Cafe by Night

I didn't realize that Oba had died such a premature death, but the minute I walked into this charming little place, I didn't feel quite so sad. We walked in early on a Friday evening (well, early by Friday standards anyway), and it was a little empty, but the cheerful citrussy walls and clean white tableware gave this low ceiling-ed café a nice little air of charm.

We had booked our meal through a pretty cool new website - GourmetItUp.com, which offers fine dining experiences similar to what you'd see during Restaurant Week - a fixed menu at a particular price, at various upper crust restaurants around the city. Having already seen the menu on the site,  I was pretty much starving for what sounded like an incredible meal to come.

5 All Day, Hotel Apollo, Colaba

We chose an intimate table in the corner of the restaurant, and were handed our menus by our smiling server. As part of a special prix-fixé menu, we were entitled to one beverage, soup and salad or two appetizers, a main course, and dessert. Not a bad deal. Our beverages were soon brought to us – a Fizzy Orange, and a Water of Life (pretty intriguing name).

Both were pretty nice – the Fizzy Orange was really just like a fresher version of Mirinda, but the mint added a nice touch. Water of Life a.k.a. limbu pani was refreshing, nothing to rave about.

Two thumbs up for presentation here. The starters were served to us decent portions in thick white platters, with artistic smatterings of sauces and sprinkles of spices (see the alliteration there?).  I had ordered the Ajwain encrusted basa and a crostini topped with caramelized pears and goat cheese. Both were absolutely delicious – the lightly flavoured basa, cooked to perfection, and the delicious combination of flavours of the crostini making for a gastronomical masterpiece!

Goat Cheese and Pear Crostini, Ajwain Basa

My companion’s appetizers were decidedly less fabulous. The Cajun chicken was pretty much a chicken tikka, served with a side of fresh mint and yoghurt. The meat frittata too, failed to break the delicious mark – I had expected some innovation, but it turned out to be a good old omelette. A letdown, after the first round of appetizers.

Cajun Chicken and Meat Frittata

 

As a palate cleanser, we were served two wafer thin pitas topped with a dollop of hummus.

For my entrée, I had ordered herbed shrimp and salmon penne, and Mihir went with the chicken stroganoff. Portions were generous, especially with the shrimp and salmon which a lot of places scrimp on. The pasta was creamy and delicious, just the right amount served to fill you without over stuffing you. The chicken stroganoff was strong, well flavoured, and perfectly complemented by the lightly seasoned bed of rice it was served with.

Chicken Stroganoff

Seafood Penne

I must put in a special mention here for the staff, who were among the most attentive yet non-intrusive that I have hitherto dealt with. Our server was conscientious and prompt – even brought me a hot brandy and pepper when he saw I was suffering from a bout of the sniffles, not free of cost, but it’s the thought that counts.

By the time dessert came we were stuffed. The blueberry cheesecake was prettily presented, and the crème brûlée looked great. Both were well made – neither was oversweet. The cheesecake was a little too creamy, not as “full bodied” (?) as I would have liked. The crème brûlée was just perfect, with a gorgeous caramelized layer on top, and rich creamy goodness underneath.

Blueberry Cheesecake

After a perfect meal, it was time to dish out the moolah. We were a little taken aback by the taxes – but it all managed to work out (damn it). Overall – we paid around 2.5 grand for the entire meal, including alcohol. I suppose it’s not a bad deal at all – considering the excellent service, nice ambience and good quality of the food.

Creme Brulee

Though I don’t think it was particularly outstanding, I may find myself back here to try some more of their menu offerings, which sounded interesting. Welcome to Colaba, 5 All Day, hope you’re here to stay a while.

Restaurant Week Recon - Hakka-Sad :(

I have been waiting to try Hakkasan ever since it opened, and finally got my chance to do so this Restaurant Week, without blowing a hole in my pocket. I was super excited to try a sampling of their menu offerings, and starved myself all day in eager anticipation.

The ambience of Hakkasan can be summed up in one word – it was very BLUE. I was honestly a little jarred by the electric blue lighting, which in an attempt to be trendy, felt a bit like a (very expensive) fishtank. The lounge-y music didn't do much for the dinner experience either, it was too loud and thumping. I’ll grant that service was very professional and just what you’d expect from a schmancy place like this.

