Food Review: Grain & Bagel, Malad (W)

Will you swim through the murkiest of Mumbai’s puddles to have your breakfast? I did just that (well, almost) on a rainy day to grab her brekka at Grain & Bagel.

I have said it time and again that nothing can keep me away from my breakfast, not even the over enthusiastic Rain Gods. So, when the Mumbai showers were at their best a couple of days ago, I along with a fellow breakfast lover headed to the newest eatery in Malad (W); Grain & Bagel. It’s tucked behind the new Infiniti Mall in the midst of corporate offices.

We entered an empty café at 9.30 in the morning; clearly Malad folks haven’t warmed up to the idea of going out for breakfast yet. A couple of sleepy waiters greeted us and got a little attentive as they saw us walking in. The café has an indoor and an outdoor seating area. We chose the open air one since it was raining and keechad-feechad aside, we love Mumbai’s rains. Despite being located around near Mindspace which is famous for its foul smell, the cafe wasn’t affected by it at all. There’s not much of a view but being located off Link Road the café keeps you away from the traffic snarls. The management has added a nice touch by posting colourful post-its with customer feedback on a pillar.

By the way it’s a self service café, so don’t go plonk yourselves expecting someone to come around to take your order. Decide, order, sit. Got it? Lifting ourselves off the chairs and walking up to the payment counter for every order was too much to ask from us especially given the lack of food in our systems. However, if you tell the guy on the counter that you’ll be ordering more, he’ll keep the bill on hold and will save you the agony.

The breakfast menu includes a mix of pancakes, crepes, eggs, bagels and sandwiches. They also serve risotto, lasagne, pasta and more if you plan to go there for lunch. We stuck to the breakfast menu and ordered a peanut butter and cinnamon pancake with apple syrup (Rs 120) and pesto scrambled eggs with spinach and ripe tomatoes topped with melted feta (Rs 120). The obvious choice of drink was coffee but we were shattered to know that they weren’t serving it (it should be illegal, shouldn’t it?). Our broken hearts were comforted a little with the hot chocolate that accompanied the scrambled eggs. If you can’t live without coffee do check if they’ve started serving it before you make breakfast plans.

Our breakfast arrived in no time and full marks to the staff for that. The pancakes were soft and fluffy and had a hint of peanut butter in them. But I couldn’t taste the cinnamon at all. The scrambled eggs were served with a toast, no butter and no ripe tomatoes. Still, we weren’t disappointed and loved our eggs. There was a subtle flavour of pesto and bits of spinach. We would’ve been happier if there was more feta on top. The hot chocolate felt good on a cold rainy day. On hot days you can opt for a cold chocolate shake with your eggs.

Realizing that the hungry monster within us won’t be satisfied with just too dishes, we went for a make-your-own bagel sandwich. The guy on the live bagel counter fixed us a quick one with rye bread, veggies, smoked chicken and sauces (Rs 198). The sandwich was filling and reminded us ofSubWay. Post our breakfast we browsed through the dessert counter and picked the Gourmet Cupcake (Rs 75). It had beautiful, light frosting and the cake tasted somewhat like a mawa cake which was brilliant given the frosting was ‘oh! so sweet’. We also picked some for our less privileged colleagues in office.

Grain & Bagel is a welcome change to the Goregaon-Malad area which lacks a decent breakfast joint. But they do have their work cut out for them.. and yes, they have to start serving coffee.

Kharcha: Rs 700 + taxes for breakfast

On the burp scale: 3.5/5

Food Review: Hakkasan, Bandra

When a restaurant of a certain repute invites a bunch of food writers/bloggers for dinner it is expected that the management put their best foot forward, be it service or food. With a similar expectation I went to Hakkasan last week to try out their new weekday lunch menu.

