MERI RASOI

Last week on our anniversary we went to Taj club house for buffet Lunch, as we had already seen Fisherman's cove and Connemara..I decided to check this one. Here the ambiance is good like a five star and they have lots of variety too.. In the non alcoholic section they have two types of mocktails.I liked the strawberry flavoured. For starters, it was usual chaat, 2-3 fried items, and assortment of breads.the last one was really good, chaat..I dont think any good hotel serves the real taste:( Then they had all sort of pastas,pizzas and noodles, variety of rice and Indian breads, and yes salads.Rice was very good ..all varieties, dont know why they kept biryaani and daal on a separate counter and we came to know only when we were full, whereas both these items were very yummy..otherwise there was very little variety in vegetables and whatever was there wasnt good even. Dosa was also there. In desserts, they had gulabjamun, chamcham, and carrot halwa, and then there were tarts, ...

In my building whenever I lamented about the shortage of north Indian good food, everybody told me to go and check Sigree, so I went there with lot of expectations:) but not all of them were fulfilled. A la Carte menu is highly overpriced, so we set out to have the buffet lunch. They dont have any cool drinks in the buffet..its only soup..and I dont like to have starters without anything to drink..so starting only dampened my spirits:) In the starters, they have 2-3 items with chilli paneer and some pakora and chaat also..chilli paneer was good, but here I never like Golguppas anywhere and sometimes I get tempted to start my own corner, because I make them much better then them. Then in the main they had...4-5 type of salad, chola, one paneer dish,daal, and few other vegetables and rice....I miss the pulao here and dahi bada, they had curd rice too. but preparations were good.all this with naan and chapati. In the dessert we had...some payasam, two flavours of icecream,jal...

I got this recipe from Nita Mehta's book. The bread is very " khasta ", not sure how to translate that to english - maybe you could say butter crisp. It's not crisp like potato chips but crisp like phyllo pastry. You can fill the bread with any filling of your choice. The original recipe called for a mushroom filling but since we don't eat mushrooms I made a potato filling like the one used for samosa. For the bread: Ingredients: 2 cups all purpose flour 1/2 cup butter (cold) 1 tsp baking powder 3/4 tsp salt 1/2 cup milk 1/4 tsp ajwain (carrom seeds) Method: Sieve the flour, baking powder and salt together. Cut butter into small cubes. Rub the butter lightly into the flour till it resembles like bread crumbs. Add milk and kneead lightly to form a dough. Cover and keep aside in a cool place or in the fridge till you have the filling ready. Roll out the dough into a square about 10" long. It's more important that the dough layer be thin - so if it's com...

Express Avenue mall has this restaurant,last time when we went there we didnt chk it. But then someone said that this is a chain restaurant and have good, so we thought of trying this week. And we were in for a disappointment. They serve thaalis and food was very mediocre .Nothing very tasty,though it was usual affair Buttermilk, Dhokla,layered samosa 6-vegetables and daal but nothing was tasty, boiled rice and khichdi phulka,makki ki chapati and poori, papad White rasogulla,malpua..it was good and kheer..very insipid service was not very good, every time we had to call the bearer, and ambiance is also very ordinary. At the rate of 300/ per person its not worth it at all, if one compares the same type of food, Mansukh is much better. I wouldnt ever go there again

Once you make this receipe you will never be able to eat the nankhatais in the market. They are so good:).This receipe was told to me by my very old friend Anuja, an expert in baking .ingredients 1cup sugar-ground 1cup ghee 1and half cup of maida half cup besan sieve maida ; besan and mix all the ingredients together thoroughly and nicely ,then make small flat balls ,put them on a greased tray a little apart. make a cross over them with knife. and bake them in a preheated oven at 400 degree for 15 minutes(time may vary a little depending upon the oven and quantity, so please check it.

I have been hearing about this place for a long time, once I went there , but couldnt find it, this weekend we got lucky and tried it. It is a small place but food is good. We tried Maharaja Thali. It is a thali with unlimited quantity and fixed varieties. Chhaach.sour curd with salt and pepper and mint is served as appetiser and in the starters there are three snack..dhokla,cutlets and kachori...all of them are very tasty, so we start with a pleasure:) In the main dish we have gujarati kadhi,paneerveg, daal,one more curry, dahi vada, chapati, poori,rice, curd rice and,papad. For the desserts..carrot halwa, rasmalai and icecream..I just loved the first two. If one doesnt want to take thali, they have all sort of parathas and other snacks and sweets too. And end it with Paan. All this for 160/..per thaali. Ambiance is just ok and so is the service, but food is delicious and value for money is more even.and they have all gujarati snacks and north Indian too. MANSUKH 10 ...

One day we went to Express Avenue mall.I think this is the the so far best mall in Chennai, with enough space and all brands and with pleasant interior.Earlier I used to like Citi centre, but now days it seems to be quite small with not many stores and always crowded. Here while strolling we found this italian cafe..its on the back side of entrance. We ordered  tomato Bruchetta, one cappuccino and one desert..it was something fruits , cream and icecream. and all three items were delicious and  very well served. Prices are moderate and ambiance is good. I liked the place and it is certainly worth a visit.I enjoyed both the things bruchetta and my dessert...I have never tasted something so good, like this, its cream but tastes like ice cream. 49, Whites Road., Royapettah , Chennai Landmark: In Express Avenue Mall phone.9840922895