Zomato peeps were really sweet to give me a voucher for this place. MightySmall is in between all of the madness at Smashh. This place has a carnival theme to it which I think describes my previous statement! Bright colors, lots of light and awesome music.
Recommend: Disco idli Flame Grilled Paneer Paneer butter masala meal Paneer biryani meal Amazing music!
Don’t recommend strongly – the cupcakes!
I read a lot about the disco idli here and so I tried it out. It was mini idlis tossed in ghee, curry leaves, some peppers and some mustard seeds. A very heavy ghee feel to it, but they were pretty decent. Slightly spicy though.
Then I tried the Flame Grilled Paneer – soft paneer pieces with capsicum and the Indian onion salad. The presentation for this dish is pretty interesting.
Then I tried the butter paneer and butter naan meal – the gravy was pretty tasty – not overly creamy and just the right amount of tangy.
I also tried their amritsari chole and kulcha – the chole I didn’t care much about but the kulcha was great.
I also tried their cupcakes – none of them is worth talking about! They were dry and didn’t feel very fresh.
Then I tried the paneer makhani biryani – first impression for this was that the paneer butter masala has been used to make this ? but actually it’s paneer was a bit different. Overall this felt more like a heavier pulao and not so much biryani. It came with all the taam jhaam of having the roti covering for added flavor. It was served with some raita and papad.
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The word Farzi is so aptly used to name this cafe – a complete illusion for one’s senses where various textures, flavors and aromas mingle together and create something extraordinary! This is a place where you will get exceptional food that is twisted and made unique in its own way. I was invited to sample the food here and boy, it was a feast – both, visually and for my taste buds!
Recommend:
Farzi Tina
FarziTina
Raj Kachori
RajKachori
Naan Margherita
Margherita Naan!
Farzified Vada pav
Farzified VadaPav
Experimenting with starters and drinks is the way to go here.
The first thing I was offered was Amuse Bouche – a palate cleanser. It’s believed that food when started on an undiluted palette tastes the best! This was mishti dahi essentially, with such a great flavor. It comes in these little katoris and your supposed to have it in one go.
Amuse BoucheAmuse Bouche
I started with a version of Raj Kachori. This had dahi obviously, some imli chutney, green chutney and kurkuri bhindi with pomegranate on the side. One bite of this and I was like – Waaaaooowww! The imli chutney had a frothy texture and appearance, the Raj kachori was nice and crispy and then there was dahi flavored with spices which tasted exceptional. The kurkuri bhindi made for a good crunchy side with this dish.
RajKachoriRajKachoriRajKachori
Then I tried something that was essentially dal Chawal in the form of round crispy balls. Now dal Chawal is almost soggy food but the kurkuri outer covering and papad made this super interesting. And it had a salsa kind of flavor going on which added such a good zing!
Kurkuri Dal Chawal Balls
Then I tried the Vada – the chutneys served with this were the real bomb! And the tempered chilli! And this was actually pav inside the Vada!
Farzified Vada PavFarzified Vada Pav
Then came a cane topped dish with something different inside – this was mini naan with the margherita pizza sauce and cheese. You must eat this immediately when it comes else it can become super chewy. But this combination was awesome!
Naan MargheritaNaan MargheritaNaan Margherita
Then there was samosa with the traditional filling but tempered with some white sesame and honey chilli sauce. OMG – I don’t like any fooling around with a regular samosa but this tasted pretty nice!
Samosa
Samosa
Then tried the tandoori paneer with a very thai green sauce kinda feel to it. I’m not too fond of thai so I didn’t care much for this. This was served with some mustard dip.
Mustard DipPaneer
Then came some appam and a very heavy coconut stew with it – i didn’t enjoy this because I’m not a big fan of coconut flavored food.
AppamAppam
After all these starters it was time to move to main course. But wait..first let me tell you about another palette cleanser! A huge tree like thing was placed on my table with 2 lollipops hanging out from its branches. These felt like kadhi (Punjabi besan kadhi – I’m not kidding) frozen and made into a lollipop. All fancy and did give me a fresh clean start to my main course.
The Tree!Kadhi LollipopKadhi Lollipop
For the main course I started with some spaghetti – aglio e olio style and this also came with some coconut thing going on. The spaghetti was so well done and I’m afraid that this was the first time I mildly enjoyed the coconut flavoring.
Aglio e olio SpaghettiAglio e olio Spaghetti
Then came some pav bhaji – not just regular pav but with focacia bread and it was called Ratatouille Pav bhaji! This bread was out of this world – I ate so much of it just by itself because it was so yummy. The bhaji I found a tad bit greasy. It is topped with sev and onion. The combination of sweet focacia and bhaji is definitely something different!
