Places to Eat Archives - ikreate Passions

Bo-Tai, Not Just Food, But An Experience!

Posted on July 19, 2018 by Aditi Malhotra

Some places offer great food, while some offer experience, very rarely we come across places that offer food which not just food, but a wholesome experience. Coincidently, I have felt this at two places and its no surprise that both these places come from the same group. Masala Library by Jiggs Kalara was my first such experience where in I felt that its not just about food, but everything put together, and now my second experience came when I recently visited Bo-Tai. Conceptualised by Zorawar Kalra, this restaurant offers all the ingredients be ranked amongst the top. The ambience is perfect, very classy and refined, the hospitality is top notch, from the moment you enter, you are entire experience is personalised. The staff attends to you with utmost care, attention and knowledge of food and drinks.

The presentation of food is commendable and the most important thing, the taste is unmatched. Bo-Tai is a Thai speciality restaurant and it truly serves the best Thai food in the city.

Here are some of the highly recommended dishes

Scallop Carpaccio- A mouth melting experience, the scallops were just so delicious.

Crispy Caramelised Raw Mango Prawns- These are definitely a must try, super scrumptious prawns and that tangy taste of raw mango was just perfect.

Chicken Florets- True to their name, these blue coloured chicken dimsums in chilly oil were delectable.

Duck Sausages- The best dish I had, the sausages were simply mind blowing and the duck meat was so soft and juicy. The pumpkin dip and baked mashed potatoes as accompaniments enhance the taste greatly.

Lamb Satay- One of the finest satays that I had in recent times, you cannot afford to miss this dish, and the peanut dip too wasn’t the regular type and was really delicious.

Lamb Chops- Utterly delicious and succulent lamb chops, totally worth a try.

Masamman Curry- So when we talk of Thai curries, this curry usually sets the benchmark and I have to say that this was perfect. Served with Steamed Rice, they completed my meal.

Dessert- You have to try to believe how delicious it was.

Also for dessert you can try the Caramelised Banana Cocktail, it was just too good.

Me and my son had a great time enjoying this scrumptious food and overall experience at Bo-Tai. Highly recommended. Do share your feedback if you happen to visit.

Masala House- An outstanding culinary experience!

Posted on October 30, 2017 by Aditi Malhotra

Masala House serves as a perfect place to tantalise your taste buds with some Modern Indian Cuisine. Each and every item on the menu feels like hand picked and curated with a lot of dedication and detailing, both in terms of taste and presentation. Spread across two floors, the ambience is comfortable, cosy and inviting enough for you to spend some relaxed time gorging on good food in company of your family or friends.

Katafi Wrapped Achari Arbi and Asparagus Paddu were the first ones to appear on our table, one look at them and my confidence in the taste increased multifolds, as both the dishes looked extremely tempting. Even taste wise, both of them were great. I am not a big fan of arbi otherwise, but this one was really nicely done.

Dahi Kebab, Murg Luqmi, Kadi Patta Jheenga and Dill Salmon Tikka were the other starters we tried and again all of them were delicious. I personally enjoyed the Murg Luqmi and Dill Salmon Tikka the most.

Coming to the main course, there was a wide variety to choose from, but our selection included Amritsari Wadi Tarkari, Khatti Tadka Dal, Palak Moti, Pota Kaleji Shitake, Bafat Masala Fish, Moge Wala Kukkad, Dum Biryani and Chur Chur Naan Platters. I loved the chur chur naan platter, the non veg one, which had keema stuffed naans, which I relished with some dal makhani. The pota kaleji shitake was a unique dish with this combination of kaleji and mushrooms and it was really nice. Moge wala kukkad aka our very own butter chicken was good too, I loved the balanced flavours, so as that neither it was too sweet nor too spicy, but just the way it should be. Another dish that I really enjoyed was the palak moti, creamy palak gravy with creamier mascarpone cheese, it was delectable.

Desserts included Gajar Halwa Kunafa and Saffron Pear Malai Chaap, and once again, the presentation bowled me over. Taste wise I enjoyed the Gajar Halwa Kunafa more, though it could have been sweeter, but it was nice.

I really look forward to another foodie experience at Masala House, and I urge you to give it a try, I am sure you won’t be disappointed.

Love Minnions, a visit to The Minnions Cafe is a must!

Posted on September 24, 2017 by Aditi Malhotra

These cute little adorable Minnion characters have been loved by all age groups since long now. From stuff toys, to balloons, we even try to make them a part of our day to day life and if you love Minnions, The Minnion Cafe is just the place for you, and if you don’t love them, visit this cafe, and I am sure you will fall in love with both Minnions and the cafe.

