Vong Wong

Rest : Vong Wong
Meal : Dinner
Loc : Express Towers

A random desire for Chinese and the lack of tables at Moshe (its always the same story with them) meant we ended up at Vong Wong once again. The place honestly, has a lot of potential and im not sure they are realising all of it.

The menu has changed, the older menu was a Thai section & a Chinese section and was fairly expansive. Now they have a shortened menu where both the cuisines are mixed, very sensible.

The place itself is massive with a very large physical footprint, floor to ceiling windows and private dining space. Attractively done, it would hold its own with any modern restaurant.

They did a fairly good Blood Mary, no real complaints with this one.

With the menu change, the other thing that has changes is that the old wet, boiled peanuts have changed to regular salted peanuts. Weak, very WEAK.

 

The Tom Yum was good, tasty, sour but good.

The dumplings were sweetish, not my favouraite taste in the world from my dim sum. Additionally, there were no real dipping sauces, the table sauces were horrible.

Feeling a little adventurous we picked the season veg on a bed of lettuce. again the taste was on the sweetish side and it did seem like it belonged to Chinese or Thai, however it was a decent dish by itself.

The ho phun noodles were very different, thick, oily but good. Dry tasting dish by itself if you pick it without gravy. The Asparagus and mushrooms in Oyster sauce were not too bad, the sauce was okay and the asparagus is a favourite of mine, so no real complaints.

Overall, the food is just about average which is sad since the location is excellent and the ambiance good. All they need now is to put a serious effort into the cuisine itself.

Revamping the menu was the right choice and the food is not bad at all, however its not memorable or outstanding on any front either.

 

Food : 7/10
Service : 7/10
Damage : 1800 with a cocktail.

Vong Wong
Express Towers,
Nariman Point,
Tel : 22875633, 22875634

Muhammarah @ Cafe Moshe

Muhammarah is a red dip, hot with a spicy after taste. Its middle eastern but unlike popular dishes from Turkey & Israel this one originates from Syria but has travelled across to the Mediterranean.

Its made with red peppers , olive oil, garlic and other ingredients. First introduced by Chef Moshe Shek at Cafe Moshe. His version is not as spicy and has a creamy texture, kind of like hummus.

Its healthy and goes brilliantly with Pita. Try it at any of the Cafe Moshe’s across the city, the one above was at the Crosswords location.

Jimmy Boy

Jimmy Boy is an Irani in Fort. We were standing outside Nandus Paratha House after dinner and were trying to give my friend Parin tips on how to run his restaurant (we Indians have opinions on everything) one of the thing my other mate VP came up with was selling raspberry soda. He went into a long spiel on how great it is and cant be found. Parin grabbed both of us and walked us up the 10 metres to Jimmy Boy.

Jimmy Boy is an old Irani and has been around forever. Located in the heart of commercial territory, their finest hour is lunch. I havent been to an Irani in a long long time but it looks just like it needs to. It was deserted and we were the only ones there at the hour.

Since we already had a huge meal we were in it only for the delightful sodas that are unique to Iranis. Parin knows the owners well and just strode in and picked out two bottles.

The masala soda, a taste unique to India, it is like thums up, but on the other end of the spicyness. Brilliant.

Raspberry soda has long been a talking point for Iranis and it does not disappoint. Perfect in every aspect, its got a sweet aftertaste.

Jimmy Boy,
Opp Turner Morrison Building
Fort

Nandus Paratha House

Rest : Nandus Paratha House
Loc : Opp Old Custom House, Fort
Meal : Dinner

A few days ago an old friend and school mate Parin Lakhani who i had not seen in a while added me on facebook. He happened to have a group called Nandus Paratha House, intrigued i checked it out and it turns out that Nandus is a famous Pune based paratha joint and its Bombay outlet just happened to be owned and managed by him.

Ever since, then we have been making grand plans to make our way there but it didnt happen until tonight and we are the poorer for it. Located in the hard core commercial area of Fort, Nandus is small, with limited seating and the majority of their business is take out and delivery.

While its a paratha house the menu is fairly expansive, they not only serve parathas but a large selection of Punjabi dishes as well as a bunch of rice dishes and snacks. Some of the parathas are unqiue and not to be found anywhere else.. like pizza paratha, pasta paratha, schezwan paratha,there is even a chocolate paratha which is crepe like.

