Restaurant Review : Nom Nom, The Ashok, Chanakyapuri

The most recent addition to the 'Asian' food scene in Delhi, Nom Nom won the hearts of the foodies almost instantly! A great venue, an excellent menu, fabulous food and superb service - there's nothing else that a person would seek out of his dining experience!

Visited Nom Nom on Christmas Eve and then a few days later for a friend's birthday. One event was at night and the other one was during lunch hours, one event saw the place absolutely packed and the other one almost empty. Hence, I got the opportunity of experiencing their food and service in both these 'poles apart' situations. Safe to say, the place simply excelled on both these days!

I got a chance of sampling quite a few dishes at Nom Nom as the Christmas Eve menu was quite extravagant! The same also goes for the birthday celebrations which had more 15 guests.

The interiors of this place are so classy and lavish! The place exuberates lavishness from every possible nook and corner. The Zen Garden, which is their outdoor seating area, is just breathtaking! Immaculate furnishings, extremely impressive seating and gorgeous outdoors!

Coming to the most important aspect - food.
Appetizers : Rice Wrapped Chilled Rolls, Handmade Veg Knots, Classic Crispy Fried Veg Spring Rolls, Crispy Corn in Plum Chilli Sauce, Tofu Skewers, Chinese Mustard and Horse Radish Prawns, Crispy Chicken Hong Kong and Crispy Chicken in Oyster Chilli Sauce are the things that I've tried here(amongst the ones that I remember). 

Restaurant Review : Monkey Bar, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi

Your trip to Bangalore isn't complete without visiting Monkey Bar - that's what I'd always heard from people of Bangalore. So when this oh-so-famous place opens in Delhi, you do nothing but pay a visit to this place!

Been to Monkey Bar multiple times now, have tried almost half their menu, and safe to say that I am now in love with the place! So chilled out, uber cool as a stress buster after work, awesome for catching up with friends, you head to Mobar when you want a nice relaxing time over some crazy delicious food and cocktails! It's my favourite hangout place now, and now I know why a visit to the Mobar in Bangalore was a must according to my friends.

The best way for people to relate with the interiors of Monkey Bar in Delhi, and also the best way for explaining the directions are - it's where the pyramid shaped MOS was! An excellent location that is not bound by the parking hassles of a mall, Monkey Bar is done up in a very casual and chic manner. Bar stools and tables of 4-6 people, a bar both on the ground and first floor, tables spread out all over the place, their interiors are nothing to write home about, just the essential comfortable, quirky interiors that this place needed.

One thing I've seen at Monkey Bar at each one of my visits is the equal importance that people give to its food and alcohol. If you see 5 drinks at one table, you'll even see 4 dishes giving these drinks company. If you see the servers going from one table to another serving drinks, you'll see the servers doing rounds as many times with the food too. The servers, what amazing servers! Extremely friendly, well-versed with the menu and great with recommendations, always on their toes, and too too prompt! Even when the place is filled to the brim, or even when it is overflowing with people, the level of exceptional service doesn't dwindle even by a percent! The service is genuinely really nice.

I have tried each and every Mobar Special Cocktail that's on the menu, have even tried the classic ones that are on the next page, and it gives me great pleasure to say that I've found a favourite in almost all the cocktails that I've tried here. Their drinks are 'exceptiona'. Period.

Just go with the flow and choose a cocktail according to your mood. Don't think about the ingredients, don't think about the poison, just go with it!! My personal favourites here are the following : Mangaa is a classic favourite of people visiting Mobar. An aam panna based drink, a little tangy, this is one drink that is completely out of the box! 

Go Guava - I personally HATE guava, but when the server insisted I go with this and that I won't regret it, I was so glad I did! This drink has a punch of chilli that hits you at the back of your throat. For people who like unconventional drinks and are open to experimenting with new tastes, this one's for you! 

Copper Monkey - Only the presentation of this drink alone will bowl you over! A copper glass that looks so pretty with the leaves on the top, Copper Monkey is a drink that is predominant of passion fruit. A flavour that I personally adore, it doesn't overpower the drink with its sweetness. You can taste each and every ingredient that's given in the description. 

Strawberry Margharita - For those who like their drinks strong and sweet with a fruity flavour, a classic that they excelled at! 

Every girl has an inclination towards any kind of fruity flavours in their drinks, and me being no different, another one of my favourites here is the Orange Vodkatini. Sweet and tangy and all things happy, that's what this drink is! 

Watermelon Caipiroska - No description needed for this. 

