Maroosh, Phoenix Mills, Lower Parel

I fell in love with Shawarma after i went to Greece. The Greeks call their version the Souvlaki but I suspect that the same has its root in Turkey and the Arabian heartland. As much as the taste I think what gets you going is the feel at the restaurants. Chunks of meat, in India - unfortunately only chicken, being skewered and roasted in an open oven.
The Shawarma for the uninitiated is pieces of cooked chicken slow roasted in an oven, rolled in Pita bread along with some fries and various sauces merging brilliantly with each other and with the chicken. At Maroosh, which is basically a walk-side shack at Phoenix Mills, the Shawarma is served with some salad that is salted and soaked in venegar, mint sauce and some white sour cream. I personally feel that the sour cream goes very well with the Chicken Shawarma and I would strongly advise you to be generous with your dips. Be advised you may need to overcome etiquette demons as Maroosh is an open walk-side cafe without organised seating!
I strongly advise you to stick to Shawarmas at Maroosh though you may need two if you are going for lunch or dinner. I had also tried the Chicken Bhuna and rotis there which were also good without being really exceptional.
A meal for two at Maroosh would cost you approximately Rs 450/-
How to get there: Maroosh is on the ground floor at Phoenix Mills.

Sadichha, Bandra East

Sadichha keeps to the tradition of outstanding, value for money food options in Maximum City. The decor is neat and hygienic without being lavish in the least. Focus is on utilisation of space and the chairs are just prevented from being top of each other. The message is clear, have outstanding food, pay and leave, please do not stretch your arms and relax... This is a hard core place for hard core foodies.
The food is coastal, there are meal options, masala and fry for prawn, pomfret, mutton and chicken. The meals come with rice and a chapattis with soul curry to be added. Strongly advise all to have at least one plate and share fish fry, Bombvil, Pomfret, Bangda or prawns all four of which are really nice, though prawns would just steal it if given a choice. After being gastronomically drowned with the meal one is strongly advised to cap off the same with some Aamras which is as good as God made mangoes and I think he made them really special.
Overall a fantastic meal. Long live the Konkan Coast!
A meal for two at Sadichha would cost you Rs 550/-
How to get there: Sadichha is right opposite the MIG ground in Bandra East. If you are driving on the WE highway from Andheri towards Bandra take the left exit just before the Bandra fly over. Take the first right at the circle. Sadichha would be on your left.

Yellow Chilli, Powai

The restaurant has a lot of hype. The location is on top of Mainland China, Powai. The restaurant is owned by Sanjeev Kapoor - probably the most famous culinary personality in India - at least on popular TV. The offering is quite creative, having an option of having Chilli-Q or unlimited mouth watering offerings or so they say (to be fair we actually chose a-la-carte).
On the whole however i would have to rate the restaurant as rather disappointing and is easily out done by any of the other fine dining options in Powai. The food is just about ok; eatable but none of the dishes that we had left us wanting for more and given that we ordered a kebab platter and two other non - veg curries that was a really bad return for a place with hype. The decor was neat without really leaving a lasting impression and sort of added to the damp squib dinner experience on the whole. Overall, it was rather uninspiring and is not recommended which is saying a lot as it is probably the first such instance in this rather kind blog.
Oh! forgot to mention the onion pickle which was served along with the Indian fare was the highlight of the meal (meant to be sincere and not sarcastic!).
A meal for two at Yellow Chilli without drinks would cost you approximately Rs 1100/-
How to get there: Yellow Chilli is on the left if you are driving towards Chandivali from the main Hiranandani circle after passing Haiko on your right.

Urban Tadka, R-City Mall, Ghatkopar

Urban Tadka has always been one of my favorite Mumbai restaurants with one big problem - getting a place to sit. Though they have increased their network of late, but as we recently found out, getting space to sit still remains a huge problem.

The food at Urban Tadka is to die for, none more so than the Nimbu Chicken, the same is present in there starters section as says that it is not to be missed. The point I believe needs to be highlighted far more that it currently is. The Nimbu Chicken is one of the best dishes I have ever had in Mumbai and i have found the offering only at Urban Tadka. Cooked with generous helpings of butter, ginger and lime, the dish is so good that it is often the only thing I eat at Urban Tadka... I would like to add that it goes very well with the Rumali Roti.

Other dishes you can try if you can get away from Nimbu Chicken are the Rajma, Methi Paneer and Mutton Rahrah which are really good also. The Mutton Rahrah which consists of pieces of mutton is cooked with kheema acting as gravy - this deserves a special mention. Do not forget to cap off the meal by keeping some stomach space for some Rabri and Garam Jalebi. Though keeping space might prove to be a challenge I would recommend the same as a perfect dessert for the Nimbu Chicken and Mutton Rahrah.

The decor of Urban Tadka is very Punjabi with a decent sprinklings of wall frescoes depicting country side scenes, though recently I thought that they have gone slightly over the top with dholaks and the like. Though going by the crowd reaction and the dancing customers it seems that it is very much here to stay. Oldies like me I guess always have the option for ordering in!

A meal for two at Urban Tadka without drinks would cost Rs 500/-

How to get there: Urban Tadka is on the 3rd floor at R-City Mall next to the food court.

Malgudi, R-City Mall, Ghatkopar

Great Coffee! Fantastic size of the Dosas! but rather ordinary taste - would be a one line description of Malgudi at R-City Mall... The same is to be taken with a pinch of salt however as

1) I am not really a fan of Veg food and as for Dosas even less so.

2) My better half consistently orders the Rava Masala Dosa from the joint and claims it is rather good.

Anyways, last time we were there at the R-City food court, I had ordered a Paper Masala Dosa and a Filter Coffee. This was one of the days when i was just feeling like a dosa and I was almost over the moon at seeing the size - which was about 2 and a half feet long. The Dosa came with the Masala served separately, sambhar and two chutneys instead of the usual one. The additional chutney was slightly reddish and actually rather nice - a sort of tangier version of the standard coconut chutney that you get. The Dosa was rather sad as it seemed tasteless, maybe in part due to the humungous amount that was served but was not a patch on what is served at say... Madras Cafe. The masala was decent but unfortunately did not make up for the Dosa. The coffee however was really very nice as filter coffee always seems to be and did not disappoint in the least.

