Ambica Dalwada Centre, Navrangpura, Ahmedabad

Gujarati's love their food. Gujju food, is famous across the length and breadth of the country through the revered Gujarati Thali - Kadi, Rice, Khichdi, Subzis, and a whole variety of rotis and puris. All served up, mostly unlimited, round after round, unless one asks for mercy. All, please not that the food is typically sweet and almost drips with ghee, so please exercise, and get enough good cholesterol to negate the inevitable buckets of bad cholesterol that is a necessary bi-product. The thali almost immediately springs to mind when one talks about Gujju food, but it is the next frame entering my mind when discussing Gujju food that really makes my mouth water. The delicious world of Gujju snacks (or 'snakes' as they like to pronounce.)

Gujju snacks is I believe the greatest contribution to the Indian food landscape by the land of Gandhi. The offerings are almost as numerous as the offerings on a standard thali, I particularly love the Gathia, the Dhokla and the Khandvi. The last time I was in Ahmedabad, I was introduced and fell in love with a 4th. The Dal Wada.

The Dal Wada is as the name suggests, a vada made of Dal, the Dal is soaked overnight in a secret spice and is packed in to little balls which are then deep fried. The other visible condiment in the mix is coriander which adds its unique flavor. The result is an incredibly tasty offering which makes for a fantastic break fast or mid day snack. I had the Dal Wada at Ambica Dalwada Centre which is a food landmark in Ahmedabad.

It is a small shop with just a few tables for seating, their primary business is however take away, they are renowned for their Dal Wadas so much so that they actually sell the Dal Wada mix in packets which you can take home and fry and eat in the comfort of your home. A pointer obviously to the quality that they produce. We had our Dal Wada at the store however. They sell by weight and two of us ordered 250 gm. We absolutely devoured our plate of Dal Wada that was served, piping hot and absolutely delicious. The Dal Wadas were served with a few Onions and Chillis/ Hari Mirch, the mirch was marinated in salt and sugar and not very spicy at all - went extremely well with the Dal Wadas. It is interesting to note that Ambica serves nothing apart from the Dal Wada, nothing at all, no other snacks and not even a cup of tea, not even water actually. A completely mono liner Dal Wada centre, nothing else. I would think that it made business sense to serve some tea to go with the Wada, but I guess it just shows you what a focused approach can do, I guess.

A meal for two at Ambica Dal Wada centre will cost you approximately Rs 60/-

How to get there: Ambica Dal Wada centre is just off Commerce 6 Road, in Navrangpura, in Ahmedabad. It is a very famous joint and you will not have any problems getting there.

Mia Cucina, Andheri West

Mia Cucina came with a reputation. In the times food guide that I have Rashmi Uday Singh had rated the food as the best Italian restaurant in Mumbai. I tend to agree partially with her and would rate the restaurant at par with Don Giovannis as the place to sample Italian food in Mumbai. Mia Cucina, "My Kitchen" is a high end Italian restaurant which has just opened in Versova. The place is chic and the decor very classy and very Italian. I loved the picture of Marlon Brando as the Godfather at the entrance and was pleased to see that the place had both outdoor and indoor seating options. The tables were long with a wood finish, the interiors were well lit without being too bright and the walls had a brick finish adding to the overall feel of the place. Mia Cucina is also a favorite with the film/ TV Serial crowd of Suburbian Mumbai and we spotted Arshad Warsi, Maria Goretti and Anchal Kumar in the time that we were there on a Saturday night.
We ordered quite a spread at Mia Cucina, the food at Mia Cucina as we found is served not as full plates but as smaller bowls from which you can share which was a departure from the regular high end Italian restaurants which I think is great as you can taste a larger number of dishes without awkwardly transferring food from largish place. The other slight difference that we noted was the fact that the restaurant accommodates slight changes in the ingredients of the preparations. If you want your favorite ingredient added to a particular dish and it makes sense, the chefs comply to your request.
At Mia Cucina we tasted Lasagna Al Forno, a lasagna made with a mince mix of beef and pork, a really nice taste though I felt that the cheese was slightly on the lighter side, Risotto al pollo - a risotto made with chicken and mushrooms which was good without being really brilliant. We also sampled a bit of grilled Rawas which was also very tasty and had a lot of herb flavour going well with the fish - again very good quality. The undoubted highlight of the meal however was the tagliatelle pasta with mascarpone cheese and spinach. My sister had the brainwave of adding chorizo or pork sausages to the preparation and it tasted absolutely fantastic. The spinach, cheese and the pork was a truly outstanding combination which must be tried and will be definitely repeated in my next visit. As is the case at most high quality Italian restaurants, leaving space for dessert is a must and we sampled the cheesecake, the tiramisu and a chocolate pastry all of which were of the highest standards as far as taste goes. Do go to Mia Cucina for outstanding Italian food!
A meal for two at Mia Cucina would cost you approximately Rs 1300 without drinks.
How to get there: Mia Cucina is on the main Versova road. If you are coming from the station side. You have to keep driving down the road past Indian Oil Nagar and straight past where the old Versova bus stop used to be. You have to drive straight as the road bends left from the bus stop and then goes straight before turning left again before taking a half u-turn towards the right. Mia Cucina will fall towards your left just after you take the half u-turn.

