Giruz Bakery and Cafe

I recently had the opportunity to visit Giruz Bakery at Baani Square (Sector 50) for lunch and bread tasting during their soft opening. I have been eagerly awaiting their opening as there is a dearth of unique bread shops here in Gurgaon. I can easily find white or whole grain sliced breads, but few groceries offer speciality breads more than just a baguette or croissants, choosing to focus more on pastries than the wide array of tasty bread options. I previously tried L'Opera (at Galleria Market in DLF Phase 4 of Gurgaon and Hauz Khas Village in South Delhi) and the DLF Phase 5 Club bakery (on the ground floor of the main building near the central sitting area). L'Opera was hailed by my French friend (living in Bangalore with even less options than here) as fantastic and a much needed reminder of home. They have an excellent selection of pastries, specialty jams, and an array of teas, if you're into that kind of thing. The baguette and croissants are both quite good - their website boasts of several additional options that I have never seen fresh in the shops, but that could just because I don't make it over early enough to indulge. My parents loved their chocolate pastry.

Post-sightseeing snack at L'Opera Hauz Khas

I've only bought baguettes from the Phase 5 Club, and they were fine. However, their website also lists a number of bread options, most of which are gone by the time I stop in. I clearly need to prioritize my bread shopping! My problem is that I don't eat baguettes nearly fast enough and by nature they go stale and hard almost immediately. However, I learned from Giruz that in order to avoid wastage you should immediately freeze whatever you won't eat within the day. You can then later defrost piece by piece and they're just as fresh. 

What I didn't realize when I dropped into Giruz's bakery was that they also have a small cafe. I visited during their taste testing phase so they did not yet have a set menu and I was treated to a wide array of dishes they were testing on customers. Full disclosure: I did not pay for this meal (I did purchase my breads and cakes though); the owner is a friend who invited me for taste testing. I did not receive any compensation for this review and she did not ask me to write this - she just knows I love fresh bread and hopes I'll become a loyal customer.

Baani Square, while most consider it "out of the way" since it's not on Golf Course Road and is closer to Sohna Road, it's actually quite conveniently located next to the Hilton Garden hotel on Vikas Marg near Hibiscus and Nirvana Country. I live in Phase 5 and it's a short 10 minute drive most times of the day. There is a vast array of restaurants in this small shopping arcade. Other than Giruz, I've visited their fast food version of Lebanese food, Lub Lub (also quite good). I've also heard good things about The Spice Lab and Big Wong, but can't personally vouch for them. Giruz is located on the ground floor central section opposite Big Wong. They are a small and cozy cafe, with smart French country decor. If you still find it daunting to venture over yonder, Giruz also offers delivery options.

I started with vada pav, the pav, of course, was made fresh in house. It differs slightly from the traditional version in that the pakora, while still made from fried mashed potato batter, seasoning, and curry leaves, was not drenched in oil like most fried foods here. The sauces add another twist, with a topping of red chili sauce and a green coriander, ginger, garlic, and onion masala chutney. 

Fresh vada pao

Bruschetta on a French garlic bread baguette

Next up was some bruschetta on a toasted French garlic bread baguette. As this was their time to experiment with tastes and recipes, the chef added a twist of some chopped up olives to the traditional tomato and basil drizzled with olive oil which didn't strike my fancy since I despise olives (weird since I adore olive oil), but was good overall. Both crunchy and savoury with not too much oil or topping that the bread becomes soggy. My friend was not thrilled with the addition either, so I imagine if you order this dish today you'll get a more traditional version.