Overall I would rate this as ok and one of the more viable options in the food court... only do not be greedy like I was and steer clear of Paper Dosas.

A meal for 2 at Malgudi would cost you approximately Rs 250/-

How To get there: Malgudi is on the food court of R-City Mall.

Bowl House, R-City Mall, Ghatkopar

Bowl House is a restaurant that I have been eyeing for a long time, but given the glut of competition from Urban Tadka and the food court - Malgudi and KFC, we had not been able to zero down on the outlet. The opportunity finally presented itself when we felt like having east Asian food, and did not want to travel too far... Bowl House was not a disappointment.
Bowl House introduces itself as serving cuisine from South East Asia and has a menu containing dishes from quite a few countries of the regions, Tibetan Momos, Burmese Fish Cakes and a smattering of dishes from Japan, Thailand, Vietnam and China. The decor I felt was reasonably tasteful although slightly overdone with Chinese Dragon wall painitings vying for attention with the ubiquitous Thai Buddhas. The circular iron bars constructed on the outside having circular cut glass was one feature that stood out in particular.
We were to see a movie after lunch and so did not order heavily. We ordered a plate of steamed rice, Thai Prawns as starters and Vietnamese Orange Chicken. The Thai prawns were very good, with the sauce especially standing out, i think hint of ginger makes silghtly hot east Asian food taste better and the combination was very nice in the Thai prawns. The Vietnamese Orange chicken was however easily the highlight of the meal. Completely non - spicy and almost sweet, the chicken cooked in Orange juice was really tasty and is highly recommended. The little pieces of zuchinni and orange pieces really added to the overall taste. Lastly the steamed rice, I felt was perfect and went very well with both the dishes corroborating my theory that it is easily the best carbohydrate to accompany East Asian food unless one is in the mood for some old fashioned Bengali chinese.
We rounded off the meal with some Vanilla and Honey noodles to round off a really good lunch!

A meal for two at the bowl house without drinks would cost you approximately Rs 800/-
How to get there: Its on the food court floor at R-City Mall, opposite Rajdhani.

Parsi Bungalows, Strawberry Fields, Pandavas Vanavaas Haunts, Driving to PratapGarh - Well almost...that is not to mention ParaGliding!!

We had a day off on Friday, 19th February due to Shivaji Jayanti. Slightly lesser known event but what the hell, that made it 3 days off and we decided to embark on our much awaited and anticipated road trip to Panchgani, Mahabaleshwar, Wai and Pratapgarh.

We had planned a 2 nights - 3 day trip but the unfortunate demise of my cousin Soumik caused us to shorten the trip by a night. However as it is the rule of the blog to focus on life's positives we will not dwell on that. Thank you Soumikda for all the good times that we have shared and may your soul rest in peace!

Day 1: Arriving at Panchgani, Visiting the Mapro farm, Driving through the Ghats almost to Pratapagarh Fort, Strawberry Fields, Falling in love with Il Palazzo

We left Mumbai at 8.30 AM after the usual late-to-rise syndrome. We picked up Dripto (who was to go to Pune) and set off all geared up for the longish drive (approx 375 km one way). The route we had planned was the express way to Pune and then on to NH4 to Shirval (on the way to Satara). We were then to take the exit to Wai and drive on to Panchgani. We dropped Dripto off at Pune and continued on NH4 towards Satara. After asking a few people as to whether we were going the right way we proceeded on to Shirwal for the exit to Wai. The exit is pretty easily identifiable and is basically under a flyover towards the right, there is a clear indication of Wai, Panchgani and Mahabaleshwar. After taking the right one needs to drive a further one and a half hours uphill towards Panchgani. The Ghats are pretty easily negotiable, one only needs to take care to overtake only when safe and absolutely necessary. We reached our hotel, Il Palazzo at around 12.45 PM. After checking in and being pleasantly surprised at the quality of the room we were on our way again to our first stop - the Mapro farm.

Mapro farm is located on the Mahabaleshwar Panchgani road. It is easily the most easily locatable place in the area which Mapro has inundated with sign boards. The farm basically constitutes

1. A chocolate factory - where you can see chocolate coated cashews and almonds being made
2. A flower nursery

3. Some plots of land where strawberrys are being grown

4. A food court

5. A mini market when one can taste Mapro product for free and buy Mapro products at a 10% discount

We spent around an hour and a half at the farm looking around and had lunch at the food court. They serve decent vegetarian sandwiches, though i was slightly put off by a group beside us finding an insect inside their sandwich. Guess that makes it Non Veg but i am not chinese!!! The highlight of the meal was the strawberry juice which they make right in front of you. Very nice and very strawberry. We the left the farm after stopping at the market for tasting and buying some goodies.

The plan was to proceed to Pratapgarh which I had read was a steep drive of close to 35 km. What i did not know was that the drive was through a very curvy and winding ghat. Ghat driving always has an element of danger to it and one needs to be completely concentrating on the road and maintaining lane discipline. One also needs a prayer as there really is very little one can do if there is a rogue driver coming from the other side.

The drive to Pratapgarh fort took us about an hour and a half and we were met with disappointment as we could not actually go up to the fort due to a bus that was not working and was clogging up the entire traffic around a kilometer from the fort. The mess we found would take atleast half an hour to clear, that information and the unwillingness to negotiate the road in front of us after sunset made us decide, i believe wisely, to turn back. The drive back for some reason seemed to be much quicker and on reaching Mahabaleshwar we drove towards Arthurs Seat - which is supposedly Mahabaleshwars premiere sight seeing highlight. Half way to Arthurs Seat we aborted the drive on finding out that it was still a 15 Km drive on a road that was pretty curvy.

