Posted by Niveditha Ramaswamy on May 7, 2007 in
Chennai If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
Given the size and the weird location of Aangan, its so very easy to miss this place. Let alone miss it, the odds are that you may never have even heard of it. But consider yourself lucky, that you know about it now. Once u step in and taste their North Indian food that is served ultra quickly, its very likely that you will want to give it a visit it again very soon.
Inside the place, its got only about 6 tables and all of them are big 6 seaters. So even if you are just 2, you end up occupying a huge table. Not a very romantic setting, but if food is why you are really there, then there is no reason to regret. Its small simple setup is great for a family outing or some fun over lunch or dinner with your friends.
Coming to the delicious food varieties from the North, they are irresistible both taste and price wise. Their menu is pretty much what you would find at any other similar restaurant, starting from soups, appetizers, tandoori and rice variations and some milkshakes and ice creams.
I love the masala papad served with chutney. The starters include temptations like gobi 65, paneer tikka and many more. Yummy! (Wow! Just thinking about them, makes me want to go there now). You’ll find rotis and naans with a long list of lip smacking side dishes which are complemented by biryanis and pulao. The vegetable biriyani is another of my favorites. You might as well skip dessert (not worth mentioning over here) and fill up that space with some more of the main course dishes.
Anything you order here comes within a jiffy. I don’t think I’ve ever waited for more than 5 to 10 mins for some super hot stuff straight from the kitchen. And the best part is, for all the great food and the really quick service its very light on your pocket. A fully satisfying meal for 2 people, works out to just about Rs. 250.
So it’s a great place to have a meal and really enjoy your food, without any worries at all. If you haven’t already checked it out, you must. Almost all the people to whom I recommended this place loved it. What you waiting for?
You can find Aangan just behind Gangotree, just off Cathedral Road on the first floor. Its on your right as soon as you go into the lane adjacent to Gangotree opposite to Stella Maris.
Posted by Kavitha Mohan on May 6, 2007 in
Hyderabad/Secunderabad Before I begin, let me make one thing very clear, I’m a HUGE fan of Gangotree (A review of Gangotree can be found here) and nothing can ever replace my love for chaat from Gangotree. It has been over a year since I moved to Hyderabad and there is no chaat shop that has come close to Gangotree. Narayan Reddy aint as good as Gangotree, but it’s definitely much better than most. Narayan Reddy is actually a sweet shop but they also have a small chat ‘bandi’ (stall) outside that serves some decent chaat items. I happened to visit this place for the first time 10 months ago when I had gone to the ICICI Bank right next to it to withdraw cash. I was really hungry and my cousin suggested this place. He had eaten there before and he guaranteed that I would not be disappointed. After eating chaat in Gangotree all my life, I have developed this weird notion against all other chaat shops. You can call it a mental block 
But on that day hunger won the fight against my mental block and I finally ended up having chaat at Narayan Reddy. Now coming to think of it, I am wondering if it was my hunger or my karmic bond with the name Narayan that made me eat there.
Narayan Reddy offers all varieties of sweets and savories. Among the sweets, Gulab Jamun (Rs 8 per piece), Rasamalai (Rs 8.50 per piece), Doodh Peda (Rs 160 per kg) and Motichoor Ladoo (Rs 180 per kg) are really good. The rest I have not tried but I assume they taste good too. Out of the wide variety of savories, I have tried only the Masala Peanuts (price unsure) and they were not as good as the ones you get in Adyar Anand Bhavan.
Being the only decent chaat stall in the area, they do pretty good business. I guess they make more money from the chaat stall than from the sweet shop 
The chaat stall is really small but they have small chairs lined next to the railing for people to sit. I always have Samosa Ragada (Rs 13). The Samosa Ragada is really nice compared to all the other chaat stalls in Sainikpuri. They also have the usual chaat stuff like Bhel Puri, Sev Puri, Cutlet Ragada, Aaloo Chaat (all Rs 13), Dahi Papadi Chaat (Rs 15) Pav Bhaji (Rs 22) and Pani Puri (Rs 10 for 8 pieces). The prices are low compared to the chaat stalls in Chennai, but when compared to other chaat stalls in Hyderabad they are pretty expensive.
