Tag: Food Blog

Hangout- A perfect place of amusement for both children and adults

Come summer vacations and parents start thinking of places to amuse their children and give them some entertainment value, and I am no different. I always try to explore some new places where the child can have fun to the fullest and also we as adults can spend a good time and Hangout is definitely one such option.

With 6 different segments, it has something to offer to all age groups, whether its a kindergarten , a teen ager or an adult. There are enough gaming options to satiate different needs. Also the sports diner gives a chance to indulge in good food and drinks for everyone and more especially the adults can relax over a drink or two while the kids try their hands at different games.

The 6 different segments making this very unique Family Entertainment Center, The VR Zone-brings in a 360 degree turning roller coaster that replicates a real rollercoaster. The VR Roller coaster simulator is full motion cockpit, where riders can program their own journey by selecting track pieces. Every loop, leap, and lunge is seen on huge HD projection screen. The VR Zone also boasts of the VR shooting a 360 degree head turning shooting game & a 6-seater VR ride with the Virtual glasses, bringing virtual reality into the entertainment industry & more virtual games & rides under one roof. In addition to this The Sports Diner has the 1st black light arena bowling with UV lights, neon balls, black light reflecting carpet, lanes, capping, side painted walls to give you the 1st of its kind neon bowling experience as its 2nd segment called the Hi Lanes Bowling, with 4 lanes each catering to 6 players with full seating capacity & service & party area. We ourselves had a lot of fun enjoying a couple of bowling games, it was after years that I played it again, and I thoroughly loved going back to it.

The Private party & Pool table area is the 3rd segment where interestingly the pool tables convert into dining tables if your requirement is not to play, with choice of games like beer pong, beer buck it, electronic darts, you sure can have a party for grownups here while the kids have a separate floor upstairs on the 4th floor called Hang Out kids.

The fully stocked bar made of individual wine corks and changing LED light pillars adds character to the place with its high tables seating is a perfect place to grab a bite or catch the happy hour. The dining area has 6 seater family booths promoting mealtimes with family and friends. The game room at the SD is different from the a-typical HangOut kids these games are selected keeping the grown-ups in mind, with bar stools and drink service in the game room we saw many grown-ups enjoying playing to win the prizes at the Winners Corner. The Winners corner has prizes to be won ranging from pens to a steam iron, power banks & you may even win an I-pad too, all you need to do it get lucky on those games. The staircase separates and segregates and yet connects the Hang Out kids upstairs a full floor catering to 10 and under with games, rides, playgrounds and lots more which is again is carefully selected keeping their tender age & requirement in mind.

My son enjoyed games like Slot Machine, Spinning the Wheel and Claw Machine. What he enjoyed most was winning tickets with each game, which could later be redeemed for exciting gifts. He collected around 2800 points and redeemed it for a magnetic dart board and a fidget spinner. I personally think that this concept attracts kids a lot.

The food at sports diner was also commendable. We tried a variety of things and in starters I would like to recommend the non veg platter and the chicken dim sums. They were really nice. For main course my recommendations would be the Mutton Burger, and Mutton Lasagne, Keema Pao and Butter Chicken.

Completing the Entertainment needs and living up to its promise of ever evolving & bringing in the newest there is to offer in terms of technology and entertainment Hang Out yet once again opened doors to  2 floors, The Sports Diner & Hang Out kids offering a one stop shop in Entertainment.

Father’s Day Cook Off by FoodManiacs and Ikreate in Association with Crowne Plaza, Gurgaon

Two passionate foodies and marketing experts came together to make this Father’s Day a memorable one by organising a live cook off in association with Crowne Plaza, Gurgaon. I joined hands with Foodmaniacs, founded by Vickrham, who is a well known face in the food marketing & PR industry and a renowned blogger, to create a beautiful event dedicated to Fathers. We thought of giving a tribute to fathers and dedicating a dish to them by participating in a live cook off. We together conceptualised the event and invited participants through a small contest on Facebook. To grace the occasion and make it a healthy competition, we invited Master Chef Season 5 Star Siddharth Talwar, who along with Executive Chef Nilesh Dey of Crowne Plaza, made for the judges panel.

