That feeling you get in your stomach when you see him .....

Well I mean to say that feeling when you get in your stomach when you see food and not him.  

We crave what we dnt have , and I always get such cravings mostly  at  midnights . This year in 2018 I had some fantastic food for which I can visit the place frequently and I often get cravings for them.
If you ever visit these restaurants / Cafes , you must try these dishes . I am sure you will thank me  because there are certain special stuffs which you might not know. 

1. Sibuya  
Cheese tarts and Truffle Edamame dimsums
Oh. the tarts at shibuya is like food porn and I can have four of it at one go.


2. Baar Baar 
I recently had food at my fav chef Sujan Sarkar's place and I fell in love with their fried chicken and Duck Kulcha. Chef is very generous to grate the truffle over the kulcha.

3. Perch
Try their Coffee Wine and Scotch eggs if you are pork eater .

4. Molecule 
First thing which i like at molecule is their terrace. This place has some positive vibe. In food I crave for their Laal maas Tacos and Lamb chops  .  I had the best Kahwa made by Chef Anas Qureshi . 

5. The Drunken Botanist 
Mahy's white lady cocktail , Chef Vaibhav Bhargava's Salmon pizza , Pork belly and Bread Pudding. Their bread pudding gives food orgasms.

6. Town hall , Gurgaon
Sushi platter .

7. Prankster 
Fateer . I had this dish at their launch and since then I never miss ordering this dish whenever i visit them. Do you know Chef Harangad makes an awesome rum and coffee based cocktail ? I also crave for their rose kheer which they have removed from their menu.

8. Philtre
All the cocktails made by Bartender Ammy Dua

9. Too Indian 
I crave for their special Navratra menu which Chef Santu Maite specially curate during Navratri days.

10. Pra Pra Prank
Oh their Lobster is to die for .  I can eat one big lobster of their menu.

11. Dhaba -Est 1986
Balti Meat and Rabri

12. Lolz , Ghaziabad 
I crave for their Messy Bum Burger .  The man behind  #TheBigBhaangTheory Kama K M owns the cafe and you must try this burger if you ever visit the place.

13. The Park 
The seasonal menu curated by Chef Abhishek Basu at their Indian restaurant "Fire". They use 80 percent organic ingredients in their menu and are helping farmers to sell their vegetable at their premises on every sunday .

14. Lavaash by Saby
Mutton Puffs  . Although I love all their dishes but I get bad cravings for their mutton puffs . Btw their cocktails are very potent .

15.Piano Man 
Pizza con Patata . I never had such amazing Pizza with potato slices on top anywhere else.

16. Amarjyoti 
Mutton Seek Kabab. Their preparation and way of serving the dish is very different than other restaurants .

17. Fig & Maple The refreshing Fig and Maple Salad .

18. Nagaland Kitchen 
Fried Pork ribs.
Whenever I miss home, I head to Nagaland Kitchen .

19. Dzukou
Pork Momos
Although this restaurant is under renovation, I am going to rush on their first day of opening for momos and King chilli chutney .


20. Neung Roi
Tub Tim Knob
I have not tasted such delish dessert anywhere else .

21. Off the Hook ( Desi Dakshin) 
Mutton Sukka and Manglorean Biryani

22. Curry Singh Kitchen 
Bhatti Murg and Punjabi Mutton curry

23. Lantern 
Chapta Kabab. ( You will not get this kabab in any other restaurant )

There are thousands of dishes which I crave for but right now I am remembering these most and let me write about other dishes on  my next blog . Till  then drool ....









  

Pra Pra Prank - Secret visit which turned into a fun dinner .

 After checking few tempting food photos of Pra Pra Prank, in social media, I planned a secret visit to the place. Since it is a restro-bar, I planned to visit in evening for an early dinner.  I took a risk of not prebooking a table ,  Luckily I  got one but my mission of secret visit  failed as I met  the owner  due team of - Inderjeet Banga and Jasmeet Banga along with their chef  Kaustabh Haldipur. 

Although its not so big in area , the place is quirky with modern art pieces on the wall . You can say it has been build aesthetically, dividing the restaurant and bar into two divisions. Bar door has miniature liquors which is slightly confusing as a wall of the restaurant. Both Inderjeet and Jasmeet  are  well travelled  and have great aesthetic sense. You will find white porcelein smilies as wall mounted lights and giant ants have been handpicked by them.  Each crockery has been well taken care of while selecting for the restaurant.

Lets talk food

Their menu is huge keeping in mind to satisfy the palates of all kind of generations  with indian and pan asian cuisines . Being from northeast , i wanted to try their soup with dumpling with Nepali broth.( 245/-)  It was more like a thukpa with burst of flavours . I was quite impressed with their crockery . The candle beneath the bowl kept the soup warm till my last spoon.  By this time I kept the menu aside and asked Chef Kaustubh  to serve with his choice of dishes . So with his recommendation , this carnivorous enjoyed their "Rainbow Sushi" (495/-)  . It was not only beautiful to look , but was full of flavours .  Sushi had no artificial colour.  Chef wanted me to try their wild mushroom rice but my love for  seafood demanded their baked Lobster (1048/-). Generally people kill the natural flavour of the lobster with overpowering it with spices , but this baked lobster had that natural mineral taste with a tinge of black bean sauce  over it .  Infact this dish was the rockstar of the dinner, to which Inderjeet said " We want to interplay with the flavours of Indian and Panasian cuisines" . 

