So South, Ahmedabad

So South
12, Ground Floor,
Kalyan Towers,
Opposite Alpha One Mall Exit Gate,
Vastrapur,
Ahmedabad

+91 9825323222

I've been wanting to visit So South ever since I met Viveck at the Zomato foodie meetup. However, the heat of the afternoons in the last few months, deterred me from walking the short distance from Alpha Mall (parking lot) to So South which is opposite the exit gate. Now that I'm back in town after ages, and had to pick up groceries from Hypercity and the weather has cooled down, I immediately headed to So South for lunch after parking the car.

To my luck, Viveck was present at the location and since it was an off time (past 2:45pm), it wasn't too crowded either and so we had a nice long chat and I let him do the ordering for me. He recommended the spinach dosai and it was really yum. He said the spinach mixture had paneer as well as Britannia cheese in it and I think that, that was what made it so gloriously cheesy and tasty. I told my brain to accept it as a healthy green leafy dish, so to stop feeling guilty and just enjoy the flavours. :) This spinack mixture was so tasty, that I didn't even need the chutney or sambhar that was served along with the dosai. However, I did taste them and while I loved the coconut chutney, I personally prefer my sambhar much spicier. That said, I think the spice levels would work well for the average Ahmedabadi customer.

This dosai was really filling and I knew I couldn't even attempt to try any more of the 75+ varieties of dosais on the menu. But I had read so much about the dessert (ice cream) dosais on zomato reviews, that I simply couldn't leave without trying one.

So Viveck ordered a pineapple dosai with pineapple ice cream for me. It was a novel concept. The dosai rolled into a cone and a nice scoop of ice cream in the centre. The best part was although I was eating it as an ice cream, there was no problem of drippage from the bottom of the cone. It was different to have a salty taste (from the dosai) when eating the ice cream, but it worked well with pineapple flavour. I wonder if it would be quite as good with chocolate for eg, so I think that's what I'll try the next time I visit.

When I first met Viveck at the Zomato foodie meet, he invited us to try out So South, but when he figured out that some of us were South Indians, he was hesitant about that invitation since what they serve aren't traditional dosas, but I loved the fusion concept and inspite of it being a veggie place, I'll definitely be back for lunch or high tea.

Rating : 4.5 / 5

Awadhpuri, Ahmedabad

Awadhpuri,
First Floor, Pushpak Complex,
Opposite Prahlad Nagar Garden,
Anand Nagar Road
Ahmedabad
079 64503044, 079 31202220

I'd been to Awadhpuri a couple of months ago and service was very very slow and at that time I had mentioned that it was preferable to go for their home delivery option rather than dine-in. We had been ordering delivery from them on & off, so I hadn't realised that they had moved.

Awadhpuri has now moved to a new location - in the same building, but on the 1st floor where Punjab di Galli used to be. They have maintained the same seating and done up the walls with paintings and all. But this is definitely a much better location. It is brighter, more spacious, tables are spaced out more comfortably, seating is more luxurious and hence overall, its been a huge improvement.

We reached around 2:40 and they had a buffet offer. I asked them if it was still open and they willingly obliged. It was a sit down buffet, unlimited portions made fresh each time, but served in your seat - no running up & down to the buffet table and balancing plates). The vegetarian option is about 425Rs and the non-veg option is 500Rs. The selection was so good, that I did not even bother to ask for the a la carte menu.

The buffet started with a soup, which was paya for non veg and tomato dhaniiya for veg. I told them we wanted 3 non-veg buffet, but for 1 person we wanted tomato dhaniya rather than paya soup. although we were the only 3 people in the restaurant at this time, they willingly obliged. The tomato dhaniya shorba was outstanding. Nice and spicy Indian style.

This was followed by unlimited freshly made kebabs served like Barbecue Nation and The Great Kebab Factory, but so much tastier than BBQ Nation and on par with TGKF(Ahmedabad, not Noida). There was mutton Galouti which was mildly spiced, but pounded flat, mutton chops, chicken pasandey, fish mahi abi hayat and Lahori chicken tikkas. My favourites were the galaouti, chops and pasandey. My mum loved the tikkas. We ordered repeats of all these items and they were served with a smile.

