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Asia Kitchen by Mainland China, Lower Parel

July 5, 2016

Review – Asia Kitchen by Mainland China

Rating – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I am totally blown over by this place – every dish I tried, surpassed the previous one and the food was a different level of delish. Want to know what all I ate? Keep reading my review of Asia Kitchen by Mainland China!

I recommend everything that I ate there! Because it was all so yummy!

Starters

Soy peanuts

Will appear on your table as a welcome gesture. I bet you, you won’t be able to stop popping these.

Vegetarian sweet corn soup

Thick and creamy and doesn’t feel like an excess of corn flour. It’s got a little bit of veggies in it. Absolutely loved this.

Crispy lotus stem with black pepper and curry leaves

Never thought I would love lotus stem. The flavor of the Lotus stem and curry leaves together had me totally gorging on this.

Dumplings

Tried one with spinach and the other with veggies – Cabbage , carrots etc. The outer covering is soft and melt in your mouth. Veggies inside are so flavorful. Spinach doesn’t feel bitter.

Raw Papaya Salad

This is such a nice sweet and sour flavor – feels really light and refreshing. Finely chopped raw papaya, some tomatoes and a little bit of capsicum – very tasty.

Crispy crackling spinach

Loved the way this was served – looked so bomb sitting pretty in a martini glass. Slightly different than the other places I’ve had crackling spinach – this was even tinier bits and not whole leaves. Add had a slightly different, but good flavor. And was definitely the least oily one I’ve had.

Teriyaki chilli potato

A slightly different version of the regular honey chilli potato – Teriyaki gave a nice sweetish flavor and I love any tossed / fried potato. So I obviously totally loved this.

Main course

Stir fry beans

Main course started with some stir fry beans – green beans with some spring onions, chilli and sesame seeds. I usually am not the biggest fan of stir fry veggies but this was so yum!

Assorted veggies in black bean sauce

Black bean sauce done perfect – no weird taste that sometimes black bean sauce can have. Veggies included zucchini, carrots, broccoli, corn, onions. I don’t like black bean sauce either but this one was quite nice.

Golden corn, potatoes and water chestnut

This is STELLAR. A nice hot sauce felt like hunan mixed with something milder and corn, potatoes and water chestnut. It is going into my most favorite gravy list. You have to try this.

Lemongrass Fried Rice

Heavy flavor – I personally liked it. If you are ok with a heavy flavor going on in your fried rice then you will love it.

Mocktails

Thai exotica

Guava juice and basil – fresh and refreshing.

Malay spice melon

Highly highly recommend this one. Watermelon juice, some ginger and lime. Ginger and watermelon is such a great combo.

Dessert

Lychee and vanilla ice cream

Literally came in glass bowl with a whole lot of vapor! Deseeded Lychee – win! Them and vanilla ice cream together – double win!

Honey noodles with orange and basil

If just honey noodles weren’t good enough! Zesty orange flavor on honey noodles make them even better. So sooooo delish. Another one in my list of favorite desserts.

I remember going to mainland China in oberoi a while back and not enjoying the meal at all. From that to this – these guys have really upped their game. I will definitely come back! You should go too.

Follow my food journey and stay in touch with me on Snapchat and Instagram

Masalabar, Carter Road

Bar

May 18, 2016

Masalabar – Review

Watch the full video here

Rating – ⭐⭐⭐⭐ and half!

Fancy schmancy chill place – that’s Masalabar. Keep reading to know my experience here!

Carter road. Early evening. Sunset. Cocktails. Experimental food. You get the picture! My experience at Masalabar was pretty damn good.

Special mention for Chef Vilas and all the other staff – very friendly and helpful.

Recommend:

Cocktails – Malabar Hill and sunset at carters

Starters – chana chaat, charcoal pav bhaji, Tortilla chaat

I started with a dish made of kabuli chana – it was crunchy and soft at the same time. Tempered with a whole lot of tasty masalas and curry leaves. It had loads of cruncy pine nuts that took this dish to another level. Served with some radish, kale leaves and chopped onion on top.

Next I had the charcoal pav bhaji. When I saw this dish, I definitely didn’t think that I would even remotely enjoy it. Basically they’ve used edible charcoal which gives it a deep grey color. I didn’t find it did much for the flavor. The bhaji was actually quite delicious..perfect flavor..perfect butter..awesome taste. But – special mention for their pavs..beautifully soft and fresh.

Next I had their barbecue Kathal Burger – I know right..Kathal..i.e. Jack fruit! I absolutely do not like jack fruit and only really tried this burger when the chef insisted. For Kathal, it was actually pretty tasty. The Kathal had a whole lot of spices, chaat masala and the barbecue sauce flavor was really good. But psychologically I couldn’t get myself to eat too much of Jack fruit! Again – special mention for their burger bun..soft and how! Ohh..And the chips that came with this were the real bomb. Amazing homestyle potato chips – thick and crunchy. Loved them and could totally eat a bowl of just those!

Then I tried their Tortilla chaat – basically Tortilla Papdis, mint mayo, sweet potatoes, imli chutney, pomegranate and sev..topped with some kale leaves. I absolutely loved this..it was a complete khatta meetha flavor and the Tortillas felt really different and nice.

Then I tried the litti chokha balls. These were topped with some brinjal pulp on top. I didn’t really care much about these.

I tried 3 different cocktails. All of their cocktails have some attachment to a popular area in Mumbai. The first was based on Chowpatty and was a coconut based cocktail with a very strong flavor of curry leaves. Honestly I don’t like coconut flavor too much..So this one was ok. The presentation was top notch – it came in something that looked like a vase…And was seated in a cage. Along with some chana jor garam for chakhna.