We were proceeding back to Panchgani a bit underwhelmed before the day was saved and how! by the visit to Vrundavan Vaug which is a strawberry farm on the Mahabaleshwar - Panchgani road. We just entered the farm and had a ball there after picking ripe strawberrys by hand and then buying them. It was the first time we had seen strawberry thickets let alone ripe strawberrys and we had a blast plucking the best ripe ones ourselves. Thrilled by the visit to the strawberry farm we reached Il Palazzo tired and drained at around 6.45PM.

Il Palazzo is a heritage boutique hotel and is easily one of the best at Panchgani. It is very clean has spacious rooms augmented by the high ceilings, the service is prompt, polite and the entire set up gives on a feeling of it being a home away from home. The hotel is maintained by a Parsee family who actually stay there, they are actually the third generation of residents who take care and let out the hotel. We were staying in one of the rooms in the main wing, which has around 9 rooms. There are also cottages which are let out to larger groups of people. We were liking the place already but fell in love when dinner was served. They have small dining tables right outside you room where you are served. The have veg and non veg options of a set home cooked menu which is what is decided by the owners. I do not think one can ask for helpings but we really could not ask for anything more. We were served carrot soup, bread rolls, rice, baked chicken in cheese, chicken cutlets, roti, aloo - gobi subzi and mutton curry. This was capped by chocolate souffle. The food was actually home made and very tasty - the parsee family have the same meal, and it cost us only Rs 400 per head. Il Palazzo also has a buffet option for guests but I think you have to pre book. We then retired to our bed, tired after a long drive and totally satisfied by the excellent meal that we just had.

Day 2: Parsi Breakfast, Sight seeing at Mahabaleshwar, Paragliding, Quaint Wai, Driving at 140 kmph

We had quite a few things to do when we woke up the next day. We had to do our Mahabalehswar sight seeing, paragliding and visit Wai on our way back to Mumbai. Our relatively full plate (of things to do) was however nothing in comparison to the breakfast that we were served. It was easily the largest breakfast outside of a 5 star that i have ever had. We had (and believe you me, this was one meal only) mutton kheema, pao, a very large omelette (at least 3 eggs), poha, bread and home made strawberry jam. We were so full that we almost felt like going nowhere. We just about managed to get up and check out (after ensuring that we bring some of the home made strawberry jam with us to Mumbai).

We drove straight to Arthurs Seat retracing the route that we had driven the day before and further on. A lot of sight seeing points are on the way to Arthurs seat. Basically each and every valley view with the Krishna has undergone some branding - you find Parsee Point, Kates Point, Echo Point etc all through. The view at Arthurs seat was indeed special but I would recommend the view at Marjorie point.

The view that we were privy to, of the western ghats half submerged in cloud and mist was truly breathtaking.

We then proceeded back to Mahabaleshwar and were almost driving out of Panchgani, when we saw the paragliding point and stopped in the nick of time. Ritwikas feet are still recovering from the nail operation and she was not ready for paragliding healthwise but I went ahead and enjoyed the experience of feeling like a bird for ten minutes that they allow you. To be honest, I did not enjoy the experience as much as I had parasailing in Pattaya for two reasons. One, I was slightly worried about the landing, landing in sea is much safer. Secondly, I was pretty scared, one comment that the handlers had made about my weight had made me almost back out. It was not very windy and right before take off they tell me not to sit down too fast while take off, as otherwise there was a chance that me, the main paraglider (I was obviously taken as a co pilot) and the two helpers might all fall down off the cliff!! Add to that there was one aborted take off attempt because the wind was not strong enough. Anyway after one scare off an aborted landing, we finally managed to land safely without any broken bones. I consider myself richer for the experience, and poorer walletwise given that those ten minutes cost me Rs 1500/-.

After taking a break, we then proceeded downwards to Wai which is quaint town, and apparently hosted the Pandavas during their Vanvaas. We visited the two main temples in Wai, the Ganesh temple and the Shiv temple. The Shiv temple in particular was very nice. Made of black stone, the inner sanctum was cool and gave that feeling of peace which makes one wish one can stay longer. The architecture was also quite noteworthy.

The breakfast ensured that we did not need lunch, in fact we did not need much of a dinner either...We proceeded to drive straight to Mumbai with one stop for a toilet break at the food mall after the final toll naka. The road from Shirwal to Panvel is phenomenal - a four lane highway all through. The highlight here was hitting the 140 Kmph mark for the first time in my life. My highest previous mark was 100 on the Eastern Express higway. This however came with the learning at how easily the car reaches 120 kmph when machine and man are used to those speeds. It required a slightly wobbly turn on the Pune expressway for sanity to pull momentum back to 80 - 100 kmph.

We managed to reach Mumbai well before dark and were back in Powai by 7 PM.

Overall the trip was extremely memorable, though will always be remembered and tempered by the news of Soumikdas death. I would rate Panchgani, provided you get the stay option at Il Palazzo as the ultimate one night getaway from Mumbai. Go there for a complete weekend of rest and relaxation. Go there for picking strawberrys from the farms and having the fruit in all forms the juice, the jam, the crush and just plain and simple. The only side effect is that you will not feel like buying strawberrys off the shelf at the malls ever again.

Khyber, Kala Ghoda

Sometimes its just pre ordained. It is only when the subject of pre-ordination (if such a word exists) is a restaurant that does not need to advertise, even through a decently visible frontage that it is located there, do you know that you are going in for something really special. Dinner on the night of my 4th anniversary was just that - a very very special dinner for two at Khyber, Kala Ghoda.

We left home on the 18th with our minds divided between Cellini at Grand Hyatt Kalina, and Urban Tadka at R City Mall. Unable to choose between the two we just decided to drop both and go for a drive and hit the eastern express highway towards town. After dilly dallying options at Colaba driven more by the thought of dessert at Theobroma, finding out that the revolving restarant at The Ambassador was still under renovation, we finally settled for Khyber (highly recommended by the Mumbai Times Guide) and we drove towards Kala Ghoda. Khyber is actually so non conspicuous that we actually asked the cabs parked right outside the restaurant where it was located - little did we understand then that the quality of food made it a landmark in itself.