Mani's Lunch Home, Matunga

Mani's Lunch Home rounds off the corner of Mumbai that will forever be Tamil Nadu. The location with the Aayappa stall serving regular South Indian snacks, the Nalli Silks outlet situated right opposite and the typically South Indian temple at 45 degrees from the outlet gives one a picture that would be completely at home in Chennai. Mani's rounds off the picture with a typical Tamilian lunch home serving delightfully well cooked and hygienic vegetarian Tamil meals at incredibly affordable prices. Mani's is however definitely not a fine dining option, it is a small place and believes in community seating. You will most probably have to wait till you get a table and will definitely have to share the table with other ravenous eaters.
Mani's has two meal options the rice plate and the full meal. We were

not at our hungriest and ordered the rice plate. The rice plate consists of unlimited chappati, rice, rasam and sambhar, one bowl full of three standard South Indian Subzis, a bowl of curd and one chhaas. The food is very simple, is served hot and is brilliantly authentic to taste - highly recommended by my Tamil friends. Amazingly the cost of the rice plate is Rs 35/- and you have to buy the coupon before sitting down for the meal from a counter at the shop entrance.
The other option is the full plate which costs Rs 70/-, the full plate is served on Banana leaf instead of the steel plate we were served food on and has some extra bits in sweets and banana chips that we could see from a photo of the dish that we saw. After devouring the rice plate we ended with a little helping of Mysore Pak and the typically Tamil slightly fat and dry Jalebi which we bought from the counter at the entrance of the shop. Great food and definitely recommended if you want a typical vegetarian Tamil meal in Mumbai.
A meal for two at Mani's lunch home without drinks will cost you Rs 100/-
How to get there: Mani's is on Telenga road in Matunga right opposite the Nalli's Saree shop. If you do not know the area you have get to Kings circle. From Kings Circle you have to get on the road leading to Matunga station. From there you have to take the first right to get on to Telenga road. Mani's will fall on your right. It is almost impossible to find parking on that road near Mani's so chances are you might have to walk a bit to get to the lunch home.

Great Punjab, Cypress Market, Powai

Great Punjab is a typical Punjabi style dhaba which is usually difficult to find in Mumbai. Replete with a Sardarji owner who is not averse to loudly telling you that you are parking your car too close to his vehicle even when your on your way in as against on the way out. I love sardarjis for their forthrightness and the Great Punjab is an honest attempt at a Punjabi style Dhaba in Mumbai. Great Punjab does most of its business through the phone on the delivery model and the seating space is slightly on the cramped side. The ambiance is not great but the food usually is.
I say usually because while we swear by the Chicken Malai Kebab and have ordered the preparation multiple number of times at home, when we ordered the 2nd helping at the restaurant we found that parts of the Kebab were slightly raw. Although implicit in the statement is the fact that we were so delighted at the first helping that the second was demanded. The other problem the restaurant faces is the inability to step up to the plate and serve up a deserving follow up to the outstanding starter that is the Chicken Malai Kebab. The last time we were there we ordered the Chicken Dopiyaza with Roti, which was eatable but nothing to remember the meal by. We left the restaurant slightly disappointed at the undercooked second helping of the Chicken Malai Kebab, but that will not stop me from continuing to order and devour the preparation. Maybe, they were really under time pressure for speedy delivery of the 2nd helping and ended up serving it slightly raw - I will give them the benefit of the doubt based on my home delivery experiences.
A meal for two at Great Punjab without drinks will cost you approximately Rs 600/-
How to get there: Great Punjab is on the Cypress Market road in Powai. If you are driving from Haiko towards Cypress Market the restaurant will fall on your left.

