Komala's, Phoenix Mills, Lower Parel

I have been searching for a really good Dosa outlet in Mumbai for quite some time and with my meal at Komala's at Phoenix Mills, Lower Parel, that search has officially ended. I have had meals at Madras Cafe, the dosa is very good but is on the smaller side. The dosa at Madras Cafe is also on the home made side in its feel which while I am sure is healthy is not as crunchy as the dosa you get at say Sarvana Bhavan in Chennai. Moreover, Madras Cafe is more about Bisibele Bhaat, Butter Podi Idli and Curd rice than it is about Ghee, Paper and Masala Dosa.

Komala's has a typical South Indian feel to the restaurant decor. The seating is identical rows that can possible seat 6 people each, clean but without any unnecessary decor. The focus clearly is on the food. The typical serving atleast in design seemed to be to take the food from the counter and eat, however as there were not too many customers when we went, we were served at our tables. The waiters were also neatly uniformed in Orange and Black outfits and were very eager to please.

At Komala's we ordered Mango Lassi, two Dosas - One Ghee Dosa, One was a Pesarattu or Moong Daal dosa, a serving of Rasam and two filter coffees. The filter coffees were OK, disappointing as I thought that they would be served in the typical South Indian style with two cups, one fat and one thin to mix it well. Instead the filter coffee was served in a plastic cup and did not taste as great as what you get in Malgudi's. The Pesarattu was not as good as the version at Madras Cafe and seemed to have an excess of chillies and onions on the inside. What made my day however was the Rasam and the Ghee Dosa. The Rasam was very tasty with a strong tamarind flavour that lingered on the tongue long after the Rasam was had. The Ghee Dosa was without doubt the finest, crunchy Dosa that I have had in Mumbai. It was well cooked, lots of ghee and went fantastically well with the chutney that was served along with it. Sooper! In true Chennai style and the dish will not be out of place at a Sarvanna Bhavan in Mylapore. That very statement should be enough to make you want to go there. Do go for a great meal of Dosas! You will not be disappointed!

A meal for two at Komala's without drinks will cost you approximately Rs 300/-

How to get there: Komala's is in Phoenix Mills in Lower Parel. The restaurant is on the Ground Floor. You have to cross the Landmark in Phoenix Mills and the entry to the Palladium Mall. Go straight down the road and turn right. You should be able to see Komala's welcoming you on your left.

Howrah, Crawford Market, Mumbai

Howrah is the Bengali restaurant of the New Bengal Hotel near Crawford Market. The restaurant and the hotel are one of the oldest Bengali joints in Mumbai. The objective is to recreate a corner of Mumbai that is the city of joy. The effort works to a large extent. The signboard is half English and half Bengali. I do not know about you but being a "Probashi Bangali" the heart particularly warms to the sight of the script and specially when it has to do with food.

The decor is typically Old Calcutta. Largish, oldish sofas suffice as seats. The feel is very similar to what you get in a slightly upmarket Calcutta outlet. The light is dim and not too bright, the A/C slightly on the chillier side. The walls are adorned with pictures of Calcutta of yore, as is the menu card. There are some really nice pictures of Howrah bridge and what was there before the present day structure existed. The waiters are well dressed in black uniforms but are delightfully not the most effective. The day we went the patrons were also reminiscent of old Kolkata, Bengali families of all shapes and sizes as well as one quintessential Bihari/ Marwari family. Howrah of all the restaurants in Mumbai was the most successful in transporting me back to Kolkata.

Maybe we went on a particularly bad day but the food in Howrah was surprisingly devoid of salt (or maybe that is how they serve their food and customers are expected to use the salt at the table). We had Daab Chingri (Prawns served in a White Coconut curry and served from inside the coconut shell), and Murgir Jhol (Chichen Curry). As I had mentioned, both the dishes were short on the salt and were disappointing. The chicken curry was also boneless, which I guess is hygienic but not the style that should be served in a Bengali restaurant. The menu however was one of the most varied I have seen in a Bengali restaurant and maybe they will not forget the salt the day you plan to visit. I was also not at my hungriest best and hence did not go for the interesting meal option that Howrah serves replete with Luchi, Chholar Daal, Rui Maach, and Mangsho or Chingri as per choice. The portions are limited but I am hopeful that the fare should be good. The highlight of the meal that we had was the sweet dish - we ordered a plate of Chhanar payesh, (smalll rasagullas in kheer). Completely authentic and very very delicious!
A meal for two at Howrah without drinks would cost you approximately Rs 700/-

How to get there: Howrah is the restaurant of the New Bengal Hotel, near Crawford market. From VT you have to drive towards Crawford market. Howrah will fall before the Crawford market alongside the J J Flyover on the right. It is slightly difficult to locate from the road. The more visible signage is that of Zaafraan which is the other Mughlai/ Chinese restaurant of the hotel.

