Five Mad Men – December Special Menu.

[NOTE: The food we tasted were part of the exclusive menu launched by Five Fat Men specially for December + From the Regular menu as well].
(You can click on the pictures for a larger and better view)
Located on the 1st floor of Omega Building (Salt Lake Sector 5), this amazing place serves some delicious lipsmacking food with a really cool ambience. This place can accomodate around 70 people at a time. Hospitality is exuberant with the staff members being well knowledged about what they were serving on the table.

My experience summed up in 5 Points (For those who don’t want to go through a long detailed review):

●Ambience : 4/5.

●Food : 4/5.(Rating solely based on the tried food only).

●Quantity: 3.75/5.

●Value for money: 3.65/5.

●Hospitality and Service: 4.75/5.

■OVERALL RATING: 4.03/5.

MUST HAVE : Pork Schnitzel, Vegetable Creole Burger, Roast Lamb (Only if you love lamb), Baked Spinach and Corn Cannelloni, Lasagne.

FOR A DETAILED REVIEW, PLEASE KEEP READING.😊

Coming to what I had and how my tastebuds reacted to it.

1) Pork Scnitzel @Rs.445.00, Taste Rate – 4.25/5 : First things first, the pork meat was of supreme quality! Any kind of schnitzel is made by first beating the boneless meat to flat, seasoning it and then deep frying the glorious beauty after an egg wash followed by a coating of bread crumbs. This is a crispier and magnificent version of a nugget. There are two portions of schnitzel served with a sunny side up topped with capers, crispy fried potato wedges (which were bang on, btw!), cabbage salad and two dips out of which the minty mayonnaise was brilliant and complemented the deep fried beauties really well.

2) Bhetki in Mustard Wine Sauce @Rs.575.00, Taste Rate – 3.75/5 : What sets them apart is the fact that they use calcutta bhetki and not the tasteless bland basa that most restaurants use nowadays. The fish was flaky, soft and yet well cooked. The mustard wasn’t overwhelming at all, rather there wasn’t much of a hint of mustard. But the sauce it was tossed in along with the peppers, was pretty good. The peppers retained there crunch which I truly appreciate. Full marks for using fresh ingredients.

3)Non Veg Slider Platter @Rs.595.00, Taste Rate – 3.5/5 [This was a part of the regular menu].

This platter comes with 3 sliders, Crispy potato wedges and A dip.

Coming to the sliders:

i》Pulled Chicken Burger, Taste Rate – 4/5 : I loved this one! The creamy and slightly sweetish shredded chicken filling was truly a delight to the palate. I loved the usage of mayo and fresh cream which enhanced the flavours. The freshly ground pepper delivered a nice punch to the burger as a whole.

ii》Pulled Lamb burger, Taste Rate – 3/5 : This burger was a bit dry so I wasn’t much of a fan. This would taste better with lamb being more juicy and the buns having absorbed more of the lamb jus.

iii》Pulled Pork Burger [I didn’t taste this one. So no comments. Rating of the platter is based on the above two sliders I devoured in.]

4) Vegetable Creole Burger @295.00, Taste Rate – 4.95/5 [ A part of the regular menu]: Hands down, one of the very best vegetable burgers I have had. Oh dear god! I was blown away with the tantalising flavours! The patty was obviously deep fried to perfection and was beautifully sandwiched between two handmade buns with lettuce and chef’s special sauce. One bite into the burger and the patty just explodes revealing it’s juicy interior bursting with flavours hitting the right spot. Creole is a cuisine arising from the combination of European and Carribean cuisines. The smokey flavour of the patty got me drooling so bad.Too good to be true.

5) Roast Lamb with Pepper Jus @Rs.645.00, Taste Rate – 3.85/5 : A very Christmasy dish indeed! I personally am not the biggest fan of lamb because the weird smell of cooked lamb totally puts me off but I was taken by surprise when I tasted the one from here. Again, the quality of the meat was such that there wasn’t any obnoxious aroma but rather a beautifully cooked and roasted portion of lamb meat accompanied by a side of roasted baby potatoes and salad. The pepper jus was very comforting and soothing to the soul. The roasted baby potatoes were amazing as well. All in all, a great dish.

6) Cordon Bleu with Lyonnaise Potato @Rs.395.00, Taste Rate – 2.5/5: In a simpler language, Cordon bleu is breaded and pan fried chicken breast stuffed with ham and cheese. The cordon bleu here wasnt breaded and fried so it was more like a Roulade which is a european technique of rolling the chicken with spinach, cheese and other veggies. The cordon bleu was pretty bland and needed more seasoning and ham. The layonnaise potatoes originated in France and is a dish made with potatoes sliced into discs, sauted with butter and parsley. The potatoes were nice.

7) Baked Spinach and Corn Cannelloni @Rs.425.00, Taste Rate – 4.75/5 : Making cannelonni requires special skills to not overcook the pasta sheets and turn it into a mush and the the chef here has mastered the art to cook everything perfectly. The cannellonis were elegantly stuffed with spinach and corn and then baked with cheese and heavy cream. The spinach used was fresh enough and so efficiently prepared that there was no hint of bitterness at all which is very common when spinach is overcooked.

 

8) Vegetable Lasagne @Rs.425.00, Taste Rate – 4.5/5 : Again, the lasagne sheets were beautifully cooked – Soft but not mushy. The creame cheese combination was spot on and it was perfectly baked.

Moving on to desserts now,

9) Strawberry and Chocolate Mousse @Rs.155.00, Taste Rate – 3.5/5 : Strawberries and Chocolates are a deadly combination. The trick is to get the right balance of flavours between the sweetness+acidic nature from the strawberries and the bitterness of the dark chocolate. The mousse was light and well whipped with a prominent flavour of strawberry but somehow the chocolate mousse didn’t blend with the strawberry counterpart – Most probably because it was mild chocolate and not the dark one. Had dark chocolate been used, this mousse would take a huge leap towards pleasing the soul and tummy altogether.

10) Baked Yoghurt @Rs.155.00, Taste Rate – 3.25/5 : The consistency was that of a baked yoghurt but it tasted more or less like Shrikhand to me. If you are a fan of baked yoghurt and shrikhand, you’ll definitely like this.

