My food adventures continue

My food adventures take me far and wide in this city (ok they take me far and contribute to my widening waistline!!). The law of averages claims that for every great hit I find, there must be a miss too. The law of bollywood also suggest that “Ek heere ki khoj mein kaanch aur pathharon ko jaanchna zaruri hai”. Well atleast that’s what I tell myself everytime I have a terrible meal.

Which reminds me of my discovery in Sundar Nagar called Baci. Terrible may be too strong a word for the food there. Let's just say it failed to impress. A cute little restaurant filled with foreigners and expats and a menu that had me salivating. Alas, the food fell flat. The Steak was far too well done to be called medium well and the Pasta with Smoked Salmon was too dry. Perhaps after discovering the latter dish in Amour, my standards for it have become too high. But then, if I am paying Rs.3000 for 2, I demand better food than the crap I was served. The only (and I stress on only) saving grace was the White Chocolate Mascarpone with Irish Cream. Absolutely divine!

So the first rain of the monsoon took us by surprise and washed the angry summer away. With such wonderful weather on a Saturday afternoon, we hijacked our friends from the other end of the city, P &R and headed to the open air restaurants of MG Road. Tonino was surprisingly empty for such gorgeous weather and relented that we wanted to sit outdoors in the drizzle and not inside the restaurant. Toninos is known for its thin crust pizzas and for good reason. This gorgeous half and half of Tomato and Mozzarella and Chorizo and Black Olives was lipsmacking. As was the rest of the food. But our favorite was the complementary freshly baked bread with a delicious black olive pate. But again, with a bill of Rs.3000 for 2, I could see a sad demise of our days of economical eat outs!

The Bento Box at Tamura

As much as I love Yum Yum Tree, I am glad I took S's advice and met her at this little known Japanese restaurant in Green Park - Tamura. You know that you're at the right place when not only is the seating low (Japanese style) but you also have lots of Japanese co-diners. The menu at Tamura is exciting with options for all kinds of meats in forms like Ramen, Tempura, Teppanyaki etc. What is even more encouraging is that these don't come with the usual heavy tag that Japanese restaurants like Wasabi have. The Bento Box above cost Rs.550 and included Chicken Teppanyaki on some noodles, fish, breaded prawn, sticky rice, some egg dish (stacked omelet types), seaweed, sesame spinach and some yummy sides that I can't name. We also ordered the Pork Ramen which was heartwarming and nice. Cheap it is not but at Rs.600 per head, atleast I still had money for parking.  

And lastly, my lunch today. The only place to get authentic Parsi food in Delhi, the Parsi Anjuman or Resthouse on Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg is a secret whispered in corners but never announced. To enjoy their delicious fare at the canteen like cafeteria, one has to make sure you call ahead and tell them you're coming. They serve Dhansak on Thursdays and Sundays. The food is charged per person and is a fixed menu. I am not a great fan of Dhansak but I will dream about those amazingly flavored Mutton Kebabs tonight for sure. Must visit - for the experience of a small community hidden in the folds of the rest of India. And for those heavenly kebabs.