GLUTTON'S DEN

Joint is my favorite too..i love the food…it taste like none other.. every item on the menu is prepared with such great interest that it reflects in its flavor… i guess they always know what i want that’s y its at its best..

Thanx Gurleen ….Sorry…Dunno how i accidentally deleted your post….neways…will try and take some shots of the food as well….And have updated the Blog with location as well…

THnks Abhishek…wud surely do that…

JOINT my latest obsession……but before you raise your eyebrows , am talking about a new restaurant in Gurgaon .

As the place aptly names itself  ” Joint , an Addiction”, this place is truly an addiction. You go there once, and you’ll end up craving for it every second day.

Cozy ambience, great music, courteous owners and above all …AWESOMELY delicious food makes it “the best” in my list of favourite hangouts in Gurgaon.

Joint, the place and the food,  speaks for itself and needs no publicity. Am sure,soon it’ll be one of the most popular cafes of Gurgaon.

As it is located in the Galleria market , which is an eatery hub , comparisons are inevitable. However, this place is clearly the winner for it knows how to make its customers HAPPY…

Their menu has a wide range to choose from and is easy on your pocket too. The food here is to die for. I have tried almost all the items on their menu and have loved each one of them. Here are a few of my favourites

• Pineapple and cheese sandwich
• Joint N-veg club sandwich
• mushroom and cilantro burger
• zafrani murg tika
• N veg bruschetta

Beware before visiting this place for the first time, as this addiction has no cure…;)…trust me.

It takes only a meal at Big Chill to put that smile back on your face.TRUST ME on that.!!!.Big CHill is much more than a restaurant to me , its a place to fulfill the PURE pleasure of having a scrumptious delectable meal.

BIG CHILL is like a Mecca for foodies and a visit every week is a MUST. Had i been in Delhi , would have ended up going there every second day . Every time i go to that place, i leave a note pleading then to open an outlet in Gurgaon. But alas, all my prayers have ended in vain.

Big Chill has two outlets in Khan Market, one in Kailash colony and one at The DLF Place, Saket. Though they have tried to channelize the crowd area wise, you’d have to wait for a seat even on a weekday in any of the outlets. But the craving for the food is so powerful that you dont mind waiting  at all.

 I personally like the Khan Market outlet.The restaurant there spreads across 2 floors and has terrace section too overlooking the shopping corridor below. The Big Chill has its trademark Interior Decor at all the outlets. The walls are covered with handpainted posters of  yesteryear’s Classics (also derives its name from one). The place has a retro feel to it , with victorian tiles on the flooring, antique lampshades, wrought iron seating and an antique looking wrought iron staircase. While waiting for the food, the posters grab all your attention , each one of them being so rare and you’d find a new one every time.

Well there’s so much to talk about . To start with the food, i remember the entire menu by heart. I have tried almost everything on their food list . You can blindly choose anything from the menu , and i can assure that you wouldn’t be disappointed.

Am listing down a few dishes from the main course which  are my personal favorites

• Jacket potato stuffed with ham and blue cheese
• Sicilian chicken
• Penne with chorizos in mustard and cream sauce
• Spaghetti carbonara
• Chicken in red wine sauce
• four seasons pizza

The pastas are drenched in steaming hot cheese with just the right amount of toppings.The desserts are to die for. I love the Missisippi Mud pie, Blue berry cheese cake and the chocolate irish cheese cake. And in the shakes, the SINFUL belgian chocolate shake is my favourite. The portions are HUGE. Unless you are damn hungry , a dish can easily be shared by 2. Lip smacking Italian cuisine in well feeding proportions makes the eating experience absolutely worth it.  Those who havent been here have no clue what they are missing out on.

My Grandfather was very fond of Nainital , because of which since childhood ,we have been going there for a month every summer…. I generally tend to relate every place i go to, to the food it offers. My love for momos started when i had momos for the first time in the Tibetan market at Nainital. Theres this guy named Sonam who has a stall in the Tibetan Market, famous for serving the best momos in the valley. And trust me , his Momos are the best i have ever had till date. The mutton momos which he serves , are to die for( and am not exaggerating). The mutton filling is so delicious and the white flour covering is so soft, that the momos melt in your mouth . Though that place serves other stuff like Chowmein and fried Momos as well which are equally good, i go there specifically to have mutton momos. There was a time when we(all the cousins) would compete for “who can finish the maximum no. of plates of mutton Momos.?”. By the time we gave up, our stomachs would CRY and we would have no count of the no. of momos we had…!!!! Though the momos are priceless for me, but for those interested in knowing, since past 20 years , a plate of momos at Sonam’s ( a sumptuous 10 peices per plate) costs only Rs 20.