By the time we were done with the starters, it was past 3pm and a lot of the serving staff had left, but some of them stayed back to take care of us and never once made us feel like we were wasting their time or that we should hurry up and I think this deserves 5 on 5 for service standards.

At both BBQ Nation and TGKF, the mains are quite weak compared to their kebabs (except TGKF's kaali dhal), but here is where Awadhpuri overtook both these chains in quality and taste. We were served a brilliant mutton curry - Baluchi Ghosht and boneless chicken curry - Begum ki pasandgi and some yellow dhal. A bread basket with warqi paratha, sheermaal & dhaniya naan was also served. The chicken biryani that they served later, was a little average compared to the rest of the superlative food, but easily overlooked.

Desserts brought out a platter of mirchi ka halwa (simla mirch/capsicum), sevaiyyan, gulab jamuns, zafrani kheer and kulfi! Again, each of the desserts was amazing.

The food was so good, that we stuffed ourselves so much. . . None of us ate dinner that day.

I can't recommend this place enough. the veg buffet has equal number of dishes which also sounded interesting. Prices mentioned above are inclusive of tax. The buffet is slightly more expensive over the weekend.

We have also ordered home delivery from them. However, this menu too has changed. They offer a platter of assorted kebabs for about 800/-. It comes in a square earthen dish. Initially I was quite surprised at how heavy the parcel was, it felt like a kilo and a half of kebabs. Since the dish was lined with foil, the earthen dish is now an unusual holder in my garden. Compared to their regular bufffet, obviously the home delivery kebabs are expensive, but almost as tasty.


Rating : 5 / 5

Attill, Ahmedabad

I was really keen to visit Attill when it opened in AlphaOne because the Attill in Mangalore (later learnt, this is not part of the same chain) is awesome and Attill in Bombay (part of this Shetty Sons chain) has received great reviews from my friends.

The good part is that Attill serves varieties of fish that aren't normally seen on menus in Ahmedabad - bangdas (mackerels), pomfrets, bombil (bombay duck) and seer fish (which is found on other menus too)

However, the day we visited, they said that bombay duck wasn't available, so we settled for fish cutlets.

The restaurant has 30+ covers, but they took over 20 minutes to get our fish cutlets and 30 minutes from time of order to get our seer fish fry. Given that all the other eateries at Alpha Mall pride themselves on quick service, this delay was even more glaring than normal.

The cutlets were ok, but you couldn't really taste the fish above the crispy onions. It was served with thousand island ready made dressing, that had formed a light crust on the top of the bowl, from exposure to air. The sear fish wasn't bad and my husband said that the prawns (hari mirch tikka) were good. The quality of fish was good, but the time taken for service was terrible. Having just returned from a 2 week trip to Mangalore, the taste left a lot to be desired, perhaps I will enjoy the food more when I am truly craving Manglorean food and been starved of it for awhile.

The egg biryani was very good. Lots of chunks of masala in typical Bambaiyya style. The mutton in xacuti was excellent, but the gravy itself was salty and flat. The rich complex flavours were nowhere to be tasted.

The rotis were really soft and the laccha paratha was one of the best I have eaten in a really long time. So perhaps this is an ok place to go if you want kebabs and rotis, but I would rather go to kebab factory at the Radisson or Awadhpuri for that.

There weren't any types of poli/dosas - neer dosa, appams, sannas, idiyappams etc on the menu which is sad as these are the best accompaniments for Manglorean and coastal dishes.

Attill calls itself  a Fine Dining restaurant, but we were served food in plastic (not even melamine) plates.

Service is extremely slow and the staff don't seem to have become comfortable with the menu yet.

If you have never tasted Coastal cuisine before, then don't let this be your first place to try it, as it does not do justice to the myriad complex flavours of food from the West Coast. If you are craving Konkani food and just need a fix, then you can try this place. But its an expensive place too.

3 rotis, fish cutlets (4 tiny ones), 1 slice of sear fish fried, 1 mutton xacuti, 1 egg biryani, 2 tandoori rotis, 1 laccha paratha costed around 1800/-

I think I'm better off cooking this cuisine at home and requesting parcels from people who visit us from the Coastal regions.

