Tigers Experience of ZAMBAR - Cyber Hub Gurgaon

And I'm Going to Make you Droooooooooooool!!!!!

Research done on the restaurant , I always do extensive research on every restaurant i go to review - Chef Aruns baby , Lite bites flagship chain , none had a bad word to say - Chef Arun the adventurer - Journalist to a documentary maker , to a chef Wow now thats whats called following a passion is all about . Infact i have done a study during my MBA days about what alternate carriers preferred by professionals, to elaborate alternate carriers they would like to take if they were not doing what they are doing today and trust me the findings were amazing - Lawyers wanted to become Chefs, CA's wanted to be DJ's , Engineers wanted to be artist etc etc .. So i firmly believe that there is a hidden profession in each one of us and it is Passion led . So Chef Arun you have proved my finding right . Thank you . What he enjoys at Lite bites and specifically at zambar is the liberty to experiment - every chefs dream to be given the freedom of experimenting with the menu, his way  ... very few get this opportunity . Kudos that you made full use of it and are living your passion . 

Chef Arun - you are a genius or a magician .... your simplicity , your research and humbleness spells beautifully in Zambar .. was a wonderful experience in total.

The Gorgeous Interiors

This is called adaptability they open in Cyber hub the most swankiest place to be in, all corporate honchos floating around , expats , call center executives , high heeled kitty party ladies , professionals like me fixing meetings there - Zambar launches a all day menu , quick thaali concept , a dosa on the move ... in a chic yet traditional atmosphere , to get the people in . Zambar Cyber hub is done up like houses of the rich society from the  chettinad areas of Tamilnadu hence called Chettiyar Houses of Tamilnadu ,design on the lines of  Karaikudi heritage town declared by tamilnadu government - houses are built with limestone .  Beautiful colorful posters on the walls ,open kitchen , alfresco seating also available to please your eyes while you eat . Very comforting yet zing ambiance . 

The Accompaniments 

Tomato Chutney , Coriander Mint Chutney , gun Powder with Gingelly oil (Sesame Oil ) gawd why was i always under the misconception that they served Desi Ghee with Gun Powder - Thanks Chef for correcting me . The Gingelly Oil is used in almost Chinese, Mid Eastern cuisine as a taste enhancer.  The gun Powder is a proprietary recipe but the basic  is lentil , dry chilies and spices also know as Podi . Freshness , Flavors the essential component of the chutneys , gun powder enhances almost every dish  . 

Fresh Coconut Chutney

Why a special mention and a special standalone pic of this coconut chutney - freshly ground by hand and not the grinder which spoils the fun of the crunchy  coconut - very lil daal , something different and new to me . A very Homey Type of a Coconut Chutney.

T Rasam and Butter Milk

Hot n Cold Shots of Zambar ... the Tomato rasam though tasted very original and authentic would have been even better if it had a few pieces of tomato floating in it  for  the crunch... the butter milk was ok ok .... a bit thick .  I normally skip this to do justice to the main course . 

Kerala Chai Kada (Tea Shop) Chilli Chicken

Nice .. like the  litpita chicken in tangy sauce .. fun finger licking chicken often served at tea stalls in Kerala as claimed by the chef  but essentially a chilly chicken with more tomato in it for the finger licking to happen . Trust me u cant eat the chicken dish with a fork and knife you have to dive into it with all your fours . But actually want to confirm if this is sold at tea stalls , if so .. baby im moving to Kerala.  Well cooked chicken , super textures and flavors . 

Batata Malige

Simble - South Indias answer to Fries - potato wedges sauteed in spices as simple as that . Instead of the regular chinese crispy potatoes try this for a good change .... good starter. A perfect crowd pleaser. Would go amazingly well with a beer.

Squid Rings with Sea food filling

This was a drool - The size of the squid impressive the filling even more impressive - together a chewy squid with amazing flavors of the sea . Im guessing here now - fish , prawn and more squids were the main fillers  tossed in dry masala . The masala essentially had a mix of khada masala - finely chopped  coconut , tomato onions . for a minute thought oh god these are spring rolls until i attacked one of them . Just delicious and innovative . Was quite fed up of fried squids . A very ambitious dish .