The California Boulevard

As Gurgaon's InterNation's ambassador I get to plan fun events and culinary adventures for our members each month. I like to keep it fresh and try to find a new spot to host my monthly events so I usually identify a new place or take suggestions from members then approach the manager/owner about our organization and mission. Now that I've been doing it for almost a year I sometimes get invitations from some restaurants that want to work with us. Yesterday was one such day. A friend who is a new activity group consul for InterNations and has a background working with restaurants in the area wanted to meet with The California Boulevard and combine forces to host a duel activity group dinner. I am fully aware that because of the special treatment I received when dining with the PR head and having the chef prepare us some of his favorites I had a very different dining experience than most. Full disclosure, I did not pay for my meal, and I am hosting a future event at their location, but they also did not ask me to write this. I miss writing and this just happens to be the most recent place I've visited and had a sit-down meal rather than just an array of appetizers. Also, I have attended a previous event at this location and paid at that time.

I visited The California Boulevard's Gurgaon location in Sector 29. It is known for its fine dining and Hollywood-inspired theme ambiance. It prides itself on the California "experience" and making fine dining available for all. And it appears that is something they are achieving, for a Sunday afternoon, there were a surprising number of guests in the restaurant.

The servers were well-trained in being available, but not hovering. The meal commenced with a waiter putting a silver bowl with a small white square in front of me. He then poured water over it and voila! I had a small wet wipe for my hands. It was a much nicer presentation than a finger bowl with nothing to dry your hands on. Not a novel concept, but something different from most restaurants I have eaten at in India. While our hostess ordered a variety of bitings for us, I did get a chance to look at the menu and was quite impressed by the selection which is apparently going to grow in the next few weeks with a new menu being launched. One thing I didn't get to try, but will definitely order next time is their cheese fondue. I love fondue (who doesn't love a pot of molten cheese?!) and didn't even know that there was a restaurant offering that option in Gurgaon.

We started with their version of a Dilli ki Chaat nibbler. I'm used to it looking like this:

Photo credit

But theirs was a light and airy appetizer that you could eat several and still feel like you have room for your main course. It was a great start to the meal and fun twist on a traditional Indian snack.

Crunchy spinach leaves with yogurt, tamarind, and mint chutney

Lord Delamere's Terrace

#NRW2014 posts continue, this time in CBD.  Located opposite University of Nairobi, Fairmont The Norfolk Hotel is home to several restaurants including the open air cafe for which they are best known, Lord Delamere's Terrace, named for one of Kenya's original settlers. While the interior of the hotel and terrace were lovely, overlooking an active construction site did not lend itself to the ambiance one would expect from such a historical establishment. Fortunately, this is transitional and should hopefully be remedied at some point in the near future.... That, I suppose, is what happens when Nairobi literally grows up around the luxury hotel.

It's dark, but you can't miss the lights of the campus and lovely metal construction boards

The menu gave three selections for the starters and main courses. Since I was accompanied by a couple of friends we tried to choose different dishes in order to experience the full array of offerings.

Ali Barbour's Cave Restaurant

Located in Diani on the beach next to Forty Thieves, Ali Barbour's is a convenient and popular spot to grab a bite while holidaying at the coast. A few weeks ago I took a weekend trip to Diani with a girlfriend, known to many as the Buffet Queen, for a much needed getaway from Nairobi. Some friends, Hot Pastis and the hubby, were also on holiday so we decided to meet up for dinner at "the Cave" one night. 

We headed over to Forty Thieves, the sister bar/restaurant to the Cave, and settled in for some sundowners and requested a reservation next door. For low season, in a bar that was mostly empty, the waiter told us it would be hours before he could get us a table next door. I’m not sure if this was a ploy to get us to stay at his table and have dinner or what but once we said we’d wait we quickly got an earlier reservation.

Credit

Once they “squeezed us in” we headed over and got settled. The ambiance is definitely the selling point here and the bougainvillea on the table was a nice touch along with soothing background music that was noticeable, but not distracting. I think you would be hard pressed to find a restaurant with a more unique ambiance than this place. We were a bit concerned it might start raining as it had many of the previous evenings, but were informed there was a sliding roof overhead, reassuring us that our dinners would not drown. It was also nice that there were mounted fans for those humid Diani evenings to keep us from sweating to death. 

