Saturday, May 21, 2016

Fat Lulus- Gurgaon

Cuisine Recommended: Continental
Shudh Shakahari Meter: 3.5/5
 Cost of Meal for two: Rs. 1200



So what do you do when you're at Cross Point Mall and your daughter demands to have Pizza? You enter Fat Lulus of course! 

Been there, done that before but loved it enough to want to do it again and again... That's my review in a nutshell, actually :)

The Ambience of the place is casual and oh-so-uber-cool! :) the rooster at the door welcomes you with elan.


The place has a lovely vibe about it... 



And this corner with a large fish and the instruments definitely grabs your attention :)


We ordered Chilly Willy- an awesome tasting Pizza made of Pimento chillies, jalapeños, mushroom & roasted garlic on oven baked thin crust. It was so enticing to see, that we had all grabbed our bite before I could even click a pic... And the taste lived up to it too :)


For drinks we had lemon iced tea and Masala lemonade (our all time favourites). Both were totally refreshing and awesome for the 48 degrees heat outside!!



All in all Fat Lulus as usual lived up to our expectation and is a place we intend to go to often. :) 

If you are first timers there, you should also check out their Jalapeño Poppers. Out of the world!!! :)

Price Metre for the place is 1200 (for two)
Portion Size: Good 

Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Indigo Inflight Meals

Cuisine Recommended: Indian
Shudh Shakahari Meter: 3/5


Cost of Meal for two: Rs. 700

"What do you eat when you are flying Indigo?" a question I was asked by a frequent flier led me to think this is something I should blog about... So post my vacation when I was on my way back from Goa and taking an Indigo flight home, I jumped on the oppurtunity to do just that. 




The Hello 6E Onboard Magazine has an array of food on display.  I was pleasantly surprised that there's a decent food option available to both Vegetarian and Non Vegetarian travelers.  My food of choice was Veg Biryani- simply because its served hot. I also got White Ring Murukku and Nimbu Minute Maid to go with it. 



Food was served in attractive packages in the colours of Indigo Blue. I have eaten this Biryani a couple of times before too and it is one of my favourite options in hot veg food. The instant biryani takes 8 minutes to be ready and is good to taste too. 



White Ring Murukkus are fresh and tastes yumm and crunchy. Its got the right blend of Southern Crunchiness and is prepared in Coimbatore. Minute Maid Nimbu was my choice of drink.



All in all this is a hot, fresh, and yummy vegetarian food choice to eat, while flying Indigo Airlines. Do I still wish they had more hot food options? Yes of course. But while they think and bring out many more options on their menu, this sure is a safe and yummy option to go ahead with! :)

Tuesday, May 17, 2016

Hotel Venite Goa

Cuisine Recommended: Goan
Shudh Shakahari Meter: 3.5/5

Cost of Meal for two: Rs. 1000

"While in Goa, do as the Goans do...! :)" with this thought in mind I further started checking out the joints that serve good local cusine... Our Hotel Manager recommended a place called Hotel Venite in Panjim, naturally more known for its Non Veg- Sea food variety than Veg food... But Goa is a place where you don't really get great variety in Vegetarian food, hence it becomes even more important to write about what to eat as a Vegetarian while in Goa. So Shudh Shakahari in me accepted this challenge to try local joints to recommend vegetarian food options. 

A quaint little place welcomed us, with its hanging balconies on the front facade. At first sight I loved the portuguese influence that I could see in the building. Speaking to Alex my friendly server later, I learnt that the building is over 200 years old and the restaurant in itself was 60 years old. It has history in its every wall. 


Walking up the wall and the rope decor hanging on it, caught my attention. I was piqued and was looking forward to see how the balconies would look from within!




Me at the balcony window
On Alex's recommendation I went ahead with Mushroom Xacuti, a local coconut based curry dish with lots of vegetables including mushroom, served with rice. 



I also ordered a fresh mixed fruit juice to go with it. 


To my utter delight the food tasted lovely and was highly appreciated by my taste buds. Juice was extremely refreshing with the right amount of papaya, pineapple and watermelon. 


