Enjoy Delhi

The number of good restaurants in Delhi and the NCR region has kept on increasing over the past few years. As the number of malls have increased and a larger number of people have got into the habit of spending time in malls, the urge to eat out (especially at good places has increased tremendously). One example of this was this restaurant called Sahib Sindh Sultan (located inside the Ambience Mall in Gurgaon). We had to meet some friends after a period of a year, and owing to some locational issues, we went to Gurgaon to meet our friends. Finding the Mall and the restaurant was incredibly easy, if you are coming from the Delhi side, then as soon as you cross the Toll gate, the mall is located on the left side (you need to get off the highway as soon as you see a proper opening).
The restaurant is apparently part of a group called the BJN group that also runs other restaurants right next to SSS, and is located on the 3rd floor of the mall, close to the ground parking side (the side furthest away from the entrance to the mall; parking to the mall costs Rs. 30).
As you enter the restaurant, the initial look was that it seemed richly decorated, but a trifle dark. However, as you move in, you quickly spot a section of the restaurant where a train seems to be standing, and when you climb in, there are tables inside the train. A nice touch, and made all of us seem a bit happy (and of course the kid was very happy to be stepping inside a train). The seats were comfortable, and we thought that we were in a right place. Then the menu arrived, and it seemed to be a bit high, but this was a classy place (so went the reasoning) so we continued in that place.
And then the starters arrived followed by the food. The place offers a mix of Anglo-Indian, Gujarati, and Frontier food (a mish-mash of different styles). The starters (2 veg, one was a sort of vegetable seekh kabab, the other was a mushroom and other parts dish (and both were tasty); and then we had the non-veg started which was an excellent 5 pieces of fish fry (very tasty)). It was the main course that was even more incredible, the veg palak malai kofts and dal were great. Non-veg chicken biryani was in a good quantity and probably the best biryani I had ever eaten. Overall, the food was very great. If I do not recommend to everyone, it is because for 4 of us, the overall bill came to Rs. 3400 which is high by any standard (consider than 12.5 % was VAT, and 10% was a service charge).

Contact:
Site (link)
Ambience Mall, Level 3,
National Highway 8,
Gurgaon - 122 002
Delhi: +91 0124 3058802

Asia Kitchen is a relatively new restaurant located in Sector 63 in Noida. The location details are:
H-1A/33, Sector 63, Noida
Tel +91 (0120) 4218555/ 4218666
If you are coming from the Shipra Mall Side, you need to take the road that leads to Fortis; it is on the left side before Fortis (you will need to take the service lane).
The place has 2 floors, a ground floor and a basement. Together, the restaurant has ample seating space, with a mix of chairs and sofas for more comfortable seating.
The restaurant does not yet have a liquor license, so it cannot serve any cocktails or drinks. However, it does have a variety of mocktails and the standard lemon water, etc. The food is varied - there is Chinese, Thai, and North Indian (although this mixture does seem a bit strange - I saw on the same table, a group from an office eating a mixture of dal along with chopsuey and hot and sour vegetables; something this was not a pleasant sight.
The servings are large, and the menu choices are small (for example, the North Indian vegetable list was 2 paneer dishes, 1 kofta, 1 dal, and 1 other dish), so we ended up with a small number of dishes whose quantity proved more than sufficient. I felt the taste was great, and people eating the non-veg liked what they ate, but there were others who did not like the taste all that much.
Overall, for around 16 people, we ended up with a bill of around Rs. 350 per head, seemed a trifle high (but with drinks, starters and food, it may be fine).

Maspar has recently started ramping up its store network in the Delhi and NCR region, and is becoming famous and talked about for the variety and quality of its products. Maspar makes home furnishings in the area of bed collection, Bath, Table & Kitchen, Fabric and Gifts. Maspar is into production and sales of probably the most unique textile material and with their products being in the premium range. Synonymous with colourful fabrics and simple straight line designs – emphasizing more on texture, they have a wide range of bedspreads, bath sets, table lines and fabrics. Maspar is special because it has redefined that elegant, no-nonsense look. As an example, Maspar’s collection of viscose and cotton bed linen, bedspreads and cushion covers is aptly called Moulin Rouge; the range is a mass of dramatic colour, texture, pattern and vibrant embellishments.
The prices are fairly reasonable. Bedsheets cost between Rs995 and Rs3,000 and the most expensive curtain panel costs Rs1,250. Apart from Delhi and Mumbai, Maspar has branches in Bangalore and Ludhiana.

