar 08:
The Chicken coconut soup is outstanding. If you ask for the spicy version, you will find authentic Thai Birds eye chillies in your soup. - 26LE
The Thai Omlette with Chicken was completely unlike the Fuyong that I was expecting and I found the filling a little too watery for my taste (28LE)
The Vegetables with Oyster Sauce (12LE) is out of this world. The veggies are very very lightly steamed and tossed in the sauce so they retain their crunchy texture and fresh flavours.
The Phad Thai noodles (30LE) had shrimp in them (so I couldn't taste it) but my brother was really happy with it. He sid the shrimps were much much much fresher than any of he other places he had tried in Cairo and comparable to the fish in Alexandria.
The fried Ice Cream (18Le) has a little too much batter for my taste - batter also reminiscent of the fried calamari batter- but my young siblings thoroughly approve of it. With higher praise for chocolate than Vanilla flavor.

Sues Kitchen, Bangalore

2007-03-23T13:21:00.000-07:00

Wonderful review by Tanay Behera on desicritics

I don't normally link to others reviews, but I just had to link to this one since I echo most of what he has said.

........... The owner, Susan John called Sue is from the West Indies and her restaurant is a cozy nook that you must experience sometime. .....................

................. Though the buffet lunch was priced at a reasonable rate of Rs. 225 per head, we were treated to a delicious spread of about six to seven salads. To name a few there was egg mayonnaise mixed with capsicum, chicken salad, pan fried broccoli, beans and carrot, picnic potato salad, etc. There was soup, which was mouth watering, but I learned about it when I was halfway through the main course and felt kind of upset.

For the main course by means of curries, there was crab curry, mushroom and corn curry, delicious fish cutlets, roasted chicken, Trinidad chicken curry and a yummy vegetable baked dish, among other stuff.

Read his entire post here : http://desicritics.org/2007/03/19/113324.php

Street Food : Egypt vs India

2007-02-16T11:26:00.000-08:00

When I first considered writing about "Street Food in Cairo" the few people I knew in Cairo had a good laugh & cautioned me that having just arrived in the city I was completely setting myself up for the curse of the Pharaohs. Well, being a desi & with an ability to eat the Pav Bhajis & Paani Puris & Vada Pavs on the streets of India, then the streets of Cairo posed no threat at all, so I was all set to explore Cairo by tasting everything it had to offer. (But I did tuck a strip of lomotil into my wallet to be on the safer side)

There’s such a variety of snacks, meals, quick bites & drinks on offer on the streets of Cairo that it would be impossible to try them all in a few days, but I did manage the highlights.

A good day begins with a good breakfast. A fuul or tamiya sandwich is what is considered ideal. I tried these at ............................

Read the whole post on My Egypt Blog

Johnny Carino's, Cairo

2007-01-17T23:11:00.000-08:00

Johnny Carino's
Nile City Boat
Next to 6th of October Bridge
Zamalek
johnnycarinos@link.net

In the mood for Italian, we set out to Johnny Carino's which advertised home style Italian Food. The Zamalek branch is set on the Nile City boat so you can imagine the nip in the air on a January Night. The outdoor seating would be wonderful on a balmy Summer evening but we rushed to the comfort of 4 walls & a ceiling.

Nice & cosy with some lovely black & white & sepia toned framed photos on the wall it does start to impart the feel of a family owned restaurant rather than a chain. The service was alarmingly fast for Cairo standards, but it suited us just fine. Portions are huge & as usual 2 starters filled us up completely.

The chicken nachos had real jalapenos in them although the nachos seemed home made & the cheese was just right at 33LE. The hand breaded Fried Calamari was a little bland for our taste, but was perked up by the sauce (30LE). We wanted to try their home made Lasagna but we had reached too late & they only make a fixed amount of Lasagna each day. As the menu says "when its over, its over" so we ordered the chicken parmigiana which came with some complementary spagheti on the side (41LE) We were already stuffed with the starters & the complimentary freshly baked oregano bread with garlic dip (absolutley yummilicious) so we had to get the Parmigiana packed in a take away container. Reminder to self - Do not order 2nd course in Egypt until you have seen the first course.

We just finished up with a Cappucino & Latte for 11 LE each. They do have a wonderful variety of options on the menu. Worth a visit. It may seem on the pricier side, for a chain restaurant, but this is the range for decent Italian food in Cairo.

Peking, Cairo

2006-12-04T09:34:00.000-08:00

Peking

All across city
They do Take Away, Free Home Delivery & Catering too
One of the more famous Chinese chains around Cairo &amp; well worth the fame.

You can check out their menu & locations on their site.

Their food is quite yummilicious. They have around 100 items on thier menu & whatever I tried was quite good.

Their packing is very neat & compact & they even serve sauces in little containers. Was too hungry to take pics when the food arrived. (home delivery in Cairo normally takes around 45 minutes) But maybe next time..... because there is definitely gonna be a next time.

Tried the fried rice with egg (5.25)which was simple & tasty. There is an option with basmati rice which costs a little more.

The special spicy fried noodles with chicken (15.5) were yum but I probably should not have ordered the crispy version for home delivery since it does tend to get a little soft by the time it arrived.

I loved the spicy kung pao chicken (23.75) with groundnuts but the Hot chilli chicken wasn't as spicy as I expected.

Ok, I'm indian & love spicy food, so none of the stuff was too spicy, it actually was normal spice for me.

There's a 10% sales tax over the mentioned amounts. Do try them out, they are good.

Pottery Cafe, Cairo

2006-12-02T11:46:00.000-08:00

Pottery Cafe
Opp AUC Entrance

Its a cosy little cafe opp the American University of Cairo. Normally filled with students. Its a good place to catch a bite if you aren't interested in the fast food chains like Mcdonalds & Hardees which abound in the area.

Caught breakfast in there the other day. The Roast beef panini was 12.5LE Good roast beef. Not thick slices, but thinner ones & a little cheese.

The crepe salami mozarella 13.5LE was excellent in taste, although a little difficult to maneuvre onto the fork.

I would avoid the milk shakes. The milk here is too thick for my taste.

The American coffee was 9LE & the Honeymoon Latte (latte with honey & cinnamon) at 13.5 was excellent. They have a variety of diet, brown & white sugars which you can add to your drink.

They are a wifi hotspot, so grab a coffee & settle down to surf.

Remember there is a 12.5% service charge.

Fuddruckers, Cairo

2006-11-29T02:44:00.000-08:00

Tried out Fuddruckers today. They did serve up pretty good burgers in the States. But they weren't as yummy here.

What was good was the excellent salad bar. Each main order gets a complementary - single trip to the salad bar. There were quite a few varieties & they were all quite yummy.

Ordered a Burger - double classic works (40LE) & some chicken wings(27LE - large). I did prefer the Chillis wings infinitely more. & the burger was low on spice & flavors. But I do like me food with a lot of flavour. Not chilli, but flavour. This was a little bland for my taste. Husband did enjoy the food though. So I guess its a personal preference as usual. Soup was 6LE & a bottomless pepsi was 9LE.

The salads were so filling, that the main course was almost completely left over. We hardly touched the food. Take a look.

Abo Yosef Koshary, Cairo

2006-10-31T16:54:00.000-08:00

Only silver lining in my Wasted Day today was, I embarked on another food adventure. Walked up to a place called Abou Yoosef. Their menu was in Arabic. Everyone there only spoke arabic. I pointed to 2 items on the menu & patiently awaited opening my mystery suprise package.

One turned out to be a chicken fillet sandwich roll. The other was some local dish.

Now the problem is I have no clue about the name. I do not remember which item I pointed to, so its going to take some time to figure out what we ate.

But let me try & give u a description. (no picture : we were too ravenous after the house hunt that we did not bother with wasting time on taking pictures) the dish is a mix of 4 types of pasta
1. a very short tubular pasta 2mm length
2. a circular spoke pasta 2mm diameter
3. short spaghetti
4. vermicilli
and some arborio rice.

All boiled seperately with just salt & then mixed in almost equal quantities. The dish is then topped with some boiled whole masoor dhal & deep fried browned onions. & a sprinkling of chickpeas (chole)

A tomato based gravy was served on the side to be mixed into the dish. I was wearing a salwar kameez & bindi, so he realisd i was indian. pointed to my bindi & handed me a second packet which turned out to be a spicy chilli mix which we added to the tomato gravy before pouring it into the carbs.

