Curb the Culinary Cravings at Delhi’s Hauz Khas

Hauz Khas doesn’t sound like a place that will have one go all Ga-Ga over it. But then, what’s in a name?

Hauz Khas is a place that will make stand up, and take notice. No, it isn’t one giant cauldron of beauty that will have you drool over it; in fact it is dingy. And dark, much like the usually crowded and littered streets in Delhi. It may be a little scruffy at the edges, but there is no funkier spot in Delhi to shop, eat and generally unwind.
 

Hauz Khas is a thriving hub for some absolutely punk restaurants. Punk, because they are not the usual north Indian restaurants where all you find yourself doing is forcing your taste buds into accepting the taste of the otherwise painfully mundane Dal-Makhani and Naan. Because restaurants in Hauz Khas, and the ones in nearby markets, are notches above that.
 

With a gamut of vegetarian and non-vegetarian delights, Hauz Khas’ palate dances to the tunes of the unconventional. I, personally, have both tested and tasted its waters, and my, was I impressed! Be it any genre of food, from Italian to Portuguese, you just can’t stop reveling in its cuisine. And it’s not just one restaurant that gets away with the food-junkies’ attention, all the restaurants in Khan Market and Hauz Khas offer an equally sumptuous mouthful.
 

Thick with an air of majesty, Hauz Khas’ restaurants offer nothing but a king-like experience. When I walked into Smoke House Deli, I was almost flattered by the over-the-top kind of treatment that I was being subjected to. I am not much of a spoilt brat; quite clearly it was only but overwhelming to have all that royalty gulped down the throat.
 

But if you are one of those spoilt little brats, the ‘Mumma’s’ all-time favourite who just can’t do without some good food, you know where to hunt, right?

Smoke House Deli all the Way!

It’s smoking hot when I put a step inside, onto the labyrinth of the swanky restaurant. Smoking hot, not in a literal context, but in a metaphorical connotation; Smoking hot, not because of the heat or the dust, but because of the quirky ambience that exudes a charm of another magnitude, and Smoking hot, because it’s nothing but Smoke House Deli.

An unusual combination of beige and white interiors tells that it’s not any next door cafe. A wide assortment of flavours fills the air with an aura that is good enough to bring the dead to his feet! Smoked food, burgers, pizzas, pastas and salads rustle your taste buds like nothing else does. Shovel down a few refreshing drinks, a variety avalanche of coffee and tea, and you feel sorted for the day. Add the chirpy music to your taste, and you will never feel like leaving the comfort of the seat. 

Smoke House Deli is noted for its tongue ravaging smoked food in Mumbai. From quick hearty bites to an elaborate, royal eating experience, SHD serves every mood. Eggs Benedict for breakfast offers a grand experience which otherwise is missing from typically boring breakfasts. Smoked lam burger and tenderloin steak clothed in mustard sauce make for an irresistible affair. Peri Peri Smoked chicken with potatoes is one of the most cherished specialities of Smoke House Deli, and is offered with every ounce of delicacy and charm. Heart crusted lamb chops with mango chutney is a delicacy to die for! Once in SHD, you will be a nut to miss it. The burgers are juicy, better than any effing burger in Delhi too!

The menu is heatedly appetizing and the ambience a pure delight. An equally terrific choice for casual lunch as much as it is for formal meetings; Smoke House Deli ruffles the taste buds and leaves a long lasting imprint.

Cost Effective Homemade Cocktails

The usual night outs usually consist of expensive dinner with friends and a spree to the club which are generally tight on your budget. However when you chose to stay at home instead of hopping beyond the finances you have planned you can still enjoy a great time drinking with your friends. However when you watch professional bartenders with countless ingredients you haven’t even heard about you get a feeling that you need a knowledge of some sort of chemistry to come up with those when you are staying back at home. But my experience says the best night outs and parties are those well managed at home with the best cocktails.

What you need to know these mouth and spirits savoring cocktails require nothing more than the basic skills of being able to measure the ounces and squeeze lemon. It may sound too unbelievable to start with but the honesty in this statement is as much as the sun rising from the east and the setting best remains unsaid. So it is just with the few essentials, a little planning and with lots of variations and your taste you can come with the best cocktails in Delhi anytime and anywhere.

Here are some of the cocktails you can enjoy relaxing or partying at home:
 

-Cape Coder
Preparing it as simple as spelling it right. Vodka and cranberry juice is a great drink for all occasions. You can easily get hold of a cranberry bottle from any shop nearby add to it the vodka of your choice. You can pick the vodka bottle as per your budget and don’t wait more, turn the music on.

