The Sun, Napean Sea Road

Rest : The Sun,
Loc : Napean Sea Road,
Meal : Lunch

The Sun, is still, in my opinion the best Punjabi restaurant in Bombay, it has been consistent for over 25 years that i have been going there and despite its extremely small size it really delivers big. The menu is fairly traditional and relatively expansive but a lot of the dishes are executed in their own unique way which thankfully hasn't changed over the years.

Start off with a stash of poppadums while we wait for lunch to begin. 

The Chana Masala was decent and it was the first time we ordered it, the navratan korma was its old sweet spicy self. 

The Malai Kofta to rule all Malai Kofta dishes worldwide. For all the years i lived away, this was the one dish in this one restaurant that signified home. Its just so uniquely done and has such a unique flavor, it will imprint itself in the taste center of your brain, never to leave. 

what is a punjabi lunch without some Garlic Naan ? 

The Small neighbourhood restaurant continues to kick major ass, we have been loyalists every since it opened and continue to do so. A lot of people who have been here agree. I dont write about it much since i dont want it to get popular at large.

They have a branch at Breach Candy, which i have oddly never been to.

Food : 9/10
Service : 8/10

Damage : 2500 for 6. 

Onam @ Dakshin Costal, ITC

Rest : Dakshin, Coastal
Meal : Dinner
Loc : ITC, Grand Maratha, Sahar

I am not a religious guy nor much of a traditionalist but i always find a way to celebrate Onam by having a blowout meal. For the last few years i have been alternating between Mani's in Matunga and Dakshin Coastal at the ITC. This year was the turn of Dakshin Coastal. 

Onam, the harvest festival of the south is celebrated with the sadhya meal served typically on a banana leaf with a traditional selection. 

The menu was expansive and one of the advantages of dining with them is one can ask for accompaniments not strictly true to the festival. 

The Rasam was their regular concoction, tomato and lentil among other things. Tangy, peppery, damn near perfect. 

The tamarind chutney was simply terrific, the tempered yoghurt was delicious as well. The beetroot chutney was kind of weird  but then i am not a beetroot kinda guy. 

The buttermilk was not bad but not the typical sourish brew one gets at southie joints.

The Olam, a coconut stew was terrific, with bits of onion, the dish of the evening in my opinion. There was also dal and a pumpkin stew. The dal was nice, the stew felt very North Indianish to me, not that its a bad thing. The sambar was Keralite, good but not nearly as good as the onion sambar that Chef Padamja cooked up on my previous Onam visit. 

Both the Thoran & The Avial were brilliantly done, as always its a problem of too many, which is a decent problem to have i suppose. 

A lot of Onam meals now are served with red rice as is traditional. However nowhere have i seen folks do appams, if your lucky its a chapati or puri otherwise its just rice. On my last Onam meal here, i lamented that i didn't want to cheat by getting one but this time, they offered right away and the Olam was just too good. I couldn't quite resist. 

We even asked for their regular podi, gunpowder stand which was served with a spoonful of Ghee on the side. Happiness. 

The paysam was brilliant, light and delicious while the Pala was much like a regular fruit salad you would make at home. 

Topped off with an okayish filter coffee to stay awake during the drive home. 

Overall, Dakshin Coastal continues to be the leading fine dine, South Indian specialty restaurant although its frightfully expensive. In this case, the meal is price at 2250 + taxes which is actually nearly 40% lower than their regular thali, so its a steal.

Service was quick, friendly and eager to please as expected.

Food : 8/10

Service : 8/10