The dish was really yummy & I doubt my description has done it justice. Also its a wonderful vegetarian option for veggies who come to this country & are forced to live on French fries. Next mission is to somehow describe this to a local who can tell me its name.

Edit : My new blogger friends Cairogal & Maryanne tell me that this dish is called "Koshary" & every place that sells this staple food would have the term koshari or koshary in its name. It costs from 3-5LE & is the basic diet of most Egyptians.

Heres a Recipe for Koshary

& heres a picture

Andrea, Cairo

2006-10-25T17:13:00.000-07:00

Had dinner at a lovely little restaurant called Andrea today. This was after a very interesting visit to The Lebanese Roastery. Read that account here

Andrea had a Moroccan setting as do most other Coffee Shops cum Restaurants in Cairo. Their signboard, menu cards, napkins all proclaimed that they were a chain that had been operational since 1959. That wasn't what impressed us, we had actually just completed another of our 3 hour walks & had decided to enter the next restaurant that looked halfway decent & order dinner.

Fortunately we werent disappointed. Cute interiors, an English menu and a waiter who could speak Basic English & we were ready to order. They had a couple of local dishes on offer & we decided to try them out.

We had some chicken liver (12LE) to start with as an appetiser which was ok, not very exciting, but the main courses were a bigger success.

I had the Kabab & Kofta (the kabab is like a piece of chicken tikka, the kofta is a much much fatter version of the sheekh kebab) for 29LE.

But dish of the day was hubbys Chicken Fata The recipe in the link before is similar but different from what we had at the restaurant, but I couldn't find any other recipe for this dish online.

What we ate seemed to be a combination of the following things. A mixture of boneless chicken chunks marinated in a tasty spice blend with chickpeas(chole) deep fried pita bread cut up in to small squares All covered with a layer of tahini& garnished with some nuts. It was absolutely briliant, I hope to find an Egyptian recipe book that will give me the exact recipe. This was more than worth its 18LE & extremely extremely filling

Meals worth the price of plane ticket

2006-10-25T11:28:00.000-07:00

The last column by the NY Times' esteemed food critic. Mumbai's Trishna figures.

Journeys
An Epicurean Pilgrimage: Meals Worth the Price of a Plane Ticket
By R. W. APPLE Jr.
Published: October 22, 2006

Editor's Note: R. W. Apple filed this article shortly before his death on Oct. 4. Originally assigned to be part of a special issue on travel and food, it reflects a lifetime of experiences of a man who once referred to himself, when interviewed by Calvin Trillin for The New Yorker, as "more gourmand than gourmet," one who took equal pleasure in Michelin-starred restaurants and the street food of Singapore.

AFTER half a century of assiduous eating in restaurants around the world, first avocationally and more recently professionally, I have become accustomed to certain questions: "What's your favorite restaurant?" "What will you order for your last meal on earth?" "Which is best — French cuisine? Italian? Chinese?" All unanswerable, of course. Now comes a more modest proposition: Name 10 restaurants abroad that would be worth boarding a plane to visit, even in these fraught days.

O.K. Here's my list. Please note, this is neither an enumeration of my favorites (though some of those are included) nor a ranking of the world's best (like those fatuous lists put out each year by Restaurant magazine in London). Rather than reciting a long list of two- and three-star gastronomic temples, I have chosen purlieus both grand and small, better to reflect my own eating habits. And rather than loading up my list with French and Italian addresses, I have arbitrarily restricted my choices to one per country, for much the same reason. I would expect no one else to choose the same 10, but on the other hand, I would be astonished if many of my nominations disappointed.

FLEURIE, FRANCE
Auberge du Cep, Place de l'Église;
(33-4) 7404-1077; http://perso.orange.fr/mercurebeaujolais/cep.htm

French country cooking — or bistro cooking, as its urban variant is called — deserves, but is not often accorded, a place among the world's culinary glories beside French haute cuisine. Based on regional products, honestly handled, "unfoamed and unfused" in the words of my friend Colman Andrews, late of Saveur magazine, it is the specialty of this small restaurant on the main square of a prettily named village in Beaujolais. It is a specialty unflinchingly embraced by its proprietor, Chantal Chagny, who five years ago banished lobster and truffles from her menu and turned her back on two Michelin stars in favor of the simpler dishes she adores, like herb-crusted, perfectly fried, never-frozen frogs' legs, crisp-edged sweetbreads, soup made of garden herbs, roast wild duck from a local river and rosy tenderloin of regional Charolais beef, France's best.

Love and skill are lavished on the simplest dishes — tiny, tender lamb chops, neglected freshwater fish like perch and pike-perch (sander), eggs poached in red wine (oeufs en meurette), toothsome squab, black currant sorbet, even snails — great fat ones, bubbling happily in their shells, bathed in garlic, parsley, butter and Pernod. Here is the food most of us travel to France to taste, and who can resist it once tasted? Here, too, are the little regional wines we search for — especially Beaujolais, 60 of them, including 30 from Fleurie itself, one of the 10 designated crus known for excellence.

SANT'AGATA SUI DUE GOLFI, ITALY
Don Alfonso 1890, corso Sant'Agata 11;
(39-081) 878-0026;
http://www.donalfonso.com

Americans of my vintage (b. 1934), weaned on the red-tablecloth food of the Italian south, were later taught that it was uncool, compared with the blander specialties of Milan and Venice. But we were also taught that in Italian cooking, the quality of ingredients is everything, and it is the south — the Mezzogiorno — that produces the juiciest fruits, the briniest clams and tuna, the best buffalo-milk mozzarella cheese, and the world's most sumptuous tomatoes, known as San Marzanos and raised near Mount Vesuvius, just south of Naples.

Alfonso and Livia Iaccarino (she of the zippy white patent-leather boots) grow herbs, lemons and peaches, artichokes and eggplants and, of course, prize tomatoes, plus the olives for their own tangy, fruity oil, in a sun-kissed garden facing the Isle of Capri near their restaurant on the Sorrento peninsula. In their lovely pastel dining room, they serve fresh, understated, unmistakably Italian food in great profusion — ravioli with caciotta (a sheep's milk cheese), wild marjoram, barely heated chopped tomatoes and basil; rolls of baby sirloin filled with raisins, pine nuts, parsley and garlic, atop a ragout of wild endive; rabbit simply but exquisitely grilled with herbs; squid and baby octopus of a very high caliber. The tufa cellar, first excavated by the Etruscans, is stocked with wines from all around the world.

SAN SEBASTIÁN, SPAIN
Arzak, Avenida Alcalde Jose Elosegui, 273; (34-943) 27-8465;
http://www.arzak.es

I'll take a pass here on El Bulli; for one thing, you don't need me to tell you about it, and for another, Arzak is more to my taste. It is nicely poised between an older, French-inspired style of innovation, as represented by Juan Mari Arzak, who trained in the nouvelle cuisine kitchen of the Troisgros brothers in Roanne (where I myself spent a few happy days long ago), and the new wave of ground-breaking Spanish cooking, as exemplified by Ferran Adrià and his disciples, including Mr. Arzak's daughter, Elena.

The result is an enriched, reinvigorated Basque cuisine that retains a sense of tradition and place. One fine Easter day, my wife, Betsey, and I ate our Paschal lamb — a custom throughout Christendom, and especially among the sheep-herding Basques — at the Arzaks' 110-year-old roadside tavern, rated three stars in the Michelin guide. Rather than run-of-the-mill gigot, however, a faintly gamy deboned chop came to the table wearing a tissuelike coffee-flavored "veil" — a taste-enhancing shroud made by baking a layer of café con leche between sheets of Silpat pan liner. With the pan juices poured over the meat, partly melting the "veil," you get a sauce remarkably reminiscent of American red-eye gravy.

Arzak's food is modern and entertaining like that, often witty, never overwrought, limited largely to local ingredients — white tuna, fresh figs, fino sherry. Or a hyperfresh egg, seasoned with house-made truffle oil, wrapped in plastic film, poached and served with a slim txistorra sausage made not just with the traditional paprika but with dates as well. The egg emerged looking a little like a flower, and cutting into the ravishingly milky white revealed a richly orange yolk. Magic.

BRUSSELS Comme Chez Soi,
Place Rouppe 23; (32-2) 512-2921;
http://www.commechezsoi.be

I'm an unapologetic classicist, no particular fan of foams and chemical legerdemain in the kitchen (although I have maintained a fondness for the then-revolutionary cuisine of Haeberlin, Bocuse and Guérard since encountering it for the first time in the 1960's). I can still find refined food that tastes like what it is, to quote Curnonsky's maxim, at Paris three-stars like Taillevent, but no place there or elsewhere excels Comme Chez Soi in this genre — and at Comme Chez Soi you dine in a superb décor of warm, tawny wood in the style of the great Belgian practitioner of Art Nouveau, Victor Horta. Nor is price a minor matter: a set-price meal is served at lunch and dinner, for 67 euros (about $85, at $1.30 to the euro), no snip but a real bargain in these days of watery dollars.