Yoko's, Galleria, Powai

Yoko's along with Kobe's are the two 4 letter - well 5 letter word's which define Sizzler eating in Mumbai. I have gone from hating the Mumbai steak to accepting and even liking the preparations. I have a simple policy of always checking with the waiter if they serve rice or noodles with the steak and insisting that my sizzler is well clear of either - both of which in my mind renders the sizzler as a complete hotch potch mess without any semblance of harmony.

Yoko's in Galleria, Powai however was a throwback to the sizzlers I used to hate when I had initially moved to Mumbai. The restaurant has recently moved from one part of Galleria to another and seems to have left its decor and the quality of its food. The nice decor has been discarded and the new place is quite plain, which is disappointing but not necessarily bad. The food however has really dropped in quality and the well done Garlic steak that I had ordered was devoid of the essential juices that really are a must to a good sizzler. The quality of the meat was good enough but the serving was so dry that the last quarter of the meal was a bit of an effort. I may be comparing the experience to Kobe's and the earlier meals at Yoko's that I have had but, Why Not? Same price, Worse Decor and Worse food. Definitely a come down and not at all recommended. Powai is in need of a good Sizzler joint!

A meal for two at Yoko's without drinks will cost you approximately Rs 900/-

How to get there: Yokos is next to the food court in Galleria, Hiranandani, Powai.

Mainland China, Powai

Mainland China has been a revered fine dining option for Chinese food for quite some time now. The chain opened its first restaurant in Mumbai in 1995 and has since opened stores in all of the major Indian cities. Mainland China is famous for its buffet; but I particularly love the a-la-carte menu. The last time we visited the relatively recent Powai outlet of the chain, we were treated to a delicious Chinese lunch.

Mainland China, Powai is very well done up, the decor is distinctly Chinese - lots of red, lots of dark wood - very Mainland China in fact. The Powai branch decor scores over the other branches of the chain I have visited on two counts, firstly it has some very nice Chinese statues and artifacts which add to the Chinese feel, secondly the restaurant has its seating together without smallish rooms and divisions and gives the impression of an open, friendly dining space.

The food as is the trademark of the chain was of the highest quality, the last time I was there we ordered for the Lemon Coriander Chicken soup, Jiangs Chicken, Burnt Garlic Fried Rice and Prawns in Oyster sauce.

Of the dishes mentioned, prawns in oyster sauce is an old favorite and I absolutely love the preparation created by the Mainland China chefs. The flavour seeps through the prawns delectably and the taste is replicated every time I order the preparation. The lemon coriander chicken soup was ordered due to a slightly sore throat and proved to be the perfect antidote. Spicy and with a strong kick of lemon and coriander flavour, the soup completely got rid of the soreness of the throat and set the rest of the meal up perfectly. The burnt Garlic fried rice was also very nice, but so are most of the a-la-carte rice preparations in Mainland China. The highlight of the lunch however was the Jiang's chicken. The chicken cooked with chilli and ginger as the lead spice; it was seriously delicious and seriously spicy!. The dish is a definite must have if you are visiting the chain anytime in the future. Mainland China seems to have a thing with these dishes named after Chinese chefs/ leaders, General Tao's chicken is also an old favorite though I did not see the dish in the menu the last time I was there. The only downer in the meal that we had was the noodles, which was just about okay, maybe it was the wrong order, but unless any of you can recommend a seriously good preparation of noodles, my advice if you are planning to dine at Mainland China would be "Stick to the Rice!".

A meal for two at Mainland China without drinks would cost you approximately Rs 2000/-

How to get there: Mainland China is located at Hiranandani Gardens, Powai. The chain is on the second floor of the building also housing Yellow Chilli. There is a large signage on the road indicating the location. If you are driving from Haiko towards DMart, you have to cross the DMart circle and continue to drive straight. Mainland China will be at the left on the next crossing just before the market.

