Kebab Corner, Intercontinental Hotel, Marine Drive

1st Floor, Hotel Intercontinental, 135 Marine Drive, Mumbai 400 020
Tel: 91-22-39879999

http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/intercontinental/en/gb/locations/hotel-features/dining/restaurants/mumbai-marinedrive

To celebrate my father in law’s birthday, we decided to feed him his favourite, kebabs. He was of course the only non-vegetarian at the table so my wife had agreed to accompany him for the night with a non-vegetarian cameo. The net result was one nonvegetarian kebab dish ordered and to save you the suspense, it was excellent (my father in law summed it up by saying he was not used to such soft kebabs that melt in your mouth!).

The restaurant is on the first floor and while the hotel lobby is quite elegantly done, I was overwhelmed by the smell of cleaning solution/citronella. That would probably be the only negative thing I have to say about the place!

Located on the first floor of the hotel, there are two tables with a view of the ocean and I would definitely consider getting one of those next time. The service is warm, courteous and helpful and to be quite honest fair in telling you that you may have ordered too much. No complaints or suggestions on this front.

We skipped drinks since it was late and hunger had set in. Besides the sheesh kebab (Rs. 625), which I mentioned earlier, we ordered Soundhe Aloo (Rs. 445) which were very flavourful, Subz Galouti (Rs. 425), a really nice combination tikka with saffron (which we could taste), served on a firm naan and a melt in your mouth pudina paneer tikka (Rs. 445).  The dal makhani (Rs. 455) was also very good, probably a little low on salt though and finally a bunch of assorted parathas which were very tasty and priced at about Rs. 95 each. This was all served with plenty of onions, limes, yogurt, papads, cucumbers, carrots and chutney.

The occasion warranted dessert and we were not disappointed. The lachhedar rabdi at Rs. 195 (nothing but delicious congealed milk fat with pistachios and almonds) and kulfi (Rs. 195) were both excellent.

Overall, I think this is one of the best kebab meals I have eaten as a vegetarian and would agree with the Times food guide calling it the top kebab place in the city. Everything from the service to the ambience (especially if you manage to get those sea facing tables) to the food were excellent. I strongly recommend it.

Ratings:
Ambience: ***1/2
Service: ****1/2
Food: ****1/2
Price: ****1/2
Overall: ****1/2

Pure, Taj Land’s End, Mumbai

Taj Lands End, Band Stand, Bandra (West), Mumbai 400 050, India

Tel No. : (91-22) 6668 1234

Fax : (91-22) 6699 4488

Email: landsend.mumbai@tajhotels.com

http://www.tajhotels.com/FoodandWine/Taj%20Lands%20End,MUMBAI/PURE/default.htm

And so I finally managed to escape my cocooned south Mumbai existence and joined a friend for dinner at the Taj Land’s End. After hitting the bar for some pretty average martinis, we moved on for a late dinner at Pure.

As with most Taj restaurants, the ambience was wonderful and the noisiest thing in the place was probably me under the influence of all those martinis (hey bad alcohol is still alcohol!). The service, the up to the usual Taj standards, courteous and unimposing.

For starters, we had some goat cheese in a tomato sauce that had an Indian twist to it as well as the avocado carpaccio. I preferred the former. Avocados just aren’t that great in India and there was really no other flavour to the dish.

For the main course, we had the mushroom risotto which I liked, but was left hunting for the advertised truffle flavour. The gnocchi in spinach sauce was very good and the lasagna while interesting was a little on the cheesy side (hey, I’m a little picky!).

The dessert selection was also quite interesting. The cheesecake was a little slim but at least tasted like a real one (unlike the usual cream pie one gets to eat here). The seven sensations of chocolate were quite sensational and the pear with chocolate served with ice cream was also enjoyable.

For the wallet load, each dish was close to Rs. 600, including the desserts. I think the risotto may have been closer to Rs. 1400. Overall, I would say the meal is one of the better ones I have eaten at a Taj restaurant (barring of course Blue Ginger at the Taj West End in Bangalore).

Rating

Ambience ****

Service ****

Food ***1/2

Price *****

Overall ***1/2

Moshe’s, Cuffe Parade

No. 7 Minoo Manor,
Cuffe Parade, Mumbai
Tel: 22161226/66
http://www.moshes.in/

I have been a variety of Moshe’s establishments a few times now (the coffee shops at Fabindia, Kala Ghoda and Crossword, Kemp’s Corner as well as the restaurant in Cuffe Parade.

The coffee shop visits have always been a good choice. The coffees are nice and usually priced for overpriced coffee. They have a spiced lemonade (or is it orange blossom drink), which is also nice. I like their sandwiches as well, especially the cream cheese and olive bagel sandwich. The grilled cheese sandwich is also nice, but who the hell wants to pay for a grilled cheese sandwich that you can make at home just as well!

The restaurant at Cuffe Parade is tucked away nicely on the main road opposite the fisherman’s colony (drive slow so you don’t miss it!). Inside seating maybe prefered in the warmer months and is strongly recommended during festivals when the fisherman’s colony aims to numb every single auditory cell in your body!

While the service is courteous, if you haven’t made a reservation, they do sweet little to accommodate your needs. The thought process seems to be “if you don’t have a reservation, we’re not really sure what we can do for you even if the whole restaurant is empty. On the other hand, if you decide to get up and go somewhere else, all of a sudden we are able to accommodate you”.

That apart, the service is courteous. The wine selection is small, but reasonably priced by local standards with an imported bottle setting you back about Rs. 1800. A friend tried a non-alcoholic lemon grass drink, which I am told was quite nice.