-Margarita and Daiquiri
Both of these are the most cost effective drinks you can pick from the range of all the best cocktails you have known so far. What you need is seasonal fresh fruits and a liqueur of your choice and there you go. Shake them or blend these into all the possible flavors you can imagine.

-Gin Rickey
As pretty as it sounds it will be a sure hit in your party. All you need to do is buy soda siphon and few CO2 cartridges. Don’t let the party and mood end experiment with the myriad of cocktails you can then come up with. SmokeHouseDeli.

My Sweet Home Bar

Keen on having home bar? Well, yes it’s certainly going to be a challenging task. There’s sea difference in merely wishing to have ambience similar to the bar that you have had visited recently and having it at the home bar. Well, experience counts and this is what is instigating me to say this.

I am a Mumbai locale, and now i don’t think i need to further justify anything. This place is famous for its nightlife and so as restaurants in Bangalore adds on to the charm of this beautiful place. I worked for around three years in a private firm in Bangalore and there i did not have to think much. I was accommodated in a flat, which was given to me by the company. I had a small sweet corner, restaurant in Bangalore which was a virtual spa-center to me. Well, having least said, even till the day, i miss the sweet-own-corner.

So post leaving the job, when i came to Mumbai, it became really difficult for me to adjust. But yes, luckily i as able to give my small bar again the similar cozy touch that i was missing out on a lot. So those who are planning to set up a home bar in Mumbai, the only thing that i would personally suggest is don’t overboard vibrant shades and bling. A home bar won’t be the place wherein every other hour you’ll be going to, but yes, might be a possibility that ideal setting might keep you hooked for hours and hours. Got the difference?? Go for it! So better that you keep a check over it! Have dim lit ambience instead of going too very high with ambience and so as with shades to give that ‘perfect’ look to the place.

A Village To Die For

Walking into the village lanes sounds a tad too retarded, right?
 

Or maybe not, especially when you are loitering into the lanes of Hauz Khas Village. People who don’t know much about Hauz Khas often mistake it for some flat-footed place- the kind of place that fails to arouse any consumer activity. But, ask a person who has experienced the marvels of shopping or binging in a restaurant in Hauz Khas and you would know how terribly mistaken you probably are.
Hauz Khas is a place where once you set your foot into, you will not be able to help but admire it for the chirpiness of its restaurants. Right from the quirky decor to glitzy menus, everything is admiringly bang on. There are restaurants where you will find walls decorated with pastel sheets and paintings- paintings that have stories to tell, like in Smoke House Deli. Punctuated with weird artefacts and a jazzy ambience, restaurants in Khan Market and Hauz Khas have an illusionary touch pivoted to them. 

Smoke House Deli, Flipside Cafe, Warehouse Cafe- these are just a few of the wonders that Hauz Khas is palmed with. Breathtaking ambience littered with every element of happy peculiarity is what makes it the most visited places in New Delhi. The cosy corner of SHD revs up the appetite and demands an instantly brewed espresso; the shakes and ice creams of Warehouse Cafe lit up the excited audience.

Hauz Khas Village and Khan Market in vicinity are studded with some incredibly Jazzy restaurants, breezy enough to put you in a culinary reverie. Be it Hauz Khas or Khan Market, there is a signature twist to every restaurant that you will ever set your foot into, and that twist is everything to die for!

Into The Lanes Of Saket- Smoke House Deli

It was a regular monsoon evening in Delhi, clad with glistening trees and mushroomed with the ethereal monsoon-y fragrance. Naturally, for any typical Delhi-wallah, monsoons are synonymous with food- fried and smoked food. As a Delhite myself, I am not any different.  Spurred by a strong urge to break bread, I set off into the lanes of Saket hunting for something that could satiate my spewing hunger for food- probably a smoked burgers in Delhi or something of that like.

It was then that I sniffed something of my delight.  Huddled together in a peculiar place and bearing the look that was different to what I get to see normally, I strolled inside Smoke House Deli. Crammed in the lanes of Saket, this all quirky restaurant soothes. It was the delectable decor of the place that I almost forgot what I was there for in the first place. It took my about 10 minutes to breathe in the ambience, and honestly, even that was not enough.

A few moments later I glanced at the menu. Just a glimpse was enough to get a taste of what SHD serves- anything and everything that your taste buds might not have tripped onto before. While I was randomly looking at the menu items, one of them managed to hold my gaze- Eggs Benedict. While I had heard about them a lot of times, I couldn’t ever get the chance to gorge on them. Going by the popular opinion, I ordered a plate and started waiting in excitement for it.

The ensemble of it a few minutes later hinted that I had actually ordered something divine. The fat slices of ham, nicely toasted English Muffins clothed in Hollandaise sauce did cast a spell. The eggs melted in mouth, quite literally. The heaven- licious taste was hard to get enough of. So was the monsoon-ish touch that fuelled the craving!

