Nawabi food festival at Shalimar

Restaurant : Smooth/Gulmurg
Location : Shalimar Hotel, Kemps Corner
Company : Rishi, Gotti,

The past week there has been a Nawabi food festival going on at the Shalimar, Hotel at Kemps Corner. Since it is so close to where i live it becomes off limits. However Saturday night, last moment decision and no reservations made us trek up to their restaurant Gulmurg.



The restaurant was packed and there was no chance of getting a table. the option being takeout, however we were directed to sit at their bar (smooth) and get the same menu there as well.A lucky break if we ever had one.

We got going and ordered only from the festival menu. The one thing we ordered off the bar menu was some very good mushroom popper things which came with cheese. Excellent.
We got the Paneer Musallum which was a spicy paneer dish, red and angry but a very good taste nonetheless. We balanced it out with a Nawabi Korma which is a sweet vegetable and went very well with the spicy paneer.

The naans and biryani were not too bad. All the cooking was dum style which i think is cooking it with steam and then letting it marinade in its own juices. A great example of this cooking is the Dum Pukth at ITC, Grand Maratha.

The most interesting thing was the sheermal whcih is somethign we havent had before. Its a flat bread like pizza bread, tough in the centre. The taste was interesting and it seemed like something someone would be chowing down around the palace of the Nawab. Very interesting.


The Beverages were Gin n Tonic, Whiskey and Corona. Very unhappy with the billing as they insisted that they served us an Absolut Vodka which they didnt. Absolutely unacceptable behaviour. Shocked.

Food : 8/10 Service 7/10

Lemon Grass - Phoenix Mills

Rest : Lemon Grass

Meal : dinner
Location : Phoenix Mills, Entrance below Monza
Company : Rishi, Gotti.

Lemon grass is the town side version of the Bandra based Thai restaurant. Considering there are only a handful of Thai restaurants in the city to begin with (less than 5) it is a welcome addition. Also like all things town side its better than its Bandra cousin. Much better.

Meal : We started with the Tom Yum soup, which was a little too spicy and didn't have enough mushrooms or veggies in my opinion. However it wasn't too bad, not as great as some of the recent ones I have had (Vong Wong, Flamboyante)The tanginess was missing too. However if you don't think on those lines, on its own it was not too bad.

Then we moved onto to the appetizers which was the paneer satay (nothing else available since we didn't want potato or broccoli) Top notch this one, ensure you try this out, also use the sweet sauce to clash with the spiciness of the dish. Very good. They forgot to tell us that they didn't have the order of the thai pancakes in peanut sauce until 15 minutes into the meal so it was only one appetizer.

Next we moved onto the entrees which were the Thai Green Curry with Steamed rice. Again, the curry was very good, flavourful and just about perfect, except for the spiciness. We asked for a medium spicy one and it was still too hot. I don't mind that, its just that it makes it hard to savour the flavor if you are too busy with a fiery tongue.

The Mongolian stir fried bowl – Wow, this one was a piece of work. Again slightly on the spicy side but very very tasty. The veggies and the noodles (we chose wheat) worked very well together. This was def the one perfect dish of the evening. The portion was only enough for two people however, so we ordered the Pad Thai noodles.

The noodles were not too bad, too sticky in my opinion but the taste was just right. Would have worked nicely with a nice little veggie entrée but we had had quite enough by then so that was it. The dessert was a chocolate truffle which was slightly above average.

Beverages : Gin Tonic, Large Absolut-Sprite, Corona.

Overall, I would recommend the place as a decent Thai meal. It's a viable option and its very value for money. The dishes are priced very well, the taste is great (just ask them to make things non-spicy) However it is a great place to get a drink as well which are priced exceedingly well.
The service is a little scatter brained but they are attentive and more or less quick. The restaurant itself is not the best designed place, they could easily have made the bar shorter and had tables slightly more spread out. All in all its much better than the below average experience I had at Lemongrass, Bandra.

