Hinglish
If you live in Delhi, chances are that you’ve thought in Hindi and spoken in English. Or thought in both languages and spoken in both. In the same sentence of course. You may have eaten a desi breakfast and an Italian lunch. Or vice versa. That is the spirit that Hinglish celebrates: the crossover between…
Mister Chai
Fusion reaches new heights Tea bar with Indian street snacks One or two experiments with the genre of ‘modern Indian’ and suddenly, it has taken a whole new turn. It is my belief that corny name apart, the menu of Mister Chai is the new trajectory that modern Indian food is going to take. Street…
Zingo Star
Cuisine: American-style bar snacks Atmospherics: The quintessential neighbourhood bar where friends gather to meet. It has all the fixings: the interiors are all-wood, rugged and the chairs are mis-matched. The drinks may be the reason why the place is so crowded, but the food is more than adequate too. I went with suitably low expectations…
Zambar
At the outset, let me tell you of a few of my pet hates. I am not a proponent of making fun of someone else’s accent, especially when it is the name of an establishment. I am not, therefore, a fan of the name Zambar (zany south-speak for sambar). Then, I believe in a certain…
Bagel’s Café
Bagel’s Café, a cheery café in Gurgaon is a piece of Netherlands in the NCR. Owned by a Dutch lady, the menu features the bagel in its many avatars but doesn’t stop there. There are other dishes as well but it is clear that the star of the show is the bagel. The bagel itself…
Tunisia: in the Midst of the Mediterranean
As usual, we were having a party in the hotel room of our journalist colleague, Ye Jun. There were, as always, twelve of us. We met every year in the autumn, in various parts of the olive growing world. As guests of the International Olive Oil Council (IOOC), the twelve of us had, over…
Baluchi
It is heartening to see that Baluchi has undergone a total revamp. All too often, makeovers are merely cosmetic. There is path-breaking stuff happening at the restaurant. For one, the menu represents all the properties of the group, no matter in what part of the country they are. Thus, you’ll find a couple of Kashmiri…
Azzuro, Gurgaon
I’ve lost count of the number of times I have revisited a favourite restaurant and have been disappointed at falling standards. When I was told that Azzuro has a branch in DLF, I was almost certain I would have to write it off. However, thankfully, that is not the case. The DLF menu is tiny…