11) Blueberry Cheesecake @Rs.245.00, Taste Rate – 2.75/5 : The thing that this cheesecake lacked was cream cheese! There was absolutely no hint of cream cheese. It was more or less like a mousse cake and also, I am still very confused if it was a strawberry cheesecake or a blueberry cheesecake because I clearly felt it was the former. Not that it was bad to taste but I was very disappointed with the fact that I took a spoonful thinking it would be cheesecake but it was nothing close to one. The base was beautiful though. A good mousse cake is what I’d rather call this.

All the drinks served were alcoholic. Since I dont consume alcohol, I have no idea how the drinks tasted but they looked really pretty!

MUST HAVE : Pork Schnitzel, Vegetable Creole Burger, Roast Lamb (Only if you love lamb), Baked Spinach and Corn Cannelloni, Lasagne. [Incase you missed this part at the beginning of the review].

This place is pretty heavy on the pocket but totally worth it given to the excellent quality of the ingredients.
Recommended (Depending how deep a hole your pocket can bear)!

Eat.Salivate.Repeat.
Stay beautiful. 
Happy eating.

For more pictures, visit my instagram page @the.gastronomical.voyage.

 

Munch&Chow, Chinar Park

The other day I was invited for a food tasting session held at Munch and Chow! Honestly, as a pure vegetarian restaurant, the fried appetizers and the indian main course were quite amazing and total value for money. The place is small but the ambience is pretty and the lighting is good as well. Seating is also somewhat comfortable.

My experience summed up in 5 Points (For those who don’t want to go through a long detailed review):

●Ambience : 3.5/5

●Food : 3.78/5.(Rating solely based on the tried food only).

●Quantity: 3.5/5.

●Value for money: 3.75/5.

●Hospitality and Service: 4/5.

■OVERALL RATING: 3.7/5.

Recommendations : Stuffed Mushrooms, Cheese Dyanmite, Mushroom Dopyaza, Kadahi Paneer, Butter Roti, Shahi Pulao, Fried Icecream.

FOR A DETAILED REVIEW, PLEASE KEEP READING.😊

Coming to what we had and how our tastebuds reacted to it.😊

APPETISERS : 《Average Taste Rate for this section 3.5/5》

1) Tandoori Chai @Rs.30.00, Taste Rate- 3/5 : We started of with hot bubbling tandoori chai which is very much overhyped throughout thr country. Honestly, I dont understand the extra effort to put it in a vessel heated inside the tandoor because there’s no additional flavour that is delivered to the chai. The 3 rating is solely for the chai which was a blend of masala tea and additional ginger. It could be a bit less sweet though.

2) Stuffed Mushrooms @Rs.140.00, Taste Rate – 4/5: Button mushrooms generously stuffed with spinach flavoured with garlic and then crumb fried to perfection! These beauties were drizzled with mayonnaise and tasted super delicious! A bit more cheese inside would take it to another level of excellence.

3) Cheese Dyanamite @Rs.110.00, Taste Rate – 4.25/5 : I loved these! These were jumbo mozzarella sticks which were brilliantly crumb coated! So damn good! The cheese pull was perfect, the seasoning was on point, the dip complemented the crumb fried beauties with utmost elegance.

4) Cheese Chilli Fries, Taste Rate – 2/5 : The fries were perfectly crisp but lacked any sort of mushy agent like any sort of gravy with which cheese fries should mandatorily topped as a result, these fries ended up too be too dry with cheese which added on to thr dryness. They also sprinkled raw red onions on top which delivered a pungency which didn’t complement the fries at all. When we shared our opinion, they promised us to look into this matter and I honestly think they can improve this dish a lot if these key points are taken into consideration.

5) Spinach and Cheese Rolls @Rs.120.00, Taste Rate – 3.75/5 : Crisp spring rolls stuffed with spinach and cheese, served with sweet chilli sauce. For 120, I believe the quanity could have been a tad bit more.

●MAIN COURSE : 《Average Taste Rate for this section : 3.6/5》.

6) Veg Cheeseburger @Rs.60.00, Taste Rate – 2/5 : The burger was plain dry and needed a lot more sauce or mayonnaise and cheese to help us actually gulp it down. The binding agent used in the patty made it shrivelled and brittle.

7) Mexican Veg Quesadillas @Rs.150.00, Taste Rate – 3/5 : The quesadillas were strictly okay to taste. The tortillas were very soft and grilled really well. But I wasn’t a fan of the stuffing which was just sauted onions, a little bit of corn and capsicum with almost negligible amount of cheese. Needed a lot more punch of flavours to uplift the dish.

8) Mushroom Dopyaza @Rs.120.00, Taste Rate – 4.75/5 : Clearly the star of the evening! The mushroom dopyaza was creamy, rich and super flavourful. The sweetish tinge to it was amazingly enjoyable. The mushrooms used were of great quality hence, that enhanced the taste of the dish.

9) Kadahi Paneer @Rs.140.00, Taste Rate – 3.85/5 : Typically kadahi paneer involved paneer along with capsicum and onions in a spicy indian gravy. Here there was no usage of either capsicum or onions. Nonetheless, the gravy tasted quite well. The paneer cubes were big and fresh!

10) Butter Rotis @Rs.20.00, Taste Rate – 4/5 : I don’t really rate rotis or normal indian breads but the roti served here was exceptionally delicious. The wheat rotis were tandoored beautifully without being burnt. There was a comforting smokey aroma imparted to the rotis which were finished with a dallop of amul butter! The rotis complemented the indian gravies nicely.

11) Shahi Pulao @Rs.130.00, Taste Rate – 4/5 : The pulao was loaded with vegetables like cauliflower, beans, peas, carrots and topped with grated paneer. The flavours of this one was subtle and very comforting. Enjoyed it.

●Dessert:

12) Fried Icecream, Taste Rate – 4.25/5 : Fried Icecream has always been one of my favourite desserts! Adding a crunchy texture to the creamy ice cream is truly magical to the core. Apart from the beautiful fried coating, the cornflakes, raisins, cashews sprinkled around this splendid beauty, added more texture! The chocolate sauce drizzled on top made it sweeter! All in all, this is a must try if you are a fan of fried icecreams.

I’d definitely recommend you this place if you are around Rajarhat area and want some good vegetarian indian food and also the speciality appetisers!

My recommendations again : Stuffed Mushrooms, Cheese Dyanmite, Mushroom Dopyaza, Kadahi Paneer, Butter Roti, Shahi Pulao, Fried Icecream.

Eat.Salivate.Repeat.💗

Stay beautiful. 🙈💓

Happy eating.❤❤

HOLA – SOUTHERN AVENUE.

