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. 

Masala Library w my Pops

Rest : Masala Library

Meal : Lunch
Loc : BKC

While i have been to Masala Library a few times now, this time i was able to take my dad along as we were both heading to a meeting in Andheri post lunch. Being a Saturday i was not sure if we would get a table and tweeted ML the night before and they got in touch. After a brief time on the waitlist i was assured a table for 1.30.

Annoyed that they claimed to be full, i wanted to make sure they weren't just pulling the old trick, (they weren't. when we got there, ours was the only empty table)It was very kind of them to accommodate us.

We started out with the pappad platter, which is still pretty kick ass and like all papad platters a bad idea when on a table for two. we kinda filled up on this but it was still worth it. 

the pesto kebabs, dryish, hint of pesto with a little sweetness, not your regular old kebab this one. The Paneer had a grainy texture and a very familiar taste, it was served with bits of asparagus which was interesting but didn't add to the dish at all. 

the mushroom chai brought out like tea service for two, with dried mushrooms representing tea leaves, truffle powder representing sugar and a mushroom broth representing water. still a hit.

the mishti doi palate cleanser is a so good. they should bring em out in stacks.

this was the malabari parotta served as a quesadilla , i recall it being on the money and pretty different

This was the aloo tikki i think, served with a little bit of corn and chana, again, dry but on the money. 

the dessert was this pista burfi thing paan style with coconut foam on the side. too rich, should have gone for something else. It was not bad, just not my thing. 

Overall, the food continues to be pretty good, it was a pity we missed the tasting menu time slots, i would have really liked my dad to have experienced the wider menu but perhaps another time. I do wish they expand the menu somewhat, having been there four times now, it seems like the same stuff each time.

We didnt get to the mains at all because we stuffed ourselves on the appetizers and the papad platter did most of the damage.

Still a great place to go once or twice a year.

Food : 8/10
Service : 8/10
Damage : 4500 without drinks (pretty expensive for just appetizers. word to the wise, the tasting menu is way WAY better value for money) and most importantly, dont let your dad see the check.

Cafe Lota

Rest : Cafe Lota
Loc :  India Habitat Centre 

Meal : Lunch

Cafe Lota, is what you would expect a Delhi eatery to be, quaint, artsy located in a handy craft centre, its a Delhi restaurant done right in more ways than one. A brilliant place to be when the temperature is right. 

Its got this lovely stone cut sign on the outside and a screen door lets you in to a large open space, casual dining at its best. packed on a weekday too. the menu is small plates and large plates but all the dishes are from different parts of the country. 

i ordered a masala chaas, which was excellent but the nimbu paani was totally bizarre. 

the mini rava idli molgapodi was excellent and it went so well with the chutney they served on the side. great idea to start a meal with like this. 

the chutney was served in this little home style jar, as one would expect.

The Kerala Vegetable Stew serve with Appam was excellent. The stew was almost Thai curry like which is not a complaint. I even improvised and had some with rice. 

this was a total experimental pick. The Bhatti Ki Churkani, Bhang Chutney, Kumaoni Raita served with rice and 

Raagi Roti. Overall, it was just too alien a taste for my buds, never had anything so sourish and vague. While i dont think it was bad, it was just too different. 

The Bappa Doi cheesecake was as good as it sounds. 

Overall, its a great place for a afternoon lunch  before the heat rises, its busy, so try and get there a little early. The concept of the dishes ranging from various parts of the country does make it more interesting than your generic cafes, where else will you get a Uttaranchal Dish rubbing shoulders with Idlis ? 

Food : 7/10
Servie : 8/10
Damage : 1200 for 2 without drinks 

The Bombay Canteen

Rest : The Bombay Canteen 

Meal : Dinner

Loc : Kamala Mills

The Bombay Canteen is possibly the hottest dining ticket in the city right now, tables are extremely hard to get and are much sought after. It is Floyd Cardoz's India debut and is high on concept, of all the recent openings thus far, it is definetely the most innovative. From the register like menu, to the Rooh Afza bottles for water and of course the food.

