L'Angoor, Gurgaon

[Rated: 3.0/5]

The name L’Angoor can be intriguing, especially if it is the name of an upscale restaurant. “We serve modern American cuisine,” says Chef Hitesh Gupta. I query him on the thinking behind the name, and their crest of two primates with a bunch of grapes. He does explain the significance of grapes in fine dining that their wine restaurant promises but the langur connection to their food or service continues to remain a mystery. 

Soya Express, Gurgaon - Soyabean Delight for Vegetarians

[Rated: 3/5]

Soya Bean is not only one of the cheapest, but also the best source of Protein available for vegetarians. Soya Express which has established itself as a chain in Delhi-NCR, uses this basic ingredient in 80% of its dishes.

Wondering, if the visit would be worth, we stepped in the small take-away joint which had three chairs inside and two tables outside for the hungry souls. As kitchen shared the inside small dining space making the air-conditioning ineffective, we preferred to sit outside. The serving staff was attentive and immediately helped us understanding the concept and placing the order. I was impressed. Such trained manpower sometimes misses even at the high end restaurant, and here in a primarily a take-away or delivery outlet we were being spoiled.

Zinos, Cyber City, Gurgaon

[Rated: 3.0/5]

It’s been sometime since I promised myself not to judge a restaurant basis its buffet. Some of the items in buffet will always be mediocre, however good a restaurant might try. It’s not easy to prepare 100’s of dishes in quantities, and still bring out the best in each. Moreover, the food is prepared will never be able to satify individual taste buds. But what do you do when the restaurant like Zinos, is a buffet serving restaurant only. Probably one of its kind in Gurgaon, not including Rajdhaani, which I feel is in another league.

My office is in cyber city, and whenever we want to go out for lunch as a team, we look forward for a buffet serving restaurant for two reasons – a) We are short on time, and buffet enables a quick retreat back to our work stations, b) No one feels guilty of ordering an item which may be more expensive than what others would have ordered since the cost is equally shared. Zinos offers a lavish buffet (much more than required for a working lunch) consisting of appetizers which are served on the table and main course. The huge over 100-seater restaurant offers pan asian cuisine ranging from momos, chilli chicken, thin crust pizzas, seekh kebabs, paneer tikkas among others in appetizers, and similar assortments of dishes including fish, and prawns, chicken & mutton dishes in main course.

Striker Pub & Brewery, Global Foyer, Gurgaon

[Rated: 3/5]

Is Striker a joy to the beer guzzlers’ world?. This micro-brewery tries to bring all the good things in life together…..good beer in nice ambience, foot tapping music and great food. Does it succeed? 

Barely over a month old, and nesting over the Mercedes Benz showroom on the Golf Course Road, Striker Pub and Brewery has a distinct industrial décor, a stage for the bands to perform (Parikrama was here some time ago), a smoking room, and enough cozy nooks to have a nice evening.

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),

Mojo, MG Road, Gurgaon

[Rated: 3/5]
You are likely to find LA Woman and lot more music from the eighties playing here. Mojo, the relaunched and revamped resto-pub at DLF City Centre is open again. This time, to cater to the older, less boisterous clientele with a higher propensity to spend.

The décor has gone through some changes, but retains the dance floor and the unintentional retro feel. The food is more varied and definitely better. There is an exhaustive range of Chinese, Thai, Mediterranean,

Hotel Mohan, Ashok Vihar, Delhi

[Rated: 3/5]

Two of my school time friends (Ashish and Ankur) decided to catch up and have a good time. We zeroed in on Hotel Mohan, one of the oldest restaurants in Ashok Vihar area of north West Delhi. The restro bar was large and appeared enough to accommodate nearly 40 to 50 people. The joint was rather dimly lit but was buzzing with energy. Unlike some of the other restro bars I have visited in south Delhi and Gurgaon, this was an all male affair. An IPL game between

Bercos, Sector-53, Gurgaon

[Rated: 3/5]

Many global cuisines are gaining popularity in India and most Indians feel at home with Chinese and Thai. Bercos has stood the test of time in the mentioned categories.

After many years, we visited Bercos outlet in Gurgaon for a small family affair. Ambience was nice and more than 50% of the tables were already occupied by 8pm. We did not have to wait long before the order was on our table.

Red Monkey, Defence Colony, New Delhi

[Rated: 2.5/5]
Defence colony market offers plethora of dine-in options catering to all tastes and pockets. Dhiraj & I decided to try this relatively new resto-pub with an eye catching name, ‘Red Monkey’.

The small 30-seater restaurant located on the second floor is nothing with whom one falls in love at the first sight, but the ambiance slowly grows on you. The lemon grass aroma, dim lighting created using mix of modern fancy lights and traditional candles, and some great music slowly relaxes you in its own world. The menu set on the back drop of a bill-book offers some interesting options chosen carefully by its widely traveled owners.

Kebab County, Cyber City, Gurgaon

 

[Rated: 2.5/5]
Set on the Haveli theme and specializing in Kebabs, the 80-seater restaurant is caught in the miller trap and now also serves Thai & Chinese cuisine. We decided to go ahead with the Indian food which as per the restaurant is their forte.

