Hahn's Kitchen | Review

It was my second interaction with something Korean after my childhood. I had a hobby of stamp collection then, we used to exchange stamps among our friends and many Korean stamps were exchanged for a single big stamp. These exchange ratios were only attributed to their small size and rest other factors of valuations were never considered, actually we were ignorant of any other factors then.

This food interaction was an experience, and I would love to have it often. Though it was my first face to face with Korean food, so can’t say it was authentic, however I feel it was.

I have some strong logical reasons to believe that way, after a little research on Korean culture. Like, the Koreans use steel chopsticks, and prior to this, I have only seen those wooden ones. They are quite people and do not like to talk during meals, the place has a separate setup very much in Korean theme apart from the usual fine dine sitting.

What I liked most about the place is ambiance. Lighting is soothing and calm; there is a peace in the place. They score more than full if there is an option, for hygiene and cleanliness.

Now, moving to the food part. Who loves to experiment and explore, will love it. Those have a taste bud for Korean food will like it (feedback from more experienced). I liked some and some not. In Korean cuisine they use fermented sauces and pastes and in some of them this fermented flavor is very pronounced and some may not like it. For example, Kimchi Jeon has a strong flavor and few may turn around from it. I personally liked Kkanpunggi very much and would love it with a mug of beer. Also, they served egg rolls, not able to recall the exact name what they call in Korean, I simply loved them.

They serving size is huge, and order carefully as you may end up wasting food which is not a good practice in any culture and not even Korean. The prices are very apt and I was expecting to be more on high side.

Location: One Horizon Center, Gurugram, Haryana

So and discover your favourite Korean food…Happy Eating… J

Rule the Rolls | A Quick Review

Variety: Not much, though what they serve is good. The serve tikkas wrapped in Rumali Roti, also one can order the same combination without a wrap. Score (3/5)

Taste: Tastes like Home made rolls. Chicken and mutton pieces are well roasted and succulent. Namak mirch ek dam barabar. Score (4/5)

Serving Size: Good is the word. One roll is enough for one person. Score (4/5)

Ambiance: Simple, small place and well cooled. They do not have much seating capacity, though they serve a quick bite so easy to find seat. They have a comfortable seating. The walls have framed Prayers in Islam, thanking god for the everything. Score (3.5/5)

Hygiene: Hygiene standards are good. They have an open kitchen behind the Glass walls, so one cannot escape that. Score (5/5)

Staff: They are very courteous and very polite. Food tastes lot better with love and they are aware of this ingredient. Score (5/5)

Service: It is a quick bite and they make to order, so one may face few delays. (4/5)

Price: It is aptly priced, when looked at in consideration with Serving Size. Two can easily eat and satisy there tums in 500-600 INR. (3/5)

Location: Galleria Market, Gurgaon. They are on ground floor at the end. Score (5/5)

What I ordered: Haleem, Chicken Malai Tikka Roll, Mutton Kofta with Rumali Roti and Sheer Khurma. Score (5/5)

Recommendations: Haleem, it is simple in taste, not heavily spiced and a complete meal with Meat, Rice and various types of Pulses. This was my first interaction with haleem and I loved it. There may be others tasting better than they serve, but will get to know with time. Score (4/5)

USP: Food tastes like that of home, non-oily, balanced spices. Light on tum.

Why not to visit? If you are on lookout for greasy, rolls with super spices with taste residing in your taste buds even after hours and reminded of what you ate through burrps. 

Hard Rock Cafe' | Food Review

It hardly qualifies for any of the basic requirement of a good restaurant. Be it hygiene, taste, service or logistics.

Plates were seated with mosquitoes. Flies were having playtime over the counter. When informed their chef at the live counter, that there are flies sitting at the food, he giggled and tried to scare them. Hard Rock café gave a feel of hard rock street food, and the café was absent.

Taste was playing hide and seek, and we lost against it, couldn’t locate and bang it anywhere in any of the viands. We opted for buffet option, and the food served was sad and bad. Chicken cooked in mushroom sauce could be put to best use if used with catapult. It was so hard to chew that no use other than hitting it as a stone towards your enemy popped up in my mind. Chapati or roti, couldn’t be called them by that name, it was definitely something else.  Starters were served at the live counter; the process of intermediate cooking them was so slow that queue was built up from ground floor going up to first floor.

We made a corporate booking for the lunch, and when we reached they were completely clueless about the booking. Attendants were not aware; they were looking at each other’s face and suddenly one of them rushed for their boss to conform for the booking and came after 5 minutes informing us that he is on some call. And we were standing all this time and nobody displayed courtesy to ask us to sit.

The staff was not aware of what is included in the corporate package we booked and what is not. Someone ordered something and they returned after few minutes informing that this is not for you, and the person has to go through the whole menu once again. On questioning them, what is included they were clueless. Though it was Thursday, but everybody seemed to still having hangover of Monday blues.