The chaat here is good, but not as good as Gangotree. The Pani Puri that Narayan Reddy offers is nothing compared to the Gangotree in Chennai. I never have pani puri anywhere else and always wait till I go to Chennai to have it. The wait is too long; so can someone please help me in filing a petition to open Gangotree in Sainikpuri? 
Narayan Reddy is located right next to ICICI Bank, A.S. Rao Nagar Branch and diagonally opposite to Tandoor.
Posted by Kavitha Mohan on May 5, 2007 in
Hyderabad/Secunderabad Good food, good locality, and good service – that is what I associate with Tandoor. There are many restaurants in Sainikpuri to give Tandoor a run for its money, but Tandoor retains its customers with its service and easy on the pocket menu. It is a fairly big place with the capacity to seat around 70 odd people. They also plan to open a banquet hall above the restaurant soon, so if you intend to take a big gang for a treat then this is the right place.
Tandoor offers North Indian and Chinese cuisine. They have a wide variety of dishes on the menu catering to both vegetarians and non-vegetarians. I have tried pretty much everything on the menu and I can vouch that they are all worth the try. I’m gonna mention just a few of them coz if I have to mention everything on the menu, it will probably take me a lifetime to write it .
I’m gonna start with soups. The soups on the menu are pretty much what you will find in all restaurants. The Sweet Corn Veg Soup (Rs 35) and the Cream of Tomato Soup (Rs 35) is really good. They serve it boiling hot and the aroma of the soup makes your mouth water.
My Tip: Order Masala Papad (Rs 20) along with the soup. Tandoor’s Masala Papad is simple yet superb or should I say simply superb The tangy papad and the soup is a great combination to start with.
Then comes the starter. In the veg section, try Crispy Veg (Rs 70) or Paneer Tikka (Rs 75), and in the non-veg section try Chilli Chicken (Rs 110) or Chicken Lollipop (price not sure). We normally have vegetarian food when we go there so I’m not too sure about the other non-vegetarian starters that they offer. Going by the vegetarian dishes, I’m assuming that the non-vegetarian food is also equally good.
When it comes to rotis we always settle for Tandoori Roti (Rs 12 each) or Butter Naan (Rs 19 each). They also have Roomali Roti (Rs 20), Kulcha (stuffed and plain) and Paratha, but we always settle for Butter Naan. Ordering the side dish is the toughest. We are always contemplating what to have. I love paneer so I try and order something that has paneer in it. The Paneer Butter Masala (Rs 70) is my all time favorite. They also have Veg Khandari, Aaloo Gobi, Mutter Paneer, Veg Mughlai etc.
They also have desserts but we’ve never really tried out any.
The service is pretty fast even on days when the restaurant is full. I don’t know if that is for everyone or just for us . We have been going to Tandoor for almost a year now and everybody there recognizes us and make sure that we are attended to immediately.
Tandoor is located in A.S.Rao Nagar above PCH eZone, diagonally opposite Ushodaya Supermarket and ICICI Bank. Also note that this restaurant has nothing to do with the Tandoor in White House, Begumpet.
Posted by Vasisht on May 4, 2007 in
Toronto Hey there! This is Vasisht from Toronto, Canada. Yup, the same place India and Pakistan used to meet in those Sahara Cup matches. Well, otherwise we haven’t heard much about Toronto. Well, imagine my surprise then, when I landed at this place! I shall be writing about the hangouts in Toronto from now on. Lemme start with a brief intro to Toronto.
Toronto is in Canada, as you might have noticed. No, it is not the capital. It lies somewhere on the South East edge of Canada, on the shores of lake Ontario (I don’t know why they call this a lake, it is so damn huge!). It is a sprawling city, and supposed to be one of the most multi-cultural in the world. You can see people from everywhere! It is just like any other city in the U.S, though much less crowded. When I landed here, the first thing I thought was – Hey! Where are all the people?!.
Whenever you see a pic or come across something on Toronto, you see this nice tower standing in the background. That, is the CN Tower. You can dig up more about The CN Tower here – The CN Tower Portal. I shall continue with my perspective on it.You can see the CN Tower the minute you get down anywhere at downtown. The first thing that strikes you when you see this tower is – Cheez…u kiddin’ me? That was supposed to be one of the tallest towers?. Yup, it looks so small from a distance. But it grows bigger as you get closer, yeah, really. You understand the sheer size of it when you stand right under it. It is HUGE!
