After hearing all the rave reviews , a visit to Jalpaan was always on the cards. Having heard that they had opened their new outlet closer to home at Adyar , was all the more looking to seize the opportunity to dine at this place and finally the transition from 'Wishlist' to 'Been there list' was complete as I headed here for dinner on a Saturday evening.
It is located in Sardar Patel Road in the complex that also houses GRT Jewellers. It is on the 3rd floor and as you peekaboo from below , it looks like a pretty small place but on actually entering you find that it is very spacious and can accomodate quite a large bunch of customers. There is a lot of brownness converging the surroundings with Brown seats and surfaces. In between the walls are square lit yellow coverings and the roofs are smeared with an array of small bright lights sparkling over. It gives you that mild Punjabi feel and flavour.
The plates and glasses were covered with silver coating and the menu was in the form of a thick binded album book running across quite a few pages comprising mainly of Tandoori and Italian food. We started our foray with the Big Nachos which had large thin slices of the Tortilla chips garnished on the side with an amalgam of exotic veggies. It was deceptive in appearance as when you unveil the bottom portion of the chips you find a luxurious spread of Red kidney beans with cheese topping. It was very heavy and totally relishing. Wanted to try one of their chats and the Karara Palak chat looked interesting. It was like a Dahi Puri chaat with Fried spinach pieces replacing the Puris and sprinkled with the curd and the desired sweet and spices. It was different and kudos for the experimentation.
The next in line was the much awaited Paneer Tikka. In many restaurants , the taste of Paneer seems to have a big weightage in rating the overall portfolio of the cuisine and as an evergreen lover of this sinful delicacy my curiosity and temptation was pretty high. And it perfectly lived up to the billing by being superlative. Had the SARSONWALA PANEER which were marinated in yoghurt paste tossed up with herbs and spices. It was spongy soft and it was an experience slicing and dicing the yellow square and seeing it melt waftly in the mouth :)
For the main course had a Naan , Paneer Kulcha and Jalpaan Dal. The Indian Bread was fluffy and well made and their signature Dal Makhani was out of the world. The lentils were simmering over the delightful gravy giving the perfect feel to the taste buds. Easily one of the best Black Dals i have ever had. Also had a Boondi Raita for additional company which was decent with a slight tinge of masala. Rounded off dinner by having one of their mocktails "Pink Panther" flavoured with a dash of strawberry , pineapple , almond and hazelnut blended with cream and it was absolutely delightful and a perfect signal to end a very satisfying meal.
The pricing is par for the course and the service was pretty quick barring the regular refilling of water which could have been more prompt. The ambience is pretty neat but still a little way off from being exceptional. But the most important part the food is scrumptious and that's what holds the key. All in all looks like another epicurean success story. For me personally , another welcome addition to the list of good restaurants to dine out in the city thus further widening the radar :).
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