Khyber has the complete feel of a swanky South Mumbai restaurant, marble flooring, wooden panels, wall paintings depicting North West frontier scenes. The restaurant has multiple sections and we were given a table for two on the first floor which had a whole host of Anjolie Ela Menon wall frescoes which gave a nice "cave"y ambiance. We went through the menu, and took the waiters advice to we ordered the chicken and lamb kebab platter, a plate of kali daal and roomali rotis.

The kebab platter contained Tangdi Kebab, Chicken Reshmi Kebab, Mutton Sheekh Kebab, Chicken Lasooni Kebab and Mutton Chops. The four kebabs were indeed very good but you get a similar quality at Peshawari and a few other places. What blew me out of my mind were the mutton chops which are marinated overnight and are cooked in a red onion gravy. The gravy is out of this world and is not in the least bit hot. The Khyber mutton chops rate right up there with the best mutton preparations i have ever had in the same league as Boti Kebabs at Kareems, Delhi and Gilawati at Tundays, Lucknow.

We had our fill and barely managed to finish the platter aided definitely by the wondrous taste. We were so full that we gave up any thoughts of dessert and returned with a very satisfying and very tasty anniversary dinner.

How to get there: Khyber is bang on Kala Ghoda. Be prepared to ask a taxi driver where it is and be embarrassed when he points at the door in front of you.

A dinner for 2 at Khyber without drinks will cost you approximately Rs 1500/-

Jai Hind, Bandra West

I am not a fan of having fish (with bones in it) and crabs (with the shell still on) at restaurants - at least definitely not in fancy ones. The reason is simple. You simply cannot do justice to the dish. Crabs should be had with both hands holding the two ends of the claws and with ones molars biting the centre. A loud crack should then follow with the sweet taste of the meat and the juice seconds after. Similarly fish when had should be ideally had mostly without hands. After the reasonably fleshy portions are polished off. The entire bony mass should be entered into ones mouth and chewed in all glory till until the bones are taken out one by one.

Therefore when I had gone to Jai Hind for the first time and my colleague ordered the Pomfret Gassi I actually thought it was a waste of good money. The first bite however made me regret the Bharwa Bombvil and the prawns in green curry that i had just had - it was amazing, the best Konkani fish preparation I had ever had.

We were fortunate enough to frequent the place again on Friday. Samit Basu - my childhood friend and soon to be internationally famous writer was in town to attend the Kala Ghoda festival and we went there after catching up at Sunays house. Much to my pleasure, as Jai Hind was my suggestion, the food, specially the Pomfret Gassi did not disappoint in the very least.

Jai Hind is a nice homely restaurant which looks slightly out of place in the upmarket Hill road area. The restaurant retains the look and feel of the main branch near Phoenix Mills Parel and quite honestly I like it that way, it is neat, air conditioned and clean without the unnecessary frill of Chinese lanterns and glass statues and dividers. The focus clearly is on hygiene and taste although the place is a bit small and may seem slightly cramped.

We ordered Bharwa Bombvil which is Bombay Duck stuffed with prawns, Pomfret Gassi, Prawns Ambotik and a mix of Neer Dosas and steamed rice. The Bharwa Bombvil though quite good, unfortunately tastes much better imagining a mix of the Gajalee Bombvil fry and prawns, it is actually a fish chop made with prawns with the Bombvil instead of the potato mash acting as the crust. The Pomfret Gassi was as good as it was last time, which is saying a lot as this time it carried the not inconsiderate weight of expectation. The Ambotik which is a vinegar based Goan preparation of a red gravy was different and tasty though apparently one gets a far more concentrated and better tasting version in Goa (Rapti - will confirm that once i taste the same myself). The meal cost us Rs 1500 for five people which according to me is damn good value for money as well.

So if you like fish, are hungry and around Bandra or Khar you know the place to go for some value for money, lovely steamed rice and Pomfret Gassi from the Konkan coast.

How to Get There: Take the turn past Lucky Biriyani and go up Hill Road in Bandra. Jai Hind is on the right just beside Bandra police station.

400 Km drive on a single day! Silvassa and Nargol!

We were supposed to leave at 6.30 AM on Saturday morning. True to form and expectation however we ended up waking up at 7.30 and after a whirlwind 60 minutes we had managed to pick Dripto up from his house at Powai and were on our way to Silvassa and Nargol. I was slightly nervous and excited as this would be my first single day drive of around 400 Kms - I had previously driven around 300 Km on a day trip to Bordi but that was with my brother - in - law who did not actually drive much but provided the mental relief of there being a reserve driver if required. This was different as my younger brother and wife do not drive and I was all geared up. The route was pretty straight forward. Hit the Western Express highway and keep driving towards Gujarat, we had seen exits towards Silvassa on our way to Vapi and were reasonably confident of locating the same.

We made good time (hitting average speeds of eighty kmph) till just before Manor and stopped at a roadside resort for some Chai and breakfast at around 10.30 . Refreshed and happy (having seen South Africa at 6 for 2), we hit the road again after thirty minutes. We were then however reduced to travelling at snails pace as work on one side of the highway had caused single lane traffic for a good five odd kilometers. With oversized trucks and aggressive Toyota Innova tourist cars we landed up spending a good hour and a half just which made the 5 km seem like 50.

The traffic was however a lot better post the stretch of road repair and we took a right from Bhilad. There is apparently an exit for Silvassa before Bhilad from Talaseri but we missed that as the signages are not too great. Around 12 kms after taking the right from the highway we were in the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli. Dadra and Nagar Haveli is built around the two settlements at Silvassa - the capital and Dadra. The road from the highway takes you to Silvassa first. Road in DNH are neat and well maintained, lined with trees on either side. The Daman Ganga river flowing through the UT seems to be the focal point for tourism with a number of resorts offering water sports facilities. I am sure that the place would be quite beautiful during the monsoons with the rived gushing through but unfortunately we were in the wrong season and the Daman Ganga was completely parched and reduced to a brook.

