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. 

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

A Tale of Two Onam's - Mani's

'It was the best of times and it was the worst of times'

So begins a book with one of the most famous opening lines ever. 

Onam is my fav festival of the year, after Rakhi (only because i get gifts on Rakhi instead of giving em) I look forward to the Sadhya every year. This year I was very excited about Onam and in my enthusiasm and with my talent for making things hard for myself, i decided on doing two full fledged Onam meals on the day.

After what was possibly one of the worst mornings i have had in a long, long time, i headed to Matunga for the first one.

Mani's is an old Mallu institution in the once Southie strong hold of Matunga. The original Mani's outlet shuts down on this day and they take over a large dining hall where tables are laid. Since i was in the area already, i was able to make it in by 11.30 and was one of the first ones in, duly photographed and videotaped while eating.. (i pity whoever has to edit that footage) 

My banana leaf was not quite the right color i thought, the ones on either side of me were the right shade. 

the tamarind chutney and the pickle were a little disappointing. 

now, i dont recall all the dishes that were on play but there was banana chips and a sweet banana 

the red gravy was the best. 

the sambar and white rice was pretty good.

overall, the meal was alright. I was a little disappointed as they were not quite ready for the first few diners. The rasam took a while to come and we got only a spoonful of what was very delicious dahi. There was no chaas on offer either. The pyasam was terrific. 

At 250 bucks, the meal is also a touch expensive, compared to whats served by them regularly at half the cost. (chaas, dahi, sambar, rasam) So although not bad it was disappointing in the way it played out. Previous year i was late, this year i was early, perhaps i must try to make it there by 1 pm next year.

Also, for the first time i didnt go bull in a china shop and overdo the meal keeping in mind that i was to do another one later in the day.

Guru Da Dhaba

Rest : Guru Da Dhaba

Meal : Dinner
Loc : Lokhandwala Market, Andheri West.

Once in a while i end up in Andheri for a bite, it might happen a lot more over the next few months as i finish post production on the Return of Ashoka. My friend Shailesh and i had discussed Guru a few times, since we are both huge fans of Crystal it was only natural to want to check this place out. Took a few months but we eventually made it there. 

Guru is located in the middle of the market the signage hidden under the canopy and a tree i believe. the place is smallish with seating for about 30 odd if done four to a table. I expected the place to be packed but around 7.30 in the evening it was pretty relaxed.

one of the things i had found most exciting about Guru was their extensive menu, however this is possibly their downfall.

they served a very cold and spicy chaas (buttermilk) which we didn't mind however I can see some people not being able to handle the spiciness.

We got the Mutter Paneer & because we couldn't agree on the other veggie we compromised on the mutter kofta. Both unfortunately tasted the same and not because of the peas. Also, they were quite runny, hate that in a veggie.

The chappati were okay, the makai (corn) di roti was awesome. they also serve other parathas and rotis.

Though they served a bunch of daals, we got the rajma chawal whcih was again runny and with not enough rajma. Spicy too.

Overall, the food promises much but delivers little, everything is overly spiced and their rajma is quite a disgrace. Perhaps one has to find the dishes they do well because somehow i still think that there might be something worth having here. Compared to Crystal though, these guys are far far behind.

The service was okay. The ambiance non-existent. The pricing is fairly low.

Food : 6/10
Service : 7/10
Damage : 300