Andhra Kosta Salan- Chillies

Flash Fried Large chillies with Seasame , Peanut and coconut served on a bed of the same gravy .. i have a strong feeling that the chillies were soaked in vinegar before being cooked .. they had a sour taste to them ... like the bottled Jalpenos . Loved it .. not much chilly so easy on the tongue .  A very hyderabadi salan. Would love to go back for more.

Achamma’s  Lamb Curry 

Very Very simple Lamb Curry - ACHAMMA’S LAMB CURRY: grandmother’s recipe of a simple, yet tasty, lamb curry. Lamb Simmered in coconut milk with spices....  with the idyappam its a perfect mix -Now this dish is chef Arun Grand mas secret - how did he get the recipe - wonder how many months it took him to master the same .. point to ponder . Well  getting back to the dish lovely spices simple for sure but enjoyable , the palate never got confused .. the lamb soft and succulent . A true homey .

Simble Veg Stew

Who doesn't love appam and stew - i actually prefer the vegetarian one ... becos i love coconut . Smooth as silk , fresh and pure . The appam perfectly cooked , even on all fronts .. i don't like the one which is thick in the centre . Its a technique to get an appam right.  Stew to me means brewed slowly cooked with perfect timing ... yes thats what a good stew shud be .rich coconut flavors drove me mad .

Coastal Prawn Biryani

The Pefect Moplah or  Mappila Biryani - Prawns my lord prawns -  A biryani from the Muslim Community of Kottayam Kerala .... whats different about it .. huh well the original is called Neychoru and with the influences of the Arabs the moguls it got extended to be called a biryani ...  the prawns were succulent , the grains very distinguished , the masala in which they cooked the biryani were very Kerala which made the biryani just perfect in the sens it was not totally dry , slightly wet , spicy and the spices made it very interesting .. this too is served with the raita like back home . Each grain of rice was sperate , the masalas well blended in the dish - the praws absorbed the falvors well and cooked just right.

Mangalorean Chicken

The Parontta

Chef Arun and Chef Vijay hated me for this one - the closest south india can get to the North Indian Palate . hahahhaah the closest they get to the Punjabi Butter chicken Flavor but yet not  there. Thick rich tomato gravy , grilled julienne of chicken  floating in butter awesome with the paronta . Just remember when ever we go out to eat we always have tha one friend who cant look beyond Butter chicken and daal makhni - dont know about the daal but just quietly order this chicken and kep them happy , silent while you enjoy and cherish your fab South Indian Coastal Meal . The paronta was nice and flaky ... thats the way I love it . BTw this chicken dish does not have coconut ... very gassi style .

The Desert Sampler 

Coconut Jaggery Pudding , Payasam/ Kheer, Pongal and Rava Kesari - the best of the best from South India , all home made inthe Kitchen of Zambar .

Coconut Jaggery Pudding with Hot jaggery 

The Coconut Jaggery Pudding is now my favorite for sure in South Indian deserts as it is I love Coconut and mixed with jaggery topped with hot molten Jaggery sauce was DIVINE . The Pudding was well set like a good souffle .. the topping of the sauce gave it the very international feeling LOL 

Chef Vijay amd Rajeev

The men who i praise a lot .. Chef Vijai, Chef Aruns right hand man as im told has learnt all his tricks from the master chef who was not well that day , good in a way , i got a chance to meet vijay who is equally passionate and knowledgeable about the food . Thank You Chef Vijai . Ah yes Rajeev the man who was attending to us ... very courteous friendly like all south Indians .. helped decide what to eat . He was well informed about the cuisine on the menu and explained all dishes perfectly . 

Host Sonali and Of course Tiger

Sonali the head of Marcomm for Lite bites the gracious host ... must compliment her for the choice of bloggers she makes ....she chooses simply the best to taste and write the best ,hahahahahaha doesn't it say a lot about me does it ?  Sonali has been with the food industry and has great  knowledge about food  , very impressive  .....hahahahahaha  good choice sonali and thanks for having me over .  A perfect Host.

