Friday, December 30, 2005

Gaylord

Rest : Gaylord
Time : Lunch
Date : 29th Dec 2005
Location : Churchgate, next to Asiatic.
Company : Felix & Genevieve Rocque of Montreal

Experience: Got in around 2 pm the place was reasonably crowded since it is quite an old establishment and therefore quite popular. Seating was almost immediate, the table was nice and the wait staff was quite attentive from the get go.

Order : Risotto, Lamb Stroganoff, Afghani Chicken, Paneer Makhanwala, Plain Nan.

Drinks : Aquafina, Kingfisher

Food : The Risotto was allright, not very Italian which is fine by me. Being a vegetarian i can only publish what Felix and Gen said. First off the wait staff mixed up the order and brought in the Chicken Stroganoff and not Lamb. They insisted it was Lamb but then realised it wasnt and apologised. The Stroganoff was average and was accompanied by Mashed potatos and veggies. Being a huge fan of mashed potatos i had to try, i have had better, much better. Didnt seem to have any heart in it.
The Afghan chicken was rated as nothing short of fantastic. Both of them loved it and it was gone quite quickly. Accompanied by rice.
I had the Paneer makhanwala, it wasnt too bad. The gravy was rich tomato, slightly spicy but not too bad. They could have had a little more paneer though. The Nan was allright, i forg0t to mention id like some butter & the waiters didnt ask me if i wanted it a specific way.
Then we headed of to Baskin Robbins for ice cream.

Overall : I would give the Indian food a 8/10 while the European fare 5/10. Service 8/10.

Damage : 1500 INR ($40)

Monday, December 26, 2005

Shagun

Rest : Shagun
Time : Lunch
Date : 29th Dec 2005
Location : Bombay Central
Company :Dad, Felix

Experience : Got there around 2.30. which is post lunch and post rush. It is near my office and was the quickest, cleanest place to go for a bite. We got in, were seated immediately and like most South Indian run places the waiter was there immediately and he meant business.

Order : We all got 'thalis' which is like a sit down buffet if you will but in our case we got the limited one where we get everything served right up front and there are no seconds.

Drinks : Aquafina

Food : The food was allright. My father got the Gujarati version which had staples like Cabbage and tomato, potatoes in dal, gravy, beans, samosa appetizer, butter milk (my fav) rotis, poppadums, 2 desserts. The ones Felix and i got were the north indian ones which is much more lavish, and has more dishes. It is also not as sweet as the Gujarati version. We got a liquid appetizer of Jal jeera, which Felix thought was disgusting so i had both his and mine. We had dishes of paneer, potatoes in tomato gravy, a spicy black dal, chick peas, choice of tandoor based roti or nan.Poppadums, Pulao, Fruit salad and a dessert.
The food wasnt too bad. Thalis are usually a gamble because you are going in hoping you get dishes you like and not something you dislike. As you dont have much of a choice in choosig your dishes. Fortunately the food was good.

Overall : Gujarati thali 6/10, North Indian 7/10

Damage : 200INR ($5)

Tuesday, December 20, 2005

All Stir Fry

Rest : All Stir Fry
Meal : Dinner
Date : sometime mid Dec 05
Location : Gordon House Hotel behind The Taj Mahal Hotel
Company : Felix Rocque,Montreal based Animator & Film maker

Experience : Got in around 9ish on a weekday. Seated almost immediately. The wait staff was quite attentive and we didnt have to wait for the menus.

Order : Felix wanted some Dim Sum and to do the Wok. But since the wok is unlimited we decided to skip the Dim Sum and go for the Wok (something i rarely do at this establishment)

Drinks : Kingfisher

Food :
First bowl : I went for Flat, red udon noodles with Mushrooms, bamboo shoots, onion shavings, done in Schezuan sauce with lots of garlic and peanuts.
Felix went for flat udon noodles in broccoli, beef, shrimp in a mild sauce.
Personally i thought it was quite good. The food was cooked quickly and the sauce was just the right amount of spice and taste. Was a good, safe, sauce to start with and build on. Felix liked his bowl as well.
Second
Flat white udon noodles, thin noodles, mushrooms, jalapenos, onions, with chili oil, chili flakes, garlic and peanuts
Felix went for flat udon noodles, chicken in Singapore sauce as well.
The bowl wasnt too bad. Singapore is a tomato based sauce in the medium category so it isnt as hot as Schezuan but it is tasty. Different but still quite similar to the Schezuan. I enjoyed it quite a lot, Felix liked it too but decided it was too spicy for him.
Third & last : I chose, thin noodles, mushrooms, onions in Kung pao sauce with chili flakes, garlic and peanuts.
Felix chose thin noodles, beef, onions in mild sauce.
Now this was good. It wasnt spicy which is sad, but it was quite a taste explosion. The addition of chili made it a bit hotter than it is but the taste itself was quite exquisite. Immensely enjoyable. Felix went back to his mild sauce so i reckon he liked it or was too scared to try anything else.

