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.

Asian Street Kitchen

Rest : Asian Street Kitchen

Meal : Dinner
Loc : Chowpatty

A serious hankering for noodles hit last week and we decided to go check out Burma Bumra, however being the new kind on the block, they refuse to keep tables for walk-in's and we were told not to bother coming.Next option was our club and on our way we got massively and quite oddly traffucked. 

Spotted the sign for Asian Street Kitchen and decided to hop in rather than spend another 20 mins trying to get through. 

anyway, the menu is Asian as you probably guessed, its the new fad, being the 5th or 6th Asian restaurant in the last 12 months. Italian was du jour the year before. 

the menu does not waver far from the usual suspects, familiar soups, appetizers etc. they also serve Pho, Laksa et al, so its like a greatest hits of asian cuisine and leads to a please everyone menu (which is fine) However its yet another place that misses out on Malaysian dishes, so no Roti Canai or Coconut Rice in the style. 

the space is tight but comfortable and split across two levels, not a fan of the weirdo lighting though, feels quite odd. 

horrible table sauces, just horrible.

mushroom skewers were just awesome, gobbled them down very very quick. the teriyaki was sweetish but the mushrooms held up well. 

no drinks, so this is what you get.

the steamed garlic wontons were also very good, tasted brilliant, thoroughly enjoyable. 

the khau suey was massive (this was an individual portion) 

but it was actually not very good. lacked any serious flavour, pretty weak.

usually avoid getting the regular Thai curries as am very partial to the Green at Koh & the Red at Thai Pavilion. Went for the Sri Lankan curry which looked interesting. unfortunately it came with Paneer :( and looked and tasted like a not so good, garden variety green curry. 

Overall, i didn't have high hopes for the space in all honesty, considering location i figured it would be going after the lowest common denominator in terms of flavor. Very pleasantly surprised by the appetizers which i would return for anyday but the mains are where the wheels totally came off. 

Food : 6/10
Service : 7/10

Damage : 1300 for two 

Pan Asian with Johnny Walker for the China vs Japan Debate at

The fine folk at the ITC were kind enough to invite me to The China-Japan Debate on a plate. It was a lot more fun and less literal than it sounds. Essentially, the ITC Grand Maratha and Diageo put together a dinner to debate how Chinese, Japanese cuisine pair with various Johnny Walker Whiskies.

 Heading the table was Raveen Misra brand ambassador for JW Gold Reserve and folks from Diageo and fellow food writers/bloggers. The menu had dishes paired with whisky pairings and one had to choose from either the Chinese or the Japanese. For the most part, i got both :) 

We started with an outlandishly oriental version of a Rob Roy, this one called Mao's Tipple was i believe whisky, vermouth and bitters, oolong tea leaves with flakes of sichuan pepper . once the tongue got burning, the taste of the drink completely changed. very cool. 

I chose the Chinese appetizer which was a silken bean curd with black pepper and chilli. Terrific, no complaints with this one. a must have. 

The Japanese appetizer was a tempura of asparagus and eggplants, which i found to be very average, especially compared to the near perfect Chinese appetizer. 

This was paired with Johnny Walker Gold Reserve, served with crushed ice which gets it to the right temperature without diluting the drink. I thought both dishes went well with the paired whisky, Japanese actually worked better.

The Veg Wonton in Hot & Sour stock was nice, the dumpling was fresh and good to taste, i was however quite distressed with the presence of nori in the soup which gave it a particular after taste i dislike. I tasted the Japanese soup which was a cold cream of lettuce with a dash of sherry which was pretty good.

The Chinese main was a crackling rice with veggies in sweet & sour sauce. Again a decent selection, the rice and the veggies worked well, although more sweet than sour. 

The Japanese main was grilled Tofu served with eggplant and it was very well executed. The flavours were lighter than the Chinese dish but i thought it worked well.

both the main's were paired with the Johnny Walker Platinum Label and this one was my fav of the evening. Went down very well and was quite smooth to taste. A dash of cold water helped salve the super strong vapors. 

