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Category Archives: Local Restaurants
Gateway Taproom gets the Oktoberfest to BKC!
Mumbai, India
Never been to an Oktoberfest? While the world celebrated this 207 year old extravaganza in its birthplace Munich until a couple of weeks back, the newly opened Gateway Taproom in BKC gives you an opportunity to enjoy the fest until 22nd October 2017.They call it ‘Pretty Much Munich’.
Oktoberfest was born in 1810 when Munich celebrated the Crown Prince’s wedding with a special beer and huge party that ran for 16 days. This has continued with more vigour and pomp ever since, over 6 million patrons attend with over 7.5 millions liters of beer is poured.
At the Gateway, the White Zen (Hefeweizen) and Doppelganger (Dunkelweizen) the mainstays of Gateway along with Marzen the Festbier and the Vienna lager a crisper variation to the festbier enthralled us on a bright afternoon.
The food was a surprise, pub-grub never gets so intricate and authentic here in the country.. the former was the parmesan puff which was top-notch and the latter the kaesesspaetzle a German staple of a indigenous ‘pasta’ and cheese which reminded me of my recent Stuttgart trip. As a vegetarian in Germany you only get to eat Spaetzle and Kartoffel Salat ( potato salad) apart from the host of artisanal breads and of course the Pretzel.
To more brewed times ahead, Prost!
Pune – Mumbai Highway delight
Pune, India
Highway food is seldom gourmet unless if you find those hidden gems usually small scale, family owned and run ! This Pune trip I took a late evening stop at Punjabi Rasoi for a quick meal and their food left me hungry for more. In juxtaposition to what I said above, this place is massive with seating for 250-300 people with an AC and an open air section which offers Charpai seating with candles illuminating the tables.
The menu is multi cuisine with the in-demand Chindian options but you should go here for their Punjabi fare as the name suggests. Their litmus test begins with THE Paneer Tikka, the rotis and the Green chutney. The black dal impresses and so does their paneer from their tandoor in a Goan Green Rechado like masala. The Rabri to end yet again speaks volumes about the food. I went their again in two days and they kept up their good work. Kudos to their team and i take a point from them for their visible hygiene levels, sticky menus, low ambient lighting and soggy roasted papads.
Kamala Mills gets a luxury Indian diner, Frontier Post
Mumbai, India
Your search for exquisite northwest frontier/Awadhi food ends here and that too at unbelievable prices. I call the place luxury because good food is luxury today. The Frontier Post a 2 week old eatery is all ready to regale you in its Bedouin tent interiors. I have eaten there twice already and Chef Vishal Chandnani fails to disappoint. Tomato and Adraki shorbas,the Gucchi ki Gilawat, Dahi Ke kabab, Nadroo ke kofte, Dal Frontier Post, Subz Biryani and lastly the Gulab Pankhudi Firni are some of the dishes that left us hungry for more. This stand alone Indian restaurant is doing a fine job and will certainly stand tall amidst some legendary five star diners. I will go back soon. Frontier Post, please do not increase the prices so soon, yeah 🙂
Shorba
Mushroom galouti
Nadroo or Kamal Kakdi or Lotus Stem gravy
Ten One, Juhu’s newest Vegetarian Eatery
Mumbai,India
Located diagonally opposite J W Marriott the Ten One opened a few days back apparently. The place is modern with vectors and caricatures on the walls and the Udipiesque banquette seating is comfortable. The menu on a A3 hardboard is a melange of Udipi fervour and continental awareness. From the Kolhapuri Misal to Bagel Pizza, from the Gowd Saraswat Biscuit Ambades to Risottos. from Puri Sheera to Quinoa salad, from Malaysian coconut soup to the humble Rasam, the place has a bit of everything.
I tried the Malaysian coconut soup it was mild and tepid, the bagel pizza was good, the biscuit ambade and rasam perfect. What stood out was the Kolhapuri Misal with tari on the side and the rice vermicelli upma a rare find in the city. I ended with a sinful ghee Sheera and a filter coffee. I left the continental fare for some other day. Last words, Ten One is not a fine dine, but it is certainly a very fine Udipi.
A quaint eatery and wine room
Mumbai,India
The Tasting Room owned by the folks behind Good Earth, an upscale home decor boutique next door also looks like a store on display albeit this one is a wine bar and an all day diner. And yes, many items including the chandeliers are for sale! Located at the deep end of the Raghuvanshi mill compound this one sits on the first floor at peace and you can feel it in the air.
Monday afternoon was relatively quiet as I dropped by for a quick-lunch. For a wine bar, the menu is reasonable but it doesn’t stand out for its selection. Nonetheless unlike any other place in the city they have wine flights comprising Indian and international wines and for those looking for an affordable wine fix, their endless stem or unlimited wine (a red and a white both international) offer at Rs 1150 a head is very popular. Can you imagine a weekend night with than offer?
Food is European and familiar. The quinoa salad with asparagus, grapes, hazelnut and blue cheese was brilliant, an interplay of textures and myriad flavours and so was the goat cheese samosas in phyllo. For mains the kale and spinach tortellini was cooked right and had a bite to it with the piquancy of the tomato playing apt for a hot afternoon.
The carrot cake with the cumin beetroot sorbet was a joke. The carrot cake was baked to perfection and the mascarpone quenelle paired well. The beetroot sorbet with bracing acidity and cumin was disastrous, but for adding colour to the plate it only did harm,it was best left untouched. I have patronized Tasting room many a times a few years back and it was nice to be back. The place looks glorious as always and has a lot of potential, they must up the food and beverage scene quickly especially given the competition around.
Soma the underdog at the Grand Hyatt
Mumbai, India
When I think Grand Hyatt, China House and Celini are top of mind recall and Soma ends up at the bottom of their F&B offering. This is certainly my opinion based on the communication happening for the former on all media outlets. Perhaps ‘Soma is already doing well and doesn’t need any marketing’ must be the hotel’s line of thought we analysed after tasting their food over whiskies.
I experienced Chef Vinod Rana’s cooking on Father’s day as he forth a menu to pair Indian single malt whiskies from the house of Paul John. The food from the tandoor was Smoky yet elegant, the veg seek crumbly yet moist and the mutter tikki stuffed with cheese had the softness of galouti but the mushy pea graininess remained. The aragula salad with pomegranate seeds was a great complement. The mains with a mild and saffron-scented paneer gravy was delightful with the sheermal and so did the birista (fried onions) topped wild rice with the rich black dal. You definitely have to go to quality restaurants for food experiences like these.
We ended with sweet spice laden Bibinka fritters paired with a slightly peated but sweet malt. Soma is a gem at the Grand Hyatt, watch for their set-meal promotions from time to time ;they are a steal. This was priced at Rs 2750 per head inclusive of the whiskies.