Rating : Food 8/10 Service 7/10
Damage : 1350 (800 food + 550 drinks)

5 new restaurants i plan on visiting

Bombay is the veritable eating out capital of this country. Plenty of new restaurants open up quite often. However being creatures of habit we end up at old favs and being averse to traveling to the suburbs avoid 'their' restaurants.

Anyway my list of 5 restaurants to visit before the end of the year is

1. Pure at Taj Lands End
2. Vetro at the Oberoi
3. Tetsuma in Colaba
4. China House at Grand Hyatt
5. Vong Wong t Express towers (which i have since visited and enjoyed)
   

Moshe - A fantastic meal

Restaurant : Moshe
Meal : Dinner
Location : Moshe, Cuffe Parade
Company: Ze Frau, Rishi, Gotti, Dr.Bones


A truly memorable meal at Moshe last night. It was just mind boggling, the tastes, the contrasts and the overall experience. Moshe almost always does a good spread but last night was just superlative. I wish they would change the menu though. I am glad there was a 45 min wait at the Indigo Deli.

Meal : We started with the Gorgonzola & sun dried tomato fondue (185), and boy it tingled the taste

buds - all the way. The gorgonzola is def the best choice out of the three fondue options they offer. Next up was the med platter which is bascially hummus, eggplant and two other yoghurt and dipping sauces (250) not bad, not spectacular but def above average. The garlic bread with cheese is pretty on the money too.

The main courses were the house special Sicilian Risotto (225) mind bogglingly good, the penne with almond sauce (220) another great dish and las but not the least was the Turlu Turlu (250) a dish of couscous topped with vegetables served with a tomato broth on the side. Each dish i have had on its own, at one time or the other.
First time did we make it a little more communal with all of us sharing. It blew me away. Each dish sort of complemented the other, the sweetness of the risotto, the creaminess of the penne and the relatively spicier couscous.

Drinks : Diet Coke, Iced tea (one of the best you will get anywhere)

Dessert : Mousse Cake (not bad) Tiramisu (not bad either)

Rating : Food 9/10, Service 8.5/10

Damage : 2000

Flamboyante

Rest : Flamboyante
Meal : Dinner
Location : World Trade Center, Cuffe Parade
Company : Ze Frau
The new Asian restaurant in town. Its divided into a lounge, fine dine and outside dining area. The exterior dining area needs to be better enclosed to give a better feel of a restaurant, its a bit to open on one side and one can see into stores and walk ways. Not cool.

Meal : We started off with a Tom Yum soup which was slightly spicy but very good taste, i wish people would stop putting in so much bamboo and other stuff in the soup.

Dim Sum - The glutinous rice came wrapped in the lotus leaf, the taste was interesting but it cooled down very quickly. Was fun trying to figure out if i should unwrap the leaf or eat it whole (i unwrapped) Veggie Dumplings were allright, nothing great. Small and only three in an order. Overall the appetizers were above average.


The Main Course was Kung Pao Veggies (off menu) which were red and slightly spicy and the Teppan Soba Noodles.
Both were excellent light crunchy noodles, with a hot spicy sauce, a great combination.

Beverages : Diet Coke x 2 & Frozen Lime drink which was excellent.

Dessert : Tiramisu, slightly on the sweeter side, the taste was concentrated in the center but not bad, not as good as the one i had in Milan (check previous posts for details)



Experience : The restaurant needs a little work towards its outdoor dining area. It seems incomplete. However the food is good and has the potential to get better. Once they find their bearings and get some customer response. The service is very slow but they try hard to please.
Also the menu is a little limited, they need some more options in there and if its going to be styled as an Asian joint, then they really need to represent some more of Asia.

Rating : Food 8/10, Service 6/10

Damage : 1500

World Trade Centre Arcade,
Ground Floor, Shop #1, Mumbai
22180434, 22180433