We were greeted by a well dressed girl at the entrance which got me wondering if I'll be denied entry because of my jeans and not so formal top. Thankfully, I wasn't. The restaurant which had strict dress code till a while back has loosened up a bit and you can walk-in wearing your denims if not shorts. We walked through a small gallery into a dimly lit dining area which has a bar attached to it. The ambiance is beautiful with comfortable seating. They also have separate dining booths where one can have a private meal. There's a bigger dining hall on the other end of the gallery which can also be converted into an open-air section by opening the roof.

We sat at the bar which is assorted with a range of Indian and International brands of alcohol. They also have a notable wine list. A set menu was given to us and I decided to order a couple of cocktails since they were highly recommended by the PR person. We ordered a Kumquat Mojito and a Hakkatini; both quite average in their taste as well as presentation. Mojito had more ice in it and got over after a couple of sips while Hakkatini tasted like a blend of vodka and mosambi juice. Well, a bit disappointed we ordered for another round of drinks, Bitter Fortune and Polmos Cooler this time. Bitter fortune was a concoction made of gin, grapefruit juice, aperol bitter and lime. It tasted very bitter initially but after a couple of sips I enjoyed the taste. Polmos Juice; citrus vodka, peach liquor, pressed apple juice and passion fruit had a very forgettable taste.

The starters came in with our second round of drinks. We were served a range of dimsum namely edamame, chive, chicken and prawns, prawns, vegetable etc. The only ones to stand out among these were edamame and chicken n prawns. Rest of them tasted good only with the oyster sauce. We also tried their radish puff which tasted like samosas stuffed with bland, grated radish and Chicken Sesame ball which looked inviting but as I cut through it was hollow from the inside and rarely had any chicken.

If the starters weren't disappointing enough they went a step further and made it worse with their main course. This brings me to my question; will you ever spend an exorbitant amount of money to eat hakka noodles and spring onion and egg fried rice? I wouldn't cause I can eat that at my neighborhood Chinese restaurant or better still make it at home. And the taste will still be better than what we were served at Hakkasan. To accompany the rice and noodles there was Sanpet chicken claypot, Thai style crispy chicken, Steamed rawas in homemade chilli sauce (good sauce but under-cooked fish), stir fried tofu a ndCrispy aubergine and okra. I am a kind of person who remembers the taste of good food but frankly I don't remember the taste of any of these dishes at Hakkasan.

The evening soon turned into a fine example of Murphy's Law and even the desserts couldn't save it. The lemongrass-vanilla creme brulee and chocolate mousse granita were left untouched. However, the selection of ice-creams was good.

The co-diners who have visited Hakkasan before told me that the food here is generally good. Their duck preparations are "out of this world". I would love to think that the menu they prepared for us was not right but this is what I ate and this is what I am supposed to write about. To sum it up in one line, I wasn't impressed.

P.S. - I observed another odd thing about the restaurant. When I went to use the washroom an attendant opened the door (of the loo) for me. Opened it again as I stepped out and handed me a paper towel when I was done washing my hands. If that wasn't creepy enough she stood there watching me wipe my hands and also offered to throw the towel in the waste-bin, an offer I politely refused.

Bloggers' Meet at Corniche, Bandra

Since past couple of times the idea of meeting my Blogger friends excites me more than experiencing or eating at a new place. The food adds to the great conversations. Something similar happened when we all received an invitation from Corniche in Bandra. Tweets and mail were exchanged asking about who will and wouldn't be coming. The timing was a little odd, 5.30 in the evening and this was the first meet which had an end time to it, 7.30pm. But the pleasure of meeting friends is so big that one tends to ignore such crucial details, so did I. So on a working Saturday I left work a little early and reached Corniche which wasn't too difficult to locate given that it's adjacent to the famous CCD at Carter Road.

The usually open-air restaurant was covered due to the monsoons and was practically on the sea-side. Although once seated the sea was hardly visible. Ashrita was already there and as we sat and chatted Gaurav, Shivani, Reema, Amrita and Sunayan also came in. Once we were all there the PR team at Corniche introduced us to the Chef who was going to LIVE cook a couple of dishes for us. We were given a list of ingredients (note: just ingredients and not the recipes). The idea was to cook with fresh ingredients using less oil and make the food more easy to digest.

