Showing posts with label ANDHERI. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ANDHERI. Show all posts
Thursday, November 11, 2021
Restaurant Review: Ammata
Wednesday, May 15, 2019
Re(past) Perfect!
With a tasteful mix of modern European fare and a few Goan dishes thrown in, the menu at this all-new Andheri restaurant is as eclectic as its stylish setting is, making it the perfect spot for an early dinner.
By Raul Dias
Over the years, we’ve learnt something the hard way. And that is, that an early dinner is the best solution to most of the lifestyle-related issues brought on by the ‘conspicuous consumption’ of copious amounts of food that we’ve been eating as part of the job. Sadly, not many Mumbai restaurants have cottoned onto the early dinner concept, with merely a handful of kitchens firing off before 7.30 pm.
Thankfully, the brand-new, dinner-only Um Doiss Tres—the name of which is the Portuguese equivalent of “one, two, three”—gets the drift and is happy to serve you dinner as early as 5pm, if you so wish. However, for our weekday dinner, we chose a more reasonable 7pm to check out what this 90-cover restaurant had to offer us.
Housed in the same Lokhandwala, Andheri location where the erstwhile Italian eatery Su Casa once stood, the dining space is one of refined elegance, with modern décor and a soothing colour scheme. We were particularly charmed by the Spanish hacienda-style arches that separate the various sections of the restaurant and the blue and white Portuguese-Goan azulejo tiles that line its walls.
And this Latino-meets-Portuguese-meets-Goan leitmotif is carried forward to the food menu that is peppered with plenty of eclectic small plates. Designed by Chef Xavier Fernandes, the menu features dishes that exhibit a distinct flavour and texture. Like the refreshingly tasty sumac tossed fried chickpeas (Rs 185), where crispy-yet-soft centred chickpeas and cubed potatoes were all jazzed up with the tart, almost lemon-like Middle Eastern sumac berry powder. Our order of the Spanish classic bravas potatoes (Rs 250) proved to be another winner with a platter of a dozen, tiny potato cups piped with alternating layers of garlic aioli and romesco sauce wowing us silent.
Not too impressed with the rather pedestrian and innovation-lacking cocktail menu (boring-sounding mojitos, sangrias, margaritas and their ilk!) we stuck to good old aqua, that would prove to be the perfect foil to the next dish we called for. Bringing in some Goan flavour to the table, the simple, yet robustly spiced pork chorizo and string bean stew (Rs 325) was something we happily mopped up with a selection of breads from the complimentary bread basket that our very attentive server insisted on replenishing.
Perfectly crumb coated, the quintet of fried brie cheese (Rs 410) wedges anointed with a very interesting guava gastrique and served atop a bed of green apple slaw struck culinary gold. Equally impressive was the pulled duck pizza (Rs 510), served on a thin crust base along with fried kale chips and water chestnuts providing more crisp and crunch to the pie. Taking us back to those susegaad post-dinner evenings spent lounging on our Goa house’s balcao was the very authentically turned out serra dura (Rs 250). Meaning “saw dust”, this Portuguese-Goan dessert was all the good things a grand finale should be—memorable and more-ish. With the cooling, orange-scented milk custard melding with the fine biscuit dust and the assertive punch of the dark chocolate swirls rounding it all off deliciously.
AT: Um Doiss Tres, 101 Samartha Aishwarya, Above Nature’s Basket, Andheri Lokhandwala Road, Andheri West.
TIME: 5 pm to 1.30 am
CALL: 8452833040
By Raul Dias
Over the years, we’ve learnt something the hard way. And that is, that an early dinner is the best solution to most of the lifestyle-related issues brought on by the ‘conspicuous consumption’ of copious amounts of food that we’ve been eating as part of the job. Sadly, not many Mumbai restaurants have cottoned onto the early dinner concept, with merely a handful of kitchens firing off before 7.30 pm.
Thankfully, the brand-new, dinner-only Um Doiss Tres—the name of which is the Portuguese equivalent of “one, two, three”—gets the drift and is happy to serve you dinner as early as 5pm, if you so wish. However, for our weekday dinner, we chose a more reasonable 7pm to check out what this 90-cover restaurant had to offer us.
Housed in the same Lokhandwala, Andheri location where the erstwhile Italian eatery Su Casa once stood, the dining space is one of refined elegance, with modern décor and a soothing colour scheme. We were particularly charmed by the Spanish hacienda-style arches that separate the various sections of the restaurant and the blue and white Portuguese-Goan azulejo tiles that line its walls.