There is originality, even alchemy, in Pierre Wynants's sole stuffed with crab, which comes to the table with shrimp in a tarragon sauce, but there is no trickery. Betsey and I feasted years ago on a saddle of lamb that was merely perfect, a triumph of technique.

Even on the small menu, generous to a fault, there is no dearth of imagination or regional and international inspiration; on one recent visit, it included a shimmering green pea soup with oxtail and Chimay beer, filets of eel with Espelette peppers from the Basque country, chicken with turmeric and apple chutney and the silkiest, most delicate floating island of my life, better even than my sainted grandmother's.

LONDON Wilton's,
55 Jermyn Street, SW1; (44-207) 629-9955;
http://www.wiltons.co.uk

Clubbish in location, in looks and for the most part clubbish in clientele, wonderful Wilton's in fact affords a cheerful, courteous welcome to all who show up in properly sober clothes, ready to pay the sobering prices. The best English food (as opposed to the best food in England, which is so grandly cosmopolitan these days) is still that which has been least messed about with. That is just what Wilton's delivers. "Noted since 1742 for the finest oysters, fish and game," it says of itself, with every justification.

You might start with a half-dozen oysters. They will set you back a pretty penny, but then they are imposing creatures, five inches across, pale beige rather than silver-gray, in shells as flat as saucers. They come from West Mersea, on an island off the Essex coast, from beds that are harvested exclusively from rowboats, lest oil or gasoline pollute the waters. They are opened by London's best oysterman, Patrick Flaherty, a 40-year veteran when I last checked. None of the briny juices escape. No nasty bits of shell creep in. Then maybe a wild salmon from the Spey in Scotland (increasingly rare), or a snowy hunk of halibut — "a nice piece of fish," as I once heard Rex Harrison call it.

But whole Dover sole is the overwhelming choice of English connoisseurs: brushed with melted butter, sprinkled with salt and pepper, turned quickly on the grill so that the grill bars burn a dark lattice pattern into the fish, then cooked under the intense heat of the broiler for roughly 12 to 15 minutes. Perfectly simple, simply perfect and entirely sufficient. This is the porterhouse steak of fish. No sauce is needed, partly because cooking the fish whole ("on the bone") helps to keep it moist. You may well come across an occasional apostate who insists upon tartar sauce (much too robust, in my view) or hollandaise (too rich). In game season, both partridge and grouse are exemplary.

GOTHENBURG, SWEDEN Sjomagasinet,
Klippans Kulturreservat 5; (46-31) 775-5920;
http://www.sjomagasinet.se

I envy the Swedes their social conscience, their gift for design and urban planning and their fish. Especially their fish. And among their fish — sole, cod, plaice, scallops, langoustines — especially their unmatched herring. Leif Mannerstrom, who owns and cooks at this charming former warehouse of the Swedish East India Company, built on the waterfront in 1775, is so widely admired for his knowledge of things piscatorial that he is pictured on a national postage stamp, and more than 10,000 people come from all over Scandinavia each year for his Christmas-season feast of 16 herrings.

Matjes, pickled, fried or bathed in mustard-and-dill-sauce — the richly flavored herring — is, of course, available all year long at Sjomagasinet, to be devoured with well-aged, Cheddar-ish Vasterbotten cheese, with or without cumin, and icy draughts of O. P. Anderson, Gothenburg's favorite aquavit. And all year long, Mr. Mannerstrom turns out a definitive version of Janssons Frestelse, or Jansson's Temptation, a confection of scalloped potatoes, onions and herrings cured in the style of anchovies, which I find an inspired combination of salty and creamy flavors.

BUENOS AIRES Avenida Cabaña las Lilas,
Alicia Moreau de Justo 516; (54-11) 4313-1336;
http://www.laslilas.com

I can hear you sputtering from here. What? Fly all night to Argentina to eat in a parilla when every big city in the United States boasts steakhouses promising (some even delivering) prime U.S.D.A. beef? Well, this is grass-fed beef, raised on the vast ocean of chlorophyll called the Pampas. It's different. Some, including me, would say better, with a rounder flavor, leaner texture and sweeter fat. You eat in a handsome wood-and-leather room in the redeveloped Puerto Madero docklands area, and drink from a wine-wall stocked with fine Mendoza reds like those of Nicolas Catena.

Octavio Caraballo, the owner, supplies all the beef from his own ranch, or estancia. We flew there with him — big guy, bigger cigar, even at 8 in the morning — on his private plane, admired the spread and ate beef (what else?) for lunch. The selection was bigger at dinner back in town, with medallón de lomo (tenderloin) and cuadril (rump) and ojo de bife (rib-eye) covering every inch of the big grills. Little "bombon" sausages and sweetbreads, too.

Warning: They will ply you with so many delicious breads, so many salads and such superb cheese and olives and peppers, that you might not be able to do justice to the beef. Which would be tragic.

SHANGHAI Jean-Georges,
3 Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu 1; (86-21) 6321-7733;
http://www.jean-georges.com

I have lived in Asia and eaten more than my share of Chinese food, Lord knows, but I remain a man of the West, not the East, and I still find the Chinese passion for "gristly, slithery and squelchy textures," as the English writer Fuchsia Dunlop calls them, hard to cope with. Delicacies like sea cucumber and bird's nest have little taste, Asian friends tell me, but great "kou gan," or mouth feel, which escapes me.

Hence I tread lightly here. I would happily fly to Shanghai to eat the seraphic — yes, seraphic — soup dumplings at Nan Xiang, or the snails with chopped, spiced pork at tiny Chun. But I would be more likely to go to Jean-Georges Vongerichten's glamorous place on the Bund, the best of all his places, in my view, where the food is a little Eastern, a little Western.

A year ago, as I reported in the Travel section, Betsey and I ate a nearly flawless meal there. A single Kumamoto oyster wreathed in Champagne jelly was followed by raw tuna brightened by Thai chili paste. Then cubed raw kingfish with Taiwanese mangoes and chili-lemon granita was utterly irresistible — peppery, sweet and acidic, yellow and orange and red, all at once. A second trio, equally satisfying, comprised crab dumplings with black pepper oil and tiny local peas; seared sweet scallops from Dalian, nestling with clams in a tomato jus; and superbly fresh snapper with crunchy cucumber strips. Vaut le voyage, as Michelin would have it.

MUMBAI, INDIA Trishna,
Birla Mansion, Sai Baba Marg, Fort; (91-22) 2270-3213.

This, I think, is the only truly remarkable restaurant I have ever discovered solely on the recommendation of a friend of a friend. Dubious, Betsey and I made our way there one night years ago and liked it so much that we went back 72 hours later. It was not the décor, which is shabby, or the service, which can be surly, and certainly not the menu, which is very nearly useless. It's the food, stupid, the seafood.

Enormous king crabs fresh from the Indian Ocean, awash in butter, and seasoned with garlic and pepper until they make the lips tingle but not sting, draw an eager crowd of Mumbai businessmen and Bollywood stars to this little establishment on a crowded, noisy alley in the old Fort district. If you like, your crab will be brought to the table before cooking, still alive and dangling from a string held by a waiter.

These are among the world's choicest crustaceans, and I say that as someone who lives 25 miles from the Chesapeake. But Ravi Anchan has plenty of other savory delights up his sleeve, including tender little pomfret (a kind of butterfish) barbecued in the style of Hyderabad, with black pepper; deep-fried squid; and gorgeous, never-frozen tiger prawns grilled with mint. Don't mind the waiters; insist and they will bring what you want.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA Billy Kwong,
3/355 Crown Street, Surry Hills;
(61-2) 9322-3300.

Among Sydney chefs, Tetsuya Wakuda, with his confit of Tasmanian ocean trout, and Neil Perry of Rockpool, with his mud crabs, get most of the international ink, and rightly so; they are as gifted as any of their counterparts in Europe or America. But I would head from my Qantas jet for Billy Kwong, my favorite neighborhood restaurant (whose neighborhood, unfortunately, is exactly 9,758 miles from mine). This is the trim, dark, bustling domain of Kylie Kwong, a 36-year-old wunderkind whose mile-wide smile and black-framed glasses are as well known Down Under as is Jacques Pépin's cherubic face Up Here.