When you enter it, you are greeted by a ticket booth. This place is no hangout – it costs around $25 CAD (Canadian Dollar, 1CAD ~ Rs 37) to enter this thing. When you do make up your mind and splurge, you join a queue to a photo. They take your photo in front of a greenscreen, and will hand it over to you later, with the tower instead of the green. You then proceed to a strange contraption, something like a metal detector, but more like the body scanner in Doom 3 (yup, it has red lights and stuff).
Then comes the lift. It takes you to the sky dome. The lady in the lift shoots out statistics, some very helpful, like the speed of the lift, and that no-one died when constructing the tower (or I guess it was 2 people). Anyway, you come out of the lift, into this sky dome thing. It is just a big circular room, with great big windows, and you see the whole city below you. There is even a restaurant here, where you can eat, and stare at the Ontario lake at the same time! They have some binoculars, which, sadly, doesn’t work until you drop some coins.
Once you are done drooling at the city, you can go to the glass floor. The glass floor is where they have made a part of the floor out of glass. You can see right down to the road underneath you. It takes some getting used to, but after that, it is fun. You can then roam around, reading the history of the the tower. After you are done, you can do two things – pay $15 more and go to the Sky-pod (which is still higher), or get the hell out.
Well, the photo I mentioned before, they show it to you when you come down again. But it ain’t free. You can also buy some CN Tower themed stuff at the mall downstairs, like some small silver keychains, and all sorts of things with the photo of the tower. All said, it was a good experience, and a must for anyone visiting Toronto. The view of the lake looks awesome from the tower.
Posted by Navin Ganesh on May 3, 2007 in
Chennai If you have been missing authentic north Indian cuisine, then its time you paid Bay Leaf a visit. Its located in the heart of the city and is easily accessible. The board outside welcomes you saying, “Authentic Lucknowi, Bengali, Frontier, Punjabi Cuisine”. So it pretty much covers the popular variety of cuisines we get from Punjab in the West to Bengal in the East.
Once you get inside, you tend to feel relaxed. I think it because of the lighting which is neither too bright nor dark and the place overall is very decent. As its off the main road, not too many people know about this place, so you end up getting a nice quite place to dine in. There are about 8 tables which is more than enough for the crowd this place gets.
Ok. I think i’ve described the place enough. So lets get to the food. You’ve got quite a long menu card. Most of the items here are Non-vegetarian which is understandable considering it’s purely a North Indian place. But there are enough items to try out for a pure vegetarian to go and enjoy a nice filling meal.
Firstly, I have to warn you about this starter called Paneer Potli. I hated it so much, that it’s the first thing that comes to my mind when I think about bayleaf. I ordered it with great expectations, but it turned out to be big let down. Maybe the dish by itself is supposed to be like that, but the cardamom in it, just made me hate it. Anyway, moving on, the tomato soup was watery but quite tasty. The Biriyanis are just amazing. The one I had was called Lucknowi Vegetable Biriyani. If you do end up going thereDon’t miss out on having the Biriyani. They also have tandoori items such as roti, naan, etc. and a range of side dishes. The ones I had were all pretty good, so its worth checking out. The quantity of each portion of any dish is also quite huge.
Apart from the standalone dishes, you also have meals which work out pretty cheap. There is one meal at Rs. 55. Me being a vegetarian I have to say, my experience of Bayleaf was pretty limited. But for all you non-veggies out there, you must check it out and I’m sure you’ll have a great time. As a place to dine out, its great to relax over the weekend or even take someone out on a date. But before you do take out someone, make sure they like this kind of cuisine. An average meal for 2, works out to somewhere between Rs. 300 and Rs. 400.
So go ahead and relive your north Indian food craze at Bayleaf which is located at Gopalpuram. It is off cathedral road, and on the street that goes in next to Gangotree and opposite to Stella Maris.
Posted by Narayanan Hariharan on May 2, 2007 in
Chennai I couldn’t name it any better because this shop doesn’t really have a name. Or probably, it has a name but without a board. Anyways, who cares? I’m talking about the roadside sandwich shops in front of Alsa Mall, which was once upon a time one of the most happening places in Chennai.
There are three to four such sandwich shops in the same row and all of them are pretty similar. All of them are around four feet by four feet, made out of wood and there is place for only one person to stand inside who prepares various types of sandwiches and toasts and another person standing outside who makes wonderful omelettes. Surprisingly enough, they have power supply and what’s more, there is a menu card too!
