Restaurant review - INDIA ON MY PLATE

Fortune Hotel, part of the prestigious ITC group is well known for its excellence in service. The beautiful property located on Sohna Road, Gurgaon has opened a new restaurant INDIA ON MY PLATE and extended a warm invitation to me for its media preview on 16th July.

The restaurant theme revolves around different Indian cuisines under one roof. They serve variety of specialities from each Indian state, blending in authenticity and great taste. The USP of the place is LIVE ghazals by renowned Gharana sensation who also sing songs requested by guests. I thoroughly enjoyed the ghazals of maestro Late Jagjit Singh sung by the artist. What a perfect way of spending a weekend!

PR Shuddhita and Shrea gave us a tour and history of the restaurant, sharing their speciality with us. India on my plate has a spacious indoor seating on second floor of the hotel, overlooking a pool outside. The aesthetics on walls showcase the royal maharajas and maharanis from ancient times, adding more cultural value to the place.

Neer More

Ram Laddu

The courteous waiters started with traditional welcome drink named ‘Neer More’ which tastes like rasam. Partly tangy partly salty, the spices burst into your mouth as you sip this cool appetiser. 'Últe tawe ka khakhra’ coupled with an array of chutneys accompany it.  

Tilwali subz seekh - My favorite

Starters flowed in and each item on the plate spoke of a true Indian experience with the finest blend of spices. My order of veg starters comprised Ram Laddu, Rajma Galaouti, Tiwali subz seekh, dahi kebab, bhutta mutter shammi and pudina paneer tikka. I skipped the Nilgiri Cheese Dosai as I made space for main course. Nawab’s style Rajma Galaouti was simple crispy bite and little spicy just like the Nawab’s form. Awadhi style Tilwali subz seekh and dahi kebab stood out in the entire platter. Tilwale seekh gets a full 5 on 5 from me.

Rajma Galaouti

Cranberry mocktail

Hyderabadi combination of corn and peas made on tawa- Bhutta mutter shammi was the second best. I found Ram Laddu- stuffed moong daal deep fried served with radish and green chutney- okayish since I am not much fond of this. Maida roti layered with ghee accompanied the starters.

I sipped cranberry mocktail along the starters. Unfortunately this mocktail turned out to be quite sweet and not so refreshing.

Being the first day of the restaurant, the staff was quite busy with their hands full of orders from every table. Main course arrived after some delay while I enjoyed the live music and virgin mojito. Oops virgin mojito was not upto the mark. It was overloaded with sweet.

Beautiful bar in the middle 

Rasmalai

 I liked the copper utensils for serving dishes which completes the Indian concept palate. Be it chutneys in copper bowls or main course in the copper carriers, the presentation looked great! I opted for veg dum biryani that came on a plate covered by an edible veil for “dum”. Choley Darbari biryani was nicely prepared with all spices measured flawlessly. I loved the daal tadka which is also said to be the speciality of Fortune. Imagine a simple yellow daal turning out to be the best item of lunch!

Marwad famed Dahi aalu achaari is another unique item in vegetarian menu which is made by potatoes simmered in pickling curd. A nice tangy punch feels heavenly.  

The last item in main course was Amritsar’s Paneer Kasturi. The color looked tempting however the dish wasn’t much exciting. Husband enjoyed his non veg meal of mutton curry, chicken chettinad and gosht biryani.  

Amritsari Badam Phiri

After a hearty meal, I was full to the core but an Indian can never turn down desserts. Hehe

Husband had Rasmali and I chose Amritsari badam phiri. Former tasted way better than Phiri.

Shuddhita in her conversation told us about Indian Cuisines that would be presented rotational basis. The thaali would be unlimited, priced at 500INR only. This gives me more reasons to visit INDIA ON MY PLATE again in future. What’s better than pocket friendly authentic Indian food at a great place like Fortune Excalibur?

Ambience- Very comfortable, warm and cheerful- 5/5

Food presentation- 5/5

Experiment with cuisines- Good attempt- 4/5

Staff- Very courteous, polite- 5/5

Anything missing – I missed salad. May be it can be included. I also found the ‘health consciousness’ factor missing. However, health has not been the focus of Indian cuisine, so Fortune kept it at bay. May be they can introduce a section for health conscious ones like me.

Barbeque Nation, Sohna Road

Barbeque Nation never fails to live up to expectations of foodies.  And this valentine’s day, they do it again, winning hearts, and etching sweet memories in mind forever. The visit was to BBQ, Sohna Road.

This was my second visit to BBQ, post the first one with colleagues in 2014 at Sushant Lok, Gurgaon. The day was special- 14th Feb, calling for a lunch celebration with hubby. Free parking for BBQ guests and valet parking service by BBQ staff relieved us from the parking woos. (Mind you, parking space in Gurgaon is a nightmare). 

We spend around 10 minutes in the waiting area for our table and the manager apologized to keep us waiting. Apologies were not required, but it shows the level of professionalism and hospitality (Unlike TAMASHA in CP where the staff or manager were least bothered to inform us about the technical fault that caused delay in serving). The accurate height of tables and chairs is suitable for all age people, which shows a great planning by the BBQ team. Commendable job! Perfect lighting and spacious place it is!

The entire staff attended all guests courteously, paying full attention to every detail, to the point of customizing dishes. Viku, the amiable and energetic staff served us with a cheerful smile on his face. Before the snacks arrived, a heart shape cake was presented to mark Valentine’s Day. A pleasant surprise it was.

We began with complimentary drinks of lemon ice tea and lemonade coupled with grilled malai paneer, crispy corns, cajul potato among veg for me and fish, chicken among non veg for hubby. The live grill of mushroom, capsicum, tomatoes, juicy pineapple, peri peri chicken, tandoori tangri and moroccon seekh kabab along with a variety of sauce is very enticing. All items were superbly marinated and well cooked. The chefs asked for feedback or weather to customize the spices. They cared for the guests, making them feel at ease and any complain or discomfort was taken seriously. Full points to hospitality!

The impressive starters was followed by a large spread of main course. Among vegetarian items I had- Paneer lababdar, dingri makai keema paneer masala, paneer methi masala , matar kofta and salad.

With almost full appetite post snacks, I had little portions of all above along with plain rice. I had no space to accommodate daal makhni, veg Manchurian and noodles so skipped them. The meal was worth it! Dishes had the perfect balance of spices and I could taste every flavor. None of the gravies tasted similar. Hubby enjoyed his non veg course of Chicken Dum Biryani Masala, Burani Ghost, Nimbu Makhan Ka Murg, Fish and Hot Garlic Sauce.  

Phirni

Pan Kulfi with khus and gulkand

The heavy lunch left us with no space in our tummy. However Indians NEVER say no to desserts! From a single plate we tasted bites of mango pastry, chocolate brownie with peanuts, vanilla ice cream and gulabjamun. We repeated phirni since it tasted so good. Desserts were not loaded with sugar, unlike the usual Indian sweets. The best among sweets were phirni and PAN kulfi with gulkand and khus syrup. We ended having two helpings of each.

While paying the bill, the manager took a picture of ours, which we assumed for their wall display or guest book. As we waited for our car to arrive, the manager gave us the framed picture. What a lovely memoir to take home! We also got the half finished cake packed for home.

Cost for two- 1600 (One veg, one non veg pus service tax)

Service- Excellent- 5 0n 5, Staff was quick, polite, well mannered

Food: Variety- 5 on 5, (Ample variety for vegetarians like me) Presentation- 4 on 5

Ambiance- 5 on 5, Superb décor, lighting, seating

Hygiene- Good- 5 on 5

Repeat visit for us? Definitely YES