Electric blue Hakkasan

Before coming here, I’d read what the menu was going to be and must confess that I was more than slightly disappointed with their selection. Sure, I’m a huge fan of dim sums and fried rice, but I expected a little something more creative from here. Anyway, we decided to give it a go.

The hot and sour vegetable soup I started with was very tasty. A little on the gelatinous side, but felt good on the throat. The sweet corn chicken soup however, tasted just a little tooooo sweet. They'd overdone the corn bit, so it was more like corn soup. It was decent, but nothing special.

Vegetarian Hot and Sour Soup, Sweet Corn Chicken Soup

Our starters consisted of chicken shu mai, chicken xiao xing, and crystal dumplings. Each was served with a cute little bowl of very delicious red chilli oil. The shu mai was good, but no different from what you'd get at Royal China or anywhere else. The caviar it was topped with was overpowered by the taste of the chicken.

Chicken Shu Mai with Chilli Oil

The aptly named almost transparent crystal dumplings were exquisitely prepared. It made for a good light bite, and went well with the chilli oil.

Crystal Dumplings

The xiao xing was the clear winner - crispy on the outside, tender and mildly flavoured on the inside, with a special brown sauce that brought out the flavour very well. This dish was clearly the highlight of the meal for me.

Xiao Xing Chicke

I was frankly disappointed with the main course. Egg fried rice and hakka noodles? It’s hard to innovate with something so standard. Anyway, the fried rice was whatever - I mean, how different can it possibly be? They had used a lot of egg yolk in it, which made it a little yellower, but otherwise, it was no different from anywhere. And the hakka noodles were pretty "meh" too. In fact, I thought it was a little too dry.

    

The San Pei claypot chicken was very well flavoured, however, very tasty, in a sweet soya like sauce and lots of red chilli.

San Pei chicken clay pot

The steamed snapper was delicious, too and had a very interesting sauce- spicy yet not mouth burning, very flavourful. A good one, though we had to fight a little for a slightly larger portion!

Red snapper in Assam sauce

Dessert was excellent. The strawberry and dark chocolate sorbets were fantastic, but the peanut butter one was delicious too. Their white chocolate mousse is a must try- airy and not oversweet.

White chocolate mousse

I'm going to go out on a limb here say my experience here was lukewarm. While the food was good, it was definitely not excellent. I wonder if their specialty menu is any better – I sincerely hope so, because I do want to give them a second chance. Service was very good and polite, but unfortunately a smiling waiter doth not a Michelin Star experience make.

Restaurant Week Recon - Oriental Twist

Having been to Koh once before in my life, I knew that this would be a prime opportunity to get the same great experience I’d had here the last time- except maybe a bit cheaper!

The ambience is everything you’d expect from a classy hotel like the Intercon- purple funk – dim lighting, trendy music, a private dining section. Service was a little impersonal, but polite beyond reproach. It was also VERY efficient, like the most efficient I’ve seen in a long time!

Koh, at the Intercontinental Hotel

It was another 10 ‘o’ clock seating, so we were justifiably starving. The menu was exciting and had a lot of variety. We began with an amuse bouche (French – Amuse the Mouth) – a spinach leaf “dumpling” stuffed with assorted steamed vegetables and soaking in a light soya sauce. It was steaming hot and very delicious. Our “bouches” were indeed amused.

What accompanied the dumpling, however, was infinitely more interesting. Served in a tiny little cup, a hot steaming tom kha soup, which had been exquisitely flavoured with corn and the mild taste of coconut. It was absolutely delicious, and a very nice, light start to the meal. A good combination, the soup and the dumpling.

Spinach dumpling and coconut and corn tom kha

 We were pleasantly surprised when our server told us, while ordering our main course, that we did not have to choose from their non vegetarian and vegetarian choices– each individual dish on those lists was in fact part of an entire meal that included about four “sub dishes”. We were very happy to order one veg, one non-veg, and one laksa meal.

