Chin Chin, Gurgaon

[Rated: 4/5]

Whenever one hears about Chinese food (think noodles, fried rice, chilly chicken and spring rolls) delicious flavor memories immediately pop into our heads. Kids can live on it, adults love it and elders can’t ignore it. After hearing some great feedback and seeing one of the best home delivery Chinese menus I’ve ever encountered, I was really keen on experiencing the food at Chin Chin.

Culture Gully, Kingdom of Dreams, Gurgaon

[Rated: 5/5] for complete family experience
Spectacular! Probably the closest word that can truly describe the grandeur and detailing that has gone into bringing out this beautiful kingdom which so far which could only be dreamt of. The Kingdom of Dreams is not a restaurant but a union of wholesome family entertainment including shopping and cuisines from all over India.

As I entered the Kingdom of Dreams with my wife and kids, I felt an all pervading sense of peace.

La Cabana - A new restobar in Gurgaon launched

Village style Hookah Lounge

We were invited to the launch of a new restobar, 'La Cabana' in sector 29 Gurgaon. With four main sections - a complete open sitting for over 200 guests, 2 small covered seating for love-birds or small group in the lawn, Hookah section done in a Village Nautanki style in a semi-covered place, followed by a normal lounge experience, this place has something to offer to all tastes.

Top Breads, Sector 18, Noida

[Rated: 3.5/5]

The city of Delhi historically has been exposed to cultures and cuisines from various parts of the world. Not only has the city embraced each and every culture, but has with a lot of warm embraced cuisines and food as well that came its way. I feel blessed to have been born and brought up in Delhi since I get to experience almost all types of cuisines here.

We went for a warm Sunday lunch to Top Breads which is famous for its luscious variety of cakes also has a cafe style seating for about 30. At least 30 – 40 variety of ready to eat breads, sandwiches, pizza slices, pastas, croissants, baguettes welcome the diners. The self help to chose and pick up from this displayed variety adds to this excitement.

The Beer Cafe, Ambience Mall, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi

[Rated: 4/5]

Asking someone for a coffee is now a passé. The Beer Café is now open with an innovative concept, and it is only matter of time when asking someone for a quick beer would be the in-thing among the socialites.

It would come as no surprise to anyone to learn that Beer is the third most popular drink in the world. First two being, water and tea (Are we missing cola's?). In India, we have mostly grown up on Lager beer dominated by Kingfisher and only now are we experiencing new beers like Stout, Farmhouse Ale, Weisse amongst

Chail Palace, Chail, (Near Simla) Himachal Pradesh

[Rated: 4/5]

Having more interest in food than just to satisfy palate, I have always been very keen to try new recipe/cuisine whenever possible. 

On recent visit to Himachal, we stopped at Chail Palace for lunch, and here we got introduced to Himachali dishes. The restaurant also serves popular cuisines like Indian, Chinese & Continental. 

We went with server’s suggestion and ordered Chaah Meat & Chicken Anardana listed as Himachali specialities. Apart from this we ordered regular Dal Makhani, Kadai Paneer and Aloo Subji.

LebMex, Forum Value Mall, Whitefield, Bangalore

[Rated: 3/5]

When we heard that LebMex; a Lebanese–Mexican fast food restaurant serves only vegetarian food, we were surprised. To us a good Lebanese meal is not complete without non-vegetarian food forming a substantial portion of the meal. Still we decided to check it out.

The 25-seater LebMex restaurant done in bright green and orange décor sets the tone for a good dining experience, not withstanding the plastic cutlery.

The menu selection has all the must haves in Lebanese and Mexican food; with a special section on Fusion food, which is a must try. In Lebanese one has options to chose from Falafel, Lebanese Rice

Burros Burritos, Airport Terminal 1, Mumbai

Burrito

[Rated: 3/5]

On my way to Delhi from Mumbai Airport, I stopped at Burro’s Burritos for a quick bite of an English Burrito (Rs 79). The Burrito was overloaded with Mayonnaise but the filling of a freshly fried egg, chicken sausage and sprinkling of cheese, topped up with mustard makes it a quick and tasty option. The mustard truly complements the cheesy-sweet taste of inside fillings of the Burrito.

The small shop outside the terminal 1 has many options in vegetarians and non-veg including options of Arabic, Chettinad, Thai, Lahori among others, but sadly many of them weren’t available.

NE7, Lajpat Nagar, Delhi - Authentic meal with honest price

[Rated: 3/5]

North East cuisine restaurants in Delhi seem to be much in demand. Many new restaurants have opened up, and recently NE-7 reopened in Lajpat Nagar. Gautam and I visited the restaurant to check the offerings.

The ambienceat NE7  is nothing much to speak about. Décor is minimal and with no air-conditioning, some may feel uneasy but the food soon made us enjoy our lunch. We ordered for Maasor Tenga (Fish Curry, Rs 120) which came with four big pieces, Khaar (Rs 25), Steamed Rice (Rs 40),

Best Restaurants in Gurgaon

Much has changed since I shifted to Gurgaon over five years ago. The high rises have multiplied, Offices are much swankier, Roads are much crowded and there is no dearth of good eating out places. Earlier, a good restaurant would have taken us on the roads to Delhi. Not anymore. Nor does anyone want to travel great distance for a routine meal, but that shouldn't be the reason to deprive us of a good outing.

Since on an average I receive couple of queries daily on the places to go for a particular cuisine, I have compiled my suggestions which should come handy for the readers.

Dosa Plaza, Pacific Mall, Sahibabad

[Rated: 4/5]
“Variety adds to spice in Life”.  The saying will be taken literally and more so implemented with so much of zeal is what I discovered on my recent visit to Pacific Mall in Sahibabad with my family.

We were attracted to Dosa Plaza by sheer exuberance of the colourful glow sign that displays its name. On scrutiny of menu, I was amazed to see the variety of Dosas, Idlies and Vadas being offered by the outlet.  Dosa for me has always been that traditional fermented crepe made from rice, served with a filling of patatos and side dish of Sambhar and Chutneys

Route04, Cyber Greens, Gurgaon

[Rated: 3.5/5] 

Unpretentious in its décor and honest for its price, Route04 immediately strikes a chord with its guests. The prototype of cars hanging from the roof, huge airplane and car stickers of Mustang and Hummer, beside some old hip music gives it a retro effect. Music is loud enough to give it a pub feel still it does not disturbs the conversation at the table. 

We enjoyed the Hawaiian Cottage Cheese Stick (Rs 225) which is a great option for vegetarians. With bell pepper, green and black olives, pineapple, and topped up with cilantro and grated cheese, we found it to be amongst our favorite at the restaurant. The Buffalo Chicken (Rs280; variation of chicken wings) served with Thousand Island dressing and American Grilled Chicken Skewers (Rs 280) are other good picks

Jakoi, Assam Bhavan, New Delhi

[Rated: 3.5/5]

Having read some not-so-good reviews of Jakoi on internet, our foodie group was in two moods to visit the place. Luckily, Gautam and Sneha suggested that we should go and check why it has been rated so low, and hence we all set off to Jakoi on a cool Saturday afternoon, which is located in Assam Bhavan, and as the name suggested serves Assamese cuisine.

The interiors were done in authentic traditional setting and we seated comfortably on the sofas. To be honest, I did not expect such tastefully done interiors for a State house restaurant. With Assamese music in the background, and pictures of noted celebrities of the region, some of us foodies who hails from Assam instantly felt at home. So much so, that they started having their side discussions in Assamese which made some of us North-Indians uneasy. Gladly we came back to the common known languages amongst us – English and Hindi.