Pizzas just got better!

World Pizza Journey

The Restaurant: If you are an ardent pizza lover, then leave everything aside and head to WPJ- World Pizza journey—a brand new place that serves pizza in all its avatars. Now, if you still have time to read this entire piece, let me take the leverage to discuss in details my experience with you. Located in Hauz Khas Village, New Delhi, this place is meant for foodies who connect with the whole notion of global gastronomy. Name a country, and this place will serve you a pizza that has authentic flavours of your chosen destination. Be it pizzas from Italy or Hawai, India or America—options are galore. The best part is that they have even listed down complimenting alcohol that will satiate your taste buds even more. Pizza from your favourite country along with the best suiting drink is equal to party in the palette.

World Pizza Journey

The Décor: WPJ is a global pizza café in an urban casual dining setup. Sit back in its cocooning space and view the candy painted, bright walls, holding with much love, vintage posters, funny quotes and some interesting photographs of happy faces. Amidst lemon yellow, parrot green and bubblegum pink walls, pristine white table and chairs have been kept orderly. Old-school gramophones are placed occasionally on some tables, which add to the quirkiness of this restaurant. This bistro style outlet is a brainchild of Ankit Tayal and Abhishek Mathur who combined their efforts, experience and passion to bring forth a destination that offers pizzas from across the world in their most authentic form. The carefree, easy-going ambience is perfect for brunches with the girls, or night-out with the boys.

World Pizza Journey

The Food: The dough is made daily; it’s fresh. Also, this is the only place in Delhi to have wood fired oven pizzas and conveyer belt pizzas. The place brings to you specialties from Italy, Malaysia, Moscow, France, South Africa, Turkey, South America, Thailand, Greece, Egypt, Brazil, Chicago, Hawaiian, Britain, China and more. So while the country’s best get the space here in the menu there are many chef creations like ‘An Original Pepperoni’, ‘Falafel Pizza’, ‘The Mediterranean Pizza’, ‘Nacho Pizza’ and more. They also serve a variety of fresh salads for the health conscious lot—Mexican corn salad, House Caesar salad, Thai green papaya salad, Rocky Balboa, Green Gourmet Salad, and Californian greens are few options on the menu.

World Pizza Journey

I tried a portion of Hawaiian pizza- Aloha; served in less than 15 minutes, this pizza came with a small flag of its nationality. Being intrigued, I asked the manager its significance and he stated they ensure they serve all pizzas with a small flag of its originating country to remind the customer, what they have asked for. Very interesting indeed. I opted for a thin-crust pizza; it was delicious. Pineapple slices, onion rings, ham, cheese and jalapeño melted in my mouth and I savored upon all six slices. I also tried a pizza from Florence, called, Florence-The Renaissance (thin crust) Pizza; it comprised of Parma ham basil leaves with chunks of mozzarella cheese. It was like, gastronomy heaven.

World Pizza Journey

Now, coming over to the drinks section, they have a well-laid bar menu. Also, mixologist Viju Raj has conceptualized the menu that has very interesting and innovative concoctions, which includes drinks like Chicago Orange brandy, Californian Whiskey sour, Russian bride, Monte carlo Hibuscus sour, Sicilian kiss, dutch botanical mule, Apretivo venom, New york Collins, Safran lemonade, Beit Moussallem, Chelada, Mogi Das cruzes, Khus Madira and more. So head over to WPJ to enjoy great cocktails with best of pizzas.

Summer House Café—For a Soulful Dining Experience

Summer House Café

Ambience: Located in Aurbindo Place Market, Summer House Café is a statement in its self. Serving cuisine from world over, this standalone café has a certain noir element to it. Conventional wooden décor sets the mood on an eccentric level. The restaurant has two seating areas—a rooftop, open air seating arrangement and a customary closed setup downstairs with a huge open space, accommodating a house full of people dancing to techno, house, lounge and psychedelic trance music.

Summer House Café

As far as I am concerned, I love open air setups; especially during winters. After reaching the venue on a packed Friday evening, I was given a choice to sit anywhere I wished to by the very polite manager. Like I mentioned, I chose the terrace. Soft tunes of trance floated in the air as I got comfortable on a low-base sofa. The crowd was bustling; people wore happy smiles on their faces, which only made me more intrigued to find out more about this place.

Summer House Café

We sat on a quaint corner overlooking a terrace bar that looked like a small, fun truck serving beverages of all kinds. As I browsed through the menu card, one of the stewards got us a standing angithi (brazier) and placed it lovingly next to our table; it felt enchantingly warm and sultry—perfect for Delhi winter evenings.

Summer House Café

Food: I started with some appetizers—non-veg mezze platter, buffalo chili fries (veg), and some smoked chicken wings. My evening started to get better! The food was scrumptious and the portions were even more generous. However, extra credit should be given to the chef for mouthwatering food presentation skills! Now, special mention must be made for the hummus—it was gorgeously grainy, yet had a smooth texture and the olives on it seemed deliciously dark and soft. I relished upon it.

