Simran Farm, Ahmedabad

Simran Farm
Opposite Hanuman Camp Gate No 3,
Cantonment Camp,
Sadar Bazar,
Airport Road
Ahmedabad,
079 2286 6194 / 7073

11:30 - 23:30

From the time, we arrived in Ahmedabad, we had heard a lot of people raving about Simran for non-veg food, so we finally stopped here for a meal, the other day.

As soon as I entered, I almost burst out laughing and stopped to take a picture. Mum who was with me, asked me what the matter was, I told her to carry on upstairs and when I showed her the picture I had clicked, she too burst into laughter.

Keep silence? That too in a restaurant? Anyway, we controlled our mirth and shifted focus to the menu.

To start with, we ordered the chicken pahadi tikka (200/-), that was supposed to be the spiciest kebab on the menu. The quality of their meat is good, so our pahadi tikkas were juicy inside and lightly crisped up on the outside from the tandoor, but they were nowhere as spicy as promised on the menu - they tasted like regular chiken tikkas, without the red coloring

We wanted to order some mutton, but seeing gurda kaleji (145/-) and bheja tawa fry (125/-) on the menu, we knew we HAD to order those. The portion sizes were small and the taste was average. The bheja fry was quite forgettable. The Gurda kaleji at least was spicy and tangy, but the flavour of gurda wasn't there at all and the kaleji flavour was also very muted.

For main course, we asked the manager what he recommended and he said "chicken hungama" (250/-) which was boneless and really good. We teamed this up with some tawa rotis (8/- each) and roomali rotis (35/- each) I honestly prefer the tawa rotis, since they are made from wheat flour and not heavy at all. They paired beautifully with the masalas of the chicken and the gurda kaleji.

To end, we ordered a jera rice (90/-) that was ok. Nothing standout.

I have to admit, that the non-veg served at Simrans is the best in flavour, taste, hygeine and quality in its price range in Ahmedabad. It is miles ahead of Pleasure Trove or WOW Mughlai Handi in my book.

I might give this place another try and let the manager recommend what we eat, rather than choose ourselves. We might also try some seafood as we have been told, they serve really fresh fish and prawns. But I wouldn't drive all the way there again, just for a meal.

They have a cold storage downstairs where they sell fresh and frozen meats, some cold meats and eggs. Incidentally, they started as a small shop selling chicken and other meat products in 1994 and added a tawa restaurant only in 1999. Now they have expanded to another outlet in Khanpur too.

Downstairs the entry looks a little untidy, but trust me the air conditioned sit down restaurant upstairs is quite decent.

As an aside: their website has good content, but I have no idea why they have used some "borrowed" pictures on their header with paella, bruschetta and an antipasto platter - none of which they serve at the restaurant.

Rating : 3.5 / 5
VFM : Very High

Cafe Transtaafl, Ahmedabad

Cafe Trasntaafl
IIMA Old Campus
Ahmedabad

Cafe Transtaafl is one in a row of eateries at the IIMA old campus. Transtaafl stands for "TheRe Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch", but at their prices, the food practically feels free.

Sample this : 2 boiled eggs for 15/-. Tell me which laari in town can give you this rate? Grilled chicken cheese sandwich - 3 slices - bursting with chicken for 60/-, double egg bhurji or omelet for 30/-.

And the taste is wonderful. The chicken frankie for 40/- is one of the best frankies I have had in Ahmedabad. I was also told that their tea (8/-) is excellent.

The only sad part is that you need jugaad to eat here, the security guards at the gate don't take kindly to visitors saying "Cafe Transtaafl" in response to "kidhar jaana hain?"

Khalsa Parivaar, Guwahati

Khalsa Parivaar
GS Road
Bora Service
Guwahati

0361 2454 656

Wanted to pick up something to supplement the dhal-chawal roti-sabji prepared for our dinner at the guest house. On a hunch, we just stopped at Khalsa Parivaar - a small but clean and hygenic place with a few tables inside in air conditioned comfort. We ordered a chicken hariyali (65/- half plate 6 pieces) and a chicken tikka (130/- full plate 12 pieces).

The hariyali was average but the tikka was tongue tinglingly and spicily excellent. They don't deliver home but you can pack a take away. We are definitely going back here.

