Zomato Restaurant Summit 2013

Last week has been full of good food and sweetness. Amid the hustle bustle, Skeeter sneaked out to attend a fun and enlightening half-day event by Zomato- Zomato Restaurant Summit 2013 at The Leela Kempinski, Gurgaon. 

Zomato's been anyone's first stop at putting to rest the 'where and what to  eat' question in many states of India. So it is always good to know that they are expanding to London, Sri Lanka and UAE. Would not be fair to comment on UAE, but London and Sri Lanka definitely are great food destinations for Skeeter as all others. If someone can tell Skeety where to find the best bakeries in London or where to get good hoppers, sambol, devilled vegetarian food (okay SL food is that and much more!) in Lanka land, she would be a happy person!

(L to R Mayur, Sanjeev Bikhchandani, Rashmi Uday Singh, Deepinder Goyal, Pankaj Chaddah, unknown, Sameer Kuckreja, Manish Mehrotra, Rocky Singh)

While, the Lanka portal makes searches available only for Colombo, the UK one is better in terms of the number of restaurants covered. Two restaurants covered on Delhi Foodies' Zone turned up at a click - Spaghetti House and Govinda's. Skeeter's other favourites in London - Prezzo, Chennai Dosa,  Tamarind, Pizza Express, Veeraswamy (on the hit list) and many more are on the rolls. Thumbs up to that! Next time Skeety is in London, Skeety definitely knows where to direct the search button.

Moving on to the most interesting part of the event, Rocky & Mayur (Zomato’s brand ambassadors and hosts of Skeeter's favourite show Highway On My Plate) were there to unveil The Connoisseur’s Guide To Eating Out 2013 (Delhi,NCR). The guide, unlike others, has reviews by commoners who love to eat out and give unbiased opinions. 

Post the launch, Skeeter spoke to Mayur (as he is a vegetarian too), to know his favourite places to eat out in Delhi and the whole of India. Here is the list for Delhi:

Naivedyam, Andhra Bhavan, Indian Accent, Amici (in no particular order of preference).

And Mayur's favourites in the rest of India are Ummiya Kathiawadi on NH 8 in Gujarat, Kesar ka Dhaba in Amritsar, Mother's Kitchen in Kerala and Paradise in Guwahati.

Tres -> Delhi's sparkling star

The mood

A much needed dinner outing had Skeety thinking and after closing in on a Chinese favourite Skeety dumped it for the Modern European food serving restaurant in town: Tres. And no cheesecakes for guessing Skeety came home happy after the dinner. It was an absolute impulsive, 'I must get out today' evening. Skeeter was not hungry. Okay not much. She called up for the directions, and was told the exact directions (it pays to have well-informed staff). Reached there without event on the broomstick.

The drinks

Our table set in for the evening with an Apple Rosemary julip (Rs 225) that had fresh apple chunks, a twig of fresh rosemary, zesty lemon topped up with lemonade. A rather refreshing take on a drink. As perfect as it could be. The second drink we ordered was the Tres Mary (Rs 225), which the menu says is a Classic Virgin Mary with house made tomato jalapeno relish. A lovely drink again, though I'd have liked the rim of my glass much better salted (It could just be a Skeeter thing). We also had a generous and very fresh bread basket accompanying the drinks.

The food

The menu lists these broad categories: Small plates, Sharing plates, Salads & Appetizers, Soups, Mains, Meats and desserts.
We chose to order Roasted goat cheese and beetroot, apple walnut dressing and olive bread (Rs 419) from Salads & Appetizers. What we got was a giant slab of goat cheese on the slightly toasted olive bread with a taste bud teaser, finger licking good, beetroot, apple walnut dressing on a bed of lettuce. A medley of flavours, each distinct and each binding all ingredients together for a unique flavour. This was a dish Skeeter will definitely go back and order again. We requested our attendant to leave the plate so that we could polish off the dressing to the last drop. Skeeter does believe in helping nice restaurants clean the plates you see.