And this Latino-meets-Portuguese-meets-Goan leitmotif is carried forward to the food menu that is peppered with plenty of eclectic small plates. Designed by Chef Xavier Fernandes, the menu features dishes that exhibit a distinct flavour and texture. Like the refreshingly tasty sumac tossed fried chickpeas (Rs 185), where crispy-yet-soft centred chickpeas and cubed potatoes were all jazzed up with the tart, almost lemon-like Middle Eastern sumac berry powder. Our order of the Spanish classic bravas potatoes (Rs 250) proved to be another winner with a platter of a dozen, tiny potato cups piped with alternating layers of garlic aioli and romesco sauce wowing us silent.
Not too impressed with the rather pedestrian and innovation-lacking cocktail menu (boring-sounding mojitos, sangrias, margaritas and their ilk!) we stuck to good old aqua, that would prove to be the perfect foil to the next dish we called for. Bringing in some Goan flavour to the table, the simple, yet robustly spiced pork chorizo and string bean stew (Rs 325) was something we happily mopped up with a selection of breads from the complimentary bread basket that our very attentive server insisted on replenishing.
Perfectly crumb coated, the quintet of fried brie cheese (Rs 410) wedges anointed with a very interesting guava gastrique and served atop a bed of green apple slaw struck culinary gold. Equally impressive was the pulled duck pizza (Rs 510), served on a thin crust base along with fried kale chips and water chestnuts providing more crisp and crunch to the pie. Taking us back to those susegaad post-dinner evenings spent lounging on our Goa house’s balcao was the very authentically turned out serra dura (Rs 250). Meaning “saw dust”, this Portuguese-Goan dessert was all the good things a grand finale should be—memorable and more-ish. With the cooling, orange-scented milk custard melding with the fine biscuit dust and the assertive punch of the dark chocolate swirls rounding it all off deliciously.
AT: Um Doiss Tres, 101 Samartha Aishwarya, Above Nature’s Basket, Andheri Lokhandwala Road, Andheri West.
TIME: 5 pm to 1.30 am
CALL: 8452833040
(An edited version of this review appeared in the 15th May 2019 issue of the Mid-Day newspaper, India on page 20 https://m.mid-day.com/articles/early-dining-in-lokhandwala/20942165)
Monday, April 16, 2018
To Malaysia and Back!
With its close-to-authentic Malaysian flavours and
presentation style, the food on offer at this new Andheri (E) restaurant is
almost spot on, bringing to the city a taste of the hitherto unknown Peranakan
cuisine of South East Asia.
FOOD
Flavourful
SERVICE Excellent
AMBIENCE Vibrant
COST Moderate
VERDICT Very Good (**)
SERVICE Excellent
AMBIENCE Vibrant
COST Moderate
VERDICT Very Good (**)
By Raul Dias
The Peranakans of South East Asia—in particular
Malaysia and Singapore—are a unique blend of people thanks to their confluence
of cultures, and most importantly, cuisines. The result of the intermarriage of
Chinese merchants and local Malay women centuries ago, Peranakan men are known
as ‘Babas’, while the women, ‘Nonyas’. Legendary for their prowess in the
kitchen, it is these Nonyas who are responsible for the complex, highly
flavoured dishes that see influences from Chinese, Malay, Thai and even Indian
cookery styles and ingredients.
Distilling this cocktail of cultures in a menu that’s mostly Peranakan is the recently opened Nonya. Done up in bright, cheery accents and upholstery, with a whimsical ‘bubble’ chandelier hanging overhead, the first-floor space was virtually empty the afternoon we visited. Thus, affording us the luxury of the staff’s undivided attention which they lavished upon us rather enthusiastically.
When our first choice of the orange pekoe bubble tea (Rs 195), was discovered to be unavailable on that day, our server immediately suggested, nay, insisted we try the lavender lemonade (Rs 145). With a subtle hint of lavender, imparting to it a pink-purple tint, and balancing perfectly with the fresh lime juice, the fizzy drink was just what we needed to counter the blazing heat we’d just escaped outdoors.
Thick and luscious with all the requisite condiments like lime wedges, fresh sprouts, soy sauce and crushed peanuts in place, our seafood Malaysian curried laksa (Rs 275) was fiendishly good. Though the presence of the de rigueur sliced boiled egg, that was missing in this iteration, would have elevated it even higher, we enjoyed the toothsome appeal of the egg noodles, fresh mussels, clams and prawns in the Peranakan classic.
The twice cooked duck burger (Rs 325) that we called for next made for messy satisfaction with its chili plum sauce-coated BBQ duck slices and the cool-yet-spicy hit of the wasabi coleslaw, all ensconced in a soft, pliant sesame bun. Though a tad overpriced, the robustly spiced massaman curry (Rs 675) with tender bits of lamb served with fragrant jasmine rice, reminded us of the ones we’d recently eaten on a trip to Penang. Our other main, the all-vegetarian Buddha bowl (Rs 395)—which had ginger-soy dressed broccoli, baby corn and snow peas sitting atop garlic fried flat rice noodles—was light and flavourful with suitably al dente noodles.
