One of the few south Indian cuisines to be really exposed to us all over the country is, of course, Chettinad — or more correctly, the cuisine of the Nattukotai Chettiar community of Tamil Nadu. Speak of south Indian non-vegetarian food (at least outside the four peninsular states) and nine out of 10 people are likely to nod their heads in understanding and say, “Chettinad chicken” (CC).
There’s a truck in this restaurant!
Posted by Anoothi Vishal on August 30th, 2010
Despite being a smallish restaurant really, The Dhaba at the Claridges, Delhi, has always enjoyed immense popularity. Like Bukhara, the ITC brand, it has proved to be an evergreen concept, revolving around the simple theme of a highway eatery (or dhaba) and dishing out such staples as balti meat (which arrives on your tables in mini brass buckets) and tandoori items in a quaint setting, reminiscent of far humbler pleasures than dining out in a pricey five-star involve.
Hilton comes calling in Janakpuri…
Posted by Anoothi Vishal on August 23rd, 2010
… but it’s strictly average—except for the staff
By Anoothi Vishal
The determined onslaught by foreign hospitality chains into the Indian market means that the industry is currently abuzz with who is moving where. Amongst the biggest players to have entered Delhi this year is the Hilton—the US-based brand founded by Conrad Hilton (whose great granddaughter Paris Hilton is someone you may be more familiar with) and it is in news not just because of the famous surname but because of the unlikely location it has chosen for itself: Janakpuri.
Kebabs from Tanjore
Posted by Anoothi Vishal on August 20th, 2010
By Anoothi Vishal
Stunned to discover a south-Indian repertoire of kebabs
You’d associate it with the Brihadeshwara temple, the magnificent Chola prayer-in-rock to Shiva, with Bharat Natyam, with the opulence of its gold-foiled embellished art work, with even sambhar (believed to have originated here after king Sambhoji substituted the Konkani kokum with tamarind in the daal)… but kebabs?
Street food binging in Amritsar
Posted by Anoothi Vishal on June 6th, 2010
Amritsar’s street specialities keep alive its foodie reputation but I manage to have the best thin-crust pizza in India in this chicken tikka town
Almost the first bite that I have in Amristar, fabled city of food and worship, is strangely enough from a thin-crust pizza. But what a bite!
Dining in Gurgaon
Posted by Anoothi Vishal on May 18th, 2010
Anoothi Vishal checks out three new suburban restaurants in two days
I don’t think much of Gurgaon restaurants that tend to be in soulless malls or in glass and steel office complexes hoping to tap into an essentially corporate clientele. If you drive by night, past its glittering towers, zipping on the expressway (except on either sides of the toll bridge where you’ll be crawling, if you are lucky), this satellite town will remind you of Shanghai or Dubai’s Sheikh Zayed Road.
Scaling up China Garden
Posted by Anoothi Vishal on May 1st, 2010
After a hectic week of cooking in a professional kitchen, I finally took a break with, what else, but Indian Chinese…
By Anoothi Vishal
It may not have the mandatory red lanterns synonymous with Indian-Chinese restaurants of yore. But it does have red, runway-type, floor bulbs in the loo lighting up the throne!
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