Jun 23, 2008

Cafe Noorani

5-D, Tardeo Road, Haji Ali Circle, Mumbai

Rated: Good

Noor - e - Haji Ali

I stepped into Noorani with a group of friends last weekend, expecting it to be a typical Muslim style eatery – with the typical fare to offer. Frankly, had no great expectation from this ordinary looking place, but it surely over exceeded my expectations.

The traditional flavour to all the dishes, the faint aroma of the Dum Biryani and the visual array of sweetmeats greets you as you make way into the quaint little eatery. Different sections to suit the pocket – we chose the AC section and made ourselves comfortable in one corner of the place.

A deliciously savored Chicken Tandoori (You don’t get Half Tandoori out here), some succulent kebabs and crispy green kebabs served with a minty chatni. Murgh in the Nargis (Chicken Nargis) followed later with some soft rotis and we were in seventh heaven.

Not wanting to leave out on the Biryani, we ordered a Reshmi Tikka Biryani – an unconventional Biryani. It tasted a little sweet as well as those juicy pieces of Reshmi Tikka provided with the required zing to the dish. Long grains of rice were finished off in a jiffy.

It would have been a sin to leave the place without downing those mighty glasses of Falooda – all laced with dry fruits, ice cream, fresh pieces of mango and fresh cream. A heave-a-ho and the content were poured down and we left the place potbellied and content to the heart.

An only thumbs down would be the not-so-elite seating. Neither was it plush. But with good food and hunger pangs in your tummy, who really bothers.

A quick list of what all we ate.

* The Starters *
1 Chicken Tandoori (Full)
1 Chicken Tikka
2 Crispy Green Tikkas (My personal Favorite)
1 Veg Manchow Soup

* The Main Course *
1 Veg Hyderabadi Biryani
6 Tandoori Rotis
2 Murgh Nargis
1 Reshmi Tikka Biryani

* Desserts *
5 Royal Faloodas
1 Noorani Special Falooda – I would prefer calling it as “Heavenly Falooda”
2 Caramel custards

A Total damage of 1720 bucks between the 8 of us and we left with no-so-light wallets. A total value for money, also considering the location it is located – Haji Ali Junction, this place certainly rocks.

Jun 11, 2008

Mahabhoj

Bhandarkar Road, Near Matunga (Central) Station, Mumbai

Rated: Excellent

The Great Meal - MahaBhoj

Have been eating here since half a decade now and everytime I have been there, the food has been the same -Wholesome, Nutritious and Cheap. :)

The rates for a fixed thali has only increased by 4 rupess in the past 5 years - From 26Rs to 30Rs. Have been gulping down on the sour rasam and the totally southie sambar since my college days now. Cheap Food had never been better then.

Limited sitting space is the only Thumbs Down for this strictly eating place. If you go alone during peak lunch or dinner time, be prepared to share the table with three other individuals - who, ofcourse, are also there only to eat and nothing but to eat.

All this, but am yet to try the Sunday Unlimited Special Thali for 70Rs. But will do that soon.

A 5/5 for this place which has it's loyalist coming back for the same wholesome and cheap food over decads altogether.

Let the Sambar flow ... !!!

Apr 21, 2008

Sealords Bar and Restaurant

108, Neelam Building, Dr RG Thadani Road, Worli Sea Face Road, Worli, Mumbai

Rated: Awful

Cold Kebabs & Indifferent Stewards

Wouldn’t want to write off a place like this but this one really gets the monster out of me.

We enter into a More Bar , Less Restaurant place and somehow we knew that it wouldn’t be a pleasurable experience.

Not wanting to drink – we got onto the starters. The menu didn’t boast of many a variety and we stuck to some plain simple Manchow Soup. The steward taking the order and the guy serving the soup made a big goof up of our order, only to end up arguing at our table.

Pfffff..the soup was terrible and it never tasted even 10% of what Manchow Soup should taste like (A roadside Red Chinese stall could pull off a better soup anytime). We got onto the Starters and were suggested “Cheese Chilly Kebabs” and “Banjara Kebabs” for the Veggies and the Non-Veggies respectively.

The CC Kebabs lacked even the Cheese as well the Chilly – The filling tastes like tasteless Potato stuffed within some fried/microwaved coating. On checking with the steward about the non-existent taste of cheese, he just mumbled something about the it being made of Cheese and just moved away slyly. Less spoken about the Banjara kebabs were served downright cold and not at all tender.

We couldn’t muster up enough courage to move onto the main course and left the place to see the scowling steward giving us the dirty look. Total Wallet Damage – 350 Rs, which would be too much for eating that trash which was dished out to us.

A place fit for drunkards who don’t mind eating trash after downing half a dozen pegs down their oesophagus. Expect zombies as stewards, cold and indifferent, to make your meal more horrible.

Statutory Warning – Eat here at your own risk.

