Masaledaar - Pleasing North Indian Cuisine!

Make no mistake, Masaledaar whips up really pleasant North Indian food. This is one of their recent outlets and is located in GN Chetty Road in T Nagar. The place is small but they have done a good job with the spacing arrangement.

There is not much to talk about the ambiance and it's all about the food. The menu is a simple green colour slider with limited options and not overflowing just to have stuff for the heck of it.

We started with a tomato soup which was fairly nice. The corn starter was quite good too. But what lorded the show was the absolutely amazing Chandani panneer tikka. Being a Paneer afficionado, I wanted to check this place after hearing how jaw dropping well they make this sinful delicacy. The first thing which caught my eyesight on the menu was this and it did really live up to expectation. The panneer pieces were buttery smooth with dollops of cheese being coated across generously. It was truly melt in the mouth stuff.

For main course, we had Indian bread and peas pulao with yellow Dal fry and a curry called Goldasta panneer. The Dal was really nicely made and the panneer curry was sumptuous as well. We ended our meal with a delicious scoop of paan ice cream and we also had lovely glass of chaas which kept us company during our meal.

The service was quick witted and we got the items at a fast clip. The rates are a huge plus point. For the taste and quantity served, this is a real big win.

In conclusion, if you're looking out for some good authentic North Indian cuisine without really burning your pockets, Masaledaar should definitely strike a bell.

Tandoori Place - Ah, melting North Indian culinary delight at Gold Coast!

We were on a stroll down the amazing stretch of 'Surfers Paradise' at Gold Coast looking for an Indian restaurant to feast ourselves to after our tryst with Western food in the few days gone by.

We bounced into 'The Tandoori Place', a pure Indian restaurant serving predominantly North Indian cuisine. We didn't have second thoughts barging into the restaurant.

There is a lovely charm about the place and it and has a royal feel to it with dim yellow lights, chandeliers and portraits depicting ancient India. There is also some lovely olden day hindi music playing on the television screen. The decor seems rich and the surrounding area gives it a vintage flavour.

We ordered the following:
Soup:
We went for the tried and tested good ol tomato soup and it turned out to be really good and far better than some of the tomato soups I've tried back home. Made on a thick tomato puree, it had all the amunition going for it to make it a winner.

Starters:
Here we had the Panneer Kabab and the Masala Papad. The kabab's were really well made with a pasty mix of panneer and aloo inside those soft rolls and went along jocularly well with the green chutney. The papads usually can't go too wrong and it didn't. The unique feature about it was on the presentation where they shaped it in the form of a cone with veggies stuffed to the brim.

Main Course: On the Indian bread side, wanted to try something different apart from the usual Naan's and went for the Panneeri Naan which were made with home made cottage cheese and spices. And I must say it was a delectable fest. The naans were fluffed up with abundant smudged pieces of panneer and turned out to be resounding. We also had the usual Plain Naan and Tandoori Roti and they went along expected lines. For sides we chose the Palak Panneer which again was a star dish being done up really well with a seasoned aroma of palak with whitened pieces of panneer inset. We also tried the Dal Makhanwala. It wasn't the authentic black dal types but nevertheless wonderful to taste.

Dessert: We finished our course with a salt Lassi which was a perfect foil to finish a very satisfactory meal. It had a perfect mix of requisite spices and was a great tongue twirler.

Overall the food was remarkable and a mile beyond expectation. Never expected to eat such good close to perfect North Indian food in a restaurant far away from home. The service was top notch and our food arrived on the table without any really waiting time. Cost seems to be a little on the higher side but can be excused considering the great food on offer.

Conclusion: There aren't too many Indian options in the extremely buzzing Surfer's Paradise. This one though is a little gem. If you're in and around this area and craving for good Indian food, this is indeed the right place for you.

Fully Local - Bollywood ish style!

Fully Local retains a local flavour with it's desiness in the form of it's interiors, wall art depicting quirky signboards and portraits, music belting out Bollywood hits and the color pallette engulfed with a kitchiness resembling a rustic Chandni Chowk kinda vibrant setup.

Fully Local is all to do with North Indian cuisine in a pretty authentic fashion. They have a simple big menu placard with all the items listed and their combo desi meals is a good bet in case you are looking for a full fledged tandoori meal. All their items are sans oil and made with ghee, cream and butter.

We were here on an invite and got to try a variety of their best offerings. First up were the Gol Gappa shots which is quite one of a kind here. They have tequilla like tubes filled to the brim with salted green water as well as the maroon sweet water with crisp puri's placed on them. You are supposed to u-turn the tube, pour it into those hard layered ballooned pieces containing a potato mix and have them. It is quite enthralling and one of a kind consuming the pani puri here. The Masala Papad is another nice appetiser with just the right mix of spices over fried papad. The Dahi papdi chaat was one of my real favourites. Everything about this one was right from the crispness to the flavouring and the ingredients.

