Reviews Posted by: Sid |
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| "Fortune Cookie: Must try once" |
16 Dec 2008 |
| Meeting with some long lost friends, their parents, their children and so on, we landed up at Fortune Cookie on Friday night.
It’s a nice place really - the owner is an ex-shippie who has ransacked his house and placed all his collected oriental artifacts in the restaurant. Decorated with an overpowering shade of red, The Fortune Cookie has a pleasant ambience and is a nice place to visit.
I remember the last time I was there. They have this tall, lanky waiter who has some kind of a language problem, or is it IQ. Out of the many things we ordered, one was lamb in black bean sauce. It went something like this:
Me: … and I’d like a lamb in black bean sauce
He: Black bean sauce?
Me: Yes, black bean sauce
He: You want lamb in black bean sauce.
Me: Thats right.
He: Not, the shredded lamb in hot garlic sauce
Me: No, I want the lamb in black bean sauce
He: Not hot garlic sauce.
Me: Yes, not hot garlic sauce
You must believe me. It actually went like that, till I asked him to please can it and call someone else to take my order. This time too, there was an equally tall, but different chap, who managed to repeat my order 5 times, in 5 different ways till I had to ask him to please ask someone else to come… and who should he send… the previous tall chap of ‘lamb in in black bean sauce’ fame. He must have sensed something was wrong based on my frantic gesticulations, reddening of the face and bulging eyes or was it the hoarsely rasped ‘not you, anyone but you’ - whatever it was, he rapidly backtracked and sent another chap, who did it right the first time.
This time, we stuck to much cliched items - chicken sweet corn soup, vegetable sweet corn soup, clear chicken soup with noodles, chicken lemon and coriander soup, vegetable lemon and coriander soup, lamb in black bean sauce (yeah, i like this one), brocolli and baby corn in soya garlic sauce, vegetable rice, vegetable noodles and chicken noodles. As I said, the food was cliched but then so was most of the menu. Going by that kind of food, given sufficient MSG, soya and vinegar, you really can’t go wrong. Therefore, most of the food tasted good. We did order a bottle of beer, a few lime sodas and a brandy too.
The damages: INR 3,500 for 5 adults and 3 children - not bad.
Try it out - they aren’t adventurous, but what they have isn’t bad and you’ll probably go back a second time. |
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| "Superstars: Ordinary" |
16 Dec 2008 |
| I went for lunch today to Superstars in Sector 18, NOIDA with an old friend, who I was meeting after nearly 14 years.
They haven’t spared any expense in doing up the place and have probably paid a pretty penny for the decor. A pool table, glass floors, huge bar, a music system that can be heard on the moon, wooden floors - the works.
I wish they had paid some more attention to the menu however. The menu itself was bland and uninspired with the same cliched dishes that you’ve seen in a hundred other tex-mex joints. When I was showing myself out, one of the waiters told me they have a buffet too. On first look, it appeared fine, so I went ahead and booked a table.
We tried their ‘Orange Country’ cocktail, which turned out to be an extra sweet screwdriver. The good part was that since it was ‘happy hours’, we got another one free. Coming to the food. The buffet table was laid out with a bowl of lettuce, a green sliced salad and a ‘chinese chicken salad’, (whatever that is), two kinds of rice, two vegetarian dishes, a dal and a fussili in ‘curry sauce’, a chicken dish and a mutton dish. Breads like paranthas, rotis, naans etc were available on order.
In one word the food was ‘ordinary’. The fussili in curry sauce seemed to be boiled pasta in watered down left over gravy, the dal was badly cooked, the vegetable and paneer dishes no different from what you can get from your neighbourhood dhaba - slightly worse perhaps, the mutton was totally insipid, diluted and grossly overcooked. The saving grace was perhaps the chicken dish, which was reasonably well cooked. Now don’t get me wrong here - the food wasn’t bad - it just wasn’t good - which one tends to expect from a restaurant with a Raddison pedigree.
Visit if you’re loaded and want a drink. If you’re looking for good food, look any other way but here.
food.sidkhullar.com |
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| "Kebab Krazy: Try it once" |
16 Dec 2008 |
| For a place that claims to be krazy about kebabs, this one sure doesn’t live up to its name. The main dining area on the first floor comprises 5 tables / 20 covers. The décor could probably be a little more imaginative, as all the tables are laid end to end without any variation in theme or colour. I must admin they’ve made the most of the cramped interior space available and have even managed to fit in a bar. It doesn’t serve alcohol though, till the first of March 2008, when they expect their liquor license.
