aka Om Routray
Delhi food blog covering street food etc
Now, this is an urgent post. Because, they will stop selling Khajla after Eid. I don’t like it with milk the way people from Old Delhi do. This is no cereal. The khajla from here are made in desi ghee, smell brilliant and are slightly expensive at 480 rupees per kilo. You can buy whole round disc ones or these chips type broken fragments. But you will have to hurry.
This is one of the strongest recommendations that I have made in a long time. I am not usually the order in types. No matter what the situation is, I believe either it is eating out or home cooked food. Anyway, I wanted to try this place so bad that I ordered in. The best thing about the place is they have starters, meals in bowls, Thai, Chinese and what not…all at affordable bachelors can eat on most days price range. Before I come to…Continue Reading “Happy Hakka, Lajpat Nagar 1”
There was a time when pan-Asian either meant glorified Chinese or a trip to a five star hotel restaurant. These days there are so many stand alone restaurants who have impressive menus and a non-veg, 3 course meal for two won’t cost more than Rs.2000. That’s not economical, but that’s the amount one has to pay for good Asian food. Chew has been on my radar for a long time. Mamagoto being another. I made it to Chew first. Upon entrance, the restaurtant with all…Continue Reading “Chew – Pan Asian Cafe, Connaught Place”
I have been planning to go to this place for a year. Finally, a small detail made the place irresistible. Khushka – an item on the menu that’s just rice and butter. It is a UP dish with ghee that I have not seen on any other menu. Located in the DLF South Square mall, the place is done up like a dhaba. Straight back chairs with cushions, kitsch posters on the walls and a tractor in the front, Rang De Basanti does impress on…Continue Reading “Rang de basanti dhaba, Sarojini Nagar”
This moradabadi biryani has caused me a lot of grief. Someone says it is boiled with lemons, someone else says there is saunf, someone from UP says this is not even a biryani, it is technically a pulao. The famed Pushpesh Pant had said in one of the talks that there is no good biryani in Delhi, I wonder what he will have to say about this. Anyhow, I remembered the old saying aam khao, gutliyaan mat gino and headed to this little outlet in…Continue Reading “Ekrar Moradabadi Biryani, Amar Colony”
Despite all the romance about Indian summers, these are tough times. One day out in the sun and I realise I have transitioned from a village lad to a city boy. I was born and spent the initial years of my life in a thatched roof house in a village without any air coolers. In the humid coastal Odisha, they don’t work anyway. Those palm leaf handfans were all the respite that one got from the heat. From that to trying to rush from one…Continue Reading “Trip to Rataul – Discovering mangoes with Sohail Hashmi”
Yup, the impressive Park Baluchi used to be here. Now, there is The Project – a massive and impressive space right in the middle of the deer park. The best part of the restaurant, the outdoor seating – will have to wait till the monsoons or winters to see any occupancy. But the glass walled interiors are not that bad either. I was there for a bloggers table and was seated at the far end of the restaurants, overlooking the grazing deers. The interiors are…Continue Reading “The project, Deer Park, Hauz Khas Village”
Recently, there has been marginal rise in interest in regional cuisines. A small parsi starts doing well, a kashmiri place in Gurgaon draws crowds, South Indian means more than the dosas and idlis, Gujarati thali places run full houses, a quirky café that repackages regional dishes becomes chic. Bengali outlets in CR Park have always done well, so I will skip adding them to the list. All in all, it seemed a small tide was bringing in regional places to Delhi. So, I was really…Continue Reading “Mandaa, Hauz Khas Village”
I am one of those illicit, lecherous, non-committal men when it comes to restaurants, operating on the principle that why go back to one when there are so many out there. But when friends come visiting, I have inevitably taken them to The Toddy Shop for the Karimeen Pollichathu. Banana leaf wrapped pearl fish that you falls apart at the touch of the little finger. I had tried the dish first at the Palate Fest and have not stopped since. The only time I tried…Continue Reading “The Toddy Shop, Hauz Khas Village”
A few years back, my agency boss and me got talking about haircuts and salons. He was surprised that I don’t have a hairstylist, I don’t call in advance. I walk into one of the neighbourhood places, wait for my turn and ask the guy to arrange the receding hairline anyway he wants. It is not just the self-importance that I don’t understand about hairstylists, I also don’t belive that a marginally better haircut would be noticed by anyone other than my mother. And, she…Continue Reading “Nai ki tahiri”
Celebrity chef is an unfair description. I have refused to use the term as it somehow means a better known person who has moved on from cooking to other things. A few of the chefs I have met have become stars and diplomats. Gladly, David Rocco was not one of them. He spoke candidly, his interest in others was genuine, could seriously give a word of advice about branding when my blog name made everyone laugh or boyishly play twitter games from across the table….Continue Reading “David Rocco’s Signature Menu, ITC Maurya”
This is not a biryani vs. pulao debate. We will have that debate when we meet over some coffee and hockey sticks. Anyway, it just seems that statistically on more occasions I love the pulao over the biryani. The simple chana dal Qabuli from UP is cooked without meat and is one of my most favourite pulaos. I had this other pulao in Old Delhi last night. At a home, not in a restaurant. The chicken was cooked separately in yakhni which had whole spices,…Continue Reading “Biryani or Pulao?”