Feb 24, 2008

Tangerine Restaurant

The Mirador,131-B, New Link Road, Chakala, Andheri (E), Mumbai

Rated: Average

Tangerine - A bright colorful (Orange) experience

Have been visiting this place often, the menu is a mix match of all cuisines ranging from the traditional Mughlai and Chinese to Fusion Cuisine (Indo Lebanese and Italian). Wish they would concentrate on a few cuisines rather than serve everything under the sun. Food is decently priced for a three star hotel restaurant.

Salads are priced between 80-120 Rs, Starters (Veg as well Non-Veg) are decently priced between 100-170 Rs and main course dishes have an upper limit of 300 Rs (this for the prawns and squid preparations). Would say VFM – but to be honest, the fish preparations suck. The Fish Fingers were a tad soft (I expect all “fingers” to be crispy) and also lacked the zing which FF should usually have. Traditional Mughlai preparations of kebabs and tikkas and hundis and masalas are good enough. So is with the Chinese soups / noodles and rice. Nothing to write home about it.

The Executive buffets @ 225 Rs per person are quite a hit with the corporate offices that lace the Chakala area. The Salads are a hit with the yuppies, so are the Desserts  . Dinner buffets are priced @ 400 Rs per person and are a full VFM if you posses the appetite of a Dinosaur. A-la-carte is lesser expensive for people who like to sit and be served, but the staff makes it a pain for you. The staff though cheerful; but is quite inexperienced and service can be a little slow at times. By the card, expect a wallet damage of 600-700 Rs for a meal for two (without drinks), which IMO is a decent price to pay for having a meal in a three star hotel restaurant.

The ambience is good and soothing for a nice lunch or dinner, but the live music introduced to it is a real let-down. The singers are very not very comfortable in belting out popular numbers and the music is too loud – that it drowns the singer’s voice. In short, a thing which can very well be discontinued and we be left alone to enjoy our food in peace. Also though I am not a stickler for cutlery, would prefer not have chipped dishes or glasses at my table to eat through. The cutleries are of a bright orange color which makes it a nice cheerful experience to eat outta them – also is inline with the restaurant name – Tangerine, which represents an orange colored citrus fruit, a type of mandarin orange.

The crowd for lunch is a mix of corporate professional out to eat out the whole buffet. For dinner, it is a fair mixture of Indians and firings – the crowd mostly comprising families and the firing junta who have put up at their hotel.

To sum it all up,
Food – 3 / 5 ( VFM for most of the preparations. Would recommend “Hare Pyaaz ka Murg” (Mughlai) – a mildly spicy preparation of tender chicken along with spring onion. )

Ambience – 3 / 5 (We could give them a point more if they discontinue the Live Band feature and spruce up the decor)

Service – 2 / 5 (Too slow and inexperienced for a three star hotel restaurant, but genuine and friendly. Also a big let down is the "No Home Delivery" tag - which is justified when you see that is a hotel restaurant)

Music ??? – Minus 2 out of 5 ( Aaarrrghhh …!!!! )

Location – 2.5 / 5 (Near the traffic prone area of Chakala)

Overall Rating – 3 / 5 .
Good place to go with family, friends or for a date with your special one.

Jan 29, 2008

Sahakari Bhandar

Wodehouse Road, Opposite Regal Cinema, Next to Falafel's Veg Hummus House, Mumbai

Rated: Good

Customer is The King

You can't miss this place opposite Regal. Had jumped in this small little place before a movie at the Old'n'Gold single screen theatre .. and since then have been jumping in this small no-frills eatery time and again whenever am in this part of town.

This place shares it's name with a Mumbai based cooperative retail chain and you can easily pass of this place as just another fast food chain, but there is more to it... It serves the most amazing Rawa Sada Dosas with the most genuine smile you could have ever encountered.

The place is nice and clean, with middle aged southie waiters (no tambis out here) running around briskly during peak hours. The humming of the old and huge (but surprisingly clean of any dust) wall fans, the clatter of plates in the kitchen and the chitter chatter of the people enjoying their snacks - All add to the feel of the place.

The service is always with a smile and special requests, if any, are always entertained with a smile. Tips as small as 1 Re are acknowledged with a "Thank You"

Being a die-hard southie food fan, I have dug my fangs in all but dosas and other southie snacks in this place. The juices are good and fresh - No added preservatives or any fruit syrup or even sugar, for the matter of fact. And the best part - This place is dirt cheap.

Damage to your wallet is negligible, I'd say - for the service and the tasty snacks which are offered to you. Tummy splitting snacks for two won't cost you ore than 80-90 Rs. (A tummy spilling snack for me comprises - 2 dosas , 1 utthapam and 2 fruit juices).

To wrap it up, The snacks are good, the feeling is fresh and the prices have always left me with a smile on my face - similar to the ones on the faces of the southie waiters, who await yet another King.

rapidsnail

Aniruddha .

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