Rating : 3 / 5

Ame Gujarati, Ahmedabad

Ame Gujarati
169, Sindhu Bhavan Road,
Off S G Highway,
Bodakdev
Ahmedabad
079 29096821

I visited Ame Gujarati with my mum some time ago - courtesy the 2 thalis I had won on Zomato's - Write for a bite contest. I wasn't expecting much, so Ame Gujarati ended up exceeding my expectations.

 

They have 3 types of thalis with different type of serving plates, different number of items and different price points - Vepari - 270 / Sheth - 380 / Nagar Sheth - 551. Our voucher entitled us to 2 Sheth thalis. As far as I could tell the Nagar sheth thali has an extra farsaan and a special sweet. Is that and eating out of a silver plate, worth an additional 170Rs?  You need to decide when you enter. However the items on the menu differ daily and seasonally.

Unlike most Gujarati Thali restaurants which seat customers in a large or small hall, Ame Gujarati has multiple glass houses, which seat about 20-30 people in each. You can either use the entire glass house or have a table that seats 6 or more.

The thali items offered were pretty standard. A thali of chutneys and pickles and chundo was first kept on the table, then came papads, salad and punjabi samosas. In the thali itself, we were served 2 types of sweets - mohan thal and fruit matho (fruits in shrikand), cheese samosas and khandvi, 4 veg side dishes, dhal, kadhi. rotli, puri, rice, juice and buttermilk. There was a choice of kesar pista or fruit bonanza ice cream at the end (it tasted like it was from havmor).

What did I like? - the ambience is nice. If you have a larger group that wants to relax, its a good option. They don't make you hurry up like they do at Gordhan Thal. But its still not as good as Agashiye for me.

The food was average. Nothing stood out and made me say "wow" or inspire me to take another helping - like Gordhan thals chaat basket or Agashiyes basundi.

The service is also somewhere in the middle. Its not bad, nor is it overly subservient, it was polite, but it was a little haphazard. We got our sweets with the papad, but then it took over 8-10 minutes for the rotlis and sabjis to arrive. I opted for the rotlis without ghee and they were dry and slightly hard. (I haven't faced this problem with non ghee rotlis at Agashiye, Sarbhara or Gordhan Thal - they are always soft, whether they pour ghee on top of your rotli or not.

The food wasn't very hot when served. My guess is that the distance they have to travel from the kitchen to the cabana is causing a part of the problem.

Its a nice place to have a thali near SG road if you don't want to wait for a table at Gordhan Thal, which is why I've rated it 3.5, but sadly for me, nothing stood out so exceptionally, that made me think - "Yes, I want to come back again soon"

Rating : 3.5 / 5

New Ronak Fry Centre, Ahmedabad

New Ronak Fry Centre
Near Fatewadi Bus Stop - opp side of the road and a little further away
Juhapura,
Sarkhej,
Ahmedabad
+91 9924446061

I headed to New Ronak Fry Centre to hunt for Tandoori Chicken on the recommendation of a friend (VD on Zomato), instead of my usual Shawai chicken from Magic Chicken.

I normally have no issues heading anywhere for good food, but for the first time in Ahmedabad, I was made aware of the fact that I was a single woman headed into an eatery (can't call it a restaurant - cooking is on the road and they have about 10 tables, some inside, some outside) filled to the brim with men.

However, given VD's strong recommendation, I just ignored the stares, ordered a tandoori chicken and gurda fry and waited. I have to say that the staff at the restaurant was polite, it was just some of the other customers that made me a little uncomfortable (but not unsafe)

The discomfort was completely worth it, when I opened the package at home. This is absolutely the best tandoori chicken I have ever had in Ahmedabad. Spicy, tender, juicy.

The bill for 1 whole tandoori chicken and a gurda fry was 210/-

The place is extremely basic, so I wouldn't recommend even attempting to sit down here and eat, even if you are a college student used to eating at low budget eateries.

They have quite a few options, but no menu as such, you have to ask the guy what he has, like a Udupi restaurant without a menu and ask for the prices, if you want to clarify. Chicken lollypop, manchurian, chilly, fried rice, hakka noodles, fry, tikka, biryani and butter chicken are what I remember.

I've been told to try their chicken butter fry. The description sounds quite unhealthy, but completely worth it.