The Chef started with a Wild Mushroom Soup which filled the air with a beautiful aroma. so much so that we couldn't wait to taste it. He then followed it with a Greek Salad, Tangerine Chicken, Risotto and Bacon Pasta. We also kept asking questions while he taught us those recipes.

Once the dishes were made and we clicked enough pictures to fill our posts it was time to taste the food. The wild mushroom soup was creamy and yet light. I am not too fond of creamy soups but I wipe the bowl clean and could have happily gone for a second serving. The salad too was fresh with crunchy lettuce and tangy dressing. Only issue was that none of us got even a single piece of feta cheese in it.

Next came Tangerine Chicken which despite being marinated in orange juice was not juicy enough. While there was enough flavour outside there was hardly any when we bit into it. Risotto was good but had too big chunks of chicken. To make the matter worse they were also under-cooked. The bacon pasta which I was looking forward to turned out great. Sweet and tangy tomato sauce with a mild garlic flavour; just how I like my pasta. But the bacon too like feta cheese was barely there.

While the food was okay it was the organization that was more disappointing. The four vegetarian bloggers weren't given a choice of ordering from their regular menu. Hence they survived on soup and a small bowl of salad. The portions we were served were also measly. The unceremonious end to the meet left us feeling odd and unwanted. And, to our surprise the meet ended at 7.30pm sharp (how accurate). Realizing that there will not be an offer to try the desserts we moved towards Out Of The Blue to have their famous Peanut Butter Chocolate Fondue and give a perfect ending to the not so perfect evening.

Food Review: Cafe 24, Della Adventure, Lonavala

Around two weeks (or probably more) ago I got an invitation to review five eateries at Della Adventure in Lonavala. Five eateries in a day? I was baffled but a trip to Lonavala in the rains was an offer good enough to let me forget all the questions. The bonus was that I was to travel with my blogger friends Reema, Amrita, Adarsh, Krytie and Anisha.

Della Adventure is located at a picture perfect location, surrounded by lush green hills. The almost perfect weather got even better as it started raining as soon as we reached. After the initial meet and greet we were taken around to see the activities and other facilities Della Adventure offers.

The adventure park is supposedly India's largest and is a hit among Corporates. They offer a number of activities including zorbing, flying fox, dirt biking etc. The few activities that got raised eyebrows from us were dog walking and cow milking which means you pay to walk the fancy breeds like St. Bernards and Great Danes and milk a Jersey cow. The caged animals did not look too happy or excited about these activities.

Since our adventure at Della was focused on food we checked out all the restaurants/cafes namely PNF; the bar and pub with very interesting looking saddle shaped bar stools, Carbon Cafe; the fast food and desserts joint, Creme Della; vegetarian restaurant with a very beautiful, hill-facing, open-air section, An unnamed bakery; supplies desserts to all the restaurants and cafes and Cafe 24; an all day diner on the pool side. On our host's insistence we peeped into the washrooms (yes both Women's and Men's) to check out the quirky installations. They were funny but could be a little embarassing if you are with kids (or mom-dad).

Coming back to my earlier question, "How do we review five restaurants in a day?", it was decided that we'll settle in Cafe 24 which has a compiled menu of all the eateries. We took our seats and and the orders started pouring in. Right from Indian to Chinese and Mediterannean to Continental food was ordered. I started with a Lemon Coriander Vegetable Soup which was a perfect comfort food on the cold day. It had a perfect amount of sourness to it and the topping of the oil added a little thickness to the otherwise watery broth. Along came a bread basket which had a very soft and fresh bread unlike the hard and stale ones you get in most of the restaurants. Next came starters with three prawn dishes; Prawns and olive sticks, Lasooni Jhinga; juicy prawns with a beautiful and slightly burnt garlic flavour and Golden Fried Prawns; I did not miss pakoras on a rainy day while eating them, very crispy and absolutely hot.

