Golden Fiesta, Lajpat Nagar

Do you love eating chaats? I am sure everyone does but here, I am not talking about the all time favourites Papri chaats and the like, I am drooling over the famous Chinese Chaat. So,if you are shopping in the central market, rather than hitting the KFC or McDonalds, bear with a little hustle and bustle and visit Golden Fiesta.This review is on the basis of the very famous Chinese chaat, pastries and grilled sandwiches.

The Chinese chaat is as innovative as it sounds. There are Chilly potatoes ( which turn out to be a little soggy though but delicious), some crispy vegetables, Manchurian balls, spring rolls (crispy as hell), Chilly paneer and you have a choice between fried rice and noodles which are mildly seasoned. I wouldn't say that this would one of the best Chinese I have ever had, but then eating a lot many things together, gives a sense of relief to the taste buds because of the variations. The vegetarian Chinese Chaat box is for 75 INR which would serve only one. The Non-vegetarian Chaat box is also available!

As for their grilled sandwiches, yes! They are amazing with oodles of cheese and very rightly priced. 
Now, their pastries, I don't think I have ever eaten a stale pastry from here, because they get sold out really quickly.


Service- Quick
Food- Above average
Value for money- Absolutely

Chocolate Eclair Pastry

Grilled Sandwiches

Happy Eating!

The famous Chinese chaat.

Karim's, Jama Masjid

KARIM's. The name itself leaves you craving for more and the taste buds go bonkers over your food for thoughts. Yes, this is how crazy it gets if you are a hard core Non-vegetarian and someone speaks of the legendary Karim’s in front of you. So, to start, I went there for a lunch with my family and very luckily, we got a table within 5 minutes (otherwise the place is always crowded). You enter Karims through a tiny-little-dingy lane but then, you have around 4-5 bigger rooms for you to dine-in.

Now, their specialty is that they do not use Onions and Lemons in their cooking and even then the gravies and the curries are just better than perfect. They promise to serve you Royal food and yes, they do fulfill their promise. The salad served is Cucumbers and radish. We ordered Chicken Jahangiri, Karahi Gosth, Chicken Burra, moti roti and roomali roti.

Chicken Burra- Ah! This is supposed to be the best Chicken burra I have had in my entire life. Smokey flavours , nicely done , and just the right amount of spices. A negative point for the green chutney though, it was too watery.
Chicken Jahangiri- This gravy is just out of the world with a slightly sweeter taste. I was amazed to see the consistency of the gravy even after being cooked without onions. The chicken was tender and this dish is a hit for me. 
Karahi Gosth- I personally did not like this one because of the ginger pieces spoiling my taste and after the above mentioned dish, mutton is out of the way. 
Non-vegetarian dishes go well along with the moti roti, hence I prefer the same. The prices are extremely reasonable and the taste par excellence.

Must try- Chicken Jahangiri
Service- Don’t bother about the service, they are good at food. (Quick service)
You certainly will make a regular visit here.
Happy Eating!

Chicken Burra

Chicken Jahangiri

Karahi Gosth

Pirates of Grill (MG Road, Gurgaon)

Pirates of Grill. I had heard of the name many times from a couple of friends, praising the food and service but also regarded PoG as an imitation. So, I got an opportunity to visit the Gurgaon outlet for a foodie meetup on a lazy Sunday afternoon and towards the end of the lunch, everybody present knew that this place, especially THIS meal would get a thumbs up from each and every one present and yes they certainly deserve good reviews from the foodie fraternity. We were invited by Zomato to have a lunch with none other than Rocky and Mayur. Now, they need no introductions! I had a presumption that restaurants having a similar concept had better food than Pirates of Grill.

The starters had more variety than the others in the same league. The best part that I really appreciated was their concept of different coloured plates for the vegetarians and non-vegetarians. Salsa potatoes and Tawa mutton were the ones that I really liked. The meat was moist and spicy. The service was really quick and here, you certainly do not have the option of under-eating because of their courteous staff who will convince you to eat more till your tummy gives up but your taste buds crave for more. The main course section definitely had more dishes and among the best were keema masala and kadhaai paneer. I am not a salad-person but by seeing an array of the non-vegetarian salads, I tried a few.

