John-y John-y, Yes Papa.

Hello everybody, Ramadan Kareem to you all. 

Hope you all are having a great Ramadan. I still remember when I was back in school, I and my friends would eagerly wait for the holy month of Ramadan simply because each lecture/ class was shortened to 20 minutes and the bell would ring as soon as the teacher would start speaking. Those were indeed some good times. 

 

But now things have changed, I was definitely looking forward to Ramadan this time but just for those brilliant Iftar deals around the city. 

So a few days back, I and a few friends went to Papa John’s ( Khalidiya Mall) for an 'All you can eat' Iftar Buffet. This was for 25 Dirhams and was inclusive of Unlimited Pizzas, Cheese Breadsticks, Potato Wedges and Soft Drinks. 

Papa John’s was packed and luckily we reached just in time and managed to occupy the last available table. 

It almost felt like sports day, because as soon as the prayer started, everyone started to eat faster than the other, since most people there were starving all day (which is really commendable honestly, with the burning heat, I find it almost impossible for somebody to fast)

We tried out the Mexican Chicken Pizza, Vegetarian Pizza and Pepperoni Pizza. All three of them were really good, the toppings were fresh and it was thankfully a thin crust and crunchy pizza. The liquid cheese topping on the Pizza tasted like the cheese from the cheese burst pizza they serve in Dominos (India)

 

 

PEPPERONI, MEXICAN CHICKEN & VEGETARIAN PIZZA

It's definitely not the best pizza I've had since there are places like Pascucci and Biancorosso around, but it is definitely worth a try.

Coming to the scrumptious crispy cheese bread sticks, this was heavenly. Also make sure you ask them for their pizza sauce which compliments the bread sticks really well. The potato wedges and garlic Parmesan bread sticks on the other hand were unappetizing & seemed stale.

 

POTATO WEDGES & GARLIC PARMESAN BREADSTICKS

 CHEESE BREAD STICKS

The friendly staff here was doing a good job in making sure all their customers were being served well.

This was definitely a good experience, and honestly if I go for a few more of these Iftars I doubt I would remain an 'Anorexic' hog. 

P.S Forgive me for the bad quality of photos.

Lastly let me introduce you all to my friends beautiful 'DATE' for that evening.

I would rate this place a 4/5.

Contact Details of Papa John's (Khalidiya Mall) - Zomato

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Chicken Tikka

I faintly remember an incident about 12 years ago when my mom and brother were out of the country and my dad and I decided to go out for dinner to some restaurant on Airport Road.

Now since the food here was awful, and I being the stubborn kid that I was, I refused to eat and my dad being the Hitler that he was decided to scream his lungs off at me.

So after almost 12 years I gathered my courage and ignored my fear and decided to go back to the same restaurant (I'm joking, I dint even remember the incident until my meal was over)

 

I went there with 3 other friends who wouldn't stop talking about the food they had here a month ago, so I was honestly looking forward to a great meal since my friends had hyped it so much. 

Americana Chicken Tikka which is now called as Chicken Tikka is a small decent place, there is no ambiance as such, it’s something you would see in a fast food restaurant. In fact the furniture and interiors is quite similar to that of Pizza Hut (which is owned by the same company)

Coming to the food, I ordered for the Chicken Tikka Spicy which comes along with Puri, Garlic Sauce and Fries. The Chicken Tikka was basically grilled half chicken marinated in lemon and plenty of spices. I'm usually not a fan of any chicken that comes with a bone (Yes, I don't like chicken lollypops, go ahead and judge me) but this was something that definitely changed my mind and I thoroughly enjoyed it. 

 

Along with this came the Puri which looked and pretty much tasted like a Bhatura. This was loaded with butter and tasted simply brilliant. Lastly the fries, we had asked for the spicy fries which were undoubtedly the best I've ever had. And well garlic sauce is always awesome, isn't it?

They also have something called the Potato Twister that they plan on introducing soon, I remember trying this dish out a while ago at Fingers Cross (Mumbai, Lokhandwala) I hope this is equally good. 

Coming to the pricing, the spicy chicken tikka + puri + garlic sauce + spicy fries = 22 Dirhams which is super cheap for the quantity they serve.They also have a Grilled family meal which is suitable for a family of four. 

 

So after the awesome meal, all of us were energized and pumped up about flying a toy airplane but sadly failed since it wasn't charged enough.

                                           My genius friends trying to fix the plane.

 

P.S. I loved the food here so much that I called for it again after two days. 

I would rate this place 4/5

You can find the contact details on Zomato

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Pascucci

Thanks to my office location, I've visited Pascucci quite a few times. And I say this because had it not been for my office, I doubt I would ever come to Al Nahyan Camp. However this place is an upcoming commercial area in Abu Dhabi and I'm sure would be brilliant in a few years.

Though the 1st time I visited Pascucci was because my friend was really excited on seeing the Pascucci board as she had tried this place in Bangalore and had good things to say about it.

Even though I'm a person who loves experimenting with food and I like trying out new things. The Margarita pizza here is so good that I have to eat it on every visit. This is by far the best Margarita Pizza I've had, it's fresh and over-flowing with cheese, just the way I like it.

They also serve special complimentary fresh bread here, which tastes perfect with the Lurpak (butter) that comes along with it.

I've also tried the Alfredo Chicken & Mushroom Pasta, which is very average. The chicken was very well cooked. However the pasta was extremely bland.

Pascucci is a nice place to sip on some coffee as well. They also give you this complimentary iced coffee shot after your meal here, which could lead to a brain freeze. But it's totally worth it. 

The ambiance of Pascucci is very cozy however its seat definitely aren't. The sofas here are decent but the low height-ed chairs here makes it almost impossible to sit on. 