Image courtsey @AmritaRana

Our starters fest didn't end just here, we ordered Stir Fried Water Chestnuts, Diced Cottage Cheese Chilli Pepper and Aubergine Halloumi Parcels from the vegetarian section. The crunchy chestnuts were cooked in a spicy sauce and were wiped off the plate in no time. I don't remember much about the cottage cheese except for the fact that they were quite soft. I am usually not to fond of the continental preparations of Aubergine but the Halloumi parcels changed my mind. They were crisp and were placed on a bed of tasty tomato salsa.

We ordered a couple of salads too but none impressed me much. The Caesar Salad had an overdose of dressing which took away the crunch from the lettuce. The Waldorf; blend of apple, pineapple, celery, walnuts tossed in mayo, Horiatiki Greek salad and Beetroot salad were quite average too. The biggest disappointment was Hummus and Babaghanoush. Both the dips had a little off and bitter taste and we couldn't go beyond the first helping.

After almost stuffing ourselves with the starters we ordered for main course. The first dish that arrived was a bit of a disappointment. It tasted great but was more of a starter than a main course. I do not remember the name of the dish except that it was a lamb preparation. I tried a bit of Pan Fried Basa which was cooked brilliantly; crispy and soft at the same time. I decided to try a Salmon and ordered a Grilled Norwegian Salmon which was served with fried and grilled veggies on the side. The fish was a tad under-cooked and a little too salty for my taste. I also tried a little Paneer Makhani; made in true desi style with lots of butter and Onion Kulcha which was more like an onion naan.

We were all looking forward to the desserts since the time we visited the bakery. But they were a big let down. We called for a Bitter Chocolate Praline Mousee; it was neither bitter nor a mousse. It tasted more like an ordinary pastry. Chocolate Walnut Brownie also proved to be a wrong choice with a strong flavour of egg in it. The only saving grace was the Orange Souffle which despite being wrongly named (again) was good. 

From all the food we tried starters won hands down and I would recommend that you order more of them and give the main course a miss. Della Adventure is a must visit if you are into adventure sports but it's not worth traveling so far just for its food.

On the burp scale: 2/5

Food Review: Mewar Food Festival @ Renaissance, Powai

It isn't often that one has the chance to dine like royalty. The experience only gets better when the dishes are straight out of their personal kitchens.

When Chef Surjan Singh Jolly at Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre and Hotel decided to host a Mewar Food Festival, he went straight to the Maharana of Udaipur, Shriji Arvind Singhji Mewar. The Maharana taught Chef Jolly the nuances of the cuisine and also gave him a few of the family’s secret recipes. Nawab Saheb, the restaurant where this festival is being held, organised a sit down dinner for the media, food bloggers and writers where Shriji introduced everyone to the rich culinary culture of Mewar.

To keep the authenticity intact, the food has been cooked in the clay pots, which are said to enhance the flavours. We sat down for the meal on long dining table arranged to suit the occasion. On one end of the table sat the Maharana himself. Large thalis with a number of bowls were placed in front of each person and food was served as per our vegetarian and non vegetarian preferences.

While we were overwhelmed by the sheer variety of food on the plate, we did enjoy making our way through it. The Bhapla bhindi - steamed okra stuffed with shallots, ginger and green mango chutney was fresh and retained all of its flavour and crunch. The Maas ka sula - lamb marinated with cloves, smoked garlic and red chillies and cooked over charcoal, deserves special mention though, for its subtle smoked flavour and meat that quite literally fell off the bone.

The main course had a mix of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes one of them being the famous Laal Maas; pot roasted lamb cooked in bright red Jodhpuri chillies called Mathaniya. The dish wasn’t as spicy as it looked since the chillies add more of their fiery colour than heat. Saweta degchi Maas which looked like a dal was actually lamb slow cooked in sweet corn porridge, cloves, cinnamon, mint, coriander, green chillies and buttermilk. This dish is a definite winner with the soft batis.

