Oriental Bloom, Sector 29, Gurgaon

 

[Rated: 2.5/5]

The Oriental Bloom serves variety of Dimsum and other Oriental cuisine, in a newly opened and modestly sized restaurant accommodating over 50 guests. The chick-modern setting done in hues of red and dark teak food finish gives it a rich feel.

Though on weekends it offers lunch buffet consisting of soup, unlimited dimsum, and a dessert, but we decided to order ala-carte. The first look at the menu, and we couldn’t help but notice that like many novice, restaurant also refers Dimsum as ‘Dimsums’; they better know like ‘hair’ one can not use an ‘s’ to make it a plural.

Slice of italy, Pitampura, Delhi

[Rating: 2.5/5]

I love my Pizza and Pasta. On my last visit to KFC at Netaji Subhash Place metro station, I had noticed this new outlet of Slice of italy next to it. We decided to try it out. Having heard very little about Slice of italy, I was looking forward to it.

We reached the joint around dusk and could see glowing mosaic of colors on it’s signboard. This was a small restaurant with approximate seating capacity for 20 – 25 people. Interiors were nicely lit and well decorated. There were only two more tables occupied besides ours.

Bawarchi Restaurant, Gurgaon

[Rated: 2.5/5]

When I was told that Bangkok based Bawarchi restaurant had opened another outlet in Gurgaon, I thought of checking it out, even though I didn’t think much of the food at their Bangkok outlet. It’s quite difficult to find a good buffet with starters, featuring a decent ambiance for Rs290 all inclusive in Gurgaon. Bawarchi therefore held great promise.

On a Monday afternoon, six of us colleagues ventured out for lunch. Thank God for small mercies, the roads were clear, and we settled into my colleague’s spacious 6-seater Innova for the ride ahead. The parking outside Bawarchi was in a mess due to road construction in front of the restaurant. Surprisingly, Bawarchi was deserted at 1.30pm with only 2 tables occupied; one by a couple and another one by some office workers. The cooling in Bawarchi was acceptable, ambiance was good, but the buffet looked ordinary. A value for money proposition nonetheless.

Seasonal Tastes, Westin Hotel, Gurgaon

[Rated: 2.5/5]

Buffets always appeal to the best and the worst in human nature – should one be a picky gourmand or an absolute glutton? Normally one starts with the first and then all goes haywire. Adding to the Gourmand Gluttony of the Gurgaon-scape is the newly opened Westin at the IFFCO chowk at its coffee shop “Seasonal Tastes” which boasts of a daily 100+ course menu at Rs 1200 plus taxes.

This bountiful buffet starts with a generous array of salads, antipasti and mezze dishes.

McDonald McSpicy Burger range in India

No prize for guessing one name that doesn’t require any introduction in India or globally, and Kids and grown-up love it alike? It’s McDonalds.

None other global food chain has caught the pulse of the nation as well as McDonalds, who offers its innovative hygienic products and menu suiting to Indian palette in a clean air-conditioned environment at a street food price. My kids love them (more for the toy in Kids meal), and though the offerings may not be a gourmand delight, I like them for a quick budget meal.

We tried the recently launched McSpicy range of burgers and wraps at McDonalds. The normal available range at McDonalds is kind of neutral on heat factor to suit the mass audience it caters to. I wouldn’t expect McDonalds to use Bhoot Jalokia (Raja Mircha) in its mass market product, but McSpicy advertisement made us assume the heat to be much more in this range. But alas and woe, it wasn’t.

Geoffrey's, Palms Club, Sushant Lok, Gurgaon

[Rated: 2.5/5]

Geoffrey’s showcases an interesting ambience made from wood and matching furniture reminiscent of an old English style pub. I met an old and dear friend, Milan Naik, at Geoffery’s to catch-up on the old times. The entry to the restaurant is through the lobby of Palms club which was filled with gentle fragrance of lemongrass; instantly relaxing my tensed up nerves after a hard day at work.

Saravana Bhavan, Connaught Pace, New Delhi

[Rated: 2.5/5}
Our hunger pangs were at its peak post the fun outing on Saturday at the Nehru Planetarium. Among various food joints that were at our disposal in CP area, it was my son who made the final selection. “Papa…Idli is what I want”. And lo…we landed up at Saravana Bhawan at Janpath. I am aware of the popularity this chain enjoys and hence, was little apprehensive about the wait time. My fears came true as we waited patiently for 20-minutes outside the entrance, ignoring all my better senses to try out the new McSpicy burger at McDonald just 10 steps away. Finally we got our place and immediately ordered few plates of Idli (Rs 60) and a mini Tiffin (Rs 85) which had combo of mini Dosa, mini Idlis, Rava Khichdi & Kesari Bath. The restaurant was clean but the replays of Michael Jackson song “remember the time” at near loud volume was very irritating. One would normally expect some Carnatic music to enjoy the soulful South-Indian meal.

Nostradamus, Fortune Hotel, Sohna Road, Gurgaon

[Rated: 2.5/5]
The recession seems to be long over, at least in the hospitality sector. The plethora of new hotels, restaurants and bars seems to imply as much. We visited the Nostradamus bar in the newly opened Fortune hotel on Sohna road, Gurgaon.

This modest 40-seater bar seems to be a Vodka specialist, with 15 variants of Absolut and 42 overall options to choose from. Apart from this, they seem to have fallen into the Millers Trap what with nearly everything seeming quite run of the mill. The bar stocks average options in wine and whisky and offers commonly available cocktails lacking innovations in this area. Nostradamus’ snacks menu is still to be published and so is the promised iPod in the smoking room. In the interim snacks may be ordered from their 24-hour coffee shop, Zodiac and nicotine inhaled as normal. I felt premium beers like Hoegaarden, Peroni, Amstel lite should be available at this prestigious hotel chain but alas and woe, they aren’t.

The drinks, LIIT (Rum, vodka and gin on a coke base), Mojito, Caiprinha (Cachaca, demerara sugar and lime), Kir Royale (crème de cassis and dry white wine), each for Rs 299, were nice though the Kir Royale was served at nearly room temperature whereas it should be chilled. The food and service has a long way to go before it can match the expectations of the well-travelled denizens of Gurgaon. Apart from Makai Paneer ke Kebab (Rs 349) which was exceptional; soft, tender, and nice, and Mutton Kareli Kebab (Rs 349) which was cooked to perfection, nothing else could hold our attention. Nachos with premix Salsa (Rs 199) lacked sufficient salsa to go with the Nachos, Mutton Seekh Kebab (Rs 349) and Chicken Nuggets both were chewy and hard; even the frozen varieties taste better, Lasooni Jheenga (Rs 699) was cooked-well but had packets of salt within. The dips that go with starters - Tartar sauce with Fish Fingers (Rs 349), Mint Chutney with Murgh Afghani (Rs 399), Ketchup and Mustard sauce with Chicken Nuggets (Rs 299) were not served. We were told that accompaniments are served only if asked for. We couldn’t understand that line of reasoning.

Veg Kebab

Chicken Nuggets

Chicken Tikka

Fish Amritsari

Fish Finger

Lamb Kareli Kebab

Lahsooni Jheenga

Nachos

 Nostradamus has a long way to travel before it can be opened up to public scrutiny. It would be an apt expression to call it a body without a soul. Since the hotel is new, we understand the empty bar on a Saturday evening, but unless the hotel pulls up it socks big time it will be difficult to change that pattern in times to come.