Punjab Grill

Sangria

As a newbie food blogger, your first foodie meet-up is certainly exceptional..! Not only is it is an immense honour, but it is also an assurance that all the food that is making me fat is for a greater good.  So, I  was feeling accomplished when I got invited for my first Zomato foodie meetup at Punjab Grill, Koramangala, Bangalore. Although, because of work I was a bit late to the party and missed the welcome. But next time ;)

Nikki Te Tikki

I recently moved to Bangalore, and the first thing I wanted to look for is a good Punjabi restaurant. Punjab Grill's name came up several times and my visit was long due. It is hard to miss Punjab Grill if you happen to be passing by. The restaurant stands gloriously in one of the most happening places in Koramangala, the foodie paradise, right in front of Forum mall. The place seduces you to come inside when you look at it. And even though you know, it's going to be one expensive mean, you want to go inside, and you know it would be worth it. Well, there I was joining a table of elite food bloggers and a great experience ahead. The passion of my fellow foodies was commendable.

Veg Kurkuri

Before I dive into further details, I want to thank Ankit Gandhi, another foodie friend I made at the meet-up for taking amazing food photos and sharing the them with me.

Coming back to Punjab Grill, the dining experience was astounding. The interiors are lavish, peaceful, although a little bit darker for my taste. The staff was courteous and prompt in serving. This places should definitely be considered if you are in a mood for luxury dining.

Dahi Ke Kebab

A celebratory mood at dinner here deserves Flaming Lamborghini. The visual of the drink will definitely set the mood for your party. It looks magnificent. I, on the other hand, tried Niki Te Tikki, which was an interesting cocktail, with a tinge of spice.

Duck Samosa

The masterpiece of Punjab Grill according to me were the starters. Both vegetarian and non vegetarian starters are equally delicious. Well, an advantage of being here in a foodie meet-up is that I could have food in "the sheikh way" as my friends call it, a little bit of everything.

Papad Platter

Well, we were served eleven starters and I loved nine of them. Both papad platter and Veg kurkuri were extremely well executed. Dahi ke kebab is a very fascinating dish and makes a really appetizing vegetarian starter. It is very difficult to bind ingredients of Dahi k kebab together, and the result here was delicious. Paneer tikka Multani is the most famous vegetarian starter there is, but you know as well I do, the not everybody gets it right. Beautifully marinated and cooked to perfection, this paneer tikka is a heart winning dish.
Coming to non-vegetarian delicacies. Murgh tikka, the non-vegetarian counterpart of paneer tikka counter was an equally big hit. But the winner of the evening was Salmon Tikka for me. I have never been a fish fan, so much that I don’t order fish ever until it's a famous fish! Well, this is a famous fish that I didn't know of. It was so delectable, that I would highly recommend this Succulent tikka. Duck Samosa was a bit dry and Mutton Sheekh kebab was average.

Ram Flambeed Gulab Jamun

Even if I normalize the fact that I was full by the time we reached the main course, I found the main course decent and but would like it to be a bit more Punjabi. Nalli Gosht was toothsome and Sarson ka saag was refreshing but was missing a Punjabiness somewhere.

Amongst desserts, we had another arresting one. Ram Flambeed Gulab Jamun. Gulab Jamun with a chocolate centre and served in a flaming fashion. Who would have thought Chocolate, Gulab Jamun and Rum go along so well! Flavoured chuski's were served. They call it chuck but it's actually ice-cream and a little too sweet one. Although Kulfi was quite good and pleasant.

Pan lovers would love to end the meal with Pan shot, interesting pan twist.

Overall, I liked the food, especially starters. The place is extravagant, yet cozy and comforting. The food is flavoursome and beautifully presented. 

My rating 3.5/5.! Happy Hogging!

Frites Corner

A trip to Auroville is one of the most peaceful, relaxing vacations to have. It has suddenly become one of my most favourite places. To avoid the tourist rush, we reached here quite early in the day, and after a soul searching experience, as we were starving, we kept an eye out for a place to placate our stomachs. It was a touching experience in Auroville, and since my fellow travellers and I actually associate our mood a lot with the meals (Punjabi’s.. I tell you..!) there was a lot of pressure on our next one.