The vegetarian dishes included Panchkuta also known as Ker Sangri; local beans, berries, seeds and fruits tempered and pickled with spices, Ghatti Urad Kalbelia, which is a traditional recipe of the banjaras made with crushed urad lentil cooked with spices in a clay pot. One dish that was unanimously loved by all (non-vegetarians) was Kaleji ka raita. It had chopped pieces of smoked goat liver mixed with thick curd, cumin powder and salt. As simple as it may sound, the raita tasted nothing like we’ve tasted before. The whole thali was like a celebration of flavours. As we ate, Chef Jolly walked around providing information and trivia about the dishes and cooking methods used.

If the main course took us on a spice ride the desserts definitely put us on a sugar high. We were served six sweet dishes. Our favourites out of thesewere Chena pakodi kheer; soft, sugary balls in condensed milk, Panna; chopped fruits flavoured with rose essence, green cardamom and finally Mawa kachori stuffed with khoya, pistachio, almond, saffron, cardamom and soaked in honey. Also on the dessert line up was Paniya Churio better known as Churma prepared with crushed bati, jaggery and ghee, Kesariya bhat – sweetened rice cooked with saffron, Khajoor halwa; dates crushed and cooked.

All the food was cooked in ghee, yet our already bursting waistlines couldn’t muster up a whisper of complaint. After all you don’t dine like royalty every day.

What: The Mewar Food Festival
Where: Nawab Saheb, Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre and Hotel, Powai
When: Until July 31, 7-11.45pm.

Food Review: Waterstones Bar & Grill, Sahar, Andheri (E)

Luxury comes with a heavy price tag, one that is well-deserved by Waterstones Bar & Grill.

The Bar & Grill which we were told is ‘relatively’ new is located inside Waterstones Hotel between The Leela and the International Airport in Sahar. The hotel has six floors, five of which have different themes like glacier, rainforest, fire, mountain and marine; named so because they follow the colours of the respective themes i.e shades of red and orange on fire floor, greens on rainforest floor etc. Waterstone Bar & Grill is located on the fifth floor i.e. marine floor which is coloured in various colours of the ocean.

The interiors have a serene look and despite being dimly lit the restaurant looks bright. It’s surrounded by glass walls on three sides and gets good Sunlight during the day. The feature that interested me the most were the creepers hanging upside down which made the restaurant look like the Herbology class from Harry Potter and I almost felt like pulling out a screeching mandrake. My imagination came to a halt when the manager announced that the plants aren’t real but despite that they gave a sense of greenery which was soothing to eyes. The restaurant was quiet, mostly because there weren’t many people, probably because it was a weekday.

All the greenery in and around the restaurant translated in my order too as I called for a green revolution; a vodka based fruit and mint flavoured drink perfect for hot weather. The restaurant has an open kitchen which has become quite a trend now. We got ourselves a corner table and started browsing through the menu which includes a mix of Mediterranean and European dishes. With a little help from our server we ordered grilled Arabian sea prawns (Rs 600), Spanish traditional chicken aioli skewers (Rs 360) and caprese (Rs 400) for starters. Before our starters arrived we were served freshly baked bread with a pesto which is undoubtedly one of the best I’ve had. It was light and didn’t have an overpowering flavour of basil. Coming to the starters the prawns were macerated in chilli, basil and garlic and were served with orange reduction which gave them a sweet and spicy flavour. The dish was plated so well that the seafood hater who accompanied me for the dinner couldn’t resist eating it and actually loved it; now that’s some compliment. The chicken skewers were well cooked but had too much mayonnaise on them which overpowered the flavour of herbs. Our caprese had fresh and crunchy lettuce with plum tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella and pine nuts and was wiped off the plate.

Green Revolution

Grilled Prawns

Spanish chicken skewers

Caprese

As we ate we realized that there’s an al fresco section which we hadn’t noticed yet and decided to take a look while our main course got ready. The outdoor section had Astroturf grass (artificial grass) and a waterfall which coupled with the cold breeze created a pleasant ambiance. There’s a small bar too where you can sit and enjoy your drink. Eating however might be a little difficult since the tables are pretty low. 