Coming to the food. Like I said, it doesn’t seem to live up to its name. We sampled their Bullet Kebabs, described as ‘Fried spicy mutton balls, served with BBQ sauce, Arabic pickle and salad on vinaigrette dressing’, I couldn’t find a trace of BBQ sauce or the vinaigrette dressing. The Arabic pickle was there though, in the form of three beetroot sticks in brine. The Kadhai Chicken was the usual fare – chicken in a thick, sweetish, onion-y, spicy gravy that was nothing to write home about. The Methi Chaman was again a normal paneer dish disguised under a layer of fried methi. If you’re there you may like to try their vegetarian and non-vegetarian kebab platters available in two sizes.
I did note that service was eager, attentive and friendly. Visit if you must, only if there is no other alternative in sight.
Meal for Two: INR 1200 + taxes
food.sidkhullar.com |
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| "Flluid: Interesting" |
16 Dec 2008 |
| Flluid is in the Mosaic Hotel and is probably one of the most interesting lounge bars in the area. They have an adequate selection of food and quite an array of liquors. In fact, Flluid probably has the best stocked bar in NOIDA!
On entering you feel you’ve stepped into some location in the Arctic or perhaps a lounge inside of an igloo. Its white everywhere and all flowing curves with colour themed lighting kicking in from time to time. I do wish they had paid a little more attention to the furniture, which is more decorative than comfortable. Built inside a large hall, they also feature a live DJ and dance floor in the basement.
We tried their Tempura Vegetables with Tansui Sauce – a pale imitation of the real thing and I still can’t figure out what is a ‘Tansui Sauce’. The chef’s special is something they call ‘Mumbai Seekh Kebab’ – well spiced, but stingy on the meat content and rather watery. Served with separate coriander and mango chutneys, it still tastes fine though. You could also try their Lebanese Platter – but don’t expect great things. Coming to the best part - there are deserts and then there are the deserts at Flluid. You must try their Trio Desert – a platter with three mini servings of three different deserts, the best of which is the Crème Brûlée. Served in a tiny bowl, the taste is perfect and so is the caramelised topping.
Flluid is a great place to chill out and have a few drinks, either at the tables or at the huge sit down bar. Food may not be the best in town or authentic, but it’s definitely worth checking out! Did I tell you they have ‘Naughty Hours’ from 2:00pm to 8:00p with 40% off everything (including food, IMFL and imported liquors). 8:00pm onwards, they have a ‘buy one get one free’ offer on all types of liquor.
Meal for two: INR 1500 + taxes | No home delivery | Takeaway | Alcohol Served
food.sidkhullar.com |
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| "All American Diner: Must visit" |
16 Dec 2008 |
| We met up here for lunch with brother and wives [Indu, Navnita]. Located in the India Habitat Centre on Lodhi road, The All American Diner is a good choice for the odd meal.
The very first point in the experience is the people at the gate of IHC. Very polite and helpful, it is a good start to a memorable time. Further into the premises, you find ample parking and helpful attendants all over the place. Stepping into the diner itself, you’re hit by a pleasant, non intrusive ambience that makes you want to stay on and yak just a bit more. Comfortable seating and a very nice hostess ensure you’re settled in well.
We ordered a beer, vanilla shake, hawaiian sunset and 1001 dalmatians to drink. Eats consisted of a Sunrise Skillet (a bacon and eggs platter), Fish Fry platter (prawns and fish, breaded, fried accompanied by sour cream), Surf and Turf (stuffed chicken breast accompanied by a lovely brown sauce and grilled vegetables), Non veg sampler (a bit of everything they have to offer in a platter) and finally, fettucini with a creamy sauce and onions.
I enjoyed every bit of it and fast service ensured I didn’t have a chance to grumble. If you’re in the locality or even a bit farther away, its worth visiting every once in a while. By the way, we had to wait about 30 minutes for a table - which is a good sign anywhere, and this was lunch!
Meal for 2: 1200 | Alcohol: Served
food.sidkhullar.com |
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