Sunday Brunch @ JW Cafe

Rest : JW Cafe

Meal : Sunday Brunch
Loc : JW Marriott Hotel, Sahar. Belly of the International Airport

This past Sunday we got to partake in the Sunday brunch at the new J.W. Marriott, Sahar, which is right in the belly of the international airport. While i am not one to travel far for a bite, on Sunday, the route drive was about 25 mins and my parents were residing at the hotel to boot, so it was a decision made fairly easy, since we had to go pick them up. (Now, justifications done, onward)

The Juhu JW Marriott, is a massive property with half a dozen restaurants and bars and the new Hotel is much smaller with fewer dining options, however, they have done a stupendous job with the rather boringly named JW Cafe, which is way better than the gargantuan but ultimately middling Lotus Cafe. 

While its pretty, well furnished and large its not quite the centerpiece that Lotus Cafe is. Anyway, enough comparison. There is a lovely section by the windows and insist on table, 1-6, which are by the doors leading to the garden. Well lit yet offering a semblance of privacy as they are a bit away from the main dining section.

Now, even as brunches go, this was one massive spread, food was laid out in every corner and you were not more than 10 feet away from a bite. You place your order at a counter and they serve you on the table which beats having to queue.

I started with the soup, the choice was a clear Thai soup or a Tom Yum. I chose the Tom Yum which was close to a Tom Kha, with a strong coconut base. It was excellent, despite the base, it was spicy, hot deliciousness topped of with some mushrooms. 

Next up, the Mezze section, was end to end with hummus, tabuleh, ganoush, labneh, moutabal as well as rice and some more meat dishes. It was just wow, easily one of the star turns, not a single thing that was not up to the mark. They even had a chef warming pita and making falafal pockets if one were not inclined to do so.

The falafals too were kind of different. The texture, shape and color varied from from what i have usually consumed. Brilliant still however, i kinda like the discs better than the rotund falafal balls.

The anti pasti section was adequate with peppers, squash, eggplant, tomato but the artichokes were the stars here. brilliant isnt the word. 

Next up another star turn, the Italian section was populated with this stunning potato with some green onion was mind mindbogglingly good but when compared to its neighboring dish 

the mushroom ragout, it became at once pretty ordinary. If i had to pick a single dish that stood out i would say it was this and that is saying something. It was like some mushroom god had granted flavors on a plate.

they have a sushi section of course but its strictly okay, atleast the vegetarian section is. 

the pineapple curry which i chose on noodles was again staggering, just the right mix of sweet and spicy and bursting with flavor, this was second only to the ragout and NOT by much. 

they have a small section doing tacos and nachos and it doesnt quite work, its neither authentic nor is it fully local a la cream center and kind of falls flat.

i avoided the indian appetizers but took a little taste from Mrs Jain's Indian selection and found it to be decent, the dal was good the paneer average.

The pizza looked the part, this was the four cheese, perfect crust around the edges but limp in the middle, served a tad cold and largely tasteless. 

the spaghetti was much delayed in getting to our table and it didnt quite incorporate what we wanted (kinda important when you its made to order) It wasn't bad just not what we asked for. 

the egg benedict was lonely and under salted and kind of disappointing. 

the waffles which we chose with blueberry and maple syrup was on the money. should have picked up a side of some fruits with that but i wasnt quite thinking healthy. 

the cheese selection was adequate with Parmesan, Cheddar, Swiss, Edam and Feta. A stronger cheese (Bleu, Gorgonzola) was missed. Also couldn't find any olives around so i improvised by stealing some from the Italian live counter. 

the dessert section was massive with everything under the sun although at most buffet's i prefer getting ice cream or sorbet. 

so i chose the kulfi rabdi falooda which was great but kept hurting my tooth and it was impossible to eat easily with the massive spoon and tiny cup but somehow i managed. 

they also had a home made gulkand ice cream which wasn't half bad. Mrs Jain tried most of the western desserts and chocolates which im afraid i didn't have a go at. 

Overall, its a pretty massive spread, possibly the biggest in the city with a lot of hits and the odd miss which is rare and usually the other way round. A few of the sections arent even pictured like the chaat and the Indian appetizers, Chinese etc. I think a South Indian section would be a good strong addition, a dosa counter with curd rice and rasam is surely a good idea. Personally, i dont see the need for Chaat at brunch but then , thats just me.

Beyond being good, the Middle Eastern, Thai & Italian are proper, restaurant grade preparations and not making up the numbers which is likely in a spread this wide. In fact, when i went for a second helping of the mezze and the pineapple curry i went from man to pig.

The pasta section is slow and needs to speed up and get the orders right while the pizza sections needs a bit of a revamp. This would be a popular section, so hope they fix it up soonish.

Also i think their selection of beverages is a little ordinary, with tetrapack juices and soft drinks out of big bottles. I think cans and fresh juices is the way to go and would be far more appropriate.