Minnion cafe situated in the by lanes of Laxmi Nagar Market is like an underdog for cafes. It just opened a few months back and has been on a hype and to-visit list of many food enthusiasts. This hype is mostly due to the edge given to it by its owners, regarding the theme.

The ambience is quite innovative, with posters, paintings as well as a special wall portion for Minnions language dictionary. It gives a happy go lucky feel around the cafe which will appeal to children, youth and even elderly people. The vibes, the music, is all peppy and alive. The walls have been specially painted by hand and that rawness has its own appeal. They even have an area dedicated for playstation games which can be accessed for a very nominal amount. In fact the place is perfect to host private parties/birthday celebrations etc whether you have a small group of friends or a full-blown guest list.

Coming to food, the innovation has been kept in mind while developing the menu, simple things made with a twist are the highlight of the cafe.

For example, we tried the Nachos Pizza, Jalapeno Cheesy Poppers, Dhaba Maggi and Baked Paneer Tikka and each and every item was simply delicious. I highly recommend the Dhaba Maggi and Jalapeno Cheesy Poppers, they are not to be missed for sure. Try their amazing shakes to go along and I am sure you will enjoy this foodie experience to the core. Nutella Shake, Oreo Shake and Paan Mojito were the best and highly recommended.

Over all, I would not rate this place, rather visit it again. Which will tell you, how wonderful my experience was, that I am already planning my second delightful visit.

Global Cuisine with a Difference @ Leela Ambience, Gurgaon

Posted on September 6, 2017 by Aditi Malhotra

Leela Ambience has always been a top notch when it comes to food, the chefs at Leela keep experimenting to deliver the best experiences to their customers and just recently they have started EPIC, Global Cuisine. Curated by the executive sous chef Abhishek Gupta, EPIC boasts of global cuisine but with a difference.

I have been lucky enough to try this specially curated menu and trust me its not just a meal, its like a poetry in food, or may be a food story that keeps flowing to you, each item on the menu has its own story to tell, from ingredients to its preparation, this is a tale you don’t want to end. In fact the chef has even written the entire menu in a story form, which in itself was very appealing to me.

This is a proper sit down meal, where in each course is served in a unique manner, with excellent presentations and the chef himself comes to the table each time to explain the dish. The theme was monochrome and hence each dish represented different shades of one colour and I can’t tell you how good the food looked. It was so tempting to look at that at first you can’t take your eyes off it, and all you wanna do is stare, but at the same time, temptation makes it difficult to resist.

I am not going to spill too much on this one, because its an experience you need to indulge in yourself, but certainly I am telling you the names of the dishes and leaving you swoon over the pictures so that you drool over them and plan your visit to Leela soon.

Millet Tart filled with Edamame and Peas with some sour bread sauce, it was a delightful beginning with this dish. Look at the green colour, so refreshing to the eyes and the taste buds.

Compressed watermelon, beetroot textures, pork, caramelised grapes, inspired by textures of tuna, this was a delectable preparation in monochromatic red.

This was one of the highlight preparations for me, a tawa chicken served like mousse, and caramelised served with a galauti parantha.

One of the best things I had that evening, a crunchy and juicy salad made with three different beans, you have to try this one.

A fermented millet bread served with smoked butter and coriander and thyme paste.

Cumin rubbed grilled lamb served with special Karnataka red rice simmered with fennel seeds, shallots and mushrooms which gave it a very creamy texture just like a risotto and the lamb too was perfect.

Then we tried three different desserts and each one of them was a work of art, both in presentation and taste.

Each course is served with a wine to go along and I am sure you will love this dining experience to the core. So what your waiting for, make your weekend special, as this curated global menu is available only on Saturdays at the Elitaire Lounge.

Experiencing great North Indian food at The Yellow Chilli, Goa!

Posted on August 26, 2017 by Aditi Malhotra

When you are away from your home town, apart from missing your loved ones back home, you miss the typical home food the most. During my recent trips to Goa, one evening I was really missing the typical Indian food, especially the Dal Makhani and some Butter Naans and then I remembered The Yellow Chilli by Sanjeev Kapoor which is housed in the very famous Mall de Goa and I immediately jumped with joy, grabbed hold of my friends and we all headed straight to the restaurant.

The quirkiness of the places catches your attention immediately, with some amazing caricatures adorning the walls. The seating is casual dining type and is apt for families and youngsters both.

