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

Experiments in Paleo: Zucchini Hummus

In my ongoing experiment with the fad of eating like our ancestors (only healthier) I found a great online resource with Chris Kresser. Now, I'm not granola-y and am more than a bit wary about health claims that link every disease or mental illness solely to nutrition, but eating healthier can't hurt and if you sign up on his site you can download his recipe e-book for free. This is where I discovered paleo hummus. I LOVE hummus so I had to try this recipe sans my beloved chickpeas. It's tweaked a bit to suit my tastes (e.g. extra garlic & lemon).

Before you can make "hummus" you need tahini. Here's how I make my fresh tahini.