The sandwich shop that I am referring to in this post is the one on the right corner when you are facing Alsa Mall. This is the only shop from where I have eaten and hence I will recommend only this one and not the others.
Like I mentioned earlier, they have a menu card, well laminated and lists all their offerings like Veg Sandwich, Egg Omelette, Cheese Toast, Chilly Cheese Toast, Mixed Veg Toast, Aaloo Toast, Bread Omelette etc. All of these are reasonably priced, ranging from Rs. 8 for the Veg Sandwich to Rs. 13 for most of the toasts. I’m not sure about the egg varieties as I’ve never tried them. All the toasts are served hot and that makes them even more tasty. My favorite off the lot is Chilly Cheese Toast. It is probably the best Chilly Cheese Toast I’ve had ever. Damn tasty, trust me. The cheese melts in your mouth and the Lays tagline really suits it, i.e. ‘No one can eat just one!’ Anyone who goes there must definitely try out the Chilly Cheese Toast; otherwise you are definitely missing something in life.
Now, you may be thinking in your mind, “you say it is a roadside shop, in front of a mall, you haven’t mentioned any seating arrangements, where the hell will I sit or stand?” You can sit on the steps of Alsa Mall for eternity and no one is going to disturb you. As you wait for your order to be ready, you are given ‘Time Pass’. Time pass is nothing but cucumber pieces with Chaat Masala sprinkled over it. And here is the best part, the so called ‘Time Pass’ is on the house!
I clearly remember the first time I went there. My friends and I were debating on where to hangout. We were all short of money and therefore couldn’t go to Coffee Day, Planet Yumm etc. That’s when one of my friends mentioned about a certain ‘Sandwich Shop in Alsa Mall’. Since the others hadn’t been there, we all decided to check out that place. That visit led to further frequent visits and we used to spend close to 5 hours every time we went.
I’ve been going to this place for close to 5 years now and not only have I have enjoyed eating there every single time, but everyone who has been to that place have a similar experience to share.
The shop is open from 11 A.M. to 11 P.M. There is no address as such and it is very easy to locate. Just ask for Alsa Mall once you near Egmore and once you are there, just look for a really small shop with a huge crowd around it on the right and you’ve got it.
Posted by Anush Srivatsan on May 1, 2007 in
Chennai These days there is no shortage of high quality pure-veg eatouts in Chennai and Sandeepha’s new branch on TTK road just adds to the list. Though this doesn’t exactly qualify as a “hangout”, if you wanna hangout with your parents or grandparents, why not give this place a shot.
The first thing you’re most likely to notice about this place is the HUGE menu. And I’m not kidding. They have practically every vegetarian dish you could ever hope for! For starters you can choose from the usual stuff… Chinese/Tandoori (Rs 40 – Rs 60). Rice varities (Rs 50 – Rs 60) include everything from plain jeera rice, pulav, masala pulav to mushroom and paneer fried rice. Noodles fall under the same price range too.
One starter there that i like a lot was the Paneer Balle (It even sounds different). The dhal varieties don’t have anything extraordinary that is worth mentioning. You can choose from thadka dhals, tomato thadka, makhni and the list goes on. The kumb malai palak (Rs. 60) is one of my favorites. I really don’t know whats there in it (apart from malai and spinach) so I can’t really tell you why its so tasty.
Sandeepha primarily specializes in south indian dishes. You get everything from the boring Idlis and Vadas to Stuffed dosas (which includes a paneer stuffed dosa!) There are 23 (yes Twenty Three) varities of dosas to choose from. The dosa that stands out there is the Masala Paper Dosa (Rs. 90).
For older folks, there is the tried and trusted “meals combo” available. They range from lunch meals (Rs. 35), Andhra meals, Tamil Nadu meals to North Indian combos (Rs. 70). Plus you also get the boring sambar rice, lemon rice etc etc (yuck!).
Finally, to finish it all off, they offer a choice of exotic mocktails and icecreams (I don’t remember much here, but the dessert menu went on for a good 3 pages).
A word of caution – Under no circumstances should you ever order the Malai Kofta at this place. Trust me, it SUCKS!
Sandeepha is located on TTK Road, right opposite Narada Gana Sabha. It is open between 8am and 11pm on all days.