 

Total of 8 contestants participated in the live cook off. A market place with choicest of ingredients was created for people to select from as they had to cook on spot using those available ingredients only. Some strict rules were laid by Chef Nilesh and Chef Siddharth, primary one being controlled use of ingredients and no wastage. The cook off was judged on criterions of presentation, wastage, cleanliness of workstations and of course taste and innovation of the dish.

Participants were given a time span of 1 hour in which 10 minutes were to explore the market place and pick up the ingredients. Rest of the time was to be used for preparation, cooking and presentation. Individual workstations equipped with induction stoves, essential utensils, chopping boards etc were provided to all participants. There were also arrangements for using the oven, grills and high flame stoves. I have to say that the arrangements by Crowne Plaza were impeccable. Each and everything was taken care of, from hygiene station offering aprons, chef caps, to gloves and the fully functional workstations, all was done with extreme professionalism.

A wonderful contest too place between the participants, where in every one crafted beautiful dishes, made not just with ingredients but lots of love, dedicating the dishes to their fathers. It was a tough time for judges to figure out which was the best dish, because trust me I am not boasting, but each and every dish was truly remarkable. The presentation, the taste, and the overall selection of dishes prepared by participants was done with such expertise that it seemed as if a mini- master chef episode is in progress. After a lot of tussle, judges finally decided to give way not one but two prizes as choosing one did not seem justified. Even those who did not win, were still winners as the gap was just about1-2 marks here and there.

Sandeep Batra, who cooked GolMirch Chicken and Rita Arora, who prepared a lovely Chicken Roulade were declared as top winners, but like I said, others too were winners in their own regards. We got to taste some lovely and unique dishes like South Indian Style Pasta, Laal Maas, Fried Fish with Coconut Sauce, Tamatar Jeera Chicken, Chicken Koftas and some Juicy Chicken Legs.

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We also got to try and taste amazing Grilled Chicken Sandwiches prepared by two lovely kids Myeshha, Vickrham’s daughter and Armaan, my son, who dedicated these dishes to their respective fathers, oops sorry, in Armaan’s case he dedicated it to me only as I am a single parent 🙂

The winner announcement was then followed by a high tea session, where in we got to interact with participants, try their delectable dishes, and also indulge in some lip smacking snacks served by Crowne Plaza. The winners carried beautiful hampers back home and the bloggers were given a lovely cake by the hotel. Even the children were given special packs of chocolates as a wonderful gesture by the hotel.

 

Overall it turned out to be a great event, much greater than my expectations and through my post I would like to thank first and foremost my partner in crime Vickrham for his support and belief. Crowne Plaza for believing in our concept and becoming our hospitality partners, all the participants, without whom this won’t have been possible, bloggers and media for making the buzz about the event, keep doing it guys, thanks to you all, and last but not the least, the PR team of Crowne Plaza, Chef Nilesh Dey and Master Chef Siddharth Talwar for being part of our event. Also a big thank you to all the fathers of the world, for just being what they are, and of course my father too! Look forward to many more events together.

 

 

Secrets in the Spice Mix- Book Launch by Pankaj Bhadouria at Piali, CP

Pankaj Bhadouria, has been a household name ever since she won the title of first Master Chef India, and there has been no looking back for her. Her constant growth in terms of her cooking skills and her overall persona has been an inspiration to many women who used to think that cooking is only a duty and not a passion that can turn your life around. But Pankaj has proved her mettle over and over again, and more recently by launching her 5th book, she not only proves her capabilities as a chef but also tries touching a million chords by giving her readers exactly what they need.

Food is synonymous to breath for her and spices are the essence of it. Her journey of teaching kids in a classroom to teaching young chefs and cooks the art of making food is one of its kind. Right after winning the competition she has come to the world imparting her culinary skills to the world through the form of shows or books.

The right blend of spices is crucial to Indian cooking and it’s the combination of different spices that make some dishes so hard to resist. India’s First MasterChef Pankaj Bhadouria has identified around 50 such spice mixes with a tantalizing recipe following each spice mix which can be made at home. With 4 books to be acclaimed for, Pankaj’s 5th book, The Secrets in the Spice Mix, helps you make these wonderful spices at the comfort of your home and infuse some authentic flavours to your everyday cooking.