While we strolled outside our main course was served; grilled catch of the day (Rs 650); the server had me at fish and then he said basa and I knew what I was going to order. My co-diner on the other hand decided to give his new found love for seafood a break and stuck to grilled pepper tian (Rs 450) and grilled tenderloin steak (600). The presentation was beautiful and portions big enough. The catch of the day or basa came with wilted spinach, butter sauce and herbed potatoes. The fish had a crispy outer layer and was paired well with the light butter sauce. The tian was stuffed with tomato ratatouille and caramelized onions and tasted quite a lot like an Indian sabzi. The dish was conveniently ignored by me since I had a lovely basa in front of me and it’ll take a truly amazing dish to make me leave my fish. The steak was medium cooked and was soft but could’ve done better with a more flavourful sauce since the béarnaise sauce served with it was a little bland.

Grilled tenderloin steak

Grilled tian

Grilled basa

For desserts we ordered a crunchy and rich baklava (Rs 320) and hot and gooey chocolate lava cake (Rs 320). To all those who want to know a place that serves great baklava, the answer is Waterstones Bar & Grill. The lava cake had a strong Madras coffee flavour which gave it a bitter taste but the dark chocolate lover in me wasn’t complaining at all. 

Baklava

Chocolate lava cake

We loved the food and the prompt service and would recommend the place especially when you are looking out for a quiet and private meal.

Kharcha: Rs 2500 + taxes (without alcohol)

On the burp scale: 3.5/5

Food Review: Suzette, Pali Hill, Bandra (W)

I am not a morning person really but mention breakfast and you could see me jumping like an excited dog (I am not a dog person either). So when my colleague made plans to go for a breakfast on a working Saturday I was the first one to raise my hand. We planned to meet at Suzette's latest branch in Bandra. All the way from Goregaon to Bandra, omlette...omlette kept looping in my head.

Well, I reached the French - European eatery on Pali Hill bang opposite Gold's Gym; yes, yes...u can see a lot of stud types coming out of the gym and heading straight for breakfast. We sat in the outdoor section since the AC one was full. I really wouldn't recomment that cause the flies cause a lot of trouble.

The menu majorly comprises of crepes and eggs of your choice. We started with two omlettes; two eggs each, one with chorizo and mozarella and another one with  ham and ementhal. Despite all the cheese the omlettes were quite light and kind of melted in mouth. I'd highly recommend the chorizo omlette. To make the meal super healthy we called for a carrot apple juice (if u don't like carrot this will change your mind) and a pomengranate pineapple lime juice; a good blend of sweet and tangy flavour. We also ordered a melted Belgian chocolate and banana smoothie; it had only a hint of sugar and was a little bitter so try it only if you like dark chocolate..

Two eggs omlette with chorizo and mozarella

Two eggs omlette with ham and ementhal

Carrot apple juice

Pomengranate, pineapple, lime

Next round was dedicated to crepes so we ordered a sugar lime crepe, a crepe of the day; cream spinach with ementhal and a nutella crepe; no breakfast is complete without chocolate... I repeat no breakfast is complete without chocolate. The sugar lime crepe was light with sweet and sour syrup filled inside. Spinach crepe was a little to creamy for my taste but the nutella crepe was the highlight with melted chocolate oozing out of it. While we oohed and aahed with every bite our champion eater Frank ordered for a grilled chicken and ementhal  crepe which I didn't eat but going by his expressions I am sure it was worth a try.

Sugar lemon crepe

Cream spinach crepe

Nutella crepe

Service is a bit slow but the staff is friendly. The food is great and not spicy at all, just how I like my breakfast to be. But the prices are steep and you'll end up with a lighter wallet (unless you pay by card). So go only if you like your breakfast king size and are ready to spend like one too.

Kharcha: Around 2000 for three

On the burp scale: 3.5/5