Dinner at Margarita's .... And then Ben & Jerry's !!!!

First night in Singapore was a big success. We met up with our friend Jayesh and his wife Mona who live in Singapore and they took us out. I had already been to this restaurant in my last visit and loved the food, so I was really open to the idea of going again. I love mexican food and there aren't any good mexican restaurants in Delhi (Not that I know of ... If you know of any, please let me know), so it seemed like a good idea to go to eat mexican food. As the name "Margarita's" would suggest ... this place has INSANE margaritas, the best that i've had anywhere in the world. So we ordered a pitcher of Margaritas, a separate glass without ice for my dad since he doesn't like ice. This went really well with nachos (cheese & plain) . Although i have to say that it's a shame that being a mexican restaurant, the nachos still couldn't come near the nachos at Hard Rock Cafe'. Eitherways, the whole combo was really nice. Nachos with Cheese, salsa, guacamole and sour cream .... Oooooohh that's the perfect blend. 

Then came our dinners, Mom ordered a chicken burrito, Dad, Jayesh and Mona ordered veg enchiladas and I ordered the massive Beef Burrito. I have to say it AMAZING and sooooo filling. I couldn't finish it, i felt so bad but i just couldn't. It had the perfect mix of beans, beef, rice sprinkled with some green stuff, i think it was cilantro ... whatever it was, it gave it a very nice flavour. A few bites of the burrito and then a sip of the margarita to wash it down and then you take some of the filling of beans and beef and mix it with some of the rice and "voila" you achieve the perfect surprise for your taste buds. I enjoyed my meal the last time also, i had a fish taco last time which was also amazing. 

So anyhow ... After this awesome dinner. We went to Ben & Jerry's and had some awesome ice cream and before that we went to this bakery where they had a HUGE champagne bottle. Then Jayesh and Mona gave us a tour a singapore. Cheers and a big thanks to them for taking us out last night. All in all, had a blast, ate some good food and then slept like a baby ... "What more can anyone ask for" ??

This was night 1 ... More to come ;)

Cheers

Food-blogger Rohan

Banana Pancakes ...

I actually started having banana pancakes after having them for the first time in "chaar dukaan" in Landour, Mussoorie. Although the ones you get there are totally different. Next time I go there, i'll take a picture and write a new post about that place and the food there. But for now, home made banana pancakes. To me somehow, pancakes at home are incomplete without scrambled eggs and hash brown on the side. It just creates the perfect mix of sugar and salt. 

Just pick up a box of pancake mix from any market, make a few pancakes, once they are done, start poking holes in the pancake with a fork and then just put a decent amount of butter on it while it's hot. This way all the butter seeps all the way into the pancake and doesn't just stay on the surface, plus it also makes the pancake softer (which is how I like it). Then chop a banana into thin slices and place them on each pancake and then of course comes the maple syrup. Now don't be afraid to pour that syrup, pour it all over the pancakes. 

Side this up with scrambled eggs made with 2 whole eggs, salt and pepper poured on the eggs with hash brown. Now, the hash brown made at my place is like the one you see in the picture. Very different from the ones i've seen anywhere outside. e.g. the McDonald's breakfast hash browns are like a cutlet, but these are different. I don't really know which is better, i like them both. But i certainly like my home made hash browns with these pancakes.

2 or 3 pancakes with all the side dishes and you are set. You can probably skip lunch as well. It tastes sooooo good .... WOW !!! God bless whoever thought of "Pancakes". The perfect taste of butter mixed with mapel syrup with a slice of banana, its divine is all I can say. 2 or 3 bites of the sweetness and then a couple of bites of the eggs or hash brown to just sort of surprise your taste buds. They like to be surprised, trust me ;)


Cheers


Food-blogger Rohan

Hao Shi Nian Nian

I had surprisingly never heard of this restaurant , you know ??? Considering , it's ME the Crazy Foodie. It's also quite funny because i heard about it in a very different way. Here's the back story .... I have an AMEX Platinum card and they offer all these cool rewards for points that you earn. So i call them up to redeem some points and they give me this long list of things i can do with those points etc. I stopped that chap right there and said, "Just tell me where can i get free food with these points". So I picked up coupons for 2 places "Spice" and "Hao shi nian nian". I am yet to go to Spice but I wanted to check out Hao shi nian nian, so i checked them out, they have 2 addresses:

M- 25, Greater Kailash - II

and 

Central Plaza, Sector 53, Gurgaon

GK-II is much closer to my office, so one day my brother and I went there. I was very pleasantly surprised by the decor first of all. Now, people might say "this place is better or that place is better", but this is not a competition. This is just simply me expressing my likeness towards this place, not saying it's my favourite restaurant. We ordered the chicken mini-buns for starters, they were super. Specially mixed with this special sauce i make at every chinese restaurant which is basically hot garlic sauce mixed with pretty much everything on the table (Soya sauce, vinegar with green chilli and the red hot paste) in the right proportion. Just pour a spoonful of my magic sauce all over the chicken mini-buns and enjoy.