Chosen Piali, The Curry Bistro, as the venue for launch of her book, Panjak went on to conduct a live cooking session as well.

Piali’s menu is one of its kind and what makes it different is the class of curry and the spices that go into making them what they are! One such dish on the menu is the Thai Curry. Pankaj not only shared her secret spices and signed the books for her followers but also demonstrated the cooking of the Thai curry live for the present audience.

“I am really excited to be launching my secrets at Piali and the following live cooking session. I am happy to be able to share them with my audiences and where better than a place which savors the spices the most!” said an eager Pankaj.

Upon being asked what her favourite cuisine and dish was, she said it without any apprehensions that her favourite cuisine for sure is Indian, and she loves home cooked Khichdi, for the simplicity of the dish. Here is a glimpse of the event coverage right from the Piali’s Facebook Page.

She is such a down to earth person, that meeting her overtime, leaves me inspired totally. She fills me with so much of gratitude and warmth. I wish Pankaj all the success for her book, and stay tuned, will be sharing the book review and a recipe from it soon as I am currently reading my personally signed copy of the book, and in my kitchen trying the recipes.

 

 

Mango Mania at Imperfecto

Mango Mania at Imperfecto

Come summers, and almost every restaurant comes up with special menus, and we surely need them, because we need a reason to celebrate summers, and what better than food. When talking of food and summers, its difficult to ignore mangoes, and keeping this combination in mind, Imperfecto came up with an AAM Menu.

 

To try this menu, I went to the Sector 38 Noida outlet, and first things first, you cannot ignore the ambience of this place. Right from the moment you step into the restaurant, the spaciousness, the decor, everything takes on you. Explore the place which is spread across almost three floors, as the terrace itself as two levels, and what a terrace, words cannot justify the beauty of this place, you really have to visit and see for yourself. Lush greenery, amazing artistic pieces, comfortable seating and a great view, it has all.

Now coming to the food, the mango menu, had a great mix of salads, appetisers and main course dishes along with specially curated cocktails and mocktails.

To beging with the 3 course meal, we first tried the salads,  Alphonso Mango Salad and Street Cart Mango Salad. The alphonso mango salad as the name suggests was prepared using alphonso mangoes and was on a sweeter side because of the obvious reasons, but was very refreshing. It had some apples too. Having alphonso mangoes is always a treat and I really enjoyed this creation. The Street Cart Salad, on the other hand was sweet and sour, striking a balance between flavours especially with the presence of capsicum slices in the salad the taste was well balanced. I enjoyed both the salads to fullest.

 

I enjoyed these salads with a glass of Mangoberry, which was an amazing mocktail made with fresh mango pulp, mint and a hint of lime.

 

Coming to the appetisers, its really difficult to say which one was the best, as each one of them was amazing and trust me I mean it.

Mango Chicken Tikka was simply delicious, chicken tikka grilled to perfection with a nice tangy mango sauce, an unusual combination but amazing tastes. Both the tandoori flavour of chicken tikka and sweetish tanginess of mango complimented each other.

 

Grilled Chicken with Mint Sauce was one of the best dishes I have eaten in recent times, such tender and juicy chicken chunks with dollops of mango sauce and green chutney, it was more than delicious. The sweetness of mango sauce, the spiciness of green chutney and the juices of grilled chicken, overall made it melt in a mouth experience.

 

Stuffed Chicken with Mango was another flavoursome dish and I really liked it. For vegetarians, there was Stuffed Cottage Cheese with Mango and Grilled Paneer with Mango Chutney, I tried a bit of both of these dishes, and they were amazing.

 

 

For the mains, we had Malaysian Style Mango Chicken Noodles and they were amazing. Though the mangoes were really sweet in themselves, but the overall spices balanced the taste well, and not even a single dish looked or tasted a forceful fit of mangoes.

Then we also had the Chicken Mango Rice, Yan Chow Style, which again tasted really good, and I again have to say that the mango wasn’t a force fit, the dishes, the spices, and presence of mango really complimented each other and that was the best part. Even the vegetarian varieties, were great to taste

 

I wish they had included some desserts to this AAM Menu, but sadly there weren’t any. Nevertheless, this mango menu trial should definitely be on your list and its available all across the Imperfecto outlets. So hurry up, offers valid till mangoes last!