Shudh Shakahari gives this place a thumbs up. While there also do check out their graffiti wall which has a history of its own. 

Monday, May 16, 2016

Goan Special at Mum's Kitchen

Cuisine Recommended: Goan
Shudh Shakahari Meter: 3.5/5
Cost of Meal for two: Rs. 1200

When I was out vacationing with like-minded friends there were ample opportunity for trying new kinds of food. So we decided that when in Goa we should do as the Goans do... Eat the Goan Cusine! Live the Goan life a little! :) 

Highly recommended on our list was Mum's Kitchen. The beautiful flowers of Madhumati or Rangoon Creepers at the entrance smelt heavenly and welcomed us to a beautiful experience ahead!


The ambience of the place is beautiful. It has a Modern feel with a touch of tradition. There were fine touches of colour, on the table that were pleasing to the eye. It had a feel that went well with the Goa environment! 


I had a very refreshing watermelon juice as soon as I entered that tasted as good as it looked. 


We ordered for Veg Khatkhatem. It was spicy and sour and such a treat to our mouth. Vegetables cooked in coconut based-khatta curry with lots of spices. High on my recommendation list. 



For dessert we had the local speciality Bebinca with icecream. Another item in the menu I thoroughly enjoyed. 

One of the walls in the restaurant proudly displays the Times Food Awards Mom's Kitchen has won over the years. And so well deserved. Shudh Shakahari gives Mom's Kitchen a thumbs up! :)


Sunday, May 15, 2016

Britos- Goa

Cuisine Recommended: Chinese
Shudh Shakahari Meter: 3/5


Cost of Meal for two: Rs. 1000

This is my third visit to Goa... But Brittos is one place I have heard so much about but never eaten at before. A cozy shack with candle lights on the center of the tables, Brittos is a sight that you will love immediately for its casual laid back feel. There are tables both inside in the covered area and outside on the beach. 


The temperature in Goa, made me chose to sit inside. The restaurant was completely packed even for an offseason. I immediately noticed the interesting play of shadow on the ceiling caused by the cane baskets cleverly being used in place of lamp shades. 






Choice of Vegetarian food is minimal as is usual in Goa. Like most famous Goa restaurants and shacks, Brittos also serves a varied range of sea food options but not much for vegetarians. I chose the safe option of Manchurian and Noodles and was happy with the way it tasted. 

But what I have to especially mention is the Virgin Pina colada that was absolutely divine to taste. It had an awesome-right blend of pineapple juice and coconut milk. Totally out of the world! I had to get myself a second glass just to make sure it was not a fluke the first time around and that the bartender/chef actually knew what he was doing! :P Thumbs Up!!! I highly recommend this drink to all especially teetotalers. You have to, have to, absolutely have to taste this drink when next there! :)




Friday, May 13, 2016

Italiano- My first Continental favourite in Gurgaon!

Cuisine Recommended: Italian
Shudh Shakahari Meter: 3.5/5


Cost of Meal for two: Rs. 1000

I moved to Gurgaon more than ten years ago. And like all young brides I loved eating out, more than having to cook at home! ;) Continental especially was a favourite... On asking around a few of our friends mentioned this small little place called "Italiano". What a find, we totally loved it and have been a regular ever since. 

Last year Italiano opened in Raheja Mall's food court and I have been meaning to go eat there to see if it matches up with the original one... Finally I did have dinner there today.

For starters we ordered Tomato and Basil Bruschetta, which was really yummy. Perfect blend of tangy with a touch of olive oil. 

For our main course we ordered our all time favourite Napoletana- which as usual was melt-in-your-mouth-scrumptious! 



My 4 year old wanted to have a pasta so we also got a simple Tomato and Basil pasta in red sauce which was non-spicy and well cooked. 

