Category: dine

Top of the city

If I visit a certain restaurant the second time, the first visit ought to have been excellent. So, is the case with most people, I believe. The third visit is what judges the credibility of the eatery in question.

My second visit to Le Cafe (Fashion Designer Ravi Bajaj’s rooftop cafe at GK-I N-block) after a superb first one (few month’s back) was ummmmm… disappointing.
With the Ogre-sized hole that the bill left in my pocket, I did not expect to be served a cold grilled sandwich in the least!

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Enter, Ravi Bajaj’s. Head, for the lift. The smell of the Mandarin oil (burnt in the oil-burner) makes you feel happy and relaxed.

Enter, the lift. Exit, the lift.Enter Le, Cafe. What a place! What a place! Ambience perfect. Just where one would love to unwind on a hot sticky sunny afternoon. Arrive, the Menu. It says: Spring 2007. They claim: to change it by the season. One can choose from: Soups, Light meals, Salads, Sandwiches, Pastas, Omlettes and Scrambles, Le Cafe specials and beverages. I chose: Capres – A grilled sandwich with tomato, mozzarella, olive oil and basil served with your choice of bread. Ordered: Capres with Ciabbata bread and Iced Tea for a drink. Settled, in the oh-so-dreamy ambience. The meal arrives on time. Impressed, not for long. One bite, and I know why it came so quick. They did not care to let the griller be on for long; saving electricity perhaps. They love their mozzarella, not melted and stringy (slurp), but ugly, fat and rubbery! Huh! Did not expect that of a place which Ritu Dalmia had helped set up. Then came walking to me, sitting in a brown jacket, held by a waiter, the bill. The big FAT bill. And along with that, a comment sheet. Ah! Grabbed it and penned down my displeasure. Got up, to exit. The manager or someone stopped me, saying Ma’am I am really sorry. Next time, this happens, you MUST return the meal straightaway. Now, now now! Which hungry person would like to wait another 10 minutes for the meal to be re-heated and stuff of that sort?! Hence, I had eaten. Otherwise also, I do not like to return my meals, howsoever badly they are cooked (only at restaurants or cafes 😉 ). Politely turned to the the man with that smug of a smile and said, ‘I do not visit restaurants for that. Thank You.’ Embarrassed, he said the ‘sorry’ word again.Now the big question: Will I ever go there again? Perhaps another time, yes. Only for the ambience though, and quite expecting what to get for food.

When its summertime and the time to dine

Much has been written about Dilli ki Garmi. And now its time to sit up and beat the heat!

Cool! Ain’t it?

In the past few days, i’ve been trying to find places to chill. Saltz @ GK-1, M block is a lovely place to chill out on a hot summer Sunday. When you don’t feel like doing anything head to Saltz, sip their Thai Cold Coffee, order a Gelato of your choice and sit ‘n’ stare by the window seat (they hv a few).

Veg Siomai
Braised Thai Noodles

My maiden visit to Saltz came on last Saturday. I was accompanied by a Thai food lover. In the company of this Thai food lover I am learning to appreciate Thai cuisine as this person orders stuff for me that does NOT contain coconut. And now about the ambience, food and masti: Ambience was excellent! The place is done up in blue, light silver and white. A perfect summery joint! Highly recommended! Food was only ‘ok’. But the fact that we can order Gelato from the Gelato parlour downstairs makes it cool as u don’t necessarily hv to order food. The menu is influenced by the South-East Asian region. It has many Thai items as must be apparent by now. Service again is only ok. There was only one more table occupied still the service was slow. If you are headed for a quick lunch or hunger is getting on to you, this is so not a place to be.
While we waited for our lunch, we checked out the GK crowd from our window seat 😀 One that amused us the most was a gentleman sitting under a tree and reading a newspaper. He was so lost in his own world that it appeared as if he was sitting in the balcony of his sea-facing apartment and readign it. LOL.

Can u spot him?

Anyway, we ordered Veg Siomai (Indonesian Steamed dumplings) for starters. They were simply yummilicious and were served with some hot red sauce. For the main course was ordered Thai Chicken Curry by the Thai food lover and I ordered Braised Thai Noodles which were served with Black Mushrooms and greens. The Thai Chicken curry was adjudged not good by the Thai food lover. My verdict for the Braised Thai Noodles was Pass. They were a bit bland, but that is the way they were supposed to be. The dessert was what we enjoyed the most. But sadly I’ve forgotten the name. However, a pic follows 🙂


Last words: Saltz was Sweet 🙂