Review:Sichuan Pavilion 2.9/5

A few days back when I was craving Chinese, I yelped Chinese restaurants in DC and picked "Sichuan Pavilion" based on its ratings and reviews. Myself and Tarun dined there with our friend Ashish.

We took a reservation before going, as it was a weekend, but when we reached there, the restaurant was pretty empty, so I guess, it's one of those restaurants where one could just walk-in.

I ordered "Chicken Chailang", a chef speciality. Tarun ordered Fish curry with Tofu, it was our server's recommendation and Ashish ordered a sizzler with 10 ingredients, I forget the name of the dish, but Ashish's was the only dish that was descent, the other two, Chicken Chailang and the Fish sure were spicy but had no flavor at all; an utter disappointment.

For dessert, we ordered Lychee Nuts. Surprisingly, unlike the name suggested, there were no nuts with the Lychees, but it was still nice to end the flavorless meal with a fresh and delicate taste of Lychees in the mouth.

A very disappointing experience overall. In States, I have yet to discover a better restaurant than P.F. Chang's, for Chinese food. It continues to be my favorite!

Food: 2

Service: 3

Pricing: 3.5 (Moderate)

Ambience: 3

Location/Information:
1814 K St NW
(between N 18th St & N 19th St)
Washington, DC 20006
(202) 466-7790

Parking:
Street

Would I recommend it?: No

Review:Belga 4.3/5

We started off the new year with a brunch with Family and Friends at Belga, last Sunday. It is a belgian cafe with  a very warm atmosphere.

Being a Belgian restaurant it specializes in belgian waffles. However, whatever was ordered on our table was really really good. We all decided to order and then share, so we had quite a few things on the table and it was hard to move them around, but this is what we ordered. Poached eggs with Salmon and Asparagus, Green Eggs, Crepes, Waffles with fruits and whipped cream and Banana Waffles with ice cream. Everyone shared the dishes and they were all very good. I especially liked the poached eggs with Salmon and Asparagus and the banana waffles. The banana waffles had a nice presentation and tasted great! 

We also shared a pumpkin soup which was ordered for Samadh, (our friends son), which he didn't drink. I didn't think I would like it but it was actually nice. Later, we ordered the belgian fries, another speciality of the restaurant.... yummy, and i liked how the fries are served, rolled in a paper (which looks like a newspaper) and stacked in  a metal wire stand.

The serving size is small, so a person per dish ratio is good.

I would recommend taking reservations before hand, as it gets pretty crowded, especially on the weekend.

Food: 5

Service: 5

Super Quick

Pricing: 3.5 (Moderate)

Atmosphere: 3.5

Cozy but can get crowded with no room to walk.

Location/Information:

514 8th Street SE

(between S E, St and S G St)

Washington, DC 20003

202 544 0100

Hours:

Lunch:

Monday through Thursday from 11:30 AM until 3:00 PM

Friday from 11:30 AM until 5:30 PM

Brunch:

Saturday from 10:00 AM until 5:30 PM

Sunday from 10:00 AM until 5:00 PM

Dinner:

Monday through Thursday from 5:30 OM until 10:00 PM

Friday and Saturday from 5:30 Pm until 11:00 PM

Sunday from 5:00 PM until 9:00 PM

Parking:

Street

Review:Oh! Calcutta 4.5/5

Oh! Calcutta, is the ultimate destination for bengali food lovers as well as seafood lovers! The menu is quite elaborate and has lot of seafood options. After having dined here 4 times in 6 months and loving the food every time, I had to write a review!

The food is simple and tastefully cooked. Although I have enjoyed almost all my selections here so far, my favorites are Pomfret kalimirch in the appetizers and Bekti fish in mustard marination along with Aloo dum and luchi in the main course. 

The serving size is large, I would recommend sharing the dishes. 

The server brings a tray with the dessert selection at the end of the main course, which is unique and definitely very tempting. Simply love the mishti doi and the maal pua!

The ambience is simple and yet very welcoming, with the walls adorned with calcutta sketches!

Food: 5

Cleanliness: 5

Service: 4

Pricing: 4

Moderate

Location/Information:

Park Roya Hotel, Nehru Place

011-41223344

Hours:

11:00 A.M. to 11:00 P.M.

Review:Naivedyam (Hauz Khas Village) 3.9/5

 

Food - 3.5
Naivedyam, a south indian restaurant at the Hauz Khas Village was my last weekend's pick. The restaurant serves "Rasam" as a complemetary drink after the guests are seated and it's definitely to die for, just perfectly spiced and flavorful.

Tarun ordered the south indian Upma along with Curd Rice and I orderd the special "Maharaja Sajjige Masala Dosa". The Upma was part sweet and part salty, very different
from what we've had before. The special Dosa was made of the rava batter with the filling of mixed vegetables and it tasted great. I was surprised to taste Sambhar, which was just not upto the mark.
The sweet pan served at the end of the meal is very mouth freshening.

Cleanliness: 4.0
The tables were thoroughly cleaned before being reset for the next guest. The glassware and the tablware were spotless.

Service: 4.0
Attentive.

Pricing: 4.0
Moderate.

Location/Information:
1 Hauz Khas Village
New Delhi
26960426, 26236364

Hours:
11:00 A.M. - 11:00 P.M.

Review:Masala Art

I dined at Masala Art, an upscale Indian restaurant at Taj Palace, last week with a friend who was visiting from SF. I wanted to take him out to a restaurant where he could enjoy good indian food, always something I wanted to do when I visited from US.

We started off with Kingfisher beer and left the menu selection on the server. Sidd, my friend wanted to stay away from chicken (fearing bird flu!), so we decided to have lamb instead. The server recommended the chef's special lamb and Shahi Paneer. We ordered Okra on the side ourselves.  The lamb was really good!

If you order plain roti/chapati, they make the tava roti for you at your table, which is very unique and welcoming especially if you are visiting from abroad where you are used to eating frozen chapatis :)

The food overall was quite good whereas the service was average.

Sushi!

My first post and that too about food, who would have guessed :) Let's talk sushi, my favorite food! Coming from San Francisco, where i lived for a little over an year and had some of the best sushi, i was sad i am gonna have to keep craving for it while i am in India as i wasn't hoping to find good sushi here, but to my surprise, i found Sakura, a Japanese restaurant, at the Metropolitan Hotel in Cannaught Place!

A very casual place with good food! Salmon was the freshest of all, i would suggest trying Sashimi first , to get an idea of what fish is fresh and then placing the rest of the order. Really happy to have found it, will surely visit again! A must go for sushi lovers, comes at a price, but definitely worth it!