Asha's - Wafi - Dubai

[caption id="attachment_3934" align="aligncenter" width="660"] Asha Bhosle with her colleagues[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3944" align="aligncenter" width="660"] Lunch at Asha's[/caption]

Wow! I am actually dining inside the restaurant of one of the most successful singers of Bollywood. Asha Bhosle whose been singing for decades for Indian cinema is also beginning to prove that she's got some good sense of taste. Her restaurant is focused on serving north Indian cuisine which mainly comes from her part of town. Asha's at Wafi is her first restaurant which was open in 2002 and after it's success, the restaurant Asha's continues to branch into other countries.

[caption id="attachment_3931" align="aligncenter" width="660"] Asha's interior[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3935" align="aligncenter" width="660"] Asha's interior[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3936" align="aligncenter" width="660"] Asha's interior[/caption]

The interiors are beautiful, elegant and love those curtains with crystal beads. At the entrance you are greeted by star studded frames which gives you a glimpse of Asha's history and her connections to Bollywood. There was an interesting frame on the wall which was the original award presented by Guinness World Records to Asha Bhosle for the most recorded artist in the history of asian music. The ambiance was peaceful and felt to be a perfect place for that special occasion.

[caption id="attachment_3929" align="aligncenter" width="660"] complimentary starters - pappads and pickles[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3930" align="aligncenter" width="660"] Non Alcholic drinks - Dhs 36 - infront(calcutta crush - Fresh strawberries muddled with lime wedges and homemade vanilla sugar, lengthened with cranberry juice and Earl Grey tea), Behind Right(lal quila - Vanilla ice cream blended with pomegranate syrup and cranberry juice, scented with rose water), behind left(saffron and pista lassi - Natural yoghurt blended with pistachios and saffron syrup)[/caption]

The usual pappads and pickles were served to us after we made our order. The drinks here amazed me. The first drink was the calcutta crush(Fresh strawberries muddled with lime wedges and homemade vanilla sugar, lengthened with cranberry juice and Earl Grey tea) which blew me away instantly. Never expected such a fantastic mocktail from an indian restaurant. One of the best I've had. Calcutta crush was a bit less in quantity, before I could enjoy the drink, it got over :( The lal quila was good too but still wouldn't beat the calcutta crush. You could feel the pistachios in the lassi which was the best part of the saffron and pista lassi, I felt the Lassi should have been thicker.

[caption id="attachment_3937" align="aligncenter" width="660"] Murg Nizami Shorba - Dhs 45 - A rich and aromatic chicken soup flavoured with curry leaves, green apple and saffron.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3939" align="aligncenter" width="660"] chingri chaap - Dhs 95 - B readcrumb-coated prawns, marinated in ginger, garlic and spices, fried to golden perfection.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3938" align="aligncenter" width="660"] Grilled paneer salad - Dhs 40 - Paneer grilled to perfection served on a bed of salad.[/caption]

The soup Murg Nizami Shorba came thick and tasted excellent. A different taste to the regular thick chicken soups I've had before. This is a must try soup! The paneer in the grilled paneer salad was made well but the disappointing part was the bed of salad. I was expecting some other vegetables along with the paneer but it was just flat on a bed of leaves. Although the sauce used on the salad does make the leaves(rocca) delicious. Fried items are always fun as appetizers and so were their chingri chaap(prawns) but I wonder how they got it this flat. I was expecting a thick sized prawn.

[caption id="attachment_3940" align="aligncenter" width="660"] Speciality non-veg platter - Dhs 135 - A selection of murg malai, chicken tikka and gosht seekh kebabs[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3941" align="aligncenter" width="660"] Tandoori Machli - Dhs 95 - Hammour fillet marinated in yogurt, turmeric and malt vinegar, flavoured with bishop seeds, mace and cardamom powder.[/caption]

The grills were hot and spicy. The grilled chickens were a melt in the mouth, the murg malai was soft and was non-spicy which the kids could appreciate, gosh seekh kebabs(lamb) was a bit extra spicy but overall you get a nice dash of Indian spices while you have them. I personally felt the hammour could have tasted better if they marinated with either tandoor or hariyali like found in seaview restaurant.

[caption id="attachment_3942" align="aligncenter" width="660"] From Left: Butter chicken(Classic chicken tikka in a tomato and cream gravy, flavoured with dry fenugreek leaves) - dhs 95, Dal Makhani(Classic black lentils slow-cooked overnight with tomatoes, cream and butter) - Dhs 70[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3943" align="aligncenter" width="660"] Kesar Biriyani - Dhs 105 - Boneless lamb biryani with a rich saffron flavour.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3946" align="aligncenter" width="660"] Roti - Dhs 20/piece - Naan, Roti, Romali, lacha paratha[/caption]

Both curries butter chicken and dal makhani came thick and creamy. The curries were very rich and you could actually feel it when you have them, specially the Dal makhani which came thick with that butter floating over it. Biriyani came beautiful with red saffron rice along with some tomato paste on top. The boneless lamb pieces in the biriyani were upto the mark and was the best part for me in the biriyani. We tried one of each roti and none of their rotis were disappointing. Surely they've got a good collection of quality rotis that you can order with those lovely curries they make here.

[caption id="attachment_3948" align="aligncenter" width="660"] Rasmalai - Dhs 50 - A milk-based sweet dessert served cold with sweetened milk[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3947" align="aligncenter" width="660"] Pistachio Kesar Kulfi - dhs 50 - Homemade indian ice cream made with reduced milk, pistachios and saffron.[/caption]

From desserts the rasmallai was decent in taste but I wouldn't call it the best. It could have been made better. Probably they can learn some trick from Bikanerwala. I thoroughly enjoyed their Pistachio kesar kulfi with rabri. You pour that rabri on top of kesar kulfi and nothing like it after some spicy food ;) There were more forks attacking this plate :p From my overall experience at Asha's I must admit that they serve good indian food but are surely over priced. I think the fact that you are eating inside Asha Bhosle's restaurant you pay a premium for that. Moreover I am sure Asha Bhosle would herself wanted an nice indian restaurant for VIPs like herself and her colleagues where one could peacefully enjoy their food and not guests running upto them for an autograph while they are about to put a roti in their mouth :p Imagine them eating at Gazebo, they can never get their privacy.

Click pictures below to see them in full screen view:

[gallery type="rectangular" ids="3948,3947,3946,3945,3944,3943,3942,3941,3940,3939,3938,3937,3936,3935,3934,3933,3932,3931,3930,3929"]