The Momo Legend..SONAM



Here in Gurgaon , you’ll find a MOMO vendor at alomost every 20steps on the roadside, in the malls and all the market places, but none tastes even close enough to the ones i have at Nainital…Since, i cant wait year long for the summers to arrive and have Sonam’s Momos,  i’ve discovered a few places which serve decent momos in town. Once of them is in the Vyapaar Kendra Market who sits on the peripheral corridor facing the main road. He serves only chicken and vegetable momos . His momos are are the best in Gurgaon.One plate has 10 peices and costs Rs.30. The Chicken Kothe Momos served at Bercos are also quite delicious. Though they are a bit expensive than the thele wale Momos, you can still have them once in a while. And lastly, the only place in Gurgaon which serves mutton momos is the Tibetan Kitchen opposite Ardee City . Its momos are delicious, but still they are incomparable to the ones we get at The Tibetan Market in Nainital.

I have been in Gurgaon for like 8 years now.It all started with my parents coming to drop me to college 8years back. They were shit-scared to leave me behind as, Gurgaon at that time. was literally a GAON claiming to offer loads of GUR in future.The golfcourse road, which now houses several sky-scrapers , was a barren stretch with only a couple of buildings namely GE (now known as Genpact), the Central Park and a few houses. It was very difficult to spot people on this road which is a very rare scenario in any part of India.Our college was located at one extreme end of this LIFELESS city.The Nightlife of this NONEXISTENT city was kept alive by the dhabas plugged to the Call Centers, which are open till wee hours in the morning to service the call center crowds.

The tradition of the “Midnight Binging” started when as freshers we were forced to stay back in college to work for the college fest. It was a form of ragging, but we enjoyed it, coz we got to know seniors and our other batch mates as well. As a reward for our day-long hard-work , our seniors treated us for dinner at one of these call center Dhabas.

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Each dhaba had its own specialty. Like the one near Central Park served really awesome masala chai. It was called the Jack Daniels dhaba coz it had a huge Jack Daniel billboard over it. The one next to Converges still serves the most amazing keema and aloo pyaaz paranthas. Another popular dhaba is the one behind Unitech Cyber park, which serves YUMMY vegetable maggi.They add a peculiar mixture of garam masala, vegetables and paneer to the maggi , garnish it with a cube of butter , and some coriander leaves over it .(sounds YUCK but tastes AWESOME).These dhabas have made a huge business over time and some of them have even converted into AC restaurants.

Today, the city has a buzzing night life.There are quite a few hotels which have started with the Midnight Buffet thing, but they don’t suit most pockets. The dhabas give them a real tough competition. There are plenty of options now which are open till 4-5 in the morning.The Midnight Biryani Buffet which starts at 12, at the PARK PLAZA HOTEL is pretty decent and will cost you around 900 bucks.

The WESTIN HOTEL has an amazing buffet spread. Its by far the best i have had in Gurgaon. The buffet starts 12am till 3am. If you just wish to grab a cup of coffee after dinner, you could drop in at CAFE MOCHA.

My favourite there is the Choco-Latte(a double espresso shot with chocolate syrup, steamed milk,  freshly whipped cream dusted with European chocolate), which i usually order with the “SINFUL” Lava-lava (hot molten chocolate under a simmering brownie crust).Its already making my mouth water while writing about it…:P..

This expedition of food exploration , is an endless Journey. However, the drive from the Dhabas to the 5 star Hotels has been deliciously interesting.

Awesome!!!..this is informative man!! way to go!! keep posting

Even though i hate Gurgaon , i must give it some credit for the plethora of options it offers for eating out. Whether you are looking for a variety in indian cuisine or you wish to experiment in international cuisine, it has options to satisfy most taste-buds. The Route04 American diner is one of them. I have gone to the Route 04 at Khan Market a couple of times usually to attend a friends party or just to grab a drink. Never had an opportunity to explore the food it offers.

The restaurant here in Gurgaon wears a typical grunge look (one which reminds us of the countryside pubs as shown in Hollywood movies). Located amidst the jungle of office buildings, the crowd comprises only of the formally dressed office going people as against the young wanna-be headbangers at the Khan Market outlet. The walls are clad with a vintage wallpaper, and the art-pieces seem to have been picked up from a junk store , as they mostly comprise of old rusted metal sign boards and advertisements of the 60’s era, which in a way enhance the look of the place.