The staff is friendly and welcoming. It's pricing is on the higher side, but it works out fine when you're in a larger group.

I would definitely recommend this place and its margarita pizza. 

My Rating - 3.5

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De Thali, Teri Muuchi Kaali.

Hello everybody,

As promised, I shall be doing reviews more often now. And the funny thing is after coming all the way to the Middle East my first review is about an Indian restaurant; yes I’m weird like that. Also since I'm weird, forgive me for the retarded blog post title.

So after a crazy Thursday night, I and two friends decided to go for lunch to a new Indian restaurant called “De Thali’ that we had heard a lot about from friends & family.

This is located at Madinat Zayed Shopping Centre which is a mall I visited after almost 6 – 7 years and it’s just the same. It’s like an indoor ‘hill road’. However, the new extensions food court is pretty huge and has given way to many new restaurants.

Now coming to the restaurant, De Thali is done up in a really peppy manner, it’s a very young yet sober environment. The staff is very well trained and friendly.

I’m sure most of you are expecting me to review a Thali now, but I actually did not have an appetite for that, but they have several options for Thalis, which I shall try out soon. We ordered for a Chicken Patiala, Chicken Angarey Kebab, Paneer Masala Roll, Parathas and a lime-mint drink.

The Chicken Patiala – This was basically Chicken cooked with a cashnewnut paste and masalas. It wasn’t spicy however. It was flavoured with kasoori methi and served topped with an egg omelette. Unlike most times, thankfully this tasted as fancy as it appeared to be. 

The Chicken Patiala

However the Parathas that came along with the Chicken Patiala were very thick and not eatable. A roomali roti or garlic naan would have been the right combination.

Moving on to the Angarey Kebab which was boneless chicken cubes marinated with green and red chilli, garlic and spices and was cooked in the Tandoor. This was quite spicy, yet wasn't as juicy as it could have been. However it’s worth a try.

                                                             Chicken Angarey Kebab

There isn’t much to describe in a Paneer Masala Roll because it is exactly what its name reads. It is highly recommended for vegetarians. Also non vegetarians you could try this too when you need a break from the usual.

Lastly, the lime-mint drink was a refreshing cooler, the perfect drink for the current weather. It also made us forget about the hangover we were complaining of.

                                                Thali Pathy?This is something I would say.

                                      The two gorgeous girls who accompanied me for lunch

Talking about the price structure, it defines the tagline ‘sasta & tikau’ very affordable for the good quantity they serve. This place reminded me of Urban Tadka (Mumbai) It’s not as good but close.

For all those who don’t know this is owned by the Top NRI Businessman ‘Yousif Ali’s’ daughter, after the success of Bloomsbury (The cupcake shop) she decided to open this as well as another Indian restaurant called ‘Pepper-Mill’ whose food is similar but is a more classier and expensive place. This has turned out to be a big hit amongst locals.

Honestly I believe she shall soon take over the Restaurant sector in Abu Dhabi and I wish her good luck for the same, hopefully she brings in more new cuisines here.

On that note, I shall end this post with this soothing song.

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Friday Friday, gotta get down on Friday.

Okay I’m most likely not going to have anyone reading this post thanks to my obnoxious post title, but what the heck.

Last Saturday we kept shifting from Citrus to Jughead’s at Veera Desai back and forth and finally landed up at Thank God It’s Friday – Infiniti Mall (Andheri)

So a friend and I decided to grab a light meal at TGIF and thought of skipping appetizers and calling directly for a main course each. We looked through their wide selection of food on their menu cards and honestly were rather confused as almost everything sounded fancy. After much pondering, we ended up ordering for a Sizzling Chicken and Cheese and the Chicken Chimichanga.

There was also a football match that my friend wanted to watch so we requested them to change the channel on their TV, instead they rolled down their big screen and put on the match for us, so much win J

Coming back to the food, the Sizzling Chicken and Cheese was like a dream dish for a cheese lover like me. However this isn't advisable for someone looking to lose weight. This is basically a garlic marinated chicken breast over melted Colby and Jack cheese served alongside their special melted cheese mashed potatoes. The chicken was very well cooked and had the right amount of flavor in it. This turned out to be an absolute treat.

Moving on to our next dish, that is the Chicken Chimichanga, this is a flour tortilla filled with diced chicken breast, green chilies and cheese. It is topped with Ranchero sauce and melted Monterrey Jack and Colby cheese. It is served with sour cream, black lentils and rice. Just by reading the description, we were all excited and so we were really looking forward to this and thankfully this did not disappoint us either. Similar to the Sizzling Chicken and Cheese, even this was an overload of cheese, not as much but quite a bit. The tortillas were crispy and the chicken was slightly spicy which was in its favor. The rice on the under hand was slightly bland, but we chose to ignore that since we were overwhelmed with what we had already. Also we were really full, thanks to their good quantity.

By now it’s not hard to judge that we loved the food, but apart from that we also loved how friendly the staff here was and their DJ who played really good music while we enjoyed our meal.

The ambiance of the place is also quite good, it’s fun and young. They have a separate bar area too.

However the prices are tad bit expensive. We spent almost Rs. 1200 (Inclusive of Tax) for these two dishes.

Lastly we also were asked to fill some online feedback form which would avail us to a Rs.500 off on our next visit in the same month, but sadly I misplaced the coupon L

Overall it was a great experience, shall visit the place soon to try out their other interesting dishes.

P.S They have a superb dinner deal/offer you can read about in the below image. Photo courtesy – Zomato

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Location - 2nd Floor, Infiniti Mall, New Link Road,
Andheri Lokhandwala, Mumbai

Contact Number - 022 30932030 ext:224