The Tea Room Company, Star Mall, Gurgaon

[Rated: 3.5/5]

Tea is known as nature’s ‘Wonder Drug’ with revitalizing and soothing properties. No wonder it is the second most consumed liquid in the world, after water. Still, we see hordes of coffee shop mushrooming around the city, but there aren’t many who focus on tea.

Eggriculture, Super Mart-1, Gurgaon - Eggciting Times

[Rated: 3.0/5]

“An egg is always an adventure; the next one may be different,” said Oscar Wilde. And the next one at Eggriculture, a very small, almost minute café at the Supermart 1, is certainly an adventure. This one-month-old eatery is geared to serve eggs in 43 different forms.

“My inspiration behind this café came while I was enjoying a late night anda paratha under the Moolchand flyover,” says Harsh Mehra who runs this place, ably assisted by his two young daughters. A consequence of the nocturnal nibble is a menu that is varied and tempting enough (at egg dish prices ranging from Rs 60 to Rs 110) for me to want to order the full monty. I curb my enthusiasm and ask the owner for his recommendations.

Leons, Sector 56, Gurgaon

[Rated: 3.5/5]

Gurgaon, once an under-developed suburb of Delhi is now known for its swanky office buildings and luxurious malls. Gurgaon has come a long way but one thing that has remained unchanged are the hordes of people from Delhi and nearby areas who still flock to the many road side drinking joints to get tipsy post the normal closing hours in neighbouring cities. These roadside drinking joints, commonly known as Aahatas, have come a long way from serving not-so-rich people who could not afford expensive restaurants, to becoming a preferred drinking and meeting place for the corporate crowd. These outlets work on the simple concept— ‘BYOB' meaning that people can get booze (bottles) from retail outlets and food is served from the restaurant menu. This concept greatly reduces the cost of an outing, as drinks comprise a major portion of the total bill in a good restaurant in Gurgaon where VAT itself adds 25% to the liquor bill. Importantly, all these aahatas are legal with valid permits and allows guests to bring their own booze.

Kishan Bhature Wala, Gaffar Market, Karol Bagh, Delhi

[Rating: 3.5/5]

Gaffar Market in Karol Bagh is known for all sorts of electronic items available. However, it has some vintage food outlets and I do mean decent VINTAGE running over a few decades.

Today I am sharing my visit to a 50 year old shop famous for it's chole bhature. Street food lovers would love this place. Tucked in the corner as one enters Gaffar Market, 'Kishan Bhature Wala' hits you in your face. You can't miss this shop opened in 1960 and has been serving delectable chole bhature since then.

Tab01, Cyber Greens, Gurgaon

[Rated: 3.5/5]

A man is known by the company he keeps and a Pub by its poison. Tab01 (pronounced Tab-O-One) is the newest pub in Gurgaon, and I am happy to report it has researched its poisons well.

The 55-seater bar extends into a 65-seater restaurant, and can easily accommodate 300 party animals with some standing, sitting, and a few shaking their legs. The snow white leather interiors look good and complement the deep, rich wooden furniture. I liked their selection of music too.

Tibetan Kitchen, Sector 53, Gurgaon - Tibetan and Ladhaki Restaurant

[Rated: 3.5/5]

Gurgaon-ites are experimental with their food, and it isn’t surprising to note several specialty restaurants mushrooming in the city to cater to the growing demand. Among the list is ‘Tibetan Kitchen’ offering some authentic Ladhaki and Tibetan cuisine along with ubiquitous Indo-Chinese.

Though the restaurant has been there for a while, but we recently got an opportunity to visit the place. Ignore the ambience, and don’t be too excited of the service standards if you want to enjoy the food, which undoubtedly will ensure a revisit. The small restaurant has covered and open space available, though I noticed most guests preferred to sit outside for the cool breeze and the poor air-conditioning.

Dana Choga Kebabri, Gurgaon

[Rated: 3.5/5]

The 12 year old family-run restaurant has three outlets- all named Dana Choga. The chain also has a fourth outlet, the Dana Choga Kebabri specialises in Kebabs. Among the hordes of North Indian restaurants and eateries in Gurgaon, the Dana Choga turned out to be good value for money.

There was nothing special about the small 22-seater restaurant, but it was comfortable for an informal family meal. The air-conditioning was nice and the pastel colors on the walls were soothing. This small chain is a welcome breather in Gurgaon which is spoilt for choices for expensive fine dine, food court in the malls, or road side ‘Aahatas’ but not many in its category.

Fresco, Airport Terminal, New Delhi

[Rated: 3.5/5]

I remember the old times, when the only lounge available at the New Delhi Airport was run by ITC. Every time I flew I would get the same menu, poor quality and the same waiters who always seemed to be in a hurry for reasons unknown. Inspite of the ITC brand name, I could only despair at the quality of everything that was on offer at the lounge. Apparently even established brands do not escape the effects of monopoly.

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.

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.