Sadly, our choice of dessert—the Malay favourite of iced kachang (Rs 195) was a total abomination and fell flat. Substituting the expected coconut milk with cloyingly sweet condensed milk, drizzled atop shaved ice, jazzed up with luridly coloured synthetic syrups and overcooked, stewed fruit bits, Nonya’s version was as far from a kachang as Kurla is from Kuala Lumpur!
Barring that niggling dessert fiasco, our meal here was almost perfect. But then again, is there ever something such as ‘the perfect meal’?
Distilling this cocktail of cultures in a menu that’s mostly Peranakan is the recently opened Nonya. Done up in bright, cheery accents and upholstery, with a whimsical ‘bubble’ chandelier hanging overhead, the first-floor space was virtually empty the afternoon we visited. Thus, affording us the luxury of the staff’s undivided attention which they lavished upon us rather enthusiastically.
When our first choice of the orange pekoe bubble tea (Rs 195), was discovered to be unavailable on that day, our server immediately suggested, nay, insisted we try the lavender lemonade (Rs 145). With a subtle hint of lavender, imparting to it a pink-purple tint, and balancing perfectly with the fresh lime juice, the fizzy drink was just what we needed to counter the blazing heat we’d just escaped outdoors.
Thick and luscious with all the requisite condiments like lime wedges, fresh sprouts, soy sauce and crushed peanuts in place, our seafood Malaysian curried laksa (Rs 275) was fiendishly good. Though the presence of the de rigueur sliced boiled egg, that was missing in this iteration, would have elevated it even higher, we enjoyed the toothsome appeal of the egg noodles, fresh mussels, clams and prawns in the Peranakan classic.
The twice cooked duck burger (Rs 325) that we called for next made for messy satisfaction with its chili plum sauce-coated BBQ duck slices and the cool-yet-spicy hit of the wasabi coleslaw, all ensconced in a soft, pliant sesame bun. Though a tad overpriced, the robustly spiced massaman curry (Rs 675) with tender bits of lamb served with fragrant jasmine rice, reminded us of the ones we’d recently eaten on a trip to Penang. Our other main, the all-vegetarian Buddha bowl (Rs 395)—which had ginger-soy dressed broccoli, baby corn and snow peas sitting atop garlic fried flat rice noodles—was light and flavourful with suitably al dente noodles.
Sadly, our choice of dessert—the Malay favourite of iced kachang (Rs 195) was a total abomination and fell flat. Substituting the expected coconut milk with cloyingly sweet condensed milk, drizzled atop shaved ice, jazzed up with luridly coloured synthetic syrups and overcooked, stewed fruit bits, Nonya’s version was as far from a kachang as Kurla is from Kuala Lumpur!
Barring that niggling dessert fiasco, our meal here was almost perfect. But then again, is there ever something such as ‘the perfect meal’?
TIME:
11am to 1am
AT: 1st floor, Hotel Ginger, Teli Galli, Opposite Hubtown Solaris, Andheri East.
CALL: 7400403462
(An edited version of this review appeared in the 16th April 2018 issue of the Mid-Day newspaper, India on page 20 https://www.mid-day.com/articles/mumbai-food-try-southeast-asian-flavours-at-this-new-eatery-in-andheri/19324176) AT: 1st floor, Hotel Ginger, Teli Galli, Opposite Hubtown Solaris, Andheri East.
CALL: 7400403462
Friday, March 30, 2018
August in March…
A mélange of understated Euro-chic décor accents and
some well-priced comfort food from around the world is the perfect ingredient
for a promising lunch at the bright and cheery little August Cafe in Andheri
West.
FOOD
Excellent
SERVICE Enthusiastic
AMBIENCE Elegant
COST Moderate
VERDICT Very Good (**)
SERVICE Enthusiastic
AMBIENCE Elegant
COST Moderate
VERDICT Very Good (**)
By Raul Dias
Never has the adage ‘good things come in small
packages’ been more appropriate as we attempt to distil the essence of what
makes August Cafe such a perfect little all-day dining place. Its vintage-style
black and white chequerboard floor tile clad interior space—accentuated by a
brick archway and decorated with European flea market bric-a-brac—provides
barely enough elbow room. What with the tiny, faux marble-topped tables
jostling for their own precious little real estate space here. And while the
outside, partially covered patio area seems perfect for an evening visit, the torrid
heat makes it a no-go zone for us to tuck into our lunch at.
