Get a whiff of Gujarat

The new vegetarian thali restaurant Mehek, has good food and a friendly ambience, but their service may put you off a bit

Get a whiff of Gujarat

The new vegetarian thali restaurant Mehek, has good food and a friendly ambience, but their service may put you off a bit

With a lovely name like Mehek (which means fragrance), a food concept that's set and a great location, this Gujarati Thali restaurant in Kalyani Nagar seems to have everything going for them. So, we are not surprised when we walked in late and still found the place buzzing with customers. There was a mixed crowd of students, families and a few foreigners as well.

Barely do we settle down and there comes a glass of Kokum Sherbet and a glass of chaas. The buttermilk served in an earthen glass was refreshing and definitely the highlight of our meal. The barrage of dishes began very soon. A couple of chutneys, papad, salad (we really enjoyed the cucumber raita) and a few assorted farsan were first served to us. We didn't quite understand the green Dhokla (it was meant to be a Moong Dal Panoli) but the Ala Jhola was phenomenal -- crisp and complex on the outside, with a soft, warm heart of sweet corn.

Our plates were piled up with vegetables and lentils -- Aloo Methi Matar (very average), a Paneer Butter Masala (again, average) and a Green Beans Mix (delicious). The beans were fresh and done al dente without the pressure of too many spices. All this is served with soft Phulkas (rotis) topped with ghee or better still, small discs of Masala Puris. These were so delicious, we decided to simply finish our serving of vegetables and binge on the Puris.

They had two types of Dals: a Sindhi Kadhi and a Gujarati Daal. It would have been great if both were piping hot but even lukewarm as they were, they tasted quite nice with the vegetable pulao. Finally, our desserts arrived. The rich and creamy Shrikhand and the Mohanthaal (a Gujarati version if the Barfi). For Rs 160 per thali (Rs 180 on weekends), we thought the meal was well worth the money. On Saturdays, they also serve the Daal-batti-churma which is quite popular with their customers, we were told.u00a0

u00a0While the food was nice, we were not very impressed with the service. They were so keen to serve that they kept asking us if we wanted something every two seconds. Polite though they were, the excessive eagerness suffocated us. Other than that, Mehek is your regular thali place, which has its food and beverage up to the mark.