I have never been a fan of Asian desserts, the winter cherry tart was okayish, the wasabi ice cream was perfect but i dont like Wasabi ice cream at all. The Chinese dessert too was okay, with fried ice cream and fresh fruits. Neither dessert better than the other however. 

This was paired with the JW XR21 which while prestigious didn't quite have the finish of the Platinum or ease of the Gold Reserve. 

All in all , it was a great evening, i thought the food was evenly matched but the Chinese had the edge, a slight one at at that. We Indians aren't big drinkers with our meals, its always a pre-meal activity for most of us, although wine is catching on. 

I usually avoid drinking whisky unless i am in a colder climate but this was lots of fun and fairly daring to pair Whisky that too with Asian cuisine. I was glad to learn that none of the Whiskeys clashed with the dishes being served and for the most part it all worked well. Although I believe it will be sometime before we start imbibing whiskey dish by dish. 

Kudos to Johnny Walker for ensuring and actually questioning the diners on how they were getting home and offering to have people dropped or driven home. 

It was a great evening with a bunch of friends and many thanks to Urvika Pandey at the ITC for having me over and being a great albeit teetotal host. 

Mekong

Mekong is the new Pan Asian restaurant atop the Palladium Hotel, in Lower Parel   The place is spectacular, very Asian in design, part zen, part junky, the impossibly good views of Bombay certainly make it feel like Hong Kong. While its stunning in dim light for dinner, it will be equally interesting during the day for sure. Since it was my birthday weekend and the sister in law surprised with a visit, i thought id take her some place with a view. I was saving mekong for a family wedding dinner later but we decided to go ahead and give it a go. 

The menu is  Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese cuisine. It would be good to get some Malaysian in there, no one really does Malay cuisine.  They interestingly also have a selection of cold appetizers, usually find cold apps in Mezze & Japanese cooking. 

The coconut milk with mushrooms didn't come together flavour wise, no finish, disappointing 

they insisted on replacing the soup and got me this pumpkin soup which i couldnt find on the menu, this one was terrific. i am not a pumpkin fan but i enjoyed this immensely, creamy, reminded me of a terrific pumpkin bisque i had ages ago at a new york wedding. 

this was the mixed fungus dim sum we got, just terrific, was blown away by it one of the best ive had ever. Also went terrifically well with their vinegar which i have officially fallen in love with.  

The Enoke mushrooms was the cold appetizer, while i enjoyed this personally, it was not a hit for the table. However i think its an interesting idea and works well.

 The Crispy wok fried noodles were perfectly good, came with a huge helping of veggies as well.

The tossed veggies in chilli bean paste, these were good, i am a Kung Pao fan though, was too engrossed in the conversation to pay attention to the menu. i like these though, no problem. 

The dessert was a mango sorbet the kind that can make your knees go a little weak. the mango pudding was okay i preferred attacking the sorbet 

Overall, i love the ambiance of the place, the restaurant is connected to Li Bai the bar, which i did not get a chance to check out however it too has a great view im assuming. They have another two restaurants, a bar and a nightclub coming all on that top floor. The place could be heaving with people in a few months.

The food is good, i wish they tried a few more interesting things like cold appetizers, maybe give Malay cuisine a look simply coz no one else does it. Id like to go back for a working lunch with dim sum and soup and the view one of these days.

Prices are what you would expect from a five star but certainly cheaper than say an ITC.

Food : 8/10

Service : 7/10
Damage : 4000 for two without drinks.

Trader Vic's Mai Tai Lounge

Rest : Trader Vic's Mai Tai Lounge
Meal : Pre-Movie Cocktails & Nosh
Loc : Phoenix Mills, Lower Parel

Trader Vic's used to be a popular name back in the 1960's when Polynesian themed Tiki bars were en vogue you can even see one in an episode of Mad Men. Over the years they died out but have now bounced back.

. 

Located right opposite the PVR box office, the space is partially out doors and but is not as much a tiki bar as it should be or could be. It reminded me of another theme bar i used to frequent the Bahama Breeze.

With an hour to kill before Man of Steel, my friend Mr. Samant decided to pop in for a round of cocktails, especially since the women folk weren't joining us and it was Sunday which meant i could imbibe with the sun up. 