Each paratha is served with dahi and a delectable onion pickle. If you want more, you can go for a thali platter which is served with daal and rice etc. We had the chilli cheese garlic paratha which was brilliant, the aloo and gobi paratha which was good but the real coup was the pizza paratha. It pays to be adventurous and it pays even more to listen to the owner, fantastic is the word for this one. I enjoyed it immensely and it rightfully is one of the more popular ones.

The papad churi came by as an after thought but it was perfect, lemony and chilli peppered up, it tasted just as it ought to.

We also got a roomali roti with a spicy lasooni paneer, which was sourish and spicy, just what a garlic intensive dish should be. Spot on. Next time im trying some of the rice dishes. Their dal makhani is also brilliant and worth a go.

Overall, there is just too much choice, not one thing we had was below par, even the cold spicy chaas was out of this world. The parathas might be a little out there for some but they are worth a try. The pricing is pure value for money, parathas priced between 40-100 each with entrees around 40-60 each.

Im going to be going back very soon, id suggest you plan a jaunt down asap or give them a call, they deliver almost anywhere within reason.

Food : 9/10
Service : 9/10
Damage : 600 for 3.

Nandus Paratha House
19, Sonawala Bldg, Green Street, Fort, Mumbai
Opposite Old Custom House
Phone: 22702265

Full Disclosure: The owner is an old friend and didnt let us pay but promised he would treat us like normal folk the next time around, which i am sure will be soon. Its a meal i truly enjoyed and which is why its up here on its own merit.

Madras Cafe !

Rest : Madras Cafe
Loc : Matunga Circle, Central Bombay
Meal : Sunday Breakfast

The looney tunes gang met this past Sunday morning, after their second attempt at breakfast, the first having been cancelled due to lazy, late sleeping girls and errant maids.

Anyhow we made it to the legendary Madras Cafe, located in what was once the strong hold of south Indians in the city.

The area is peppered with plenty of udipi restaurants and the only way to survive is to be good.

By that line of reasoning the 6 restaurants within walking distance are all pretty good. One has to get in early because it gets crowded and stays that way.

The menu is hardcore south Indian, so you get a variety of idlis, dosas and dishes such as lemon rice and biselle bhat.

They also serve madras filter coffee, very cool stuff although it could have done with a little more sugar. I had 3 and it gave me a slightly elevated heart rate, so don't go too crazy.

Excellent, the vada itself was nothing great but the rasam was brilliant. Sour, hot and tangy, probably work better if you get it with Medu Vadas.

The Madras Dahi Misal was brilliant, dish of the day for me, i had to get two because it was passed around by my fellow diners. Spicy usal with the crunchy farsan and dahi to top it off, each element playing with the other. Brilliant.

The Raagi dosa is made with Raagi flour, personally i found it sourish with a coarse texture. Uninteresting but its fairly popular

The Mysore Sada was small and different from all the others i have had thus far. Not too bad though.

Some of the other things we had were butter idlis, tuppa dosa and a disgusting upma.

Bear in mind that the Dosas are flatter, thicker, smaller and pancake like, not the long, lean crunchy dosas most people are used to.

Overall, Madras cafe has been around forever and its because its a functional place, everyone goes there simply for the food and nothing else.

The ambiance is noisy, busy and rushed, its like walking into 1964, you sit where you can, we sat next to a family, that had to put up with our profane discussions. A little on the authentic side, it covers enough bases to give you a wide ranging experience with plenty to choose from.

Service is quick as a place like this thrives on quick turn arounds.

Food : 8/10
Service : 8/10
Damage : 1080 for 10

Cafe Madras
38 - II, Circle House, King's Circle, Matunga, Mumbai
Phone: 24014419

Delhi Trip – Sarvanan Bhavan

Sarvanan Bhavan is a truly epic experience in Delhi, if you by a chance of ill luck a little late in getting there, you will find yourself at the back of a line at times 40 strong.

The food they serve is traditional south Indian, snacks to complete meals. Brilliantly done, quickly served, the space is a piece of South India in the middle of New Delhi.

i hate puris but i really wanted to get something which is hard to find in Bombay and i opted for the thali.

