Feb 1st,2016
Kabab mein Gaddi … for it is indeed a Truck full of rotis that drives up to your table amidst the kababs !!!
The Kabab Studio (TKS) in its recently revamped avatar, graces the Terrace of the Goldfinch Hotel. With a panoramic view of the surroundings, including the Race course, it is an ideal location for a roof top meal with its al fresco seating, covered dining space and two private dining rooms, one of which is an ultra luxurious one for VIPs (no, that is not where I dined) 😛
Week nights have live performances with Ghazals and other Indian music and on weekends one is accompanied by old Bollywood hit numbers, with their melodious tunes and meaningful lyrics that have sadly disappeared with the seventies 🙂
The restaurant serves buffets at both lunch and dinner. There is a live grill at the table where they present a variety of meats and vegetarian options. A live chat counter has an enthusiastic ‘chaat man’ churning out pani puri, alu tikki, papdi chaat and other favorites. Thick lassi in little black earthen ware, sits on ice and awaits being served.
While weekends provide a slightly bigger menu with more grills, weekdays are also not far behind. They have a menu that varies everyday and includes an impressive array of non veg kababs, some of which are the Anari chooza, Reshmi kabab, Hariyali fish tikka, mutton sheekh kabab, grilled prawns and a live counter with Raan. The vegetarians are also spoilt for choice with several options that include the veg sheekh kabab, Multani Hyderabadi tikka, Hyderabadi Gobhi, Cheese jalapenos with mushroom fritters, grilled Pineapple, veg cheese balls and Malai kumbh. The kababs are accompanied by a variety of chutneys served in a gorgeous wired caddy, like the ones used by chai walas.
Though the starters were pretty much a meal in themselves, we were tempted to try the rest of the buffet which is a vast collection of Indian, Chinese and Continental. And despite the fact that they have so much happening on the grill, they spare no effort in making the rest of the meal also memorable by not serving conventional buffet fare but attempting to provide variety beyond what is usually served.
We began with the soup and the mutton shorba with mini koftas, was absolutely delectable and though I usually do not waste my limited appetite on soups, the light and flavorful broth was quite irresistible. The salad counter also has a few good options like the grilled veg mayo, channa chaat, eggplant and cucumber salad and more. The main course again had a lot to choose from and we obviously could not do justice to most of the dishes. The items are served in gorgeous enamelled cast iron pans which are thoughtfully color coded in green and red to differentiate between the veg and non veg. We managed to sample tiny portions of the Donne biryani, Macchi sawanthwadi, Awadhi Murgh, Gosht Rampuri and Chicken in Chilly garlic sauce. One almost never has great hopes from a buffet biryani but the Donne biryani was excellent and we were truly impressed. With the right flavor and spice and the meat falling off the bone, one could not ask for more !!!
The vegetarians had the Paneer Khurchan, Falguni Sabzi, Tawa Babycorn, Macroni in Mamamia sauce, Hara Moong Dal, Amritsari Chole and Mixed Veg in plum sauce, to pick from, along with Steamed Rice and Stir fried noodles. The rotis as I mentioned, are brought to the table in a large army truck, which is apt because it would need an army to be able to finish them. The truck of course, drove us crazy with amusement, as we literally fought over it like little children, trying to shoot it from all angles 🙂
A well stocked bar shakes out interesting cocktails to accompany the food and I had the Tedhi Medi Martini which is a concoction of tamarind and gin, served over dry ice which provided the smoke and drama 🙂
Dessert thankfully was not an unmanageably unwieldy affair and the carefully picked choices that were offered, were just perfect to end the large meal. The brownie pudding was awesome with the bitter sweet chocolate shining through and the pumpkin halwa was good too, with its melt in the mouth texture and mild sweetness. They serve a few Indian sweets like rasgullas and mishti dhoi and the ice cream lovers among us, got creative at the cold stone where the lively ‘ice cream’ man obliged everyone’s every whim !!!
The meal did not end with just dessert, for the dedicated Paan walla with his large brass thali and elaborate set up, offered us paans of our choice on our way out. We were recommended the famous chocolate paan which is paan encased in chocolate and is a hot favorite here. Biting through the chocolate shell to experience the rush of the betel leaf and its contents in one’s mouth, was an adventurous and fitting end to our lunch !!!
The only grouse I had in this place was that the plates have ridged concentric circles forming a textured surface. I would have preferred it if they had a smooth finish instead, which would have made it easier to mop up every morsel of food without losing any in the ruts 🙂
The price of the buffet varies through the week and the weekday lunch is Rs 716 AI and weekend is Rs 840 AI. They also have a Sunday brunch at Rs 1233 AI which includes a cocktail/beer/unlimited mocktails.
Dine at TKS to have a good time, good food and great ambience. You will definitely come back and say TKS to me 😀
Feb 1st, 2016
For more pictures please see My Facebook – The Kabab Studio