First things first, you can never just go to this place and fill yourself properly with just 1000 bucks (which zomato says is enough) for 2! You’ll require close to 800-1000 INR per person if you are actually hungry and not wanting to stick to one dish and pretend to be full till the brim after polishing the plate clean.

Hola is a very cozy Multicuisine Restaurant serving North Indian, Chinese, Oriental and Continental cuisines. The seating is inside a cubicle with a small tv attached to the wall. Therefore every cubicle has a tv of it’s own and the sofas are actually very comfortable.

My experience summed up in 6 Points (For those who don’t want to go through a long detailed review):

●Ambience : 4.25/5

●Food : 3.5/5.(Rating solely based on the tried food only).

●Quantity: 2/5.

●Value for money: 2.5/5.

●Hospitality and Service: 3.5/5.

■OVERALL RATING: 3.15/5

FOR A DETAILED REVIEW, PLEASE KEEP READING.😊

Coming to what we had and how our tastebuds reacted to it.😊

1) Devils on horseback @Rs.445.00, (Taste Rate – 4/5) :
Devils on horseback is all about 6 pork sausages nestled in bacon and cheese, served with a chilli honey dip which was pretty hot due to the usage of pepper. The pork sausages were delicious! So amazing! And when combined with cheese and bacon, it was like an explosive bomb of flavour in your mouth. The quality was top notch and so was the whole experience with this dish. So loved it.

2) Porchini Mushroom Risotto with Truffle Oil (With added shrimps) @Rs.475+Rs.85 (for the shrimps) = Rs.560.00. [Taste Rate – 3.85/5] :Very few places can make a good bowl of risotto but this place has definitely mastered the art of making one. Risotto is nothing but italian khichdi with arborio rice, cheese, fresh cream and herbs. I am glad they actually used arborio/pearl rice for making the risotto because not many places do that. The risotto was creamy and rich with a great flavour of creamed mushroom. I am not very sure of the truffle oil though! The rice was amazingly cooked. Inspite of being creamy and smooth there was a bite to the rice which I really liked. The presence of the shrimps didn’t make much of an impact. The garlic bread was generously slathered with butter and was enjoyable. 😁 Overall, a pretty nice and comforting dish.

3) Crispy Jumbo Prawn Bao @ Rs.495.00 (Taste Rate – 3/5):The baos here are made of lotus stem flour and there actually appears a difference in taste in the bao than the usual bread flour baos i.e. the baos have an unusual but pleasant sweetish tinge to it. The panko fried jumbo prawn inside was absolutely awesome! So fresh! 5/5 for the quality and taste of the prawn. The bao was pretty soft too but somehow the combination of the bao and prawn with the various other sauces did not work for me. I felt that the mustard sauce was overpowering and the other two sauces, I couldn’t guess.
Quantity is pretty unfortunate for the price paid. Sigh!

4) Dry Roasted Chilli Pork @Rs.495 (Taste Rate – 3.5/5):Even though the quality of the pork was mind blowing, I was very disappointed with the quantity that came to our table. It wasn’t even sufficient for a single person, to be quite honest. I have had better grade pork at a price less than this. There were hardly 8-9 pieces of not exactly paper thin but almost slim pieces of lean pork meat tossed with crunchy green bell peppers, onions, spring onions and garlic in oyester sauce. I have no complaints in the department of taste, but I would have never paid 500 bucks for thr portion of pork meat that I received.

We ended up paying Rs.2100 (including 5% GST) with a half filled tummy and a very sad soul.

So, if you are in a mood to sit here and enjoy the ambience with just 2 dishes and have a lot of money to spend, I’d recommend you to visit this place. Otherwise, don’t waste your money on the food here.

That’s it folks!

Stay beautiful. 🙈💓

Happy eating.❤❤

Eat.Salivate.Repeat.💗

Rang de Basanti Dhaba – Ballygunge Circular Road, Kolkata.

Rang De Basanti Dhaba specialises in dhaba food but in a tad bit more sophisticated atmosphere and environment.

They ambience is in yellow and seating is pretty comfortable. The music is actually pretty good and not too bad or loud to the ears. Special mention to their quirky posters with funny phrases written in hindi.

My experience summed up in 6 Points (For those who don’t want to go through a long detailed review):
●Ambience : 3.25/5.
●Food : 3.75/5.(Rating solely based on the tried food only).
●Quantity: 3.5/5.
●Value for money: 3.85/5. (Based on the food dishes I tried).
●Hospitality and Service: 4/5.
■OVERALL RATING: 3.5/5

FOR A DETAILED REVIEW, PLEASE KEEP READING.😊

●FROM THEIR NIGHT MENU, WE ORDERED THE FOLLOWING ITEMS. [Available from 11:00pm till closing hours at the branches in Bypass/Ruby park and Ballygunge circular road. Dine in only]..

They usually serve green chutney, chillies, lemon wedges and aachar on the table.

1) Nimbu Pani Sharbat @Rs.85.00 (3.75/5) : That’s the desi name they have used for nimbu paani that tried to be Virgin mojito but stopped midway because good old lemonade is amazing! This is basically fresh lime soda with mint leaves. Very refreshing.

1) Jhal Wali Daal with Laccha Paratha @Rs.135.00 (Taste Rate – 4/5) : I really liked this combo! All their combos are served with a side of raw onions, roasted papad and green chutney on the table. The Jhaal wali daal is really good dry tadka with chopped green chillies to give you a few occasional extra kicks of spiciness every now and then. The laccha parathas are really good with distinct prominent layers. So this combo of crisp paratha with rustic daal tadka is pretty satisfactory.

2) Boneless butter Chicken with butter naan @Rs.195.00 (Taste Rate 3.5/5) : So this combo contains 4 pieces of medium sized boneless chicken chunks and a generously buttered naan with the usual sides as mentioned above. The chicken is well cooked and soft. You mustn’t expect the butter chicken to be a replica of the Delhi style butter chicken but as per Kolkata standards, the butter chicken served here is pretty decent. The gravy is smooth and flavoursome but just a tad bit sweeter than what some people might expect it be. I personally like the hint of sweetness in my food so I pretty much enjoyed it.

3) Peeli Daal Tadka with steamed rice @Rs.125.00 (Taste Rate: 3.75/5) : There’s a combo for the all the rice lovers and also for the hungry souls who crave for some basic indian comfort food at odd hours of the night. Daal chawal has been a soulful combo for every indian living in India and abroad so there’s no surprise that this combo is serves excellenty as a very soothing meal.