We stopped at one of Silvassas better known attractions, the our lady of piety church and after stopping to take the mandatory snap proceeded to Dadra and the Vanganga lake which offers options for some boating and is clearly Damans most popular picnic spot. We then drove back to Silvassa and had a pretty decent chicken and roti lunch at Hotel Greenwood. It was now time for the highlight of the trip - Nargol beach - the spot where the Parsees first landed.

To drive to Nargol we first retraced our path to Bhilad and drive the other side exactly opposite to Silvassa on the road that acts as a short cut. The road is narrow but is in a decent condition, although the problem is the lack of sign posts which makes one stop regularly and ask if one is going in the correct direction. The main approach to Nargol is from Vapi and that is where the short cut finally leads to after a thirty minute (15 km drive). One then proceeds to Nargol village and then onto the beach. One can either park the car in the village and walk to the beach. We however crossed the village and took the one pitch road on the right which seemed to lead to the see. At the end of the road was the largest tract of virgin beach I have seen in Western India and the place is a veritable paradise lined with pine trees on one side.

We spent some thirty minutes on the beach and then proceeded to drive back to Mumbai - almost missing the left and going towards Vapi in the process. We left Nargol at around 5 PM and managed to reach Powai by 8.30 PM, happy, tired and with plans of going back to Nargol one day with time to kill and a large picnic basket.

Pure Pur Kolhapur!

I had initially sampled food at Pure Pur Kolhapur near Kothrud in Pune and had fallen in love with the place. I had heard rumours of the place having a branch in Mumbai somewhere in Parle East but no one had been able to give me exact directions and even the internet had proved incapable of leading me any closer. Today, Yash was supposed to take us to a Kolhapuri restaurant in Parle called Asal Kolhapuri but to my great joy I figured out on reaching there that he had got the name wrong. It was Pure Pur Kolhapur in all its spicy glory complete with the Kolhapur Zero kilo meter milestone.

Pure Pur Kolhapur is a small place and has 4-chair seating counters in its ground and mezzanine floors. The ceiling height is unfortunately the same for the ground and mezzanine levels - you really have to bend over if you are more than 4 feet in height. The food was expectedly very good and very spicy. I ordered the Mutton Fry Thali which comes with a plate of mutton fry, a plate of mutton keema, an option between 1 bhakri and 2 chapattis, go for the bhakri for a different taste, and a plate of pulao. You also get unlimited helpings of the Taambda and the Pandhra Rassas or red and white gravies. The food quantity is perfect for an afternoon meal on a working day and is very delicious.

One can also order the dishes separately as plates as we had done in the Pune outlet. You can order whatever you feel, thali or a-la-carte like but do definitely go for a taste of the spicy food from the Southern Maharashtra heartland.

How to get there: Pure Pur Kolhapur is in Parle East next to the station. After you cross the road leading to the station, it is on the right turn just after the road leading to the ICICI Bank Parle East branch.

A meal for 2 at Pur Pur Kolhapur would cost you approximately Rs 300/-

Kentucky Fried Fabulous Chicken!

I love Chicken! Period. My Dad used to disregard the chicken saying that it was half vegetarian as do most professed meat eaters. But ever since childhood the chicken has been my choice of meat if only just. I do not know what it is about the bird but I find the same incredibly tasty almost at all times and in all preparations. So much so that i had once calculated that in my lifetime i will consume approximately 5000 birds in my life @1.5 Birds a week for 60 non - veg consuming years but more on that later.

I also love fried food. "If its Veg, it should at least be fried" is a comment i once made at an office party and am still regularly ribbed out. The colonel, God bless his soul made the perfect synthesis when he opened his chain and started Kentucky Fried Chicken.
I had my Nth helping of some fried chicken on Friday night at the R-City food court and would recommend the same who can relate and enjoy watching the advertisements of

1. The friends having chicken in a car just gone turtle.

2. Muraliltharan licking his fingers. As also the Sikh Boyfriend.


If you love chicken you will love KFC. If you love chicken and you love fried food you will be able to smell KFC Chicken when you day dream and think KFC.

Go to KFC! Now! Its finger licking good!!

P.S. The original recipe and the other (i forget what it is called) is as good. I really cannot decide. Have both!:)

How to get there: Its on the food court in R-City Mall, Ghatkopar

IPL - A romantics way out of the Pakistan fiasco!

When it comes to India - Pakistan I am pretty much a romantic. I still hope to see a EU like no visa zone for sub continent travel and increased trade and commerce with the "Land of the Pure". In my mind they make far better neighbours than Afghanistan.

Not that i did not hurt at Miandad's six (incidentally my first cricket memory) or jump for joy at Venkatesh Prasad knocking back Aamer Sohails off stump. Pakistan have always been the enemy, be it cricket or Kargil. Over the years however, the team i love to hate in international cricket has been England - i suppose i still suffer from colonial angst!. This transition was no doubt influenced by the sheer talent of a Wasim Akram, a Waqar Younis, a Mushtaq Ahmed and countless other talented Pakistan cricketers who we watched in awe, wished they played for India and longed to be able to cheer for unabashedly in public (when they were not playing India of course) instead of silently admiring them lest anyone accuse us of supporting Pakistan.

The only opportunity we got before the IPL came upon us was the odd Asia XI or India-Pak v Sri Lanka match (during the 96 World Cup which was not properly telecast and was only one game anyway - i still remember Sachin catching Jayasuriya of Akram). The IPL however changed all that. I am a die hard KKR fan and quite frankly have not got much joy from the IPL so far (in fact the initial part of IPL 2 was my toughest week as a sports fan ever). However watching Shoaib Akhtar take 4 Delhi Daredevil wickets in 3 overs with a packed Eden Gardens cheering him on has undoudtebly been one of the most joyful moments of my cricketing life. We could finally legally cheer and support the Pakistani players - all thanks to the IPL.

