Ande ka Funda @ Chandan Omlette Centre Surat

Eggy drive to Chandan Omlette Centre Surat

Gastronomic funda:  Eggy Food drive to Chandan Omlet Centre

Address: Kabir House, Udhana - Magdalla Rd, Near Bafna Marble, City Light Town, Surat, Gujarat 395007 (Click for Google map Coordinates)

Menu check : Website: http://www.chandantheomletcenter.com/

Gastronomers: 18

Damages: Rs. 5000+

Epilogue: We all have heard the jingle from NADDC ...

"Sunday ho ya Monday, roj khao Ande...."

However it was Friday to begin with...And our HO cricket team had landed at our plant at Ankleshwar Gujarat for Sports week. After the day of play, it was decided to have dinner at some famous Omlet centre in Surat. 

To begin with we were very skeptic on going there. I mean who would travel 68 kms (1.5 hrs drive) one way to eat just humble eggs. However we gave in as our seniors were all set for it.

So there were we driving from Ankleshwar to Surat in a Xylo. During the drive, our friend Mr. Arun More got furious and quoted in marathi...

Arrey...XX@@2@22@... yevdhya lamb ...ani te pan fakt ande khayla....@@@@&&^^^

(Arrey....So far...and that to eat just eggs....)

To begin with pakka Mumbaikar Arun had a dry throat in that chilly evening and found himself unawares of unavailability of "magical syrup" in Gujarat state. And one of his friend who coming with solvent meant to treat dried throat, was caught up in erratic traffic at Bharuch. And above all leaving this friend of his caught in traffic alone, we were driving towards some imaginary Anda dhaba located some 60 odd kms in Surat wasting 1.5 hrs one way. Wasn't this a valid reason for him to get furious ?

There we had fun seeing him boil and instead of soothing him, we judiciously tried that fire in him never went out. There we quoted many famous quotes to convince him that this drive will be worth.

After landing there our imaginations had some shape. We found a makeshift dhaba typed eatery seating capacity of around 100- 150 all fully occupied. 

Parking area

It had huge parking ground lined with 30 -40 cars including SUV's and innumerable bikes. So it appeared to us as extraordinarily famous eatery.

As all seats under the shade were occupied, we were made seating arrangements on outside.

Our seniors acquainted with the place had already placed orders. There we sat in windy night with empty gizzards all rolling with acids guessing on what the eatery had in offer for us.

First to land on table were 4 boiled eggs plates sprinkled with paprika and salt. Served with it was cut veggies sprinkled with chaat masala. Seeing them still disgruntled Arun looked at me ... Suggesting that we would probably starve today. Ignoring him i had my share of boiled eggs.

Then came first main course dish named "007" ....Bond ...James bond ... Along came buttered bread slices. It was served one plate each for 4 of us.

007 

It was a thick gravy with cheesy boiled minced egg topping at center. The gravy appeared to be thickened by mixing boiled eggs yolk. Dropping in the centre were half boiled eggs  half and  fried omelettes. 

With first bite of bread dipped in the gravy,  i was convinced that the place was really worth the long tiring drive.

Following it was "Egg ghotala" ....Again spicy cheesy gravy with minced boiled eggs. Another awesome dish equally tasty as it's predecessor.

Egg Ghotala

Then to land was "Green Rolls"...Consisted of omelette rolls wrapping boiled egg whites and drapped on green thick milk cream based gravy.

All of these above dishes had cheese used in abundance. Moreover the gravies were mixed with boiled egg yolk to make it thick. These spicy cheesy morsels were washed down our gastric pipes by Sosyo (Gujarat's version thumps up) and Spirite.

Green Rolls

Fourth dish to appear was "Lasun omelette" having 2-3 egg sunshine swimming in garlic based gravy bottomed by regular omlette.

Lasun Omlette

The fifth dish "Red chillies masala" was bit late to appear on the table and hence we could not do fair justice to it. We all were almost full after the earlier dishes.

Red chilies

The cheese and cream had a fulfilling effect on our bellies and could not take any more of it.

After finishing our gastric agenda, we all returned to Ankleshwar all set for cricket match scheduled next day. 

Prologue: To sum up it was a wonderful evening spend with Colleagues enjoying humble Calcites and concluding on "Ande ka Funda".

If anyone happens to be in Surat and wants to get "Eggified", it is the recommended place to be at.

For more of my treks and traveloques you can check my blog. https://irishpereiraonthego.blogspot.in/

Disclaimer: The above restaurant in review was personally visited by Irish Pereira wherein the full bill was paid for & does not believe in featured / sponsored reviews. The reviewer believes in anonymously visiting a hotel to present an honest account of all the factors to you.

Happy Eating, Keep Exploring!!!!