Sonali thanks for the Mist Affect hahahahahaha well the story behind this is tat we were eating int he open and suddenly the DLF guys at Cyber Hub have this Mist spray all over the place - though it felt like Simla but they shud realise that the water may spoil the fun of the food .... luckily for us the mains was over and we were enjoying  the filter Kafi . 

Beautifully Designed Menu 

Now this is what a drool menu is all about ... visual  treat , beautifully designed ... you see exactly what you are going to get .. actually i  did compare the two and they matched , very seldom does this happen . This is how a good menu should be made ... big pictures to make the foodie drool . 

Did Ya Droool  Ya ya .. that was the Idea .

Tigers Overall Experience: 

I have done Zambar before with a foodie group , ate a thaali there liked it but was not really impressed , but this time when i ordered ala carte i was blown over .

Ambiance : Chic and traditional - comfortable seating , Indoors and outdoors available 

Food - Full compliments to the Menu for its design , its collection of dishes to cover the coastal regions of India, Great mix of home recipes ,Perfectly spiced , Innovative , Authentic , Traditional and Fresh 

Service - Super Duper

I came back home told family about zambar and its food , and challenged them to find anything better than this in delhi . Incidentally we covered 6 restaurants down south last month to get a feel of authentic south indian cuisnie and trust me Chef Arun you have nailed it. 

Tigers Experience at PUNJAB GRILL - Chakhna Menu

Look listen up If You are PUNJABI , OR YOU WANT TO EXPERIENCE BEING A PUNJABI  then read below , and if you don't understand what i have written take me along to Punjab Grill it will be my pleasure of take you through a pure Punjabi experience , and this happens once in a while only , grab it til you can . 

The Chakhna menu is amazingly Inventive  , The Chefs have Experimented, Visualized, Conceptualized dishes from the Roots of Punjab which are Simple and yet too good to relish . The Presentation is impeccable . And this could only be done at Punjab Grill with the support of the entire team of Lite Bites.

The Chakhna and Chakko menu in beautiful Spanish bottles 

(check out the Salaad)

What was the concept or the funda of this crazy menu - all Punjabi's like to keep nibbling along with their drinks and every household has different finger snacks made for the evening after sundown - they have captured most of them in this menu - must compliment them for the compilation of these amazing snacks from different Punjabi households and some from the street where Punjabis do their regular Car o Bar with lookahs or chada's hahahahahah call me to know that this means, hahahahha .  Well a secret unfolds here and why not - most or rather every married Punjabi married man Loves to run away from wife every month meet up with his buddies - abuse teri bhen dee teri maa dee , buy a bottle of scotch  (in my case old monk ) go to the local kebab joint - sit in the car with full AC on , loud music and do car o bar ,,, and yes they want the restaurants mundu in attendance al the time -  or shouting out Oye chotu aithe aa , ja kukkad la , te break na lagan dee.. (chotu keep the snacks coming ) . So Chef Gurpreet , Deepak Bhatia pure Punjabi's at heart  could conceptualize the menu well and the Chef Bharat from Mumbai took two days to understand what the shit was going on as he had to replicate the same in the Punjab Grill branch in juhu hahahahaha poor chef  stuck amongst Punjabi's in Punjabi land .  Wish you luck Bharat.

Superb Lively menu - full compliments to you guys for putting this together - with or without a twist .

How much we Punjabi's love finger snacks and specially with our booze .... the hand to mouth exercise has to keep on going throughout and then you have to have a sumptuous dinner after this LOL.  chattar pattar punjabis and proud to be one . This four some was Channa Jor Garam - dunno how many know about this - street food chat pata spicy grams with nimboo and dry grams ; Makhane and dry fruit just simply salted , Channa ambrasar style and pyazz kee tikki .. dipped in hari chutney , Yummmmm . 