The IPL provided a framework and could have been the vehicle that could increase people to people contact beyond imagination. The IPL could have been positioned as the Indian Subcontinent Premiere League. The three new teams could have been Karachi, Colombo and Dhaka - maybe even owned by Indian business men and having Indian players. Or if you had to have added Indian cities, maybe you could have added Bangladesh to the KKR catchment, North Sri Lanka to CSK and Pakistan Punjab to the Kings XI Punjab. With Bengal, Punjab and Tamil pride being festered by the respective sides it could have led to improving relations beyond conceivable present thought.

Instead what do we have - a stupid joke with the Pakistani cricketers being humiliated and therefore the average well meaning Pakistani public. Can you just imagine what would have happened if Dhoni, Sehwag and Yuvraj had been similarly snubbed at the Big Bash auction in Australia? I am sure we would have cancelled tours for the next decade.

Sure there is terrorism, and from what we hear and see there has been inadequate action across the border to stop operations against India but it is a common problem. And the average Pakistani cannot be castigated. It is an evil which must be fought together, not playing cricket and not singing the same songs together will not end terrorism. I have seen talkshows where the average Pakistani have questioned the establishment for not acting against the LeT. Now why would an average Pakistani do that? He would do that because he probably loves watching a Sachin and a Dravid straight drive, because he cries while watching Taare Zameen Pe and because he knows peace and prosperity is the only way forward. He is also fighting against the same perceived political compulsions that may never bring about and amicable solution for the Kashmir valley. Incidents like the IPL fiasco do more harm to Indo Pak relations by quietening theses very voices of peace from across the border.

In my view the only way to heal the present situation will be for the two boards to come together and announce the expansion or plans thereof. There is a precedence with the Lahore Badshahs and the ICL, and if Mr. Thackeray and other similar voices so desire we need not have matches in Mumbai. Otherwise this slap on the face of the Pakistani cricket fan (and than would include 90 percent of the country) will take a lot of time to heal and set back relationships further. Anyway i hope better sense prevail and people more adept at home and foreign affairs than me do whatever necessary to improve the situation. Messrs Tharoor, Krishna, Pawar, Chidambaram hope you are doing something about it.

On a selfish note imagine this KKR side with "home" based Bangladeshi players for 2011 and a big buy and captain in Shahid Afridi...Dada as manager after finally hanging up his boots.

1. Chris Gayle
2. Tamim Iqbal
3. Shahid Afridi
4. David Hussey
5. Shakib - Al - Hasan
6. Manoj Tiwary
7. Ganpathy Vignesh
8. Wriddhiman Saha
9. Mashrafe Mortaza
10. Shane Bond
11. Ishant Sharma

Hell... we may even stand a decent chance! Boom Boom! Korbo Lorbo Jeetbo!

Republic Day - 2010: Music - The road to national awareness??

The republic at 60! Jai Hind! were some of the familiar posts on facebook yesterday. All very patriotic and very good .I think we could do with a little more flag waving as a nation (if you compare celebrations to the 4th of July, we look like we are mourning) so flooding the online space with patriotic slogans is very welcome... to me at least. But do we, as a generation know enough about our country? Do we care? Is it important?

I suspect that we do care and believe that the same is important but we do not have the time required to dig the same out - atleast in th current form that the same is avaliable in. Some of us (the late 70s/ early 80s generation) who do know enough about the struggle for independence or about our leaders are probably quizzers or have paid a lot of attention to Class X History, even so the knowledge would be primarily pre 1947 as school texts (at least till the 1990s) did not contain anything beyond the midnight hour on 14th August and there is precious little information even otherwise. Those that are there like "India After Gandhi" and are scarily voluminous for most people.

This Republic Day saw two initiatives on Indian television (apart from the usual reruns of Gandhi), one was a rehash of "Mile Sur Mera Tumhara" - a medley involving music and movie stars and showcasing the diversity of India, the other was a great initiative by CNN IBN Republic at 60: Makers of India program where they profiled great Indians shortlisted by Ramachandra Guha (as good an authority as they come), the program was well made, compact and discussed the contributions of a select ten luminaries of our nation and how they contributed to take the republic forward over the last 60 years.
I do not know how many people saw the latter program though as my Facebook comments had more references to Mile Sur and how should have been better represented by Dada and others rather than Rituparna and Prosenjit . Mile Sur was obviously the far more popular watch - although the entire song lasted for 16 minutes.

Maybe the answer does lies in Music!?! Make a Mile Sur (or better still a Vande Mataram remix), only knock off Atul Kulkarni - put in an Ambedkar (put some subtitles), knock off Prosenjit - put in a Bose, knock off the Gujarati singer - put in Sardar Patel, knock off Gurdas Mann - put in Bhagat Singh. Our heroes and their contributions need to be celebrated. We would love to know who all the greats were who shaped the nation if the same is presented in a decently entertaining manner. We tend to be very parochial when we talk of our heroes (a Bose is highly revered in Bengal but a Patel or a V.P. Menon is hardly discussed in the same breath), we need to figure out a way and educate the country or at least (as views tend to be political) give them the information in a format that is engaging. Maybe there is a business opportunity in all of this, but that probably is just the tragic entrepreneur in me that is talking.
Talking of entrepreneurs saw one of our country's best Mr Kishore Biyani at R City, Ghatkopar, Big Bazaar Sabse Sasta Sale - Ritwika and me bought a lot of toileteries and stuff - unbelievable prices and a customers delight if only they could sort out the queues - that is obviously one problem Mr Biyani is still struggling with although he wac spending a lot of time looking at the queues and I am sure would make the experience better next time around.
On the food front, had lunch at the food court. My 3rd attempt at trying something good at the food court after trying Lucknow Kebabs, Moti Mahal and this time China House. Highly forgettabl I am afraid. My advice if you are at the R City Mall in Ghatkopar, go for the KFC for "finger licking good" chicken or to the Urban Tadka - probably the best VFM restaurant in Mumbai for Indian food. But more on those delights at a later date.