Her food is delicious, and her place gives off none of those Chinese-speakers-only vibes that plague us Anglophones; Ms. Kwong, Australian-born, speaks no Chinese herself. So order to your heart's content, in English, and flail away as the plates arrive, rat-a-tat: prawn wontons, little flavor bombs bursting with the tastes of shellfish, black vinegar and chili oil; star-anise-flavored tofu and black cloud-ear fungus, with Thai and Vietnamese herbs; chive crepes with smoky caramelized eggplant salad; steamed line-caught blue-eyed cod with ginger and shallots; spectacularly crisp-skinned duck with a sauce made from ruby grapefruit; and sung choi bao — wok-fried mouthfuls of moist, gingery pork and vegetables, wrapped in crisp lettuce leaves. The inspiration is Cantonese, absorbed by Kylie at her mother's table, but the execution is all her own.

I have shortchanged Turkey, Thailand and Japan. I know, and I apologize. Put it down to limited space and inadequate depth of knowledge. There should be enough here to hold you — hopefully to set you soaring — for a few weeks or months, or even years.

Pictures

2006-10-23T13:14:00.000-07:00

Will be adding pictures to my posts over the next week when I have more time, so do check back.

Don't have regular accees, so altho I am not posting. I am writing & will post my reviews at a shot when I'm online

Egypt : Fatour Buffet at Arrous El Nil

2006-10-20T13:11:00.000-07:00

Arrous El Nil
Cairo Sheraton
Cairo
Around 130 LE (130*8 INR or 130/5.7USD) + Taxes

Decided to take advantage of having arrived in Egypt during Ramadan & indulge in a Fatour buffet. This was the perfect way to experiment with the local cuisine without being stuck with dishes that didn't appeal to my taste buds.

Traditionally the fast is broken with Dates since the Prophet (PBUH) is supposed to have broken his fast with dates. So started with a dish of dried dates soaked in milk. Dates being very high in sugar content, the milk almost tasted like Condensed milk. Very tasty stuff. I would have had much more of this but the rest of the buffets Table(S) beckoned. There were fresh dates, dried dates, dates stewed with apricots which I passed over since I have already tasted this stuff before.

3 varieties of juices : Karkade, Kamar El Din & something else which are good too.

I moved on to the salad & dips section. Wasn't too excited by what I tried, but then I have never been a salad person. Hummus, tomatoes with a Egyptian dressing. Long brinjals sauteed in a local masala. 2-3 varieties of salads with bulghur (broken wheat) 1 spicy, 1 sour, 1 salty where just some of the varieties on display. Since today I was just trying out stuff, I was more concerned with taste than remembering the names or clicking pictures. Will give more detailed food descriptions once I'm more comfortable with the names.

Soups on offer were cream of chicken & beef consomme. These seemed more continental, but there was a dish with the main course with a very thin gravy of green leafy vegetables with chicken pieces in it which was of a soup like consistency. Which was kinda sticky (like okra/bhindi, once it meets with water) The stickiness (I can hear my nana saying "nyoli, nyoli" in Konkani) was a slight deterrent but the dish was reasonably tasty.

The main course had a variety of dishes on offer & I really freaked on these as they were similar in parts to our Indian dishes. A lamb with rice preparation & a veal with some seeds (the seeds when cooked are very like rice in texture) which were similar to Biryani. I loved the lamb with rice, it was high on tomato, but I still liked the taste. A lamb stew with vegetables. Steamed Couscous (like rawa/semolina) with a chickpea (chole) gravy. Roast Beef ribs (this was quite bland) Okra with beef in a tomato gravy. A filo pastry with mince, like a dry lasagna or a multi layered puff. Chesy pasta & another continental dish which I didnt even bother with. Oriental roast chicken (a liitle bland again) & one or 2 other gravies which could be eaten with the couscous or a rice & vermicili/sevaiyan dish (the 2 are just cooked together & served)

There were over 20 varieties of desserts. Cakes, biscuits, a vermiciilli & nut cake, honey soaked cakes, rawa based sweets, fresh fruit salad, bread pudding were just some of the stuff on offer. I gorged myself on them rationalising it to myself as a diwali indulgence & promptly came back to my room to take a nap.

Definitely worth trying out, if you aren't lucky enough to be invited to a locals house to partake of Fatour. Its normally served just past sunset (5:30 in this part of the world) till about 7:00 before the restaurant starts readying itself for Dinner

Recommendations to Eat at in Hyderabad

2006-09-16T04:49:00.000-07:00

Been busy with my upcoming move so haven't really posted in the last coupla months. Was browsing my haunt for food related questions Another Subcontinent where someone asked me to chip in on the Hyderabad discussion with my recommendations.

I'm reproducing my post here.

"Paradise does a good "special biryani" {mix of mutton & chicken} if u don't mind the oil. Its located just off the main road & any auto guy will take u there if u tell them.

Bawarchi's biryani is low on the masala. ITs more of a boiled rice mixed with coked chicken & this is not my type of biryani at all. Their quantity is solid tho.

My personal favorite in Hyderabad is "Hyderabad House" they have outlets all over the city & do a takeaway service & home delivery for a rs 30 charge. Their biryani is quite yummilicious & best eaten at the restaurant itself. If u r eating at hyderabad house, don't miss the shikampuri's. (I pack them & freeze them to bring back to Bombay when I visit hyderabad. ) The chicken roast is a slightly sweetish semi gravy item but worth trying. try the chicken 65 if u don't mind moderately spicy food.

Nayaab & Shadaab near the charminar do excellent biryani's. Ask for the AC section if u plan to eat at the restaurant. ITs slightly cleaner & people won't stare as much. They do some excellent spare parts too like brain, liver, kidneys, paya & tongue for the non-faint-hearted.

Abhiruchi near Nankind does a lovely biryani, low on oil. More of a pulao. But if u go to Abhiruchi to eat then definitely have their thali. Unlimited servings, the best ghee ever (I've lived in the cowbelt heartland too, but no better ghee than that served at Abhiruchi) If u want to turn the meal non vegetarian ask for a chicken roast or chicken liver masala as a side order.

The times food guide for Hyderabad is TERRIBLE. Absolutely useless compared to the Bombay & Delhi versions. The guy who writes it startes all reviews as "One of the best biryani's in hyderabad" or some similar statement. Its only good for having a ready reference to addresses & phone numbers.

Other places I would recommend
Dhola Ri Dhani on the outskirts of the city does a wonderful Rajasthani thali & the service is wonderful. The setting is that of a rajasthani village & the service is absolutely amazing. Its a little distance to cover but worth the drive for sure. Wonderfully tasty rajasthani veg food served with oodles of butter & love.

Haveli in the Lifestyle building does a great hyderabadi buffet for lunch at reasonable rates (around 150-200 per person) Biryani is always on the menu. gongura mamsam is a high possibility.

Ten downing street in the same building is also worth a trip for lunch for their amazing shepherds pie. The rest of the food is good too. For lunch they have an offer of main course + soup/softdrink/beer + dessert.

Ramazan is coming up soon & haleem will be available all over the city. definitely try & shift travel dates to try & get a taste of Hyderabadi Haleem.

Thats what i can remember off hand, will add more as i remember."

Portals and KM

2006-08-22T05:54:00.000-07:00

Got some Free Publicity today, courtesy a common friend Gautam Ghosh

Bill Ives who blogs on the use of portals, blogs, and knowledge management to provide value to organizations through practical applications with a switch to art, music, travel, and food on the weekends was looking for .......

Well, read it in Bill's own words........

Portals and KM
This blog shares ideas and hopes to generate discussion on the use of portals, blogs, and knowledge management to provide value to organizations through practical applications. New trends and technologies are covered with a switch to art, music, travel, and food on the weekends.

Bombay (Mumbai) Restaurants; A Local’s Favorites

By Bill Ives

I asked my friend, Gautam Ghosh, about great places to eat in Bombay (Mumbai) where he lives. Gautam directed me to the blog of a friend of his, Karishma. He described her as a person who loves to eat and drink and is currently in Bombay (Mumbai). He said she can blog most passionately about food. I went and found Restaurants & Pubs. The tag line said, as Gautum told me, “I love to eat & drink. A Gastronome, a Food Critic, a Picky Eater, a Foodie... call me what you may. This is a place, for me to review places I have eaten and drunk at.”

