Smoke House Deli @ Vasant kunj

Smoke house Deli @ DLF promenade-vasant kunj

After a quite a long break from writing due to exams, I went to DLF promenade for a lunch.  Smoke house located on the ground floor of the mall, boasts of a large indoor and outdoor sitting place. The joint is almost similar to the one in khan market. Though in a mall it’s almost exclusive and is a busy place any day of the week.

Ambience

The restaurant succeeds in maintaining the fine dining atmosphere in a mall, dim lights and well spaced tables make it soothing for the customers. Its light art worked walls is always nice and a nice place to go with your friends and family.  It also has a semi-open kitchen and the chefs “flambé” techniques makes it fun for the keen eye.

I would give it

Food

We ordered for a baby fennel and smoked chicken soup. The soup was very good, it was well seasoned and flavors were well defined. A pleasant surprise was the balsamic reduction served along with it. The balsamic helped to cut through and balance the creaminess of the soup. For the main course we ordered for lamb lasagna, chilly cobbler with lime and thyme veloute and a “Ras El Hanout” rubbed chicken with spiced rice. All the three dishes were amazing. The lasagna was simple brilliant, paper thin lasagna sheets and the lamb with your melt in your mouth texture. The lamb was so well cooked that it simply dissolved. The sauce was again very good, creamy and rich with slightly tart olives made it beautiful. My only criticism of this dish would be that the dish was a little overpowered by the sauce, a little less on the plate would have added to the balance.

The chicken again was amazing, succulent and juicy. The dish was well balanced and seasoned. The spice rice was also very good and so was the sauce. I especially loved the salsa dip which they served. The spice rub was both tasty and helped to balance the dish.

Cobbler was the best of all, a perfectly cooked cobbler served on a bed of lime and thyme veloute was delicious. The sweetness of the fish was perfect with a slightly spicy and lemony veloute was very good.

And finally we ordered for a white chocolate and orange crème brulee for dessert. The crème brulee was perfect, the slightly torched top, slightly bitter in taste was in harmony with the cream and the chocolate and orange are two combos that can’t ever go wrong.

Basically the lunch was flawless and I would give it

Flame And Grill

I was in kolkata for a few days during my vacations and as planned I went to some new places so that I could write about them

For lunch I went to flame a grill, a part of the specialty group of restaurants which include mainland china and oh Calcutta. This restaurant serves preset buffet consisting of kebabs for starters, a completely Indian main course and desserts.

Ambience

The ambience is cool and beautiful but the restaurant is often very busy so it tends to become a bit loud. Serene lighting and open kitchen with non stop working chefs adds to the beauty of the restaurant.

So from my side

3 stars

Food

For starters they served us chicken peshwari tikka, mutton seekh kebab and fish tikka. We were very disappointed; the kebabs were very dry and chewy. The chicken tikka was hard and lacked seasoning and marination. The fish was chewy, and a touch over cooked. The mutton was actually worse; the pieces of seekh kebab didn’t hold and was flaky and slightly chewy.

Overall a through disappointment

For main course we had murgh biryani, prawn stew, mutton curry along with assorted breads and paneer khurchana.  The main course was average. The biryani was actually good, light and tasty. With good flavours made it the best of the day. The mutton curry was actually very delicious. It was slightly spicy and had depth in flavours and pieces of mutton were succulent and well seasoned.  The prawn stew was too salty for my taste, this made it almost inedible.

The combination of paneer and naan was good but lacked the zing to be a brilliant dish.

I would give it

2 stars

The desserts were very good. The mousse was light, sweet and beautifully balanced with the bitter chocolate taste. The raita was good and slightly spicy which suited my taste. The rice kheer (payesh) was also very good; not too sweet and a smooth texture of the rice made it the best of the day.

So I would give it

Overall I would give them

2/5 stars

Service

The service was good, the food was served quickly, the waiters were quick to serve the kebabs, and the beverages. They were patient to take the specific instructions.

So overall the restaurant is not up to the standard of the other specialty restaurants and I would suggest giving it a miss.