Casa Mia, R-City, Ghatkopar

There is a lot to like about Casa Mia, the Italian restaurant in R-City mall in Ghatkopar. The decor is very friendly and exudes a very casual cafe-ish feel differing from the usual high and mighty ambiance at most Italian restaurants in the city. The place is however authentically Italian with an Italian owner and manager, and has a whole host of photos from the country on one of the walls. The restaurant tries to be slightly different and cool and largely succeeds through a number of special touches. The kitchen is semi open with chefs visibly posted at separate stations and whipping up salads, antipasti and main course. The restaurant has something special happening on all week days, we had gone on a Friday and there was a live band playing. We saw that each day had some special offer such as 50% off for Indian wines etc. The coolest part that I liked about the restaurant was the piece of paper on the table which substitutes as a table mat. All the mats had interesting Italian quotes spelt in English which were to do with food and Italians. A nice touch, and enables you to say something in Italian before digging in to the food.
The last time I was at Casa Mia I ordered the Lasagna Toscana (a chicken lasagna) as the main course and tasted a bit of the (funghi di bosco) a mushroom risotto, and a vegetarian thin crust pizza (pizza verdure). We also ordered two interesting dessert preparations, the salame al cioccolato which roughly translates into chocolate salami, a very interesting preparation of dark chocolate cake made in the shape of small salami strips and served with some cream on the side. Great taste but I felt that the Salami strips were a bit on the hard side. We also ordered a Tortino which was supposed to be a chocolate cake with an interior of gooey chocolate sauce which was there but not in adequate quantity. The proportion of cake was on the higher side. Overall a more than decent dining option, all the dishes were very tasty but I would not rate any of the preparations as truly outstanding. Overall a good meal and definitely a recommended dining option if you are already at R-City but I would not recommend you to go all the way to R-City Mall just to sample Casa Mia cuisine. Oh! one last word, on the day we went the surprise in the form of a live band turned out to be an unpleasant one. The band was really bad and I am sure that John Lennon and George Harrison turned over in their graves at a few of their renditions. Hope the live band is changed asap.
A meal for two at Casa Mia without drinks would cost you approximately Rs 1200/-
How to get there: Casa Mia is on the top floor of R-City Mall. The Mall itself is located on LBS Marg and is impossible to miss.

Cream Centre, Oberoi Mall, Goregaon East

Cream Centre is one of Mumbai's oldest and most famous vegetarian restaurants. They have been around since 1958 and have a landmark restaurant on Mumbai's marine drive. The place is however 100% vegetarian and I half - reluctantly venture into the outlet at Oberoi Mall Goregaon in the company of some office friends and was not at all disappointed.
Cream Centre is a fine dining vegetarian outlet and is nicely decked up. White is the prevailing colour and it adds a nice "creamy" ambiance to the restaurant:).
I was a bit thrown off however by the menu which seemed to be a mix of everything without really having a really large elaborate section on starters/ main course. There was a section on soups, salads and sandwiches, one on starters, one on trademark dishes, i.e. classics that cream centre prides itself on - they actually have the trademark emblem on some of their offerings on the menu card. There were also whole sections on pizza/ pasta and mexican food and a complete section on Thali offerings - a combination of what is there on the menu, you had to choose from a set of dishes which you could also order separately. The menu card also had a very nice picture of the marine drive of yesteryear, specifically pointing out the location of the original cream centre restaurant.
I ordered the Original Chhole Bature TM, and also ended up tasting a number of dishes including Mumbaiya Ragda Pattice, Masala Parathe and Paneer. Here I would like to comment on the service which was very eager to please and asked us specifically if we would like our food to be served together or no. We insisted that the food should be served together but the service was very very dispersed with all the dishes arriving at different times at pretty long intervals. Not good especially after asking first!
The food however was fantastic to say the least. The Bathura was nothing spectacular but the chhole was out of this world - easily the best that I have tasted. The Ragda Pattice was also very good and was served very neatly enabling separate bites of the chhole (ragda) and the aloo cutlets (pattice) as well as the combination offering. The Masala Parathe was also very good, so much so as the same could be had as a meal by itself. I also washed down the meal with another trademark drink they served which was the lime mint cooler. It was as refreshing a drink as can get and is highly recommended from my end. Overall slightly expensive but very good vegetarian fare once you can decide what you want. I think the way it works is that people just come over to the restaurant and order their favourite dishes.
A meal for two at Cream Centre without drinks would cost you approximately Rs 750/-
How to get there: Cream Centre is on the top floor of Oberoi Mall, Goregaon East. The mall is on the Western Express Highway.