The blog has a number of informative posts on places to eat in Bombay. I would check it out if you are going or if you live there now. The reviews follow a standard and useful format with all the contact information of the place. In the past I have always provided a list but Karishma’s blog will give you a dynamic look into the Bombay food scene.

Rodeo's, Gurgaon

2006-08-14T13:04:00.000-07:00

3rd Floor, MGF Mall
Mehrauli Gurgaon Road
Gurgaon
http://www.rodeostar.com

A kind of Wild West setting, with saddles for bar stools & waiters in cowboy hats. Service is slow though. Food is good, but not outstanding.
Rates are standard for a slightly better restaurant in Gurgaon.

Mineral water 25
Fresh Lime soda 35

Chicken Enchilada 325
Chicken Margarita 325
chicken rodeo steak 325
cottage cheese steak 285
chile rellenos 285

10% service charge
12.5% VAT

There's an average choice of options for vegetarians, although none of the vegetarian food seemed very exciting.

Ok to visit once in awhile.

Intergalactic Bloggers Unite

2006-08-05T01:52:00.000-07:00

Ok Tata Bye Bye

2006-06-23T01:17:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

I'm so excited.

I've been shortlisted for a travel contest. Which involves travelling
& Blogging. Hardly ever been selected for anything earlier :)

Check out the contest and my profile on
http://www.oktatabyebye.com
http://www.oktatabyebye.com/Krishma.asp

(Yes they have spelt my name wrong in the link, trying to get them to correct it)

The final selection is next week. I'm not sure how they will do it.
But have a vague feeling that they may do so based on popularity of
the contestant & ability to draw viewers.

Requesting you to please view my profile & drop me a comment, even if
its just to say "All the best, Kim" or "Don't think u should go" But
please comment.

Hope there's a lot of you looking for something to do on a slow Friday
afternoon.

Please, please, pretty please. :)

Kim
http://kimelody.blogspot.com - the XL Blog
http://mbajobsindia.blogspot.com/
http://whazzupmumbai.blogspot.com

Interview with Usha Prabhakaran ~ author of Ushas Pickle digest.

2006-05-07T13:00:00.000-07:00

Usha Prabhakaran is an amazing woman. She has just written a recipe book of Pickles. Since she could not find a publisher for her effort, she has self published. To learn more about her & some "quick n easy" recipes that she doles out in her interview.

Visit CelebratingWomenintheKitchen

The lady who has interviewed Usha is Rushina Munshaw Ghildiyal. Time Out Mumbai readers would be familiar with her work.

I'm desicritic of the day

2006-05-05T11:28:00.000-07:00

Hey all loyal readers. I'm desicritics "Desicritic Of The Day" today.

Read all my articles on Desicritics.org

Naturals Ice Cream

2006-05-04T11:36:00.000-07:00

Naturals Ice Cream
All over Bombay & Pune.
Original Outlet at Juhu

13th North South Road
Opp Lotus Eye Hospital
Juhu Scheme
Mumbai 400049
2620 6053, 2670 7558, 3097 7272

At 25 bucks a scoop (26/- in Pune) this ice cream is a real steal & can't classify as an indulgence on the price factor, although it is on the taste factor.

Creamy ice creams which combine Indian kulfi with natural flavours with fruit pieces in them are absolutely amazing. On a scale of 10, Natural ice cream rates 15.

Some ice creams are available around the year. Like the chocolate almond, choco cream, french vanilla, mango, coffee walnut, badam, kesar pista, anjeer.... Some like the chickoo, seetaphal, papaya - pineapple, tender coconut & water melon are seasonal. But they all are priced at the same amount. In season, you can even opt for fresh mango or strawberry pieces served with malai ice cream for 65/- At the Juhu outlet, they will even convert your ice cream to a milkshake for 65/-

If you can't make up your mind in this range of flavors, go for a double scoop.

They offer free home delivery & you can even opt for the 1/2 kg tubs at 135/- each. If you give them a day's notice they even organise a thermocol box to carry your ice cream on a long journey or picnic.

Naturals ice cream actually spoils you for taste, that no other ice cream can match up. Baskin Robbins seems too sweet & most local brands seem too watery.

Some outlets offer a waffle cone for 3-5 bucks extra. With over 15 outlets across the city & a price point of Rs.25/- only, you have no excuse not to try Naturals Ice Cream.

Brio, The Cafe Bistro

2006-05-02T09:31:00.000-07:00

Brio, The Cafe Bistro
Behind Shoppers Stop
Dynamix Mall
Near Chandan Cinema
Juhu

Brio opened its doors about 2 weeks ago. It looks really fancy from the outside & you could be easily mistaken into thinking that this was an expensive joint and walking away.

For me, the craving for a coffee before visiting my favourite haunt (Crossword) was too strong to give it the go by & hence I entered and was pleasantly suprised by everything.

The decor is very modern and looks like a bakery set in the "Library Bar" if you get what I mean. 2 hostesses in uniform greet you at the door & ask your preference to be seated. There are some bar stools at the side and also proper sit down tables. Overall seating must be about 25-30.

The waiters all have smart uniforms with little half aprons and red french caps perched at an angle. Unfortunately smart looks don't translate into smart service as yet. The service is slow, especially if you order a frappe of other chilled drink, since there is only 1 person to handle all the drink orders. Coffees are priced similar to Barrista. You have the range from 30 to 100. The higher priced ones being a blend of coffees including the Brazilian variety. The Choco Caramel Freeze was priced at 65/-

Their Pepperoni pizza at 195/- was really yum & a strong competitior to Dominoes pepperoni. Brio's pepperoni slices are thicker & hence more flavorful. Their pizzas are all thin crust and they are served in under 10 minutes.

Salads are in the 70/- range. Their serving size is ample. The crepes come in a variety of fillings including savoury like spicy chicken paprica or corn & cheese and sweet like chocolate. They aren't always available though. The oven roasted veg focassia (85) seemed like a good option for the diet conscious.

They stock a variety of pastries too. There are 3 different types of brownies & a range of mousse, cheesecake & other pastries.

You can stop here for a snack or a meal. They sell various types of bread too. No home delivery yet.

Be aware that Vat of 12.5% is added over the prices listed in the menu.

Kobe Sizzlers

2006-04-28T23:40:00.000-07:00

Kobe Sizzlers
7 Bungalows
77A Om Cottage, J P Road
Versova Andheri (W)
Mumbai 53
2635 4848, 2635 4949

Basic simple decor.
Reasonably good service.
Great Food.

The Ice Tea at 50/- is light & refreshing & freshly made without an overdose of lemon. It hits the right spot on a summer day.

The variety of sizzlers (190-280) on offer is huge.You can choose chicken, steak or veg options. Theres even a prawn sizzler for 350/-. If you can't make up your mind between chicken & steak they even offer a combination of the two for 270/-. The basic sizzler comes with vegetables & fries, except for the Shashlik which is served on a bed of rice. Choose your sauce - schezwan/ garlic/ pepper/ mushroom. Then you can always add extras like cheese, mushrooms or fried eggs for between 10/- - 30/- per topping.

The chicken is always tender, but their steaks are sometimes a bit of an effort to chew (not rubbery mind you, not even too chewy, its just that by the time you have eaten it all, you may have a dull ache in your jaw) The hamburger patty is the best option since it gives you all the flavour with minimum chewing effort since it literally melts in your mouth but you do get to feel the consistency of meat.

You can try their burgers which range from 50 to 80. Sandwiches range from 50 to 90. Rolls & hotdogs (40-60) even pizzas (100-130). I've heard their pretty good, but never tasted them myself.

Their soups especially the scotch broth(50) are nourishing yet tasty. & in case you were wondering, 'Steak' is a polite euphemism for beef. I'm guessing that they anticipate trouble if they print beef on their menus.

My favourite sizzler at Kobes ? Hamburger steak in a garlic sauce with extra mushrooms & egg. (240/-) Try it sometime & be careful not to burn your tongue.

Britannia & Co, Bombay - Berry Pulao and Good Parsi Food

2006-03-24T02:49:00.000-08:00

"Mildew-covered strange old buildings", are the words that come to mind each time I'm in Ballard Estate. The reason for today's visit - food, more specifically a type of food , even more specifically a restaurant and to be honest one particular dish - Berry Pulao . What am I talking about you say ? - good ole' Britannia of course. At the corner of this hugely commanding wonder of oxidation, the War Memorial and opposite New Customs House, where "new" is a tag the building has long grown out of is "Britannia & Co - ." A restaurant whose philosophy is "There is no love greater than the love of eating," puts everything into perspective for me, another self affirming moment in my short life.