If you are looking for some affordable comforting food in the middle of the night and you are around this area, do drop in and satisfy your cravings.

Definitely Recommended.
Eat.Salivate.Repeat.💗
Stay beautiful. 🙈💓
Happy eating.❤❤

You can follow me on Instagram @the.gastronomical.voyage for some delicious food pictures. 😊

Lilliput Multicuisine Restaurant, Vypin (Cherai, Kerala).

This review has been long due and I am actually pretty excited to pen down my experience with some Keralan delicacies at one of my favourite restaurants in Cherai, Kochi.

While taking a stroll around our resort area, we bumped into this restaurant in the neighbourhood called Lilliput which was bustling with local folks from around that area. Such a sight is enough to indicate that the food served in a particular restaurant is actually good.

The ambience isn’t something to talk about but the seating and everything are kinda okay in terms of comfort. They do have an indoor and outdoor seating arrangement.

My experience summed up in 6 Points (For those who don’t want to go through a long detailed review):

●Ambience : 3/5.

●Food : 3.45/5.(Rating solely based on the tried food only).

●Quantity: 3.75/5.

●Value for money: 3.5/5.

●Hospitality and Service: 3.5/5.

■OVERALL RATING: 3.5/5

FOR A DETAILED REVIEW, PLEASE KEEP READING.😊

1. Tandoori Fish @Rs.700.00, Taste Rate – 4/5 : The people at this eatery, charge according to the size of the fish for this particular dish. The fish also varies from time to time. We got this beautiful fresh red snapper and it was brilliantly seasoned! The fish was beautifully charred with the perfect amount of tandoori spices and coriander paste. The flesh was tender, juicy and yet super flaky! Loved it!

2. Seafood manchow soup @Rs.130.00, Taste Rate – 2.75/5 : There wasn’t much of a seafood aroma but the soup was quite okay to taste. There was definitely a very heavy dose of white pepper and a good prominent taste of garlic. Far from how a manchow soup is supposed to taste but wasn’t bad either.

3. Prawn appam @Rs.80.00, Taste Rate 1.5/5 :
This was my first ever encounter with Appam and I surely wasn’t a fan! From what I have heard, an appam has a neutral taste with a fermented feel to it and a slight sweetness from the coconut milk used in the batter but my tastebuds only experienced the sour fermented part. There was also no crisp edges! Adding the dry prawn masala over the appam was of no use because it delivered 0 flavour. However, when combined with the ghee prawn roast we had, it was somehow palatable!

4. Ghee Prawn Coconut Roast @Rs.260.00, Taste Rate 4.5/5 : This particular dish stole my heart, to be honest. Clearly the winner of that night! You can never really go wrong with the lovely concoction of prawn, coconut and ghee, can you? There was obviously a very heavy and dominant presence of coconut amd curry leaves. The roasted effect added another level of excellence to the already awe-inspiring delicacy! We had this with the bland and dull appam but I am sure that this would go extremely well with steamed basmati rice. 😍

5. Seafood friedrice @Rs.200.00, Taste Rate 3/5 : Our intention was to go for seafood in every section of whatever we ordered that night so when my brother wanted chinese, we obviously went for SEAFOOD friedrice. The friedrice was well made with independent grains of rice. Very much chindianised (chinese+indianised) in terms of flavour but the only problem was that even after adding fish chunks, prawns and squids, there wasn’t any ubiquitous aroma of seafood.

6. Chilli fish @Rs.170.00, Taste Rate 4/5 : Again a very chindianised version but this time the fish used was totally mind blowing. They used barramundi/asian sea bass and boy was the fish cooked perfectly! The batter was as thin as it could get as a result of which the fish fillets were more of fish than just lumpy fried white flour dough. The fish was super flaky, fresh and had a fishy taste which wasn’t too strong to disgust someone but was very subtle. The gravy was nice but the capsicum was unevenly chopped and a bit too big for my liking but who cares when the fish itself is so stunning?

7. Fish Dum Biryani @Rs.180.00, Taste Rate 4/5 : The biryani is Kerala is very very very different from the ones you find in Kolkata or in North India. The rice used isn’t basmati rice/long grained rice but rather short grained rice called Kaima Rice in Kerala. The fish used was again the same one used in Chilli Fish hence was excellent. The fish was charred seperately after marinating it with Red chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, ginger garlic paste, fennel seed powder and lime juice. Then a masala is made in which goes the fish and this masaledar spicy fish is then incorporated in the fragrant cooked rice. Then finally the whole thing goes for a round of dum on low heat and the outcome is beautiful! Such a soul satisfying meal.😊

8) Lime Soda @Rs.30.00, Taste Rate 4/5 : I personally am very sceptical about my fresh lime soda. Let’s just admit that a fresh lime soda with the wrong proportions of the ingredients, is bad enough to piss you off. This place seems to have mastered the art of making good fresh lime sodas. Refreshing and perfect! We actually ended up ordering 5 portions of this!😂

We paid a total of 1890 (including the price of a bottle of mineral water) for 4 people and we all were full to the brim!

Our souls were content and tummy was pretty overjoyed as well and all we needed was a long good night sleep after this!

Recommended.😃

Eat.Salivate.Repeat.💗

Stay beautiful. 😍😍

Happy eating!😁😁

A Gastronomical Voyage to the land of coconuts and God’s own country – Kerala

Vactions to me are all about good food and lazing around. I travel to eat and explore the culture through the cuisine. Kerala has been spectacular in terms of diversification of flavours. I had long car journeys so it was quite obvious that I’d try food from the local eateries on the way. The only way to understand the food culture of a place is to try out local eateries and that’s exactly what I did. Most of these local eateries dont have a proper name but the food served is top notch and too cheap to be true. So this blog post will be all about what I tried and the price range but alas! mentioning the area will be a task.

●POROTTA.

First and foremost comes the Kerala Porotta! Nothing beats this flaky masterpiece. You need to have this porotta to believe that the packaged porottas are nothing but a facade. 😖😞 I wish I could take back like dozens of these porottas! The layers are prominent but with minimal oil. At any average eatery a piece of porotta will roughly cost you Rs.10-Rs.15.

.