I keep going back. I've picked up tandoori chicken from here when my family was over and they too loved it.

I've also found that the tandoori chicken from this new outlet is much more tender and juicy than the original.

I've also been given an insider tip, that if you want it really spicy - ask for the double masala tandoori chicken.

They open around 7 in the evening and are open till quite late.

Note: Given the general hygiene, its safe to have the cooked food (that is cooked on high heat) Avoid the salad and use your own lemons at home if you want to add lime juice.

Rating : 4 / 5

Buttercupp, Ahmedabad

Buttercupp,
4, Advait Mall,
Sandesh Press Road,
Vastrapur,
Ahmedabad

079 30257202

Such a relief to find a good cupcake place in Ahmedabad.

I first picked up 6 cupcakes on a whim when passing by, thinking of taking them on our road trip the next day. As soon as I reached home, we lifted the lid and we finished all cupcakes in the next 10 minutes, while doing our best to savour each one of them. We had the Oreo, Double Chocolate, Strawberry and Lemon. We loved the chocolate ones the most, but that's no surprise. The strawberry centered ones were a nice surprise to bite into.

Buttercupp offers cupcakes in eggless variety too. They always have a couple of options with seasonal fruits either in the cake or in the icing. The apple cinnamon and lemon and Indian blackberry are lovely, but my personal favourites always revolve around chocolate.

They have a couple of tiny tables in shop if you just can't wait to gobble up your cupcake, but I prefer to bring my cupcakes home so I can slobber all over them :) and lick my fingers clean.

The cupcakes are 60/- each. The ingredients are all the best possible quality and it shows in the end product.

The owners are a US returned couple and their attention to detail and quality is amazing and the end result are some really yummilicious cupcakes.

Added on 19th July
Buttercupp has now expanded to include erstwhile momoman too, so the space has doubled. They have put up some lovely plants behind glass, so the greenery adds a very soothing touch to the ambiance.

They also keep adding some innovative products to their menu. Their cheese cake is supposed to be really good, but I haven't had the opportunity to try that yet.

When I visited on the 16th, they had just debuted their castle orange Bundt Cake. A slice (100gms) was
70/-. Its a nice light tea cake, ideal for those who have been complaining about too much butter in their icing and cupcakes playing havoc with their waistlines.

They also have some brownie cookies which are a steal at 10Rs each. They are just so light and tasty and melt in your mouth. Th e chocolate chip cookies (20/- each) are quite yummy too) and the current flavour of the season is plum, which we loved.

Rating : 5 / 5

Mocktail Shots, Ahmedabad

Mocktail Shots,
Food Court - Alpha One Mall.
Vastrapur
Ahmedabad
+91 9924116784, +91 9904875698

Disclaimer : I am not from Gujarat, just posted in this city for awhile.
So honestly, I feel sorry for the flair bartenders here at Mocktail Shots, who have a really smart jazzy looking location with flashing colored lights, they dress up much more snazzily than the staff at the other surrounding outlets in the food court, they have hip music playing in the background, but not a drop of alcohol to play around with.

Also most customers that I have seen in the food court, prefer to have a fountain pepsi, cold coffee or chocolate shake. Rarely do you see anyone standing outside the "Mocktail Shots" outlet.

However, one day, out of sheer sympathy for the guys who were juggling cocktail shakers and bottles with no one ordering anything from them, I decided to try a few mocktails, but it ended up being too sweet for our taste. The combinations weren't bad, it was just overly sweet for me. If I do try them again, I will definitely ask them to lower the sugar in my drinks.


Their drinks range in prices from 69/- to 169/- There are also a few shots priced at 50/-

Rating : 3 / 5

VarieTea, Ahmedabad

VarieTea,
A 2, Aashna,
Behind Shell Petrol Pump,
Prahlad Nagar
Ahmedabad
+91 9099912565

Absolutely loved the place. Although I think, when we walked in, my husband and me were double the average age of the other customers - it seems like a college hangout joint. Yet, we loved the place and will definitely go back.