Each course was served to us almost immediately, which I was very thankful for. Both the vegetarian and non vegetarian meals offered raw papaya salad, green curry and jasmine rice. The difference was the non vegetarian meal had as its showstopper a poached fillet of sea perch soaked in lime and chilli oil, whereas the vegetarian meal had the the rather ordinary spicy stir fried vegetables.

Green curry with chicken

The rice was artfully packed into a leaf, served with a generous portion of the green curry. The sour-sweet raw papaya salad was fresh and delicious, and went well with the smooth, mild flavoured curry. The genius of the menu planning was evident – all the flavours brought out the best in each other and were delicate, rather than overpowering, which I find to be the case with a lot of Pan Asian places.

Jasmine rice and raw papaya salad

Even the laksa - which I'll be honest here, was more like kaukswe- was delicious! Not overly peanut-ty, served with a variety of condiments, and a large bowl full. Very tasty.

Chicken Laksa with condiments

The sea perch was fantastic- I think some might have complained that it was a little too sour, but I love the taste of lemon, and relished every bite. The portions were just about perfect – we managed to polish everything off without feeling hungry, but yet with enough place left for dessert!

Sea perch with lemon and chilli oil

And oh, what a dessert it was. Fruitoffee, a non conventional take on banoffee pie – which was much like a sundae, except warm. The bottom of the glass was a mixture of condensed milk and extremely salty peanut and caramel crunch. Topped off with a dollop of whipped cream and assorted fruits – this was a heavenly end to the meal, and different from the usual sorbet – ice cream, chocolate cake situation. Absolutely fabulous!

Fruinoffee sundae

Koh definitely topped my charts this restaurant week. I hope they offer us brand new awesomeness the next time round, but even if they don’t they’ve definitely got one reservation in me!

Restaurant Week Recon - A Tale of Three Kebabs

When I read the menu of Kebabs and Curries, and found out that we were being served just that - kebabs and curries, I was a little apprehensive. I've always been a little wary of "luxe" Indian restaurants, especially because it's so easy to find delicious Indian food on the streets of Bombay! But nothing ventured, nothing gained - we decided to add Kebabs and Curries to our Restaurant Week repertoire, and today, I can safely say that it was one of the best decisions ever made!

The ITC is so swanky and stylish that you almost forget the hell of Parel that you have to drive through to get there. Starting from the doorman to the maitre d'hotel - superlative service is ingrained in the core culture of this hotel, and it certainly shows. We were ushered to our table, in an earthen walled, understated dining area, with muted gold lighting. Our server wasted no time in handing us our menus, and we ordered equally quickly. Waiting till 10 for dinner is no joke.

Kebabs and Curries, ITC Grand Central

While we were awaiting our platters, we kept ourselves occupied with papad, kanda - limboo, achaar and chutney - the eternal saviours of famished Indians everywhere. They had served us an interesting spicy garlic pickle that was addictive. I didn't want to make the same mistake I'd made at Botticino and fill up on condiments, though, so I took it slow.

Our food took a really long time to arrive, but when it did, we were so hungry that we didn't leave our mouths unoccupied for even a minute to complain. Each platter consisted of three varieties of kebab, a roti/naan of your choice, their signature dish, kaali dal, raita, and a curry. The non vegetarian curry was chicken, but upon our request, they very obligingly changed it to mutton. Carnivores everywhere, rejoice!

With the amount of permutations and combinations of kebabs being ordered, we got to taste pretty much everything. My personal favourites were the divinely tender and tasty Murg Angaara, and Tala Gosht. The Barrah kebab was satisfyingly charred, a little too thick on the palate to enjoy the succulent taste of the mutton though. The aloo could have been given a miss- it was too dry, but the Machchli Tikka and Murgh Malai more than made up for it.

Murgh Angaari, Barrah Kebab, Murgh Malai Tikka

Though we were served only one type of each kebab, each piece was decently proportioned, and with the naan and lachcha parathas that accompanied them, the plates were decently filling. However, our meal did not end here. The crowning glory of the entire meal was their kaali dal, which was exquisitely flavoured, hot and tasty - total soul food that could make you go "aah" in a second. It was delicious, good enough to eat plain, and combined with the cold, fresh dahi that it was served with - it was absolute heaven.