And so, we settle down inside the cool (in more ways than one!) cafe, paying a deaf ear, quite literally, to the cacophony emanating from the table next to us, where the topics du jour range from a bloody cut finger to a cantankerous old mother-in-law. But that does not put us off enjoying our first order of a well-made pulled chicken toasted sandwich (Rs 300). Juicy bits of mustard mayonnaise coated chicken are ensconced in a lighter-than-air ciabatta bread with a side of arugula and cubed potato salad we wished there was more of! The home-made peach iced tea (Rs 150) and a double shot espresso (Rs 180) are suitably straightforward, with the latter giving any Italian caffé a run for its money with its robust, freshly ground taste.
Though it was all things a good plate of nachos should be, i.e. crisp tortilla chips, dollops of cooling guacamole, sour cream and pico de gallo, well-seasoned beans, all slathered with a silken cheese sauce, the misspelled ‘worlds’ best nachos (Rs 350) was also perhaps the world’s smallest portion of nachos and not to mention a grammar Nazi’s worst nightmare! Stinting on the promised popcorn flavour, the caramel popcorn shake (Rs 250) was a sickly-sweet overdose of caramel and served at a temperature that can best be described as tepid.
With a replay of the blood-dripping cut finger conversation in full force next door, we decided to skip the marinara pizza (Rs 350) and treat ourselves to something different. And that took the form of the very unconventional chicken cremosa pizza (Rs 550). Served on a Neapolitan-style thin crust base, this white sauce, caramelised onions and rosemary-scented chicken topped pie eschews both the ubiquitous tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese to very effective results, we might add.
With nothing else spelling comfort food like an all-American sundae, we chose to indulge ourselves with the August ice cream sundae (Rs 300). A perfectly constructed specimen, this one had all the trappings of a great sundae with a warm truffle cookie serving as the gooey foundation for a double scoop of vanilla bean ice cream, topped with lashings of caramel sauce and finished off with a shower of crunchy nut brittle shards.
And while we can’t wait to go back and try the rest of the menu, we’d do well to remember to sit ourselves outdoors next time and pay a deaf ear to the din inside!
And so, we settle down inside the cool (in more ways than one!) cafe, paying a deaf ear, quite literally, to the cacophony emanating from the table next to us, where the topics du jour range from a bloody cut finger to a cantankerous old mother-in-law. But that does not put us off enjoying our first order of a well-made pulled chicken toasted sandwich (Rs 300). Juicy bits of mustard mayonnaise coated chicken are ensconced in a lighter-than-air ciabatta bread with a side of arugula and cubed potato salad we wished there was more of! The home-made peach iced tea (Rs 150) and a double shot espresso (Rs 180) are suitably straightforward, with the latter giving any Italian caffé a run for its money with its robust, freshly ground taste.
Though it was all things a good plate of nachos should be, i.e. crisp tortilla chips, dollops of cooling guacamole, sour cream and pico de gallo, well-seasoned beans, all slathered with a silken cheese sauce, the misspelled ‘worlds’ best nachos (Rs 350) was also perhaps the world’s smallest portion of nachos and not to mention a grammar Nazi’s worst nightmare! Stinting on the promised popcorn flavour, the caramel popcorn shake (Rs 250) was a sickly-sweet overdose of caramel and served at a temperature that can best be described as tepid.
With a replay of the blood-dripping cut finger conversation in full force next door, we decided to skip the marinara pizza (Rs 350) and treat ourselves to something different. And that took the form of the very unconventional chicken cremosa pizza (Rs 550). Served on a Neapolitan-style thin crust base, this white sauce, caramelised onions and rosemary-scented chicken topped pie eschews both the ubiquitous tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese to very effective results, we might add.
With nothing else spelling comfort food like an all-American sundae, we chose to indulge ourselves with the August ice cream sundae (Rs 300). A perfectly constructed specimen, this one had all the trappings of a great sundae with a warm truffle cookie serving as the gooey foundation for a double scoop of vanilla bean ice cream, topped with lashings of caramel sauce and finished off with a shower of crunchy nut brittle shards.
And while we can’t wait to go back and try the rest of the menu, we’d do well to remember to sit ourselves outdoors next time and pay a deaf ear to the din inside!
TIME:
12pm to 12am
AT: Shop 3&4, Sterling Apartment, Sundervan Complex, Off Link Road, Andheri West.
CALL: 49725993
AT: Shop 3&4, Sterling Apartment, Sundervan Complex, Off Link Road, Andheri West.
CALL: 49725993
(An edited version of this review appeared in the 30th March 2018 issue of the Mid-Day newspaper, India https://www.mid-day.com/articles/this-new-cafe-in-andheri-might-be-small-in-size-but-is-big-on-taste/19263183)
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