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Chopaan Kabab

Unique kabab experience with western asia on a plate. The place is located in the super congested market of Lajpat Nagar so getting there is not the easiest, as is finding parking. The layout is nicely done and you feel transported to the area from where the cuisine if from, they are covering Iranian, Uzbek and Afghan food. There is regular table seating and also some raised level seating with carpets so you can remove your shoes and sit in a more relaxed manner. The area has a lot of population from this region so there is a regular stream of people looking for a taste from home.

Went with a couple of meat loving friends so we could try many things, ordered a mix of different kababs to get a feel for the place. Mostly mutton and one from each region represented in the menu. The Lamb Koobodeh was expectedly great as the other establishment from the same folks is one of my favorites, Noshe Joon. Its really one of the best i have had in India. The best thing we ate was the Mutton Chopaan Kabab, sort of like an Afghan burra kabab but without the obligatory masala. You could really taste the juiciness of the meat and the quality of the raw material is really good.

Tea is on the house, both green and black and we drank copious amounts while enjoying a very leisurely lunch. Will certainly be back.

 

 

 

 

Just Wok It

Ordered dinner from Just Wok It tonight.Had seen some great reviews so was looking forward to the meal. As usual, ended up ordering a lot so i could a variety of things.

The packaging is very nice and attractive and holds the items well.

First things first, the food looked good and the flavours were delicious. The portions were good and so is the pricing, i would certainly order from there again.

Some of the items though had issues in the cooking. The steamed fish in lemon corriander tasted great but was overdone and felt rubbery. Maybe it was one of the first items to be off the flame. The roasted pork also tasted just wonderful but some of the pieces were a but chewy. The fried rice was a but too al dente for our liking, we like it cooked a but more.

The standout dish in our order was the chicken with mushroom in chilli oyster and truffle oil. It was truly sublime.

All in all seems like a great place and the kitchen staff is clearly skilled but maybe they were swamped with orders as the delivery took more than an hour though i live about 1 km away. Will try it again on a week day and see if there is any difference.

 

Yuzu

I like little butts and i cannot lie ... Chicken Butts that is 🙂

This was the one thing that yelled out at me looking at the menu at Yuzu, which offers modern Japanese cuisine and a Sake bar. Yuzu A small restaurant located in the Epicuria mall has opened recently and offers a good mix of Japanese food, some staples and some modern variants and we ordered a bunch of things.

Chicken butts along with much of the other inner bits are eaten all over Asia and some other parts of the world as well but in most cities in India you dont really see much of it. I was overjoyed to see that their Yakitori options had pretty all of the bird. I went straight for the Heart, the Gizzard and the Butt. Pardon my French but What an Ass ! i would go back anyday just for those. I find them among the most delicious part of the bird. Try them with an open mind, just with a little squeeze of lime.

The other thing that i absolutely loved was the Duckling Burger. Relax! its not made with ducklings just adult ducks. It was something i had never exprienced before and it tasted divine. Nestled in between a soft brioche, it was soaked in what i was told is french butter. Certainly another repeat item whenever i go there again, which i am pretty sure is soon 🙂.

The gyoza with the crisp wafer on top, the whiskey flambe edemame, the butterflied chicken wings to the flavorful ramen and the table cooked lamb loin, all made for a great lunch. They make their ramen noodles fresh and it showed in the way they soaked up the broth.

The place to sit is the lovely indoor/outdoor solarium which overlooks some great greenery and not the concrete jungle that Nehru Place is. Its air conditioned though it will be wonderful when the weather is good and they can open it up.

Yuzu is going more towards the authenticity which i cannot comment on, i am no expert but everything i ate was brilliant and i am sure this place will be packed soon as the word gets out.

Definitely a place worth checking out.

 

Evoo

After a recent lacklustre pizza experience, i was craving a good one. I was seeing the round shapes everywhere and before i told my wife her face was looking like one, i knew i had to get it out of my system.

An opportunity presented itself this weekend which not only had the promise of great pizza but also that of trying a new place, which is always exciting. This place came very highly recommended so the expectations were running high. We braved the Delhi dinner rush on a Saturday and headed to Shivalik.

Evoo, is a small restaurant opened a couple of months back near the Aurobindo college and already has built up a reputation for serving great food. After a small wait, we were seated. The menu is not too large but interesting and is well priced.

We started with some balsamic glazed mushrooms and some fried shrimps and fish, both were very nice. I like to order a basic Margherita pizza everytime i visit a new pizzeria because if they cant get the basics right, no amount of toppings will work. And boy did they get this right. Just the kind of pizza that i like with the crust not too thick and not too thin. Baked perfectly right in the wood fired oven. The other pizza was one with Parma ham, delicious. My wife had the veg lasagna and she loved it, the clean dish once she was done was proof enough. The most difficult person in my family though is my daugher and she had ordered a Shrimp Linguini. We were all glued to her facial expressions, prepared for the worst, as she took her first bite. Her response was that it tasted like the pasta we had in Tuscany over the summer, now coming from here its a huge compliment.

We finished with the Pannacota which was sublime, covered in an oatmeal crumble and strawberries. It had the perfect amount of jiggle and the vanilla flavor really stood out.

Sachin Grover and his wife were on hand taking orders and making sure the customers were happy. A bonus i found out was that he is a fellow alumni (much younger) from MSVV. One can feel the passion they have for food and that love is clearly present in their food.

After this great first experience we will certainly be back, often. So many more things to try. Next time i am going for the Panuozzo which they bake as per order right in the same oven. All the tables were full and people were waiting, they do take reservations so definitely will be doing that from next time.

Burger trials at home

Trying to reduce my red meat intake, i decided to try my hand at chicken burgers. Getting good mince is always a challenge here so i decided to go online and try a new service from Licious.in . They delivered as promised in under 90 minutes and the mince looked good.

Mixed up the mince with some onions, garlic, red and yellow peppers, breadcrumbs and an egg. Seasoned on the grill while making the burgers.

Experiment was very successful :)