Bukhara - One of the most iconic brands for fine dining at ITC

Bukhara is one of the most iconic brands for fine dining among the ITC hotels. It has won the 'Restaurant Magazine Award' for the Best 50 hotels in the world 7 times. This is definitely a must visit if you are in Delhi. Once you go inside and sit they have aprons instead of napkins that you can wear while having your meal.

The menu is brilliantly done - with very few items engraved on a circular wooden panel. There are separate ones for both vegetarians as well as non vegetarians. This completely blends in with the theme where you see all the waiters wearing pathani suits.

We started off by ordering the most iconic Dal Bukhara which is a harmonious blend of black lentil, tomatoes ginger and garlic, simmered overnight on slow charcoal fire, finished with cream and served with a dollop of unsalted butter. The quantity was only sufficient for one person and we ended up ordered a couple more.

To enjoy the Dal Bukhara we also ordered the Naan Bukara which is a giant Naan that completely covered our table. We also requested them to add butter to the entire Naan which they generously did. We couldn't finish it among four of us. The sides I felt were a bit crunchy as opposed to the center which was soft.

Among the starters we had ordered the Tandoori Jhinga. This dish had jumbo prawns marinated in an "ajwain" flavored mixture of yogurt, red chilli, turmeric and garam masala, skewered and roasted over charcoal fire.

Then we ordered the Sikandari Raan which was a whole leg of spring lamb, braised in a marinade of malt vinegar, cinnamon, black cumin, red chilli paste and finished in the Tandoor.

We also ordered the Tandoori Pomfret which was a whole pomfret mildly spiced with yellow chilli, garam masala, turmeric powder, and flavored with 'ajwain'. It is then skewered and roasted in the clay oven. We felt that the pomfret was bland in taste and was also slightly smelly.

In the desserts we first ordered the Rasamalai - which is poached dumplings of fresh cottage cheese floated in saffron flavored reduced milk sauce.

Next was the Phirni. This is a light dessert of milk and ground basmati rice flavored with cardamom, set in an earthen mould, topped with pistachio and almkond slivers. I have tried Phirni in a lot of places and I must say that this was just heavenly.

Overall: Although the food is definitely good, being a foodie and having tried similar cuisines at a lot of places I felt this was overhyped. The Phirni though is a definite must eat.

Ambiance:4.5/5

Service: 4.5/5

Food: 4/5

Price: Expensive

The Pavilion - the only restaurant that stays open all night at ITC Maurya

We were staying at ITC Maurya and reached pretty late 11.30pm in the night. We then took some time to freshen up and by the time we were ready all the restaurants had shut. The Pavilion was the only one that was open all night so we dragged our hungry selves there. We started off by ordering Maggie's farm. We had a choice of grilled or golden fried tender supreme of chicken, stuffed with herb flavored mousseline, served with garlic parsley mash, balsamic onions and mushroom cream.

After that we ordered the Artisan Pasta Carbonara which contained deliciously cooked pork chunks. This was primarily pancetta, egg yolk and cream, elegantly enriched with Pecorino Romano.

We then ordered the Grilled River Sole. This was Pan grilled fresh river sole, on a bed of stir fried Asian greens in light soy broth.

The last dish that we ordered was the Grilled Tilapia that was served with cheese sauce. Although the cheese sauce was yummy I didn't like the Tilapia much.

Overall: Great place for a variety of different cuisines. Ambiance: 4/5 Food: 4.5/5 Service: 4/5 Price: Expensive

Golf fan? Want to chill out over a couple of drinks? This is where you should be!

Are you a Golf fan? Do you want to hang out with your friends while reminiscing your favorite sport? Then the Golf Bar at ITC Maurya is just the place to be! The walls are filled with details about all the prominent Golf Tournaments, their winners and a variety of laurels. It just feels like you are sitting inside a Golf Museum.

I am usually fond of cocktails and that is exactly what I ordered when I was here. I started off with the Dilli High 5 which is the ITC Maurya Signature. This drink primarily has Bombay Sapphire, Rum, Corralejo, Cointreau and Malibu with tantalizing flavors of mint, orange chunks, pineapple, lime and sugar.