Over all a good family meal which didn't disappoint us a bit. One negative though is that since it's in a food court they don't serve food in cutlery here. That for me did take away from the fine dining experience I get in the main Italiano. However this Shudh Shakahari is not complaining much 'coz I love the fact that Italiano is next door on Sohna Road and much easier to access now. :) 


Thursday, May 12, 2016

Lite Bite Foods Trail

So what does a new food blogger do when she is invited to try a bunch of restaurants for a food trail being organised by GurgaonMoms? Goes for the food trail of course! ;) 

Light Bite Foods had organised a lovely food trail in association with GurgaonMoms where they invited some of us to come critique their restaurants and tell them what we love and what we didn't like so much in their menus. The restaurants covered in the list was- Zambar, Fres Co, Asia Seven and Punjab Grill. 

The foodie in me was kicked to find out the variety on offer... I reached Ambience Mall with my hunger intact. Started the trail with a drink at Zambar. 

Zambar is a coastal kitchen which specializes in all things coastal. The drinks were sure to have a blend of coconut, so in case you don't like our good old daab/ nariyal pani, you might not like their drinks but for those of us who do like it, the choices available here and the drinks they do with coconut water would leave your mouth open for more. My mocktail of choice was Litchi and  Coconut Sangria. Personally, it was a little on the sweeter side for me- an exotic drink with a mix of coconut water and litchi. The blend was unique and appealed to the taste buds. Option of lesser sweet would make it perfect. I did wonder why the good old 

Piña colada was missing from their menu though. It would sit oh-so-pretty and perfectly in the coastal setting. Something for them to think about. :)


Our second destination was FresCo, where we stopped for yummy Salad and Soup. 

As always the wide spread of salads were highly enticing and the options were tasteful. I loved the hummus, the mustard rice and the raw papaya salad the most :) Salads were light and just right for the health conscious and one of the things I learnt today which was interesting was that FresCo has an option of a salad buffet which could be availed without the main food buffet. So anyone looking for a good salad bar, your search should definitely end here. 

Third on our destination was Asia Seven. I have a confession to make, I had never before stepped into this place ever, for I could never figure out by looking from outside, the cuisine they served. It had to be something Asian of course but was it Thai, Chinese or something else, I'd not known. The experience-seeker in me was intrigued to find it out but as is common with most pure vegetarians, my philosophy is "when in doubt stay away".

The first thing I saw even before I sat on my table was the ambiance of the place. Very classy. I loved this row of hanging lights. :) They had their own magic with the zen-like stones they were hanging with.

We were served a variety of dimsums and to my utter delight I liked all the veg options. :) They were soft and light to eat; the filling was delicious and well cooked. I'm a huge dimsum fan and this place definitely had some. The peanut one was my favourite of course.  :)

Post this the last stop was Punjab Grill. Due to lack of time I couldn't stay and taste food there, but I have always heard good things about the place. Will do a review of the place some other time, I suppose. :)

Naturally it goes without saying that all of these places had options for both Vegetarian and Non Vegetarians. But I was there to check if there were enough good options for the Shudh Shakaharis and I'm happy to report that yes there were... 

So this weekend if you are in the mood for some awesome food you could go to the third floor of Ambience Mall and your search could end with one of these places based on the cuisine that interests you! :)

A Big Hi to the beautiful GurgaonMom' Mommies here! :)


Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Naivedyam: A safe, authentic, South Indian Choice!

Cuisine Recommended: South Indian
Shudh Shakahari Meter: 4/5


Cost of Meal for two: Rs. 600

When you live in Gurgaon, and are in mood for South Indian food as the Chennai-girl in me generally is, you got to look for safe authentic South Indian choices. By "safe and authentic" I mean food that actually tastes South Indian. Where the sambhar has the right proportion of imli (tamarind) and dal (pulse)... Its got to be tangy and spicy and just right. 

Personally, I can tell a good South indian place by the way their Sambhar tastes. Its the easiest test and often lets me know if I'd go back to the place or not. And when the place also makes some of your favourites like Aapam-Kurma, idli, you are in Food Coma! ;)






Their afternoon meals is good too. Nothing compared to Chennai ofcourse but a good bet for Gurgaon!



 My hubby loves their Onion Rawa Masala and swears by it!

And did I mention they always welcome you with a yummy buttermilk (in summers) and rasam (in winters), which is served on the house? 



Overall Shudh Shakahari gives Naivedyam a thumbs up and a place definitely worth visiting, if you haven't already :)