Rainbow Sushi

Pork on skewers

24 carat Palak Patta Chaat

By this time I was already feeling full but still the gluttony in me wanted to have just a spoonful of more flavours  and ordered a plate of  Kozhi ghee roast (chicken)  with Appam (545/-) . Meanwhile Chef served me 24 Carat Palak ki Chaat (275/-) . Though I am not a chat person but after my first bite I guess I finished half of it . I must say the palak patta was crispy till I finished my meal.
Now came the ghee roast , Appams   had strong coconut milk flavour and was  slightly sweet to taste . Ghee roast was authentic and was not tempered for any innovation.
I was so happy to hear Inder asking the bartender Sanchayan Jana " She loves bacon so serve her the cocktail with bacon washed whiskey" , to which I also happily nodded and there comes the bacon washed whiskey cocktail with crispy bacon strips and berry pickle . On the other hand Kaustav too brought " Pork belly on skewers (545/-) . .A pork dish should always have fat with it , and thats the reason why I always avoid pork dish here in Delhi NCR . Also people here kill the natural taste of pork with loads of sauces and spices . And when I saw the fat sticking to the pork belly , I grabbed my plate and forgot all table manners . With "aah" and "ooh" , I ate three sticks of pork belly. Gluttony me . The Nigella , Aam shotto , pork fat and meat was like perfect marriage

I was so full that i couldnt do justice to the plate of cannoli as dessert (325/-) .  I couldnt enjoy the platter so kept it pending for my next visit to try with few more sweets.
I must say my secret visit turned the table into a dinner with laughter , food discussions, the heart to heart coversation of how each piece of art or cutleries have been handpicked from different parts of the world . And why it took a long time to open this beautiful restro bar .
The food menu and the presentation , shows the hardwork of Chef Kaustubh and Chef Harangad Singh and entire team of the kitchen. I am a fan of Chef Harangad for his creativity and innovations with age old home recipes  and now Chef Kaustabh has also won my heart with his long list of dishes with robust flavours .  On the other side , behind the miniature door , there is a hispter bar managed by bartender Sanchayan Jana  , creating magic in concoctions with rare and exotic ingredients .

A cocktail based on bacon washed whiskey served with bacon strips and berry pickle

Baked Lobster

My quest to know more about the concept and more dishes with burst of flavours is on and I am going soon to try more .
If you enter  Pra Pra , donot forget to turn your left and see a lady's brain moving and working constantly, with "naughty" naah rather "thoughty" mind  . Also check the uniforms of the staff.  Each staff member  is wearing a different logo on their coat which resembles Pra Pra Prank's theme , and all the logos have been designed into one , which you will find in their menu book and the banner .  Let me not explain more . You need to visit this restro-bar and solve the mystery.  The team has not left any scope to criticise . But still I want to recommend the baked lobster and sushi(s) a must  to try .

The Bar

Till then ........


Destination
Pra Pra Prank
Cyber Hub , Gurgaon. 

The Italian Market Place by Chef Subrata Debnath

There was a masterclass of Chef Subrata Debnath at Taj City Center, Gurgaon on last Saturday with chef's expertise in regional Italian cuisine, and I learned a classic Tiramisu from scratch. Foreign desserts are always a difficult task for me but the chef had made it so easy for me with his detailed description and demonstration. 

Masterclass followed by the chef table of Chef Subrata showcasing traditional epicurean delicacies of Calabria, Tuscany, Sicily, Puglia and Campania. Inspite of being a hardcore nonvegetarian, I recommend the pizza with truffle cream and aged parmesan as "a must try dish" in this 10 days culinary extravaganza started from 9th of this month to 19th feb'18 at their restaurant  Culina 44. 

Pizza with truffle oil and aged parmesan

smoked turkey breast , olive , jalapeno calzone

It was a sunny and warm day and the antiplasti with fresh fig , melon slices . arugula with aged balsamic was very refrshing . 

Prosciutto, melon slices , fresh figs, arugula and aged balsamic

With a brief interaction with the chef , got to know that having  almost 25 years of experience in career , Chef has started his journey from Taj Bangalore and after working in best hotels across 10 countries in south asia and middle east, he is now leading a team of 60 odd chefs and culinary experts at one of the Taj's iconic hotels .

On my curiosity to his best dish , he said he loves preparing rustic Italian fare and "Lamb bolognese" is one dish which he always loves to cook.

With ingredients like Tuscan , Puttanesca sauce , Truffle oil , Taggiasca sauce etc  used in the menu , I was wondering the take of Delhi NCR people  where most of them know Italian food as only pizza and pasta with lots of cheese and white or red sauce .  I was curious to know Chef's opinion , to which he said " The Indian culinary world has progressed phenomenally over the past few years and it is encouraging to see a deepened interest towards authentic cuisines - both international and local . Italian cuisine is all about fresh flavours and quality ingredients and it is much appreciated in the Indian culinary world ".

What I understood of Italian cuisine with my discussion with Subrata is,  there is minimal use of spices and the flavours are delicate , aromatic and easy on the palate  For the "Italian Market Place ", his preparations are all about rustic and regional Italian . Chef is using the freshest ingredients available and the special menu is more than just mozzarella and pasta . For example the "Beetroot Orzottto" is a classic made with pearl barley while  "Tiramisu classico"  is made the authentic way using pasteurised eggs and mascarpone

Beetroot barley , mascarpone cream risotto

Rockstar of the day - Classic Tiramisu

When the masterclass was going on , I could see how passionately chef was answering all doubts on making a classic tiramisu. They say keep your passion alive and here is the chef who left his engineering and graduated from hotel school.
I wish Chef Subrata Debnath my best wishes and thank Ananya Mukherjee , who heads the PR and marketing of the hotel , to introduce me with this "Persona Eccellente" 





To head for "The Market Place by Chef Subrata
- Culina44
Park City Center
Gurgaon.