Even though you count the Parsi joints in Bombay[well in India] on your fingers, Edward VIII, Ideal Corner, Jimmy Boy, Paradise, Piccolo just to name a few, but out of all these places Britannia & Co is pretty special. I'm not taking about their fabulous Dhansak which I would count as the best dhansak I've ever eaten after Dorabjee's Poona of course - it's their Berry Pulao. A dish that makes them unique. As BusyBee famously said, "If it's Berry Pulao, it must be Britannia."

Britannia and Company Restaurant,
Wakefield House,
11 Sprott Road,
16, Ballar Estate (Pier);
(91-22) 22615264.
Open for lunch, snacks and drinks
Monday through Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., but lunch only 12:30 to 2:30 p.m.
Closed Sunday.
No reservations or credit cards.

Read the Entire Photoblog here

Cuppa Cafe, Mumbai

2006-03-19T08:55:00.000-08:00

Cuppa Cafe
Crystal Plaza
New Link Road
Opp Fame Adlabs
Bombay 400 058
Free Delivery 2674 2371 / 72

Missed the Caferati meet here last Sunday, but decided to check the place out anyways after the Anurag Kashyap workshop because we were kinda fed up of the regular Coffee Day, Barrista coffee.

I'm so glad we went here. It is so different from the coffee shop chains. Its quaint, cute, interesting, different.

The furniture is a jumble of styles. Partly outdoors, partly indoors. Indoors they also sell some knick knacks that are ideal for gifting. Even if you wanna eat outdoors, you have to go in & check out the awesome tables with the marbles in one and the sea shells in the other. Also loved the trail of leaves climbing up the corner. AS is mandatory for most joints in this area, there is a bulletin board covered with pics of TV stars who have sipped on a cup on location.

Coffee(Rs.30-80) & the soda pops (Rs.35) were yummy. Paratas (Rs.30)were some of the best I've tried in bombay. Sandwiches are overflowing with cheese(Rs.30-40) There are some lo cal snacks too that can be carried away.

But if diet be damned, then do try their desserts. The brownie is just right. No nuts or gooey butter to make u feel like u r sinning, but still absolutely tasty. Pack a box to munch on while watching TV or reading a book.

Opening of Fluid Spice

2006-03-17T16:28:00.000-08:00

Fluid Spice.
2nd Floor
Mohid Heights
Next to Andheri RTO
Opp Mandke Hospital
Lokhandwala Complex Road
Andheri (W)

Read the Gossip Here

Baadshah, Mumbai

2006-03-14T04:08:00.000-08:00

Baadshah
Opposite Crawford Market
LT Marg
2342 1943, 2344 9316, 2342 5950

The oldest Falooda House in the country. Marwan Irani set up Baadshah in 1905. Legend goes that when they first opened their shop over 100 years ago, nobody in India was willing to try the strange colored drink with stringy bits and a substance that looked and felt like fish eyes. Worried that his import from Persia would be a non-starter, the owner hit upon a clever scheme. He got all his relatives to stand around the shop & drink the sweet sticky liquid throughout the day. Curiosity got the better of most passers-by & they in turn ventured to try the dish. Traditional Persian Falooda is slightly sour & integral to every Navroze celebration. Incorporating constructive feedback, the falooda was sweetened to suit the Indian palate & fine tuned to what is served today.

The current Proprietor is Behram Zadeh who has been in charge for the last 2 decades. They have even opened an outlet in Pune.

Saffron, Khus & Rose were the original flavours for Falooda. But today Baadshah even offers a chikoo flavored version.

The falooda's cost about 45/- each and are a perfect respite from the heat & dust to be braved while shopping in and around Crawford Market.

The kulfi's at Baadshah are EXCELLENT. Even better than the Parsi dairy ones. Made in the North Indian style, the taste & cream in the Malai Kulfi explode in your mouth at the first lick itself. Totally worth it for Rs.27/-

They even offer take away's, but do bring your ice-box, Baadshah still doesnt offer to pack them in ice the way Parsi Dairy does.

Baadshah has now opened a snack bar too just next to the original location. Good Pav Bhaji & Dosas. Its a nice, reasonable & clean place to eat at while you are in the area.

The first floor at both locations is air conditioned.

Samovar, Mumbai

2006-03-14T00:33:00.000-08:00

Samovar
Jehangir Art Gallery
Kala Ghoda
2284 8000, 2204 7276

A lot of people in Mumbai have huge nostalgic value attatched to Samovar. There's an entire wall with little notes scribbled on it begging the "Powers That Be" not to shut it down.

The ambience is really great. A narrow corridor (reminiscent of a train dining car) overlooking the sparse lawns of the art gallery nearby & the lusher lawns of the Prince of Wales Museum in the distance. Little four seater tables with a platform running across the wall that can also be used for a slightly cramped seating.

Service is efficient, polite and helpful. The waiters are mostly old-timers who could share a lot of interesting stories if given the time. Young Hussain, Sabavala, Shiva Naipaul, Amitabh Bacchan used to eat here or so claims the Times Food Guide, Mumbai.

Most items on the menu are below Rs 100/- Tea and coffee will not be served without eats between 1pm and 3pm because of the lunch rush. We didn't enjoy the food too much. But quite liked the ambience.

By the way, Samovar is closed on Sunday's.

Bade Miyan's, Mumbai

2006-03-11T10:00:00.000-08:00

Bade Miya
Tulloch Road
Apollo Bunder
Behind Taj Mahal Hotel
Mumbai 400 039
2284 8038, 2285 1649

Went back to Bade Miya's after a span of 7 years & I don't know what it was, but it wasn't as great as I remembered it. Possible reasons being:
1. It wasn't after a round of drinking that I landed there.
2. I've been eating better food recently.
3. After eating kebabs in Delhi, Hyderabad & the Northern front, none of the guys in Bombay are comparable except probably copper Chimney.

Since we reached a little early, the place hadn't started crowding as yet. We parked a little distance away, not sure if we would be able to navigate the back lanes. We were prepared to stand up and eat hot kebabs off the coals, but they have now taken over a small area opposite which they have outfitted with plastic chairs & metal tables.

The ambience of the Bade Miya I remember is still there. Its the food that has gone down huge notches. Except for the khiri all the kebabs were bland. The flavoring in the kheema was more fat than masala. The prices are still reasonable ranging between 30 & 60 for the dry dishes (oh btw the menu is the size of a visiting card & doesn't have any rates written on it.) Rumali roti's are 6 each. The Baida Roti was 50 bucks but it was something different at least. A kind of chicken stuffed egg paratha if that makes any sense.

2 of us ate some 6 different types of kebabs hoping to have better luck with the next one. 3 rumalis and 2 bottles of water came upto about 300 bucks.

The food is definitely VFM, but I don't think I'm gonna be going back any time soon.

And if u r still interested, they have started another counter which offers purely veg food.

They open around 7 in the evening, if u r still planning to go.

Mumbai Food: The Punjabi Connection

2006-03-11T05:05:00.000-08:00

Akshay Writes :

No city in India can represent an approximate microcosm of India as well as Mumbai can. The city's cosmopolitan essence blurs regionalism across class.

It is a melting pot of India, the best of North and South. Even though some political parties play on the regional insecurities of some of its residents, most residents defy it. An obvious side effect of this diversity is the city's food. The khaana-peena [food & drink] habits change from neighbourhood to neighbourhood. This is a quality of Mumbai I specially cherish and I can assure you so does my palate.

This week I am going to explore the Punjabi cuisine in the city-rich, ghee filled, heart felt, delicious food. An open celebration of all things loud, homely and tasty. Regional identities are proudly protected by most Indians but for some reason I do not seem to fall in this category. Even though I am supposedly Punjabi by nature I do not speak my mother tongue and for that matter neither do my parents. Whenever I mention the fact that I do not speak my 'mother tongue' to others I am met with oohs and aahs as if it is a cardinal sin. Possibly the only thing that connects me to my diluted regional identity is its food. There are a number of restaurants which serve Punjabi food in this city but two of my favourites are the ones that serve simple home style food- the famous Guru Kripa in Sion and the Crystal Restaurant on Marine Drive.

Read entire list of recommendations & view Photoblog here

A perfect bite...: Harvest Festivals around India

2006-03-09T22:37:00.000-08:00

Rushina, writes some lovely articles about food.

Check out the one about A perfect bite...: Harvest Festivals around India

She has included some easy to prepare recipes too.

