Shakti - The Sandwich Shop

Welcome to the Sandwich World!

Sandwiches are always the best solution for last minute hunger pangs. Just take some slices of bread, stuff it with anything and voila! Your sandwich is ready. So when we heard about this chain of sandwich outlets, which made the best designed sandwiches served in our city, i couldn't resist to try them out. So we decided to drop into one of its outlets and see what is the buzz all about.

The Fabulous Mexican Sandwich

Entering this outlet of Shakti - The Sandwich Shop, situated just on the opposite side of the famous Law Garden, we were surprised to see not a soul in that outlet. It was small but could accommodate 20-25 people. We quickly got hold of the menu and browsed through it. My hopes began to shatter as there were only a few options on the menu. Hesitantly we ordered the Mexican Sandwich, Cheese Chilli Sandwich and the much-favored Chocolate Sandwich.

The Hot and Sweet Cheese-Chilly Sandwich

We waited patiently for our sandwiches, hoping that they would at least be worth the wait. And it turned out to be more than that. The moment they handed us the Mexican and Chilli Cheese sandwiches, our eyes popped out. Our tongues could no longer resist tasting the gorgeous and tempting sandwiches. I actually had a tough time keeping my friends at bay when I was taking snaps of the sandwiches. The triple layered Mexican Sandwich was flooded with Mexican Mayo, chilly flakes, spices and topped with cheese and creamy mayo. The crunchiness of the grilled bread and the smooth and soft Mexican Mayo did take our taste buds to a mesmerizing trip. The creamy and spicy Cheese Chilli Sandwich was a marvel in itself. The coarsely ground paste of chilli mixed with cheesy mayo and topped with Creamy Mayo and Cheese were relished by us to the fullest. We were literally drooling with cream and mayo and our tummies were enjoying themselves to the maximum. The moment the Chocolate Sandwich descended on our tables, all of us turned out to be “Chocolate-Zombies” (Undead Creatures craving for Chocolates). The sandwich seemed like a chocolatey boat, in which all of us desperately wanted to sail away. The sandwich contained chocolate Cream, Chocolate shavings, Dark Chocolate Syrup, Cheese, Butter and more chocolate. Taking the first bite the chocolate literally exploded in our mouths flowing to the corners of our mouth. The combination of Cheese and Chocolate on slices of bread does sound weird, but the taste is simply heavenly. This is a marvellous treat for all you chocolate lovers.

Behold! The Chocolate Sandwich

So our verdict of this Shakti Sandwich is that, this place is only meant for those with bigger pockets, who do not care about catching some extra calories and who do not mind their hands and lips getting messy. Also, please don’t forget to try the main outlet of Shakti Sandwich at the heart of foodie-heaven, Manekchowk!

Faaso's

Sign Board to know we are at the right spot!

Popular in Mumbai for its Wraps and Rice culture, Faaso’s has opened two new eateries in our hogger-filled city. After reading a lot about it online and having heard a lot from my friends, i decided to check out one of its outlets situated on Judges Bunglow Road, Bodakdev.

On a regular weekend

Entering the small eatery, we found it difficult to accommodate ourselves. We managed to settle ourselves on some weird sitting arrangement made for bigger groups. Immediately we browsed through the illuminated menu board. The items on the menu seemed delicious with different types of veg and non veg wraps, cheese, chicken, paneer and all the things required to increase the appetite of a hogger. Moreover they provide an option of Maida wraps and Multigrain wraps for the health conscious (Air Quotes). Not only that they also serve their own green apple juice and jaljeera juice named Swig.

The beloved Chicken SheekhWrap

So we allowed our tummies to decide what to order. We ordered a chicken seekh, fiery chicken tikka and cheese melt chicken wraps, a chicken tikka rice bowl and a bottle of Swig. Within 5 mins, they processed our order and we were handed our beautifully packed delicious looking wraps and rice bowl. The Chicken Sheekh was a simple looking wrap, with fat chunks of baked chicken, creamy mayo and onions to give a smooth and at the same time  a crunchy feel.  On the other hand, the fiery chicken tikka was a wrap filled with super hot chicken and tikka masala. The Cheese Melt Chicken had cheese, Reshmi Chicken and more cheese, a cheese-lovers delight. Our hearts and tummies totally relished the flavour of the chicken with the fresh and crispy Maida Wraps. Then came the chance to behold the Rice Bowl. Well packed in a container, the rice bowl seemed to be appetizing with the toppings of curry and chicken chunks. But the moment we opened it, the rice looked stale and bland and was nothing as we had expected it to be. We could only taste the spiciness and tanginess of the curry and the chicken. We had the Swig to wash it all down our throats.

