It's been a while since I last posted. A whole lot of things happened which required immediate attention and hence, food had to take a back seat. In any case, being a foodie and exploring more food joints is quite hard when you are broke. Hope that changes in the coming days!
Before my food partner left on his musical sojourn, we did take a trip down two different types of food paradises. Now, both of these are located opposite to each other and offer widely different types of cuisines. They have a specific type which they specialize in, and that finds a mention in their names itself. So, no prizes for guessing there!
Cuisinic, the Salad Bar, is located on third floor, Bhawani Mall, near Chai Break. That makes it accessible to people who come out of the movie theatre too. With an entirely green theme, the place looks intriguing, if not appealing to everyone. And that was what made me go in and taste their food. The ambience and the seats are as comfortable as they can get and one need not worry about those at all!
Since they specialize in salads, the menu has a wide variety of it, including the option of making your own salad too. You can choose the ingredients you want, much like in Subway, and have your salad your way. They serve other dishes too and I would recommend their shakes.
Nevertheless, we opted for the Mexican Salad and it was good, except the excess of vinegar in it. I found it especially hard to eat it because other restaurants, for example Michael's Kitchen which serves some excellent Salads, does not put so much vinegar! We had to compensate for it by ordering a chicken steak. And, chicken steak, in all the places that I have eaten, never tasted good to me! I am yet to have a well-made steak.
However, it is highly unlikely that the place will click with people. For all I know, salads are not a favourite with people in Bhubaneswar. On top of that, in spite of being relatively new, they did not have coffee or any hot beverage which was strange since it was the month of December!
Overall, I wouldn't really recommend it. Even when it does not pinch your pocket much, you will not find much worthy of spending your time there. I just hope the place doesn't close down.
Next was the lunch we had at the brand new venture of Oberoi - The China Hut, just above The Chocolate House. The food there is nothing different than what you have at scores of Chinese restaurants in Bhubaneswar. But, I must say, they chose the right location which provides a great view to customers.
The decor is better than Silver Streak and they have provisions of candle light dinner any time of the year. So, if you are looking for a place to take your date out at nominal price, this might be it! Plus, they have hired people who have experience and have worked with the food industry for quite some time now. What I liked the best was that you could have an amazing lunch there too since it provides ample natural lighting because of its view. I'd say that's a first!
You see, not all risks are worth taking. You don't take just any risks, you take "calculated risk", especially when you are in the food business. Not everything ticks with the people and sometimes, the most tried and tested formula can also be reworked to give the same thing in a different type altogether.