Jai Hind! India Rocks!!

Great Kebab Factory, Powai, Mumbai

Friday, January 22nd would have been Babas 68th birthday. I celebrate his birthday every year and this year was no different. Dripto , my in-laws, Ritwika and myself decided to go to the Great Kebab Factory that has newly opened in Powai. We had already been there once and thought that the place though slightly expensive definitely served the best Galouti Kebabs in Mumbai. Yes better than what you get at Caravan Serai but alas no patch on Tunday in Lucknow. I think Mumbai really has to work on good Nawabi cuisine.

The Great Kebab Factory works on an all - you - can - eat concept. One pays Rs 736 not including taxes. There is quite a bit of tax as you end up spending slightly more than Rs 1000, but the money I would say is worth it for special occasions. The money includes everything apart from drinks. It includes 5 types of Non Veg Kebabs, the Galouti (they say its their signature dish) + 4 other kebabs which keep changing. I saw in the menu card that they had added a Jhinga (for Rs 400 additional). I personally do not like prawns in the tandoor/kebab form (the price is not worth the taste) and we decided against it. The kebabs are unlimited - all you can eat, and the Galouti (the highlight) is delectable - they serve it with the Ulte Tawe ke Parathe and you are supposed to have it with some mint chutney and Onion pieces - a truly sumptuous combination. I usually save appetite for at least 4 kebabs - you are advised to do the same.
The Kebabs are followed by Roti and two types of daal and Chicken Biriyani - again both unlimited and reasonable OK. If you are going for the first time you may try out the same but 2nd time onwards (as i did) you will probably fill up your entire stomach space with Galoutis.
The meal is then capped off with unlimited dessert options from Phirnis to Gulab Jamuns - I am not a sweet buff but my In-Laws and my wife loved it.

The only sour point of the restaurant is the service, the waiters (dressed smartly in blue collar factory clothes) are still to get the act right, although the chef adds a nice touch by enquiring how good the food was towards the end of your meal. So if you miss having kebabs in Mumbai and are looking forward to spending some time in a great ambiance, do go there. I will go there just for the Galoutis.

How to get there: The Great Kebab Factory is in Hirnandani Gardens, Powai and is located on the right if you are driving from Olympia to D - Mart. For those un familiar with Powai. Take the main Pizza Hut entrance to Hiranandani complex and drive straight. You will find a circle, drive straight beyond that. You will find Haiko on your right, 50 m onwards is the Great Kebab Factory besides Chillies. If you miss it you will come to another circle where you will see a D-Mart. Take a U Turn and look to your left, you should find Great Kebab Factory.

Cafe Alif, Jogeshwari West, Mumbai

Ever since Feroz introduced me to Cafe Alif, i look forward to opportunities to go to Cafe Alif on Fridays.

Why Friday? Because that is the day that they cook and serve Mutton Khichda. The khichda is Mumbai's Haleem (you don't get the same stuff that you get in Hyderabad in Mumbai), it is a broth of Bohri origins that is had by Muslims in Mumbai to break the Ramzan fast, Cafe Alif however is nice enough to make it every Friday. Today presented a Golden one with Feroz treating Neeraj, Jayant and myself for the ACE award!

The Khichda is a meal of lentils, wheat and mutton mixed with the most delectable spices and marinated/ cooked for a reasonable amount of time (the dish takes a decent amount of preparation time, hence not available everyday). At Cafe Alif, the dish is served in a smallish bowl garnished with fried onions, the khichda has a decent amount of gravy, slightly different from the drier variety served at Muslim homes but that is a pleasure that I have yet to experience.

Anyways one plate of Mutton Khichda + 1 Roti is possibly one of the tastiest, filling and value for money Friday afternoon lunches that you can have in maximum city! Whats more it comes for Rs 50 only!

Today we also had some Biriyani and some Kebabs which were decent, but when i am in office on a Friday in maximum city and thinking about lunch, i will always think of Cafe Alif and the Mutton Khichda. I wish that our office was in Andheri West!

How to get there: Cafe Alif is on SV Road in Jogeshwari. It falls on the left if you are going towards Malad from Andheri side. It is at Barkhamba Junction, after crossing Jogeshwari station. There is an HDFC ATM on the right just before you reach.

Saurashtra - Junagadh, Gir, Somnath!

After Elephanta the day before, it was time for the big trip. Pretty much the whole of Saurashtra, the trip plan was tight and comprised three highlights.

1. Junagadh - a historical city and in my mind space after reading "India after Gandhi"
2. Gir Forest - The home of the Asiatic Lion
3. Somnath - The most historic and holiest of the Jyotirlingas. Again in my mind space after reading "India after Gandhi"

The plan was the following:

15th Jan: Board the Saurashtra Mail from Mumbai Central to Rajkot
16th Jan: Drive down to Gir via Junagadh - Overnight at Gir.
17th Jan: Safari at Gir, followed by a drive to Somnath - Overnight at Somnath
18th Jan: Drive down to Rajkot, board Saurashtra Mail at 5.40 PM
19th Jan: Arrive Mumbai at 6 AM

The plan was all set. Chhoto Mesho had arrived in the morning from Indonesia, the booking were organised by my friend and colleague Mehul. There was only one catch. Our onward tickets were not confirmed. We had 2 RAC tickets (AC2)on normal and WL 1 - 4. As the in-laws were travelling I had booked 6 on Tatkaal (AC3) unfortunately getting wait listed WL 4 - 9.

As it turned out, the time the chart got finalised at 5 PM, we landed up with RAC 1 - 4 on normal and with 2 confirmed seats on Tatkaal. Reasonably confident that we were going we went to the station where we had to pay Rs 5500 for two confirmed AC 1st Class tickets and we spent the night slightly crazy with 2 people sleeping in AC 1st class, 3 on AC2 (The TT had given us one extra birth) and myself in AC3. Moral of the episode - Bribe the TT instead of the touts at the Railway station in case of travel. Far more effective and a lot cheaper.