The Tangy Chicken Tikka Rice Bowl

So, our final verdict for Faaso's is that it has really delicious chicken wraps in the city which is suits the health conscious and pocket conscious. And do not forget to check out their second outlet at Prahladnagar Garden Road.

Bon Pasta

Not a big fan of pasta, but when i heard of this amazing new place which served Cheese Pasta Bhajiyas, I couldn’t resist trying this new place. So i ended up with my hogger friends at this small yellow joint near Nehrunagar Circle, Ambavadi, Ahmedabad named Bon Pasta.

The moment we entered inside, without going through the menu, we quickly ordered the Cheese Pasta Bhajiyas. In this delicacy, the cheese was stuffed in a huge penne, dipped in bhajiya batter and deep fried, topped with chat masala. Meanwhile while browsing the menu, we discovered that, at Bon Pasta, we could customize our pasta. We could choose our own pasta shape, add pasta sauce, and our own veggies. And Viola! our pasta dish is ready.

Anyways after a while the most delicious delicacy arrived, all our mouths were watering and our tummies growling. The moment we took the piece of the Pasta Bhajiya in our mouth a weird sensation engulfed us. All our expectations were shattered. The Bhajiyas were totally tasteless and there was no sign of my beloved cheese. Only the taste of the Bhaiya mixture was evident. Deeply disappointed we ordered some other snacks- Pasta Chat and Pasta Spring Roll. They also seemed quite tempting but the fusion of Italian delicacy served in the Indian Street Food style was disastrous. Then amidst of all despair, one of my friends requested we’d have the Classic Alfredo and reluctantly ordered it. When it arrived, our eyes popped out. It looked delicious and deep within our hearts we prayed, it better taste the same. The penne pasta was amazingly topped with creamy white sauce, cheese and herbs. And this time, it seemed that the Goddess of food heard our prayers. Thanking her, we attacked the pasta, taking as large as portions as we could. To our surprise and awe, the creamy white pasta indeed was delicious. The blend of cheese and cream, along with the herbs gave us an amazing feeling to our taste buds and to our tummies.

Would definitely go there again to try the other pasta dishes. And to sum it all up, our verdict for Bon Pasta is that it is an amazing place for the pasta dishes but don't bother trying the side dishes.

Falafel Express

While browsing through this amazing food-loving city of Ahmedabad, we happened to stumbled upon this small maroon coloured place, situated near Vijay Cross Roads, Navrangpura, named Falafel Express. Being one of the few places to sell the authentic lebanese delicacies, we definitely wanted to try this place out.

As we entered the place, we were a little startled to find that it was entirely empty. Being a sunday afternoon, food-zombie-ahmedavadis definitely flock places like these. Anyways, we entered and started to browse the menu. Good thing that I did some R&D on Lebanese Delicacies the other day, which helped me to browse through the menu and show it off to my friends. I helped them to order a Falafel in Pita - Traditional and an Onion and Roasted Red Peppers Pizza with Mozzarella Cheese.

The pizza arrived first and to our surprise it had a thin pita base instead of a the traditional bread base. It was a turn off as no where it was mentioned about the base being of pita. The pizza was fine but there was nothing special about it. It was topped with Falafels Secret Sauce, veggies and olives and a fair amount of mozzarella cheese. But all our despair was lost, when the waiter handed us our Falafel in Pita - Traditional. It was beautifully wrapped and served with a pickled chilly. The falafel was long and was overloaded with stuffings. Without any delay, I took a big bite of it. And the despair was back again. The falafel looked all beautiful and attractive, but was very bland and tasteless. Even the falafel balls in the wrap didn't give a distinct taste of beans. All we could taste was bland humus. We thought we had ordered something mild, hence we ordered Falafel in Pita Spicy Garlic Sauce, just to get the spicy feel of falafel, but the taste was the same with a dash of spicy garlic.