Locations and contact details:

# Select City Saket
13 & 14, IInd Floor
Select City Walk
New Delhi-110017
Ph:011-40575025
Fax:011-40575026
Email: maspar.scs@maspar.in

# South Ex New Delhi
IIIrd & IVth Floor,
E-2, Mahajan House
NDSE Part-II
South Extension
New Delhi-110049
Phone:011-46095979
Fax:011-46095989
Email: maspar.fss@maspar.in

# City Center Mall Gurgoan
Shop No 10,
11 DLF City Centre
M.G Road, Gurgaon
Haryana
Ph.:95124-4016380
Fax:95124-4016379
Email: maspar.ccg@maspar.in

# Spice World Mall Noida
Shop No 203&204,
First Floor
Spice World Mall
Sector-25A
Noida(U.P)
Ph.:0120-4333055
Fax:0120-4333054
Email: maspar.ccn@maspar.in

# Rajouri
Shoppers Stop Ltd Plot No-10
Shivaji Place District Centre, Raja Garden
New Delhi-110015

This is a huge mall. It can take many hours to navigate all the different sections, and there is a fair chance of becoming lost (or rather, trying to find a shop that you have found earlier). And if you have made an arrangement to meet somebody over there, then it can get difficult; because it is very crowded during the weekends and even during the normal daytime, and also because it can get confusing.
However, these could be counted as negatives; but the positive is that this is one mall that can help you to find whatever you want. There are many eating places, there is bowling, there are movies, there are restaurants, and the place is full of shopping. And of course, there is an amusement park next door with plenty of rides.
The mall comprises an area of 1,500,000-square-foot (139,400 m²), making it one of the largest operational mall in India. The Great India Place was developed by the Unitech Group and is located in Sector 38-A of Noida. The Mall is supposed to be a part of a Huge Entertainment City with an Water & Amusement Park, Bollywood-Theme Park, and Hotel.
The mall follows a zoned concept with home and grocery on the basement level, women’s apparel on one side, men’s on the other and a 180,000 sq.ft. Food and Entertainment zone on the top floor, with a 5-screen Adlabs multiplex, with a total seating capacity of 1220 seats.
Some of the major stores are Big Bazaar, Home Store (for items for the home), Pantaloon, Globus, Lifestyle, Shopper Stop, Bossini, D & A shoes, CTC Plaza, Lee Copper, Tana Bana, Hallmark, Titan, Giovani, Jumbo Electronics, Om Book Shop, Hazoorilal, R C Jewellers, Cygnus, Tanishq, Ritu Wears, Planet M, Archies, Lazy Boy, Dollar Shop, Adidas, Nike, Guess, Marks & Spencer, Satya Paul, Raymond Shop

Food: Nirula’s, Sbarro, Rajdhani, Yatra, Noodle Bar, Food Court, Pind Balluchi, TGIF, KFC, PIzza Hut, Bembos, Pizzaria Express, and many others.

You also have pool and bowling options on the same floor as the food court.

Post courtesy Akshaya(link)

China Garden, located in the M-block market of Greater Kailash-II, is a branch of the famous China Garden chain of restaurants across the country. The chain is founded by Nelson Wang, a famous chef and the guy who could be quite literally termed as the one who has a big hand in popularizing Chinese food in India. As the story goes, he arrived in Mumbai from Calcutta in early 70s with only 27 rupees in his pocket. His first restaurant was opened in 1984 in Mumbai. And since then the name has grown bigger and bigger. He is the one said to have invented ‘Chicken Manchurian’. Wang also started a women exclusive nightclub called Piano Bar in Mumbai.

Delhi’s China Garden is another good Chinese option in the city. The ambiance of the place is soothing. There are glass stairs, wonderful oriental artifacts and simulated water fall. The whole setup is wonderful. The food also does not lacks behind (although in some areas only). Chinese, Thai and Japanese is served at this place. Nelson Wang’s philosophy of cuisine with a twist can be felt quite easily in the dishes.