When we were young and parents would ask where to go for a dinner out, we will pick the farthest place. May be not just measured by distance, but nothing close, ever. Eating out meant going far, what’s the point of going out to eat to close to home. Now that age has caught up with me, I prefer places that are close, where I don’t have to drive etc etc. Though the name of this new place in the neighborhood is depressing, someone happened…Continue Reading “Relax Restaurant, Lajpat Nagar 1”
In Agra for a marriage,I got to sample this dish. It was good to attend a marriage in a different city and walk the frustratingly narrow and aggressive streets of Phawaara. Anyway, this particular morning, I walked around the Sindhi Bazar and stumbled on this one among the numerous chole bhature shops. He was deep frying papad like discs and serving it with a very spicy chane Ki dal. I had a couple right there and a got a few packed for the relatives who…Continue Reading “Dal Pakwan & Papad, Sindhi Bazar, Agra”
Over the last year, sometimes, the best part of the meal has been desserts. But somehow, I have come to talk more about the food and less about the sweets that follow. So, here is the make up post for the must have desserts in Delhi. Let me start with the most recent one. The Chocolate banana manoushe at Zizo Lebanese restaurant in Connaught place. The nuts are toasted hazelnuts. A dessert roll was something new to me and I was curious. The bread of…Continue Reading “Where do you get the best desserts in Delhi – I”
This is not a thought. This is a question. After being called a foodie at family gatherings over the weekend, I have come to resent the term. But what choice do we have? Let me outline a few and try to define: Foodie: this term is too generic. Usually, used for anyone who loves food and may be, takes photos. Given the rampant usage, it has also come to refer to someone with a mucked up cerebrum and eats compulsively. This guy does not necessarily…Continue Reading “Foodie Vs. Food Reviewer vs. Food Critic vs. Food Writer”
Writing about food is tough and complicated, especially when you have bad experience. If the place is small, you are a bully. If the place is popular, you are an attention seeker or a pest. Anyway, I will take the risk. Last evening, we had to take an old friend from US for dinner. The friend is not new to India but wanted Indian food. I was confused between Kathputli and Lahori Gate, both being very close to where I live. Eventually, we discussed all…Continue Reading “Shiv Sagar, Janpath”
Most of us look at wine as an intimidation. We don’t understand it. We feel compelled to appreciate it. The ones that are known to be really good, most of us can’t afford it. The wine consumers are worried about how much to age a wine, the cork and how much is ideal to pay for a wine. Unlike the west, in India, wine remains strictly in the connoisseur’s domain. And, everyone wants that to change. So far, I had stayed clear of the wine…Continue Reading “Jacob’s Creek Reserve table, Delhi edition”
Malcha Marg is a location that raises a lot of expectations. The restaurants that have been and that are there have all set the bar a little high. Schengen which is a deli, bistro and pub in one does nothing to minimize those standards. You enter the restaurant and immediately notice the tastefully done interiors. The first floor is a deli, the second floor is a bistro and the third floor is a pub. They all share the same design aesthetics – minimalist white interiors…Continue Reading “Schengen Deli, Malcha Marg, Chanakyapuri”