Jumbo King, Andheri East

Along with Bollywood, BSE, Gateway of India, and Dharavi, the Vada pav is probably the thing most Non Mumbaikars would associate with Mumbai. However unjust and untrue that may be given the wonderful cuisine on offer all throughout the city, there is a reason why the Vada Pay can lay claim to being the culinary symbol of the city. That reason is the sheer numbers that are consumed in a day in Mumbai and Thane, figures on the net put the number at 1.8 to 2 million Vada Pavs in a single day. If you ever travel across Mumbai on a weekday, you will see that the figure is entirely believable.
What is the Vada Pav? The pav is the bread - a bun slit three quarter way or completely down the middle holding a large fried mass of flavoured potato - the pav. The vada pav is typically had with some garlic chutney and some green chilli to add the extra spice if you need it. Very simple. Very easy to cook. Very cheap - the life blood snack/ short meal of the Mumbai office goer. There are vada pav shops all across Mumbai serving the snack at prices ranging from Rs 5 to Rs 8 and doing raging business.
Jumbo King is a chain of restaurants serving the regular Vada Pav and some innovations on the dish all across Mumbai. Their basic Vada Pav - the Grilled Jumbo King starts at Rs 10. Why they charge a premium and can get away with it? They offer Consistency. The Jumbo King Vada Pav tastes consistently delightful at all branches. They offer Hygiene. The vada pavs are served not different from the way McDonalds serves burgers. These two value propositions have enabled Jumbo King to scale up from one outlet in 2001 to God knows how many today spread across the city.
Jumbo King does not have seating space - I am sure the economics do not allow it. You have to select your Vada Pav, pay, stand outside the shop and finish the vada pav. Their basic offering is the Grilled Vada Pav - priced at Rs 10, they also have a butter grilled Jumbo King - basically a grilled Jumbo King with a large slice of butter on top. They have a cheese Jumbo King where they cover the top of the Pav with some cheese shreds. They also have szechuan and chhole varieties with the szechuan sauce and chhole topping the basic Vada. I have sampled the cheese and my friends have sampled the chhole and the szechuan but have come to the conclusion that the plain and the butter ones are the best. I guess the variations work for those who are regular Vada Pav eaters. I do not fall into that category.
The last time I was at Jumbo King, I had one Grilled Jumbo King and one Butter Grilled Jumbo King. Both were very good. The slice of Amul butter on the Butter Grilled Jumbo King basically provides enough for two Grilled Jumbo Kings to be nicely flavoured. Very good and hard core junk food Mumbai style.
A meal for two at Jumbo King without drinks will cost you approximately Rs 60/-
How to get there: You have Jumbo King outlets all through the city. The Andheri East outlet is on the Andheri Kurla road. It will fall on the right if you are travelling from the Western Express highway towards Kurla. It if right after the JB Nagar crossing.