VarieTea has a table outdoors for those who would like a cigarette with their chai, The ground floor has a couple of tables, but its mostly for selling a ton of tea realted stuff - kettles, tea bags etc. However, they recommended that we go downstairs. The basement is a large open sprawling place, with sofa seating and low chairs. There is even a Japanese style floor seating in one corner. the basement can easily fit about 75 people. They even have a private room, for a small party / get together with a tv in it. Ideal for watching a cricket / football match with friends.

VarieTea has a really large selection of teas, from Ice teas to herbal teas to milk teas, stick teas, the works. Its the first genuine Chai bar that I have been to in Ahmedabad.

I had the kacchi keri ice tea which was excellent. It came in a really large glass - I suspect about 750ml (120/-) - It was just the right balance of sweet, sour and a hint of salt. Perfect for a hot summer day.

Looking at the place, the husband was a little wary as to whether it was just a place that looked good or if they actually could serve good tea. So the UPite in him decided to test their measure with an old staple - adrak chai (ginger milk tea - 80/-). When his chai arrived, he found that the flavour and consistency was excellent, he would just have preferred to have it served hotter. The chai was served in a ceramic teapot - about 2 cups - and came with 2 complimentary sweetish jeera biscuits

VarieTea has a large range of snacks, pizzas, sandwiches etc, but we had just finished a good Sunday lunch and just wanted some tea & a light bite. So I ordered a bun maska (49/-), which was really good soft bun with a nice thick layer of Amul butter. Heaven! and the Chef's signature chocolate bun(69/-), which was a similar bun slathered with chocolate in the centre and drizzled with more chocolate sauce on the top. This was a really good chocolate bun, exactly the way I like it and completely unlike the chocolate sandwich at Shambhus which has chocolate chunks and cheese between 2 slices of bread.

The bill was brought to us in a painted kitli (aluminium kettle) and I loved the way the coins in the change were placed in the upside down kettle cover for easy access.

Do note, that service is really slow, so this is not the place to go if you are in a hurry, but its an ideal place to go if you just want to relax and chill out with friends or family.

We loved the place and will definitely go back to try more of their VarieTeas.

Rating : 4.5 / 5

Edited on 26 Jan 14 to add:
On multiple subsequent visits to VarieTea, we have had the opportunity to try their snacks, the french fries, sandwiches, pizzas have all been great. The Sweet Potato Fries are an interesting innovation and while a Vegetarian Philly Cheese Sandwich sounds ridiculous, it does taste good. Never been disappointed with their quality or flavour.

They also have a shop on top where you can buy fancy teapots, exotic teas and their home made cookies.

Asharfilal Kulfi, Ahmedabad

Asharfilal Kulfi
Food Court - Alpha One Mall,
Vastrapur
Ahmedabad
+91 9825067480

I really love the kulfi at Asharfilal. I honestly would choose their kulfi over the other ice creams and gelatos on offer in the Alpha One Mall Food Court.

The kulfis come in 3 broad categories - matka/pot kulfi (in a little mud pot 38/- to 50/-), tilliwalli/stick kulfi (like an extended lollypop - 25/- to 30/-) and roll/slice kulfi (36/- to 46/-) which is circular pieces of kulfi around the size of an idli.

kulfi is made from cream and sugar and then flavoured with fresh fruits or dry fruits and nuts. I'm not a fruit person, but friends tell me that their mango kulfi is really good. I prefer the kesar pista, roasted almond, rose coconut, real kesar flavours.

The trick to enjoying kulfi is to let it melt a little before you put it in your mouth, so that you can taste the flavours and sense the creaminess, too cold and your tongue can't feel or taste anything, too melted and you might as well be drinking flavoured milk.

The most brilliant thing about asharfilal is that they offer sugar free versions (35/-) too, so my father in law and my dad were really happy to be able to enjoy kulfi again after so many years of watching their sugar.

They have plenty of branches across the city and the supply is the same, so yo get wonderful kulfi from every location.

Rating : 4 / 5

Souq Bistro & Grills, Ahmedabad

Souq Bistro & Grills
BG 10, Ground Floor
Acropolis Mall,

S G Highway,
Thaltej
Ahmedabad
079 6555550


I've been wanting to visit Souq's newest offering - Bistro & Grills, ever since I got invited for their soft launch, but couldn't visit as I was out of town. We do enjoy the food at the Souq at Vijay char rasta, but are not so keen on the food at Alpha One Mall food court.