Kebab County is popular among the working executives of Cyber City but we found the food to be mediocre. Our order of The Kebab Platter (360/285) with 8 varieties of Kebabs each and the main course platter (300/225) which included Dal, main dish, Rice, Raita and Parantha/Naan of choice in both non-veg and veg options were sufficient for 5-6 diners. Great value for money with nice interiors but wished the food could match.

All kebabs were partially pre-done and weren’t fresh. The Stuffed Tangri had no flavor of the stuffing and the Tandoori Prawns were stale and should clearly be avoided. The huge platter soon became cold and it would be a good idea to serve them in a sizzler plate. The Kadai Murgh in the main course was all masala with no taste, and the Ghost Biryani couldn’t be called a biryani at all. Still, the so-called Biryani with soft and tender chunk of meat tasted well with the nice Burani Raita served along. We did like the cold and aptly sweetened Phirni (120). In kebabs, Stuffed Tandoori Aloo with stuffing of Paneer and Papad, and Dahi Ke Kabab were nice and cooked to our liking.

The mock tails - Grape Fruit Mojito and Fruit Punch (150 each) were nice but LIIT (250) was on the sweeter side and lacked the kick. Hope the restaurant realizes that the tray is meant for serving and not for eating food. We were informed that after 7pm the dining section of the restaurant is turned into a dance floor with a live DJ, though with the world cup match scheduled on the day of our visit, life went on as usual.

Happy hours on drinks seem to never end at the Kebab County and accompanied with huge platters, the restaurant may not be serving a gourmet meal but is surely a value for money for satiating the post-office thirst of the working population in this part of the town.
  
Meal for Two: Rs700 (without alcohol) |Alcohol: Yes |Credit Card: Yes

Address: UGF, Building No.10B, DLF Cyber City, Gurgaon | Phone: 0124-4368994/5

-Pawan Soni

Phirni

Veg Platter

Non Veg Platter

Zambar, Ambience Mall, Gurgaon

[Rated: 3/5]

Dosa, sambhar, idli, vada, curd-rice, rasam and lemon rice are some of the dishes that north Indians relate to south Indian food. They aren’t wrong as this has been the perception built over the years by most south Indian chains that operate in this part of the country. Further, most of us never looked for stand-alone South Indian fine dining options as none existed in Gurgaon. The best one could hope for in Gurgaon were Sagar Ratna, Coco Palm and Naivedyam among others. These, as I’m sure you’ll agree, cannot be called fine dining by any measure.

When we were invited to review the food at Zambar, I did not expect much. On entering Zamabar however, I gave full marks to the interior designer. Zambar has a beautiful house boat theme that uses all available space without compromising on the space and privacy of its patrons. The house boat has special significance in Kerala where people want to show off the beauty and length of boats, and take regular part in boat races. The lighting, seating, music and setup can accommodate over 90 guests and reminds one of sitting in a Kerala style house boat. A glass covered kitchen gives a picturesque view of chefs working in south Indian attire. Three kitchen exits ensure smooth movement of waitstaff.

There were many options in cocktails and mocktails. Zambar is one of the few south Indian restaurants with a bar license; a fact I found quite endearing; probably a first for Gurgaon. We tried a few mocktails like Coastal Iced Tea (Ginger ale, coconut water and cola), Banana Banshee and my personal favorite, Zambar Cool (a Khus based drink) – a cool and refreshing after a hard day at work. The Rasam was well made too.

In the starters, Potato Chettinad Roast was tangy, spicy and excellent. Equally good was the Madras Onion Dal Vada, the taste of which was further enhanced by the mint, garlic, and onion chutney it was served with. The Tamil Mutton Roast was avoidable as the meat was a bit dry, though I’m sure seafood lovers will enjoy the Prawn Vepudu.

Our main courses were Chettinad Chicken Curry, Veg Stew, Viruthu Nagar Mutton Kozahambu and Madurai Chicken Biryani all of which tasted good. The Valleappam (crisp and lacy borders with a spongy, thick centre) was a trifle under-cooked. I was awed by the super-soft, rich and multi layered Malabaar Parantha and the excellent Brinjal Gingelly that I felt deserved a second serving.


Dessert saw us stuffing our faces with Moong Dal Payasam, Ellai Panniaram (a mixture of banana, jaggery and coconut wrapped in a banana leaf and steamed) and ogling the Coconut and Jaggery Pudding. Called Watalappam, a dessert from Sri Lanka, it was presented beautifully and tasted wonderful – a must try when you’re at Zambar next.

Zambar is trying to carve a niche for itself in the fine dining segment, and offers the ubiquitous dosa only between 4pm – 7pm to induce guests to try the other dishes it has to offer from the states of Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. For some body who would like to try a prix fixe, Zambar also offers a vegetarian and a non-vegetarian thaali (sea food and chicken). Zambar’s Executive Chef, R Chenthil Kumar, who is a Tamilian, tries to make the food as authentic as possible, but confesses to keeping spice levels low to suit the north Indian palate.

Zambar is a great concept offering lovely food in an excellent ambiance though I wish it would just a little more attention to service levels as expected in a restaurants of its class.

Meal for Two: Rs2000 (without alcohol)
Alcohol: Yes
Credit Card: Yes


Address: 3rd Floor, Ambience Mall, next to Funcity / Haldiram, Gurgaon
Phone: 0124-4665639 / 9311520729

- Pawan Soni