La piazza, Hyatt Regency Delhi | Restaurant Review

Italian cuisine is simple, usually not more than 4 to 5 ingredients. The focus is not on complexity of preparation, but the quality of ingredients. How do I know? Recently, got a chance to experience it at La Piazza, Hyatt Regency Delhi. The pasta I ate here, I felt was uncooked, but it was only by Indian standards and it is not how the authentic italian pasta is. Chef Luca, hosting the dinner, explained that it should have a bite, and that is how it is in Italian. 

La Piazza hosts an exquisite wine collection, so not pairing it with wine is a disrespect. 
I won't say I understood, all that the chef explained, the names were difficult to say for a punjabi tongue. However, I would say, I loved all that was served. I cannot make you taste through the review, but will take you for a food photo tour. 

In total, the experience was awesome and won't mind recommending it to anyone
Happy eating...☺️ 

Coffee Home | Review

This is a place, which has something for everyone. You will find here, students preparing for competitive exams and taking breaks between two classes scheduled at nearby coaching. At one table, there are dating couples who do not want to spend much on flashy restaurants and just want to sit together without ordering anything. Another table has pensioners who want to catch up with their oldies. You may also notice pre-marriage meetings going on in one corner. Prospective groom being interviewed intensely and may be bride through all security checks by each other’s respective families.

 

It is a very big hall, with huge seating capacity and provides ample space to each one to enjoy their privacy publicly. In the backyard, they have a small open space a perfect low cost destination to sip tea in rainy season. The place offers clean washrooms and has parking in the vicinity.

Food is economical and value for money. Self-service is the USP, as no one comes to disturb you asking to place your order. You can sit all day, under the fan without spending a penny. Drinking water is free and no charge for use of basic facilities. 

Their menu offers quick bite. Dosa, Idly, Chowmein, Fried rice, coffee and tea are mainly the consumables. I liked all the preparations, and they are best for the price offered. Sitting is basic, like that of a typical canteen.



This is an ideal place when you want to Catch-up with someone first time and have no intention of sitting in some high-end café. In addition, when food is not the priority and just need a place to sit down and talk. The place is open to all and still a well-maintained facility. The beauty of the place is it is publicly private.

Happy sitting and eating… :) 

Location: Baba Kharak Singh Marg, Connaught Place, New Delhi 

Tourist - First look Review

Street food and Fine dine are antonyms. Tourist is someone who experiences extremes in during his exploration journey of the world. This time tourist has clubbed up his extreme experiences and brought these antonyms together at Tourist the Street food bar. The places is about to open soon in less than a weeks’ time and is all set to cater to the international palate. They have brought in street cuisines from around the world under one roof and at the centre of the city at Connaught Place, Delhi.

It is restaurant or bar or travel book or hangout place or theater or any other name you want to suggest, go ahead with it. The place gives a feel of being yourself at your own comfort and not worrying about anything on the planet. Sip your favorite mock tail with your favorite book at the corner with food of your choice. It is a multilevel place with three bars, one each at oof, at ground floor and at the basement. The basement also a hosts a disco theme.

They serve an exhaustive street food menu from all around the world. The place bubbles with creativity, and is a sign of thorough thought process and brainstorming that has been put in to create it. Be it the passport menu, serving dishes, cutlery and preparations on the menu that voice it out.

Menu is designed in the form of passports of far east, far west, south asia and EU & UK. There is a live music playing on. You can enjoy that sitting in a regular seating or on a theoretical seats. They have high sitting bar chairs as well, for that tall boy. Sip your drink with the favorite starter with a flavored hookah, good way to relive those college days at a reunion. Ambience is wow, it seems as if walking though the art gallery, classic paintings on the walls all around give the place that artistic touch.  Are you the one who love to collect? Move to the basement the toy automobile collection will take you back to your childhood.

Food is tasty and very well balanced flavours. Loved almost each preparation that I tasted, which is rarely the case. If you are able to finish the serving of something you usually do not eat, then preparation is definitely great. It happened for two dishes with me. The coconut flavor in the Thai sauce served with lemon grass chicken kebab, didn’t push me away this time. It happened again with the Soya Sawarma, me not a big supporter of soya enjoyed each bite. Brown sugar chicken striper was another heart taker. Most interesting was the preparation of Don’t Smoke Mocktail. The drink is infused with smoke and will not make you feel head out for a fag, which is usually the case with smokers after they finish their first alcoholic drink. The drink has all the healthy smoke of a green tea. It was an eye pleasure to watch the preparation. Some of the other signature dishes from the menu are lamb Aryas, Jammu Kaladi, Bombay Bits, Canadian Cobler etc, etc, etc.

Go and explore yourself they are opening soon, keep an eye… :)

Happy Eating…J

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
.
.
.

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 | 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

Au Bon Pain - A literal Pain

Au Bon Pain means “the good bread” in French; however it was more meaningful for me in English. At least the word pain was exactly what it meant.

The café is a place of confusion. There are two payment counters, each at ends of the shop. One is for cash and other for Card. Both display a different menu. If you have identified few things to eat at cash counter and want to make payment by card, and by the time you reach card counter you are not able to recall name, as the names are in French and likely to be forgot. Now, when you look up to order you will see a new menu, won’t be able to find the dishes you identified. Now, head back to other counter and try to memorise and come back to card. Isn’t it a too much, when you are looking forward to sit at cool and calm café.

They have made the arrangements that one can plug in a laptop and can focus on work with a cup of coffee. But these seats are just opposite the payment counters, where the queue will be formed and people will be discussing their orders. So focus in this disturbance is a challenge.

People eat and leave, the next customer grabs the seat and then a long search starts for someone who can clean the table. We had to ask three times to get our table cleaned. Staff seems to be very demotivated and performing their duties like a life less machine.

Café reminds me of Hindi phrase ‘Unchi Dukaan, feeka pakwaan’. Dishes are beautiful to look at, however the high expectations set for taste fall from cliff. We ordered Keema Kouign-amann, Poha Bagel Sandwich and open face margherita. Sad to say, but none met the expectation. I had the same thought before placing the order and now it has even stronger. Who on the first place had this idea of mixing Poha and Bagel, they don’t complement each other as both are bland. I ordered thinking that might be they have added some tangy sauce which makes this adventurous combination exciting. But no, they simply put both together and serve. Keema Kouign-amann, though not a victim to sarcasm but was also failed to earn respect. High salt suppressed the taste of keema. Open face margherita though was not an open failure. Taste like beauty should be skin deep. Very attractive on face, but had a very bland taste. Seemed all salt was consumed for keema and nothing came in share for poor margherita.

Why to visit? Not able to find any good reason.

Where it is? Cyberhub, Gurgaon.