Nalas Aappakadai, Annanagar, Chennai

Nalas Aappakadai is a relatively recent chain of restaurants in Chennai. The chain of restaurants is centred around innovations on the Appam which is the South Indian bread/ roti made with rice batter. The appam is a wonderful preparation and goes particularly well with meat stew and sea food dishes. The fluffy rice batter offering is worthy of

receiving a tribute by a restaurant chains with Aappakadai aims to and largely succeeds. Given a choice however I will rather keep to the appam and meat stew combination.

The restaurant is an attempt at the South Indian style merging with 21st century fast food prone India. The feel is like that of a fast food outlet, bright lights, bright colours with the menu being loudly displayed on the signage opposite and open kitchen. The menu cards are however on the tables and the waiters take orders at the table, and serve the food.

The menu card at Aappakadai basically consists of three parts, regular South Indian meals, set meals with the Appam as the main staple with meat/ vegetable preparations and a whole range of variations on the Appam starting from Kheema to multi flavoured, multi coloured Appams.

I ordered two dishes, one was the set meal with Appam and Chicken Chettinad, the other was a chicken kheema appam. I was unfortunately disappointed by both. The appams served in the set meal were not the fluffy appam I have had at most restaurants, it was too crispy, slightly cold and difficult to break. People who have tasted the appam know how critical it is for the appam to be soft and hot - the appams I was served with the set meal were definitely up to the mark. The chicken chettinad was the most disappointing part of the meal. The gravy was very spicy as Chettinad gravy usually is, but did not have any flavour of the meat - seemed as if they have loads of gravy pre cooked and decide to serve the meat/ egg/ vegetable depending on the order. They served two pieces of chicken along with the meat, the pieces were with bone and had very little meat on them. I do not necessarily mind bone but the pieces were one of the worst pieces you find on the bird and you would think twice before serving them to guests coming at your home, let alone those paying for food at a restaurant.

The chicken kheema appam was interesting, it was basically a sort of chicken ommelette cooked on the Appam, the insides of the appam, the hollow side had this scrambled mix of egg, chicken mince and chillis on it. Decent taste, but i think that it would have tasted far better if they had served chicken kheema, egg bhurji and nice, hot appam separately. I may have ordered all the wrong dishes, to be fair the place was doing decent business but I fear that in an effort to go completely retail and mass produce the appam and the side dishes, the essence of the preparations have been compromised. To me that is not an acceptable trade off.

You may still go to Aappakadai if you have not tasted the appam before and are not a fan. From a curiousity perspective tasting the various preparations can be fun. Do not go there for having a regular appam meal. If you do go there however, you may be advised to steer clear of the preparations that I have mentioned - particularly the chicken chettinad meal with appams.

A meal for two at Nalas Aappakadai without drinks will cost you approximately Rs 300/-

How to get there: Nalas Aappakadai is on 3rd Avenue Annanagar just below Kebab Court restaurant.

Dindigul Thalappakatti Restaurant, Annanagar, Chennai

I love India. I love to travel in India. And I absolutely LOVE to sample the best food that this beautiful country of ours has to offer. It is even better if the restaurant serving the fare is an institution and Dindigul Thalappakatti in Annanagar, Chennai is an institution in Indian and Tamil cuisine.
Dindigul is the region in the South of Tamil Nadu and Dindigul Cuisine along with Chettinad are the two most distinctive Non Vegetarian Food schools emanating from the Southern most state