●VEGETABLE QURMA

Pair these porottas with vegetable qurma for a brilliant breakfast! Qurma is nothing but vegetables simmered in a thick coconut gravy flavoured with south indian spices and star anise – Very subtle and mild in terms of flavour.😊 I am definitely a fan of this combination. A plate of qurma is available from Rs.35.00 onwards.

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●SADHYA

How can you visit Kerala and not have the Sadhya? Sadhya is a variety of vegetarian dishes traditionally served on a banana leaf. There can be as much as 26 dishes in a typical sadhya but these many dishes are usually served during a malayali wedding. Pictured below is a sadhya served at an average eatery on the highway. All this for Rs.220.00 only with unlimited servings of the side dishes. This makes up for a delectable hearty meal.

Components :

•Rice.

•Roti.

•Pachadi : A side dish curry similar to the North Indian raita, and is made with yoghurt, coconut, ginger and curry leaves and seasoned with mustard.

•Moru : Kerala style Butter Milk Curry with coconut.

•Thoran : Kerala style coconut based vegetable stir fry – This one had Plantain.

•Aviyal : A thick mixture of curried vegetables and coconut, seasoned with coconut oil and curry leaves.

•Kadala curry : Black chickpea stew.

•Koottukari or Koottu curry is a yellow curry featuring one or two vegetables such as banana and coconut, and has a hot and sweet taste.

•Pulisseri is a simple curd based Kerala side dish. It is usually prepared with ash gourd or pappaya or cucumber.

•Sambar : A lentil based dish of South India.

•Mango Uruga : Pickle.

•Kalaan : It is made of yogurt, coconut and one vegetable like plantain or yam.

•Rasam : A soup prepared with tamarind pulp. Not pictured are the four kinds of Payasam without which a sadhya is incomplete. The payasams are excellent! Thick and sweet! Just amazing.❤

■Palada payasam or Rice ada payasam.

■Pazham payasam or Ripe banana payasam.

■Gothambu payasam or Broken wheat payasam.

■Parippu payasam or Moong daal payasam.

Vermicelli payasam

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Palada payasam or rice ada payasam

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Gothambu payasam or Broken wheat payasam.

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Extended version of sadhya in form of a thali. .

●DOSA.

More than idlis, people in Kerala seem to be fond of Dosas. The sambar is a bit different than what I have had in other states – Different as in, the sambar here is more flavourful with a punch of sour tinge. I love the tomato red chutney and green chutney! And the coconut chutney is pretty darn awesome too with a danedar texture. It’s lovely!

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●IDIYAPPAM AND KERALA VEGETABLE STEW

Idiyappam/String hoppers are thin steamed rice noodles which are usually dunked into kerala style vegetable stew and then straight into the mouth! This vegetable stew is generally made with a combination of vegetables cooked in a thick coconut gravy with a mild flavour of star anise and a few other spices. The stew is light yet lipsmackingly delicious! Pocket pinch : Idiyappam for 20 bucks and vegetable stew for 100 bucks.

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●BIRYANI

How can biryani not make it to this list? Biryani is literally available throughout kerala – From every kiosk to every high end eatery. People here are extremely fond of beef but if you are a non-beef eater like me, you can definitely opt for their chicken biryani.

Unlike other south Indian states, the chicken biryani made in kerala has no overpowering taste of curry patta/curry leaves (Murraya koenigii) rather, there’s just a slight hint of that flavour.

Different from normal biryani, kerala biryani is made of short grained rice and it almost resembles the texture of chicken curry-rice combo but it’s just so good! Brilliant, i’d say. Also, the quantity is huge! And the chicken pieces are equivalent to the size of John Cena’s biceps. Dear lord! A plate of biryani usually comes with 2 pieces large pieces of chicken. Kerala biryani is definitely my favourite most biryani after the Kolkata one!

A plate of chicken biryani will cost you Rs.130-Rs.180! And a plate of fish biryani is about Rs.180.00 – Rs.200 [A detailed review about the fish biryani will be up on my next post]. However, I’d ask you to stay away from vegetable biryani (Rs.90-150) because my experience with this one wasn’t quite right.

Chicken Biryani with Murgh tikka kasuri methi

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Fish biryani

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Vegetable biryani

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● GOBHI MANCHURIAN/CAULIFLOWER MANCHURIAN

I was surprised as much as you are right now to see gobhi manchurian making to this table. You can find gobhi manchurian/chilli gobhi everywhere! It’s all over the place and they are pros at making it. Such brilliant utilisation of the very humble cauliflower. They batter fry cauli florets and then toss them in a amalgamation of indianised chinese sauces. OH DEAR GOD! It’s fantabulous! I would advice you to go for the dry version of manchurian or chilli gobhi to ejoy the crispness of the batterfried beauty! Pocket pinch varies from Rs.70 – Rs.100!

Gobhi Munchuria (gravy) – I would recommend you to try the dry version though

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●CHILLI CHICKEN

Another dish that the malayalis have mastered in! They actually make some intense spicy chilli chicken. The chillies used are different from the regular green chillies. They are huge but aren’t as spicy but the chillies deliver a really nice aroma. Caution: This can be very very very oily! But then again, you cannot be really worried about your calories when you have such a beauty infront of you. Pair this up with some porotta and your tummy will thank you!😬 A plate of chilli chicken will dig a hole of about 110 bucks, in your pocket. Legit enough!

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●FRIED RICE When it comes to chindian (chinese + indian) staples, people here fall a step back because most of the time they dont get the seasoning right. Otherwise, it’s actually quite lipsmacking! Too oily again but totally fine! Pocket pinch: Rs.120 – Rs.150.

Seafood friedrice

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Chicken friedrice

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Vegetable friedrice

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● ONION VADAI Priced at only Rs.8.00, you can find vadais at every nook and corner, in Kerala. They are crisp on the outside and doughy inside – almost like a doughnut. The onion vadais are plain and subtle in terms of flavour with just hints of fried onions here and there. Not bad, I’d say.

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● FRIED FISH (MEEN VARUTHATHU)/TANDOORED FISH /GRILLED FISH/ FISH CURRY As expected Kerala being close to the coast, you’re ought to get fresh seafood. Every other eating house (the non vegetarian ones, of course!) serve fried fishes. Some eateries have huge varieties and some are restricted to only one or two kinds. They usually fry the fish after applying a marinade of ginger garlic paste, chilli powder, turmeric powder, lime juice and salt. The common fishes are King fish (or, Ayakoora), White tuna (or, Choora), Pomfret (or, Avoli), Red Snapper (or, Pahari/Chemballi) and Jumbo Prawns (or, Konju).