Next, we opted for the vegetarian sharing plate, which is a trio of chef's selection served with dry salad, relish and crust bread (Rs 659). The chef can never be wrong. We trusted them blindly and got our share of a)Baked artichoke hearts b)Roasted summer peppers, aubergines and mushrooms and c)Deep fried corn tortellini with salsa verde for the sharing plate. The baked artichoke hearts stole Skeety's heart. Naughty them. The roasted peppers, aubergines, mushrooms had bulbs of garlic thrown in and a chunk of cheese for company which altogether made for a very, very warm and hearty plate. The tortellini were perfect but the salsa verde did not shine much. As much as Skeeter would have liked to order the Mains, she thought an almost full stomach would not be able to do justice to those plates of art. And then, Skeeter wanted to secretly make some room for dessert.

The list of desserts made us slightly dizzy (so many good options to choose from), so we went ahead with the chef Julia's recommendation of a "little different" Cajita (Cajeta) cake with seasonal fruit, a Tres speciality and trademark. An extraordinary end to a magnificent dinner.

The people and some titbits

Chef Jatin Mallick, Chef Julia and Fatima Lobo are the people behind the place. Tres means three in Spanish.

If you make a reservation and go you are likely to be better off as the place got almost full by 8:15ish.

They are open for dinner only and start early at 6pm.

The plating of each dish was outstanding and made each dish very, very visually appealing.

The not so good

Our tiny table could barely accommodate the beautiful big plates. 

The waiters were in a rush to take away our glass of unfinished beverage which we did not like. We had to stop them but our lovely bread basket was taken away. *Insert very sad smiley*

None of the above will deter us from going there again and again, and more. Will try to update this post as and when.

How to reach

Shop No. 17, Main Market, Lodhi Colony, Delhi, 110003

Opposite Vir Savarkar Park 

Ph:  011 24625520

Damages: Approx Rs 3,500 for two without alcohol.

Of red wine and Yeti spotting in Delhi

Before heading out to dinner the other day we decided to open a bottle of Fratelli's Sangiovese wine. Fratelli comes from Akluj in Solapur district of Maharashtra. Piero Masi, a master wine-maker from the Tuscany (Italy) has provided the wine-making expertise. He is renowned in the Chianti region where the famed Chianti wines are produced. So, with much excitement Skeeter opened the bottle. It comes with a regular screw cap and not the traditional cork and the labels look pretty. As far as the taste goes, it is an intense red wine with floral notes of cherries,

raspberries, and a hint of vanilla now and then. Skeeter enjoyed the wine with not cheese but the Indian mildly flavoured dahi kebabs and was pleasantly surprised with the lovely pairing. The

finish of this super Sangiovese was rather nice and long.

Encouraged by the fine wine we had the Fratelli Chardonnay a few days later. Skeeter is not a big fan of whites but enjoys them once in a while. The Fratelli Chardonnay notes that I made read something like this: Citrusy, with apple and and a hint of sweetness.

When Skeeter visits Maharashtra land again, she will hit the wine trail and Fratelli offers accommodation at the vineyards with tasting and much more. For details click HERE.

Yeti spotting in Delhi

Reeta Skeeter did spot Yeti but it was only a restaurant!

The Dinner at Yeti

We Delhiites are an impatient lot. We honk at red lights, hate standing in queues (love breaking them) and waiting is a word that has been long dropped from our dictionaries. As much as Skeety is head-over-heels in love with Dilli, she is aware of the city's bad habits that keep pulling the reputation to newer lows. The other day we wanted to have a nice but quick dinner and went to Yeti the Himalayan Kitchen in Hauz Khas. We had about 4 groups of diners (non-Indians of course) waiting patiently apart from us. They were sipping their Tuborg pints and seemed unusually calm, unlike us. Despite being in a huge hurry we decided to wait (something Skeety doesn't remember doing at a restaurant in many many years). Yeti does not take reservations on phone any more. Skeety guesses it is because of the large clientele this newbie restaurant has amassed in a very short span of time. The reason Skeety supposes is that the cuisine they serve is atypical to what is being served in restaurants across Delhi. They serve Himalayan cuisine (Tibetan, Nepalese etc). Though non-vegetarians enjoy the fare served here the most, vegetarians have a lot to gorge on too!

