Sunday, June 28, 2015

Indego By Vineet - Grosvenor House


Today I'm about to review the Alexander McQueen of Appetizers, the Marc Jacobs of Main Course, the Dolce & Gabbana of Dessert & the Chanel of Cocktails, this restaurant was screaming Iggy Azalea's F.A.N.C.Y to me. 

Yup, the food should have technically come in such packaging!
You know very seldom do fine dine restaurants manage to impress you equally in both, presentation & taste. But Indego by Chef Vineet is definitely one such fine dine restaurant that knows how to balance it out and master at both. 

After spending a good amount of time reading the menu, we finalized on two appetizers -  Black & Golden and Hammour Coriander.

Black & Gold - Duo of Chicken Tikkas (4 pieces) The Black Chicken has a layer of Gold Leaf on it with a dash of Tamarind, while the other was a mix of malai and saffron tikka. Both of which was exceptionally well cooked and delicious. It was also extremely fascinating to see a tube like thing attached to the Black Chicken which could be pressed to add more flavour to the chicken. #Win

Hammour Fish with Coriander and Mint - The Coriander and Mint was so well blended with the Fish. The hammour was fresh, tender & juicy. It had the right amount of spiciness to it, as requested by us. 


Post the appetizers, we were offered a Mango Shorbet, as a mouth freshener before the Mains. This is great concept and really helped us to freshen up before attacking the main course.

Moving on to the Mains, we had ordered for the Olive Chicken and Lamb Gucci Korma.

I was pretty thrilled to try out the Olive Chicken and my excitement literally doubled, upon its arrival, as it was so well presented that I almost felt like simply starring at it and not touching it. But well eventually I did dig in and was literally mind blown. The olive chicken tikka with the spinach korma, sundried tomato khichdi and olive naan crisp, was spectacular. Our server had informed us that this dish was suitable only for one person, but i personally thought the Olive Chicken was quite heavy, which also means that even if you're the Joey kinds, you might just want to share this with whoever you're dining with.


Lamb Gucci Korma - Lamb 'GUCCI' Korma- see this is what I mean by designer food. I'm not even a huge fan of Lamb and initially opposed to ordering for this, but am glad that I did. This was very rich in flavour and the lamb was cooked to perfection.


Dessert - For dessert we were offered a variety of things on our plate, however two things that really hit it off with us were the chocolate samosas and the chocolate pan drink.The chocolate samosas were crispy, crunchy and stuffed with chocolate. The pan drink was served in a very cute mini bottle and was the perfect way to end a meal as fabulous as this. 


Also, unfortunately I didn't get to try out the Rasmalai Cheesecake here, but I can't wait for my next visit to Indego, to indulge in this. I mean, Rasmali Cheesecake, I can die at peace once I've this *lovestruck*

This emoticon was made keeping in mind the Rasmali Cheescake!

Quantity - I was quite happy with the portions of the mains, however I think the appetizer quantity was slightly less & can be worked upon.

Cocktails - Had tried out the White Tigers Milk Cocktail for the first time here at Indego & fell in love with it. It was a little heavy since I was teaming it up with Indian food, but as a drink in itself it's much recommended. 

Service - We were literally pampered by the staff of Indego. Expect the same if you plan a visit to Indego. They are knowledgeable, friendly and warm.

Pricing – I would be lying if I said Indego is reasonable, because it definitely isn’t. A meal for two would cost you around AED 600 (without alcohol) Branded food, comes at a price, you guys!

Ambiance – They have a lovely indoor and outdoor setup, unfortunately the weather has forced them to shut down the outdoor area until the month of October, till it slightly cools down. The interiors are very elegant and don’t be too surprised if you spot a celebrity dining in here. 

Indoor Area

Outdoor Area


Overall I would rate Indego at Grosvenor House a 4.5/5 & will definitely recommend it to you for a fancy dinner plan. 

P.S. Post a meal here you could probably head to Siddhartha Lounge, which is 1 of my favourite hang-outs in Dubai, read about it here, Siddhartha Lounge

Sunday, June 21, 2015

5 things to eat under AED 5


You know what's the next best thing after free food? Good food that’s CHEAP.  

They say UAE is a country where wealth & luxury know no bounds, but come month end; everyone's busy whining about how broke they are & this is when your food superhero (well almost) comes to your rescue.

Using Superpowers To Find Cheap Food

I've compiled a list of 5 things to eat in Abu Dhabi under AED5 (No, don't worry, I haven't included a Shawarma)

 1. Oman Chips Sandwich -  I hereby declare Oman Chips Sandwich as UAE’s official National dish, no really, I’m sure even cafes in OMAN don't make the Oman Chips Sandwich as good as places here in Abu Dhabi. One such place in Abu Dhabi being House Of Tea.

As the name goes, the sandwich is obviously stuffed with Oman Chips, along with cheese, mayo and ketchup. It costs you about AED 3 (you still have money left for a Karak Chai #win)




 
2. Cheese Olive Manakeesh – So this according to me is a ‘Poor Man’s Pizza’ which tastes a lot better than Pizzas served at a few authentic Italian Pizza’s in Abu Dhabi, no kidding.

Manakeesh has a few variants, Zaatar, Basic cheese, Cheese & Olive, Cheese & Meat, my personal favourite being the Cheese & Olive Manakeesh, which costs you exactly 5 Dirhams at Sultan Bakery.





 
3. Vada Pav –
Other than an basic, extremely boring Burger at Mc Donalds, I highly doubt you could find yourself a decent burger within AED 5 in Abu Dhabi. That’s when the Indian version of Burger, Vada Pav comes in. You shouldn’t have any second thoughts & head directly to Salam Bombay to grab a Vada Pav. It’s spicy, filling & well obviously cheap (Read : AED 5)




4. Mini Pizza & Chicken Tikka Roll – This specifically is for the mini pizza and chicken tikka roll that’s served at Caesars Confectionery. It would be safe to assume that anyone and everyone who has grown up in the UAE shares a very close connection with Caesars Confectionery. Apart from a slight increase in price, the quality is still spot on. Head here to grab a Mini Pizza and Chicken Tikka Roll which probably shall define the word FRESH to you. Oh and did I mention, you can have both of this together for only AED 5? Yup, life is good.  



 

5. Paratha & Salan – And this dish just takes this list to whole new level, simply because it probably is one of the tastiest and cheapest item in this list.

Now this should be your go-to dish when you aren’t in the mood for a sandwich variant, because this could definitely pass off as a proper meal.

Salan is basically your Chicken Curry without chicken, your Paneer Tikka Masala, without the Paneer, you get the point, right? But rest assured, it’s 1 of the most delicious things to eat and compliments the Kerala style Parathas very well.

The Paratha is priced at AED 1 and the Salan is given F.O.C yes FREE *runnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnns towards it* :D

Head to City King, or any other small Cafeteria run by a Keralite in Abu Dhabi to give this a try. 

 Contact - City King 

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Hope this list helps you and your wallet. Happy Saving! 


Just a week left! #AchheDinAayenge ;)

Monday, June 15, 2015

Rolls N Rice - Giveaway



First things first, it was so heartening to see my review framed on the walls of Rolls N Rice - Abu Dhabi as on their website - RollsNRice



Here is the link of my review I wrote back in 2013 - Review

Also a huge thank you to them for collaborating with me & doing this give-away!

TheAnorexicHog is giving you a chance to win a meal for 2 at Rolls N Rice

Simply take part in the Facebook contest & stance a chance to WIN!

P.S. You may want to refer to super cool website called Zomato it might just give you the answer you're looking for ;)