Team L&M
Mall-hopping can be fun but equally tiring and by the end of it, one can be really hungry, especially if the last meal was consumed a few hours ago. So it happened with us a fortnight ago, in Noida. After whirlwind visits to the Centrestage Mall, the Mall of India and the Great India Place, we (read: college friends) wanted to end our mall-hopping trip at Garden Galleria. The idea was to relive the days of the past.
Back to our hunger and the search for a nice and cosy place to have a fill. This is when we stumbled upon Duty Free Courtyard. The name sounded interesting and unique so we decided in its favour and soon made ourselves comfortable in its classy interiors and aesthetically pleasing décor. What is also unique about the place apart from the name is its menu card, designed tastefully. Conventionally, menu cards never carry photos of the dishes but at Duty Free Courtyard, you can look at most of them and then order.
The manager Rahul, a smiling and courteous young man, had us know that the 10,000 sq ft property took off last December and is the third after the ones in Delhi and Gurugram by restaurateur Varun Puri. As we were six of us, we chose to order a variety – Nachos Corn Chaat (Rs 89), Crispy Potato Stick (Rs 99), Pita and Hummus Sampler (Rs 125) from the Nibbles section and Mac n Cheese Fries (Rs 179 for veg/ Rs 199 for non-veg), Salami & Sausage Three Way Fries (Rs 249) and Peri Peri Fries (Rs 99) from the Fries’ one. None of us realised when did all of Nibbles and Fries disappear even as our conversation kept going back to the golden days of college life.
Though one can choose to have the Hungerian Mushroom Soup (Rs 225) or Hyderabadi Paya Shorba (Rs 185) else order Grilled Pear and Arugula Salad (Rs 165 for veg/ Rs 185 for non-veg) or Asian Noodle Salad (Rs 225 for veg/ Rs 255 for non-veg), we decided against it as the hunger pangs were increasing by the minute. After a quick round of Starters – Dahi Ke Kebab (Rs 219), Crispy Lotus Stem (Rs 195), Tandoori Pineapple Chaat (Rs 175) and Grilled Fish (Rs 345), DF Special Prawns (Rs 395) and Chicken Tikka Spring Rolls (Rs 219), we hit off directly to the Mains – Dal Makhni (Rs 285), Paneer Kadhai (Rs 285) and Mutton Rogan Josh (Rs 495) with rice and rotis. Frankly, by the end of it, we were so full – both with the food as well as the conversation – that we waited for a good quarter of an hour before gorging on the famous Daulat Ki Chaat (Rs 225). You can also order Melting Chocolate Bomb (Rs 275), Fried Cassata (Rs 225) or DF Signature Dessert Bowl (Rs 275).
If there are kids with you, they can surely pick one from the Mushroom Ragout Sauce Pasta (Rs 189 for veg/ Rs 209 for non-veg), Tomato Basil Sauce Pasta (Rs 199 for veg/ Rs 219 for non-veg) else opt for Crystal Dim Sums (Rs 225 for veg/ Rs 265 for non-veg), Chicken Hargao (Rs 285) or Bockchoy Mushroom Gyoza (Rs 245). Then there are pizza options too – Grilled Chicken (Rs 289), Prawns & Jalapeno (Rs 319), Verdure (Rs 229) or Mushroom Pesto (Rs 249) and more…
On a Sunday, you can try their Sunday Brunch Menu. Options include Marmalade with Toast (Rs 149), DF Special Egg Bhurji (Rs 169), Poha (Rs 149), Aloo Sabzi with Poori (Rs 149), Chole Bhature Taco (Rs 149), Pav Bhaji Fondue (Rs 169), Pancakes (Rs 149) and Non-Veg Paranthas (Rs 199).
Though during this period of gorging on these delectable delights, all of us kept wondering what made these people plan so many malls so close to one another.