When leaving the place, we were a bit disappointed with the food out there. But again, maybe thats the way the arabians and the lebanese like their food. What say folks? Any Arabic folks reading my blog?

Golden Sticks

"Sandwich without bread? Pizza without a wheat base? Chat without puris?" These were the questions which came to my mind when I came across this eatery near Mansi cross roads in vastrapur area whose name is- 'Golden Sticks'.

When we entered this small and cozy place we were surprised to know that the Golden Sticks actually meant the Good Old Gujju snack- Ganthiyas. For those who don't know about ganthiya, it is a deep fried snack made with gram flour. But this eatery had redefined the way to eat this tea-time snack. Golden Sticks serve Pizzas, Sandwiches, chats and more, all with a variation of Ganthiyas. After ordering a Chilly Cheese Garlic and a Vegetable Sandwich, we took a glance of the eatery. It was small and barely had 4 tables. The center theme of the eatery was yellow representing the Golden Ganthiyas.

The Chilly Cheese Garlic was the first and the best item we had that day. It consisted of a layer of Ganthiyas, covered with a huge layer of melted cheese, topped with garlic and freshly chopped chilies. The cheese gave a delicious and a cheesy taste to the crunchy gujju delicacy. The Sandwich had a base of ganthiyas, stuffed with veggies and topped with Sev and spicy chat masalas, thus giving it a typical street food feel. We also interacted with Mr. Prakar Gandhi, the owner of Golden Sticks, who boasted of the quality of food, cleanliness and hygiene of the eatery. He also urged us to try the Ganthiya Pizza which again had ganthiyas as the base,  and was topped with their special sauce, veggies and a thick layer of cheese.  

The quick service and the amazing fusion of Western and Gujarati snack, did take our taste buds for an heavenly treat. I do recommend this place to everyone who are  are not afraid of trying and experimenting new delicacies.

Amdos Kitchen

So the other day, my friend and I were on our way from the old city towards Paldi. On the way, my friend started craving for momos (Girls! You know). So we decided to go to Amdos Kitchen.

I have been to Amdos Kitchen many times before. It is one of the few places in Ahmedabad where we get authentic momos. Not only momos, they also have a variety of Tibetan delicacies like Shaptak, Thukpa, Chow Mein and some soups. Amdos kitchen is actually in a small residential hut. Its not a restaurant with a hut theme, its an actual hut. There are only 2 rooms, one is the cooking area and another is the sitting area. There are a few small tables and we have to squat on the floor and eat. They recently put a cooler and a TV in the sitting area. Even though the setup is very poor, this place is flocked by a lot of youngsters from NID, and the nearby colleges. Another thing about Amdos Kitchen is that it is run by Tibetans who run this eatery only in monsoon and winter seasons. During summer, they go back to their villages for cultivation.

We ordered our standard plate of steamed momos, Shaptak and Lemonade. Within a few minutes, we were served with a plate of momos and  a bowl of broth along with some spicy red chilly sauce and a plate of shaptak. The momos were smoking hot as they were just removed from the steam oven. I quickly scanned through and took the biggest piece of momo and took a bite of it. I could distinctly taste the semi bland beef and the mild spices wrapped in a steamed coating of Maida. Seeing the greed in my eyes, my friend quickly added some sauce and gulped 2 momos. She was also lost in the taste of the momos mixed with the spicy sauce. And in no time our plates were empty, and so were our hearts, so we decided to order another plate. After placing the order, we had some lemonade and munched the shaptak. Shaptak is roasted sliced beef served with some veggies. The beef was crunchy and chewy and the oils gave a heavenly feel to our mouths. Then we were blessed by another round of momos which felt better in our tummies than in the plate.

When we left Amdos kitchen, our stomachs were full, wallets weren't that empty and our hearts satisfied.  We are definitely going to hit Amdos Kitchen again, before they go back to Tibet. What say? Wanna join?