Cocoberry range of Desserts, Gurgaon

As summer races in, and we prepare for ‘those lazy hazy crazy days of summer’, it is time to bring out the Hawaii chappals and look for lickable icy treats. A great addition to the options available to us Gurgaonites is Cocoberry’s range of frozen yoghurts.

Before you say ‘Dahi in ice cream? Are you crazy?’ it is time for some clarifications. You see, Frozen Yoghurts have nothing to do with the familiar, home made Curds. A Frozen Yoghurt is a frozen dessert containing yoghurt culture and other dairy products. It is slightly more tart than ice cream, as well as lower in fat, due to the use of milk instead of cream.

Brix, DLF Cyber Park, Gurgaon

[Rated: 3.5/5]
Life at the minipolis of DLF Cyber Park can be daunting. It is good to note that eateries like Brix at Building 10B do add some flavor to it. This resto-bar, which essentially serves the eager beavers of the offices in the vicinity, can dish out good food.

The ambiance is inexplicably dark for Lunch time, but the cheeriness of the wait staff does compensate

Tau's Cafe and Lassi Bar, Ansals Plaza, Palam Vihar, Gurgaon

[Rated: 3.5/5]

This café sounds straight out of a ‘Jat Yamla’ movie set, conjuring up images of large people with large moustaches gulping lassi from large peetal glasses. Tau’s Café at Ansal Plaza, Palam Vihar may not have the rustic setting, but it certainly has the food to make Dharam Bhaaji, and all the other Deols drool.

Pind Balluchi, Great India Place (GIP), Noida

[Rated : 3.5/5]

Pind Balluchi is a known restaurant in Delhi NCR for their food at prices catering to the middle class. We had a nice Saturday evening with our cousins at a bowling alley in Noida after which we decided to visit Pind Balluchi in GIP mall. The restaurant located on the 3rd floor near the elevators allows quick access to the hungry souls.

Love and Mustard, Galleria Market, Gurgaon

Kosha Mangsho

[Rated: 3.5/5]

Tucked away in a cozy first floor nook of the Galleria market, the modest sized Love and Mustard promises and delivers fine Calcutta cuisine.

The menu here is extensive and varied – doing justice to the sheer variety available in the City of Joy. Vintage photographs of Kolkata and the melodious Bangla music provide excellent backdrop to the culinary adventure.

MingSingh, Peppermint Hotel, Sector-29, Gurgaon

[Rated: 3.5/5]

In India, when the specialty restaurants were not a common sight, most of us would have tasted the early days of Chinese cuisine which was much influenced by Indian palate. We enjoyed the adopted flavors of Chinese food and now have moved to authentic Chinese fare at the leading restaurants.  MingSingh has an innovative concept where they bring together the fusion of Oriental and Indian food. Thought of Chandoori Chicken (Tandoori chicken with oriental sauces) sounded interesting, and Aman and I decided to check out MingSingh.

Set amidst interesting roof-top ambience of hotel Peppermint and giving spectacular view of Kingdom of Dreams, Metro line and other buildings of Gurgaon, we had a feeling we were in for a good time at this modest 30-seater restaurant. The show kitchen allows guests to interact with the chefs and participate with them to prepare innovative dishes if they are in a mood to please their loved ones. Else, for lazy bums like me, you can leave the chefs to bring out their best.

Pind Balluchi, Indirapuram (Shipra Mall), Ghaziabad

[Rated: 3.5/5]

In past few years, restaurants with multiple outlets have seen a reasonable increase. Pind Balluchi is one of these multiple outlet brands.  

While the latter part of Pind Balluchi seems to have been derived from Baluchistan; an arid, mountainous region in Southwest Asia including parts of southeastern Iran, western Pakistan, and south western Afghanistan and goes with the Pind Balluchi’s proclaim to serve North West frontier cuisine, menu does not affirm the same.

Sin Bar, Nirvana Patio Club, Gurgaon

[Rated: 3.5/5]

As a foodie I keep trying different eating joints throughout the city and at times miss the most obvious of places. I am a member of Nirvana Patio club where we (me and my family) are regular at the swimming pool. Since we were not impressed with our initial visit two years ago to their restaurant called – Platter, we didn’t try their bar.

Few months ago the club launched their bar, interestingly called – ‘Sin’. Yesterday we tried it along with my regular drink partner, Amit Sangwan and the official sponsor – Dushyant Sharma who is getting married soon; no surprise he was our Bali ka Bakra.

Chinese Fast Food Ban Sai, Kamla Nagar, Delhi

[Rated : 3.5/5]

Kamla Nagar ( popularly known as Knags) is known as one of the hottest shopping destinations in north Delhi. What many people do not know is the mushrooming of Chinese outlets in the back alleys of this market, serving hot, spicy and tasty food at reasonable price. With student population from outside Delhi increasing each year, such joints offer value for money Chinese cuisines. I went into a back lane running parallel behind famous bunglow road which is lined up with big food chains