Queue for the food can be considered as positive sign for being in huge demand, but what if the queue is due to non-working washrooms. Out of two, one of the wash basins had no water, so each one has to wait in queue for his turn.

No reason to visit next , if and only if some band is performing in the evening and I am die hard fan of that. Alcohol with loud music may be another. However, otherwise a place is a big no for me.

Location: Cyber hub, DLF Cyber City, Gurgaon

Happy Eating…but at your own risk... :)

Go to Rajasthan @ Westin, Gurgaon

Enjoy the ongoing Spice Trail of Rajasthan at Seasonal Tastes, Westin Gurgaon.



Published detailed review at
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https://shivangireviews.com/2016/10/16/live-rajasthan-westin-gurgaon/

locale | Food Review

Locale means a place where something happens. The place well justifies the name. Dining in a beautiful casual ambiance with delicious food is a good place to hangout. It’s a duplex restaurant on second and third floor connected internally as well as externally with both elevator and stairs.  



Trendy wall art, rustic ceiling, alcoholic quote frames and modern life lessons all around make the place lively, comfortable and relaxing. The place has a soothing lighting, which makes it even more charming. Top floor is an open zone and an option for smokers. Being an open zone, makes the place bit warmer and not very comfortable for summers, however a definite hit in winters.

Ongoing navratras kept me bound only to veg options. Still the non-veg options made all efforts otherwise. 

The aroma was good enough for weak willed person to forget about navratras and savor. They have good variety to choose from starters, and the main course options comparatively lack behind. If you are out for a beer with a friend, the main course 
will not matter you much... :)


 Overall, there is a good variety to choose from Starters, Salads, Soups, Deli, Pasta, Mock tails, Meals, Main Course and Platters. The Meal section comes in very handy when not able to decide from the main course, and each one with you is having a different voice.

The staff is examples of national integration, there are people from different regions of the country and will pronounce the same dish in different accent, which make it very lovable and cute. They are very humble and simple people and will put in all efforts to enjoy your meal.

Why to visit? Nice location, good ambience, moderately priced and tasty food makes it an ideal place to chill with friends and loved ones.

Why not to visit? If you are on look out for some exclusive, high-end formal place serving some exotic taste or and not so common preparation.

Location: PVR Saket, Anupam Complex, New Delhi

Happy Eating :)

Pita Pit | Food Review

Food Review | Burma Burma

Samuza hincho, Toho mash, Samuza hincho whole, Burma Burma oh no khow suey. These are the some of the dishes atBurma Burma, a pure vegetarian, non-alcoholic restaurant in Cyber Hub, Gurgaon. As name suggests they serve a Burmese cuisine. I have never tasted anything Burmese before so not sure about the authenticity in taste. However, the food is tasty and different from the regular. I would love to pay regular visits to the place with my vegetarian family.

USP of the place is exclusive menu, pure vegetarian, no alcohol and very good ambience. Menu is bit confusing as all are Burmese names. However, each preparation is well described to make you understand about it. The attendants are humble and helpful with explaining the menu. The menu has good tea variants. 


Each table has a cute glass kettle with tea leaves, at first I thought some complementary tea preparation to be done with that. We placed our order and it was served, however nobody talked of tea. Out of curiosity now I asked the waiter about the kettle and the tea. With a wide smile he responded that it is just for decorative purpose and nothing more. The ceiling is decorated with ceramic bells and overall a moderately lit place. The seat we grabbed was the only disappointment in the experience. Somehow where we were seated didn’t have proper AC vents and I was continuously wiping off sweat from the brows. However, overall the place was cool and well ventilated, except that not so special corner.

We ordered Samuza Hincho, Toho mash with paratha, spring onion buns, Burma Burma oh no khow suey, Burmese fried rice, spicy vegetable curry.


Samuza hincho is a samosa soup. A samosa dipped in vegetable soup. We were bit skeptical about it at the time of order, but impression changed after it was served. Not something out of the world, very simple preparation but a tasty one. I would say it was worth the price if you like trying new things.

Toho mash with paratha was the winner. It is a complete dish in itself, dry dal in the center surrounded by well-cooked miniature laccha parathas. The dal vegetable mixture was one of the tastiest I have eaten in recent times. When I think of it today, only feelings are sssuuurrrp…mmmmm…

Spring onion buns are the steamed buns stuffed with vegetable salsa. This dish was no doubt tasty, but seemed to be bit pricey. 300 excluding tax for four buns is definitely a high cost.

