Cheval

Rest : Cheval

Meal : Dinner
Loc : Kala Ghoda,

While heading to try out Mexiloko, the wife, kid brother and the sis in law all decide to head to Cheval instead, i protested but to no avail. So off we went to Kala Ghoda.

Cheval is an interesting space, i love the location and what they have done with it, inside too its got plenty going on and is a well designed space overall. They have a decent bar and one can simply hang there if needs be. 

The menu however is fairly generic, Italian heavy with the one exception being the Sandwiches and its the only place i know of in the city that serves a Ploughman's 

the fig & mozzarella salad was okay, could have been way, way better then it actually turned out. a little colder with some more figs to play down the bitterness of the rocket.  

the mushroom on toast was fantastic, gone in less than 30 seconds this one. should have ordered seconds..

the gruyere souffle was not quite worth the wait, okayish but the little sauce it came with for the toast was pretty bad. 

the wild mushroom risotto or a version of it can be found on many a menu now, as they go, this one was pretty good..

the pizza with mushrooms was terrific. thin, crispy with loads of flavour. unfortunately it cooled very quickly. which kinda killed it for us. 

the black truffle gnocchi with bits of asparagus was outstanding. stuffed with bleu cheese and cream, heavy but not so good flavour. 

the spinach and ricotta ravioli was bland and tasteless. nothing going on here. def a waste. 

kid brother does not like spaghetti and insisted on Penne for his aglio olio which to me is pretty much as close to blasphemy as one can get. not sure if it was the change in pasta but this was just a totally bad.. nothing good there. 

Overall, the space is nice, a tad eclectic but well lit and can be a nice place to dine. The wife and her friend had a fantastic meal there which is why they rated it highly, however we ordered dishes completely diff from what they had. 

The menu is inclusive and fairly generic which is fine but such menus live and die by the execution which in this case is not quite there. too many misses.

And to top it all, its not cheap which really hurts. Might go there for a sandwich or pizza if im around but would avoid otherwise.

Food : 6/10

Service : 8/10
Damage : 4500 for four without drinks.

Budhha Belly - Dim Sum

Rest : Buddha Belly
Meal : Dinner
Loc : Kemps Corner, 

Buddha Belly is an interesting experiment, the space is tiny but they have crammed quite a few tables into the space, there is a largish show kitchen towards the entrance and they serve a variety of Dim Sum. 

the menu is all dim sum, steamed, baked, fried all mostly Chinese with the odd Korean, Thai inspired 

while we tried all of them, this here is the Chinese mushroom which was pretty decent. They also have a truffle and edamame which has no truffle and no real taste. The spinach and parmesan is awesome. 

The Chef's special, Lu Buo Gao is spicy and i mean SPICY.. beware. 

the sticky rice is an all time fav for me, always get it when i see it on the menu, its fun unwrapping the thing, like a present. 

this one was not half bad, could have been better though. 

the khow suey was tasteless and didn't make much sense at a Dim Sum Joint, a noodle bowl of some kind would have made sense, i believe they cannot cook on the premises with a flame but doing a mediocre bowl of khow suey is not a substitute.

Overall, the food has potential but they need to work out their menu, its a little all over the place with an equal number of hits and misses which is not so cool when there are less than 20 dishes to begin with.

The portions are tiny but the pricing is pretty decent.

Having been there a few times already, the service has certainly improved but there is still room to grow. If you still feel hungry, walk up to Shalimar ...

Food : 6/10
Service : 6/10
Damage : 1000

Pali Bhavan

Rest : Pali Bhavan
Meal : Lunch
Loc : Bandra, West

After a long, long morning shooting we decided to go back to work but it was nearing 2.30 an i was starving. Debating on a quick swing by Mamagoto or Papa Pancho, i on a complete lark ended up pulling into Pali Bhavan. 

greeted by this old village style staircase which i loved. 

the space def has a strong vintage theme with the knick knacks and a wall full of old family photographs.  i love the tin roof but less clutter, some strong art and understated lighting fixtures would have gone a long way aesthetically. 

the menu like the decor is a bit all over the place, northern, southen, deccani so am not sure what the overall effect is supposed to be.  it is distinctly Indian for sure. 

i had the paneer khatta pyaz which was in a tomato gravy with some pickled onions. excellent call this one. good stuff. 

the dal was okayish, tasted decent but lacked that solid punch and after taste that you expect from a really good one. 

the garlic naan was excellent. 

as was the laccha paratha.

Overall, id avoid going at lunch because its full of LOUD ladies who lunch but the food is decent and has potential. they had some interesting looking appetizers which would be worth a try and the service too was pretty quick.

However, in the grand scheme of things, its expensive and plenty of others do similar food, some better, some cheaper. Not compelling. 

Food : 7/10

Service : 8/10

Damage : 2k for 2 without drinks.