A Bombay Breakfast - Epitome of the City

2006-03-09T05:06:00.000-08:00

Akshay Writes :

Everybody knows that an English Breakfast is fried bacon, sausages, mushroom, eggs and tomatoes; a Continental Breakfast is bread rolls or croissants and butter and perhaps jam, with coffee or tea or hot chocolate; but the question I ask today is what is a Bombay Breakfast ?

Here is my look into what fuels millions in this city?

A Bombay Breakfast epitomizes the city in every way- it is fast to cook, diverse, mobile, well packaged, high on carbs and low on greens.

If you have grown up in Bombay you would have noticed a particular piece of food is a perennial part of your diet - bread. Not the sliced 'modern bread' you pick up from the nearest pan-wallah shop. It is " Pav", this 'bread roll' of sorts is delivered straight to your home bakery fresh by the friendly neighbourhood pav-wallah. The pav-wallah is just one of many visitors an average Bombay household gets - all those friendly faces that keep you busy answering your doorbell through the day - the dudhwala (milkman), the paperwalla (newspaper boy), the bhajiwalli (vegetable grocer), the machiwali (fisherwoman) and the string of cats that follow her, the istriwalli/dhobhi (the fellow who washes your clothes or irons them or does both), the jamadar (garbage-collector), the watchman (security at the main gates), the maali (gardener - not in all cases), the bai (maidservant).. I would have continued but the list is endless.

Read recommendations & view Photoblog here for descriptions on Breakfasting in Bombay
1. Naashta No.1 - the wada-pav
2. Chamosa at Lower Parel
3. The Marathi Option - Prakash - Shakahari Uphaar Kendriya
4. Vinay Health Home
5. The Persian Connection
6. Going Down South - Udipi

Read the entire article here

Delhi Darbar, Mumbai

2006-03-05T05:11:00.000-08:00

Delhi Darbar
Holland House
Shaheed Bhagath Singh Marg
Near Regal Cinema
Colaba
Mumbai 400 039
Tel : 2202 5656, 2202 0235, 2284 8231

I first heard about Delhi Darbar in December 2002. Upper Crust Magazine had done a review of Jafferbhai & the Delhi Darbar chain of restaurants. They called it the Ultimate Biryani experience in Mumbai. The article was so well written & the pictures so tantalising, that I knew I just HAD to eat at this place on my next trip to Mumbai.

Unfortunately, never had the time on all my short trips to eat at Delhi Darbar. Then when I moved to Mumbai, the brothers had already split & Jafferbhai had started his own Chain called "Jafferbhai's Delhi Darbar" this kind of split me in 2. Should I eat at the original or eat at Jafferbhai's version ? TO be truthful the article had raved about Jafferbhai's contribution to the quality and the taste. Jafferbhai had even quoted that "Any of my chefs who leave & try to replicate my recipes anywhere, have never been able to" A kind of a curse on the disgruntled employee.

Anyway after prevaricating quite a bit. I had the occassion to land up at Regal Circle for the Eternal Gandhi Interactive Exhibition at Sir Cowasji Jahangir Public Hall. So we decided to have lunch at Delhi Darbar.

The place was neat & clean with air conditioning. I later learnt that their grant road branch had less ambience & more atmosphere. Waiters were polite & helpful.

The Jal Jira at 17/- was good & allowed you to adjust the sourness by squeezing in as much lime as you liked. The fresh lime soda was 35/-/ We started out with some Shami Kabab's at 47/- for 3 pieces, it was extremely reasonable. For the first time, I saw a waiter who believed in equitable distribution. There were 2 of us at the table & 3 pieces of kebabs (like cutlets). He served us one kebab each & then without blinking an eyebrow, neatly sliced the third down the centre & served us half a piece each. Greater waiters at larger hotels sometimes serves the man the "extra" piece believing they have a greater appetite I suppose. At the posher eating joints, they diplomatically leave the uneven no. of pieces on the serving plate at the centre of the table, leaving you to fight with your dining partners "You have it" "No, you have it" A classic "Pehle Aap" situation. This was a novel & extremely pleasant experience. The taste was good too.

Sunday special was the Rogan Josh-110/- Mutton Biryani was 92/- and loaded with meat & fragrant flavorful rice. We have been eating a lot of Mutton & Fish when we dine out these days, just to be on the safer side. You have to order the raita (21/) seperately if you would like some. The roomalis were 17/- each and were the thinnest & lightest ones I have tried since over 3 years. I think Chandigarh was the only place where they were comparable.

We ended with a Falooda (53) and Phirni (35) which were just what we needed to forego all further physical activity & rush home for a good nap.

Please add a VAT of 12.5% to all prices quoted. But to put it in perspective this wonderful heavy Indian repast for 2, came to about 550/- bucks. Quite a steal for the quality & ambience.

The Mughlai food is good. They have daily specials. One in chicken & one in mutton. There is a special Arab menu at this location which tones down the chilli. Hence this place is supposedly a favorite where the Middle Eastern crowd is comfortable dining at and where they can bring their womenfolk along too.

Now I have to visit Jafferbhai's and compare the 2.

Prithvi Cafe, Mumbai

2006-03-03T06:35:00.000-08:00

Prithvi Cafe
Prithvi Theatre
Janki Kutir
Juhu Road
Mumbai
2617 4118, 2614 9546

One of the most relaxed, positive energy places to sit down and slowly sip a coffee or enjoy a meal with friends in Mumbai.

The cafe adjoins the theatre and hence a lot of theatre personalities are always hanging around the place. Makarand Deshpande is a regular as are Anurag Kashyap and the rest of his troupe. They are there almost daily. You also find a lot of TV celebs hanging around in the evening. Will someone be kind enough to tell them that they can't learn acting by hanging around a theatre cafe ?

Its open air (they need to take special permission for the tarp cover during the monsoons)Circular & rectangular tables. Seating is stone ledges attached to the walls or little stools with bamboo legs.

If you are there for a quick bit before a play, I would recommend the hot coffee (35), irish coffee(60), fresh lime soda (30) or cold coffee. The strong Irish Coffee is an open secret at Prithvi. If you have time for a quick bite and have a sweet tooth, the gajar halwa, caramel custard or chocolate brownie are definitely worth it. Something namkeen try the fish/prawn koliwada-150/- (could have been spicier) or cheese balls -45/-.

If you have time for dinner, sip on an Irish Coffee or Iced Tea (40) and enjoy the Dabbawala Ghosht, Raan (1 kg of meat so take some friends along), Chingri Malai Curry(160, Sizzlers, Pasta, parathas, Calcutta style rolls. Main courses typically work out to approximately 150 per person.

The cafe has 4 menus. One for beverages. One for light snacks. One for Indian food & one for continental. The service is friendly. They do take so time but thats part of the laid back experience, but don't try to order dinner if you have arrived half an hour before the show. Chances are you will either have to miss the show or request them to reheat it for you once the show is over.

Rajdhani, Malad, Mumbai

2006-03-01T08:12:00.000-08:00

Rajdhani
Inorbit Mall
Malad
Mumbai

One of the quietest Thali joints I have ever eaten at. The setting is rustic modern.... If that makes any sense. The bearer brings a surai & a bowl to your table to wash your hands. There's no menu as such. U just look at the colorful blackboard when u enter to see what todays thali comprises of.

At 125 bucks a thali, get ready for an experience. The empty thali is kept on your table. Then a waiter comes with meethi(sweet) & hari (green) chutney & raw salad. The next waiter brings 4 kinds of vegetables, one of which is a sabut dhal preparation. Then comes the dhal & the kadhi. 4 types of pickles including one sweet murabba. Then depending on the days speciality u may get lucky & be served some amazing dhal baati (I thought it was a rajasthani dish) in small edible portions. Rotis, parathas & papads follow. Khichdi & rice for those who still have an appetite. Then the kadak roti with white makkhan & gur (I don't know what its called) You then get a choice of 3 sweet dishes (u can choose 1 and only one plate although everything else is unlimited).

If u can walk out of Rajdhani without clutching your stomach, then YOU must be having an off day.

The original at Kalbadevi is supposed to be better. But I haven't had the opportunity to eat there yet.

The Sunday Special Thali has more items and costs a bit more too. But its the servcie that is superlative and makes this a MUST Repeat Restaurant.

The Rice Boat, Mumbai

2006-02-25T08:03:00.000-08:00

The Rice Boat
Aram Nagar
2 JP Road
Versova
Andheri (W)
2633 6688, 2632 6688

Another restaurant from the RB chain & this one is fantastic.