From what i gather, the carnivores would find this to be even more exciting, as they have Shawarma, Australian Leg of Lamb and Alaskan Crab which is surely a novelty and a massive satay section with various things on a stick.  So rejoice.

 

Besides the decent ambiance and superlative food, the single best thing about the brunch was there was not one, and i mean not a SINGE kid running around screaming or being obnoxious.

They were all hanging with clowns and balloons and slides. Not something you would see at another brunch and that alone is worth the price of admission.

I went straight up to the room for a quick nap. 

Food : 9/10

Service : 8/10

Damage : 2015 + taxes without booze. 

Kurries n Burries

Rest : Kurries n Burries
Meal : Dinner
Loc : Opp Starbucks near Chowpatty 

Kurries n Burries, replaced Rock Salt who i ordered from a few times and liked immensely. The new avatar offers Chinese & Mexican much like LocoChino who do Mexican & Dim Sum (and oddly Khau Suey) 

The menu is fairly straightforward, something for everyone. 

The chilly paneer was terrific, hot and gone in less than a two minutes. 

their mango drink was a little too thick and the nuts on top are kinda over kill. 

i think this was the burrito and was cheesy good. 

unfortunately, i think their mexican is just so so, the mix isnt quite there yet. compared to the likes of Cream Centre which is out and out Indanized or something more Tex Mex like Loco Chino, they have a lot of work to do. 

Their Asian however is terrific. The dumplings were fantastic and the Red Curry was pretty good too. 

All in all, their Asian is worth checking out, especially to have it delivered since the place is small and parking tight. Glad to have them back.

Pricing is very value for money especially the platters shown above, which are about 650 a go. 

LocoChino

Rest : Loco Chino
Loc : Peddar Road, near Vama
Meal : Lunch

Loco Chino replaces the ill fated Buddha Belly at Peddar Road, a location where parking is nigh impossible and that is about the only drawback i see with the place. The menu oddly is Chinese & Mexican, perhaps to capture two rather popular cuisines which would suit the residents in the area just fine. 

While i was there strictly for the Mexican i could not resist getting the Turnip cakes, which were FIERY hot, not to taste as such but a few hours later, they were raging. good but be careful with these. you have been warned. 

the nachos, well they were generous with the sour cream salsa and the guacamole but i was not too impressed with the chips. i hope they switch to a different, plainer kind, still worth getting however. 

my brother went for the burrito bowl which is what happens to a burrito when it implodes i suppose. pretty good. 

the chimichangas, everyone has given me grief over this picture, well its fried people, this IS a chimichanga, its unfortunate that its been cut and presented like a quesadilla, but this too was pretty good. 

the soft shell taco was again good but small.

the burrito, going by the bowl, was not going to be bad and it wasnt. worked out well, this one.

Overall, i loved the food here, id like to give some dim sum a try but i think the mexican is a winner here. Infact, i was shocked at how good the food was. I chalk it down to freshness, even the Guacamole was fresh and generously shared.

Dont know how long they will be able to keep the standard up, i hope it is for a while, def going back for more this weekend.

Only complaint so far is that the salsa chips arent that good to taste but that could be just me. The portions could be bigger. Its not expensive but again, its not cheap either.

Service is kinda slow but hopefully they will get their act together soon.

meal for 2 was about 1100.

California Burrito

Rest : California Burrito
Loc : Old Madras Road

My love for all things Mexican is well documented, i try and get my Mex fix as often as possible, although Bombay for some reason has been resistant to Tex-Mex cuisine done right. Trust me, ive eaten Burritos in a seedy Mexican town, i know what i am talking about.  

While being driven back from a meeting i spied this huge ass sign for California Burrito. I immediately had the car pulled into their little parking lot damn near causing a pile up. A burrito place six feet away from me, how could i not give it a go, road safety be damned. 

Now, to be honest, California Burrito is very inspired by Chipotle, there is not much of a spiritual difference between the two ideas although not that i am complaining.

In my excitement of getting a shot at a propah burrito i completely forgot to look at the deals on offer and ended up bypassing a shot at a bunch of the combos.

I chose a regular Burrito base which was stuffed with Fajita Veggies, Cilantro Rice, Spicy Beans, Pinto BEans, Pico De allo, Salsa, Onions, Lettuce, (weird) Jalapenos, Sour Cream and Guacamole. They also add cheese, unfortunately not Cheddar which i reckon should be easy to source and relatively cost effective. 

So in any case, i ended up with a 12" burrito which was freaking huge and i was able to devour nonetheless. It was certainly above average. I think the flavour profile needs a slight tweak, the beans need a little punch and Cilantro rice is not something i have been a fan of.

Something closer to a regular Tex-Mex rice would work way better. Cheese to, Monterrey Jack is a dream but Cheddar is def doable and better than i believe Mozzarella which is what i was told they were using.