Jheenga 'Chowk" Ki Tikki, Masala Mattra

Aloo tikki stuffed with prawns and theeka masala  rested on a bed of pateele wale chole .. Let me start with the pateele wale channe - a common street food of Delhi , simple boiled peas with onions , chilies imli panni coriander and lime normally served with kulchas ... earlier only found outside schools but now almost every comer of delhi . The Aloo Tikki with small prawns and coriander masala was a great fusion .. a normal aloo tikki has gram and other masalas ... crisp from inside soft inside .. this one was stuffed with baby prawns just the right flavor of prawns . Innovative for sure and a great merger of taste from the street . 

Tandoori Kukkad wings, Imli Dee Chutney

Chicken Wings glazed with  Impli sauce (Tarmind) our version of the Bbq sauce , actually much better .. All time favorite is tandoori chicken so whether it is the wings legs or breast Punjabi no cares he wants his tandoori item with his drinks, thats it  .... trust me the imli marination or the glaze was fabulous - and listen to me you people please don't be formal and use fork knife to eat this bird - just go all fours to enjoy the robust flavors . Just tear it apart and bite in  .

Mutton Ki Boti in Istri

Mutton Boti kebabs in a Istree - now this word istree is a dangerous one to use infront of punjabi hahahahaha Istree means a woman in Punjabi toba toba - bad boys . The mutton boti cooked soooooo well melted in the mouth trust me when i say melted means melted ..... the khada masala was outstanding and well cooked- the concept of serving in the old traditional press was fantastic - wish the coal was also present to keep it pipping hot . This press is still used by the corner press wala found in every locality of delhi .

Sunny Side Up Tuk Tuk , Khameeri Roti

Khameere roti stuffed with a poached egg on a bed of khada masala tpped with sirke wale pyazz- what a riot of flavors .. bun tikki . Eggs in any form are a punjabis delight - specially a egg bhurjee with onions  and eaten with tandoori roti at most dhababs or drinking holes .... this is the deconstructed version of the same - beautifully cooked poached egg on a bed of tomato with some  tomato masala inserted in the khameri roti and then baked in the oven with sirke wale pyaaz.  A desi Burger patti hahahahaha take a bite and have the egg squirt all over and  followed by oh no ai kee kitha yaar .. be careful while u greedily take the first bite . I loved this stuffed roti .

Ambrasari Machhi  Te Desi Aloo Chips 

Ambrasari Machhi with the sadak wale aloo mirchi chips - Pure Punjabi Dish and from the heart of the land of punjabis ... Punjus can die for talli hui machhi - what do they love in this dish ask me an ask me .... the crisp , deep fried spicy fish is a treat .. goes perfect with a nice glass or whishky hahahahaha sound so alcoholic hahahaha . But honestly amritsar has the best fried fish on the streets and Punjab Grill team nailed it to the core, have they been walking the streets of Amritsar , need to figure this out. Superb , The combo of the sckool wali allo mirchi chips was a great think - after which u r on FIRE for sure and need t gulp down whatever poison you are on . 

Classic Mathri with Cheese n Old Monk Fondue

Now this was the most inventive dish of the evening - Mathri with cheese fondue - Home made mathi sticks , twisted cheese sticks fresh carrot and cucumber sticks with Mango ginger heeng chutney and the cheese fondue with old monk on the side ....  A dish to actually go back for .. beautiful amalgamation of the ghar kee mathi with the swiss fondue .. chef u r going to give the goras a run for their money if u keep discovering such unusual combinations . Mathri is a common snack in Punjabi household - there are several versions and combinations of the same, The Punjabi style Mathri is flaky and is spiced with Kasuri Methi,Jeera, Black Pepper and Ajwain.

Anda Tawa Rice

Tawe wale chawal with Bhujia and topped with an egg - Fly Lice oops sorry Fried Rice with Bhujia topped with a Sunny side up egg .. OMG my dream to burst the yellow and see it flow down slowly slowly ... im drooling . Mixed with imli ka paani, what a combo - was very reluctant to mix the same and spoil the eggs taste so tried it in one corner to verify the same and yes it did work .... good combo . A filler for sure . The crunchyness , the eggy flavor was delicious.

