Suruchi, Crown Interior Mall (Faridabad, India)

This is going to be a really short post as there is nothing much to write about the restaurant except for my rants.

Well, the first time we had dinner at Suruchi was around dinner time on a weekday and we were quite happy. I mention time and weekday, because these are the variables that will screw your experience at the mentioned restaurant.

Also, real test of the restaurant is when it is peak time. I have seen bigger, better and reputed restaurant(s) fall and struggle to breathe on the weekends. But, then how you handle it changes the experience of the diner.

We visited Suruchi in sweltering Indian summer at 7:15 PM on Sunday. First we were refused anything as they start serving at 7:30 PM. I insisted and said we will order drinks in the meantime as 7:30 PM is just 15 mins away. To which they hesitantly agreed. Clearly giving the signals that we were not required.

We sat down and realized that air conditioning was switched off as restaurant opens at 7:30 PM. At 7:40 PM we ordered our food and asked for AC to be switched on. But to our dismay it was never switched on. They just pretended. I could make out as there was no air from the Vents.

Yes to prove my point I had to get up and wave my hand in front of AC to confirm that there was not even hot air blowing from the AC Vents. Few minutes later there were 2-3 more tables full and mysteriously cool air from the vents started flowing.

For this I confronted the waiter and the restaurant manager, the talks to them turned out to be as useless as the restaurant. I asked were you lying to me, and the reply was "YES"!!!

How, rude can it be? I paid the bill and moved and swore never to visit any restaurant related to Suruchi. I hope and wish that you never have such an experience at a restaurant.

This restaurant absolutely falls in "No Go Zone" and "Enter at your own risk category".

Mac Donalds, Faridabad (Haryana, India)

A new outlet of MacDonalds is now open at Crown Interiors Mall.

This is in addition to:

- Mac Donalds at Crown Plaza
- Mac Donalds Sector 31 (Drive in)
- Mac Donalds Sector 12

Places to eat out in Faridabad - II

Few more additions to the list:

1. Restaurant at The Vibe, Lalit

2. Dhaba, Calridges (I really don't remember how I missed it in my first list).

3. Restaurant at Millenium Hotel

Dal Makhani

Well I found the most delicious Dal Makhani; you can get it at 7 Days food court at Pristine Mall, Faridabad. The only downside is the quantity as, you need to order two dishes for one person.

However, I don't mind the quantity as the quality is excellent.

The other place which dishes out 'EXCELLENT' dal makhani is the GULATIs on Pandara Road, New Delhi. This place is my all time favorite.

For making India food at home see the books below. You can also try cooking Indian food at home in Microwave.

    

Crown Interior Mall, Faridabad

There has been a sudden spurt in number of malls in Faridabad.

With the opening of Badarpur flyover suddenly there are many new developments on Mathura Road.
Like Taj Gateway, The Lalit, Park Plaza, etc.

Crown interiors is the first mall that one comes across after crossing the toll plaza. Also, it is one of the biggest of the malls in Faridabad. The Mall houses Reliance Mart, INOX, Tanishq, Tata Croma and many other renowned brands. The food court is huge and there are many restaurants as well.

Overall, although the mall has everything, it is not maintained as it should be. The parking areas are filthy and poorly managed. There is a clear and obscene demarcation in the parking areas for the rich and the poor old common man.

Although, the mall attracts crowds from South Delhi areas the people in the mall are not the nicest that you will come across.

Also, the summers are unbearable in the mall - as the air conditioning never seems to work. It gets really pathetic to shop while one is suffocating and sweating as if in Sub Saharan desert safari.

Inspite of what the mall offers or does not offer, it remains a major crowd puller as there are no other competing malls in the vicinity.

Overall I would rate the mall as 5/10

I will write more about the restaurants, shops and the multiplex (INOX) later.

Hunger Cure

It sure does live up to its name and cures hunger!

Well this is a little known eating hangout in Faridabad – Sector 14, Sector 21C and Sector 15 (takeaway only). A warning for hard core non-vegetarians; this is a strictly vegetarian joint and serves no non-vegetarian dishes.

The menu is full off mouthwatering dishes like steamed momos, grilled kulcha, pastas and salads. All are mouth watering and would make you come back again and again. Well as a caution don’t go for Pizza at it is tasteless and soulless.

The place is average on décor and cleanliness. It is better to get your food packed and move on to your home. Well if you are in Faridabad and fancy some tasty food, do try out hunger cure and for sure it will live up to its expectations.

Places to eat out in Faridabad

Faridabad is part of Delhi National Capital Region, a lesser known sibling of Gurgaon and NOIDA. Although the place boasts of numerous malls, food courts, numerous take away joints (International, National & Local brands). There is no good place to sit and enjoy the meal.
Few decent names which come to my mind when planning to eat out in this NCR town are:
1. Silk
2. Zosse – Crown Plaza
3. Moksha
4. Pind Baluchi
After eating numerous times at Silk, it was time to try out something new. And, it turned out to be a great horror story.
Reached Moksha (In the same mall as Haldirams). The floor was stinking with garbage, tobacco stains on the wall, etc. It was like stepping into a railway station or a rundown movie theatre. However, braved everything and entered Moksha; the interiors quite decent considering the exteriors.
We stood at the reception for 15 minutes and nobody attended us. Finally, spoke to the guard and got a reply that, “Sir, nobody will attend you today, as there is a big party going on”.
Well why not open a banquet hall if the place is to entertain big parties and not cater to walk-in customers OR at least put a board outside.
Well with this attitude of a restaurant I will advise none to visit the place and any ways the place is filthy.
Rating: 0/10

Second Stop: Pind Baluchi was even worse in terms of services.
We were seated and the order was placed. However, I felt as if I was invisible. None of the waiters served the dishes, they just brought them and left it on us.
However, this was not the case with other customers who were in groups of 10+. I saw the partial treatment of the waiters because of large tips Vs small tips with all the customers.
On complaining to the head waiter the response was even colder. We were given finger bowls with cold water which was literally thrown at our table.
Well with such hostile nature of the waiters I will rate Pind Baluchi (– 10)/10
To top it all there were mosquitoes in the restaurant and dishes were not clean. Had to ask for replacement multiple times.I have never faced any problems with Pind Baluchi in Gurgaon. So I will not rate the whole chain as I have done above. But certainly Faridabad branch is one place I am never visiting.