Amici Cafe

Yesterday, my parents and I went to amici café at hauz khas. The hauz khas village is itself a little crowed and small but the entire atmosphere is great. Its calm not very busy with cars and bustled with restaurants.

Amici is a proper Italian restaurant which serves wood baked pizzas, grilled bruschettas, classic soups and salads and a good selection of pastas, coffees and desserts.

Ambience

The ambience resembles a café in Italy, with wooden tables and wood chip oven, partially open kitchen and chairs. The walls are lined with fun movie posters and racks of amici boxes and sauces.

It makes it a soothing atmosphere.

Food 

For starters we ordered for a plate of piri piri chicken and cheese bruschetta. The bruschetta is essentially garlic or plane bread toast served with desired toppings and finished with melted cheese on top. The bruschetta here was perfect, flavorful and crunchy yet soft. The cheese along with slightly spicy piri piri chicken was well balanced and complemented each other. The chicken itself was delicious and succulent. Try the bruschetta with a dap of pepper sauce and it becomes the perfect starter

I would rate it

For main course we had lasagna al ragu, barbeque chicken burger and “the starving celebrity”-gourmet pizza. The lasagna is served with bread roll.

Lasagna is layered sheet pasta served with a chicken and tomato based sauce. Lasagna itself has a tendency to be overpowered due to the tomato and chicken and cheese. But amici’s lasagna was perfect- succulent lamb, thin slices of pasta , the tanginess of the tomatoes  balanced with the saltiness and the rich flavor of the cheese. The dish was very well presented and the crunchiness of the bread gave it texture.

The pizza was even better. For all those who have not eaten Italian pizzas- it was completely different from the pizzas we eat from dominoes or maybe pizza hut. The crust was thin, crunchy, lightly charred and carried with it the flavor of the wood oven. The pizza had tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes, parmesan, spring onions, chicken and mozzarella. The pizza was delicious. The combination of cheese and the concentrated flavor of the sun dried tomatoes that cuts through the richness was amazing. The asparagus and the spring onions provide it freshness. Basically this pizza will make you forget all the pizzas you may have eaten.

The burger we ordered was a barbeque chicken burger- served with caramelized onions and fries. Barbeque burgers are a very acquired taste for the rich, smoky and slightly bitter flavor of the BBQ sauce is not something everyone appreciates. Yet the burger was amazing the chicken patty inside along with the onion rings gave it both body and texture. Only let down the caramelized onions were slightly burned around the edges

Overall it was a brilliant lunch.

I would give it

 

For desserts we ordered for a chocolate fondente.  Rich chocolate cake with two scoops of vanilla ice cream was the perfect end to the beautiful meal. The cake was rich, the chocolate warm and with a melt in your mouth texture. The warmth of the cake was well countered by the ice cream. the dessert showed both balance and harmony between the rich cake and the light ice cream but the dessert lacked a certain textural element maybe an almond praline or maybe roasted almonds to give it a little crunch.

But overall

I would give it

Service

The service is very good, the waiters are very much aware as to what they are serving, what the ingredients are and how to enjoy them the best.

But most importantly the service of the food is rapid. This makes it an experience one thoroughly enjoys.

My verdict

Must visit place in hauz khas

The Ancient Barbeque

Every time there is a new restaurant nearby I always find time to try it. Recently I went to The Ancient Barbeque in H-27/1A sector 63.  This restaurant serves a preset buffet menu which comprises of assorted kebabs, a wide range of main course menu and desserts, along with complementary beverages.

Ambience

The ambience is pleasant however all such restaurants offering a buffet menu such as barbeque nation, legends grill tend to have similar appearance making it quite monotonous and boring.

The idea of the open kitchen is nice and makes place interesting

I would give it

 

 

 

 

Food

The starters included all u can eat servings of amritsari fish, chicken hari mirch tikka, chilli grilled prawns, salsa potatoes and paneer and mutton tikka. Food was average at best. Some of the dishes like the paneer tikka and the prawns were good but all the other dishes were sub par. Amritsari fish was bland and the fish was too thinly sliced making it real tough to bite.