For fish curries, they are more inclined towards using white tuna, the texture of which may not be liked by many (like my parents). Also, the fish curries are heavily flavoured with curry leaves, star anise, coconut milk and cooked in coconut oil. The overall punch of flavours can be very, very strong for someone not used to it.

Seafood can be as cheap as Rs. 80/piece to as expensive as 1000/Whole Fish (depending upon the size of the fish).

Fried Pomfret

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Tandoori Red Snapper @Rs.700.00

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Grilled Jumbo Prawns

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Grilled Kingfish

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Tuna fish curry with anar pulao.

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●FRIED CHICKEN

Keralites have a thing for fried chicken and they take it very seriously. The marinade is similar to that of the fried fish but with an addition of curry leaves! The pinch in your pocket isn’t very heavy to be honest. It will dig a hole of Rs.150.00 to Rs.190.00 for a plate full of these fried goodies.

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●FALOODA.

Falooda or should I call it the desi version of Tutti Fruiti? Falooda can be found in nearly every nook and corner of Kerala. This one had a scoop of vanilla icecream on top and various thick creamy fluids in mango, pistachio, strawberry flavours and then topped with Pomegranate seeds, ground nuts, cashews and pieces of jelly. Too heavy and sweet for one but totally worth all the calories! A portion of falooda will cost you close to Rs.150.00.

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●IMARTI

Imarti is basically deep fried lentil batter in a flower shape which is dipped into a sugar syrup flavoured with rose water and cardamom, after deep frying. In Kerala, the imarti isn’t as crisp as the ones we get in Bengal. It is also not very sweet so people with a serious sweet tooth might not be a fan!

Price range : Rs. 8.00 – Rs.12.00/ piece.

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●UNCLE JOHN’S MEGA BAR

The icecreams under the brandname of Uncle John are surprisingly so delicious and yet super cheap! I became a fan of this Mega Bar icecream after having it for the first time from a local shop in Kochi. I tried a couple more icecreams but Mega Bar priced at Rs.35.00 only, has got be a clear winner. It’s quite chocolaty and smooth inside with a hard outer coat of chocolate. Totally amazing!

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●MILKSHAKES

Did I tell you that you can get some really amazing milkshakes too? Filled with nuts, butter scotch crisps and flavoured syrups, these iceream based milkshakes can definitely satisfy your major sweet cravings within 150 bucks!

Butterscotch milkshake

Chocolate Milkshake

And that brings me to the end of this blog post!

I know I have definitely missed more than a few dishes so, I apologise in advance.

Hope you had a good time going through the pictures and the write up!

Also, I will be soon reviewing one of my favourite restaurants in Kochi. So stay tuned!😁

Have a good day.😀

Kovalam.❤ [One of my favourite places on Earth.]

Kebab-e-Que!

Kebab-e-Que at Hotel Astor is well known for it’s kebabs and we have been aiming to try this place out since the begining of time.
Finally we got an oppurtunity to visit Kebab-e-Que a few days back. 11 of us headed to this place with some really great expectations and to be honest, we weren’t really disappointed.
Special mention to Mr.Dibyendu who took great care in serving us! He did an amazing job.😁

My experience summed up in 6 Points (For those who don’t want to go through a long detailed review):
●Ambience : 3.75/5
●Food : 3.85/5 (Rating solely based on the tried food only).
●Quantity: 3.75/5.
●Value for money: 4/5.
●Hospitality and Service: 4.5/5. [There was a wedding function going on but the staff members made sure to not let that affect our experience at all!]
■OVERALL RATING:3.875/5 ~ 4/5.

FOR A DETAILED REVIEW, PLEASE KEEP READING.😊

Coming to how our taste buds reacted to everything we ate 😁

●STARTERS.
1) Cheese cherry pineapple @Rs.225.00, Taste Rate 3.75/5 : We started off with this unusual combination of things which i never thought I’d try together but since my uncle insisted on trying it, we decided to give it a shot. What came in was a bowl full of ice cubes with toothpicks each of which were pierced through a slice of pineapple, a cherry and a small cube of amul cheese. I was a bit apprehensive about the whole plan of trying this but my idea changed after my first serving! It was so good!😍 The pineapple gave a sweetish zing while the cherry helped to balance the sweet counterpart and the tart flavour from the cheese stabilised the flavours! What an amazing amalgamation of piquancy!

2) Asorted Kebab Platter @Rs.765.00, Taste Rate : 4/5!
The kebab platter consisted of the following [2 portions of each],

▪Cheesy Murgh Khasnama Tangdi (4.75/5) : Hands down! One the best tangdi kebabs I have had in Kolkata! It was brilliant. The tangdi was stuffed with oozing cheese and awadhi spices. The aromatic spices when combined with cheese and khoya (which gave a sweetish tinge) helped to produce a stunning blend of flavours. Loved it!

▪Mutton Seekh Kebab (3.25/5): Minced mutton cylindrically wrapped around a seekh i.e. a skewer and grilled over charcoal. Mutton seekh kebabs are usually supposed to be juicy and tender. The ones served here were moderately juicy but the minced muttom was a bit too smooth for my liking. I would have preferred it a bit more uneven in order to get a meatier texture. No complaints in the flavour department, though.

▪Makhmali Jheenga / Tandoori Prawns (3.75/5) : Prawn marinated in tandoori masala and then tandoored. The prawns were pretty fresh but a bit more fishy taste would have been appreciated.

▪Lasooni Mahi Tikka (4.25/5) : Chunks of fresh bhetki/Asian sea bass spiced with a hint of burnt garlic and then cooked till lightly charred. These were very much undercooked when they first got these in but on bringing this to their notice, they changed it immediately. The fish was perfectly cooked this time and was superbly flaky inside. The usage of minimal masala made sure to not squash the freshness and natural flavour of the fish. 

Asorted Kebab Platter @Rs.765.00, Taste Rate : 4/5

Lasooni Mahi Tikka (4.25/5)

Cheesy Murgh Khasnama Tangdi (4.75/5)

●MAIN COURSE.

3) Murgh Tikka Masala @Rs.435.00, Taste Rate 3.25/5 : Zomato clearly recommended this dish hence I decided to order it. I think there were 4 to 6 large pieces of boneless chicken which were immersed in a silky piquant gravy. The only letdown was the pungency acquired from the over usage of ajwain/Trachyspermum ammi (as far as I could guess from the flavours) which completely ruined the dish for me. 