In soups, try clear soups rather than the ‘filly’ ones. Clear soups are tangy and quite apt for a start. In the starters, I have tried dim sums only and could not found them as good as at other places (say Mainland China). Veg Sui Mai was quite spicy and the covering was not as thin as we like it to be. For the main course, try Teppanyaki, quite filling and wonderfully done. One can also go for Prawn in Pepper Garlic. Rice and Noodles are all properly cooked and are of good quality.

Overall, surely one of the good options in the city for Chinese cuisine. The rates are also not as high as other places like House Of Ming. Average cost per person would be 600 rupees. They have lounge as well as a Piano Bar.

Contact Info:-
China Garden
M73
M Block Market
Greater Kailash - II
New Delhi - 48
Ph. +91 11 29223456-59

A lot of Indians enjoy Chinese food; however, it is also a fact that most of the Chinese food that we eat is actually food cooked with an Indian flavour - after all, a true Chinese chef would not actually enjoy addition of things such as Indian spices, paneer (cottage cheese); in fact, the feel of authentic Chinese food is most enhanced when the ingredients are genuine. There are a number of restaurants who claim the virtue of having an authentic Chinese experience, and some of them are not genuine. The China Kitchen on the other hand feels like the genuine experience.
The restaurant is located next to the pool at the Hyatt Regency, and the experience starts right at the entry. There are Chinese type motifs on the wooden doors that mark the entrance to the restaurant, and inside, you find the restaurant spread into different areas - there are the open kitchens, 5 private dining areas, the wine / tea area and the overall dining area. But even the dining area has tables that give you some feeling of privacy since there is some distance between the tables, and there are many corners. The whole getup of the place gives a wooden look (the elegant type), with a dark varnished wooden floor, wooden pillars and teak logs making up the roof. The windows give a good view of the pool. As you might expect, such an interior can give a great feeling of luxury, and the service is well along these lines. All this can be expensive, and you can easily run up a charge of over Rs. 1000 per person in the meal.
The restaurant is most famous for its 2 specialties, Peking Duck (made on a wood fired oven to give the classical taste), and Beggar’s Chicken (chicken wrapped in lotus leaves inside a clay shell). In addition, there are a number of other mouth-watering delicacies (in addition to the chef’s complimentary offering (some kind of starter, but normally very delicious), vegetable dumpling soup, Steamed spinach with mustard-sesame sauce, crispy prawn spring rolls, Sichuan poached chicken with crushed peanuts, vegetable and bean curd, Wok-fried premium vegetables with garlic, Fried Crab Claws, Pancakes with Sauteed Lamb, Sichuan Chilli Crabs, Fried Coriander Buns (my mouth was watering just from reading this entire list).
Thus, you can get a variety of excellent dishes based on vegetarian, poultry, fish, and other such sections, most of them being very good. The dessert is also a not-miss section. You get a good variety of wines and excellent alcohol to go along with this.

Hours: Lunch: 12:00 noon to 2:30 pm
Dinner: 7:00 pm to 11:30 pm
Reservations: Please dial +91 11 6677 1334

Apsara Sarees is a shop right off the Chandni Chowk main road. As you head off into the Paranthe Wali Gaali and cross the first saree shop of Gauri Shanker, you get into the first turn, and there it is, Apsara Sarees. If you are looking for some of the heavy sarees for the bride and for some of the other main female players in a wedding (such as sister and sister-in-laws of the groom and the bride), then it makes sense to pay a trip to this shop. It is a place where you will get some of the stylish and heavy sarees and lehangas at a price that is available only in Chandni Chowk (if you wanted to buy this article outside Chandni Chowk, it would cost much more).
Sarees that I have seen here while shopping with some female relatives can cost around Rs. 20,000 - Rs. 30,000; but once you have got over these prices, then you can see how these sarees shine. It is without doubt that such clothes will make the wearer feel special during the wedding or pre-wedding function, and that is exactly how you want them to feel.
For a lot of the sarees and all the lehangas, they will take your choice, and make these on order, so it might take some time for them to get ready, but the end result looks great.
Contact details for Apsara Sarees:
1980, Gali Paranthe Wali,
23267767, 23286856