Hotel Bademiya, Colaba, Mumbai

Mumbai Food Diaries- A leisure evening @ Hotel Bademiya,  Colaba, Mumbai

Gastronomic funda:  Non - Veg Food trek to Bademiya

Address: Tulloch Road, Apollo Bunder, Colaba, Mumbai (Click for Google map Coordinates)

Gastronomers: Irish Pereira, Stuti Pereira

Damages: INR 819

Epilogue:

It was regular weekend to begin. We were at KDA hospital  Andheri for a routine medical check up and were free after 5 pm. There we decided to visit South Mumbai towards Gateway of India where my wifey and me had evening boat sailing.

Onboard the boat

View from Boat - Gateway of India with Taj Palace

With Iconic Taj Palace 

After boating we were deciding on restaurant for dinner preferably non veg. There were deciding between 2 restaurants - Bademiya and New Martin's Hotel (A Goan cuisines restaurant.

However finally we zeroed down on Bademiya as it was near by.(In the very next lane behind the Iconic Taj palace opp Gateway)

Now Bademiya is a restaurant cum eatery famous for its "Reshmi chicken kebab" and "Baida Roti". One can find racks of skewers grilled on the red hot barbeques spreading aroma till metres away. The eatery serves it's dishes till 3 Am. 

Hence to begin with we place order for 1 plate of each of them for starters. Additionally for main course we decided to try "Bheja Masala fry".

It is famous eatery with sitting arranged in a old building housing around 50 seats..Also there people prefer eating standing near the barbeques.

I had visited the eatery 10 years before with my college gang and recollected those days in nostalgically.

The steward however served Bheja Masala Fry with wheat Rumali roti earlier than the starters, which we kept aside awaiting starters. Then in next 5 mins was starers served.

To begin with the green spicy Reshmi kebab were show stopper of the day. They were soft and juicy. 

Chicken Reshmi Kabab

Then the Baida Roti was also awesome. Baida roti is Roti just a fatter version of Alu paratha stuffed with minced chicken / mutton wrapped in thick egg stuffing coated with Roti. We had ordered for mutton baida roti. 

Baida Roti - Mutton

Both these starters are washed down our gastric pipes with Thumps up.

Bheja Masala Fry

Rumali Roti

Then after finishing the starters we diverted to the Bheja masala fry. It was spicy fried Bheja sauted with cream based gravy garnished with coriander. The combination of Bheja masala with Rumali roti seamed appropriate. It was however heavy for us after starters.

To sum up it was wonderful evening spent in one of the iconic eatery in SoBo quenching our gastric juices and satiating our food wanderlust.

Prologue:

There to free up our filled bellies, we decided to stroll down the Colaba Causeway and ended spending another hour shopping tops and accessories.

For more of my treks and traveloques you can check my blog. https://irishpereiraonthego.blogspot.in/

Disclaimer: The above restaurant in review was personally visited by Irish Pereira wherein the full bill was paid for & does not believe in featured / sponsored reviews. The reviewer believes in anonymously visiting a hotel to present an honest account of all the factors to you.

Happy Eating, Keep Exploring!!!!

Parsi Breakfast @ Cafe SodaBottleOpenerWala, BKC Mumbai

Cafe SodaBottleOpenerWala @ BKC Mumbai

Gastronomic funda:  Parsi Breakfast

Address: The Capital Building, 02, G Block Rd, G Block BKC, Bandra East, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400051 (Click for Google map Coordinates)

Gastronomers: Irish Pereira

Damages: INR 

Ambience: 4 /5

Food: 4 / 5

Service: 4 /5

Epilogue: It was a hectic week It was pleasant and cold friday morning to begin with and I had an early morning engagement with one of our customer's in Bandra Kurla complex Mumbai. Having a quick breakfast at restaurant 'Soda bottle opener wala' on my list since long. Now SodaBottleOpenerWala is a one-stop destination for people who are in love with Parsi cuisine. We had been there for lunch earlier during one of customer visits. Hence when I was done with the customer and the 'Soda bottle opener wala' happened to be in the same lane.

In next moment I found myself sitting in almost empty restaurant on a table near front glass facade. The prompt steward handed over the wooden tablet menu with menus printed on both sides.

The Menu Tablet - Front

The Menu Tablet - Back

There looking at menu i was kind of taken back to looking a expected menu missing and checked it again in the menu back and forth; however could not find it. It was 'Mutton Kheema puff' which I was looking. Also missing was 'Cheese Macroni with Bacon'. After inquiring with the steward i was told that these menus dropped from the list along with few other menus lately.

So alternatively after screening the menu decided to settle for Meaty Poro and Irani tea.

There setting i was screening the ambience. 

The interiors

The interiors

The ambience was of typical Irani cafe with palatable to modern taste. There was old hindi classic music being played in background.

........Bijli ki rani....me hu aayi....hawa Hawaii ....