of our country. The food of the region was made famous by the efforts of one Nagaswamy Naidu who by his distinctive head dress earned the nickname of Thalappakatti (Tied Turban). Thalapa in Tamil means "turban" and katti, "Tied", the food popularised by Mr. Naidu is today known as Thalapakatti Dindigul cuisine and is a completely different strain of Indian food in its own right. Long may his soul rest in piece.
The decor at Dindigul Thalappakatti in Chennai is that of a typical Chennai meal restaurant, straight lines of tables seating 4 people each. The food at the restaurant is served on Banana leaves which are kept of steel plates. We ordered quite a spread at Dindigul Thalappakatti, we ordered the famous Dindigul chicken biriyani, chicken idicha veruval, brain egg fry and a Karandi ommelette. The Chicken Idicha veruval was a bonlesee chicken veruval and was not too spicy which is usually a problem area in South Indian food if one is not careful. The brain egg fry was basically a scrambled mash of egg and brain and was ok but had too much of the masala flavour almost overpowering the taste of the brain and the egg. The other two dishes were what made the meal special. The Dindigul Biriyani is again a unique adaptation by the region of India's most popular dish, firstly it is cooked with small rice - called seeragasamba rice as against the Basmati used in the North. The Dum flavour is also almost entirely absent. The water used in the dishes preparation is also apparently translated from the Dindigul region. I can already hear screams of sacrilege by Biriyani aficionados but hey, the dish is interpreted differently by all parts of our country and it was very tasty!
The highlight of the meal however was the Karandi Ommelette, which is the most wondrous egg preparation that I have ever seen or heard about. What you get is round hot ball of egg served at your table. It truly grabs your attention and makes you gasp and you have to see it to believe it. The egg is apparently cooked in a round shape container akin to what is used for making Idlis. There is actually an open kitchen in the restaurant where you can see the dish being prepared. Brilliantly there are also innovations where you get the preparation with stuffed meat or prawn. Unfortunately I did not have the appetite to enable me a taste but the same is a positive must have when next in Chennai. The very thought of the preparation is enough to make anyones mouth water. We also rounded off our meal with a glass of Jil Jil Jigarthanda - the traditional drink from Southern Tamil Nadu but it wasn't half as good as what you get in Madurai.
A meal for two at Dindigul Thalappakatti restaurant without drinks will cost you approximately Rs 650/-.
How to get there: Dindigul Thalappakatti Restaurant is in Annanagar. From the Annanagar round circle you have to take the road towards Chintamani. Then you have to take the first left. The restaurant will fall on your right.

Jaffer Bhai's Delhi Darbar, Marine Lines

Jaffer Bhai's Delhi Darbar is indisputably one of the best Biriyani offerings the maximum city has to offer. The fare from Jaffer Bhai is a slap in the face to all those (a few years ago myself included) who think that Mumbai does not have good Biriyani. I believe Biriyani should be the national dish of the country as while the essential ingredients - rice, saffron, meat, (substitute cauliflower for my vegetarian friends :p) remain the same, the subtle variations and innovations that each region of the country brings make the Biriyani their very own and in most cases their favourite preparations. As Indians we celebrate unity in diversity and we are proud of our Indianness, we also celebrate our Biriyani, the Indian Biriyani although the Dindigul and the Lucknowi preparations are as different as a Brahmin from Trichy, is to a Nawab from Lucknow. Jaffer Bhai's - who call themselves the Biriyani kings of Mumbai, offer a really sumptuous Mumbaiya Biriyani.
The decor is one of the most well done up you would find in a non fine dining Mughlai restaurant in Mumbai, the seating is comfortable and the A/C works fine. The service is also very well-meaning if not very efficient. The last time we were at Jaffer Bhai's we ordered, Paaya (they had mentioned in the menu that it was Mumbais best), Chicken Neza Kebab, Garlic Naan, Mutton Korma and the Mutton Biriyani. All were fantastic preparations and memorable apart from the Mutton Korma which was good without being exceptional. The Paaya at Jaffer Bhai is not a soup, my aborted attempt to have it like one resulted in a bit of a choke with the spice being a bit much to be had like a soup. It however went very well with the Garlic Naan and would be outstanding with a Rumali, the mutton stock is just outstanding as are the Paayas or the hooves, extremely tender and very delicious. The Chicken Neza Kebab had a strong flavour of Ajwain in it and the spice gave a completely different flavour to the preparation, it worked very well with the chicken and was fantastic to taste. The Biriyani was typically Mumbai, if you look at it thinking that it is different from Kolkata, Lucknow, Hyderabad you will be right, but guess what it was incredibly tasty and I thought it took the best out of the Lucknow and Kolkata versions and added a bit of oil and spice to add the chutzpah that made it Mumbai's very own Biriyani. Long Live India and Long Live Biriyani! Jaffer Bhai also has a section on the menu called the Arab menu which I have to sample on my next visit there. I really did not have space to try a morsel more on my last visit!
A meal for two at Jaffer Bhai's Delhi Darbar without drinks will cost you approximately Rs 600/-
How to get there: Jaffer Bhai's Delhi Darbar is on 1st Marine Street, opposite Metro Gol Masjid. The Masjid is a pretty decent landmark, I drove there the most simple way to get there would be to drive North on the road beside Churchgate Station. Just drive past the railway tracks and look left. You should be able to spot the Gol Masjid bang on the middle of the road on one of the rights near Marine Lines. Jaffer Bhai's is right next to the masjid.