Coming to the desserts, the mudpie was sinful, the chocolate nutty pie was sheer chocolate and mildly sweetened. Gulab jamuns were soft and moist and the Yole log was similar to the swiss rolls but this one had no jam but loads of fresh cream.
The experience was amazing. Towards the end, I was bloating.

Dislike- Crispy corns because of a peculiar smell.
Likes- Welcome drink, which was coconut water with a tinge of lemon and mint. As for the service, they certainly deserve five stars because of their politeness and attentiveness. None of the drinks ordered took more than 5-7 minutes to reach the table, which was commendable.

A must-visit. Happy Eating!

Kake Da Hotel

The place is easy to locate as each and every one roaming around would be able to guide you.During the lunch hours, I had to wait for about 25 minutes to get a table but while standing outside, I could see large dishes of chicken and mutton curries and butter actually floating on them.As directed, we went upstairs to our table.4-5 people can be seen around wearing red polo's with 'Kaka' written at the back, drying up the plates and running around serving people.The very first thing they would serve are onions and green chutney in a plate and then leave you to decide your order.Recently when I went there, the quantity of onions on the plates had also been cut down because of the soaring prices of onions.

I have tried their Butter Chicken, Keema Matar and Dahi meat.Trust me, I have had much better Butter Chicken at other places in and around Delhi but the Keema Matar was phenomenal.It had a distinct taste and was nicely cooked. Between the three of them Dahi meat is the Knight in shining Armour

Butter chicken and keema matar

Saag chicken

Dahi meat

. With 3 pieces of mutton and thick gravy, it was one of the best mutton dish I have ever had.They don't offer much variety in chicken dishes and if by any chance you have a vegetarian friend coming along to this place, he/she are offered a compact menu, leaving them with dal makhani's and shahi paneer.

I had heard of it from everyone, so I had to try it.If you are Butter Chicken fan, this is not the place. Rs.170 for a portion of curry and Rs.6 for a Tandoori/roomali roti is not bad at all but sometimes it's not the pricing that matters but the taste and quality of the food and not to forget the crowd and ambiance. With respect to all this, the place deserve just average points.The rates are fine, for a lunch for 5 people, we had to pay around 700 INR for 3 portions of curries and roti's. A thumbs up with respect to prices and food but that is all that you should expect from this place.

Coffee Home-Eat.Enjoy.Love

Another not-so-expensive place for not just coffee but an array of eateries.This is different from Indian Coffee House in all aspects.Situated near the emporiums in Connaught Place and right opposite to Pracheen Hanuman Mandir, this is place attracting a crowd of tourists, students and people from nearby offices.I have visited this place twice now and the place would never disappoint you. The second time we went there, it was raining cats and dogs and all the tables were occupied. So we sat outside, under the shed enjoying the rain and our food.

The picture shows two portions of noodles.

we had already started eating when we thought of clicking a picture.:P

The food is quite reasonable here.We ordered a portion of vegetable noodles, which was for 45 INR and sambhar idli for 35 INR. The menu here has more of South Indian specialties which are not at all bad.The noodles were cooked to perfection and were served in a bowl the first time and in a plate the next time with tangy green chutney(sauce) and the vegetables were thoroughly fried.As for the idli's they were moist and soft, the sambhar was passable and white coconut chutney is served along. I tried their sandwich also, which was similar to a home-made sandwich with cucumber pieces and some butter and mayonnaise-2 small sandwiches for 15 INR is not bad.

For those of you who miss fountain cold drinks, this is the place which let's you enjoy the charm of your ever-missed fountain Pepsi's for just 16 INR. A meal for two would not cost you more than 100 bucks.They also have a Nescafe joint inside where frappe is served for 25 rupees and tomato soup for 15 rupees.The policy is to serve yourself, prices are inclusive of taxes, a great place to go out with your friends if you really want to focus on food.

Happy Eating!