They served a tray of herbs and toppings which has chopped coriander, roasted peanuts, lemon, spring onions, roasted onions and garlic. I am sure they are aware that this is the most required as some preparations are surprize boxes. This serving came in most handy when we were served Burma Burma oh no khow suey. As included in the name it was actually a “oh no” dish for us. It is actually noodles cooked in coconut milk gravy and we were not able to connect with the taste of coconut milk. The herbs and other topping came for rescue and we were able to convert “oh no” to “oh fine”

Hai Kahan? Cyber Hub, DLF Cyber City, Gurgaon

Why to visit? If you looking for something different, tasty and vegetarian.
Why not to visit? Bit high on price, we paid around 3k for 3 people. Also if you are not too experimental with taste and can’t imagine eating out with only vegetarian dishes in menu. 

Instapizza - Not so Insta

Cool small place with sitting in open as well as inside. Open sitting can be exploited only in winters. So, very less sitting, on a busy day. they have heightened chairs to sit, I didn't enjoyed my pizza much on that, had been a low sitting like a sofa or a couch would liked my food more. Option of low sitting was there in open, but I was not carrying my sunscreen lotion… :)

They are very sweet and humble people, will explain the options in detail and were honest as well. While placing the order they informed us that it is going to take at least 30 minutes. So waiting for my pizza for 30 minutes with rat dancing stomach, it is difficult to accept the name as Insta. However, I have all the appreciation for their honesty.

Not much to choose from. However, they have given the choice of toppings or rather stuffing for the deep dish pizza to consumer without any extra charge. There is not much in sides and drinks. The drink options available are only regular coke, pepsi, minute maid etc.

The vegetables used are fresh and flavorful. Deep-dish pizza had so many fresh vegetables that there was no guilt of eating pizza loaded with cheese. Those who live for health and love lot of fresh vegetables are definitely going to enjoy it. The side veg garlic twist, was served with the sauce but lost the taste vote though was stuffed with Paneer and Cheese. I also struggled with the base; it was too hard to cut with a knife. It being a deep-dish pizza could not be picked with hand and munched, had to be handled with fork and knife.

I ordered Garlic Twist and Veg Deep Dish Pizza with all the choice of toppings except pineapple. I recommend for deep dish pizza to be loaded with more cheese. The base being softer would have made struggle with knife easier and not like cutting my enemy's throat.

The place is neat, clean and hygienic. As they don’t have washrooms, have kept hand sanitizers on each table...must say a good attempt… :)

They were on track to get good score for service, but they lost when the dish they served us was chipped at the corner and they had no idea that they are serving us in broken dish

Price is fine, mid price range. We were honored with 15 percent corporate discount and we shelled out around 650 bucks for three. Economic, isn't it?

So where it is?
Cyber Hub, DLF Cyber City, Gurgaon

USP:
Deep Dish pizza

Why to visit?:
If you want to be saved from the guilt of having pizza by consuming lot of fiber along with in the form of raw vegetables

Why not to visit?:
If you are on a lookout for lot of variety, you will be disappointed

Conclusion:
It is not a quick bite, if you are ordering a deep dish pizza, expect to spend at more than an hour at the place. The time of preparation for the pizza is 30 minutes and it is filled with so many vegetables will make it require much of your time to finish it quickly. All in all, not to good and not to bad, but not enough reason to visit next time. They are good in other areas but lost in taste.

Food Review | Made in Punjab

Punjabi food brings to mind the preparation which is well-cooked, spice enriched and loaded with cream and ghee. And when the restaurant is named as Made in Punjab, it raises the expectation higher. A Punjabi restaurant serving a semi cooked chicken and not good Paneer preparation is a crime. Paneer and chicken are always to be respected and well cooked.

At MIP, you can go for Ala carte as well as buffet. We opted for the buffet as want to try maximum number of preparations. The buffet in overall can be rated as 3/5. MIP failed badly at few of the dishes, one of them was paneer butter masala. The gravy was not well cooked, raw taste of onion and tomatoes was present and taste was not well developed. One of the chicken starters also faced the same issue. But yes the good part was that something was there for everybody. But it was something only and not anything great. Food was just average and not that I will crave for and visit again and again.

Ambience was another average. The name “Made in Punjab” just doesn’t go with the ambience and neither with the food. So the name is a complete mismatch, if named as ABC would also do for the place. The washrooms are bad, latches don’t work, might be a chance to develop your singing skills …J. Soap dispensers require a special chant to dispense soap, I was unaware of that so was not able to extract soap, and how I managed without soap should not be your matter of concern now…J.

The good part about MIP is that it is a huge place, very good seating capacity and serve buffet. The only time I can think of visiting MIP is for the corporate dining. No hassle to cater to taste buds of large group, as everyone will be able to find something or the other for themselves. But if the group is foodie then dare not, as it may bring you disappointment.

Where it is? Cyberhub, DLF Cyber City, Gurgaon