Mumbai Restaurants And Streets- A Treat To Your Taste Buds

I am a hardcore non vegetarian- almost a fanatic when it comes to gorging on the brilliantly stewed steak and freshly prepared chicken.  For years I have lived with an unsatisfying appetite for chicken and steak, but now that I have shifted to Mumbai, life seems spectacular. Yes, yes, it’s the food I am talking about. The Non-Vegetarian delights, to be more particular!

If there is one thing that I have learned about Mumbai, then it is its magnetizing power to galvanize the non-vegans. I ended up ravaging my taste buds (well, almost) whilst trying the tenderloin steak of every single outlet that ever promised to offer the best tenderloin steak in Chandigarh. And still nothing could quell the spewing penchant to have the best steak – literally the best. And then Smoke House Deli, Mumbai happened.

Smoke House Deli revs up the taste buds through its delectable menu that is littered with some of the coolest non-vegetarian dishes. It is also the one stop destination for binging on Smoked food in Mumbai. If you have been running a marathon to dig up the best restaurant for smoked food in Mumbai, please stop and rest; Smoke House Deli will the rest for you.

Mumbai has been kinder than I thought. Not only did its delectable restaurants cast a spell, its street food put my taste buds on a dance. I couldn’t help but smack my lips at the very sight of Pani Puri and Bhel puri. There is something about Mumbai’s street food that sets it apart from what the normal street joints offer. It’s fresh and the garnishing is creative. If decked up restaurants are not a cup of your tea or coffee, you can just visit a nearby market and satisfy your appetite with the spicy golgappas and bhel puri!

Dieting From A Foodie’s Journal

‘Eat healthy and eat well’- somehow this is a phrase I have difficulty to stomach in. ‘A foodie’s soul can never be chained by diet restrictions’- now this is something more refreshing and practical. It sounds good, isn’t it? 

However, before you dig into your favourite mound of cheese, inspired by the above notion, how about considering a mid-way out? Well, after I started getting worried about the rounding belly and the cringing foodie in me under the weight of a diet, a friend of mine came to my rescue. He helped me work out a reasonable diet that kept my doctor and senses happy. And now I am happily enjoying my burgerin Delhi without a hint of guilt.  

Well, if you are not planning up for some massive six pack crunchers, a moderation in your present insane consumption might be all you need. I do not say that you will have to live without your smoked lamb burger, but all I say is how about subtracting the mayonnaise and adding an extra lettuce leaf. Simple maths you see. And instead of indulging every second day, let’s just keep such treats for Saturday lunch. 

Another favorite part of mine in this lovely diet design is that I have the leverage to satiate my sweet tooth every second day. Desserts are the loveliest portion of a meal and the reason I used to wait for dinner to get over. But lately, after I feasted on my favorite extra cheese pizza I had to eventually sacrifice my dessert under the guilt. But not anymore, with carefully calculated calorie intake I can take a small healthy dessert every second day and a wholesome one once a week.

So, actually when worked out wisely, a diet doesn’t have to be all bad. Treat yourself with your favorite delicacies often enough but not regularly, so that your health allows you to enjoy them over a longer period of time.     

The best breakfast in Mumbai

Mumbai is never complete without two things—its food and the sea. The city of dreams’ pulls in crowds from across the country and its food invariably resonates with every visiting palate. Restaurants in Mumbai have worked this allure to their favour by serving out signatory dishes to each meal, like the Misal Pav for breakfast and hot banana chips for a good evening snack.

However, there’s hardly anything worth as savoury as a Vada Pav along with tender coconut water by the seaside. The Vada Pav is widely considered the best breakfast food by most natives. It’s spicy flavours mingled with tangy chutneys make it one of the most revered street foods across the world.

Breakfast in Mumbai spans a whole variety of lip-smacking dishes. If the hot flavours of the Vada Pav are not your game, something mild like the Dhokla or the Dosa is a wonderful alternative. With a demographic heritage as vast as Mumbai, you can find just about any cuisine on the planet on your breakfast table.

Mumbai caters to every palate rather amazingly. While veg lovers can look up to a great variety of rustic and urban flavours, seafood junkies would love the place just as much. Even smoked food in mumbai is one of the best around the country with a whole range to its credit. Rest assured to lay hands on some of the finest smoked bacons, hams, sausages and other smoked delicacies around the country.

Mumbai presents another wonderful opportunity to relish a whole range of snacks. Though much of it is borrowed from a strong Gujarati community, the city gives every snack a spin of its own. And that is consistent across the city as if to proclaim Mumbai’s unequivocal acceptance of cultures from across the country.