The call of fusion African, Mediterranean and Arabic food was quite irresistible and the glowing reviews on zomato, only increased my anticipation. Since we finally left home on Saturday at a decent hour to be able to eat lunch at a regular restaurant (only coffee shops are open after 3pm), there was absolutely no hesitation in heading straight here.

The minute we walked in, we fell in love with the place. The overally shades of blue, the mason jars filled with pickled vegetables and spices along one wall of the restaurant, the lentils/dhals filled glass compartments were all so beautiful, as were the lovely patterned tables, that you can see in my pictures.

For starters, we ordered the mezze platter (390/-), which had a selection of pita stuffed with falafel, brown bread, lavash, veggie crudites, garlic mayo, green pea hummus and babaghannoush. The falafel was much better than that served at the Vijay charrasta outlet and the green pea hummus was an interesting twist, the babghannoush though is better at the original location.

 The fried calamari rings (395/-) were average and not something we would order again (not enough added flavour and served with a very simple mayonnaise).

The honey mustard chicken bratwurst (295/-) was interesting, but the roast garlic mashed potatoes they were served with, was divine.

For main course, I had the hammerred bistecca (buffalo not beef - 440/-). the meat was soft, but it still needed a sharp knife to be cut and surprisingly they said that they did not have any steak knives in the restaurant. If you are serving steak, then you need to supply customers with steak knives, otherwise the meat gets really messy, a regular knife just can't cut into steak.

The prawn custard with Indian salmon (550/-) was something different and had an unusual presentation and my sister and husband quite enjoyed it (I'm allergic to prawn veins and don't have prawns outside the house). My husband loved his peri peri chicken (410/-) It was not as spicy as the original recipe calls for, but I guess it has been toned down for the Ahmedabadi palate. Next time, I will request them to make it extra spicy for us.

For desserts we had the chocolate molten cake (210/-) which was decadently gooey, but slightly salty, I suspect they used salted butter instead of white butter in the recipe.

 The creme brulee (210/-) was tasty, but the crust on top didn't have enough sugar and wasn't freshly torched, so it didn't crackle the way a good creme brulee does. Also the sutard was slightly more scrambled than it should have been. (which happens when you use too much heat when cooking the eggs in a custard)

The vanilla panacotta (220/-) was served surrounded with a citrus reduction. A very mild dessert, low in sugar, so great for people who are watching their weight or their sugar.

The desserts were quite good and a departure from the Upper Crust desserts served at the Vijay Crossroads outlet.

The food is expensive (around 3000/- for 3 people), but its worth it to be able to sit down and enjoy a great tasting meal in this lovely restaurant.

Rating : 4.5 / 5


Edited on 26 Jan 2014 to add:
We visited them on Sunday for their heavily touted brunch. The brunch was partly served at the table and partly as a buffet with one or 2 live counters. The best part of the brunch was the live music.

The worst part was that they only served brunch and nothing a la carte, so if you are going in a group and one person isn't hungry enough for a full meal, that person has no option but to choose from the brunch and pay full price. (649/- for veg and 749/- for non-veg)

There were 4 hot veg and 4 hot non veg starters served on the table including prawns. But service was horridly, horribly slow, the veg items would appear rather quickly but the chicken legs and prawns took almost 20-30 minutes between servings.

The brunch included 6 salads and 6 dips of various origins with a variety of breads. There were also some mini burgers and mini sandwiches at the buffet table with some grilled vegetables as sides.

There were 4 veg and 4 non-veg main courses including lamb, chicken, fish and a seafood paella. Eggs and pasta were being freshly prepared at a live counter.

The menu listed 6 desserts, but most of them were over by the time we were done with our meal. The chocolate brownie was the only one worth eating. The chocolate fondue and Mehlabeyya custard were over by the time we got to dessert.

Its a large spread, but it makes sense to go early and go hungry, if you really want to appreciate the whole brunch.