The second drink that I ordered was the Kakatiya Spice Route. The base of this drink was vanilla vodka and it was flavored with apple chunks, cinnamon, clove, cardamom, apple juice and lemon grass infusion. It was the perfect blend of spices and yet mild at the same time.

My next drink was the Green Revolution which true to its name was mildly green. This was vodka infused with cardamom and aromatised with Betel leaves. If you generally like the 'Paan' flavor then you will absolutely love this drink.

Lastly I tried the Campari along with soda. This drink is obtained by the infusion of herbs and fruit in alcohol and water. This has an extremely bitter taste and try it only if you have a taste for it.

Overall: This place has a lovely ambiance with a unique range of cocktails. Ambiance: 4.5/5 Drinks: 4/5 Service: 4.5/5 Price: Expensive

Review for Metro Dhaba - Noida Sector 18

We had gone to Metro Dhaba for lunch as we wanted to try out Punjabi cuisine and this was the closest to our place. It is a quaint little place with nicely done interiors. The kitchen is actually a level below where the seating area is. We were served with welcome drinks initially. They tasted really weird and none of us completed our drinks. Next we ordered the starters - Chicken Lollipop. This was done well as was in semi-gravy which is just how I like it. I don't like the dried fried ones which you get at most places so I was glad they didn't serve a similar one.

The next started was the Tandoori Momos. They made this really well with the perfect balance of the momos and the exact flavors of the Tandoor.

Post that we ordered Butter Chicken - I must say it wasn't sweet enough and was like a normal chicken gravy. Also, there was a lot of gravy and hardly few pieces of chicken.

We also ordered Tawa Chicken which was decent enough but again didn't have too much of flavors.

Lastly we ordered the matka biryani and I must say I was disappointed with it. After living in Hyderabad my standards for Biryani are quite high and I must say this tasted nothing like Biryani.

Overall: I would rate this place average although the starters were good enough. Ambiance: 3.5/5 Quality of Food: 3/5 Quantity of Food: 4/5 Service: 4/5 Pricing: Economic

Craving for Bengali Food in Noida? - Here is where you could go!

I have my monthly trips to Noida as my boy friend lives there but being a Bengali I always crave for the typical Bengali food. So this time when I went there he took to this place which serves the perfect Bengali food. I am talking about the Kolkata Biryani House. Their main outlet is in the CR Park area in Delhi but they have also opened up their branch in Noida Sector 26. This is located in the Jaipuria Plaza and is one of the shops which are in the last row and hence you might not see it upfront. The location is pretty dingy and there are no seats as well. They are primarily a home delivery outlet and hence do not have any provisions for people to come and dine over. We ordered one plate of Kolkata Biryani and Kosha Mangsho. I must say the Biryani was exactly like the ones I love in Kolkata but the quantity was really less and not even sufficient for one person.

The Kosha Mangsho was also just like how mum makes it at home and made me reminisce the good old days in Kolkata. We also ordered Mishti Doi and the meal just could not be complete without that. To my surprise the Mishti Doi was not upto the mark and did not taste at all like the ones we get back at home.

Overall: Good place for home delivery if you want to have authentic Bengali food but don't go and dine there.

Kobe Sizzlers - now in Hyderabad!

Kobe Sizzlers had started out in Mumbai and is popular for their iconic sizzlers. I had eaten my first sizzler at Kobe almost a decade back and had loved them post that. So when I heard that they started their first outlet in Hyderabad, I couldn't stop myself from enjoying my favorite sizzlers.

We had gone on a weekday evening and the place was packed with people and people were waiting outside as well. So please make your reservations before you visit them. We started off with the Scotch Broth soup which was absolutely amazing. I am not a soup fan but this soup was just finger licking good. This is primarily Mutton Broth and has chunks of Mutton and barley.

Before we started off with the sizzlers I decided to try out one of their appetizers as I am generally very fond of Asian food. So I ordered the Stir Fry Chicken Hot Basil. Not only was the presentation good but the chicken tasted absolutely marvelous.

