DINNER AT GRANDMAMA'S CAFE

Grandmama’s café, one more foodie bolt hole in Kamala Mills. The very first thing as you enter the restaurant, rather arrive at the entrance of the restaurant is, how cute it is and will totally make you miss your grandmama’s place. With cute interiors to floral walls to the chairs, everything is so adorable.

Even though we went there on a weekday, which is on a Thursday night, the place was fully packed, which is a good message. Also, people of all age groups were enjoying themselves there. Youngsters, middle aged people and older people too.

They had a vast menu from the kitchens of Italian Grandmamas and Bombay Grandmamas and Parsi Grandmamas and much more. 

We started our special foodie journey with Grandmama’s Meatballs which were chicken meatballs tossed in homemade tomato sauce with almond flakes and smoked paprika. The meatballs were perfectly cooked and the flavorsome tangy sauce made the juicy and soft meatballs so delectable. They will definitely make you miss your grandmama’s delectable food.

Then we ordered Hummus – Flavored Chickpea paste with paprika, vegetables and pita. Hummus came with a piece of broccoli, few stripes of carrot and zucchini. It was an average dish. Not the best hummus I’ve had. 

Gambas Al Ajillo – Prawns with garlic, olive oil, chilli and basil was very succulent.

Next was, Grandmama’s roast chicken – classic roast chicken, spring vegetables served with rosemary mash and pan jus. As the name suggests, it was a classic and so tender and juicy. It actually tasted like the home-made delicious roast chiecken cooked by grandmamma.

Then it was time was pizza. For vegetarian we had Grandmama’s special pizza which was cheese pizza topped with sundried tomatoes, olives, onions and bell peppers. For non-veg we ordered Pepperoni Pizza, the classic Italian pizza. Both the pizzas were so appetizing.

We ordered Classic Prawn Cocktail, which is poached prawns tossed in sharp brandy mayo garnished with coriander croutes. It was served in a cocktail glass and was presented very well. The sauce was so good and tasted amazing with the coriander croutes and lettuce.

Arancini balls are deep fried risotto balls stuffed with mozzarella, served with mango mayo. Mango mayo didn’t go very well with the balls and they were a bit bland. I would say passable.

Grandmama’s Home-made Ravioli, which is Pumpkin and sage ravioli in dill cream cheese sauce, was an average dish. Although the cheese sauce was brilliant.

Wild mushroom risotto – which is creamy mushroom risotto served with brown butter. We added chicken to it. This was the best risotto I’ve had.  So delicious, creamy and cooked with perfection.

We then ordered Grandmama’s chicken wings – Pressure-cooked chicken wings tossed in homemade sweet and spicy sauce. They were served in a tiny bi-cycle . The way it was presented was really cool and funky. It was also very delectable and creamy.

All American burger – Juicy tenderloin patty, topped with crispy bacon and melted cheddar enclosed in a bun. This burger was heavenly. It could have been cheesier though.

Then coming to desserts, they had various pastries, we ordered a red velvet cheese cake, a chocolate ecstasy pastry and a mud cake pastry. Red velvet cake was not extraordinary. It tasted fine.

Chocolate ecstasy pastry and mud cake pastry were both good and chocolaty.

We then tried their homemade waffles and we added nutella to it. Waffles were just perfect and tasted amazing with nutella.

We also had their chocochip pancakes with salter caramel, which were so soft and delicious. 

We also ordered some cocktails. Anti-Ageing Caipiroska which was sweet tangy and perfect, a Grandmama’s mixed melon sangria and a blue lagoon cooler which was also sweet and sour and was very refreshing.

We told you, the menu is pretty huge, and we wanted to try a lot of things.

We will want to try their Rajma chawal, Dhansak, Keema pao, khichdi, milkshakes and of course their breakfast menu, and a lot more!

We will be heading to Grandmama’s very soon again to try some of their other dishes from their lovely menu.

If you are looking to have a gala time with your family, go to Grandmama’s café for breakfast, lunch or dinner. You will love every bit of it! 

-PRIANCA BAKSHI

OUR EXPERIENCE AT ZU TISCH, GK1

Zu tisch is a modern german bistro in a very famous restaurant hub of south delhi i.e GK , located on second floor in GK 2 , M Block market , the place has pretty nice ambience and classy aura. I fell in love with the relaxed feel of this place . The wall art is really interesting , the bar is equally attractive offering various varieties of mocktails and cocktails, You will feel super comfortable here so it'a perfect place to hangout.

The service was nothing less than perfect , the best part was that the servers know about the dishes very well and were very responsive.

Coming to the drinks we had-

German chocolate shake -came in a sleek bottle was veryy yummy in taste.

Berry cookie and cold coffee- both the drinks were excellent in taste.

Very berry slush and black grape muddle - both the mocktails were awesome in taste ,had a tangy and flavour in it made the drink worth every sip. 

Vodkatini- the only cocktail we ordered , had right amount of alcohol in it and was equally good.

Dragon rolls- were nothing extraordinary , were going well with the sauces accompanied along had a decent taste.

All veg pizza- a thin crust pizza, must say very delicious in taste, topped with veggies and gooey cheese is a must try! 

Lasagna rolls- droolworthy dish , very refreshing , the moment it entered in our mouths it just melted in our mouth, a satisfying treat for our taste buds.

Mix sauce pasta- tossed in hot and tangy sauce along with bell peppers was flavourful in taste.

Beer batter prawns- yummy, juicy, heavenlyyy prawns accompanied with potato wedges was cooked to perfection.

The sad part is they don't serve desserts but i hope they introduce it really soon.