As we were escorted to our corner seats in this quaint restaurant, we decided to call for the platter. A platter, Skeety firmly believes, is a good way to try many dishes on the menu at a go and at a nice price. But the platter at Yeti was a meal in itself and gave us our money's worth. An amalgamation of unknown tastes in familiar foods. Potatoes, chana, and noodles are known to us all. All came on the platter with a twist and are listed on the menu as individual items (under snacks) as well. It consisted of the Alu Sadeko (Yeti's version of what North Indians call Zeera Aloo), the Bhuteko Chana(black chana tossed with spices), the Wai Wai Sadeko (uncooked Wai Wai noodles crumbled and assembled into a kind of bhel with chopped onions, green chillis etc) and the Tingmo (a Tibetan bread). The portions were generous. Skeeter has become a big fan of Tingmo nowadays. On another ocassion Skeeter ordered the Veg Wai Wai noodles. Yeti has explored the taste of Wai Wai beautifully. They came with a little gravy and mildly spiced with lots of greens and other veggies thrown in. Skeeter's NV friends are crazy about the pork chops Yeti serves as well as the Jadoh with Dohkhleh.

Your best bet!

Their momos are to die for! Once you have had their aloo momos, Skeeter can bet you will go there again and again for more. They are just perfect on the outside and melt as they enter the mouth. Skeeter often gets aloo momo cravings now and can be found at Yeti hogging on a plate of 8 big fat momos all by herself. Skeeter vouches for the consistency of aloo momos. She has ordered them EVERY time she's been to Yeti. Glutton!

Recommendations

When the owners Aradhun Pinky Passah and Tenzing Sonam say that at the time they set shop they did "not really" think that the place would be such a hit Skeeter believes them. They had a simple vision: a nice dining space for Nepali, Tibetan cuisine. "We did not want to head to 'Majnu ka tila' everytime we craved for cuisine of our homeland, we came up with Yeti," tells Pinky. Pinky recommends the veg thali, Nepali veg platter, Mushroom Dagchi, aloo and vegetable momos for the vegetarians.

They have done justice to their vision. They have opened a nice place for people to enjoy the Thukpa and momos. They also have the distinction of elevating Tibetan and Nepalese cuisine from being mere shack food to a nice dining option. They have also brought to diners some unknown flavours that could have otherwise remained hidden in the hills, unnoticed.

Pocket matters: Rs 800 for two

Delhi meets Bengaluru- The birthplace of Rava Idli: MTR

After exploring Old Delhi Reeta Skeeter landed up in Bengaluru to explore the old world charm of Mavalli Tiffin Rooms (MTR). MTR is to Bangalore what Indian Coffee House is to Delhi in a way. Indian Coffee House boasts of being home to a place where political deliberations happened at one point in time, a place where the news of Emergency is said to have broken first. Mavalli Tiffin Rooms on the other hand survived the thrust of Emergency and lives on till date to tell the story. Restaurants were asked to charge food at govt approved rates. And this is what their website says, "Some restaurants paid up, others started compromising on the quality. MTR did neither. MTR kept the quality of the food as high as ever and put up a board stating the losses for the day outside the restaurant. MTR continued in this way for 16 days. On the 16th day it closed down. During this time, MTR opened a small departmental store next to the hotel and started making and selling mixes for rava idli and other items (that is a story in itself). The restaurant opened again once the Emergency was lifted."