Just walk into the restaurant & the quiet waterfalls on the walls immediately soothe your senses. The waiters are all dressed in Mallu Mundus & the chef is out there in the restaurant making piping hot appams in front of your eyes.

The food is divine. The fish & sea food is extremely fresh & cooked to exactly the right extent. The Kerala spices make ordinary food smell and taste wonderful. The Kanava Olarthiatu at Rs.95 was an excellent starter of squid done to perfection. Since we like spicy food, we had the Travancore Neimeen Curry (rs.140) and the Aleppy Konju curry (Rs.175). The great thing is you can choose your masala & decide what bit of sea food you want in it. The appams are 20 each unless you want them fancied up like egg appam or flower appam (rs.30) No the flower appam doesn't have any floral additions, its just shaped like a flower which is a pretty decent feat. The Malabaari biryani was so-so, felt almost like rice had been mixed with a thin mutton gravy. But the rest of the food was fabulous.

Total damages party of 3 was around 900/- which is very good VFM for the ambience and the food. They serve alcohol too. They have not yet started home delivery though.

Rio - The Met Lounge, Mumbai

2006-02-25T06:13:00.000-08:00

Rio - The Met Lounge
7/11 Meera Apartment
Juhu Versova Link Road
7 Bungalows
Andheri (W)
Mumbai 400 061

Tel : 5602 1389, 5604 7177

Don't walk in expecting to be transported to Rio. Why they named themselves that is not yet known to me. But it’s the closest drinking hole to my place, so its convenient. They have wooden interiors which could have been reminiscent of 10 Downing Street, if the lighting was brighter. But its not.

Crowd comprises some BPO workers when its close to salary dates, some TV heroes, heroines & junta from the 7 Bungalows, Yaari road area that just wants to drink.

Music ranges from retro to everything including bollywood remixes, depending on the DJ and the time.

BOB is around 200. Indian alcoholic brands like old monk are 120 for a small. IMFL like Bacardi is 200 for a small. The imported ones are uin the range of 300 for a small. Soft drinks are 40 a serving. Cocktails range from 300 onwards. I had a Mojito which was too sour, so I promptly moved back to the old favorite R&C. Please remember 205 VAT over and above these rates. Snacks are 150 and above. The tandoor items weren't that tasty though. Complementary groundnuts were served with the drinks.

Not very VFM nor does it have great ambience. But one of the more reasonable joints if you want to do some TV celbrity spotting. Parking is not a problem and its close to home.

Hyderabad - Rayalseema Ruchulu

2005-03-02T03:22:00.002-08:00

Rayalseema Ruchulu
Hyderabad
5510 0033, 5510 0044

Havent eaten at the restaurant itself, but have ordered food home, once in a way.

RR offers typical Andhra dishes, with the signature spiciness inherent in Andhra food.

They have some interesting innovations in rotis such as sajja roti (18) & Jonna roti (11) I would be hard pressed to describe them or the uingredients that go into their making, but let me assure you that they are quite tasty.

The chicken pulao (59) is in the andhra (not hyderabadi) style. They have an excellent starter called the rayalseema special chicken (68) which are something like cutlets, but yet different. Very interesting & a really good snack with whatever drinks you may be serving. Slighlty on the spicier side but then that’s what makes it interesting.

They serve a pretty mean brain fry (62) and mamasam kheema (82) too. Only thing being that though the rates look lower compared to other hotels, the quantitites on these main dishes are a little on the smaller side too. So you may need to order 1.5 times the amount you order from other places.

TO sum it up, I would say, food from Rayalseema Ruchulu is tasty & interesting.

Hyderabad - Eat Street

2005-03-02T03:22:00.001-08:00

Eat Street
Necklace Road
Hyderabad

Eat Street is a lovely place opened on the lake on Necklace Road. Theres a play area for children with lovely multi hued flowers growing abundantly. There's a permanent merry-go-round & baby cars & things like that. They also have boating on the lake originating from the premises.

The seating is partly open air and partly under a cover which is still open to the lake on the side. But if all you want is a place to sip a coffee & relax with your book or friends, then take your coffee & head upstairs, the feeling there is even more relaxed.

Eat Street is a Food court. So you have Pizza Hut, Minerva Coffee Shop, Baskin robbins & others. Rest assured there are enough choices whether you are looking for a coffe, ice-cream, snacks, chaat or a proper meal.

The Chinese served at "Wok of the Town" was quite good. The combos for 95/- include some noodles/rice, a main dish & a starter. Really worth it & quite filling. Their chicken pepper salt was also quite interesting for 65/-

The "Chat Room" serves an array of chaat items. Tried the Dahi Poori (25) & Pani Puri (20). Tasty & clean with the joy of eating it on the lake side. Definitley round up your chaat with the jelebis (20). They are absolutely amazing & a must try. If you are thirsty with all the chaat, have the Badam Milk (25). There are a lot of pakodas & other fried stuff too thats available. I'd rank this second on the chaat available in Hyderabad. Ohris Banjara being the best. And oh yeah, the Pani Puri @ Gangotris near 36, Jubilee hills is very good, though the rest of their chaat isnt.

At the Indian counter "Wah Hyderabad", you can get an assortment of Mughlai & Hyderabadi dishes. The combo at 95 includes rice, roti, dry & wet sabji in veg & non veg options. Very filling, so quite a VFM. If you want to add on something, try the chicken 65 for 60/- and complete your meal.

Then take a walk around the palce to digest all that you have just eaten & enjoy the view some more. Quite a romantic place too. If you want to take your date out to a place, which wont burn a hole in your wallet, then eat Street is the place to go.

Hyderabad - Painted Platters

2005-03-02T03:22:00.000-08:00

Painted Platters
85, 8 avenue
Road No. 3
Banjara Hills,
Hyderabad
5568 6444, 5568 6555

Painted platters in the outdoor seating part of where "Galloping Gooseberry" used to be. ("Galloping Gooseberry" re-opened last week as "grandma's" - quite apt given the time taken for service.....)

Don't let the terrible service of Galloping Gooseberry/Grandma's deter you from visitng Painted Platters. The service outide is seperately managed and quite well run. Given the effort put into decorating each plate, you don’t mind the slight delay, esp given the surroundings.

The menu is innovative to say the least. When you sit down, you are handed a literary masterpiece. And before you wonder if you have reached a library by mistake, you realise that the menu is integrated into the book.

The number of items on the menu is around 20 but each one of them is worth tasting at least once. The first 2/3's of the menu is constant, but the Viennese section is changed every quarter.

The presentation of each dessert is amazing. (before I forget, thet only serve desserts) If you have ever looked longingly/hungrily at the pictures of food in imported cookbooks, then this is where you get to see these dreamy concoctions come alive.

A lot of the desserts, have fruit bases or components. But there are more than enough varieties for chocoholics, like me. The Missisipi mud Pie @ 130 is a all time favorite at Painted Platters. The Viennese Alhambra at 95/- was also good with its sponge cake layers et al. Finished it off with a Malakov torte (105/-) which was absolute sin, loaded with alcohol.

So, forget all your diets & calorie counting, if you truly want to freak out at Painted Platters. There's free home delivery, in a 5km radius, if you order for 3 or more desserts. You can even pick up parcels from the place itself.

Abhiruchi - Hyderabad

2005-02-25T15:48:00.000-08:00

Abhiruchi
Near Paradise Circle
2789 6565

The absolute best Andhra Thali in town. Priced about 50/- its unlimited papads, fried chillies, rasam, sambhar, curd, 3 veg dishes, dhal palak, rice & roti are an absolute steal. The crowning glory, is their melted ghee which is the closest I have come to tasting ambrosia. Its supplied in unlimited quantities & enhances the flavor of everything.

This place is normallty crowded every afternoon & evening, but believe me, its more than worth the wait.

If you would like to add some non-vegetarian dishes to your meal, just ask for the chicken roast. A very well sauteed chicken in an amazingly spicy, yet not too spicy masala for about 75/-. The chicken liver fry at 45/- is a must try, if you want to add iron to your meal :)

And for someone not interested in a thali, just order the chicken biryani for 60/-. Its the andhra pulao variety & I personally favor it over the Paradise variety.

Don't look for ambience & comfy seating. Its just manageable. The decor would rank about 2.5, but the food would rank a 4.8 on a 5 point scale. Service is 4.

They also deliver around the vicinity for orders above 300/-. Call 2789 6565 for placing an order.