All in all i had a good time with my friends here , and if you want to have sumptuous meal in a cozy place with good music in South delhi , you know where to head.

-TAVISHI ARORA

MEX-ING WITH KURRIES & BURRIES

A hidden gems in one of the lanes near Wilson College. It’s a small casual dining food joint, with a menu of a fine dining restaurant. They have a lot to offer, right from wraps and sandwiches to Tex-Mex to Italian to Asian and Oriental, they have a pretty vast menu.

Now you vegetarians have a place where you can take your non-vegetarian friends along. Although it is a vegetarian restaurant, the quality and taste of the food will also make the non-vegetarians come back and eat here.

The idea of having a pure vegetarian menu is to let vegetarians enjoy some international cuisines! A lot of vegetarians do not prefer going to a non-veg restaurant and not many restaurants in Mumbai have an all veg menu with international, especially Mexican cuisine! They also serve Jain food.

It was started a year and a half back with a vision of serving international cuisines suited for the Indian taste palates. While you can enjoy your Asian, Mexican or Italian food here, you won’t miss out on the flavors because it has that special Indian touch to it !

Given the vast menu, we wanted to order a lot of things, and yes we did since it was so pocket-friendly inspite of being located in a place like Chowpaty. A perfect place for people of any age group, especially teenagers as a cool drink on a hot summer day after college won’t hurt anybody. Yes, they have some really amazing coolers and shakes.

There is a personal touch in each dish, as they make all their curries and pastes in-house and recipes are developed in-house too.

All the dishes were served one by one on our table.  And we started with their shakes.

  

Tender berry shake which is their speciallity, took me back to my childhood with it’s sweet flavor like frutella candy! It is a mix of berry concentrate, soda, lemon juice and mint leaves and is extremely refreshing!

And, Mango Mocktail, made out of fresh mango and pineapple, which is served throughout the year, was a total bliss. It is a perfect blend of mango and pineapple pulp. Each sip gives you a taste of mango and a tint of pineapple. The drink is topped with nuts, which makes it even tastier.

Refreshing drinks, what else can you ask for on a sunny day?

 

We had their signature dish, which is Mexican Mex-wich. It is a deep fried sandwich filled with Mexican beans, cottage cheese, crispy nachos topped with tangy salsa, sour cream and yummy cheese sauce. It is garnished with jalapeños. Its presentation was so good, it made it even more appetizing! It is a must have as you won’t find this in other places!

Then came the Crackling Spinach with Paneer. Even the ones who hate green leafy vegetables won’t be disappointed. It is flavorsome cottage cheese sprinkled with delicious amount of crispy spinach

Then we had Taquitos, which are deep fried tortillas in the shape of cones with Mexican fillings. It is totally delicious and is served with sour cream and a sauce.

We tried their corn cheese and capsicum momos. You will enjoy that if you like cheesy and bland momos.

We also wanted to try their Italian cuisine, so we had penne pasta in pesto sauce which was a delight with perfect flavors and so smooth and cheesy. It was served with garlic bread.

It was then followed by Kung Pao potatoes, which was my favorite and was nothing like the Kung pao that you have in other restaurants. Since it is made in-house, they have a special touch to it making it so delectable that you will keep craving for more!

Then we had their burritos, which we were looking forward for since the beginning! We ordered their Miniature Big Daddy Burritos. It is a roll filled with Mexican beans, rice, bell peppers, Kung Pao potatoes (our favorite), chilli paneer and sautéed zucchini. I would say, it was a perfect fusion of Mexican and Asian flavors!

Finally, we ended our meal with their specialty dessert, chocolate rolls with ice cream. The rolls were oozing with chocolate sauce and were sprinkled with chocolate chips. It was served with two scoops of vanilla ice cream. It was just perfect!

If you want to savor something different or are looking for some fusion food, then Kurries & Burries is the place you should be heading to!

- PRIANCA BAKSHI

NANDO'S GRILLER CHALLENGE - OUR EXPERIENCE

We all have been to Nando’s at some point of time with family or friends, but when you get invited to actually be able to grill Nando’s chicken and prepare your own meal as part of a Chicken Grilling Challenge, I knew I was in for a treat.

Had gone to Nando’s, Cyber Hub, Gurgaon for a grlling challenge organised by them and I was quite excited about the events ahead. 

The activity kicked off with a kitchen visit where we were briefed about how to prepare dishes- the cutting, grilling, roasting of veggies and chicken, the time allotted for cooking and pointers on which our dish will be judged- taste, presentation and how well cooked our chicken is.

It was a perfect time spent at Nando’s where I used all my culinary abilities which I didn’t know I had. I was totally in mood to get my hands on Nando’s famous PERi-PERi sauce and prepare my dish.

After thinking over what to cook, we were given 20 minutes each to prepare our style of Nando’s chicken. It was an amazing experience -especially the part where we worked on the grills with chicken and roasted veggies on the flat-top grill. Assembling the ingredients creatively to make it look colorful and attractive was also challenging since everyone else was as eager to win the activity as me but we were accompanied by a Nando’s griller expert who kept guiding us through the preparation process and helped us with friendly tips.

After we were all through with cooking, our dishes were judged by Mr. Gaurav and later we all sat down to enjoy the food. We had a fun group photo session at the end and all participants were given bottles of the famous Nando’s PERi-PERi sauce.

 The two winners were awarded with the most delicious prize ever of free meal for 15 days at Nando’s!

I’m glad that I could be there for this very interesting and engaging food challenge that Nando’s created. Looking forward to more such badass events.