Murgh Tikka Masala @Rs.435.00, Taste Rate 3.25/5

4) Murgh Awadhi Biryani @Rs.385.00 and
5) Gosht Awadhi Biryani @Rs.465.00, Taste Rate 4/5 : This isn’t close to how Kolkata biryani tastes but the sensations our tastebuds encountered after having this, were indeed pleasant. Independent grains of rice cooked beautifully with spices and meat juices in a handi (earthen pot). Both the mutton and chicken were nicely cooked. Surprisingly, they served a potato with this dish, which is very rare when it comes to Awadhi biryani. 

Murgh Biryani @Rs.385.00 and Gosht Biryani @Rs.465.00, Taste Rate 4/5

6) Rara Gosht @Rs.495.00, Taste Rate 4.25/5 : Rara Gosht was very nicely prepared! Having it’s roots in Patiala, this dish consists of mutton cooked with robust masalas and mutton kheema over low flame until every components gets combined to produce a masterpiece! Loved it. (There were 3 pieces of mutton).

Rara Gosht @Rs.495.00, Taste Rate 4/5

Rara Gosht @Rs.495.00, Taste Rate 4/5

7) Railway mutton curry @Rs.495.00, Taste rate 2/5 : This dish was such a let down. Even though the meat was kinda soft and moist, the whol dish lacked the punch of flavours. Some unrecognised masala totally overpowered the curry. The dish Tasted like thick tasteless curry mixed with that particular spice only. Railway mutton curry consisted of 3 pieces of mutton and a piece of egg. 

Railway mutton curry @Rs.495.00, Taste rate 2/5

8) Fish and Chips @Rs.380.00, Taste Rate 4.25/5 : Usually when we hear this specific term, we visualise the English fish and chips where the fish is batter fried to perfection. Well, my dear friend! Kebab-e-Que has decided to maintain it’s bengali tradition of making ‘Fish Fry’. 2 thick fillets of bhekti (Asian sea bass) marinated with minimal amount of spices and then crumb fried to excellence. The fish fries were accompanied by superbly crisp french fries and droolicious tartar sauce (I licked the bowl clean!🤣).

Fish and Chips @Rs.380.00, Taste Rate 4.25/5

●BREADS.

9) Plain Naan @Rs.95.00, Taste Rate 4/5 : The Naans served here were surprisingly different to taste. There wasn’t any significant flavour to it but the whole thing was so nice to the taste buds! Soft and fluffy and so goood!😍

Plain Naan @Rs.95.00, Taste Rate 4/5

10) Laccha Paratha @Rs.95.00, Taste Rate 4/5 : Well fried, crispy and flaky! Really good.😍

●DESSERTS.

11) Chocolate Mousse @Rs.235.00, Taste Rate 4.95/5 : One word – Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! The best chocolate mousse I have had in a long looooonnnng time. So smooth! Since it was made of dark chocolate, it wasn’t too high on sugar either and that brought in a very subtle flavour. My soul never felt so happy before trying this. Yes, the chocolate mousse was that fantabulous. 😘

12) Orange Caramel Custard @Rs.235.00, Taste Rate 3.85/5 : The custard looked beautiful when it was served. It was pretty good in terms of taste. The sweet custard combined with the bitter caramel and tart orange flavour really brought out something interesting to the palate. I have had better, though.

●BEVERAGES:

13) Fresh Lime Soda @Rs.185.00, Taste Rate 4/5 : Fresh lime soda came in with an interesting infusion of Gondhoraaj Lebu (Kaffir lime – A cross between a lemon and a Mandarin orange). It was really very refreshing. 

Fresh Lime Soda @Rs.185.00, Taste Rate 4/5

Fresh Lime Soda @Rs.185.00, Taste Rate 4/5

14) Peach Iced tea @Rs.225.00, Taste Rate 4/5 : Really good!

Peach Iced tea @Rs.225.00, Taste Rate 4/5

Peach Iced tea @Rs.225.00, Taste Rate 4/5

15) Apple Iced tea @Rs.225.00, Taste Rate 3.5/5: This one was pretty good as well but when compared to the peach iced tea, it didn’t have as much impact as the former. 

Apple Iced tea @Rs.225.00, Taste Rate 3.5/5

We paid a total of Rs.8680.00 (including 5% gst) for 11 people! Considering the quality of the food, 789 bucks per person is quite a good deal.

Recommended.✌😋🤗

Happy eating.❤❤
Eat.Salivate.Repeat.💗
Stay beautiful. 🙈💓

[P.S. Follow me on Instagram for delicious food picture updates every other day. Find me with the username the.gastronomical.voyage ]

Shiraz Golden Restaurant (Not so ‘Golden’ anymore. Sigh!)

Shiraz is quite a name in kolkata when you are looking for mughlai food after all the other famous biryani eating houses.

After catching up with friends for a movie in Hiland Park we wanted to gossip over lunch so we decided to have our lunch at Shiraz.

They have two seating areas – AC and non-AC. Both the seating aread can accommodate about 50 people at a time. The staff members behaved really well and the food was served in a blink of an eye!

My experience summed up in 6 Points (For those who don’t want to go through a long detailed review):

●Ambience : 3/5!

●Food : 3.25/5 (Rating solely based on the tried food only)

●Quantity: 3/5.

●Value for money: 2.5/5.

●Hospitality and Service: 4/5.

■OVERALL RATING: 3.15/5.

FOR A DETAILED REVIEW, PLEASE KEEP READING.😊

Due to Durga Puja, only limited items were available and we settled for the following items :

1)Chicken Reshmi Kebab @Rs.225.00 (4/5) : [Serves 3] A plate consists of 6 very well cooked kebabs coated with generous helpings of rashmi masala. The chicken was very tender and enjoyable.

2)Chicken Biryani @Rs.185.00 (3/5) : [Serves 1] The biryani here is way too oily but is quite delicious. The meat is well cooked and the potato is flavourful. Just a -0.5 for the excessive use of oil.

3)Butter Naan @Rs.60.00 (3/5) : [Serves 1] The butter naans served here, are HUGE. They are a tad bit thicker than I like but are very fluffy and heavily brushed with butter.