Just Kerala, Andheri East

Just Kerala's or JK's attempts to be a slice of God's Own Country in the commercial madness of Andheri East and succeeds on atleast 3 parameters.
1) The food does give a feel of Kerala (rustic Kerala, I would like to add, JK's is not recommended for fine dining) - The menu is large and decently comprehensive. The regular restaurant in downtown Cochin does not have a more elaborate menu than the one you get here. You also get the regular Malayali vegetarian meal replete with the essential Avial, Fat Boiled Kerala rice and Papad.
2) The service is superbly and painstakingly slow. Do not go to JKs if you want to spend 30 minutes on your lunch. You will be lucky if they serve your order within 45 minutes to an hour. You may treat this as a criticism but I think it just makes JKs more authentic.
3) JKs is also a bar. Go there on a weeknight and order a beer. Down a couple and seeing some stout, Malayali people devouring Avial and Appam in the surrounding tables - you will be forgiven for thinking that Andheri East has turned into downtown Cochin.
JKs is located on the 2nd floor of Samraaj hotel and is not a place you would like to take the lady you want to impress on your first or for that matter any date. Do not get me wrong, the place is clean, there are no demons, it is just that the place has a very masculine hard core feel to it. I think it actually does a great job of mimicking the authentic Mallu restaurant. The waiters are attentive but the service as I mentioned is excruciatingly slow.
The food is however great when it arrives immediately. I have not sampled the meal but going by the way the meal gets devoured at most tables, it must be rather good. Our favorite order has been the Egg Roast which is really tasty, a couple of hard boiled eggs served on a bed of a coconut, tomato and onion masala. They also have a range of very tasty Chicken and Mutton dishes all tasting great but with a distinct coconut twinge. Do not go to the restaurant if you do not like authentic coconut based Kerala cuisine. The last time we were there we ordered the Chicken Varutharachathu - a spicy coconut ground gravy - absolutely delightful. The star offering of JKs according to me is the Kerala Porotta which I think is far better than the Appam served at JKs. If you do not know what a delight the Kerala Porotta is, you can go to JKs and become an immediate fan of the concept and the preparation.
Overall a good place for male bonding over drinks and the culinary joys that God's Own Country has to offer. Its also a decent option for a long office luncheon.
A meal for two at Just Kerala will cost you approximately Rs 550/- without drinks.
How to get there: JKs is on the 2nd floor of Samraaj Hotel. The hotel is on Chakala road connecting the Airport road to Andheri Kurla, just off the highway. If you are driving from Bandra to Kandivali take the 2nd right under the Andheri flyover on Western Express Highway. You will need to take a right at the first signal. Hotel Samraaj is 50 m to your right.

Cafe Mangii, Powai

Cafe Mangii has decided to spread; joyously and smartly they have moved to address Powai's need of a really classy fine dining Italian Restaurant. I am sorry but I do not think Spaghetti Kitchen is worth your hard earned penny. If you have been to the groups other outlets in Juhu and Bandra, you will know what to expect and the food and the experience both lived up to the decently high standards.
The decor is very much like the Juhu outlet of Mangii Ferra. Bright lights adorn the trees outside making the restaurant very difficult to miss. They have used the rather wide footpaths very uniquely to set up a couple of tables where people can sit and presumably eat if it isn't too hot/ raining. That kind of weather may bless Mumbai only for two months but it is a nice touch and gives the classy yet casual bistro-ish European look to the restaurant. The set up indoors is also quite nice. They have two types of seating - sofas on the side and 4-seater tables with nice high chairs on the main floor. The waiters are also neatly uniformed and very polite and attentive.
We had a pretty long leisurely dinner at Cafe Mangii. We had two starters, one was a mushroom stuffed with cottage cheese and something that I usually associate with Konkan food - Butter Garlic Prawns. The mushrooms stuffed with cottage cheese was okay, I thought it tasted more Indian than Italian. The Butter Garlic Prawns were however outstanding. The influence of butter relative to the garlic on the taste was far more significant than the Konkan namesake. The dish was also on the sweeter side giving a really delightful taste to the dish. We also ordered some garlic bread which we soaked up with some olive oil. This was one area where I was slightly disappointed as usually in these high class Italian joints the bread is complimentary.
For main course I ordered was Beef Lasagne, the others at the table ordered Lavender Steaks and Chicken Mangii. I was slightly disappointed with the Lasagne at Cafe Mangi as I thought that it was slightly light on the tomato based meat sauce which I absolutely adore. The Lasagne was also slightly crunchy with something resembling a carrot interspersed with the meat. My friends however absolutely raved about the courses that they had selected. Their feedback and the Butter Garlic Prawns makes me give Cafe Mangii the benefit of the doubt. I will go there again, but I will not order the Lasagne.
A meal for two at Cafe Mangii will cost you approximately Rs 1600/- without drinks.
How to get there: Cafe Mangii is in Hiranandani Gardens right beside the Fab India. If you are not familiar with Powai you will need to start from Haiko and drive towards the KFC. TO get to KFC you will have to take a left at the circle. Take the left and go straight past the KFC. You will soon come to a T junction where you will have to take a right. Take the first left after the right and go straight down the road which curves to the right. Cafe Mangii is the last shop before you hit JVLR.