Dum Phukt

I had the opportunity to eat at Dum Phukt last week. Actually, I ate their twice last week. While the first meal was great, the second one seemed too similar to the first and hence wasn't that great.

17th Nov 2004, Meal 1:
The 4 of us ordered:
2 Kakori Kebabs
1 Hara Kabab
1 DAL
1 Rogan Josh
1 Chicken Dum Phukt
2 Nans
2 glassed of wine at 500/- each

At the end of it, we paid about 7000/- for the meal and about 17000 for the bottle of wine we ordered while we were waiting for the table. It was a Brunello di Montalcino We started drinking the wine at about 8PM and finished the bottle around 10:30PM. Inspite of pouring the wine in a decanter, we felt that we could have given the wine more time to breathe. It was an awesome bottle of wine.

In all, this was a fantastic meal. At 25000/- it seemed a little expensive though.

I must mention that the wine list at the Maurya is a little misleading. They did not have the OPUS 1 or the Insignia for the year mentioned on the wine list. In fact, it took them a good 10 minutes to locate the Brunello. This was actually good service compared to what we were subjected to 2 days later.

19th Nov 2004, Meal 2

Again, as a part of another party of 4, we went to Dum Phukt; this time with reservations. I sat at the same table I sat 2 nights ago. We ordered:

1 Kakori Kebab
1 Hara Kebab
1 Dudiya Kebab
1 Dal (from Bukhara)
1 Nan
1 Kulcha, Aloo
1 Raan
1 Chicken Dum Phukt

We also ordered a bottle of wine. This time the bottle cost us only 6000/- . I think we ordered the Amarone but I am not sure. We looked at the wine list for good 30 minutes before one of us decided that we were going to order the amarone. We asked the waiter to get us the bottle. It took the waiter 3 tries and over 45 minutes to get us the bottle we wanted. They kept bringing us a wine that was not on the list!

The wine finally arrived when we were halfway done through the starters. The starters were consistent and excellent, just like the first time. Although the novelty was not there anymore. This is probably why I do not consider meal 2 to be memorable. The raan was not good, the texture was too strange for me.

I think we paid about 6800/- for the food and about 7500/- for the assorted drinks.

China Fare

China Fare in Khan Market is now my favourite Indo-Chinese restaurant in Delhi. I really liked their Chowmein very much. Since I don't particularly like authentic Chinese food (chicken feet and fish and all) and I dont think Chinese foods from Vans is particularly healthy, I am left to pick a chinese restaurant from the following list:

1. Moet's
2. Akasaka
3. China Fare
   
4. Chinese Room at Nirula's C.P.
5. Zen C.P.
   
6. Berco's

so my ranking would be:

1. China Fare
2. Moet's
3. Akasaka
4. Chinese Room at Nirula's C.P.
5. Zen
   
6. Berco's - dont go there, anywhere but here.

--Anubhav

Park Balluchi

Park Balluchi
Inside Deer Park,
Hauz Khas Village,
ND: 16
Ph: 26859369, 26969829

So, the family of five and a half people ate at Park Balluchi on 16/10/04. It was a great meal. Clearly the best Indian meal I have had in a long time.

I want to say that Park Balluchi is probably the best Indian restaurant in Delhi right now. I think there food is innovative and tasty. They are a great value for money. Here are some things that stood out:

1. Paneer Harra: Delicious Paneer Pikka sandwich with corn, spinach, herb etc used as a filling
2. N. H. Gulbahar: Fabulous besan dish. The besan had a texture of paneer and the gravy was really tasty. Paneer like Besan triangles were nothing like I have ever tasted before and I will go back just for these
3. Stuffed Kulcha, Lacchedar Paratha and the Garlin Naan were all fantastic.
   

The only think that did not stand out was the Dal. They do not have Dal Makhni.. and quite frankly I am fed up of having Dal Makhni everytime, everywhere. As much as I like it, I think I am done with Dal Makhni for atleast 2 months. Here is the cost analysis:

1. Paneer Harra: 160/-
2. Reshmi Kabab: 220/-
3. Palak Sabz M: 150/-
4. N. H. Gulbahar: 160/-
5. Dal Mohani: 120/-
6. Aloo Kulcha : 70/-
7. Garlin Naan: 75/-
8. P'wari Naan: 35/-
9. Tnd. Paratha: 35/-
10. Tax: 8%

Total: 1144.80 for a meal for 5 people. It would have been less than 200/- per person had we avoided the Reshmi Kabab.

It was sad to see that Park Balluchi had done away with the really romantic huts outside. The huts were really private and fun. I guess it wasn't providing them with enough revenue so they converted the 3 stand alone huts to a large sitting area with 6 tables.

--Anubhav

Bukhara

We went to Bukhara last night.

We got in at 7:50PM. Got our table at 8:50PM and were out of the restaurant by 10:00PM. It seems that it is really difficult to skip the queue at Bukhara. I did see Mr. Mehta jump the queue. He got a table for 2 in 20 minutes, when everyone else had to wait for 50m - 1 hr to get a table.

Clearly he had a good relation with the usher.

We were 5 and we ordered:

1. Corona Beer x 3 = 350 x 3 = 1050
2. Large Non Veg Starters Platter
3. Dal x 2 = 300 x 2 = 600
4. Nan x 5 = 95 x 5 = 475
5. Chichen Makhni

In all we paid 5000/- for this meal for 5. Of course we could have gone to Dum Phukt and ordered the Dal from Bukhara, but we found out that Dum Phukt won't allow my 3 month daughter in their establishment. Bukhara had no problems with it.

Next time around, I think we will not order the large non veg starters platter. It seems like a waste of money if you are not into all kinds of meat.

Thai in Delhi

Bangkok remains my choice for Thai food in Delhi. Even though their soups are avoidable and their curries too spicy, the pahd thai preparation keeps bringing me back to this establishment.

We ordered the following items last week:

1. Pahd Thai
2. Red Curry Chicken
3. Plain Rice

This meal for two set us back by Rs. 520/-

I have vowed never to eat Thai and Chinese at Berco's. They have no clue as to what they are doing. They continue to put in too much lemongrass in all their Thai items and claim that that is how Thai food is supposed to taste!

I would have believed them had I not known better.