Chop Chop, Dubai

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.

Dynasty, Dubai

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.

Hao Ming, Mangalore

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.

Aromas, Kanpur

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.

Thai Chi, Dubai

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.

Peking, Cairo

Peking

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

Noodle Bar / Bombay Blues - Hyderabad

Noodle Bar / Bombay Blues
Hyderabad central
Punjagutta cross road

Tried out Bombay Blues and the food there was quite lousy. The sizzler, the nachos although world famous where quite bad. Bombay Blues is a place, I would not ever go back & eat at esp given that my expereince at Bombay Blues in Bangalore too was quite bad. Although friends who have eaten at the original bombay blues in its city of origin - bombay- found the expereince there quite good.

So, was initially hesitant to even try out Noodle Bar given that its run by the same company & they all share the same kitchen along with Copper Chimmney or so I presume. But the chinese soup @ bombay blues had been the only good dish, so in the interests of culinary discovery, decided to risk it. And, I'm really glad I did. I now eat at Noodle Bar at least once in 15 days.

The seating is oriental minimalistic, so if you have a back problem, then wait for one of the side tables to get free. Otherwise just seat yourself at the first available table.

Start out with the chicken steamed wanton with mushroom (149/-) The flavor is light & delicate. If you like your meals heavily spiced, then avoid this item. The Thai minced chicken salad (95) is pure meat decorated with 12 slivers of capsicum, so if you are looking for a dose of veggies in your salad, this ones not for you. But if you are looking for a light single item, this can serve as main course.

If you are in the mood for only soup, as I normally am, in the middle of winter, head straight for the broths. The half portions are an entire meal for people with a slightly healthy appetite. I'd love to see someone who can complete the full broth. If you can finish a full broth at one setting, then I might sponsor your broth : ) Try from the tom yum (thai spicy) the Miso (Japanese with soya) or the black pepper one. Priced about 75 for the half & 150 for full. The half can actually be split into 2 and it would still be more than other chinese restaurants serve in a soup.

you can even try out your own special combination (225). They hand you a paper with varieties of noodles, herbs, sauces, vegetables & meat. You chose, what you would like in your dish & the chef will rustle it up for you. Gives an entirely new twist to normal requests (like hold the tomato, or extra spicy please)

The sizzling chicken chilly (149) is also an entire meal with rice served along side. This is the best of the sizzlers that they serve in my book. The thai red chicken curry (159) is wonderful & coming from the southern coast, its comfort food for me. I have this when I'm missing mom's & grandmoms cooking & am too lazy to rustle it up myself. The rice is a little less given the quantity of gravy. (unlike ohris on the 3rd floor which gives too little gravy for the amount of rice in the dish) But you can order extra rice (39) and split the dish between 2 people, if you have had heavy starters.

One of my favorite restaurants in Hyderabad. The waiters now give me great service, but it could be a perk of being one of the regulars. Because if I remember right, service in the beginning wasnt too great.

A word of caution, if you are looking for Indian chinese then this isnt the place for you, head to Nanking...... (another of my favorites + he's got the new brighter space just opposite the original nanking, now if only v can do something about the taxi guy in that lane who blocks all the parking spaces.....)

Chinese Pavilion, Hyderabad

040 - 5578 5680 / 5578 5681

Located opp the Jalagam Vengalrao park in the same building as Zedds
(with the giant backlit "Z") on Banjara Hills Road no. 1.

I had heard a lot about this place too and when Nanking was too full up
and the waiting lines were too long, decided to try our Chinese Pavilion
as I was really hungry and in the mood for Chinese and not dressed for
Mainland China.

Chinese Pavilion is located in the basement of the building but has a
cute open feel to it because of the mirrored walls. Its well lit up and
the entrance is very welcoming. Service was very good and polite right
from the valets to the doorman to the manager to the waiters.

This is the first restaurant that Ive been to where the menu advises you
to order one course at a time so you eat as much as you can and donÂ’t
over order and waste food at the end. It also advises you to rely on the
waiter for recommendations. Both of which we adhered to. Though we ended
up eating more than normal in the bargain. The food was that good.

The fried wontons at 140/- were light and crispy and especially
delicious with the sweet n sour green sauce. The soups in the range of
65/- were tasty and quite authentic. The Crispy lamb was 155/- and
innovative in its use of sesame seeds. The Pan fried noodles 100/- in a
white sauce were so tasty that no extra sauces needed to be added. The
manager recommended that we finish with a brownie Sundae 110/- which was
quite good, especially the brownie part of it. But for that money, Id
still prefer to drive up to Ohri's and have the "Awful Awful"

Good place, will definitely put it down among my favorites for repeat
visits in Hyderabad.

Cinnabar Redd, Hyderabad

Located below Fusion 9 on Banjara Hills, Road No 1.

Restaurant and the attached bar are totally done up in Red silk, so the feel is quite regal and luxurious. Very cute tables in black wood, and cutlery in White ceramic. All in all a very comfy decor.

The restaurant offers Teppinyaki, Japanese, Thai and Chinese Food.

Afternoon set menu for 200 bucks allows u to chose a starter, soup, main course, rice or noodles and dessert from the Teppinyaki, Chinese or Thai menus. Desserts are of Anne Lise so they are of the same high standards that you can consistently expect from her. Date pancakes are worth trying out. and the Teppinyaki is a novel consept for Hyderabad.

Quite tasty but portions are limited and small. So Ohris Far East is a much better option for the same amount.

Ohris Far East, Hyderabad

Ohri's Far East

Banjara Hills

Hyderabad



Part of the famous Ohri's chain. These guys deserve the acclaim for their high standards in quality and taste.



The Lunch buffet here is true value for money. For 200 bucks you can have your choice of soup, starter, main side dish, rice/noodles and dessert. Complimentary pepsi or beer on the side. There are 4 choices each in veg and non-veg options and numerous permutations combinations in the rice and noodles.



the best part is you can order as much of each item as you want. And we normally end up skipping soup and carbohydrates. Having 2-3 plates of each starter and main side dish. and the dessert.



Food is excellent. Definitely worth eating here. and if u arent satisfied with the honey noodle dessert here, just go down and freak on the "awful awful"



If u r inclined to look at the decor dont miss the open kitchen, the wonderfully intricate chinese ship carving and the bonsai plants.