4)Kadhai Chicken @Rs.210.00 (2/5) : [Serves 2] This was such a letdown. I have never seen such microscopic chicken pieces ever, in my life. They curry was just a flavourful bucket of oil. Be aware of the rear wind action after consuming this.

5)Phirni @Rs.60.00 (4.25/5) : [Serves 1] I am an ardent fan of phirnis and to be honest, this firni served here was excellent. Loved it.
All of the above items were gulped down with a bottle of coke @Rs.30.00The bill came upto a total of Rs.1314.00 for 4!

Recommended for a one time visit if no other option is available.. ✌🏻
Happy Eating.😁😁

Spices and Sauces: Perfect example of the quote ‘Never judge a book by it’s cover’.

[NOTE: I have rated this restaurant solely based on only the 3 appetizers I had.]
“Never judge a book by it’s cover”.
Spices and Sauces has to be that restaurant which looks pretty shabby from outside but as you enter, there’s this beautiful ambiance with brilliant lighting (ideal for clicking food pictures)! When I went in for a meal, I clearly had no clue about the droolworthy gastronomical experience that I was about to encounter.

My experience summed up in 5 Points (For those who don’t want to go through a long detailed review):
●Ambience : 4/5!
●Food : 4/5 (Rating solely based on the tried appetizers only)
●Quantity: 4/5.
●Value for money: 3.85/5.
●Hospitality and Service: 4/5.

FOR A DETAILED REVIEW, PLEASE KEEP READING.😊

Coming to what we devoured and how our tastebuds reacted to the dishes:
We were in no intention to go for a full fledged dinner course so we just stuck to appetizers but the quantity was so humongous that it was like a full course meal for 2 adults.

1) Chicken Wanton Soup @Rs.120.00 (3.25/5): A very mildly flavoured soup with in-house made chicken wantons, cabbage and bokchoy. The soup might appear to be a bit bland for people who believe in spicy versions of soup like Hot and Sour, Lung Fung, etc but with a dash of chilli vinegar, this wanton soup was quite comforting to taste. The chicken dumplings were soft with generous stuffing of chicken and a thin wanton coat. The only problem was with the additional extended portion of the wanton head i.e. excess steamed white flour dough thay should have been removed before steaming. 

2) Chicken Lat Me Kai @Rs.260.00 (4.25/5): The recipe of Lat Me kai varies from restaurant to restaurant. To be very honest, I have no clue about what an actual Lat Me kai tastes like but this Version of Lat Me Kai I had here has to be my favourite! Crispy fried chicken tossed with lots of garlic, chillies and spring onions. There was no sauce and that’s what surprised me because the Lat Me Kai versions I have tasted are always glazed with some kind of asian dressing. The outer coat of the chicken had a nice crisp texture encasing well seasoned chicken (breast portion)inside. Absolutely devoured it with all my 6 senses concentrating only on the amazing flavours. Deliciously foodgasmic!😍

3) Smoked Fish @Rs.370.00 (4.5/5): Hands down! One of the best fish appetizers ever!! Over the years, Basa fish being a cheaper option has replaced the usage of Bhetki/Asian Sea bass in restaurants and that really breaks my heart. But surprisingly we were served with superbly fried flaky bhekti macch! What else does a bengali need to satisfy his/her soul? There were 8-9 pieces of beautifully batter fired bhetki alluringly topped with a sweet-sour-spicy sauce with a hint of lemongrass. I was wondering about how this fried fish will deliver the ‘smokey’ feel until I took a bite and was amazed to find out that it actually was smoked. Boy! Was I impressed. But I would have preferred a bit more smokey flavour there. I would go again and order tonnes of this fish and eat till I pass out. Definitely recommended. Or as we bengalis say it “Kono Kotha hobe na! Just fatafati!”.

Even though we wanted appetizers, the quantity was pretty much like that of main course and huge for 2 people. So atleast I had to skip dinner.We paid total of Rs.885.00 (Rs.750.00 + 18%Gst). Definitely worth it! I’d go again to try out their main course, without a doubt!😁😍
Surely Recommended.✌

Happy eating.❤❤

Eat.Salivate.Repeat.💗

Stay beautiful. 🙈💓
[P.S. Follow me on Instagram for delicious food picture updates every other day. Find me with the username the.gastronomical.voyage ]

Recipe : Vietnamese Pho Gá

My first encounter with this amazing comforting broth with noodles and other condiments, was in Vietnam in 2016. Pho happens to be a staple breakfast in Vietnam. I have this policy to buy cookbooks dedicated to the authentic cuisine of the countries I visit. I obviously got a Vietnamese cookbook and couldn’t wait to try the Pho at home. 

I have made minute changes here and there according to availability of the ingredients here. It takes around an hour to get a perfect bowl of Pho ready to slurp but the method is fairly easy and anyone can easily try their hands on making a warm steamy bowl of pho. 

RECIPE. 😄

■Ingredients. 

▪180 Gms dried rice stick noodles or rice vermicelli.

▪10 cups or 2.5 Litres Chicken Stock.

▪500 Gms Boneless Chicken.

▪1 cinnamon stick.

▪4 spring onions, cut inti lengths.

▪1 inch (2.5 cm) fresh ginger root/ginger, peeled and bruised.

▪2 teaspoons sugar.

▪1 teaspoon salt.

▪2 tablespoons fish sauce.

▪1 onion thinly sliced and deep fried till caramelized with a pinch of sugar.

▪Ground white pepper.

▪Half Cup Peanuts.

▪1 Lime cut into sections for garnish.
■Method. 

●Prepare the broth first by bringing the chicken stock, diced chicken, cinnamon, spring onions, ginger, sugar and salt to boil over high heat in a stockpot. Reduce the heat to low for 20 minutes, skimming off the foam and fat that float to the surface.

●While the stock is being prepared, deep fry the sliced onions with a 1/8th tablespoon of sugar until crispy and caramelised. 

●Deep fry the peanuts until crunchy but not burnt.

●Add the crispy fried onions and peanuts (save some for garnishing) to the broth along with the fish sauce. 

●Boil for another 25 mins on low heat, skimming of the foam and fat. Remove from the heat. Remove the whole ginger and cinnamon.

●In another vessel, take hot water enough to cover the noodles and wait till it gets soft. When soft, remove the noodles and place them in cold water and seperate the strands or a fork.

●Serve the noodles with the broth and garnish with lemon wedges, leftover caramelised onions, deep fried peanuts, chillies and fried chicken bits (optional).