Focacia PavFocacia PavBhajiBhaji
Then came some churma balls and some yellow dal. The churma balls feel quite heavy..But the dal that comes with them is superb. It also has some of that crispy chana dal with masala on top and I just loved it.
Churma BallsThe Dal
And finally came some mix veggies kofta in a rich creamy cashew and tomato gravy along with some ajvaini naan – the naan was exceptional. The kofta was quite tasty – anyone who loves rice cashew flavored gravy would love this.
Ajvaini NaanSummer Vegetable Kofta
Don’t judge me, but there’s still some dessert that I had! Started with a Parle G cheesecake – jee Haan Parle G along with some gems! And this was placed in a bowl with loads of chopped pista and a rabdi kind of thing. Very meh – not my type at all.
ParleG Cheese CakeParleG Cheese Cake
Then I tried a strange but rich Ras Malai – one mouthful and you would have a mixture of ras malai and rabdi.. The presentation was remarkable – especially the Caramel colored sugar top!
Ras Malai
And finally I ate some planets from the solar system! This dessert was called the signature milky way big bang – it was almost created right in front of me! Liquid nitrogen churned ice cream and fruits and chocolate! Fruits included some blue berries, plums. The chocolate fudge pieces were exceptional.
Big Bang Milky WayBig Bang Milky WayBig Bang Milky Way
Finally ended this super huge meal with some paan gujia – paan and cotton candy together..that’s 2 of my favorite things!
Paan GujiaPaan Gujia
Ohh and I almost forgot to mention the drinks – I tried the green apple martini kind of drink – this felt so refreshing and light. I also tried their Farzi Tina which was sweet lime infused in fresh orange juice.
Green AppleFarzi Tina
Farzi cafe is a must visit..at least once. And it’s going to be an experience and not just another meal outside. The ambience feels nothing less than a posh place. And the staff are super friendly and considerate. Special mention for Shahbaz – our attendant, who patiently waited everytime I clicked a picture.
Sharing my experience at Hoppipola with you. Keep reading 🙂
I have never been to a Hoppipola prior to this and for a first time, my experience was pretty good actually. I was invited to check out this place and sample some food and drinks. The place is quite huge and I quite like the way they’ve done it up. Huge windows, sunlight coming in and for a change not too dark. They even have an outdoor seating which would be great in the evenings. And they also have some board games, so if you like that then you will like this place.
The ambienceThe ambienceThe ambienceThe ambienceThe ambience
Recommend:
Drinks – Auckland Ice Freeze
Auckland Ice Freeze
Food – Harrisan Paneer and Smokin Carlos
Harrissan Paneer
Smokin Carlos
Coming to the drinks – I started with some cranberry juice. Just simple canned juice and nothing special.
Cranberry Juice
Then I tried some cocktails. I had heard so much about their presentation and they actually are pretty cool! First I tried something called Auckland Ice Freeze – this was essentially a kiwi flavored cocktail with loads of malibu. This came in a watering can kind of thing and was pretty huge. It was freezing cold with dry ice and made for a pretty good sight! This felt very refreshing. And malibu feels quite light. And plus I love kiwi so I quite liked it.
Auckland Ice FreezeAuckland Ice Freeze
Next I tried the Drown in a bucket – this was a lot of tequila and apparently Peach and orange juice too. But the tequila was really overpowering! And so was the rosemary. The rosemary leaves were burnt slightly and that gave a very peculiar flavor. Nothing like I’ve tried ever before!
Drown in a bucket
Coming to the food – I tried a lot of starters. First I had the Harrissan Paneer. This was so neatly presented! It came on this literally small khatiya which I found very cool. This had a mildly spicy kind of sauce going on.
Harrissan PaneerHarrissan PaneerHarrissan Paneer
Next I tried the Cheesy Chilitato. These were French fries and a whole lot of cheese – no rephrasing..French fries covered in cheese! Honestly I’ve had better cheesy fries so I didn’t care about these so much.
Cheesy ChillitatoCheesy Chillitato
Then I had something called Smokin Carlos – these were jalapeño, corn and cheese cigars. And they were so delicious! Perfectly crisp, the filling was great.
Smokin CarlosSmokin Carlos
I also tried some of their Arrabiata penne. This had really little sauce going on – more dry kind of pasta. And had a few veggies too – peppers and olives. I didn’t quite care for this too much.
Penne ArrabbiataPene Arrabbiata
All in all – it’s a great place to come and chill. Really good for big groups. Food is pretty decent. Cocktails are good. And you can even enjoy a board game here.