For the chocolate lovers, and those who can actually do with an overdose of chocolate, Chocolate Vodkatini is the answer to all your problems! Chocolate and Vodka - as simple as it gets.

Coming to their food, I'll go by the order given in the menu. Chilli Cheese Dragons a deep fried, cheese filled dish that is for the cheese lovers. 

Spiked Nachos with BBQ Chicken - who doesn't order nachos to nibble on with their drinks? With the most delicious sauces ever, the nachos are a must order here! 

Dabeli, a sweetened version of vada pav, not my cup of tea. 

Chubby Mushrooms for all the vegetarians - you'll go crazy over this cheese and herb filled delight! 

Pot Stickers were dimsums that were just the normal dimsums that you find elsewhere. Really amazing stuff, but nothing different from what you find elsewhere. 

Home Made Chicken Nuggets lacked that flavour of saltiness in them. Not the frozen nuggets that places serve you out of a packet, these are specially made in-house. The chicken is really tender, the sauces accompanying it are nice, but the nuggets by itself are no big deal. 

Tikki of Joy is a dish that consists of fish cutlets topped with mustard sauce. A must must order for all the fish lovers! 

Mobar caramelized ribs were gorgeous in one word! So so SO much flavour in them and cooked to asbolute perfection, they tasted just phenomenal! 

The 2 best dishes that I find at Monkey Bar are Liver on Toast and Chilli Brain. The 2 dishes that you don't find on too many menus, the 2 dishes that just bowled me over! The Liver on Toast took 'amalgamation of flavours' to another level altogether! 

The Chilli Brain - simply melted in my mouth!

Flutterfly is a dish with a crispy exterior and a filling on corn and paneer tossed in a wonderful tomato based chilli and herb sauce. An exceptional dish for the vegetarians!

It's a crime if you visit Mobar and don't try these 2 dishes! Galouti Killer - never knew a bar could do such an awesome job at mutton galauti! 

Kheema Bhao is essentially keema pao which looks like an oversized version of steamed dumpling. The outer layer is the pao that is steamed, and the inside of this pao is a crazy delicious stuffing of keema. Yet again, mind-numbing delicious flavours! I think I'll get tired of using the word 'flavours', but I'm happy this place doesn't get tired of using it in all of their dishes. Not just some, but bangs and bangs of flavour! 

Another mutton dish that they have is the Kosha Mangsho. The most famous Bengali non vegetarian dish everyone is well-versed with, the flavours were bang on right in this one, only the mutton wasn't as soft. And that is quite an upsetting moment for me.

A double cheeseburger that has a really fresh burger bun, beautifully juice patty, with lettuce, cheese and mayo, and the mind-blowing bacon! Their burgers are huge, but I just wish there was more going on in terms of the sauces and toppings; though the patty in itself was the show stealer for me. 

Mee Goreng and Berry Pulao - exceptionally awesome and cooked amazingly well!

Coming to the most important part for a few - their desserts. Flourless Chocolate XS cake - a brownie that was nice but didn't match up to the other desserts. 

Sticky Date Pudding is a dessert that has sticky pudding in the bottom of the bowl, and topped with 3-4 scoops of vanilla ice cream, caramel sauce and chocolate sauce, I can go to Mobar everyday for this dessert! 

Old Monk Chocolate Cake came with whipped cream. Very gooey and very moist from inside, the cake was just killer! 

Chocolate Pot De Creme with Salted Caramel -  Caramel Popcorn lying on a bed of thick divine chocolate sauce, accompanied by 2 lemmon poppy cake slices, you're not normal if you stop at the first bite. 

Mobar Sundae Sandwich had so much going on! For me, it isn't as crazy as the other desserts, but was good nonetheless.

The MoBar Pineapple Outside In was another dessert that was completely new to me! A cake that was made with the batter inside the thick gorgeous pineapple slice.

The quantities at Monkey Bar are too impressive! The first time that I visited this place, I was shocked at seeing my bill. The food and drinks are very moderately priced and this is one of the reasons why this place is always packed! As long as they continue doing such a great job with the food and drinks, the crowd will keep coming. Me being a part of the crowd, I really do wish that this awesomeness at Mobar never ends! 

You just don't have a customer in me, you have a fan in me! :D

P.S. Kids below 18 years of age are not allowed after 6pm. You'll see this written on a small board right at the entrance. And I understand why. They'll feel so out of the place!

Address: Plot 11, Upper Ground Floor, LSC, Pocket C 6 & 7, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi

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