Then came the main course. We ordered the "Chef's special chicken", I forgot the actual name, some mandarin name. But when you go there and mention "Chef's special chicken", that's exactly what you'll get. It's boneless chicken with loads of veggies mixed and it's gravy so you have something to pour on the rice. I always prefer steamed rice over noodles. We also ordered "Stir fried shredded sole with dried chilli and black mushroom" & "Stir fried seasonal vegetables with garlic" . Don't forget to add the magic sauce. If your stomach can handle spicy stuff then pour , pour, pour away. It's garlic based, so it cuts cholesterol as well. I always like to say go out and eat but keep your health in mind. Little things we can do just to balance our food like mix our meat with alot of vegetables and specially at oriental restaurants always have a cup(s) of jasmine tea, which is exactly what we did. It helps in digestion and cuts fat and cholesterol.


The food tasted REALLY good specially with the magic sauce on top. If you see the picture of my plate, it's got just the right amount of everything. Nothing is over done .... Rice, chicken, fish and veggies .... ALL covered in the magic sauce and then we conclude the meal with a few cups of hot jasmine tea. Awesome meal.


I must admit, you do end up feeling a little heavy after this meal, but you digest it very fast. That's the good thing about chinese food, it's easier to digest as opposed to stuff like Poori aloo or paratha etc. I definitely recommend this restaurant. I love the food there :)


Cheers


Food-blogger Rohan

Veggie-stuffed Omelet and Chicken Ham

If you are looking for that healthy plus tasty breakfast, this is a very good idea. It leaves your taste buds satisfied without making you feel guilty about eating or without causing any stress on your heart or arteries. Although since it is heavy on the protein, people with weak livers may want to steer clear of this guy. This is what i had right after my morning workout a few days ago and it left me feeling great and energized without making me feel heavy and stuffed. 

First step is making the stuffing ... I actually had steamed veggies mixed with oregano and pepper along with baked chicken the night before. I used the left over veggies from last night to stuff this omelet. It had broccoli, carrots, peas, beans and cauliflower all steamed separately and then mixed together on a sauté pan. Sauté them with a few drops of olive oil, add some oregano and black pepper on top. You could even try throwing in some garlic in there. 

Then you pour about 1 table spoon of olive oil on the fry pan and let it simmer for a few seconds before adding 3 egg-whites on top, pour the veggies on top of the egg-whites and let it cook, once the bottom is done, you fold the egg to form a nice stuffed omelet. I had this with a side of chicken ham and 2 slices of toast of whole-wheat bread. Always make sure you get your chicken ham from a good store, otherwise it can turn out to be a disaster. We usually get it from Steakhouse (Jorbagh) or Sugar & Spice (Khan Market) or Pigpo (Jorbagh). 

Dipped into a bit of "Maggi Hot & Sweet" it tastes very nice. I felt light yet full of energy the whole and it got enough protein in me after my workout. If you have room for it, follow it up with a glass of freshly squeezed juice or cold chocolate milk .... Trust me, its DIVINE !!!

Cheers

Food-blogger Rohan

Aloo, Meat and Rogni Roti ...

Delicious Aloo-Meat curry made at home, with a side of zeera-aloo and rogni roti. THIS was my breakfast this morning. Yesterday was Easter and I pretty much slept through it and missed out on some awesome dinner. This is what i had. The meat was so soft, it was perfect. You know ?? 'They' say .....  (I've always wondered who are "they" , haven't you ??) Anyhow ... "They say" that mutton always tastes better the next day. It'll always be softer, more tender and will taste better. Maybe it's because the masala gets more of a chance to seep into the meat and the longer it stays in the oil, it becomes just a little more tender. Like, i said .... I'm no expert, but it just somehow tastes better the next day. The cook in my house is pretty awesome ... He makes the gravy with garlic, ginger, Green chillies and tomatoes .... He just sort of mashes all of those into a paste. Then he adds some black pepper, cloves and those flavour addind leaf thingys, whatever they are called. After it cooks, it forms a nice thick paste of curry, which just makes the meat taste amazing. Cherry on the cake is the potatoes that are added to the meat while it's being cooked. Being in that pressure cooker for a while, really softens the potatoes and allows for the masala and the flavour of the mutton to seep into it. Together they taste great. 

Now i've always loved the thin sliced "zeera-aloo" made at my place with rogni roti, but i've never had it along with aloo-meat. Some would say that's too much of potatoes, but it tastes amazing. Rogni Roti is honestly a type of roti that i haven't seen anywhere else, or at least haven't heard of that name anywhere else except for in my family. Maybe people have other names for it. Anyhow, so while making the roti, you smear some ghee on the dough and sprinkle some ajwain (Trachyspermum Copticum) on it. Then roll the roti into a long "snake looking" line and then roll it up into a ball so that all the ghee and ajwain gets totally into the dough. 

This combo is great and it's quite heavy. A perfect breakfast for those who feel like having a heavy breakfast because they are most likely to skip lunch etc. It's advised to balance this breakfast with half an apple and 1 grapefruit or orange or sweetlime. 

Hope you enjoyed reading my very first post on this new food blog.

Loads more to come .... Going to Singapore tomorrow, so gonna eat alot there ;)

Take care

Food-Blogger Rohan