The mutton curry they served along with this was also worth a mention. Gorgeously tender, with a hint of sweetness, the curry tasted like a little spicier version of sali boti (another one of my eternal favourites), and went deliciously with the rest. It really was an utterly satisfying meal.

Kaali Dal, Dahi, Mutton Curry

There were only two things I could have complained about in this entire meal. One, the fact that it took a little too long to arrive. The second, that no decent Indian meal ends with a "fruit platter" - our dessert after such a fine meal was woefully disappointing. Hey ITC - we WANT our capillaries clogged, can you please oblige us with a gulab jamun platter next time? Finally replete, we were given the fanciest finger bowls EVER to wash our hands in. Ever tried washing your hands in green tea? Five star experiences, I tell you.

Fancy fingerbowl

Failure at dessert :(

Service - excellent. Food- excellent. I think that this was one of the best Restaurant Week outings I've had so far. I would highly recommend a trip down to the ITC either this time, or the next, to enjoy a true soul satisfying foodie experience!

A Tryst with a King

I’ve never been a religious person. Though I think of myself as a theist, I must confess that I only tend to remember God exists when I need something. It’s selfish, but I’m probably not the only one. Which is why I was somewhat surprised to find myself on a Wednesday evening, tired after an average day at work, in the middle of Lalbaug, horns blaring, crowded, dirty Lalbaug, to pay a visit to one of the most popular religious hotbeds in the city – the Lalbaugcha Raja. 

What I’ve heard about the Raja was more than intimidating. An average number of over 1.5 million people a day, queues in which people wait for up to 30 hours to catch a glimpse of him, an estimated 10 crores in donations – no mean figures to laugh off. I had an ulterior motive for wanting to go there, no doubt – I was shooting a video for an amateur film contest and needed this footage – but I still found my excitement mounting as we approached the area. Street lights became flashier, the crowd thickened, and police bandobast reached its peak, as we finally pulled up in the thick of it – at the Lalbaug junction. 

My mother’s friend had a contact who had a contact who was going to take us on a “VIP darshan” to see the Raja. Only in India, right? Anyway, I couldn’t complain as this would mean bypassing the general “janta” queue which snaked on for miles and miles around the area. We alighted from our quiet, air conditioned car at a traffic junction, and because this is India, parked right there. We were right in front of the main gate where the devoted millions who had come to brave the queues began their arduous wait, and the decibel levels were ear shattering.  

Enterprising street vendors were having a field day with the crowd – balloons, toys, food and religious offerings were all going like hot cakes. Water was being handed out by volunteers, and the traffic police looked harried as they tried to instil some order in the bedlam around them. This, then was where we stood, waiting for almost an hour before our man finally found us, and led us into a nearby alleyway, where we’d get to see the pandal.  

Street vendors sell garlands and prasad to passers by

Before entering the vicinity, we were asked by our guide to take our shoes off. Initially I balked at the thought, because we were still a good walk away from the actual pandal, and we were walking on the main road – where hundreds of devotees had unscrupulously flung rejected food, broken garlands, and other garbage, not to mention the regular wet filth that is sadly characteristic of our streets. With no choice in the matter, I took them off, and cringing, began to follow. 

I have never experienced such heightened sensations in Bombay as I have on this one walk. The stench of sweat and dank, grimy streets, the low rumble of the hordes of people around us, the cries of street vendors trying to make a quick buck…the atmosphere was completely enveloping. Bikers and cars tried to weave nimbly through the masses of pedestrians, mothers yelled at their children to hurry up, and the shrill sound of police whistles rent the air. It was total chaos, and yet, in its own inimitable way, it was home. 

The long, snaking line of the general "viewing queue"

We met our contact who turned out to be a policeman, in a dark little building compound. Earlier, we bypassed a police barrier which was outside the gate of the building with the help of our man who gave the guardian at the gate a knowing nod. Anything is possible here if you have “contacts”. The policeman took us under wing, explaining to us that it was going to get a little crowded, and that we’d have to stick with him to brave the madness. So far, while crowded, it had been extremely manageable, so we agreed, and set off. 