I started with a Mai Tai which is pretty much their signature cocktail, while i dont drink Rum by itself i do enjoy rum cocktails and this one was pretty decent. Since its pleasant to drink, it goes quite quickly. 

The menu is quite disparate and the theme is not quite evident. However some of the dishes do look interesting enough to try. We went with these mushrooms which were fried and stuffed with cheddar i think and jalapenos. Hot, hot but not a bad way to start. 

The tiki falafal burger seemed quite enterprising and was quite good as a burger but fell a short as a middle eastern adventure. A dash more tahini and some hummus instead of the cheese would make more sense.But good nonetheless.

I haven't tried enough to really get a grip on what their total offering is but  if they use their imagination a little bit then the place has potential.

I like the half open half enclosed feel to the place, its a relaxing way to spend an hour or two, especially before a movie.

Food : 7/10
Service : 8/10
Damage : 2000 for 2 with a cocktail. 

Mamagoto - The awesome new pan Asian eatery !

Rest : Mamagoto

Meal : Dinner
Loc : Gazebo House, Hill Road, Bandra.


So, Bandra gets a new Aisan eatery, after Sing Kong comes Mamagoto and this was on invitation i was glad to accept, as the restaurant was yet to open and  i could spend more time chatting up the folks behind the business.

Originally from Delhi where they have multiple outlets, this is their second in the city and they seem to be out to change the rules of the game a tad.

The look and feel and menu reminds me of Wagamama, the Brit Asian chain which is also supposed to be opening shop (no one knows when) However as someone on my twitter time line said, they are  Wagamama meets Manga. They have a decor and ambiance in the Japanese Grunge motif. The space is casual, well laid out and skews young. 

The menu is pan Asian but with an interesting accent on street food and playing with ingredients, not the usual wonton, dim sum here. My only complaint is that the menu is very long, so they have a lot going on, which is not a bad thing but i hate having too many things to choose from ! 

i tried the Wasabi Mary with some trepidation but was pleasantly surprised by a very clean, delicious taste. 

Water chestnut spring roll with a chilli black bean jam, the only reason i chose these was because the jam was intriguing.. and rightly so. pretty nifty, not overtly chindian in taste despite how it looks.

the little lettuce cup cam with shredded veggies, mushrooms and a slightly hot dipping sauce. they were okay by themselves but went great with the sauce. 

the corn fritters were not my choice, pretty good, went very well with the black bean chilli jam which was sitting on the table from the spring rolls. there is lot of interesting stuff on the menu, so i wouldn't necessarily try this one again.

The snow peas and green bean salad, very interesting this one, sweetish, apparently made with a coconut milk reduction, fried onions and peanuts. what is not to like, however it was on the sweeter side. 

Asparagus in a sweet soya sauce, almost like a balsamic reduction, freaking brilliant, i wolfed this down and would do so again in a heart beat. All of it worked together brilliantly, i personally would have liked the asparagus colder but thats just me. 

The Chiang Mi Noodles deserve to be first among equals. Absolutely stunningly delicious, the noodles, the coconut broth, the fried onions and peanuts, come together like a flavour party. Not very different from a khow suey, this. The portion was huge and the dish itself is fairly heavy and really not meant for one  person, do keep that in mind when ordering. 

A caramel sponge cake this one, with a toffee sauce and some vanilla ice cream. mrs J loved it, not often you see a sponge cake show up on dessert menus. well done, the combination worked well. 

Overall, the food was pretty good, i enjoyed every dish and that rarely happens, nowadays. We have plenty of Asian eateries in the city and we certainly have come a long way from the days of China Garden & Five Spice (who have their own space and charm of course)

Its good to see a restaurant go Pan Asian which is quite easy to do nowadays and be able to find a yet untouched niche. Their approach is a lot like Busago who offer street food but in terms of execution and complexity Mamagoto is far ahead.

Possibly one of the more impressive entrants and this review sounds a little ga ga but that is because it is. Pity its in Bandra which means i cant go visit on a lark.

 A meal for two without drinks would be 1500-2000 & i was invited to dine.