While there is the regular review jazz to be told, stuff like they serve Kannadigga style South Indian food, that their dosas are slightly crisp on the outside and little fluffy inside, their vadas are crisp to the T yet melt in the mouth when they enter it, that their service is just about right but you won't be treated like a king or a queen ;), that upma is truly comforting as it should be, WHAT Skeety would like to tell you via this blogpost is a little different. The feel of the place is like an old style cafe where perhaps our grandfathers would meet over steaming cups of coffee, a snack and truckloads of conversation. It is not a so called "cool" place. You have to sit/stand in a queue and wait for your turn and this wait can be really really long. No snobbery of pre-booking a table works here. Very regular furniture, minimalistic decor, rickety fans are the high point here. The added advantage of a visit to Mavalli Tiffin Rooms is that you get to see a lot of old-style machinery (perhaps it is not-so-old for South Indians) used to churn humungous quantities of chutneys for daily serving. They gladly allow you a tour of their busy kitchen if you feel like seeing what's cooking. The chefs in the kitchen often pass a smile as you see them work. They don't get annoyed or intimidated by visitors. The bill does not even let you feel a pinch in your pocket while your stomach thanks you for making it Dosa happy :P The menu is limited but Skeety guarantees you would love to go back for the same stuff again and again. They have modernized and opened outlets. Skeety saw a swanky MTR outlet in a mall in Bengaluru. Skeety truly feels that one should still go to the old Lalbaugh outlet for the real feel of the Mavalli Tiffin Rooms. While international food chains are plundering the Indian food scene, Mavalli Tiffin Rooms in Bengaluru, United Coffee House in Delhi, Shiv Sagar in Pune maintain that very old Indian style dining charm. Please don't let that fade away into oblivion. We need to keep the tradition alive. Go MTR!

P.S. MTR is said to be the birthplace of Rava Idli.

Biryani: A photo essay

Presenting something completely different this time. A photo essay on Biryani. The vessel below is used to make 8 kgs of Biryani at a go. Enjoy!

Veiled City

Several parda nasheen women pass by Skeety as she walks towards Lal Kuan after getting off the Chawri Bazaar metro station. A five minute walk later she reaches Bade Mian kheerwale. The widest of wide smiles greets her as Jamaluddin invites her in. Skeety feels as if she was the only customer he had been waiting for whole day. Such is old world hospitality. Though in this part of Delhi women walk around in veils and are seldom unaccompanied, those from outside this world are treated with equal respect. Tehzeeb reigns supreme. Skeety is made to sit on a rickety chair but is treated no less than a princess on a PINK chair.
Conversations with Jamaluddin are devoured even as the taste buds await the kheer. Questions shot by Skeety are answered with perseverance.
And then enters the much acclaimed kheer. Converstaions halt. The dessert made from rice, milk and sweet (sugar and/or jaggery) over slow fire, enters the mouth. New age gelatos cannot match this taste that takes you to pre-cooking ranges age. An earthy, sweet flavour bursts in the mouth as one takes a bite. The rest four senses stand still. Such is the spell cast by the flavours.
Floored!
P.S.: Jamaluddin tells Skeety that the kheer sold at his shop became famous as "bade mian's kheer", when food writer Rahul Verma started calling it so.
Location:
From the mouth of Chawri Bazaar metro station, start walking towards Lal Kuan. On your right, you will find this shop. Skeety can give you the exact location, but then she's never upto any good. *wink*

Dilli meets London @ Prezzo (from the London Diary)

A shopping spree at Harrow led the girlies to St. Georges Shopping Centre for a much needed lunch at Prezzo (serving Italian cuisine). For vegetarians it is rocket science to read through that menu and stay sane to order.
The girlies managed. (These girlies o'course are Skeety and the Nuttiest Nut)15 minutes of consultation and contemplation later they ordered some fries and Mozzarella in Carrozza with Podomoro sauce. Mozzarella in Carozza is essentially Mozzarella cheese deep-fried in breadcrumbs served with a tomato-based pomodoro sauce. And ofcourse coke.
The Mozzarella in Carrozza was a bite of heaven! It was made to perfection and served at just the right tempature.
They then ordered a Margherita Pizza for the main course from the Calzone menu which Prezzo offers. The Pizza was nice and that's about all Skeety would like to say about it.The array of sinful desserts they serve could not tempt the two tummies to overeat after stuffing in the above.
As for the service, the staff were a little indifferent even when the restaurant had only three tables occupied at that hour.
When the food is excellent, ambience a classic and staff resembles a mouth blister, it seems as if the cake has been robbed of that fabulous piece of decor. Sigh!
P.S.: This is one of the few posts from Skeety's London Diary which may be written about here when Skeety so desires.

Location: St Georges Shopping Centre, St Ann's Road, Harrow, Middlesex, HA1 1HS0208 4279588

On Google Maps for St.Georges Shopping Centre