A walk through a back alley with our policeman

Nothing could have prepared us for the sight of the main “atrium” where the queues finally culminated in a giant mass of people, all crowded into one giant area cordoned off by volunteers and hundreds of policemen. The intrepid devotees that had been waiting for hours and hours could sense that they were close to their journey’s end, and were in a frenzy. The pushing and shoving was unbelievable, but they didn’t seem to feel it. Everyone was in a state of gripping excitement, and nothing, not the unbearable heat, nor the milling thousands, nor the policemen’s harsh attempts at disciplining the crowd seemed to damp their spirits. Cries of Morya Re! and Ganpati Bappa were being yelled out at regular intervals, and the crowd would respond in a unanimous roar. 

This, then, was the melee we found ourselves in the middle of. Our policeman contact took us past the barriers with more knowing nods, and we were at once, engulfed by the crowd. There was no independent movement here, it was a total free for all, where all you had to do was just stand and be pushed along in the wave of people that surrounded you. One could not afford to be offended by shoving, groping hands, or being pressed indecently close into other people. It was like being packed into a tin of (extremely sweaty) sardines- definitely not for the faint hearted. 

The main "atrium" with the teeming masses.

I found myself totally helpless against the sheer mindless force of the crowd. No one gave a thought to their well being, everyone’s one focus was centred on reaching the pandal, which as yet, I could not see. I was trying really hard not to drop my camera, which I had held in my hand, suspended over the crowd, not bothering to look where it was pointing, just recording anything I could get. I stepped on someone’s foot, and out of sheer habit looked up to apologize, and there it was. My first glimpse of the Lalbaugcha Raja, a tantalizing view of the glittering giant pandal, with the grand idol seated in the centre. 

My first glimpse of the pandal

My first thought was that while it was beautiful, of course, nothing was worth this hell we were going through just to see it for a few minutes. As we were herded closer, though, the magnetic power of the elephant god’s gaze was unmistakable, and I could see for a few moments why it commanded the blind devotion that it did from so many millions of devotees. Proud, beautifully painted and glittering from head to toe with jewels, the idol was truly one of the most magnificent ones I have ever seen. The hordes of fanatics around me were feverish with excitement, praying, chanting, and hurling garlands, money, and jewellery towards the pandal in a desperate attempt to have their offerings accepted by the priests and volunteers who were milling around the base of the idol.  

Approaching the pandal, being herded along by the crowd

It was a moment that made me see for myself the sheer power of faith in this country. The way people’s attentions were totally focused on nothing but the idol – not even on their own well-being or the pandemonium around them, the sycophantic chanting and clapping, the glow of religious fervour on the faces of those who had gotten to touch even the base of the pandal- sights which are common in media representations of Indian festivals, which until now, I had never witnessed before. 

For me, this was like a raw slice of reality, a hitherto unseen side of my city that totally jarred me. Long after we found our way out of the pandal, finally breathing free air again, long after we emerged from the uproar in the alley through which we had entered was I still numb, reeling from what I had just been through, but somehow, all the stronger from the experience. 

It was the first and probably the only time I will ever get to experience anything like this. But now, I think I finally realize what an important role faith plays in our community, and have somewhat comes to terms with it. Though I may criticize the zealots and not fully understand why they would go through all of this for a few moments of fulfilment – it seems to me that we're not always meant to understand. Sometimes, it’s important that we just have a little faith.  

On that philosophical note, I wish you all a very happy Ganesh Chaturti. Until the next time, Raja.

The Lalbaugcha Raja

Restaurant Week Recon - The Italian Job

I was rather excited to be visiting what was a new place, and at the Trident, no less! Restaurant Week’s array of options seems decidedly Oriental this year – so it was nice to get a confirmation for an Italian ristorante.

I’ve almost always eaten only at wedding functions here so I was pleased to be eating in one of their restaurants finally. We were a little early, so we sat around in the lounge, basking in the gold and white ambience that is typical of Trident hotels, enjoying the soft jazz music and eagerly awaiting the meal.

Botticino, Trident Bandra Kurla Complex

Service, as was expected, was extremely polite and well knit. We weren’t waiting long before we were ushered to our table, served water and menus, and a bread basket, which was the bane of the meal! But more on that later. I’ve heard that Botticino is supposed to be fancy, and boy did it live up to its reputation! It’s so fancy that they have little monogrammed butter paper for the thin slivers of butter they serve. Beat that!