The chicken hari mirch was bland and tasteless and so was the mutton tikka. The only saving grace during the entire entrée was the salsa potatoes which was beautiful and tasty.

For starters

 

 

 

Main course

We started the main course with fish and chicken salad, lemon rice noodles along with chicken in schezwan sauce and chilli soya chicken. The Indian section consisted of mutton rogan josh, chicken tikka masala and Tandoori roti.

The main course was sub par again. There were a few glimpses of tasty food with a delicious lemon rice and chicken schezwan sauce, but the other dishes fell flat. They were mostly one dimensional, bland and lacked any taste.

The Tandoori roti was tough and burnt at places, the salad a little too salty for my taste and the Indian curries failed to provide anything new.

 

For the main course

 

Desserts

For desserts we had nutty brownie, mango cake and strawberry cake. The desserts were far better than the other courses, the brownie was beautifully balanced with the slight salty crunch of the nuts and the sweet chocolate and the mango cake had a delightful flavour.

For desserts

 

 

Overall the food was disappointing

I would give it

 

                                                      

 

 

 Service

The service was not up to the mark, the waiters looked lost and slightly pushy. The manager and the chef were a little too excited to know how their food was, which was quite disturbing, after a point.

My verdict don’t go, not something anyone will enjoy after spending almost Rs. 600 on the buffet.

Flury's: best of both worlds

Some days ago I had gone to Kolkata to attend a family ceremony, and whenever I go to kolkata I always this list of restaurants to visit so that on every visit I can enjoy a new restaurant. This time the newest entry to my list was Flury’s.

Flury’s is a perfect blend of tradition, heritage and good food. Flury’s is one of the oldest restaurants in the city. It is at 13 locations in and around kolkata. I had visited the small kiosk Flury’s has inside Spencer’s, South City mall, prince anwar shah road.

Ambience

This kiosk doesn’t have the ambience of the restaurant per se, but the fact that in comparison to other food places inside Spencer’s they serve the food in their traditional glass plates.

 For ambience

 

 

 

 Food

 
We had ordered for a Swiss open sandwich, a chicken and mustard sandwich, a club sandwich along with a lemon tart and a chocolate tart. The food was simply great. The Swiss sandwich is beautiful, the whole wheat bread, the tender pieces of chicken just taste brilliant with the perfect fired egg on top.

The chicken and mustard sandwich again is delicious, the combination of chicken and bread as it may sound different but is fantastic with every bite. The club sandwich is a traditional favourite the combination of chicken, egg, veggies and cheese is unbelievably good.

Flury’s is actually famous for its confectionary so we had the tarts; the tarts brought a mixed reaction. The lemon tart was amazing, the base crunchy and a textural masterpiece-the soft, zesty lemon curd with the perfect base made it a delight. However the chocolate tart was not so good since the base lacked the crunch and the ganache was a little dense

But overall

 

Plus point

The food here is amazing to say the least. But many visitors often have an issue regarding the prices but here at Spencer’s food court the prices are quite reasonable thus making it must visit joint at kolkata

I would give it overall

A Foodie’s Guide to Cheesecake

One of my favorite desserts is cheesecake- the sweet, light and fluffy cheesecake is delightful and sure to give a perfect lunch the desirable end. The cream cheese centre, the crunchy biscuit base with the choice of toppings is both a great dish which often has a depth of flavor. But many a times the cheesecake doesn’t turn as it should. Overpowered by the flavor of the topping or soft base leaves your palate with distaste

So this is “A Foodie’s Guide To Cheesecake”

• Blanco

62, Middle Lane, Khan Market, New Delhi

This was the first restaurant were I had tasted the Philadelphia lemon cheesecake. This cheesecake is one of the finest I have eaten till date. The cheese body was light and fluffy, subtly flavored with lemon zest balanced the sweetness of the cheese. The biscuit crumble was delightful and provided the well need crunch that brought and held the dish together.

Overall

• Smoke House Deli

17, Khan Market, New Delhi

Smoke house deli serves a brilliant Plum and Philly cheesecake. The plum cheesecake is served with a topping of plum coulee which is both sweet and sour. However upon comparison the only weakness of the dish I felt was that it had a slightly soggy base, and the balance between the sourness and sweetness of the cake was a let down to.