To begin with we settled for some Masala Papad, Dahi Ke Kebab, Tangra Chilly Paneer, Lehsuni Murg Tikka and Chanak Tawa Masala. The Chanak Tawa Masala was easily the best dish, nice and crispy fish with a flavourful masala and I simply loved it. The Lehsuni Murg Tikka was another delightful preparation, the chicken was mouth meltingly soft and the taste of garlic was just right.

Dahi Ke Kebabs were nicely done and I loved the small innovation of adding a bit of cheese in the centre, which tasted quite well. The Chilly Paneer was good, but could have been better, as the taste of salt and garlic overpowered everything else.

For drinks, we tried Jaljeera, Butterscotch Caramel and Tarbooza and all of them were good. I personally loved the Jaljeera, my friend ended up ordering the Butterscotch Caramel twice so I am very sure it would be awesome too.

For the mains we settled for Lalla Mussa Dal, a hot favourite at the Yellow Chilly and Ghee Roasted Chicken. Both the dishes were great, and we relished them with butter naans.

Bebinca with butter made for our dessert and it was delicious. You can’t miss on trying a bebinca especially when in Goa. Overall it was a great experience of having typical North Indian food in Goa and satiating my taste buds to the fullest. So when in Goa do try the Yellow Chilly and I am sure you will love it.

Dakshin Food Festival at Crowne Plaza Rohini!

Posted on August 26, 2017 by Aditi Malhotra

The word Dakshin, by default doesn’t excite me much, because I am not a big fan of South Indian Cuisine, but recently when my foodie friends decided to visit the DAKSHIN Food Festival at Crowne Plaza Rohini, I reluctantly agreed. I am so glad that I actually went, because my perception of the Dakshin food changed completely, it was so so good that I can actually now say that I relished it.

The spread was an elaborate one and offered wide variety of dishes for both vegetarians and non-vegetarians. I tried quite few things and I have to admit that I loved each one of them. Some of them need a special mention, The Rawa Fish was an amazing preparation, crispy outer coating to an otherwise tender fish, it just melted in mouth. Chonka Idly, Maysore Bonda and Paneer 65 were other delightful preparations. I loved the tiny tiny crisp idly a lot. Mulagu Vada too was a delectable dish and so were Chicken 65 and Meen Pollichathu.

Then we tried the Veg Stew with Appam and it was simply delicious. Rasa Omelette was a dish that stood out for its awesome flavours. Ulli Theeyal Mutton and Mangalorian Fish Curry were relished with Malabari Paranthas and trust me they were drool worthy.

After a hearty platter of desserts, we ended our culinary trip to Dakshin, without having to go their actually and enjoyed ourselves to the core. Now I can say that I look forward to more such festivals and I am extremely open to explore more South Indian dishes.

Experiencing Culinary Delights at Auro Kitchen & Bar!

Posted on August 18, 2017August 18, 2017 by Aditi Malhotra

Auro Kitchen & Bar, nestled in Aurobindo Market, Hauz Khas is surely one of the coolest places you will come across. With a huge terrace to spend some cosy time, they have an equally spacious interior seating as well. Even if the weather isn’t too fantastic to sit outside, the mist fans do the job and make it up the heat and humidity. For those who wanna try their various varieties of Hookah, by default will have to sit outside and enjoy both the weather and the hookah along with some scrumptious food and drinks.

This time around as I was with a vegetarian friend, and also for a change, I too gave non-veg a skip and I don’t regret it at all, as the food was great.

To begin with we ordered, Char Grilled Potatoes, small jacket potatoes cooked with tandoori masala which was spicy and topped with creamy cheese, this surely was one delectable dish. The spiciness of tandoori masala was perfectly balanced by the cheese and it was a match made in heaven.

Next we tried Paneer 65 Sliders and they were truly amazing. Spicy paneer 65 in soft buns, this made for a delightful dish and should definitely be given a try, I am sure even the non vegetarians will love it.

The mushroom Ranikhet was another amazing preparation, mushroom paste, truffle oil, matahari ranikhet cheese and mozzarella over a flat bread, though for my liking the mushroom taste was slightly overpowering, but nevertheless the dish was unique and can surely be given a try.

Truffle Kulcha and Wild Mushroom Seekh Kebabs totally compensated for the non-veg craving, because the mushroom seekh kebabs tasted just like mutton kebabs and were very soft and tender.