Further on in the starters, the aloo tikki's were lip drooling with a smattering of hung curd and sprayed along with coriander/bhujjia for that little extra and presented in a quincunx arrangement. Panneer is one things which lords the show here. They make their own and with cream and butter. The authentic panneer which they served were mouth watering and so were the large chunks of amritsari panneer with a dressing of malai.

The main course was really rich with fully local panneer subji, miloni subji and Kali Dal along with a basket of breads. The panneer pieces were succulent and the gravy just of the right creaminess. The miloni subji had abundance of veggies made in a spinach puree. The black Dal seems to be one of the best with the simmering lentil aroma sweeping your senses. The rotis/naan/parathas were all were really well made and enjoyable to have with the side dishes. Their jeera rice is another good option to have with the curries.

For the ending, we got sweets in the form of jalebi and phirni. The jalebi was crispy but would have been better being a little hotter. The Phirni was decent but not the stuff to rave about. I also had a shot at masala chaas which was immensely refreshing and best way to finish proceedings. They even have a few lovely mocktail options to consume along with your meal.

The prices seem a little on the higher side when ordering individually but with the combo deals in place seems fairly marginal. The service was pretty rapid with the food coming to the table in a jiffy. The decor is simple and low scale. It works well within it's limitations. At the end, you cannot but overlook the cuteness of the sweetener being brought in a vintage cycle miniature and the cheque coming in a rickety iron box.

Conclusion: You get the feel of having an authentic North Indian meal dining at Fully Local. Highly recommended for a rich, wholesome and flavourful Punjabi cuisine.

Royal Indianaa - Accord Metropolitan

Visited Royal Indianaa for the first time today and must say it was a pretty decent experience. A tandoori festival is going on currently titled "Chandigarh se Chennai Tak" where they claim to serve some of the best tandoori cuisine from the heart of the north. And true to the Punjabi culture and style , the buffet spread was gastronomical and lavish. Beleive it or not , this is the first time I'm witness to a place serving a truckload of 10 varieties of veg starters.
Well , here goes the list of starters :
1) Patiala ki Paneer Tikka
2) Multani Tandoori Gobhi
3) Lawrence Road ke Bhuthe
4) Aloo Khurmani ki Tikka
5) Dahi Bhalla
6) Potli Samosa
7) Chatkare Arbi
8) Sabziyon ki Khush Seekh
9) Kunbh Tawa Takatak
10) Moong Dal ke Vada

You might think the above list itself will more than satiate your hunger , but the main course is as giantly as this comprising of plethora of gravies - 2-3 types of Dal , Rajma , Paneer , Aloo , Bhindi , Bhaingan and what not. There are just too many things on the platter that you probably will never be able to really do justice to all the items and invariably you will listen to a cry from your stomach saying please stop , i am unable to digest the overload. :) They also offer unlimited Punjabi Lassi and a welcome drink of your choice - either a Kingfisher Beer or Fresh/canned juice. Also they have a few salad varieties comprising of Papdi chat et al which i couldn't try because of the already over indulgence of my tummy. A live counter with Chole Bhatoore and Pindi Chole too was part of the already elaborate spread. For Indian bread again , you had the option to choose from 3-4 different varieties. Also on the table was Pulao and the customary curd rice. Desserts too didn't want to be left behind offering you Gajar ki Halwa , Gulab Jamun , fresh fruits , ice cream , strawberry mousse , mango mousse , red velvet gateaux , some other couple of pastries etc.

You are totally spoilt for choice at this place and if you looking for sumptuousness , this is probably a go to place for Tandoori Veg. On the flip side , despite the majestically colossal spread , there wasn't any starter which stood apart leaving a lingering taste in your mouth craving for more. Ofcourse , you wouldn't say anything was bad but somehow felt that extra zing was missing.

The ambience is nice and the dim lights are ideal for gorging on this kind of Punjabi khana. The service too was pretty quick and they kept re-filling the starters and glasses at regular intervals.
The buffet is priced at INR 975 all inclusive on the weekends which you would perhaps say is decent for such a monstrous spread plus the fact that it has got a good ambience going and also being located in a star hotel. The hotel staff were however very magnanimous to additionally give us extra 20% discount on the bill.

This was my first dining at Royal Indiana and definitely it deserves a thumbs up for the overall experience.
With some minor tweaks like perhaps reducing the spread marginally and concentrating more on the toothsomeness , it can only tend to get better.
Definitely recommended !!