Mark Pi's Crazy Noodles, Ahmedabad

Mark Pi's Crazy Noodles,
4, Freeway Mall,
Ambli Bopal Road,
Off S G Highway,
Bopal,
Ahmedabad
079 26920203, +91 8733910387

Edited on 29 Jan 2014:
Location has now shifted to
Crazy Noodles
7, Campus Corner 2,
Opposite Auda Garden,
100 Feet Road,
Prahlad Nagar,
Ahmedabad
+91 9426365801, +91 8460722175

I wanted to drink something hot after stepping out of Crossword this evening. But did not want anything sugary (Chocolate Room is my normal choice) So I headed next door to Crazy Noodles and ordered a lemon coriander soup (100/-).

This was my first visit to Crazy Noodles and I was surprised at how good the quality and taste was. Much less Indianised than Momoman and not as expensive as Mainland China.

Just to try something else, I ordered a mushroom black pepper (120/-) and the mushrooms were cooked to perfection. Will go back to try the crispy noodle salad that has been heavily recommended as have their Japanese Soya Butter Noodles and Pepper Cottage Cheese

The interiors are bright and cheerful and make you feel good, even on a cold winter day

Note : - the size of the soup is really large and can be easily shared by 2

Rating : 3.5 / 5

Momoman, Ahmedabad

Momoman
3 Advait Complex
Sandesh Press Road
Bodakdev - Vastrapur
Ahmedabad
92271 20120, 92278 50250

The non veg momos aren't bad. The spicy mutton and mutton + cheese aren't traditional, but still quite tasty. They are among our favourites.

The regular momos have a thicker skin than what you get in Delhi & North East India, so the fried versions are definitely better tasting, than the steamed ones.

Some of the noodle dishes aren't very good. They are made straight with common sauces out of a bottle. The dishes we have found rather decent are the Chilly Chicken for 200/- and the dragon chicken manchurian at 190/-.

Steamed chicken mince momos are 70/- for 5 pieces, but the fried version is much better, given the thick skin.

The street style thai chicken noodles are extremely average and at 200/-, its much more expensive than what you would pay at a roadside cart.

If you are looking for street style Chinese with a decent seating option, then you will be happy with momoman. This is not the place to go for an authentic Chinese experience.

Rating :  3 / 5

Fresh Roast, Ahmedabad

We had a lovely mini Zomato Foodie Meet Up at Fresh Roast today and none of the foodies who attended had visited Fresh Roast before. So it was as new and exciting an experience for each and every one of us.

Fresh Roast is set in a 90 year old Heritage Building that has been loving restored and now the 33 room house has the option of 18 rooms for rent (like service apartments) too.

However, we were there for the food and the food gossip, so after we were shown around the place, we all began a series of foodie discussions with each other and the wonderful team of Zomato Ahmedabad.

We were given a special menu to choose from, culled from the best dishes that Fresh Roast offers.

There were at least 7 varieties of mocktails and milkshakes to choose from. A similar choice of soups, salads, starters and main courses were also offered. We were all so busy talking away, that I don't think any one of us took any pictures of the food.

I tried the Lemon Blazer - Fizzy Lime and Mint Twist with Cranberry and Pineapple juice that was really refreshing and also had a bite to it. I suspect a bit of green chilli was thrown into the mix. But it just enhanced the taste.

I did consider ordering a soup, but for some reason I didn't and I didn't notice anyone else order a soup or a milkshake either.

Our table tried the Lettuce Wrap salad that was interesting, but although the menu said it had an oregano lemon dressing, for me the overwhelming flavour was a sweet and sour imli sauce kind of taste (that was interesting). The other table said the Fettuce Salad was also very good.

Given my special dietary requirement of non fried, non cheesy, non carb food (for today), I couldn't taste the really exciting dishes on the menu. I was told that the Jalapeno Cheese Wraps were very good. I did however try the Sauteed Mushrooms and the Pesto Malai Paneer and I have to confess that I loved the Paneer. This may be the first time I want to go back to a vegetarian restaurant to have a veggie item all over again. The paneer was really yummy.

The spinach cheese balls, bruschetta, quesadillas, Milanese Pizza and Ravioli all looked good, so I guess I will have to try them when I return to Fresh Roast.

For dessert, there was a choice of ginger, rose and kiwi ice cream. The ginger ice cream was rated the best of the lot. So that's another item on my wishlist, for when I return.

