aka Om Routray
Okay, somehow, it has come to occur that I have not written much about fast food places. I love fast food, I can’t have enough of them, I would love to eat burgers and fries all day long and die early. But, somehow, none of this has shown on the page. So, I am correcting that. I am confessing that I love Taco Bell. The place does not look like a fast food place, is never too crowded, is not bright but standard looking and…Continue Reading “Taco Bell, Vasant Kunj”
I am glad about the number of vada pav outlets that have opened in Delhi. And, they are good too. I wrote about the WoW vada pav recently. Then came across this small place in katwaria sarai. It’s on the main road, near the bus stop. The vada pavs are cheap, priced around 30 bucks, the two I tasted were very good and they have a dabeli on the menu too. The dabeli was not the kickass version that I had in Nagpur, it was…Continue Reading “Just Vada Pav, Katwaria Sarai”
1. There was one passenger from Bla Bla car, one from Ridr app and me from Orahi 2. The passenger from Bla Bla car was a grey old uncle who was a branch head with a prominent private bank in Nehru place. The passenger from Ridr app was a leather jacket dude (henceforth referred to as The Yo )who worked with Yamaha in Sector 62, Noida 3. The passenger from Bla Bla car (henceforth referred to as Uncle)felt responsible, gave up in driving his chauffeured…Continue Reading “10 interesting things about today’s carpool”
I have been running a series on the blog about food in office areas by the title and there have been a few installments. While the original idea was to let people pool in, people don’t easily pool in. So, it has remained a one man effort. Anyway, the scene has just become more exciting with this cool new place opening round the corner in Noida Sector 3 – the one with graffiti on the walls. It was interesting but the weather demanded something else,…Continue Reading “Office ke neeche kya hai – Part 4”
Dahi vada. One dish I can write poetry for. There are so many versions and I can never rank them. I just love all of them – the south Indian version in the photo, the east Indian version with spices in the dahi and on odisha served with dum alu, then there is the Old Delhi version with mithi chutney, pomegranates and bananas. Also, this is one dish I can have for breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as an appetizer, main course and dessert.
Let me cal this historical, epic, unprecedented and life changing for the blue ball we live on. After going through every carpool application like a scavenger, I scored a ride with Orahi. The guy lives practically next door, is polite, works for HCL and didn’t talk too much. Sounds like a match. He also picked up another rider from Dwarka – a woman who has been working in Noida and has been carpooling for 3 months now with Orahi. With two strange men in car…Continue Reading “Odd even rule in Delhi: My first carpool”
The first two and a half decades of my life, I had only veg biryani. You may stop giving any credence to this post right here and stop reading. If you are still reading, let me pile more shame on myself. Apart from the biryani at the Hyderbad stall in Dilli Haat, I can’t remember a single other instance when the biryani was horrible, disgusting and offensive. I have been trying to grow a nose that smells the trashy ones from the one good biryani…Continue Reading “The unicornification of biryani”
Street food. Whatever you eat on the street is street food. If you don’t have to take it home, unpack and bring out the cutlery, it is street food. In our country, there is no life without it. Hygiene is something you notice after you have got jaundice. Germs are seen only in handwash ads. Baaki sab theek hai. 30 bucks for kadi chawal prepared by our bro from hinterland. Who else will add green chutney to the combo? But does it work? Yes. Where…Continue Reading “Office ke neeche kya hai – Part 3”
Nothing mumbaiya about it. It is a Delhi based chain, owned by a Delhite. But the food is good and they have an interesting menu. The sabu dana and the Standard vada pav were mathematically correct, the garlic chutney was accurate too. I rarely use the word precise to describe food but this was just that. Compared to Goli and a few other vada pav chains that have come up, this does not do all that badly. They have an extensive menu, they seem to…Continue Reading “WOW vada pav”
So, where do you get Swedish food in Delhi? Only at the Embassy, it seems. Fortunately, they mistook me for a food writer and invited me over to eat some. The chef was one with lethal humour and a beautiful Japanese knife – Nobel chef Mark Phoenix. He didn’t win the Nobel, he has been selected as a chef on the panel for Nobel Memorial Week. In between nuggets about Swedish food and life, he cooked a few simple dishes that hardly needed any cooking….Continue Reading “Lunch with Nobel chef Mark Phoenix at Swedish Embassy”
I have done my best to avoid public transport all my life. Too many people, too long queues, too much risk of claustrophobia, too much sweat, flesh and foul breath. But there are times when one needs to do the unthinkable – ride the metro. I had to, a couple of times few days back. I remember one morning – I had to take the early morning shuttle from Noida City Center to Sector 16. Thankfully, that day all token counters were operational, the token…Continue Reading “One morning on the metro”
I had never been there in my 14 years in Delhi. Something about the whole market screamed Hyped Hyped Hyped. And, I stayed clear. Then a few evenings back, I became larger than my small biases, overcame the ego that hissed in my ears that you are better than butter chicken craving dilliwallas. So, like any other dilli ka aam admi, I smiled at the reservation staff outside, made a sad face which begged for his kindness and got a table, not out of turn,…Continue Reading “Havemore, Pandara Road”
I am all for food styling, but style over substance? Just does not work. The latest drive to make things quirky is already showing in presentations across restaurants. Last evening, we were at the Artful Baker and tried a few things. The lemon cheesecake was brilliant – light, not too sweet and the cheesy in all the right ways. There was a layer of lemon curd on top which beautifully balanced the sweetness of the cake. Then, we had the lemon tart. The lemon curd…Continue Reading “The Artful Baker, Khan Market”
There is a kalibari temple in CR Park. I was there for the first time few days back, nothing surprising given my attitude towards temples. Nothing remarkable about the temple, apart from the massive grounds it sits on and the wonderful breeze that blows across. Hmmm…the halwa bhog that you get after the puja is awesome, for that I can go back. Anyway, the temple business apart, Durga puja is only less than a month away. These guys make the idols in the temple campus…Continue Reading “Goddess in the making”
That’s Japanese. Grilled food. Good to know Japanese learnt the use of fire. I was really getting tired of the sushis and sashimis. Anyway, Robatayaki originated in some fishing communities and was overwhelmingly about seafood. To my knowledge, in Delhi only places serve this – Akira Back and B Bar, Saket. B Bar just launched their Robatayaki menu with a fest that’s on till 30th September. Coming to the food, as is the case with such minimal cuisines, the meat is not marinated and is…Continue Reading “Robatayaki Festival, B Bar, Saket”
We don’t live in Delhi. The city is too big and heterogenous. We all live in little pockets of Delhi and navigate the city via narrow corridors. Coming to the point of the post, how many of you have been to Shadi Khampur? Why would you be, really? I had not been there, I dreaded going there. Less than seven kilometers from Connaught Place, it is the kind of working class neighbourhood that one works all his life to get out of. So, why get…Continue Reading “Studio Safdar – the adda, theater, cultural space”
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”
We have always known this as the night of the rowdies, bikers and general nuisance. Law and order wise, it is the Islamic equivalent of the navratras. Over the years, public sentiment and a proactive police department have brought about some sanity to these nights, but the elements have not been completely sanitized. So, when I decided to set out on a night of photography, I had expected a certain amount of trouble. And, given that I was not being a phono-grapher but going with…Continue Reading “Shab e Barat – An account of the night from Delhi roads”