Channeling Our Love For All Things Meat, We Went by The New Al-Bake in Noida!

“Al-Bake?? Here?? In Noida??” - being shawarma addicts, this was our first reaction to the news of a new Al-Bake being open in Noida. We were all agog!  Al-Bake stands proudly in New Friends Colony Market churning out the best shawarmas in town. Needless to say, we were inexorable and our next stop to cure our hunger pangs was the address mentioned in the brochure!

Located in a deserted corner of Noida’s Godavari market, reaching this place can be a tad troublesome. It’s a small shop with long tables laid outside for its customers to savor the piquant Shawarmas. On one side is the counter and on the other is the grill on which fresh chicken is skewed and prepared with the utmost professionalism and skill - we were already hungry!

Though the menu boasts serving diverse dishes, however, the terms and conditions state that the same are available only in the evening. Shawarmas, thankfully, are available all the time! The best feature we found was that our veg friends would not be disappointed here, as they serves both veg and non-veg Shawarmas. Nice!

Being their premier customers that day, we hogged upon the following -

Chicken Shawarma

We were mesmerized by the fact that even the flat bread (aka roomali roti) in which the chicken is rolled, was freshly made right in front of us. A perfect round of bread was rolled out and baked on the same grill on which the chicken was being minced, along with the curry which would form the filling of the Shawarma. 

We were served up in a short span of time, and the whiff that came along tranquilized us to the core! The first bite blew us into a culinary orgasm. The roll was soft, the chicken properly minced and to add to the flavor, along with the mayo and mint sauce, sweet onion sauce was liberally slathered in the Shawarma. The dish kept getting better with every much, leaving us voracious for more!

Price | Rs 120

Paneer Shawarma

We were eager and excited to see how this item would turn out. We were in a state of joyful anticipation just by having our first glance at it. It looked palatable and even before we could take a bite, we could tell the utter satisfaction our taste buds were about to feel. The bread was supple, farmer’s cheese (aka paneer) along with onions and capsicums was minced into equal square pieces (we wonder how!) and was pan-fried before being filled inside the roll. 

We absolutely devoured it! The cheese was fried in a subtle way so as to not to lose its character and freshness (extra points for that!). We expected the flavor of the sweet onion sauce, but to our surprise, it had within barbecue sauce along with mayonnaise and mint sauce. Vegetarians, you need to head on over and try this one!

Price | Rs 100

Although mighty impressed by the quality, we were dispirited on two fronts: one, not being able to gobble the other items in the menu, and the second being the limited variety of Shawarma available, the only flavors available being chicken, paneer and egg shawarmas.

Nevertheless, one can be gratified by the ambience and the food the offers. Overall, a cool place to chill out with friends with sumptuous refreshments and enjoyment all around. Come by soon!

Meal For Two | Rs 250
Location | Shop 5, Godavari Complex, Sector 37, Noida