The train arrived at Rajkot and Mehul was there at the station. After a wonderful breakfast of Gathias we boarded the Innova that he had booked and settled down for our journey to Junagadh. On the way we took a detour at Virpur and visited the temple of Jalaram Bapa. Apart from the temple the most interesting aspect of Virpur was the exclusive Nescafe outlet - the only one I have seen so far.

We reached Junagadh
- a 150 km, 2 hour drive (kudos to the Gujarat roads - a 4 lane highway with bouganvillaes on the side) and went to have the Gujarati Thali at Modern Restaurant. The thali was pretty ordinary (you get far better ones in Mumbai), post which we did our Junagadh sight seeing comprising the Maqbara, the fort and the Ashoka Edict.

The Maqbara
and the edict were worth a visit but i was very impressed by the fort (far better than I had expected).

The view of Junagadh from the point where the cannon is kept and the wells were the highlight. I recommend walking down to the well floor - there are steps leading down for a rather eerie and different experience.

We then proceeded to Sassan Gir (a further 70 Kms)to a farmhouse owned by a police commissioner called the Lions Paw. The Lions Paw is highly recommended for bachelors and groups of friends. It is rustic, well done and roomy. Whenever people stay the owner sends servants, who cook what you want (unfortunately only vegetarian), light up a bonfire in the evening and are at your beck and call. Where it does not score however is the cleanliness of the bathrooms where it definitely does not score more than 1 star. However the surroundings - pretty much in the middle of the jungle and the setting, unpolluted starry skies and the unmistakable sounds of the jungle peppered by the occasional lions roar more that made up for it and we hit the bed with an alarm at 5 AM to catch the Safari the next day at 6 AM sharp.

Jungle Safaris in Gir, work similar to Corbett, 30 permits in the morning for 30 gypsies and 30 in the afternoon. It is therefore very important to come early to a) get a permit (if you are #31 you do not get one) b) hit the jungle early as the big cats are best seen in the first hour. This time lady luck was certainly smiling on us (we saw no tigers in 4 days in Corbett), as we caught a Pride after 30 minutes! and it was a pride of 2 Lionesses and 7 cubs!!

We had started normally and seen the usual Sambarh deer and Nilgai. I did not have high hopes after Corbett and was intent to enjoy the jungle rather that pray for Lions when suddenly we saw a jeep in front of us standing still and we found out that there were sounds and the unmistakable bark of a deer. We too heard the deer bark and saw the forest guard in the jeep get down and walk into the jungle. The guide was gone for about 5 minutes and we were wondering what happened. Meanwhile 2 jeeps had piled up behind us and the one in front had gone ahead.

We were about to give up and move forward (as had happened numerous times in Corbett) when suddenly we herd something close to an owl hoot, this was the signal by the forest guard. Then all hell broke loose, we could see the lions and they were behind us. The jeeps sprinted on reverse to catch the lions in case they disappear. In excitement our gypsy actually crashed into the gypsy in front but we need not have worried. The King of the Jungle was in no hurry. Completely unperturbed the pride moved forward at their own pace, cubs playing with each other as they slowly moved along into the jungle while we fumbled with our cameras trying to juggle taking snaps and seeing the beast in its environs and in its full glory.

We could follow the lions for ten minutes before they disappeared into the bushes. The rest of the safari (two and a half hours more)was spent talking about the fact that we were so lucky to see 9 Lions. We saw a lot more deer, peacocks, owls, jackals and monkeys during the safari but nothing came close to actually seeing the lions. The only other thing i will remember was the Stag head which we saw. These are put
up at the spots where carcasses are found and fixed on trees.

The good part of Gir is that they have a sanctuary (16 sq km) where they keep some animals including lions. This is like an open zoo and the conduct bus rides (groups of 20) around it, one is almost guaranteed to see a lion through this ride. We took the sanctuary ride (they call it Deovalia Park) and duly saw three lions. We were lucky enough to see lions in the forest so it did not seem like much to us, but i think it is a good consolation if one fails and is something that the other national parks could seek to emulate. The lions there are obviously fed by the caretakers and do not have to resort to the law of the jungle to survive.

Exhilarated after the Safari, we had breakfast at our farmhouse checked out and drove to Somnath. In Somnath we checked into SukhSagar hotel, clean and very comfortable. Highly recommended for all travellers, this was also where we had some very decent Punjabi vegetarian food, there is only so much Veg Gujarati food that the Bengali stomach can consistently take.

We visited the Somnath temple in the evening at around 5. Somnath is beautiful, set right on the beach, the architecture and the color of the temple walls against the setting sun is truly breathtaking. I am not overtly religious but loved being at the site. It is also very well managed and does not get to be a pain to travel and see the main deity which typically places of worship in India (Tirupathi and Ajmer Sharif) become. One can stay at the site but darshan is very orderly and organised. Hats of to the planning done by Sardar Patel when the temple was rebuilt in 1947 and the maintenance by the Gujarat government. There are also cloak rooms to keep shoes and cameras and phones. These are not allowed into the temple due to the present terrorist threat. The other stark reminder of the terrorist threat was the warship of the Indian navy which patrols the coast.

Very happy with how the day went, we retired, happy and tired after a few rounds of 29 to round off a long and tiring day. The next morning we left Somnath at ten and drove down to Rajkot. We reached at 2 and had a non veg lunch after 3 days of vegetarian food. The restaurant "Hot and More" reminded me of the Chinese you get in the college canteens of Kolkata but after 3 days, it tasted pretty good. Right opposite the restaurant is Mahatma Gandhi's school which we also took some pictures of.

Our train was at 5.40 and this time our tickets were confirmed. We left Saurashtra on time still talking about the 9 Lions that we had seen! All in all it was a great trip and one which I will remember fondly for the rest of my life...The only downer - the food! Apart from Gathiya where i loved the carrot chutney they serve as a condiment, the rest of the cuisine was not up to the liking of my palate for lunch and dinner. Maybe I did not have stuff at the best places but on the whole Saurashtra cuisine was a dampener.