 

My appetizer was a chicken roulade on a lightly toasted bun, accompanied with (a) wine soaked fig. Yes, fig, singular. My companion opted for something a little healthier, the pear and pecorino (we had no idea what this was – turns out it’s cheese) salad with balsamic dressing. Beautifully presented, very artistic.

Chicken roulade with wine soaked fig and caramelized shallots

The pear and pecorino salad was pretty good. But it wasn’t EXCELLENT, as we’d expected. In my opinion, it was a little too dry, though the accompanying balsamic dressing made it a little more interesting. The pears should have been cut a little smaller, we were making a horrendous mess while trying to cut it. I’d give it a 6.5/10.

Pear and pecorino salad with balsamic 

The chicken roulade was not up to the mark. It was prettily packaged – four “stumps” of chicken rolled around a single asparagus stick each, balanced on a grilled bun, with an artistic smattering of sauce and the chopped up wine soaked fig on the side. The sausage tasted like anything you’d get from a Venky’s cold storage, and the bun was slightly too burnt. The only good thing about it was the wine soaked fig, which was over before it started. 4/10.

Unfortunately the appetizers were too small to feel good about. A silly thing the restaurant seems to have done is combine the soup and salad course, giving you the option of choosing only one or the other. That’s not right – they should’ve allowed diners to choose both a soup and a salad! It just made us feel slightly cheated.

Before our mains arrived, we were served a little amuse bouche to whet our appetites– a slinky piece of watermelon with a teeeeensy little ball of feta cheese and a coriander leaf stuck artistically atop it. A good palate cleanser, tasty and refreshing. By this point, we were so hungry though that we were scarfing down the bread like we’d never seen food before. And maybe it’s a good thing we did.

  

Our mains were served to us. Mihir’s chilli encrusted red snapper with orange juice looked wholesome and interesting. My calamarata (seafood pasta) on the other hand, was one of the most disappointing LOOKING dishes I’ve ever seen. The idiot who invented humongous, larger than life plates should be roundhouse kicked in the face. My dish looked like an overturned derby hat, with a huuuuuge rim and a tiny little bowl for the pasta. I don’t know why any restaurant would want to use this- though there might be a decent portion in the bowl, it just looks instantly disappointing. Anyway, since I was slightly full with the bread I’d eaten, I didn’t complain too much.

Calamarata and seafood

The snapper was delicious – very nicely grilled and flavoured, though the orange sauce didn’t seem to complement it too well. Maybe that’s just me. My pasta was great – perfectly al dente and slathered in an extremely tasty red sauce, so what it lacked in quantity, it made up for in quality.

Chilli and fennel encrusted snapper in orange sauce

I thought our dessert was the best part of the meal. Tiramisu and berry sorbet and a selection of ice creams. Simple, yet satisfying. The tiramisu was creamy, rich, and had just the right tinge of coffee not to be overpowering. It was beautifully complemented by the sour-ish berry sorbet; both set the flavours off very nicely. My compliments to the chef.

Tiramisu and berry sorbet

The three little ice cream scoops were tasty too – stracciatella (I don’t speak Italian, but I think this means cookies and cream) is a you-can’t-go-wrong flavor, lemon cheesecake (zingy and refreshing) and sea salt and burnt sugar (salty caramel),  were all very tasty and went well together. Dessert clearly won this meal.

Stracciatella, Lemon Cheesecake and Caramelized Sea Salt ice cream

I’ll be honest here. Overall, it was a decent meal – the starters really killed it for me (in a bad way, for those who think “killer” is a good thing) and the main course, though tasty, would have not filled us had it not been for the bread basket. Dessert was good. Main takeaways for the restaurant:

1.  Soup and appetizers are not one course.
2.  Starter portions should be made decent if you don’t agree to point number 1.
3.  Throw away those giant plates like Frisbees and get normal ones please.

I’ll end here with an Italian proverb, one which Botticino would do well to learn by rote. Non si vive di solo pane. One does not live by bread alone.