The menu is rather limited and can best be descibed as India inspired, most dishes spin out of familar things but go their own way pretty quickly. They have a chotta and bada concept (some of it is pretty large) and they also have the chintu which float around and should be grabbed everytime they pass by. 

the boiled egg was a chintu with a filling of egg bhurji i reckon, delicious.

Fried lotus stems are so much better than regular chips, SO MUCH BETTER. Lotus stems should be on more menus i reckon.

cheese sticks. what is not to like ? 

the moong dal fritters, very good, tasty chutney but the chana kachumbar mix was diabolical. they need to put it on the menu as a separate listing all together. this was gone very very quickly. 

they do a selection of toasts, this was the spicy tomato bit with peanut salsa and home made paneer. Tad spicy and a little underwhelming but by no means bad. 

the eggs kejriwal were unlike any i have had but were terrific. easily one of the starts of the menu. def get them whilst there. 

the masala coke, was smaller than id like and had more masala than id like. could be improved. 

so the indian tacos were dissapointing, didnt go anywhere, too gimmicky. although i am told the non-veg taco was terrific. 

so this was my main, the baked cabbage and paneer kofta, the first serving was over salted so we sent it back. it came back somewhat fixed but not quite. i had it with a steamed garlic bun which was terrific and must be had. 

the old monk rum laden gulab jamun was terrific. a combination that works extremely well together. 

the guava pastry with mirchi ice cream was okay, i didnt find it to be that great but everyone else loved it. 

the falooda sundae with some skim milk. terrific. a falooda SUNDAE so simple yet so amazing. 

the ice cream sandwich was dissapointing all around. the bon bon and jim jam are great but need to perhaps switch the ice cream filling. 

the masala chai popsicles were exactly as weird as they sound. look like kulfi but taste just like frozen chai (not as bad as it sounds) my companions liked this more than i did. 

Overall, the space is pretty cool, the vibe is great and its heaving with people. So for now, its def going to be the place to go.

I was the sole vegetarian of the crew and i found the food to be okay, the menu is kinda eclectic and fairly limited. Its not traditional in any sense. I am told they will take another two months or so to add more veg options. So the place def does have potential, hope to check them out in a month or two.

Also, as @anaggh rightly pointed out, the menu is kinda limited therefore will have to change frequently otherwise one could go through it all in two visits and then it gets kinda boring.  the word is that the menu will change every couple of months.

The non-veg was voted to be amazing, so i guess meat eaters should not feel shy about ordering.

The desserts range from terrific to good to weird good. So no chance of making a mistake there.

Service was quick, prompt and friendly. Id say go for it.

Special thanks to @dharmeshg @qtfan and @anaggh for a great evening out, sorting out the table and eveything else.

Food : 7/10
Service : 8/10
Damage : 12000 for 4 w cocktails

Crystal

Went back to Crystal after ages, this time with usual Crystal partner in Crime Shailesh Prabhu (@yellowmonkeygames) for a pretty terrific meal. As usual we got there just at 1.15 pm and got an empty table.

Slash and i usually vary up our orders but this time we stuck to the usual the dry aloo, the chana masala and the paneer bhurji. unfortunately there was no space for a rajma chawal this time but in any case, the food was terrific. no complaints whatsoever.

The prices though have shot up. it was 350 for two which is about 70-80 more than i would pay usually. A few days after this i got another round of take out for some friends where we had malai kofta and rajma as well as the chana masala and the sukha aloo. terrific then too. easily one of the best places ever. 

The Sahib Room

Rest : The Sahib Room
Meal : Dinner
Loc : Palladium 

The Palladium is def one of the more interesting new hotel spaces, having dined at their other restaurants i was happy to accept their invite to check out their new Indian restaurant. 

The space is what you would expect from an upscale fine dine, although they fortunately don't go all native. 