Imperfecto Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Scooter Scooter on the Wall…!!

Scooter Scooter on the Wall…!!

Scooter on the Wall, as amusing as its name, is a cosy and comfortable cafe situated in the ever bustling SDA market. Though they don’t have much of space, but its really a chilled out place to spend some cosy time. I loved the seating, ambience and decor of the place. Along with couches, they some typical jhoolas, both single seaters and sofa type swings, and they really make for an interesting seating option.

The place is really vibrant and so is their food. To begin with I ordered, American Fries with Tandoori Dip, served on their signature scooter, the tandoori dip made all the difference to the regular fries. They were as yummy as they looked. Chinese Bhel was next, though the taste and flavours were great, I wish the noodles were a little crispier, or may be because of adding sauces it turned soggy too soon, so that was a bit of draw back.

 

 

Shishtouk was up next and I quite enjoyed relishing it, the pita bread was soft and the chicken really juicy and tender. Also tried the Kung Pao Chicken, which was nice but a bit spicy.

 

Mewari Papri Paneer was a delicious preparation, coated with crispy papads, it was both crispy and crunch on the outside, with soft paneer inside. Lahori Kebab Chaat was a unique preparation of seekh kebab and chicken tikka tossed in masala curd sauce just the way regular chaat is done, it was nice and different, I quite liked it. The taste was fresh, and for me it gelled well with the seekh and chicken tikkas.

 

Chicken Burra, Black Pepper Fish, Butter Chicken Kulchas and BBQ Hot Garlic Wings were all great delightful preparations, I loved each one of them. The chicken burra was juicy and perfectly spiced, the butter chicken kulchas are definitely a must try. The BBQ wings too were great to taste and I loved the fish, it was so tender and tasteful.

 

 

For the mains, I tried the 3 Musketeers, a platter of sliders, 1 chicken, 1 lamb and 1 veg and trust me all of them are great. I personally loved the lamb slider the most, it was so so juicy and nice, that I really could go on and on with it. This is a must try.

Desi Ride with Kukkad Pasta, was another delectable dish and it was something I did not try before, pasta in butter chicken sauce, desi twist to the age old Italian favourite, it was delicious. Though I was reluctant to try, but one bite into it and I could not keep my fork off it.

 

We also tried the Mutton Maratha, Palak Corn, Malai Chaap and Dal Makhani, and again all of them were delicious. The mutton was perfectly cooked and I loved its thick masala. Palak corn is surely a good option for vegetarians, and Dal Makhani of course was great. Perfect creaminess and texture. Enjoyed these amazing dishes with some assorted breads like the Onion Tandoori Roti and Mirchi Parantha, and it truly made for a scrumptious meal.

 

Now coming to the best part, the desserts, you simply cannot afford to miss them. Chocolate Walnut Pie was definitely one of the best desserts I have eaten, the pie crust was so soft and perfectly baked, unlike mots places where the curst is so hard, this was really nicely done, easy to break into and bite. I loved it. The Chocolate Truffle with Vanilla Ice Cream was another dessert and a great preparation indeed. Warm chocolate truffle crumbled and served with vanilla ice cream, it was a perfect combination of tastes and textures and even temperatures.

 

 

Also at Scooter on the Wall, you cannot ignore their awesome shakes, they are a true delight. Amazing flavours and presentation make them drool worthy and they are totally worth the indulgence.

 

 

I loved my experience overall at Scooter on the Wall, and really look forward to visiting the place again. If you haven’t visited yet, what are you waiting for..?
Scooter on the Wall Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Sixth Empirica- Restaurant Review

Sixth Empirica, the latest connoisseur of multi cuisine food abodes the Main Club Road, Punjabi Bagh. Spread across two floors and a beautiful roof-top, 6th Empirica, the brain-child of the brother sister trio- Ankit Kapoor, Ekta Chhabra and Shweta Sehgal presents forth a lavish space for family and friends to enjoy a gala time.

I recently went to this place, though it was very far from my place, but as I missed attending the launch party, I thought I might at least go post launch for a food review session.

