This review is for the CFG Showcase at Zaitoon Velachery for which I was invited. I live very close to this restaurant, and have been seeing it since day one. I have also visited this place once and have reviewed it here. Why would I go to the same place again, and that too for a showcase? I was told we will be served dishes which are still not on the menu. They wanted a feedback about all the dishes that would soon ‘go live’ if I may say so 🙂 and that prospect was exciting.
I met a few CFG friends and we settled down around 07:30PM. Since I was one of the first persons to arrive, took a walk around and clicked a few pictures of their restaurant. The place is nice and interiors well done. We were informed in advance of what would be showcased and it was easy to comprehend what was coming with the list in hand. Three important words that you have to know when you eat in an Arabian restaurant are ‘Dejaj’ for chicken, ‘Laham’ for mutton and ‘Rubiyan’ for prawns. This is the recently-acquired gyan looking at their menu and talking to one of their waiters 😉 I have reviewed the dishes in the same order as in the pictures so it is easy to correlate.
First one to arrive was Green Mint Soup. I was told it had chicken and prawns in it and obviously I did not taste it. From my friends’ expressions, it was very clear that the soup was hot. Everyone was reaching out to the water bottle and they said it was either the green chillies or its seeds. I also heard someone say the flavor of mint was dominating. It could have been less spicy and milder.
Sesmi Fish Stick was a chinese preparation that came next and I let it pass too. So I was taking it a bit slow, and waiting for chicken dishes to arrive. I was told this tasted very good and everyone relished it.
Murakkon Dejaj was boneless barbequed chicken in skewers. It was good with a nice flavor. Together with mayonnaise and hummus, it disappeared in no time.
Stuffed potato from the tandoor came next and its outer cover was slightly crispy and it was stuffed with a mild masala and I liked the distinct flavor in it, quite different from the rest.
Olive salad was not in our list, and was probably a last-minute addition. I am not a big fan of salads, but it tasted just fine and nothing very special.
Dejaj Samuna was a tawa kebab and was good with a dominating flavor of pepper.
I am not a big fan of chicken with bones, especially when it is presented in a way that I can directly relate to the bird 🙂 and that’s how Afghani Wings Kebab looked. I could see that others thoroughly enjoyed this, but I was just fine with a small bite.
Olive Dejaj Stick was just passable, it wasn’t particularly anything to rave about because it was a tad too sweet and I would have liked it spicier.
Mutton Brinjal Kebab was mutton stuffed in brinjal from the tandoor. This was clearly two negatives for me. I do not like brinjal, and I do not eat mutton, so I just let it pass. This wasn’t particularly enjoyed by any of my CFG friends too.
Chicken Pepper Stick was the Chinese dish that was showcased and it was good. It wasn’t very appealing visually, but tasted good. It was hot and spicy, again with a lot of pepper.
After finishing the starters, we moved on to the main course. We were served a basket of Indian breads, rumali rotis, butter naan, parathas and probably some kuboos too. Two chicken gravies were showcased – Dejaj Senaya and Deewani Murg. Both of them were clearly different in taste. Deewani Murg was slightly sweet with lot of cashews and peanuts in it. Dejaj Senaya came with bell peppers, potato and chicken and both of them were tasty.
Quite full by this time, we asked for a mix and match of desserts. So we got one of each kind for the photographs. A few names that I remember are Zaitoon Special Falooda, a mini Falooda, Lychee Milkshake, a special milkshake, and a couple of icecreams with lots of dry fruits and nuts in it. Everything was good and I loved the mini falooda and finished it off.
Overall, there were some items that I did not taste, and out of all that I tasted, nothing was even close to being labelled bad. Probably Mutton Brinjal Kebab and Olive Dejaj Stick would be two items ranked low, but I would definitely rate the other items 8 out of 10. I would love to see these items on the menu and visit again, with family and friends.
If you enjoyed reading this, feel free to share it with your friends.
2 Comments