Kim's Game, named after Kipling's great novel, was a little too sweet, a dash of bitters would have perhaps tightened it up. 

i had asked for an old fashioned but they got me a whiskey sour which was just as well because this one was pretty terrific. 

the amuse bouche was a little moong dal bhajiya, which i am not personally a big fan off. 

the lotus stem tikki thing was pretty awesome. i have seen a lot of lotus in asian cooking and only the more courageous or high end Indian cuisine restaurants will bring lotus stems to the fore.

the gucchi ki tikki was brilliant, there was  a really strong after taste of mushroom which was pretty terrific and one doesn't see mushrooms in this form very often.

We got tasting portions of a terrific black dal which was enjoyable. There was a kalonji wala baigan which was in near perfect imitation of a mirchi ka salan . There was a paneer khada masala was spicy and pretty good as was the Jaipuri aloo.

The purvanchal ka saag i didnt like much because i am not a saag guy.

Their selection of breads is also pretty impressive, the garlic naan was terrific and the zaffrani taftan is something i haven't had before. the warqi malai paratha was a little sweet. 

the biryani was pretty decent and went well with the salan and the daal. The burhani raita though was not so great. 

the rabdi was okay but the khubani ka meetha was tops. 

Overall, the food is pretty good, they could do with a slightly wider selection, i find it slightly limited at this point. The dishes over all are not heavy on the gravy or cream but a lot dryer which is a positive change. A comparable meal anywhere else would leave one feeling like a beached whale. 

Although execution is different to your regular North Indian fine dines, I also think that they played it safe with the menu, there are really no Raj era dishes despite the theme which i think is an opportunity lost.

However The Sahib Room stands out in what is a very competitive fine dine space.  

Chawala -

Rest : Chawala,

Meal : Lunch
Loc : Koliwada


A few days ago, my friend CJ @theflyingsikh, the big boss @anaggh and doc and Tarantino fan @qtfan (get it ?) got together to go to Koliwada, a place i had sporadically heard of but did not know existed.  I was the first one to get there and hung around the Dashmesh Gurudwara. Except for two smallish shops with wooden benches i couldn't quite find any other eateries, turns out the first shop was it.

In any case, Koliwada is like a small town or a large village, narrow lanes, no parking etc etc. So its fitting that a place like this exists, basic, authentic where one sits in the heat on uncomfortable benches because of the promise of a good meal. 

good old fashioned tandoor where all the cooking was being done in real time.

started with the Kulcha Chola, which was pretty huge and lightly stuffed and boy was it terrific. It went splendidly with the chola which is a pretty important little dance. My only complaint here was i wish they had makhhan instead of butter. 

The Bhaturas were largish and this too went well with the chola, so not a bad gig. 

Overall, the food was kickass, i do think the Bhaturas are easier to do but the kulcha requires finesse. They serve a mean glass of cold chaas as well to wash it all down.

CJ was ordering things and was being treated like one of their own, which makes me wonder if he secretly owns the joint. In any case, i would def like to go back once the weather is better and sample what else they do, perhaps Rajma or the mutter.

A light meal for 2 was about 250, so not only is it a hidden gem, its a steal too 

Crystal - A Summer Lunch

Rest : Crystal

Loc : Chowpatty
Meal : Lunch

After a long gap of not being able to dine out due to several issues, i finally persuaded my buddy CJ to tag along to lunch at Crystal. The bandra boy that he is, he had never been there and i thought he would appreciate the food being the Punjabi that he is.

Having been there many, many times i decided a while ago to order things that i didnt order on my previous visit. So we got the Malai Kofta which was excellent, tender koftas with the spicyish gravy, the always excellent Paneer Butter Masala and the ever dependable Chana Masala.

Not pictured here are the myriad glasses of their sickly sweet chaas and bottles of thums up (a must to wash down this kind of a meal) Finished off with their most excellent Rajma Chawal.

This being summer and the month of the Alphonso, bypassed the usual order of Kheer for the chilled Aam Ras, looks good and it tasted even better.

Overall, the food continues to be excellent, has become a little more expensive but still value for money this. Service is super quick. One of my fav places in the world, still. 

Food : 8/10
Serv : 7/10

Damage : 600 

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.