Then was the time to dig in to the sizzlers. We ordered 4 sizzlers - 1 vegetarian and 3 non vegetarian. The quantity was a lot - 1 sizzler is good enough for 2 people. Among the vegetarian sizzlers we ordered the Exotic Veg Sizzler. This had assorted exotic vegetables served with fries or Mashed Potatoes in Garlic or Pepper Sauce. This had a patty that was filled with paneer and cheese and tasted really good.

Among the non vegetarian sizzlers we started off with the Sizzling Chicken - this was Grilled Chicken served with rice or noodles in choice of sauce (Garlic/Pepper/Mushroom). We tried out the Pepper sauce and this was so delicious that we ended up ordering a second serve of just the pepper sauce.

Then was the Chicken Shashlik which had chunks of boneless chicken on skewer served with fries and rice in Garlic Sauce. They actually took out the skewers after they served the sizzler to us.

The last one was the Mixed Grill Sizzler which had Grilled Lamb, Chicken, Fish and Prawns served with Rice and Fries with Pepper Sauce. This was the best and the heaviest by far. You should definitely try this one.

We ended the affair by ordering fruit salad with ice cream. The vanilla ice cream was very creamy and fresh although the fruits served were canned fruits.

Overall: This place is a must visit when it comes to sizzlers and they have maintained the exact same quality as that of the original outlets in Mumbai.

IndiBlaze - Good Food in a Flash

IndiBlaze opened up a month or so ago in the Jubilee Hill area. We were working at office on a Sunday and since their tagline says good food in a Flash we decided to try them out as we were terribly hungry and wanted some food at the earliest. Also, their menu had a variety of different options - ranging from pizzas, salads, bowls and kebabs - so we were sure we could accordingly according to everybody's choice from one single place.

I must say that the food definitely did not come in a flash - it took almost an hour for the food to come although our office is in Jubilee Hills. Yet since we were hungry we decided to go ahead right into the food as soon as it arrived. To start with we had ordered some pizzas - the Hot Chicken Pizza and the Mutton Pizza. I must say I was really disappointed with this as they were not Pizzas but Quesadillas. I am not sure why one would name Quesadillas as Indi Pizzas whereas the two are poles apart in every possible way. However, since we had ordered it we had to have it. The Mutton Pizza was slightly bland and felt dry. The Chicken Pizza on the other hand was extremely spicy although I am sure that is how it is meant to be as the name says Hot Pizza.

Moving on, we had also ordered some starters. Among the non vegetarian starters we had ordered BBQ Chicken Wings and Chicken Malai Kebab. The Chicken Malai Kebab was made really well - the meat was tender with the correct blend of flavors. The BBQ sauce was amazing as well but the wings had a lot of skin on them - this kind of spoiled the taste when having the wings. For the vegetarian starters we had ordered the Crispy Hot Paneer. This just felt like a very mellowed down version of crispy chicken and was really bland.

We also ordered some of the Mini Bowls and I think these were the nest items on their menu. They were wholesome and was a combination of rice, vegetables, beans and chicken. This was prepared really well and all of us loved this.

Among the beverages, we had ordered Mango Lassi, Pulpy Grape and Kokum. The Mango Lassi was made really well - it was thick and had a strong flavor of mangoes.

Overall - I wouldn't go out of my way to suggest this place but if you do end up going there or ordering from their you should definitely try out the Mini Bowls, the Chicken Malai Kebab and the Mango Lassi.

Can't live without caffeine? Love alcohol? How about the perfect combination?

I am more of a tea person than a coffee person. Yet some of my closest friends just can't get through the day without their dose of coffee. Alcohol - that surely is something I love relishing. So when we heard of this place that has their unique combination of Specialty Alcoholic Coffees we decided to try this place out - I am talking about the Link Cafe at Sheraton, Hyderabad. Once you enter the place is made up really well with designer lights and a band playing. We had a warm welcome from the team - Smitha and Lokanath among them. We started off with the salads. The first one was the Greek Feta Salad. This was a combination of Feta, cucumber, tomato, iceberg, onion and crushed black pepper. The feta was fresh and the salad was crunchy and went well together.

The next salad was the Nicoise (pronounced as Ni-swa). This is a typical French salad that had its origins in the city of Nice. They made it exactly how it is supposed to be - with tuna, egg, anchovy, potato, tomato and lettuce.