I was told they are able to source avocados which means guacomole is not a gamble and the other ingredients too seemed of good quality. They serve a pink nimbu pani which is essentially your regular pink lemonade, delicious.

They have 5 outlets in Bangalore and i really hope they make it out to Bombay.

Formaggio - New to the neighbourhood

Name : Formaggio

Loc : Cumballa Hill, Opp 36, Oak & Barley
Meal : Dinner

While walking up to Moshe's @ Crossword from my parents i saw to my surprise that the Falafal Hummus House is no more and has been replaced by the two day old Formaggio. A little dismayed as I have had many a meal delivered from Falafel in my time of need.

So we decided to skip Cafe Moshe and dived in. The place is small and split levelled, pre-dominantly white (even the exposed brick wall is white washed) Its not a full fledged restaurant as much as it is a hole in the wall.

With a name like Formaggio i was expecting lots of Italian and a cheese platter (ha!) but the menu is fairly expansive and covers a lot of ground. They serve something for everyone with soups, sandwiches, pasta, pizza, north Indian and Mezze.

The cream of mushroom was a little runny and did not have any mushroom in it (which is super annoying to me personally) it tasted okay, but a little truffle oil perhaps or some chopped mushroom and a little less water would go a long way. 

Mrs J got the taco, which was a lot of lettuce and some beans, passable. 

The falafal wrap was pretty good, not soggy, contained most of the staples, no complaints here. 

Another Mrs J order, the potato wedges were microwaved hot and all i could taste was seasoning. 

The place is just two days old and yet to get its bearings, majority of the diners that evening seemed to be friends of the owners. Most things on the menu were not available yet (sandwiches, mezze) so they have not gone the whole nine yards in the kitchen yet.

Overall, its a neighbourhood restaurant that tries to do a lot of things, while i did not try that much i believe its going to be a Gujju interpretation of most dishes (which is not a slur in anyway, the Gujju versions certainly have their place in the sun and i love the stuff once in a while )

The Jains in the area will surely rejoice. I probably will not go there again but will certainly call up to order stuff, especially their mezze which they seem to have a decent handle on.

Food : 6/10
Service : 6/10
Damage: 550

CPK

Rest : CPK

Meal : Dinner
Loc : Lower Parel

The Mexifornia festival was happening at the CPK outlets across Bombay and i was invited to hang with some of my super entertaining fellow bloggers. My experience with CPK has been wildly inconsistent, going from very bad to pretty good. 

The Tacos, i was a little disappointed with, considering we were going Mexifornia, we really could have avoided Paneer. The rice was not too bad but the taco suffered. Its well and good to go native, i think its a commendable effort but there is clearly so much more that CPK can do with Mexican in mind. 

The Banana Chocolate milkshake was fantastic, just super delicious. 

The Enchiladas too had the same Paneer filling, however these werent half bad, i did enjoy them. the portions were kinda small and they could have done way more with these. another missed chance.

The pizza was not too bad, thin crust, with beans, onions though it was on the HOT side, not for everyone.. should come with a warning. The portion too was pretty big. 

I am not a Churros fan, however the mousse was pretty delicious. 

Overall, if CPK make a few valid tweaks to their menu here, they will have a winner on their hands, it is kind of neither here nor there for now. 

Sanchos

Rest : Sanchos

Meal : Lunch
Loc : Khar, 16th Road.

I have always found it surprising that Bombay has not had a proper Mexican restaurant since the days of El Mexicano (President) and Casa Mexicana (Oberoi) especially sad since Indian's should not find the heavy flavours and familiar ingredients difficult to like. Especially if you are getting some truly Tex-Mex dishes. 

 Instead what we do have are some interpretations of the cuisine with Sammy Sosa in Oshiwara which is a little scatter brained with the execution, Starboard which is more on the authentic side (and therefore a tad disappointing)

Sancho's for all practical purposes should have been able to fill this gap with their location, appeal and pricing. However they have gotten it wrong since the start. Since my previous visit there has been no real improvement, sad as my experience at their Delhi outlet was pretty stellar (here) 

The bean and corn soup was totally tasteless despite the tons of pepper i added, just a damp squib. The corn was uncooked i.e. it was just sweet corn thrown into pre-prepared soup. 

The Fiesta Nachos were great, everything just came together nicely and they went so quick that we ordered another portion. 

The Enchiladas were a disaster, a great big soggy, tasteless mess of vegetables and cheese. Dish has not improved in two years. 

the rice and beans are pretty good but then, they aren't a meal. 

Overall, the space is nice and comfy and the service is quick, friendly and attentive.

The food however needs work, they really need to re-imagine some of their dishes because this is still not working for me.

Food : 6/10

Service: 8/10
Damage: 2000 for two without drinks.