Pizza.com / Deepak Bhojnalaya Middle Bazar

Middle bazar has always been the quiet zone of the city, with not much happening ever. Its dotted with small eateries, offices of lawyers, jewellers and other shops of daily provisions. Its a favourite place for teenagers and people looking for a quick and cheap bite.

So, when word got out of a new and improved Deepak Bhojnalaya, i had to check it out for myself. And, i sure was in for a surprise. The joint had got a complete face lift and like a rebirth of sorts.There was new gizmo lighting, some of it actually revolves and changes colour too. Tall leather-back black chairs had been brought in. Very comfortable.

Also, a white board with daily specials and pick of the day. A health quote to spark your grey cells..Theme dressing for the waiters and a special discount for the fairer sex on Womens Day. I'm breathless just writing about it.

Now to come to the most important and critical factor - FOOD.

Its pretty good, the menu is very well planned and catchy. Its all vegetarian, so sure to be a hit with our herbivores instincts. There is a lot of choice in pizzas, pasta, breads, rolls and also salads. The portions are very generous and food fresh from the oven. The cutlery, thank God for that, is not plastic, very neat porcelain white slim plates.

The star attraction for those with a sweet tooth, is the choice of desserts, beverages and shakes. There are shakes with ice cream, oreos and fresh fruit. We tried the farm house pizza, with standard garlic bread, a veggie sparkle burger and fries. Very satisfying.

We had the ' white heaven ' drink, thats gulab jamun with vanilla ice cream in a high ball glass. Yummylicious...


Theres still more, if you fill in your comments in the feedback book,and leave your cell number. Be sure to get a sms with a discount offer, even before you reach home...


Sounds too good to be true, it is.. The owner takes a lot of interest, the waiters need to be a little more perky. Hope they maintain their standard and keep up the effort...


Two visits in a month, speaks in itself... Enjoy

Buddy's Fast Food - Beware

Everybody deserves a second chance, is not a golden rule and definitely does not apply to food joints.

I have realised that once you strike off a food joint from your - must go list, you should never go back to it. Unless you have amnesia or have money to waste and idle time to spend.

I remember going to Buddy's when i was expecting my second baby, very often, as it was on the way to Indus hospital. And, even in that enchanced hormonal stage, i was pretty disappointed with the food. So, on my last gynae visit i had decided never to go there again.

But, today i was famished and happen to be at St. Bedes chowk, so i decided to give it another try. The place has modest interiors, hasn't changed much over the years.

It might look like a happening place to a fresher in St. Bedes college, but to a veteran like me, its just the same.

Self service and cleaning of the tables, by a very sad under paid looking steward. Blaring, misfit music  and above all terrible food.

I am never over critical with food, willing to cut slack most of the time. But, it was unpardonable today. We ordered chicken biryani with butter chicken in gravy. It took almost forty five minutes for the order to arrive.

The biryani was orange coloured rice, with two sad pieces of chicken. In the name of presentation there was a flower shaped capsicum on top.

The chicken curry was made of stale tandoori chicken, the gravy was made by a twelve year old it seemed. It was raw and tasteless. Very unpalatable.

But, the folly was ours, as on closer inspection we realised that the neighboring tables had ordered maggi and momos. Easy to make and ready to eat. As saving grace, the cold coffee was decent.

I am going to stick to my not to go list, from now onwards. Please go at at your own risk.. Avoid if possible.
 

Fascination Shimla

Ironically, as the name suggests i was never fascinated to it..

Some places never excite you enough.. But, i got an opportunity to change my opinion last week.. Shimla runs out of options to dine out on The Mall.. Its like a loop which keeps playing itself again and again..

My husband is a big fan of the place so nudged me to give it another try. So as a rule i always try new things on the menu and strange names always attract me.

So we ordered Chicken Chow soup on a misty Friday evening, which the steward described as chicken clear soup with soft noodles. The soup was delicious, the broth was clear, comforting and very well seasoned. Chicken was plenty and the vegetable had been cut beautifully in juliennes, not diced..

Then the next dish we ordered was Chicken Fuyong, again mystery name, which the waiter simply described as a chicken omelette. It was a surprise, and combined very well with the soup. Crisp outside, with a soft filling of chicken and veggies.

