25 degrees North

The 25th Parallel to the North of the equator passes through the North of India, which also is the place from where the cuisine that these guys serve, originates. 

Having read some positive review about this place and seen their mouth-watering menu, I put this one in my Zomato bookmarks. 

This place was a little smaller than what I had expected, but nowhere did I feel that there isn't enough space. 

This restaurant is located in the Bay Square Mall in Business Bay, where you can park for free in the parking building. The layout of this mall is such that the water outside this restaurant gives a very soothing effect. So even before you enter this place, you are already in a good mood. 

The staff here is very courteous and their hospitality is noticed right from the time you enter. 

The ambiance is really nice, and they've made a small place look really beautiful. 

interior

Before we ordered anything, they gave us a small piece of dahi bhalla as a complimentary starter. That was a nice touch. Also, some papad and pickles. 

dahi bhalla

They had some interesting chaat items, but one that particularly caught my attention was the one that was marked as a chef's recommendation in the menu. It was a palak patti chaat. A chaat of spinach leaves! Now that was new. We wondered how they'd do it, but since it was marked as a recommendation, we ordered it. 

It looked really tempting wen they served it. We had never imagined it to look so amazing. 

palak patti chaat

It tasted delicious too. The spinach leaves were fried and made crispy, and then it was made into a chaat. It was a chaat but something that had different flavours compared to the chaat that I've had till date.

After that, we ordered another starter - The makool kebab.

It is a kebab that has a potato base. It is stuffed with vegetables, cooked in a tandoor and topped with sesame seeds.

This too looked very tempting when served.

Makool Kebab

It didn't taste bad but it wasn't something that we liked very much. It had too much taste of sesame. Also, the potatoes felt a tad bit under-cooked.  For a potato lover like me, this felt like they hadn't done justice to it. 

These starters were quite filling, so we decided to order just a veg biryani for main course.

The biryani was served pretty quickly; also, in a way that left us awestruck. In a jar!

That was definitely a first for me. Something totally unconventional. It is really nice to see the way these guys go the extra mile for the appearances. 

biryani in a jar

Now was the time to see if it stood the ground where it mattered the most - the taste.

We had one bite; it definitely did. The thing with vegetarian biryani is that there isn't the chicken that you can impress the people with. It's all on the spices and the vegetables used. 

It is easier to make something tasty by adding masala to it, but then you cannot get the flavors of the vegetables and the rice. 

This biryani was one where they had kept the masala to a bare minimum. I totally love this kind of biryani. The flavors are brought about by steaming it with just the right amount of spices. This brings out the flavor of the rice and the vegetables in it. 

Another similar vegetarian biryani that I like is the one served at Asha's and this one came pretty close. We totally loved it.

This place also accepts Zomato Gold on food! If you aren't a Zomato Gold member yet, use my code - UDITSS - to sign up and get a 25% off !