For drinks, I settled for Orange Thyme, an orange based mocktail which was quite refreshing, whereas I sipped 2-3 cocktails which my friend had ordered, Passioned Secret Tea, a whiskey based cocktail with bourbon and this was really nice. Other was The Union, a vodka based cocktail with pomegranate and I liked this one too.

While gorging upon the starters and slurping away the drinks, we really werent too hungry for a main course, yet we wanted to try something from the menu. We settled for Masala Cottage Cheese and were so glad that we ordered it. Cottage Cheese chunks cooked in rich tomato gravy served with paranthas, made for an amazing dish and I really recommend it to all my vegetarian friends. You will surely love it.

Overall, Auro was a great foodie experience and I look forward to visit the place again with my friends and family.

The Change is Here- Dominos Pizza Badal Gaya!

Posted on August 11, 2017 by Aditi Malhotra

It is rightly said that change is the only constant and when the change is for better, its always welcomed with open arms. Just recently our favourite Dominos has changed for better.

Domino’s Pizza, the market leader in the organized pizza segment, unveiled its most significant product refresh with an across the board enhancement of its pizzas.

The improvement to its pizzas include a new soft and tasty crust, more and bigger toppings, more cheese and a new herbier tomato sauce made from imported Californian tomatoes.

The launch of the All New Domino’s Pizzas will be supported by an aggressive advertising campaign across Television, Digital, Press and Radio. It will also be accompanied by a focused outreach effort targeted at its existing customers.

Domino’s Pizzas will now sport a new look and come in an attractive blue and white packaging that highlights the changes. Even after these improvements, the price of Domino’s pizzas will remain unchanged and this will help deliver better value-for-money to customers.

Talking about the new launch, Mr. Pratik Pota, CEO, Jubilant FoodWorks Limited said, “Earlier in the year, we had unveiled our new strategy for driving sustainable, profitable growth. The key pillars of these were Product Improvement, Value For Money, Seamless Customer Experience and Superior Technology all enabled by a focus on cutting costs and driving efficiencies. As part of this strategy, we are pleased to unveil today the largest ever upgrade of our pizzas. The new improved Domino’s Pizzas will have a softer and tastier crust, more and bigger toppings, more cheese and a new herbier tomato sauce.”

Mr. Pota further added, “We will be investing nearly Rs.100 crores behind the upgrade. We believe that the vastly improved product will help both drive frequency amongst existing customers as well as attract new ones, and thereby expand the Domino’s franchise and help growth in the market”.

Domino’s pizzas will now come with a new soft and tasty crust that consumers will enjoy until the last bite. The sauce will now be made of Californian tomatoes and will be tastier, giving Domino’s Pizza a distinct herbier flavour. The quantity and size of the toppings across pizzas have also been increased along with the amount of cheese to provide the consumers with a more satiating and mouthful bite.

Speaking on the new brand transformation Mr. S. Murugan Narayanaswamy, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Domino’s Pizza India, “In the last 20 years we have continuously adapted ourselves and brought the brand closer to our consumers. Our signature 30 minutes delivery promise and the launch of the Pizza Mania range are examples of this. The All New Domino’s is an outcome of insights gained from customer feedback, market research and store observations. Responding to specific feedback on the product gleaned from these, we have completely upgraded our product. We have planned a 360-degree marketing campaign ‘Aapne kaha, humne Kiya’ around the same. We are confident that our customers will love the new, enhanced product.”

And after hearing so much about the new changes, it was absolutely mandatory for me to try these new improved pizzas because just hearing about more toppings, softer crust and cheese along with the tomato sauce, my mouth watered and I had to try them on my own for sure. So I ordered myself a Barbecue Chicken Pizza and Paneer Makhani Pizza and truly the crust was much more softer and almost melted in the mouth. by just looking at the pizza one could make out that it has more cheese. loved the big chunks of chicken and paneer in the respective pizzas. The paneer especially was really soft and I loved it. The taste of the new tomato sauce was more evident in the barbecue chicken pizza and I really liked its freshness. Overall this has been a great change and I look forward to try the other variants of pizza as well. Dominos has been a market leader and I am sure with all these new improvements they are bound to go places.

Hanging Out at SummerHouse Cafe!

Posted on August 4, 2017 by Aditi Malhotra

Recently when my blog completed 2 years, I though of celebrating the special day with my special friends and headed out to Summer House Cafe for the same. It was a Sunday evening, and Summer House was also organising a Salsa night and this gave us another reason to chose this place for our celebration. Music, Dance, Friends, Amazing Food, I mean what more do you need to celebrate an important day.