Sherwani’s are being seen as the style statement when a male is about to get married; ethnic Indian wear, and very elegant, especially when the design on the You have a bride-groom who wants to look his best and stand out among the crowd (especially since nowadays in a marriage, everybody is dressed in their best). Depending on the closeness between the bridegroom and his fiancee, the girl also wants to have a say in how the bride-groom will look like, and you also need a place where you can see a variety of different types of sherwanis, as well as the classy suits that people nowadays wear as an alternative to the sherwani.
Most people want to find a good place where they can sample these sherwanis and suits. You also need access to good shops because a good sherwani can cost upwards of Rs. 20,000 with a good one normally costing anywhere between Rs. 35,000 to Rs. 50,000. You need to remember that this is a one-time cost, since a sherwani is not liable to be re-used in any way.
Sherwanis are available in fancy shops such as Gujralsons, Diwan Chand, etc. You can find these shops in many locations such as the Great India Mall in Noida, Lajpat Nagar, Cross River Mall in East Delhi, west Delhi malls, etc, but it is rare that you find more than one shop in a specific location. Chandni Chowk has a selection, but the best place that I have found for the male marriage dressing is Ajmal Khan Road in Karol Bagh. There is a short stretch on this road that has multiple shops - Diwan Chand (including a discount version as well), Gujralsons, Grooms, Rod, and Vasari. Through all of these, you should be able to find the one that you want. Do remember that the Sherwani needs to be stitched, and hence you will get the Sherwani after a few days.

Post courtesy Akshaya (link)

Sampan is the Chinese cuisine restaurant at Crowne Plaza Surya. The best thing about Sampan is its location. It is situated on the top floor and offers a panoramic view of the city specially a marvelous view of the DND road with its curves and elevation properly visible. Sampan, meaning a flat bottomed boat in Chinese, has good décor and Chinese artifacts. Apart from these two good things, place is not much worth to write about.

The food is not that good as other Chinese joints in the city. And the cost is too high for the place and the food. Food for two will cost around 1600 to 2000 bucks. Crowne Plaza Surya is not regarded as a good hotel in Delhi and Sampan also lives to this reputation. There is nothing spectacular about food here. It serves Schezwan and Cantonese varieties mostly. One can try Crispy Spinach and Corn for the starters. While in main course, try Chicken in Sichuan Sauce or Vegetables in Garlic sauce variants. One can also go for their buffet which happens daily on weekdays in the lunch timings (from 12:30 to 2:30 or something of that sort). It is cheaper and would let you try various things without worrying about shooting your bill upward.

Nothing great for me except the views it offers.

Contact Info:-
Sampan
Crowne Plaza Surya
New Friends Colony
New Delhi – 65
Ph:- 26835070, 41672222

If you are looking for some great male traditional wear, whether for the party season, or for rituals such as attending marriages (maybe even your own), then Diwan Saheb is a great place to do your shopping.
The outlets boast of some great wear, such as Italian fabric suits, some great looking and stylish shirts, kurtas, sherwanis, jodhpuris, safas, accessories (shoes, belts, wedding turban (pagri), hanker-chiefs, etc). Of course, with this great style, prices tend to be a bit on the higher side as well; but if you are entering Diwan Saheb, then it would be expected that you would be willing to pay for the kind of quality and style that you would be getting. I know somebody who got a very fashionable party suit made for a sum of Rs. 13,000 and did not regret it one bit - it looked pretty great.
The staff is very friendly, and in our case, they actually kept the shop open for some time more till we completed our business. Outlets for Diwan Saheb are spread over Delhi and NCR:

1. LAJPAT NAGAR, NEW DELHI
40 E, Central Market, Lajpat Nagar - II
Delhi - 110 024, India
Tel : +(91)-(11)-41039009/41039010/29818866
Fax :+(91)-(11)-41039006

2. KAROL BAGH, NEW DELHI
6 / 30 W.E.A, Ajmal Khan Road
Karol Bagh, New Delhi - 110005, India
Tel : +91-11-25739755 / 25767134
Fax: +91 11 41039026

3. EAST PATEL NAGAR, NEW DELHI
23 / 4, East Patel Nagar
New Delhi -110008, India
Tel : +91 11 25781776
+91 11 25850492
Fax: +91 11 41039026

4. CROSS RIVER MALL, EAST DELHI
Shop No. F-9 & 10
Cross River Mall
Near Karkardoma Road,
Delhi.
Ph: 011-32425455

5. GHAZIABAD
M/s Roopali Exclusive
G-2, The Hans Plaza
Ambedkar Road,
Ghaziabad.
Ph: 120-6407200

Read more about Diwan Saheb at their website.