Overall : I would give the Schezuan a 8/10, Singapore 7/10, Kung Pao 9/10, Service 9/10

Damage : 950 ($20)

Sunday, December 18, 2005

Geoffreys

Pub : Geoffreys
Time : 10ish
Date : Dec 15 2005
Location : The Marine Plaza Hotel
Company : Vishal, Felix, Genevieve

Experience : We got a 'our' table opposite the bar. Nice quiet place and the waiter was there after about 3 mins.

Order : There is a wide selection of food, recommended is chilli cheese toast as well as the paneer dish. Though we didnt order any that night. The drinks come with our fav munchies peanuts as well as spicy salsa and tortilla chips.

Drinks : Tiger Beer, Heineken, Sex on the Beach, Cranberry Juice

Food:
N/A

Damage :
3400 INR ($80)

Tuesday, December 13, 2005

Chetna

Rest : Chetna
Time : Dinner
Date : Dec 11th 2005
Location : Rampart Row
Company : Gautam

Experience: People, listen to your parents. My dad told me not to go there coz its a waste of time. However the first chance i got i did. The restaurant has some nasty yellow lighting, the decor is ok, old. Kind of befitting the upcoming down ward spiral of a meal.

Order
:Two thalis

Drinks
: Aquafina, Buttermilk

Food: Ok. So we finally did it and made it to this restaurant. There were reasonable amount of people there a lot of them foreign tourists or expats. I do feel sorry for them. The meal starts of with buttermilk and everything was downhill from there. The thali meal usually follows a strict pattern which is they have 2, Indian horse d' ouvers, 4 vegetables, one curry, one dal, three kinds of indian bread, 2 kinds of rice, and two desserts. Nothing was worth talking about, all half heartedly prepared and seemed kind of forced. The choice of veggies was pedestrian in taste, presentation and combination. The rice and dal were ok but it would be difficult to screw it up but im sure they tried. The dessert was strictly ok, nothing to write home about.
Dissapointing as it used to be quite a popular restaurant. The wait staff were friendly and polite, pity you cant eat them.

Overall
: I would give the food a 2/10 Service 6/10.

Damage : 300 INR ($7.50)

Monday, December 12, 2005

Not Just Jazz by the Bay

Rest : Not Just Jazz by the Bay
Time : Sunday Brunch
Date : 12th Dec 2005 (& most Sundays)
Location : Marine Drive opposite The Ambassador
Company : Felix, Gautam, Vishal

Experience : Sunday brunch is quite popular at NJJBTB therefore one must get there by 1-1.15 to get seated right away. Even at that time it is about 80% full. We got in on time and were seated right away. The table was ok, in fact its the table i usually end up seated on.

Order : It is a buffet

Drinks : Kingfisher, Diet Coke, Ice Tea

Food : How it works is you have a choice of Soup(which is brought to you if it isnt too crowded) a choice of about 8 sandwiches (cheese + mushroom, cajun chicken, BLT etc) Salads & Dessert. The soup on Sundays is Tomato (not too bad) the sandwich i most often get is Cheese & Mushroom.
Salads : They have a spread of about 25 salads to choose from. Some of them from memory are Cole Slaw, Spicy potato, cottage cheese & pineapple, noodle salad Italian style, tomato and mozzarella, assorted beans, Hummus and Pita (very good) Dessert is usually quite disgusting (Choc, Strawberry Mousse, Weird cakes) There is also a selection of cold cuts for the omnivores
The spread is quite extensive, varied and fresh tasting. You get a smattering of different cusinies and it is quite light on the stomach. The difficulty is in really finding the bits you like and then going back for them.

Overall
: I reckon Soups 6/10, Sandwiches 7/10, Salads 9/10, Dessert 3/10

Damage : Around 1400 INR ($35) Although the Buffet itself is 225INR($6.50) + taxes

Saturday, December 03, 2005

Trattoria

Rest : Trattoria
Time : Midnite Snack
Date : 23th Nov 2005
Location : The Taj President
Company : Vishal

Experience : We got there around 12.30 am and were seated almost immediately. Trattoria is quite a popular eatery especially for the late night brigade. It is also one of the biggest restaurants in that part of town.

Order : Minestrone Soup, Thin crust pizza with garlic, peppers, jalapenos and olives.

Drinks : Water

Food:
Since it was late we didnt order much. Minestrone Soup & Green peppers, Garlic, Jalapenos and Olives on a thin crust. The soup came with assorted breads, rye, white, brown and soupsticks. The soup itself was ok, not too bad but not exactly authentic. No option to add fresh pepper to it either. The bread was very good but i wish they offered some kind of cheese along with instead of butter. The pizza. Oh the pizza. Incredible, unbelievable, gourmet pizza. The thin crust, the mixture of tastes, once you put it in your mouth it explodes into different experiences and then you chew and it all comes toegter in one cheesy taste. Def one of the best pizzas i have ever had (almost as good as the Bruschetta pizza i had at Salvatores on Yonge Stree in TO, CA)

Overall :
Pizza 9/10, Soup 7/10, Bread 9/10

Damage :
800 INR ($17)
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