We ended our meal, with my husbands favourite chicken chowmein, and yes i knew thats noodles.. It was nice, not very indianised and very well seasoned. the noodles seemd handmade, not out of a packet.

The service was very good, the steward was polite and prompt, clean table cloth and napkins. And food served on warm plates..

The mist, the company, good food, lucky me.. Enjoyed ...

Chung Fa Chinese Food

Before i start, i must confess, that quite a few of you, might accuse me of being biased after reading this. But, when it comes to food -

Thou shall only hear what your heart seeks...

Chung Fa has been on my list of joints for more than a decade now. Mr. Anthony who runs the place, always welcomes you with a smile and a twinkle in his eyes. And in a jiffy, comes up with good food.

Over the years not much has changed in terms of the decor or furniture. Except for the annual change of the Chinese calendar on the wall. As a matter of fact, food also tastes the same year after year.

Its my place of crime -
On a rainy day
On a shoe string budget day
Only girls outing day
Nostalgia day and so on...

A bowl of  hot chicken soup with noodles, does wonders to your soul. It revives your spirit and gets you going for the grind again... The spring rolls are unmatched anyhwere in Shimla. And i can bet on that.

The Chinese and American chopsuey both are pretty decent. The sweet corn chicken soup is a favourite with my girls.

Bsically, Chinese food with very minimal Indianisation. My suggestion, stick to the basics, keep a blind eye to the decor, and enjoy...

Chinese Food, Shimla

I have been in living in Shimla all my life. Yet one thing that always disappoints me is , non availability of good Chinese joints. To name a few there is Dim Sum, Aunty's and Chung Fa. The first i visited last weekend only to be disappointed again. For a place situated on the Mall, the place has very simple interiors. Thats not a problem. But the cutlery is so unappealing, the jugs dont seem to have been washed for days and picnic glasses and plates.. I'm willing to ignore this too for a good meal in return.. But theres more to come.. The portions are exceptionally small and prices shocking.. I ask for crab and ham rice, as expected crab not available. I am suggested to have mixed rice instead, which has miniature beings, supposedly called shrimps in them.. But i'm a fair person, the Teriyaki chicken was well cooked and so was the Manchow soup.. I had chosen to go here instead of Aunty's. cos the latter has a long waiting period, again very uncomfortable seating and sometimes good food.. I wish consistency was the top most goal for all restaurant owners.. Keep it simple and sweet.. Will be back with more food escapades soon..

Hotel Blossom, Shimla

We had lunch at Hotel Blossom the 6th of this month, i always like the ambience the garden, lawn and flowers. But this time i was disappointed. The tandoor was not available as always. The new waiter tells me with tongue in his cheek, that it works according to occupancy. But all said and done the golden fried chicken was good and so was my favourite crispy honey chilly potatoe. The spicy chicken salad looked different this time.And to top it all we ordered Imperial Chicken , the menu said it is served with garlic bread and white sauce. What is served looks like a desi version of Chicken stroganoff.. sad. We send it back and ask for what the menu says. To our utter disbelief the chef punishes us by sending out tawa toasted white bread with sauteed garlic pieces between them. The bar was always teir weak point. But this time we had Bloody Mary minus the vodka and plus tomato ketchup in it.. Screwdriver was made in mixed fruit juice. And despite the elaborate affair of desserts in the menu, only gulab jamun was available. It a pity that joints in Shimla fail to maintain a standard and try to retain customers..I dont think i'll be going back there soon.

Cream Coffee- Indian Coffee House

So i decided to give Indian Coffee House another try. I had ticked it off many years ago, due to bad service and below average food. I went there this weekend with hubby dear, to have vada sambhar. Sadly at 6pm, vadas were finished, so had to settle for idli sambar. The sambhar was awful, it seemed to have been boiling since 6am and been diluted repeatedly. I can still taste the after taste in my mouth. Now we ordered a supposedly famous concoction called ' cream coffee ', the waiter had not heard of it in these parts. In Shimla its called - hot cream. Now, i'm smiling it was wonderful and tooooooo good. Its black coffee served with whipped cream on the side. U can have it with or without sugar..I'm going to go back for it.. Must try for all..