A total Chak do Phate Menu .... Punjabi ishstyle .

Rasbhari Margarita

Punjabis say this is the healthy option to drinking sharab hahahahahahahah.. fresh raspberry crushed mixed with crushed ice soaked in tequila - glass rimmed with amchoor .... killer idea . The punju women will love this ... Me too actually . Good thinking Chef . Specially the linning of amchoor on the rim , gave the drink a perfect kick .

Band Baja Te Whisky

Hahahahahaha Bhopooo , Poaa Poaaa  dont see this classic any more - good old days all rickshaw wala. all tange wala's and redi wala used to use this loud bhoppooo to make people clear the way .. i remember i too had put this on my bicycle for style lol .....  the concept behind this drink was that  Punjabi love their drinks with a lot of noise and specially at Punjabi wedding when all shout out chakho after the second drink then they dont care whether its a single malt all they want is Skatchhhh  hahahahahaha  Chak do phate .

Mele Di Chuski

Traditional skool wali chuski with vodka - haven't we all had this at India Gate and added Vodka on it ... Kala Khatta with Vodka was the combo of our college days .... The difference was that the chuski was diped in Vodka so athe end of it you actually had a fab flavored vodka . Gol Guppe ka pani , Tang wala Orange , Ambi Panna , Anar juice chuski, Nimboo Paani chuski.... crazy riot of colors and flavors . Loved sucking the chuski's after a long time ... small child like feeling with the energy of youth a total revival . Traditionally at melas in Punjab you have this man on a cycle with a slab of ice covered with a gunny bag resting on a crusher , he pushes the ice in to glasses inserts a stick into it , pours whichever flavor you want . People still go mad about it . 

Old Monk Rimzim

Ai te mera phela pyaar hai .... Old Monk with good ol Rimzim - wonder where these guys sourced the Decade old rim zim from - man gaye ustaad ...  The drink was old monk , rim zim and chaat masala and a slice of lime - man what a crazy mix of flavor , sweet sour chat pata ... a drink to get deliciously high .  Going back for more.

Ganne Ka Juice Margarita

Fresh Gaane Ke Ras kee Margarita - Oye Bale Bale .. Punjabiyan dee Shaan .... Im sure after this most popular cocktail all Punjabi's must have said Yaar Ai te dasso margarita kaun Hai ? hahahahahaha  real refreshing cocktail blended superbly with tequila with a squirt of fresh lime on top . Just the way you would have ganne ka ras in the market . good Job.

Besides these killer cocktails there were Tarbooj and banta ;Niki Te Teekhi;Pineapple Thandai ;Sufi Singh ; and im sure you have guessed why Tiger couldn take pics of the same hic hic hic ...... hahahahahaha 

The Inventor - Chef Gurpreet 

What to say to Chef  Gurpreet , Chef Satinder - you guys are total animals in the disguise of chefs how could you come up with  such amazing  combinations of dishes , riot of flavors , im totally impressed with your upbringing hahahahaha Pure Punjabi's . Joke aside - i can only say you have ticked the Punjabi's the right way by bringing the HOMEY dishes to the table  and getting them drunk . Excellent . 

The Visionary - Sharad

And you master creator - i guess you are also a part of this mercenary gang of Punjabi's to conceptualize this chakhna Menu .... Sharad another hard core Punjabi , the  incredible CEO of Lite Bites , I am  totally impressed by the independence you have given your team to experiment  with different things in terms of dishes and presentation . Not to mention another man behind this horrendous act of debauchery Deepak Bhatia - apparently he is the master curator of the play of Punjabi . Perfect Dream Team .

No Ambiance , No Food , No Service Just go CHAKHO the Chakhna Menu . hahahahahahahaha. mama im coming back to you soon . 

Ambiance : The perfect Punjabi beats behind , one drink tow drinks and you are loving daler mehndi remix blaring out . 

Service : Always Awesome 

Food : Havent i said enuf above 

Value for money : Who cares , You are Punjabi. 

Chakh Do Phatte at Punjab Grill before it gets over at Select City Walk, Saket!!!!!!