For starters we usually go with the vegetarian mezze platter where supposedly you can order upto four starters. I would recommend the gnocchetti (a must have), the muammarah (a red pepper paste with nuts and olives), hummus and babagannouj seem like a waste when they is so easy to make at home but if you aren’t going to head into your kitchen for this, they are good. From a meat-eating friend, I hear that the lamb and fish starter were also very good.

Fondue is another personal artery clogging favourite of mine but since I often make it at home, I am usually reluctant to order it. We did buckle though and ordered the one with the Egyptian spices and found it to be quite excellent. If you are a fondue connoisseur, the bread is not quite as crusty as it should be.

From a main course perspective, since it is hard to get a good gnocchi anywhere, I stick with that. They make them in two varieties, one with a creamier sauce. Take your pick; they melt in your mouth either way. We recently tried the crepes as well and besides being a little too cheesy (people seem to feel the only way they get their money’s worth is if there is about 3 kilos of cheese in every bite…I am not opposed to this for some things, but if that’s the theory, you might as well just go to a fondue place!).

The dessert selection is fairly large considering the simultaneous more commercial business with it. The quality is also pretty good. The carrot cake comes with a marzipan topping if you like that stuff. I found it to be a little too dry.

Overall, I would say excellent food, average service and particularly poor if you haven’t made a reservation even if the restaurant is not busy and finally, do check your bill (I thought I asked for the remainder of my bottle of wine and ended up getting billed for a new bottle which I had no intention of consuming. Anyways, this was resolved quite quickly and amiably!).

Ratings:

Ambience:  ***

Service: **

Food: **** (one for the gnocchi)

Price: ****

Overall: ***

Royal China dim sum, Mumbai

Near CST,Behind Sterling Cinema, Hazarilal Somani Marg, Mumbai

Tel: 022-26425533

192, Turner Road, Bandra (W), Mumbai, Mumbai

Tel: 022-22072492

Royal China is without doubt, one of my favourite restaurants in Mumbai. I often crave for a Chinese food and am usually disappointed at the incredible variety of deep fried options with a complete lack of good steamed dim sums at most places. Royal China fills this void quite adequately.

The ambience and service at both locations in Mumbai are very good. I prefer heading there for lunch rather than dinner as I don’t believe they serve dim sums for dinner and the main courses I find to be quite average.

The vegetarian dim sum options are quite varied and excellent. I usually get myself the cheung fung, which is vegetables wrapped in thick rice noodles and then slathered with a soy based dipping sauce. This is probably the most expensive vegetarian dim sum at Rs. 250/- for three, but well worth it I feel. To follow this up, the steamed buns come in two varieties, stuffed with mushrooms, spring onions and cabbage (I prefer the buns at Ling’s)  and the plain ones. The steamed vegetable dumplings are also very good, but the skin can stick a little bit, making them a little fragile. The turnip cakes are pan fried and also very good (a little potato flavour) and it’s nice that you can get them here without the meat (which is standard in most places in North America). Another bland but delicious option is the sticky rice in lotus leaf, which is also excellent. The lettuce leaf rolls are also great.

At the end of all of this, it usually leaves me quite full and I see no real reason to even go near the main course but in case and just in case I am still hungry or have company to egg me on, I usually order a simple noodle dish and vegetables with chilli and black bean sauce, which complement eachother nicely and provide a near perfect ending.

A reasonable beer selection which is appropriately chilled goes down nicely with the meal. The last time, I tried Tiger beer, which I felt was excellent chilled.

Overall, Royal China for dim sum lunch gets an A++ for me for a great tasting, different, light and healthy meal….call me anytime, I’m there! Incidentally, this is a traditional pilgrimage stop for my Canadian brother in law when he visits Mumbai….says it’s the best dim sum he’s eaten…I tend to agree.

Food: ****1/2

Service: ****

Ambience: ***

Overall: ****1/2

Kobe, Huges Road, Mumbai

13/14, Sukh Sagar, Hughes Road, Mumbai- 400 007.
Tel: 022-23632174
http://www.kobesizzlers.in

The sizzler has been a Mumbai favourite for as long as I can recall. My first experience as a child was at Touche on Breach Candy. The place has since closed and Kobe is one of the original flag bearers of the sizzler in the city.

For the uninitiated, the sizzler is a combination of grilled and sautéed meats or vegetables served on a sizzling platter with a variety of sauces. I have now been frequenting Kobe for over 25 years and seen little change apart from maybe the slight downsizing of the quantity (which may in some way be related to the up sizing of my appetite!). It has also been quite hard for me to change my order over the last so many years.

The service is generally prompt and utilitarian with veteran waiters, extremely familiar with the menu and its variations (you can pretty much order anything combined with anything else you like!).

As a vegetarian, the standard vegetarian sizzler is one option, but in our paneer friendly culture, the paneer shashlik is probably the one to go with. I usually skip all the accessories and stick to high fat, high taste components and end up ordering a paneer shashlik with potato chips, grilled onions and mushrooms with a pepper sauce. Sometimes if I want to be particularly cruel to people I am to meet later in the day, I will order some extra garlic sauce. Since this is a place I completely regress into childhood, I usually smother the entire sizzling platter with ketchup and mustard. The resulting dish sounds quite disgusting, but for those taste buds that have been around a while for me, it’s just fabulous! The best part is when the concoction burns to a crisp at the bottom of the platter and one scrapes it up. This is a highly recommended activity! Most sizzlers set you back between Rs. 250 and 400.

To me, there’s really not much else about Kobe. The many different sizzlers, sandwiches, ice creams, starters etc are just fillers on the menu. Kobe does not serve liquor, so if it’s a must, tank up before or after. My suggestion, regress and come hungry!

Food: ***1/2

Ambience: **1/2

Service: ***1/2

Price: ***

Overall: ****