Not so impressed by the Zomato profile, but on recommendation of a friend, we stopped here for breakfast. I was impressed by this small cafe for no particular reason. An open spaced cafe with a tree in the centre keeping the place cool, and an open kitchen. Order yourself some food at the counter and chit chat with friends while waiting in utter peace.

The beverages we ordered, both Mango shake and cold coffee reminded me of home. Mango shake in particular was very thick and flavourful. Yummy! Even though cold coffee is one of the easier things to pull off, I have special respect for a good coffee for breakfast.
As for the food, I became an instant fan of the bread. It was a multigrain bread, baked in-house and absolutely luscious. This made everything else taste great. We ordered both veg and chicken sandwiches, both of which were supremely delicious. Not just the bread, even the marinated chicken and cheesy veggies that it held up for us were singular. Other must try things are the crepes. Both sweet and savoury crepes are delectable and worth giving a shot. There are good  vegetarian and non vegetarians options, both of them being comparable and quite good.

Pastas were very average. But, I love eggs for breakfast and both cheese and vegetable omelettes were a perfect addition to the plate. 

The menu of Frites Corner changes everyday. It is run by a couple of people and is a very peaceful place to spend some quality time. There is absolutely nothing better than a quiet cafe with good food. As I mentioned, I became an instant fan of the ambiance. As for food, I would go so far to say that if someday I want to open a cafe, this is the kind of food I would like to serve. Simple yet Elegant.!

I take there are a lot of awesome places to try near Auroville, but I would highly recommend a breakfast at Frites Corner. Do try the sandwiches..!!

My rating 4.!

SodaBottleOpenerWala

For me, SodaBottleOpenerWala was the perfect way to say goodbye to Hyderabad. This restaurant has been the talk of the town from the day it opened. I don’t think you qualify to be a food blogger in Hyderabad if you did not pay a visit to this place. Every true foodie worth their salt has been to SBOW and so there I was, on my last night in Hyderabad (for time being) to complete the missing piece of my Hyderabad food journey.

Eggs Kejriwal

The moment you land outside SBOW, (which is visible from quite a distance) you realise why this tiny place with a very small menu created such a news on its opening. Hyderabad lacks places which appeal to your eyes . Don’t take me wrong, food wise Hyderabad stands highly ranked. But, you would agree that there is a certain lack of taste for visually attractive themed restaurants. 

Bombay Special Kolmi Fry

Well this beautiful Parsi themed restaurant might be exactly what Hyderabad needed. And not just with the looks, the food is at par with Hyderabad standards, which are quite high by the way. Each dish seems so ordinary, yet so special at the same time. The ambiance is very forthcoming. Tiny details like writing instructions on the board in chalk, clothes hanging in a tiny balcony, jars on the reception counter, etc. just win you over in the first sight. This beautiful, colourful, endearing place is in fact actually a small, engaging Bombay-styled parsi cafe which is a tad bit noisy. They don't take reservations, so you have to be prepared to wait. I was so hoping that it was worth the wait, and I wasn't wrong. There was a carrom board as well outside in the waiting area, which was funny yet thoughtful in a way.
 Now I want to move on to food since I am dying to talk about it. I want to apologise in advance since I don't have a lot of suggestions for my vegetarian friends. And for non vegetarian buddies, you are in for a ride. You have got to try this place.! For me it was a new exciting experience trying Parsi food. I have stayed in Mumbai for a good portion of my life, so I was expecting touch of some familiar flavours, but not much to judge against.
We started with Bohri styled Keema Pav.. I have one word for this dish.. “Yumm….!”. First of the all, the Pav actually takes you back to Mumbai/Pune streets. You don’t find such delectable Pav in Hyderabad. That freshly baked Pav, the aroma, the feel, the texture and the taste.! This is as close to the Pav I love as I can get in Hyderabad. And Keema... it was exquisite! I fell in love with this Keema. I will just go ahead and ask you to order this treat for yourself. 