There my sight  caught on a hand board written with chalk as below.

In next few minutes the dish was tabled.

'Meaty Poro'

The 'Meaty Poro' in a first glimpse appeared to me as an oversized puffed omelette. But on closer look it was stuffed with pork ham bits, bacon bits and fried onion. It was accompanied with a buttered soft bun bread, sauced cereals and potato piece topped with cheddar cheese. Omelette coupled crispy bacon bits is always a foodie s delight.

Followed it was 'Irani Chai'. It was a advanced version of tea both quality and quantity wise of tea we get at typical Irani cafes like Merwan and Kyani in South Mumbai; however priced 10 times of the same. But at location like BKC we don't only consider the food served but also the ambience and convenience.

There after concluding the breakfast it was time for me to make up to office at Andheri. I left the cafe with old hindi classic song playing in background ....

....Aate jate, haste gaate....socha tha maine kahi baar....

Prologue: To sum up it was wonderful moment spent pampering ones taste buds with typical Irani breakfast in one of the plush locality of Mumbai.

For more of my treks and traveloques you can check my blog. https://irishpereiraonthego.blogspot.in/

Disclaimer: The above restaurant in review was personally visited by Irish Pereira wherein he has paid for the full bill & does not believe in featured / sponsored reviews. The reviewer believes in anonymously visiting a hotel to present an honest account of all the factors to you.

Happy Eating, Keep Exploring!!!!

Hotel Gurubhavan, Munnar, Kerala

Kerala Food Diaries- Hotel Gurubhavan, Munnar Kerala

Gastronomic funda:  Non Veg Food   

Address: Near Teacounty Resort, Munnar Colony road, Ikka nagar, H O, Silent Valley, Munnar, Kerala 685612 (Click for Google map Coordinates)

Gastronomers: Irish Pereira, Stuti Pereira, Chandru

Damages: INR 493

Ambience: 4 /5

Food: 4 / 5

Service: 4 /5

Epilogue: It was a wonderful and cool afternoon to begin with where me and my wife had been to Munnar in the last week of year 2018. Munnar is a town nestled in the scenic tea gardens of Kerala and has cool and Serene Climate. 

There at noon we set out in search of good non veg food. I tried searching for any food blogs written by my fellow bloggers, but found none. (...and have volunteered to write one)  So without any online support, we have to resort to offline inquiry ..in this case we inquired our driver for good non veg restaurant on Munnar. Without a moment of hesitation he stated "Hotel Gurubhavan" in old Munnar town. We basing our discretion on his suggestions decided to give it a try. 

Located in Midtown Munnar is a restaurant with an ample sitting capacity and has a upscale ambience with proper hygienic setup. We settled at a table at end were handed over menu card. We were looking for something which seemed unavailable in the menu. To anyone's guess it was beef off course.

We inquired the waiter of the beef and he blurted out 3 menus of beef...Beef chilly, Beef roast masala, Beef biryani. 

We ordered for beef roast masala with butter naan. My wife was nauseating and decided to settle down for green salad. Not knowing the serving quantity, we also ordered for fish biryani. 

In couple of minutes our beef roast masala was tabled and was followed by fish biryani. 

Beef Roast Masala

Butter Naan

The beef roast and fish biryani quantity was so large that we were kept looking at each other in utter surprise; thinking who'll finish this all stuff. We were completely bowled over by the serving quantity. Each dish was more than enough for two persons.

So to avoid hassles of returning one of the dish, we decided to call our driver Mr. Chandru for what can be termed as "Gastro help". He was reluctant at first.. however gave in after our much pressing.

The beef roast masala was awesome with dense quantity of succulent boneless beef pieces all encompassed in thick gravy.  The green chillies within ensured the spicy taste and had been judiciously garnished with coriander leaves. Along with butter naan it made a perfect combo for our carnivore taste buds.

Fish Biryani

Then it was turn of fish biryani. It consisted of Seer fish (Surmai as we call it in Mumbai), papad and rasam accompaniment. The biryani was perfectly spiced with judicious fish servings. As wasting the food being out of our principals, my wife who was only for salad initially agreed to pitch in finish. the dishes. Together we three ensured to do justice to all the food served before us. 

The bill appeared to paltry sum as compared to that what we usually end up paying for non veg lunch. 

To the ones looking for good, spicy and pocket friendly Non veg food in Munnar,  the Hotel Gurubhavan can be considered as the perfect option without a tinge of doubt for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Prologue:
To sum up it was an wonderful afternoon spends fooding at one of the best restaurants in Munnar. And then after a hearty meal and burrping out we continued our sightseeing in the town. 

Menu Card:

 

Disclaimer: The above restaurant in review was personally visited by Irish Pereira wherein he has paid for the full bill & does not believe in featured / sponsored reviews. The reviewer believes in anonymously visiting a hotel to present an honest account of all the factors to you.

