Kufri or Bust Part III

Paneer Makhani Dal Murg Badam Masanda Chicken Curry Naan Roti Pickled Onions Pickles Achaar was at a restaurant in Shimla called ‘Alpha’. Started in 1961 by Surendra Paul Bamba and located at Scandal Point, it boasts multiple cuisines and smoking/non-smoking seating areas.

Did you know that Scandal Point derives its name from an incident connected to the flirtatious Maharaja of Patiala? As the story goes, The Maharaja was besotted by the daughter of the Viceroy of India and one day, while she was taking a walk, kidnapped her from that point. Then onwards, that point was known as ‘Scandal Point’.

The service is small town hospitality at its best – uniformed, uninformed but friendly, and you’re better staying away from the stuff they called ‘Chinese’. It may also be advisable to stick to the staples like , dal and rotis. We ordered vegetable soup, Chicken , Makhani, Dal Makhani and Murg Badaam Pasanda. The chicken was nice, the paneer and dal underseasoned but well cooked. While the chicken badaam pasanda was quite bland, I must appreciate the effort that went into this dish. The chicken was beaten flat, stuffed with a creamy mixture of cashewnuts and cottage , then cooked in a white, cashewnut gravy. Meal for 4: INR 600.

taj grilled chicken breast manglorian fish curry rice kadhai paneer naan dahi vegetables mushrooms was at the in Chandigarh.

The was could have been presented far better and quality of service needs improvement. We ordered Salakhon Wala Kadhai Paneer with Naan, Manglorian Fish Curry with Rice and Grilled Chicken Steak with . The paneer was carelessly poured and splattered all over the bowl. It tasted quite ordinary too. The so-called manglorian fish curry wasn’t fully cooked and the spices tasted distinctly raw.

The saving grace was the chicken, which was well prepared, delicous and very well presented.

The service was slow and shoddy. Our table lay littered with used dishes a full 10 minutes after we finished and some were there even after we had paid and were leaving. The temperature of the place wasn’t anywhere close to comfortable and was only mildly higher than that outside

Anyhow, I’m glad we were able to eat on our terms at 11:30pm. Meal for 3: INR 1500.

About Sid Khullar

Sid is the primary contributor to and editor of Chef at Large. A self confessed food addict who likes cooking, writing and photography... and travel, if it gets him closer to a good book and interesting food. He's spent 17 years in varying functions of technology including research & development, training, sales, marketing and mentoring technology startups. He now applies himself to learning more about food and building food and beverage brands online for Brands at Large clients. Sid covers Delhi/NCR for Chef at Large and can be reached at editor@chefatlarge.in