Chicken Farcha

Amongst other appetisers, which stole my heart were the Chicken Farcha. It was one of those rare, soft, perfectly marinated chicken served with very homely green mint chutney. 

Thich Masala Fries with Cheese

Eggs Kejriwal, speciality of the chef, is one of the most reviewed items of this place, so it was a must try for me. It is basically eggs made sunny side up, on top of sautéed mushrooms and cheese placed over grilled bread. It is actually very well put together breakfast item. Each component of this dish was very palatable and when come together, it made it even better. Although I would have liked the yellow in the half fried egg to be more molten, I would love to try this for breakfast sometime.

Vada Pav

I had something which seems to be a regional speciality but I became a fan! Bombay special Kolmi Fry. Prawns surrounded by onions deep-fried served with their very homely green chutney. I didn't know that fried onion could enhance the taste of prawns so much. This sumptuous dish was very well executed and very well presented. Absolutely worth the wait and the money.
Since the Pav was so fresh, and my vegetarian friends wanted to taste it, we ordered Vada Pav. But this kind of ended up disappointing us. Even though the pav was delicious, Vada lacked that regional flavour. The green chilli which looks so pretty in the presentation was in fact super tiny and just for presentation. I felt cheated looking at it.

Bombay Rasta Sandwich

Bombay Rasta sandwich was well executed and worth a try, not sure if it was worth the money. Thick cheese masala fries had perfect amount of masala with nice molten cheese, were a good addition to the table. Overall Veg food was a disappointment.
Amongst beverages, we ordered a variety of things but the only thing that stood out for me was Mrs. Sodabottleopenerwala's Cold Coffee. This is something that tastes and feels like a speciality. Very flavourful. And a "Must try".
We didn't order main course at all. I would love to give it a shot some day. But, we did order my favourite course of the meal.. the "desserts"!! We had Apple Pie and Toblerone Mousse. Now, I am personally not a fan of Apple Pie. I don't "get" Apple Pie like most others do. There hasn't been an Apple Pie so far which swept me off my feet. But my friends were having orgasms after having this one, so I would go ahead and recommend this to Apple Pie lovers. And as a chocolate fan myself, a big plus one to Toblerone Mousse. You'd thank me for this. I have one word for this mousse... "divine"!
After having so much to eat, I packed myself some Shrewberry biscuits to go. I am glad to pause my Hyderabad food journey with SBOW.
Give this place a visit for sure. This beautifully executed restaurant definitely added a zing to Hyderabad food family. Looks like they are here to stay!!!
My rating 4.5.!!

Bouchon (Bombay Duck)

Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad

Visit Count-2

My first Bombay Duck experience was horrible. We went around 11 am for lunch, and couldn't get much to eat. Half of the items weren't available because they were breakfast items and others weren't available because they were lunch items. Frustrated and hungry, I swore not go here again.

However, I stumbled upon Bombay Duck once again and this time too for breakfast with my girlfriends. I liked the quiet and cool ambiance with soft music in the background. The open kitchen gives a nice touch to the restaurant. Since my visit was on a weekday, we were the only ones there.

Parisian Scrambled Eggs

With minimum expectations we ordered some breakfast items and I was glad that Bouchon faired well. The service was prompt, the food smelled appetizing and tasted amazing. The food was served in cute duck shaped plates.

We started with Parisian Scrambled Eggs which blew my mind away. These were perfectly creamy scrambled eggs placed between a freshly baked croissant. I would highly recommend this because it felt like a complete breakfast in itself. One other recommended dish here would be vanilla pancakes. These were one of the most fluffy and perfect pancakes I have had. Very few people in Hyderabad get it this close to perfection. Served with maple syrup and whipped cream, these pancakes are definitely a great way to start the day.

We also tried hummus with Pita bread and Falafel, which were a lot in quantity, but very tasteful. Among the drinks, we had hot cappuccino and cold coffee which were very average. 

I wish to explore more options here. But, I can recommend a good fulfilling breakfast here. It is slightly high in value for money, but the two dishes are worth going there for at least once.

My rating : 3.5/5