Next I tried the Malabar Hill drink. This had a whole lot of chamomile and thyme infused with vodka. This was very very refreshing. Totally recommend.

And lastly there was a whiskey based cocktail. This was called sunset at carters and it was a beautiful pale yellow kind of color. Whiskey, rosemary and orange made for a great combination. I’m not really fond of whiskey but this one was really good. A bit strong though.

For dessert I had a weird huge tree placed on my table with some Baileys , chocolate and rabdi lollipops growing on it! I love chocolate and I love Baileys. But I don’t like rabdi so much. So honestly I didn’t care much about this.

Overall I had a great time. This place too is an experience, like most of other Jiggs Kalra places.

My meal was complementary but that doesn’t affect my views.

Farzi Cafe, Lower Parel

North Indian

May 16, 2016

Farzi Cafe Review

I got Farzified! Read about my exprience :0

Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐ and half!

The word Farzi is so aptly used to name this cafe – a complete illusion for one’s senses where various textures, flavors and aromas mingle together and create something extraordinary! This is a place where you will get exceptional food that is twisted and made unique in its own way. I was invited to sample the food here and boy, it was a feast – both, visually and for my taste buds!

Recommend:

Farzi Tina

Raj Kachori

Naan Margherita

Farzified Vada pav

Experimenting with starters and drinks is the way to go here.

The first thing I was offered was Amuse Bouche – a palate cleanser. It’s believed that food when started on an undiluted palette tastes the best! This was mishti dahi essentially, with such a great flavor. It comes in these little katoris and your supposed to have it in one go.

I started with a version of Raj Kachori. This had dahi obviously, some imli chutney, green chutney and kurkuri bhindi with pomegranate on the side. One bite of this and I was like – Waaaaooowww! The imli chutney had a frothy texture and appearance, the Raj kachori was nice and crispy and then there was dahi flavored with spices which tasted exceptional. The kurkuri bhindi made for a good crunchy side with this dish.

Then I tried something that was essentially dal Chawal in the form of round crispy balls. Now dal Chawal is almost soggy food but the kurkuri outer covering and papad made this super interesting. And it had a salsa kind of flavor going on which added such a good zing!

Then I tried the Vada – the chutneys served with this were the real bomb! And the tempered chilli! And this was actually pav inside the Vada!

Then came a cane topped dish with something different inside – this was mini naan with the margherita pizza sauce and cheese. You must eat this immediately when it comes else it can become super chewy. But this combination was awesome!

Then there was samosa with the traditional filling but tempered with some white sesame and honey chilli sauce. OMG – I don’t like any fooling around with a regular samosa but this tasted pretty nice!

Then tried the tandoori paneer with a very thai green sauce kinda feel to it. I’m not too fond of thai so I didn’t care much for this. This was served with some mustard dip.

Then came some appam and a very heavy coconut stew with it – i didn’t enjoy this because I’m not a big fan of coconut flavored food.

After all these starters it was time to move to main course. But wait..first let me tell you about another palette cleanser! A huge tree like thing was placed on my table with 2 lollipops hanging out from its branches. These felt like kadhi (Punjabi besan kadhi – I’m not kidding) frozen and made into a lollipop. All fancy and did give me a fresh clean start to my main course.

For the main course I started with some spaghetti – aglio e olio style and this also came with some coconut thing going on. The spaghetti was so well done and I’m afraid that this was the first time I mildly enjoyed the coconut flavoring.

Then came some pav bhaji – not just regular pav but with focacia bread and it was called Ratatouille Pav bhaji! This bread was out of this world – I ate so much of it just by itself because it was so yummy. The bhaji I found a tad bit greasy. It is topped with sev and onion. The combination of sweet focacia and bhaji is definitely something different!

Then came some churma balls and some yellow dal. The churma balls feel quite heavy..But the dal that comes with them is superb. It also has some of that crispy chana dal with masala on top and I just loved it.

And finally came some mix veggies kofta in a rich creamy cashew and tomato gravy along with some ajvaini naan – the naan was exceptional. The kofta was quite tasty – anyone who loves rice cashew flavored gravy would love this.

Don’t judge me, but there’s still some dessert that I had! Started with a Parle G cheesecake – jee Haan Parle G along with some gems! And this was placed in a bowl with loads of chopped pista and a rabdi kind of thing. Very meh – not my type at all.

Then I tried a strange but rich Ras Malai – one mouthful and you would have a mixture of ras malai and rabdi.. The presentation was remarkable – especially the Caramel colored sugar top!

And finally I ate some planets from the solar system! This dessert was called the signature milky way big bang – it was almost created right in front of me! Liquid nitrogen churned ice cream and fruits and chocolate! Fruits included some blue berries, plums. The chocolate fudge pieces were exceptional.

Finally ended this super huge meal with some paan gujia – paan and cotton candy together..that’s 2 of my favorite things!

Ohh and I almost forgot to mention the drinks – I tried the green apple martini kind of drink – this felt so refreshing and light. I also tried their Farzi Tina which was sweet lime infused in fresh orange juice.

Farzi cafe is a must visit..at least once. And it’s going to be an experience and not just another meal outside. The ambience feels nothing less than a posh place. And the staff are super friendly and considerate. Special mention for Shahbaz – our attendant, who patiently waited everytime I clicked a picture.

Tag: fancy

Asia Kitchen by Mainland China, Lower Parel

Review – Asia Kitchen by Mainland China

Rating – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Follow my food journey and stay in touch with me on Snapchat and Instagram

Masalabar, Carter Road

Masalabar – Review

Rating – ⭐⭐⭐⭐ and half!

Farzi Cafe, Lower Parel

Farzi Cafe Review