Summer House Café

The starters were accompanied by a couple of Sangria servings. The wine was sweet and crimson and the floating fruits were cut in small, cubical shapes—all equal in sizes. Quite impressive, I must say. Moving on to the main course, I ordered myself a basil pesto chicken with parmesan sauce. The succulent chicken breasts were marinated in fresh pesto before being grilled to perfection. This was served with thick, creamy parmesan sauce that melted in my mouth like molten sunshine. And of course, grilled seasonal veggies and mashed potatoes sat on the plate like stiff-lipped custom. (P.S- Not a big fan of mashed potatoes; they rather make me feel dull). Overall, the chicken was heavenly; every bite was worth it.

Summer House Café

The meal concluded with a large slice of carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. It was soft; tasted like fresh homemade cake and the frosting made it all the more sinful. My evening indeed, ended with a happy winter cake. I would recommend this restaurant to everyone who is looking forward to an easy-going, fuss-free dining experience.

Recommendation: This place is soulful. The décor could be simplistic but the ambience is Boho. The food might sound extravagant, but its very essence will soothe your palate—a perfect home-style casual café for Delhi-ites. Also, this place houses many live performances and gigs on selected days. So have you planned your Friday already?

Find them at: 1st Floor, DDA Shopping Complex, Aurobindo Place, Hauz Khas, New Delhi

Make reservations at: 011 33106147

Kylin Premier—an exclusive appetizing travelogue

Kylin Premier

Ambience- As I stepped into Kylin Premier at Ambience Mall, Vasant Kunj, warm hospitality and pompous ambience blanketed me with much love—a perfect ending to a rather hectic Friday! Me and my partner were guided to the rooftop of the restaurant, wherein small cabana-sort setups, placed neatly in sync with the layout of the floor awaited us. We chose a corner for us—lit by a candle and enveloped by pristine white drapes. The area was well lit, with balmy breeze adding on to the romance quotient. Music was varied; genres like, house, lounge, soft trance and techno were floating in the backdrop in subtle tones.

Kylin Premier

What I loved the most about this place is the copious presence of greenery. Small pots, nestling plants of varied kinds were settled affectionately at every nook and corner of the space; thus, enhancing its prana. Overall, it was a visual delight for me. As I waited for my steward to arrive with the menu, delectably delicious aromas of sundry cuisines filled me up with layers of gastronomical expectations.

Kylin Premier

Hospitality- Special mention has to be given to the hospitality department at Kylin Premier. Not only were they warm and spontaneous, they always wore a comforting smile on their faces, ready to be at your disposal at the drop of a hat. Not overtly persistent, they knew the thin line between being there for you and giving you your space to have a fine dining experience. My experience was memorable.

Crystal Dim Sums at Kylin Premier

Food- This place serves Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, and Thai cuisines. I love Sushi; so the first thing I ordered was a couple of Crabstick California Rolls, made to perfection. This was followed by Chicken Crystal Dim sums. Now, this was a first for me. The name ‘crystal’ intrigued me to order this dish and what can I say—I reached to gastro heaven and back. The dim sums were super soft; the coating was almost feather-like light in texture, the filling had the right amount of spices and it just melted in my mouth. Sigh.

Clay Pot at Kylin Premier

Further to this, we laid hands on the Yakitori and Robata Grill’s section. After much thought given to the rather sumptuous menu, we zeroed down upon Chicken and Leek Yakitori and Chicken Wings. Double thumbs up to the Chicken and Leek Yakitori. Now, for the main course we opted for a bowl meal, called Bang Bang Angry Chicken that comprised of piping hot spicy chicken with peanuts, spring onions and lots of hot chilies served on a bed of sticky rice. This was simply delicious. The chicken was soft and the gravy was slightly spicy—apt for a Bengali palette. Thereafter, we indulged in a Lamb Clay Pot. This is an ancient Oriental cooking style, wherein the lamb is cooked with radish, root vegetables, lotus stem, mushrooms and potatoes. The cooking process is slow and ginger, garlic, sesame oil, hoisin, star anise and rice wine are the key ingredients that make the dish so gratifying. This was accompanied by rice.

Hong Kong Style Mushroom Bay at Kylin Premier

Finally, dessert comprised of chocolate fondue that had hot molten chocolate sauce coupled with fresh fruits, marshmallows, warm and spongy chocolate brownies and some ice cream, placed adroitly in a platter. I loved every bit of the interesting mélange.

Kylin Premier

Recommendations- Do try out the bowl meals and the clay pot range for main course. And, don’t forget Sushi and Crystal Dim sums.

Menu @ Kylin Premier

Kylin Premier, T-302, 3rd Floor, Ambience Mall, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi.
For reservations, call- 011-33105340
Meal for two costs about Rs 2000 for two people (approx.) with alcohol