Happy Eating, Keep Exploring!!!!

An Idli Afternoon @ Balaji Idli Express, Andheri, Mumbai

Mumbai Food Diaries- An Idli afternoon@Balaji Idli Express, Andheri, Mumbai  

Gastronomic funda:  Veg Food trek – Balaji Idli Express

Address: Andheri-Kurla Road, Chakala, Mumbai, (Click for Google map Coordinates)

Gastronomers: Irish Pereira, Swati Thakarda, Sagar Narkhade, Ganesh Pabale, Vinayak Shenoy, Akshay Bhoir, Nishant Chaudhary, Manisha Rajput, Rajesh Sathe.

Damages: Rs. 3120

Ambience: 3 /5

Food: 3 /5

Service: 3 /5

Prologue: It was a cheerful Friday as well hectic afternoon as our team was about to leave for Exhibitions and busy preparing for the same.... At 12:30 we pack of 9 hoggers set out in search of our game .... Till the main gate there was dilemma as to where should our hungry planes crash-land on .....but we we're sure to avoid our regular friday lunch menus..namely Chicken Nukkad biryani and pizza's Smokin Joe... 

We had two rough options in mind though.. "Subway"  or "Idli Express". On approaching main gate, the balance had tilted with majority vote in favour of 'Idli Express' near Chakala Signal Andheri. Sagar the ardent chicken lover of the pack was not ready for so called "veg lunch". However outvoted Sagar was literally dragged by Ganesh to the venue just like shouting opposition bencher's are marshaled out of Lok Sabha. He had made his mind for non veg chicken burger in Subway. He kept on whining all the way.

Balaji Idli Express as it is named is a small cafe sans coffee type of setup with only 12 - 13 sitting chairs. However the place is known for its long list of varied Idli menus. We reached there to find it partially occupied. Till then we placed our orders and stay put till table are empty. Within next 5 minutes we found ourselves resting our bottoms on seats around the table.

Before our orders came the soft drinks.Then in couple of minutes came our orders. 

First menu was masala coloured 'Peri Peri Idli'. It was fried idlis sates seasoned with masala. Along came the Mayonnaise dip. Together it was a menu to reckon with.

Then was the number of Neer Dosa's. We had ordered for two varieties of Neer dosa- one with veg kurma and other with Chettinadu Veg Masala. Neer Dosa's were soft, however the accompanying vegetables were just ok types. We intermittently washed our food pipes with pepsi.

Neer dosa- one with veg kurma

Neer dosa - Chettinadu Veg Masala

Accompanied came the Idli Spicy Lasooni Cheesy Tosado. It was basically a toasted idli topped by garlic and coated by cheese overcoat. It is idli version of typical garlic bread and was yummy.

Idli Spicy Lasooni Cheesy Tosado

Then came the Idli Indian Spicy Pizza. It appeared like regular thin crust Pizza; however it had the Idli bottom. It was just like regular pizza. 

Idli Indian Spicy Pizza

Then came the Cheese Mayo Idli fries. It consist of 5 small circular fried idlis tucked by a stick purged in thick Cheesy Mayo gravy. It as a dish to reckon with which was repeated on majority demand.

Cheese Mayo Idli 

It was followed by Paneer and Cheese Grilled Idli Sandwich. It consisted of  bread layered with Idli and paneer and cheese making the inner layer. This menu was also ok types category.

Paneer and Cheese Grilled Idli Sandwich

Then came Butter Garlic Idli. It consisted of hexagonal idlis fried in butter with grated garlic. However it was garlic overdose which made it more pungent.

Butter Garlic Idli

We repeated the soft drinks to cool our burning throats.

Myself with that yummy Mayonnaise dip..

Then the Mayo Cheesse Idli was repeated.

And then came the desert part - couple of dishes of Desi KitKat Waffle... It was 'Dish of the Day'. Crusty idli bottom topped with hot chocolate made it a treat to ones taste buds. So much so that we would have repeated it hands down; however given out short lunch time we dropped the repeat.

Desi KitKat Waffle

The Menu Card:

Menu Card

Epilogue:
It was a wonderful afternoon spend tasting variety of 'Idli and south Indian dishes' with cheerful group. However when bill arrived we were left surprised. The bill was more than our regular non veg bills. Then we can hear Sagar still whining in background,....

".... didn't i told u guys, eating veg is more costlier than Non-veg".

And then joyfully pulling his legs we made it our office to get lost in our work.

Disclaimer: The above restaurant in review was personally visited by Irish Pereira wherein he has paid for the full bill & does not believe in featured / sponsored reviews. The reviewer believes in anonymously visiting a hotel to present an honest account of all the factors to you.

Happy Eating, Keep Exploring!!!!