Kong Poush, Goregaon West

Kong Poush means "Saffron Flower" in Kashmiri and is THE place in Mumbai to sample authentic Kashmiri cuisine in a reasonably authentic Kashmiri setting - well as much as is possible in the heart of Mumbai I guess. The precursor to this restaurant was the Poush restaurant which was situated in Andheri West behind Fame Adlabs, for some reason the place closed down and Kong Poush has been set up by atleast a few of the people who had opened the earlier place. The restaurant "Poush" still exists on the Western Express highway on the road to Ahmedabad, but from the clear "We are not associated with the resort" answer that we got from the management, I figured that the decision to part ways was not the most amicable.
Anyways, KongPoush tries to deliver the authentic Kashmiri experience and almost over does it in some areas. The restaurant is on the 1st floor after a not very impressive entrance. As you take the stairs to the 1st floor you get to see the effort that the owners have taken in the decor. There are two types of seating, one is the regular tables and chairs, made of cane and with glass tops, the other more grandiose option is the Shikara which I guess is meant to replicate the Kashmiri boats which ply on Dal Lake. The customers opting for the Shikara have to take off their shoes, sort of climb in to the gaddi's that are kept and sit babu style/ cross legged to have the meal. I have never actually sat on the Shikara but it definitely adds to the restaurant ambiance on the whole. Where I feel Kong Poush overdoes it are the windows that they have painted on the walls, the paintings are scenic views of the Dal Lake and the Himalayas - nice idea but it does not really work. The waiters are well dressed and take pains to serve you well, one thing I really liked was the way they gave the water to be used for washing your hands after the meal. The water is personally poured by a waiter onto the bowl kept in front of the customer from a container with an elaborate snout, a nice slightly royal touch.
The food at KongPoush is delicious to say the least, they take their food very seriously and like to inform you on the preparations, the menu card itself is a very nice meal. Kong Poush serves Kashmiri preparation borne of both the Kashmiri Pandits and the Kashmiri Sunnis. There are very elaborate wedding meals as part of the menu, which are essentially thali's with a number of mouth watering preparations. One can also order a-la-carte which was our preferred option. We started off with two glasses of Kawa - Kashmiri tea with a unique flavour and highly recommended - it set the meal right up. For starters we ordered "buzith kokur kanti", kokur is Kashmiri for chicken, the dish is a sort of a mild Tandoori chicken, less Masala a bit more lime and not as well grilled as the Tandoori preparation is. Very good! For main course we ordered "KongPoush Batta" (saffron rice) and Mutton Goshtaba, the combination was the highlight of the meal and is truly outstanding. The Goshtaba which is basically meat ground really fine after softening with herbs and using a mortar and pestle. The mince has to be really fine and not the mince meat variety. The same is then rolled into meat balls and cooked in a very light curd based gravy. It is a difficult dish to make, but the taste is outstanding, the Goshtaba is a must have if you are visiting KongPoush. The gravy is slightly sour and the waiters are apprehensive before serving the same and recommend a tomato based preparation, but if you really relish meat and like sampling different cuisines, the Goshtaba is the dish to sample.
An outstanding dinner/ lunch option in the midst of one of Mumbai busiest suburbs, KongPoush is a must try!
A meal for two at KongPoush without drinks will cost you approximately Rs 850/-
How to get there: Kong Poush is off the Goregaon link road. You have to take the right on Goregaon Link road after crossing the Goregaon Bus stop (if you are driving from Andheri towards Malad). As you are driving look for a sign towards your right. That said the turning is slightly difficult to spot although KongPoush has a large banner fluttering on the main road. You might have to try a few times, if you are 200 m away from the Goregaon Bus stop you will have missed the turn. After turning right Kong Poush is on the left of the road around 75 m from the Link Road.

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.