Initially we settled ourselves on the Terrace and enjoyed some starters and drinks. The terrace was a very cool vibe to it and feels like a perfect place to hangout and chill with friends.

A veg platter, Oriental Spring Rolls and Falafel & Hummus made for our starters while Mai Tai and Junniper Pimms were our selection for drinks. The veg platter included Paneer Tikka, Roasted Pineapple and Stuffed Soya Tikka along with mint sauce, kachumbar salad and yogurt dip. The paneer tikka and soya tikka were perfectly done and spiced. Though the pineapple too was good, very juicy and nicely roasted, but I found it too spicy, if it would have been a little less spicier, it would have been better, as too much of spiciness doesn’t gel with everyones tastebuds.

Oriental Spring Rolls were to die for, crispy on the outside, stuffed with sautéed veggies, it was awesome. I can gorge on them anytime. Falafel served with Pita and Hummus were good too, though I would have preferred if the falafel wasn’t too dry. If eaten alone without the dips, it didn’t go down too well with me because of its dryness.

As for drinks, Junniper Pimms was a gin based cocktail with chunks of cucumber which give it a very refreshing taste and Mai Tai was a rum based cocktail, which had both dark rum and white rum along with orange and pineapple juice. Both the drinks not just looked good, but tasted good as well.

After sometime, we came downstairs to explore the inside seating and also enjoy the Salsa night. We ordered Bloody Mary, LIIT, a Pineapple and Red Bull based Mocktail and one other Pineapple Mocktail, both of which were amazing. Then we also ordered some Nachos to go along and sat ourselves in comfortable couches. The ambience downstairs is also very alive and quirky. Paintings, artefacts and random quotes on the walls, make for an interesting decor overall.

By 9:30, the place was buzzing with people dancing away to some great music and showing Salsa moves with their partners. Those who didn’t have partners, also found like minded people, who were all set to explore and thump their feet on the ground. It was an amazing sight to see so many people dancing, looked like many poetries in motion together.

We further tried a thin crust Bell Pepper & Onion pizza and loved it. To end our evening at a sweet note, Banoffee Pie made for a perfect companion. The taste still lingers on. Well in the end all I can say is that I had a perfect evening spent at Summer House Cafe and for me this place will always remain on my go to list when hanging out with friends.

Thai Khun at Kylin Express…!!

Posted on August 4, 2017 by Aditi Malhotra

Thai Khun typically means Your Thailand, and at an ongoing festival Kylin Experience at Holiday Inn, Mayur Vihar brought the Bangkok Food Street experience live for its customers through this festival. Thai Khun is on till Sunday, i.e. 6th of August. So do try and experience the same.

I personally loved my overall visit at Thai Khun, the concept, the ambience and most importantly the food, all were simply great. Concept wise, the moment you enter you are given Thai Baht, which you can spend to buy food from counters selling different items. There is a fruits counter which serves special Thai fruits and salads. Then a grill counter, dimsums counter, the curry station and others. One could explore each one of these and get food in exchange of the Thai Currency (artificial of course).

The ambience was given a look and feel of local Bangkok food street with colourful Thai umbrellas and rustic stalls. Now coming to the food, I have never been a big fan of Thai food, but this food festival changed my mind set. I have to say that I have never eaten a better Thai food than this. Each and every item in the menu was absolutely amazing and what made me drool for them even more was the fact that they were priced very reasonably. It didn’t feel at all that I was dining inside a hotel, the prices were apt as per the theme, and did full justice to the street food concept.

My personal recommendations would be the Salads, all of them were simply flavourful. Try the Corn on Cob, Lemon Grass Chicken Satay( never eaten better than these), Chicken and Veg Dimsums (loved the way the were roasted to perfection, the smokey flavour was a true enhancer), Grilled Soya Chaap, and Pandan Leaf Chicken. This pandan leaf chicken is something you can’t afford to miss, the sweetness and flavours of pandan leaf on a perfectly grilled piece of chicken was a mouth melting experience and I loved it.

For the mains I tried the Red Thai Curry Chicken with Sticky Rice and it was yummy! and I truly mean it, It was by far the best I have eaten, and also one of the reasons was as contrary to the use of Red Paste or Green Curry Paste, here everything was prepared fresh, no pre-made pastes were used in the making of gravies, and that I think gave it a very fresh and appealing taste overall.

For desserts we tired the traditional Thai dessert Red Rubbies, which had Water Chestnuts and Coconut Cream and it was delicious.

I had an amazing amazing time exploring Thai food at Thai Khun and you too must make the most of it, so hurry up..!!