Past Forward

Food hygiene in India remains a major concern. When I was growing up there was a belief that street food is unhealthy and should be avoided. Packaged food was preferred since it was supposed to be tested as per existing law and a general belief that large companies would not take a chance with their products or their reputation. This belief literally went for a toss once the Maggi controversy surfaced. The incident revealed a can worms and opened up a Pandora's box. It not only appears that the laws were not in place to adequately address such issues but there was sufficient lax in implementation of the existing laws. We would still want to believe that international food chains operating in India have taken adequate safety measures akin to that of their US or European parent's health standards. They advertise their products showing pride from their foreign origin or international reputation and legacy. But when it comes to serving...

The cakes and pastry 'season' comes alive in the later half of December and spreads over in January. The last week of the year sparks a festive season worldwide and India joins the revelry diligently every. Since our school days Christmas was synonymous with celebration and cakes! It continues and although cakes are available all throughout the year, they attain significance quite unparalleled at any other time. A visit to any place, be it a 5 star restaurant or the local grocery store, is incomplete without indulging the sweet tooth. Bakeries are at their best and go all out to woo customers. But only a handful is able to deliver the ‘different’ experience, which makes them out in the crowd.   Angels In My Kitchen is one such patisserie. Its outlet in Cyber Hub has a select and faithful fan following. It did have first mover advantage for some time, being the lone bakery, but inspite of other places selling cakes in some form or other, Angels has done remarkable wel...

I had heard of meeting point, lovers point, sunrise point etc. But when I heard of Chai Point, I could hardly believe that such a concept was possible. In this coffee chain crazy country, where you can find a coffee joint at every nook and corner, setting up a dedicated tea shop is, if I may call, a risky affair. I got a taste of their tea when a colleague got a whole jug to office one fine morning. What’s the big deal, I said to myself. When offered a cuppa, I obliged. The moment I sipped, I literally said ‘Aha’. It was an Aha moment for me, and I guess for hundreds, or ten thousands by now, of satisfied customers. For some their day begins at this outlet located in Cyber Hub (Based on the runaway success of this outlet in Gurgaon they have set up shop in other places such as Huda City Center, Unitech Infospace etc.).         They have a variety of tea available - lemon, ginger, masala, green etc. in hot chai; lemon, ginger, apple, cranb...

The options for vegetarian food are somewhat limited. Apart from certain sections in menu cards, which are rather limited and certainly lack variety, there are only few restaurants that cater to this large section of the Indian society. And fewer still are restaurant chains serving exclusively vegetarian food. Panchavati Gaurav is one such chain.   I had been waiting for an opportunity to give it a visit. And it was dropped on my lap one afternoon when my visiting clients from Mumbai opted for vegetarian stuff. Instantly my inner inclination told me that the moment was splendid to kill two birds with one stone. I cheerfully took them to the ground floor of Cyber Hu b and once we were in front of the Panchavati I simply lingered on. The view from outside was inviting enough for them. It did not take much long to direct our steps inside.   For a Monday afternoon the restaurant was decently occupied, I would say about 70%. We settled on a table for 4 in t...

  In these of multiple restaurants and mushrooming eateries, the customer is certainly spoilt for choice. Most restaurants miss the bus with respect to reaching out to the vast majority of eat-outers. But on the other side of the line are another set of unique restaurants where not only people are willing to go more than once, they are willing to wait almost an hour before they can step in.   One such restaurant is Dhaba by Claridges, located in DLF Cyber Hub . It has the unique capability of drawing huge crowds not only during the weekdays at lunchtime, but also for dinner on weekends. I got a taste of its popularity on a late September Sunday evening. On emerging from the parking, Cyber Hub looked like a carnival of sorts. The first sight was a huge bike, called the Freedom Bike, constructed with a variety of items bought on OLX (a popular website for selling and buying all kinds of stuff). Next to it at the centre, Emirates was hosting a quiz show fo...

After checking out Cyber Hub across its length and breadth, we were feeling quite hungry. We made one final round and since Indian and Chinese are generally the places we usually ending up choosing, we decided to try something different on the inaugural visit.   Nando’s was right before us and its vibrant exteriors made quite an attractive proposition. and we marched in. The staff was quite amiable and showed us around the restaurant, giving us the freedom to decide. We chose a reasonably large table at one corner with very comfortable seating consisting of sofa occupying one half and  chairs the other half. There was no objection or suggestion to move to a smaller table! The tables are spaciously placed giving an impression of leisure unlike other restaurants where space is treated as a premium and there’s just enough gap for moving around. One a late Sunday afternoon the restaurant was decently occupied.       We ordere...