There were 4 of us and we ordered for a pitcher of beer and an American grilled meat platter (which is an assorted mix of cold cuts served with hash brown and black pepper sauce) to start with. We got way too excited to discover that the Happy Hours were till 2a.m…(well, one of our friends ended up going to the loo every 15mins to clear her stomach for next round of drinks..:P ). For the main course, we had Chicken carne picada(spicy chicken chunks in kidney sauce served with rice), a lamb steak and a meat blast pizza.By the end of it, we were 6 pitchers down and quite HAPPY !!! So overall i loved the place, the food was AWESOME, specially the lamb steak. It was juicy , moderately done, and wasn’t too spicy, in short “YUMMY”…!!! The meat blast pizza is also a must have. It was a thin crust pizza LOADED with sausage , salami , ham and bacon..

FINALLY…we held our breaths to face the BILL….But to our surprise even though we had SO much, our bill was only 3800 bucks…Guess we had a LUCKY DAY…:D…

Location :Tower E, Sapient Building, DLF Cybergreens, Phase 3, Gurgaon

Sometime back,  me and my friend went for a movie at City Centre Mall, Gurgaon. By the time the movie ended, our stomachs were screaming for food.All the other restaurants had shut by that time. We usually crossed this one before, but were never intrigued to go inside.Having left with no other choice, we were forced to try it out.

Our apprehensions were knocked out, once we went inside. It was as if, we accidentally landed up in a Chandni Chowk lane. The restaurant has tried to capture the old Delhi charm of eating out at the paranthe wali gali. The place has a quirky decor (raw Chandni Chowk street style in a modern contemporary setting). You can peep through old broken windows, to see whats cooking. A huge wall graffiti of  a typical old Delhi street , old lanterns , antique wall clocks add to the “feel” of the place. Old classic hindi film songs playing in the background quite compliment the ambience.There also a signboard which reads kripya khane ke liye haathon ka prayog karein..

The place has an elaborate menu (justifying its name…thats its NOT JUST PARATHAS). We tried a few of their specialities like Dal Makhmali , Chur Chur Mutton parantha, Chur-chur Papad pyaz parantha and Khasta parantha. Though the dishes floated in butter, they truly were finger licking good.  The portions are huge and the paranthas are crisp. Dal too was a delicacy…A warning for the Calorie Concious people : THIS PLACE IS NOT FOR YOU…

As we were paying the bill, i saw the waiter pass by me carrying a Flaming parantha. And i was drooling over it.hehe..Would definitely try it in my next visit which is going to be REALLY soon.

(P.S. : sorry for the bad picture quality, have been taken by iphone)

Location : 2nd Floor, DT City Center Mall, Gurgaon

Having been a patron of the orginal Sakleys at Nainital since childhood, i was super ecstatic when it opened up here in Gurgaon. Sakleys is one of my favourite hangout joints in Gurgaon. End up going there almost every alternate day….Its not only the food there , but the overall ambience of the place that takes you away from the city’s drab life . Its a cozy hideout from the hustle-bustle of the city. They call them selves as ” The Mountain cafe” and have quite literally stuck to the title..Wooden log ceiling , old classic posters of  The Beatles, Marilyn Monroe, sketches by Mario Miranda adorn the wall along with a bookshelf . The place is dimly lit by candles with old classic vocal jazz , softly playing in the background.

I usually go there with friends in the evening after office. Its a perfect place to unwind yourself.

The food does equal justice to the ambience.Till now almost all the items in their menu, have been covered by me.

Usually, when am alone, I order a cup of coffee, and get a book to read (or pick up one from the bookshelf). And when am with friends,we order for a club sandwich (the best one have had here is  Ham bacon sausage with melted cheese Club sandwich  which is accompanied with loads of fries) , pick up the latest issue of the midday and solve the Bollywood crossword (which is good fun…u should try it sometime)…In winters, their tomato soup is to die for, which they serve with Garlic bread…(gives me a good reason to wait for the cold brutal season).I recently tried their Chicken Steak with pepper Mushroom sauce .We were 4 of us, and ended up scrambling for the last bit left on the plate :p .

The bill comes cutely tucked in a pine cone, and we are often surprised with a free pastry.

What else do you need..?? .

Location : 1st Floor, DLF Galleria Market, Phase IV, Gurgaon