Golden Star Thali

I have been longing to try out the thali served at Golden Star Thali; and I got the opportunity do so last weekend. A thali service is where the foods is served in a thali– a big plate with several bowls. There will be so many things on your plate that you will be spoilt for choices. The food served at Golden Star thali is a mix of authentic Gujarati and Rajasthani.

Once you’re there, you just have to sit back while the traditionally attired waiters fill in your thali with the different delicacies. In about 2 minutes your plate will look this beautiful. The variety here is unbelievable. It has a wonderful combination of chutneys, salads, snacks, breads, curries, lentils, rice based dishes, vegetables and sweets. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw that they served 4 sweet dishes (this was because it was a Sunday). They also include a bottle of mineral water, which was quite impressive, since most restaurant don’t.

When you decide to visit Golden Star Thali, make sure you don’t eat for at least 5 hours prior to the meal because the quantity of food is overwhelming. And to top that, you will experience the great Indian hospitality here (for those not in the know, it means feed your guests till they can’t eat another bite). You might eat so much food that you’ll feel sick and you’ll say to yourself that there is no way you’re going back there. But I assure you, you definitely will.

Everything in the thali was par excellent, but if I had to go back for something, it would definitely be the dal bati churma and the jilebis – the sweets that are bright orange, crispy and dripping with sugar syrup (they were so good, I downed 8! :P). The jilebis made me reminiscent of my childhood days; when I went with my grandpa to buy hot jilebis from the local vendor, and then my sister and I would compete for the title of “who can eat the most jilebis”. Of course, she always won because of her “healthy” (read monstrous) appetite back then. :)

(not the sharpest photos because they’re from my camera phone, but delicious nonetheless!)

My thali was covered with the following foods:

1. Tamarind chutney
   
2. Green chilli chutney
3. Raw mango pickle
4. Lime wedge
   
5. Garlic chutney
6. Tomato cucumber salad
7. Farsan (snacks) – dhokla, green pea pakora
   
8. Shera
9. Bengali sweet – malai sandwich
10. Jilebis
11. Fresh strawberry milk
12. Sweet Gujarati dal (lentils)
    
13. Dahi curry (yoghurt based)
    
14. Dal bati churma
    
15. Aloo sabzi (potato)
    
16. Gatte ki sabzi (think gnocchi like dumplings made with gram flour in a gravy)
    
17. Palak paneer (spinach with cottage cheese)
    
18. Undhyo -Gujarati speciality
    
19. Roasted poppadom and fried khichia/khichi
    
20. Wheat roti
21. Jowar roti (millet)
    

In fact this picture is not even complete. Once you’re done with the breads, they serve the khichdi and the rice. I was too full with the dal bati to have these. Also, what’s missing is the picture is the puri (bread) and the chhas or the buttermilk that is had along with the meal.

The food is the best. Service is great. Ambience is not exceptional, but the foods and service more than cover up for it. No thali place in the city matches up to this. I’m already planning my next trip!

And oh, did I mention? Everything in a thali is unlimited! An all-you-can-eat glutton’s party, for just around US $4 to US $6. Absolutely amazing!

Golden Star Thali