To my disappointment, the beginning was at a wrong note as the service was too slow, we were served the drinks and starters almost after one hour of wait. This is something I really want them to improve big time. This kind of a delay that too when not too many tables were occupied is not expected from a restaurant of this stature and should be rectified without a doubt.

Now coming to food, I was served Chicken Manchow Soup to begin with, along with an array of mocktails to taste. The soup was really nice and I loved their garlic chilly sauce which was served along with it. The mocktails too were nice, I personally liked the Kiwi and Strawberry one.

For starters, It was the Lebanese Platter, The Tandoori Non Veg Platter and Black Bean Fish Kebab for non vegetarians and Empirica Tandoori Kacha Aaloo Al Ankat, Empirica Paneer Tikka Parmigiana and Veg Kalmi Vada Kebab for vegetarians. The Lebanese Platter had 3 different types of chicken shish touk and the entire platter was good. The non veg platter had fish tikka, chicken malai tikka, chicken seekh kebab and chicken tikka, the chicken malai tikka and fish tikka were the best amongst all, did not like the seekh kebab much as I expected them to be really tender, but they were not. The chicken tikka was normal. The Black Bean Fish Kebab was just about ok, again I expected it to be really different and great, different yes it was, but not too great. In the veg selection I tried the kacha aaloo, which was actually too kacha, it was so difficult to break it even with a knife, I don’t know if oven baked potato is meant to be so hard and raw, at least for me, it doesn’t work.

The main course was better than the starters for sure and it is quite unusual for me, because at most places the starters top the chart. We tried the Gosht Nihari, Chicken So Changezi, Paneer Mughlai Lajawab, Veg Biryani and Dal Makhani, and these dishes were good. I specially liked the Chicken Changezi and Nihari in non veg and Dal Makhani in veg.

The Pineapple Halwa, which was served for dessert was definitely the best dish I that day. To conclude I would say that the food is average and can be improved and service like I mentioned needs a big time boost. They have ample space to cater to large groups and n number of customers, but without these improvisations, the decor and space won’t matter. I wish them all the best.

Chef’s Special Recipe- Garlic Tossed Spinach Filled Cottage Cheese Cannelloni

Enjoy this amazing recipe shared by Chef Anirudh Nautiyal from the Leela Ambience Convention Hotel

Garlic Tossed Spinach Filled Cottage Cheese Cannelloni
Here is the list of ingredients and its quantity

CANNELLONI
Cottage cheese 100 gms
Spinach (blanched) 100 gms
Garlic 10 gms
Onion 10 gms
Nutmeg powder 01 gms
Salt 05 gms
Pepper 02 gms
Olive oil 05 ml
LENTIL SAUCE
Yellow lentil 50 gms
Onion 05 gms
Garlic 05 gms
Salt 02 gms
Olive oil 02 ml

 

METHOD

  1. Keep lentil for cooking and make a fine puree later on
  2. Sauté onion and garlic in a pan. Add blanched and chopped spinach-season it and keep it separate.
  3. Sauté onion and garlic in another pan, and add lentil puree-adjust seasoning and keep aside
  4. Now cut thin slices of cottage cheese and sear it on a hot plate, add spinach mixture and roll it like cannelloni
  5. Now arrange it on a plate and pour lentil sauce on top and serve piping hot

 

Recipe-Duo of Vegetable Dumpling with Lemon Honey Dip

Who doesn’t love enjoying dumplings, so here is a beautiful recipe shared by Chef Anirudh Nautiyal from the Leela Ambience Convention Hotel, so don’t just enjoy dumplings, but make them yourself and then enjoy to the fullest

Ingredients and Measures

Carrot 10 gms
Beans 10 gms
Broccoli 20 gms
Cabbage 10 gms
Spinach 50 gms
Tofu 20 gms
Salt 5 gms
Sesame oil 05 ml
Garlic 02 gms
Light soy sauce 02 ml
Ginger 05 gms
Lemon 02 ml
Honey 10 gms
Spring onion 05 gms
Whole wheat flour 100 gms

METHOD

  1. Make dim sum dough by kneading whole wheat flour with water, add little salt to it and keep it covered.
  2. Now make a mixture of vegetables with ginger, garlic and light soy sauce
  3. In the other mixture, add spinach, pok choy and tofu…let the mixture cool down
  4. Now sheet the dough and make dim sum and keep it covered. Apply little oil to the tray so that the dim sum doesn’t stick
  5. Steam the dim sum and serve hot with lemon honey dip

The Town House Cafe, CP- a foodie’s paradise

If you want to enjoy good food and spend some cosy and comfortable time with your friends and family, The Town House Cafe is the place for you. The decor is minimalistic and comprises of huge and comfortable sofas, and some big windows overlook the busy outer circle of CP. I spent a rainy afternoon enjoying the delectable food with a few of my friends and I totally loved the experience.