The service was lovely. Non intrusive but served with warmth and care. The open air seating outside was lovely and with all the garden umbrellas, we did not even realise how hard it was raining.

Rarely do Pure Vegetarian Eateries feature in my "visit/visit again" wishlist, but Fresh Roast is firmly in that category.

Food Product Review : Mint-O-Ultramintz

About 2 weeks ago, I was contacted by Blogadda, asking if I would like to review mint-o Ultramintz as a part of their Product Reviews Program. A few days before that, a friend of ours had been heavily recommending ITC's mint-o-ultramintz to my husband and also complaining about how difficult it was to find it in the open market.

So I obviously jumped at the chance to review the product. Sigh! the things one does to keep ones husband happy! LOL

Within a week or so, the package arrived by courier and I was quite impressed with the personalised gift wrapped packaging.

On opening the first layer, the packaging inside was almost like a jewel case, with the ultramintz box resting in a hollow, lined with silk.

The courier I received, actually had 2 such boxes.

Ultramintz are supposed to be made with imported peppermint oil and sugar substitute, so they are supposed to be a low calorie mouth freshener / refresher / instant pick me up / low calorie sugar fix.

As a low calorie sugar fix, I like the product. It is mildly sweet, not too strong and works perfectly for me when I am working late into the night and have a sugar craving, but don't want to binge on something unhealthy / fattening.

As a ultramintz, I was expecting much more. The name, the icy look on the box, the packaging - all made me expect a much much stronger minty flavour, one that would almost burn away my taste buds, like Big Red Chewing Gum. But, on this count, the product failed for me. Its a very mild peppermint flavour. Its a good flavour, but just not strong enough. Even tic tac seems to be stronger than ultramintz. Brands like XXX and Altoids are at a different strength level altogether.

Now, if I had bought ultramintz as a regular mint box to keep in my handbag, I wouldn't have been disappointed. But the sheer build up to the product, the way it was launched in the market, the way it is packaged, the way it is being marketed, the way it is being talked about. All of this compounded together, made my expectations skyrocket. And it was these expectations that were dashed when I tried them at home.

Everyone else in my family, also felt the same way. That the final delivery, did not meet the product expectation build up. Ultra to us implies "more" and we all expected much more strength to the peppermint part of the product. The sweetness was ideal and no issue at all.


Will, I buy it off the shelf? I honestly don't know. I'm not sure of their price point yet. The box is convenient and not as fiddly as a tic tac box, which often opens up in the purse, but is that enough, for me to switch brands and products?

Overall, ultramintz is a nice mint to have handy in your purse, to refresh the taste in your mouth or as a low-calorie sweet fix, but its not even strong enough to work as a breathmint.


I am reviewing mint-o Ultramintz as a part of the Product Reviews Program at BlogAdda

Pure Drinks - Real Fruit Sorbets, Ahmedabad

I met the husband-wife couple behind Pure Drinks at their stall at a recent exhibition at Rajpath Club.

They sell frozen blended fresh fruits. While they have labelled their products as sorbets, they can be used to make fresh fruit juice, fruit sodas or milkshake or even as toppings for ice-creams. The sorbets are 100% pure and natural with no added flavours.

They can't be used in tarts because once they melt, the consistency is completely liquid.

Most of their products have added sugar, but they also have some sugarless options. They also promised me that if I order in advance, they can make me sorbets in whichever flavour they offer without any added sugar.

They offer over 50+ varieties depending on the season. The Sorbets are sold in 1/2kg and 1 kg bottles. Fast selling variants like Faalsa are sold in 5kg bottles too. They don't just offer simple flavours, but also a gamut of combinations like Kiwi Pina (Kiwi + Pineapple), Kiwi Heart (Kiwi + Apple), Herbal amla, Muskiwi (Musk melon + kiwi) among others.

The product is frozen and they say that as long as you keep it frozen, it can last for a year. When you want to use, just take it out of the freezer, scoop as much as required and return the jar to the freezer.

They can be contacted at
Pure Drinks
B 1004 Prernasikhar Apartment
B/s Bodakdev Fire Station
Judges Bungalow Road
Vastrapur
Ahmedabad

Phone: 079 2685 7082, 97129 78724

Email : enquiry@puredrinks.co.in and puredrinks@rediffmail.com