Kachori Wala outside Hanuman Mandir

I have been to this place innumerable times, all thanks to my mom-she introduced me to this stall.This kachori wala has not attracted any food website yet and the reviews also are very few in number, mostly by some newspapers who look out for such small stalls in the heart of the city. We ended up visiting this place on a Tuesday when the place was hell crowded.

It is outside Hanuman Mandir,Baba Kharag Singh Marg,Connaught Place. The stall is right under a huge tree but the easiest way to locate the stall is to walk till you find a huge mob of people eating away their blues. :P
The kachoris are priced reasonably, 15 INR for a single piece and 30 INR for a plate (2 pieces).Although they sell bread pakoras also at the same price but this review is all about kachoris.

Kachoris are crispy and are stuffed with hot and spicy masala. They are bigger than the kachoris we find in the renowned sweet and snack shops. Along with them, their famous aaloo ki sabzi is served which is a perfect combination of tomatoes and spices which makes it tangy and peppery. If you visit some local places like these to eat, you always find curries turning watery and tasteless after the first few hours of the sale but the quality here remains consistent and that is the reason they have regular customers.

I haven't tried their bread pakora's but yes the aroma reaches you even when you are steps away.I am not a die-hard fan of kachori's but if this is what I get, I don't mind.

As for the seating place, roam around, stand and eat or find some place around under the tree-explore the little bazaar behind hanuman mandir and beware of the monkeys.

-Sabzi is made many times in a day, no chance of eating up stale things.
-Not that oily.

Happy Eating!

Foodie's paradise- Chandni Chowk

When it comes to writing anything about food, I always start from the scratch and scratch here would obviously mean DELHI-6.It is highly advisable to reach the foodie's paradise through metro.Come out of the metro station and simply follow the crowd to locate a Gurudwara in front of you. Now, on your extreme right, you'll find shops selling jaleba's (Jalebi's elder brother).They sell those huge jalebi's for about 300-350 INR / kg.I asked for a 100 gms and all I got was just one jalebi, deeply fried in desi ghee and one could get a little taste of green cardamom.I won't say it was the best jalebi I had tasted as I would always prefer my jalebi's with a little saffron but this wasn't bad either, considering the reputation of the place.Nothing great.We could easily miss out this one.

Finding your way to the paranthe wali galli is just a cake-walk, everybody is eagerly ready to direct you.So, once you enter the small-little-dingy street, there are like 4-5 shops selling the paranthas but I have always preferred the shop at the left-corner, named- Pandit Kanhaiyalal & Durga Prasad Paranthe wale.The precise address is 36, Paranthe wali gali, Chandni chowk.

The shop sells a varied variety of paranthas. To name a few, mirchi, papad,daal, badaam, kaju, rabri, bhindi( hell, yeah!), tamatar, paneer, mix-vegetable parantha. They are served with 2 or 3 sabzi's usually seetafal ki sabzi and aaloo matar along with a sweet chutney, saunth as we know it with pieces of banana's in it. If you order a plate of parantha's, it becomes mandatory for you to order atleast 2 parantha's per plate.

As for the shop, it has two levels, 3 tables arranged at the lower one.The seating space is minimal but this does not affect their business at all.You would need to rush through your meal as the place is always over-crowded and people standing outside, waiting for a table.You can see a lot of framed photographs of celebrities with the shop owner, happily posing with those perfect round parantha's.

Visiting this place is fun during the winters, piping hot parantha's are served, deep fried in desi ghee, one after the other and You can't stop at just two parantha's, your taste buds crave for more. I would recommend papad and rabri. The prices are nominal ranging from 35-55 INR and a meal for two would not cost more than 250 INR. The parantha's are filling, scrumptious and crispy but would add up to a few more calories than you desire.They are smaller than a personal size pizza but are too heavy.Don't even think of taking up some parantha's home as they turn extremely soggy till you get back home.

For me it was an apt place to be regarded as value for money and a must for the food lover's.This was just about parantha's and jalebi, I'll soon come up with my reviews of more eating joints at Delhi-6.
Happy Eating!