Overall

 

•  Side Wok 

45, Khan Market, New Delhi

At Side Wok we had a blue berry cheesecake. This was a big disappointment since the cheesecake was not up to the mark at all. The cheesecake lacked the intensity of the flavor when compared to the other restaurants in the list. The base was soggy and the entire dish was let down by the overpowering flavor of the blueberry compote.

The dish could have been far better in almost all respect except maybe the presentation.

Overall

 

 

 

 

• Ivy and Bean

 119, Sishan House, Shahpur Jat

My most recent venture into Hauz Khas yielded one of the best cheesecakes ever. We ordered for a blueberry cheesecake and we were thoroughly amazed. The base was crunchy, the cheesecake body was smooth and the topping of blueberries was amazing. Brilliant depth of flavor and intensity along with perfect execution nailed the dessert

 Overall

Ivy and Bean: A Memorable Lunch

After my exams I always make sure that I go to some new place so that I can write it in my blog. This time round my family and I decided to venture out to Hauz Khas and the near by places. We found this amazing restaurant at 119, Sishan House, Shahpur Jat Which serves modern Australian cuisine comprising of an amalgam of south Asian, American, Italian food.

Ambience

The ambience of this restaurant is amazing to say the least. The restaurant is on the first floor and also a beautiful verandah which can accommodate at least 15 people. The verandah is serene with small lights placed within bird cages, which gives the place it’s a unique appearance. The restaurant doesn’t provide a bar so the atmosphere is always calm and excellent for a lunch with family and friends.

The verandah especially during the retreating winters is fantastic slightly windy, a little warm- overall a perfect blend of everything nice.

That is why I will give it

 

 

 

Food

We ordered for a plate of Buffalo Style Drummets with chilli jam and Prawn Bisque. The drummets or wings were amazing slightly spicy and very well complimented with the sweet and sour chilli jam. The prawn bisque was again very delicious. The Bisque itself was rich, creamy and the flavor was elevated to the next level with the prawn and the broth, which again went well together with the slightly crunchy garlic bread.

The delightful appetizers were the perfect beginning for the mains.

For the mains we ordered grilled Basa with lemon and herb sauce, a fisherman’s basket and roast garlic and rosemary lamb chops with roast potatoes. The basa was perfectly cooked, char-grilled on the outside and delightfully soft inside. The lemon sauce was perfect tangy and buttery and stood out very distinctly. The entire dish was served on a bed of mashed potatoes which provided the necessary creaminess. Next was the fisherman’s basket which consisted of 2 pieces of prawns along with calamari bites, battered fish and French fries. All of them were delicious. However the calamari rings stood along with the battered pieces of Basa. The pieces were crunchy and well seasoned and as soon as you put them in your mouth they would melt away. The lamb chops were again finger licking good. Beautiful pieces of lamb, well seasoned and with sufficient sauce made it the best lamb chops I have eaten in a long time.

For desserts we ordered for a blueberry cheesecake and a tiramisu. The blueberry cheesecake was brilliant. The cheese was rich and soft and the biscuit stood out very nicely and its crunch provided the essential salty texture to cut through the cheese and to top it all the heavenly blueberry topping was delicate and simply celestial. The tiramisu was light and with a strong coffee flavor. A spoonful of the tiramisu was sweet, slightly crunchy with immense depth of flavor and texture.

Overall it was a lunch to remember

 

 

I would give it

 

 

 

 

Service

The service is very good, very hospitable and always ready to take orders and help you out with the menu. We were tended to very nicely and the dishes were served relatively fast.

For service I would give it

 

 

 

 

Cost

The restaurant is very cost effective in my opinion for 3 it costs around Rs. 3000.

The prawn dishes were tasty and served at a relatively less price and the quantity the restaurant provided as well as the quality made the entire experience worth it.

Overall I would rate it

 

 

 

 

 

 

My verdict go and try it out for sure the food is to die for.