They served dahi, dal, rasam, dry potato and a couple of other veggies along with some rice. Overall, the food was unique and well done.

Overall, the place is great, beyond the thalis they also serve crisp ghee dosas as well as a dozen mini idlis with ghee. A must visit for all those visiting Delhi. My second time here and i shall always try to visit everytime i am in town.

I always thought Bombay had it all when it comes to restaurants but there is nothing like a Sarvanan Bhavan here… one more reason to hate Delhi.

Follow up piece in the Wall Street Journal !

Hey, a follow up piece was published in the Wall Street Journal ! Linked below

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125627260506603407.html

A little piece on the film im producing !

hi,

a little piece on the animated film im producing, it can be found here

have been home sick and will update soon.

enjoy!!!

Maroosh

Found myself in Bandra for a meeting along with my comrade Mr.Merchant. Since he has been a creature of the suburbs more than i have, we decided to go on his recommendation and headed to to Candies. Unfortunately Candies was packed like Sardines and the next best thing was Carter Road and so it ended up being Maroosh.

Mr.Merchant chose Maroosh, a) because it would be a quick lunch and b) because the owner happens to be a friend of his…

The place is very small, no air conditioning and no frills, the menu is Mediterranean with the accent on the middle east.

The beverages of choice were a Diet Coke & Water, good choices on a hot day out.

The hummus was creamy, with a drizzle of olive oil, very good, better than the textured, dryish hummus you get most places. Its a pity they scrimped on the pita.

The Paneer Makhani roll was unnaturally reddish orange, food color most likely, scared me a little. The taste itself was okay, spicy sort but not too much. Not bad but not great either. We also had the shwarma which was pretty good and juicy.

Overall, its not about ambiance or about comfort, nor does it have a lot of seating. However i am sure they do plenty of deliveries and its a great place to swing by late night for a quick bite.

Food : 7/10
Service 8/10
Damage : 400

Indigo

I love Indigo, as some of you might already know, unfortunately for me the wife isnt as obsessive about it which is why i dont get out there nearly enough. Also the fact that it breaks the bank makes it not such a frequent option. Yet, every time i have been there i have left very, very happy and satisfied. The place looks great and continues to offer an old world charm, the staff is friendly and knowledgeable and the food is a great mix of the traditional, the modern and the quaint. 

 

We got in 30 mins early for our table with the intention of having some quiet time by the bar. I went in for my bloody mary (385) perfect, a little thinned out but not watered down. 

Never found the munchies of much interest here or most places, only Geoffrey’s knows what the Indian drinker wants to munch on.

The Sgorpini (365) was interesting, a margarita with champagne instead of tequila. You could gulp a pitcher down easy. Unfortunately they were missing the beers, so no Hoegarden and no Stella.

The Appetizer was off the specials menu and what an inspired choice. The sweetish, thick souffle served with a bitter salad, contrasting tastes although not complementary. The taste was amazing and the flavor heavy.

Another winner, i have had this one before and did not mind calling for it again. There is very little that can compare with fresh mozzarella, the smoked tomatoes were hot and juicy and i can still remember the exquisite if uncomplicated tastes of each  ingredient..

Yum Yum. The Goat cheese gnocchi is not on the dinner menu but on the lunch menu. We asked that the cottage cheese gnocchi be switched for goat cheese, they were happy to do it but the sauce would have to change too as they wouldn't go together. The tomato cream sauce was picked and it was incredible. A borderline orgasmic dish this one and i highly recommend trying it.

 
The water cress risotto was bitter and boring, serves me right for ordering it a second time, knowing fully well it was not that great the first time.

The creme brulee was good, not earth shattering, i chose it above the recommended dessert du jour Baked Alaska.

Overall, Indigo continues to rock. If i have any complaints its that the menu has not changed in some time and secondly it needs to get a little longer. You go there twice and you could possibly run through it all.

The lunch menu is very different and in some cases has some exciting options, which i intend to try very soon.

Service is top notch and surprisingly quick, Nafish was prompt, helpful and took very good care of us.

Food : 8/10
Service : 9/10
Damage : 4000 for 2 with cocktails.

They also serve a popular Sunday brunch from 12-4 at 1800 per person + taxes.

Indigo
4, Mandlik Road
Colaba, Mumbai
Phone : 66368980, 66368981