We finished off the salads with the Caesar Salad which was a combination of Romaine, parmesan, extra virgin olive oil, anchovy and black pepper. Since they had anchovy you definitely need an acquired taste for this if you have never tried anchovy before.

Once we were done with the salads we decided to try out their coffees - both the specialty alcoholic ones as well as the non-alcoholic ones. But since I had already mentioned that I am a tea person I started off by ordering the Masala Chai which was served with jeera cookies. The Masala Chai had a strong flavor of cinnamon which was indicative by the cinnamon stick that they placed in the middle. In case you order this be sure to ask for sugar incase that is how you like it as this doesn't have any sweetener.

And then came along the coffees. The first alcoholic coffee that we tried out was the Piper Coffee. This was a combination of Whisky, Coffee and honey topped with cream.

The next one was the Espresso Martini. This one was a combination of Vodka, Espresso, Kahlua and Sugar - a combination that you simply cannot resist.

The last one among the alcoholic coffees that we tried was the Top of the World. This one is meant for people who love strong coffees. This was a combination of Vodka, Espresso and Hazelnut.

We also tried one of the non-alcoholic coffees which was the Cobnut Coffee. This was a combination of coffee with coconut milk. This was topped off with coconut shredding as well.

Now it was time for starters. We started up with the Kothu Paratha - this is a very famous delicacy in Tamil Nadu which initially started in Salem. The parantha and the chicken get minced completely. I have lived in Chennai for almost a decade and hence have tried many versions of this dish but the one I tasted here was simply mesmerizing and reminded me of the Lays' ad - No one can eat just once.

Next was the Cocktail Dal Vada which essentially is the normal Dal Vaada. This was crunchy and fresh and went well with the chutney.

Next was the Prawn Koliwada where the prawns were marinated and deep fried and then served with mint and black pepper chutney. Although the prawns were slightly bland I would say they tasted well.

Then was the turn of the kebab platters. We started off with the Veg kebab Platter - this had paneer tikka, veg cutlets, corn cutlets and veg kebabs. The best of out these was the corn cutlet which was very flavorful.

Post that we tried the non-vegetarian kebab platter. This had mutton sheekh kebab, chicken tikka, chicken malai kebab, fish kebab and prawn kebabs. The mutton sheekh kebab was cooked really well with a good blend of spices. The fish kebab was soft while the prawn kebab was grilled.

The next section was the sandwiches where we started off with the Mumbai Masala toastie. This sandwich had toasted bread while the filling was beetroot, bell peppers, potato, mint chutney and onion.

Next we tried the Double Decker Sandwich - for this you can choose to either have the white bread or the brown bread. This is a 2 layered sandwich that is stuffed with lettuce, grilled chicken, bacon, ham, cheese and fried egg.

Finally we tried their signature Link Sandwich. The bread in this is masala Ciabatta. The stuffing was masala omlette, chicken malai and onion served with raisin chutney.

Next up were the Old Delhi Kathi Kebabs - we tried out both the Paneer Tikka as well as the Chicken Tikka. The base was lachha roomali paratha that was stuffed with Paneer/Chicken Tikka and sliced onion. This was served with curd and mint chutney. This I felt was too greasy.

Then we tried out the Baked Masala Maggi - this was loaded with cheddar cheese and was just the right taste. After all who doesn't like maggi.

It was then the turn of Pizzas. We started off with the Pepperoni Pizza. I felt the quantity if Pepperoni was quite less. All slices just had a single piece while a slice didn't have any at all. Hence you couldn't enjoy the Pepperoni flavor throughout.

Then we tried the Chicken Tikka Pizza. This was much better and had a constant flavor of shredded chicken tikka and fried onions and bell peppers.

We ended off with desserts which though are not listed on the menu. We started off with the salted caramel cheesecake. I didn't feel the salty taste and the caramel also had a very thin layer at the bottom so even that flavor wasn't strong enough.

Next was the chocolate moose which was made really well.

Lastly was the chocolate cake with coconut shaving which not only looked well but tasted well as well.

Overall - I would definitely suggest this place for their Specialty alcoholic coffees. Ambience: 4.8/5 Service: 4.8/5 Food:4/5