Went back for the smoked chicken - 220/- Its absolutely fantastic. Spicy - so don't order if you don't like your tongue on fire.

I'm addicted to this smoked chicken now and I'm going to be craving it in my dreams.

Oh & before I forget, the prices above are inclusive of all taxes.

Edited on 25 July to add:
Kisne nazar lagaa di? Khalsa Parivaar has been shut for the last 3 weeks. sob, sob!

Bikanervala Restaurant, Dubai

Bikanervala Restaurant
Karama
Dubai
396 8813

This is a vegetarian restaurant that specialises in Rajasthani sweets and snacks but has now expanded to included South I:ndian dosas, chaat and Indian chinese too.

They offer everything my husband craves from home from Kadhi pakoda and rajma chaaval to parathas and puris. Their chaat is excellent, each in the 5-10dhs range. I love their paani puri, papdi chaat and sev puri. Their badam pista kesar milk (8dhs) is outstanding and worth stocking in the fridge for those hot summer days. They do deliver home, but seem to have some restrictions on timing, days of the week, order value vs distance etc.

Their grilled vegetarian sandwiches are tasty. The dosas aren't exactly like back home (Mangalore/Udupi) but passable. Their thalis include a paneer dish, a seasonal vegetable, some pilaf, dhal, 1 naan, 1 roti, raita, papad, salad, pickle and sweet. This has to be consumed on the premises, it cant be delivered at home.

Calicut Paragon

Calicut Paragon
Opp Lulu Centre
Karama
Dubai
http://www.paragonrestaurant.net/
+971 4 3335 8700

Calicut Paragon is a Malabari (Kerala) restaurant with many decades of history in India. This was a restaurant that was highly recommended to me by my Mallu friends in Egypt and given the huge queues outside this restaurant each Friday, I have never been able to eat here on my previous visits to Dubai. For a change, I found myself in this area on a week night and the queue outside wasn't serpentine.

Seating is basic, but comfortable. There was a certificate on display that all the staff had attended some heavy duty hygiene training. All the staff including the serving staff wore hair nets. Hehehe. Men in shower caps with mustaches showing - its quite a sight, I tell you! Fresh fish was on display at the counter, so you could pick your choice.

We settled for a very basic meal, that was reminiscent of home for me. Kerala cooking style is very similar and overlaps with the Manglorean style of cooking, especially in the sea food domain. I had a king fish mango curry (18dhs) and squid varathiyathu (26dhs) with appam (1.5dhs per piece). The fish curry was a red coconut curry made with green mango. The last time I had this dish with prawns, it was made by my grandmother who passed away just over a month ago. Eating this curry, had me close to tears, as I never thought I would be able to taste food the way nana made it, ever again. The squid was a spicy semi dry prepration with roasted coconut and curry leaves. The appams were just right, light and crispy on the outside and soft and fluffy in the center. I could make a meal of just the appams.

All the biriyanis were already over, even though it was not yet 9pm. Husband being on a vegetarian diet, had the kerala paratha (thin, flaky and layered 2dhs/piece) a malabari dal curry (10dhs) and ghee rice (10dhs) The rice had nuts and raisins in it and was more of a pilaf than ghee rice, but very tasty. It was served with chutney, a sweet and a spicy pickle, coconut chutney and two pieces of Kerala Pappadums. (very different from North Indian Pappadums)

A large bottle of mineral water costs 3dhs. I saw someone at the neighbouring table being poured a red liquid in their water glass and I promptly requested my own share of hot water. This was a drink I last had, in copious quantities, over 12 years ago when traveling on a students budget across Kerala. Mineral water in those days was very expensive and not something you would buy, when on a budget. Most small Kerala restaurants in those days served hot water boiled with some herbs in copper/brass tumblers. The herbs turned the water red and imparted a faint taste to the water which wasn't unpleasant. This was the first time, I was seeing this water being served, since ages. Would appreciate it, if someone could tell me what the herbs used in this water are and the purpose of these herbs (appetiser, digestive, cooling for the humid heat?)

My friends had highly recommended the chootu (small fish) fry, but I really wanted the green mango curry and some squid. Paragon does serve some North Indian style food, but its the mallu food that is outstanding at this joint. This is a restaurant that I would love to keep going back to.

Here's a link to Time Out's Review