Namche Bazaar is a new restaurant in Global Foyer Mall, Gurgaon. Owned and operated by Striker, which is a Pub and micro-brewery next door. Though I have been a regular at Striker for last year or so, however have never really tried their food. Striker is all about fresh and tasty beer. So when Namche Bazaar was coming up, friends and fellow FEDs got really excited about it. And we were invited to the restaurant to sample the goodies on offer. So one fine evening me and couple of FEDs, Hemanshi Dawar and Anuj Khurana landed up for dinner there.
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| The way it is being promoted. |
The first thing that strikes you is the interior of the place. Its very spacious, open and non-cluttered. You can see Buddhist prayer wheels everywhere, which were very classy and tastefully placed (I tried rotating one and they actually work :D). Live instrumental music was on with couple of musicians on Tabla and Mandolin dishing out regular bollywood fare.
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| Quite Spacious Interior.. |
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| The Prayer Wheels that work.. |
Coming to food, though the overall promotion, decor and dresses of waiters have a Himalayan theme (Nepali, Buddhist influence), however surprisingly the menu had nothing to do with those regions. The menu was quite simple, and consisted of regular mix of North Indian and Mughlai dishes.
We started with drinks and ordered a Caprioska, Namchepolitan and Long Island Iced Tea and we were not impressed. Namchepolitan turned out to be standard Cosmopolitan with waiter admitting that there was no difference between the two, while the LIIT had too much of Rum in it (it also came in too small a glass for my liking).
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| Caprioska |
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| Namchepolitan |
In starters we ordered both Vegetarian and Non-vegetarian platters. Vegetarian platter (Rs.345) consisted of Yoghurt Kebabs, Crispy Stuffed Mushrooms, Gilafi Aloo and Ginger & Peas Shammi. Out of the four items Stuffed Mushrooms (with a mix of spinach I guess) were quite decent and Gilafi Aloo were interesting. They were stuffed with what seemed like a mix of lentils and dry fruits, quite delicious nevertheless.
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| The Vegetarian Platter |
Non-Vegetarian platter (Rs.495) consisted of Garlic & Carom Fish Tikka, Reshmi Seekh, Hella Mutton Kebab and Tandoori Chicken. Though I have a limited palette in non-vegetarian food, still I felt that mutton was extremely tender and juicy, whereas overpowering flavor of Cardamom in Reshmi Seekh was quite a turn off. The Fish seemed to be grilled to perfection and had a nice texture to it.
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| The Non-Vegetarian Platter |
Moving on the main courses, we ordered Dal Namche (Rs. 250), Tawa Vegetables (Rs. 375), and Murg Tikka Masala (Rs. 345). In breads we had a Butter Naan and a Cheese Naan (Rs. 75 each). Tawa Vegetables were an assortment of various seasonal vegetables done in the same sauce. I am assuming it is a concept picked up from North Indian weddings (cannot place them anywhere else). To start off, we were indifferent to Murg Tikka Masala (ok, Chicken Tikka Masala) however when I bypassed chicken and started eating the gravy, I found it to be quite delicious and it reminded of Chicken Changezi's (from Chicken Planet) gravy. And now coming to highlight of the evening, Dal Namche. As far as the name goes, its another 'nothing special about it' but Dal Makhani (like Namchepolitan). But putting aside the name, when it comes to Dal Makhani, this has to be one of the best that I have had and my companions also agreed to the same. It was creamy, but not because of the cream that went into it, it was creamy because of the effort that went into it.
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| Dal Namche |
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| Murg Tikka Masala |
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| Cheese Naan and Butter Naan |
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| Tawa Vegetables |
Generally we take breads for granted, after-all there is so much you can do with standard North Indian Tandoori Breads and this was true for the butter naan that was served to us. Pretty acceptable stuff. However it was the cheese naan that really got me excited. I have had Cheese and garlic naan at Souza Lobo in Goa a few years back and I really liked it. They stuffed the naan with regular processed cheese (not paneer) and when it goes into tandoor, the cheese melts inside forming a layer of warm, gooey cheese. And I have been wishing to have it in Delhi for quite some time. And Namche Bazaar did just that, though without garlic. A naan stuffed with your regular Amul cheese. MUST Try. It went very well with the Dal as well as the more spicy gravy of Chicken Tikka Masala.
Last but never the least. Desserts. Out of the 6 listed desserts, we opted for three (Rs. 150 each) - Matka Kulfi with Faluda, Phirni and Shahi Tukda. Out of the three I can definitely recommend Matka Kulfi. Not too sweet, creamy and blended very well with the faluda that was served with it.
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| Matka Kulfi with faluda |
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| Phirni |
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| Shahi Tukda |
I was told that they open till 3 am in the night (or morning, depending on the way you prefer to look at it) and their primary motive was to serve their clientele from Striker decent food after the party gets over next door. Though when I left the place, I was thinking that I would not go there for dining again, however I would not mind having a meal there after a gig or party at Striker (which I regularly attend). But as I write this post, the taste of Dal Namche and Cheese Naan seems to be calling me back... :D
PS : As we were about to leave the place, I noticed the Paan counter right at the Entry/Exit, which was a nice touch and quite a unique move. They serve you fresh paans (not frozen or ready-made) right there and you can also buy your pack of smokes from the same counter. I had a Saada Paan, and it was top notch.
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| The Paan counter was inside the restaurant itself. |
My Rating - 3/5 (after very hard thinking :P)
Namche Bazaar-1st Floor, Global Foyer Mall,
Golf Course Road, Sector 43, Gurgaon