Coming to food, here are my recommendations

Chicken Salami Tacos, a very nice preparation with chicken tikka chaat with some veggies wrapped in a chicken salami and shaped like a taco, its definitely a must try.

Poached Chicken Salad with Wasabi Dressing was another great starter. Though I am not very fond of wasabi dressing, but thankfully it wasn’t really overpowering the overall flavours and hence I liked it.

Chilly Chicken, Chilly Prawns and Chilly Paneer were all very good, hot and spicy, and when I say spicy, I really mean it. So those who don’t prefer spicy food, shouldn’t order these. I loved the prawns very much, so so delectable.

Chicken Seekh, Chicken Malai Tikka, Paneer Tikka, Mutton Galauti, Mutton Seekh, The Non Veg Platter are totally worth indulging in. Soft and tender meat, perfect spices, these dishes are any non-vegetarians delight.

The dishes I loved the most included the Chicken Bruschetta, Chilli Garlic Chicken Dimsums, Hoisin Chicken Dimsums and Falafel. They all were so good, and you really can’t afford to miss them, especially the dim sums. They were so juicy and tasty that you can’t have enough of them.

For the mains I ordered a Mixed Sauce Chicken Pasta and also tried some Dal Makhani with Butter Naan. Fish N Chips too were good, I can say that because I indulged in hearty two bites of the same, sharing from my friends.

The Tiramisu that I had for dessert was by far one of the best I have eaten in recent times. Please do try it. It was so moist and creamy and perfectly flavoured. I loved it completely.

 

The Town House Cafe Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Robata Grill at The Kylin Experience, Holiday Inn, Mayur Vihar

Robatayaki, often shortened as Robata, is a Japanese technique of grilling, quite similar to barbecue, in which food items on skewers are slow grilled over charcoal. Usually Robata consists of grilled vegetables, meat and seafood and is relished world over now. It typically began in the North of Japan and its history is very old. In those days, people used charcoal to make tea, by digging a pit in their living rooms, hanging a chain from the ceiling and leaving tea-pots etc to simmer. Later on this method was used for cooking other food items as well and specially the fishermen started keeping hot charcoal with them whenever they went for fishing, to enjoy a hot meal. Robata as a process started from that time.

Bringing the authenticity of those flavours and times, with the obvious improvements, Chef Suprabhath Roychowdhury along with his team came up with this idea of Robata Grill festival at Kylin Experience, Holiday Inn, Mayur Vihar. The sheer joy of watching the live grill was so overwhelming and I thoroughly enjoyed the flames engulfing the meat from time to time and the aromas emerging were enough to make my mouth water.

As we sat down to relish the meal, we discussed the history of Robata, as I mentioned above and listening to this conversation was as intriguing as the meal. The menu consisted of Sole Fish in Yuzu Mustard Sauce, Tenderloin with Korean Sauce, Lava Black Bean Chicken, Jumbo Prawns in Hot Pepper Sauce, Lamb Satay, Lemongrass Chicken Satay, Pork Belly in Teriyaki Sauce, Vegetable Skewer, Leek & Mushroom in Spicy Basil Sauce. Minus the prawns and tenderloin, which I don’t prefer, I tried all the dishes, and all were nicely prepared.

Sole Fish, Chicken Satay and Vegetable Skewers, I liked the most. I found the mushrooms a little too salty for my choice and also one thing that I didn’t prefer much was, that after a point, almost everything tasted little similar. I feel that the flavours need to be a little more strong for them to stand out from each other. Nevertheless its an experience worth it, and I am sure you will enjoy. After trying a couple of desserts and a hearty meal and long conversations, we set out back home, creating memories forever.

 

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