Eagle's The Steakhouse at Ole Sereni with a prelude at Black Gold Cafe at The Panari Hotel

This is the Restaurant Week meal that almost wasn't. Initially, my friend (who I've decided to nickname Hot Pastis for the purpose of this post) and I decided to visit Black Gold Cafe at the Panari hotel off Mombasa Road despite warnings from one Curry Delight that he thought the hotel was worthless and it was a waste of our time to drive all the way out towards the airport just to try out their restaurant.

Never one to take advice without experiencing something for myself, we ventured ahead. After sitting in crazy late evening Nairobi traffic, Hot Pastis and I finally arrived at our destination to discover that the restaurant was little more than a glorified cafeteria cafe with a fancified menu for the event. Strike one came quickly: despite claims that the cafe "will give it the feel of a street café at the same time a comforting atmosphere of a game lodge as it faces the National Park", the ambiance was at best, lacking. The only view we had was of a florescent Korean Air sign and Mombasa Road. As Hot Pastis pointed out, "If I'm spending this much money on a meal, I don't want to stare at an airline sign." Strike two was close to follow and probably should have sent us running, but it was late and we were hungry. The entrance of the cafe featured a glass heater case full of meat pies and pastries that appeared to be "a bit dodgy", but we convinced ourselves that the Restaurant Week menu would be better than what was on display. Undeterred, we allowed ourselves to be seated and attempted to order a drink off the menu only to discover that just because their menu lists wines by the glass, does not mean that they will actually serve you wine by the glass. Looking around we slowly realized that of the handful of patrons in the restaurant, not one was eating. We took this as a sign and quickly skedaddled without committing to an entire bottle of wine. 

Now, I'm not saying never go to Panari. I hear they have an ice skating rink for the kids. And their website shows another restaurant, Red Garnet, that might have more promise. (It does boast a buffet option, if you're into that kind of thing.) Or if you're willing to experiment with day old pies left sitting out, in an albeit warmer case, give it a whirl and let me know how that turns out for you. 

Fortunately for us, we realized that Ole Sereni was just a hop, skip, and a jump across the highway and hightailed it over there before they closed. Located on the fourth floor, Eagle's Steakhouse, was a breath of fresh air compared to the "competition" across the road. With an actual view of the park and a lounge dining room it was noted that "at least it feels like a real restaurant". The ambiance was quite nice and you almost forget that you're in a hotel. Hot Pastis and I settled into our booth and got comfy with a glass of wine we ordered from an iPad wine list. The selection was decent and we settled on the South African Boschendal which was delightfully crisp. 

Planet Yogurt

While wandering through the mall last weekend looking for a Safaricom store my friends and I stumbled on something wonderful, a fro-yo place. For those of you not in the know, fro-yo is frozen yogurt and a delicious, and (in my head) healthier substitute for ice cream. Since I'm not a huge fan of Kenyan ice cream, I was quite excited to try this place.

Location: Junction shopping center at Ngong Road and Kingara located inside by the elevator in the new section of the mall
Price: Um, the Handsome Hamburgler paid so I don't remember; I think it was less than 500 KSH (~$5.50).  It's done by size and weight.
Atmosphere: I felt like a teenager again hanging out at the mall with my friends.

Osteria del Chianti: Updated

Osteria is the purveyor of delicious Italian food throughout Nairobi. I have dined at both the Hurlingham and Village Market locations and just discovered that there is yet another location in Karen. I have yet to go there but I think I prefer the Kilimani restaurant as there is also a building selling ice cream out behind back. The chocolate was a bit strong but the chocolate chip was delicious.

Mediterraneo: Updated

Location: Ngong Road in Junction Shopping Center next to Java House, Westlands in Pamstech House on Woodvale Grove between Lower Kabete and Mpaka (now closed), Westlands at NineWest; Runda near the UN
Price: Entrees 800-1400 KSH (approx. $10-17.50)
Atmosphere: The Westlands location has a smaller, more intimate atmosphere, but the balcony and patio seating at Junction is nice as well. It's nicer to go later in the evening to the Junction location as the patio is directly next to Java House and it gets quite busy and noisy there during mall hours.