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Friday 13 December 2019

House Of Mandarin Powai | A Royal Chinese Feast | Food Review | Restaurant Review

am not a big fan of Chinese food, not the way it is consumed in India. There, I said it. I know it is sort of a sacrilege for a foodie, but somehow I have not warmed up to the excessive use of spices and oil in the Indo-Chinese cuisine..yet, once in a while, I do come across some establishments that try to provide an authentic Chinese experience with appropriate focus on using quality ingredients instead of over-using of artificial sauces and spices and oil, and I fall in love with them. House of Mandarin falls squarely in that category :)







Situated the latest hip-and-happening area of Hiranandani area in Powai, the House of Mandarin is a spacious and tastefully decorated dining destination with a plethora of veg as well as non-veg options in soups, appetizers, noodles, rice, dimsums, sushi, desserts, drinks...basically, a cool place to be with family for celebration or friends for chilling out or office colleagues for a gossip section over drinks! Staff is super-polite, helpful and takes feedback seriously, service is very fast, prices are reasonable looking at the quality and quantity of food as well as the superb plush location.





Tried, loved and recommend-

CRANBERRY KISS- A nice peppy mocktail with the right balance of sweet and sour,

TURNIP CAKE- This is like corn-curd, soft and mushy inside while crisp on the outside, a great balance with Burnt Garlic and Scallions for an added punch,

CRISPY HONEY LOTUS STEM- On the sweeter side, wholesome lotus stems coated lovingly in a blanket of honey glaze, 

VEG CRYSTAL DUMPLING and CORN & WATER CHESTNUT DUMPLING- I am not exaggerating when I say These. Are. Among. THE BEST. Dimsums. In. Mumbai. The delicate covering, the expert fillings, the textures, the flavors, MUST-HAVE,

ASPARAGUS TEMPURA ROLL- I am not a Sushi expert but these were among the best too, try them and make your own opinion, I loved them,

SPICY MAPO TOFU and SOFT NOODLES WITH VEGETABLES- Semi-gravy noodles with loads of wholesome veggies such as Carrots, Water Chestnuts, Bok Choy, a bit bland on its own but went seamlessly with soft Tofu in a spicy gravy, surprisingly it was not a heavy combination in stark contrast with other chinese places where I am stuffed uncomfortably by now!







Special shoutout to desserts that finished this meal perfectly- LEMONGRASS CREME BRULEE, simple and sublime with mild lemongrass flavor through a soothing creamy dessert, perfect for those who do not like too sweet dishes,

STICKY TOFFEE PUDDING- Absolute SMASHER and MUST-HAVE here, the spongy pudding with HEAVENLY CARAMEL on the base and Vanilla Ice Cream and a strong kiss of Candied Ginger, what is not to love!!!

If you love Chinese cuisine, be here. If you love Indo-chinese cuisine, be here. If you do not love either of the two, still be here, this happy hippo is sure you will find something worth loving :) 

Thursday 12 December 2019

Dessertino Ghatkopar Mumbai | Dessert Heaven | Best Waffles And Thickshakes | Food Review | Favorite Recommendation

Everyone who knows me knows I have not just a sweet tooth but a sweet jaw, and am ready to have delicious desserts any time. So when a review invite for Dessertino came in my inbox, I couldn't wait to land here, and boy am I glad I spent my afternoon here.



Cute and small outlet with desserts of all sorts, milkshakes, thickshakes, waffles, greek yogurt for dessert fanatics. The USP here is that they make everything in-house and do not purchase ingredients from third party, so there is top-most quality control and premium flavors in each dish. The staff is extremely helpful and if you cannot decide what to have from the menu, listen to their suggestions. Prices match the quality, though ofcourse everything in Mumbai is expensive when compared to any other city :P




PISTACHIO WAFFLE- This is what I will travel from one end of the city to another, MUST-HAVE, freshly baked waffles with pistachio cream that is neither bland nor too sweet, just right, in fact I hardly ever like waffles anywhere but I am going to keep coming here for noshing on these waffles,

BELGIAN DARK CHOCOLATE THICKSHAKE- I love bitter chocolate and the staff made sure I knew that before I ordered this. They do not use any ice cream in making thick shakes, there is a special machine they use and this shows in the quality of the shake..and if you like bitter chocolate, this is a must-have for you. Basically, whatever flavor you like, pick accordingly from the menu, they have something for everyone..including berrylicious, kesar pista, ferrero rocher and so on, each one of them authentic,

ROSE PETALS ICE CREAM- This is where a dessert parlor really shines. Some places have too sweet flavors while some others have icy bland flavors but this one was just PERFECT. Rose Petals is a sublime flavors made better with some nuts and felt like a cool breeze needed on a sultry summer afternoon. TRY THIS for sure. I will be going back to try their other flavors that looked equally appetizing such as Caramello, Rajwadi Kulfi and so on.

After making waves throughout Gujarat, Dessertino is now here in Mumbai to make waves and from this review experience, this hippo is happy enough to give a big thumbs-up to everyone for going here and trying out everything from their menu.

Sunday 1 December 2019

Baesic and Baesic Lite Mumbai Delivery | Delicious Light Yummy | Food That Is Bae | Food Review

BAE is the new buzzword, so why should food be left behind! Food that is Bae, now being served by Baesic and Baesic Lite. Got to try some delicacies from them for a review session and I am ready to go all bae-listic over how yummy everything is :)


Baesic is a delivery only brand for the new-age foodies who do not want to restrict themselves to just one cuisine, this is delicious food that is prepared with love and fresh ingredients and adheres to the only philosophy of it being flavorsome and delicious. 

Baesic Lite is the snackier cousin of Baesic that provides different dips and chips schemes all made-in-house without any artificial flavors or preservatives, so that when the foodies want something to munch on, they can simply reach over and have something that is light while being delicious.




So basically, both the brands aim at the urban youth who want delicious food that is not too heavy but also flavorsome and easy on the pocket. All points checked, here is what I tried and loved from Baesic-

PANANG TOFU CURRY NOODLE BOWL - Creamy curry with just the right amount of sweet, salty, savory, tangy touches, alongside big chunks of Tofu and Flat Noodles with corn and peanuts bringing the crunch factor, my absolute favorite,

CHILLI BBQ PANEER IN PAV - Soft buttery Pav with Barbecued Paneer chunks and spicy gravy with loads of peanuts, another winner, filling and delicious but not heavy, in fact 2 of these and even a hungry hippo like me is happy :)

MINI SEA SALT DARK CHOCOLATE MOUSSE - Decadent Mousse with crumbles on top, enough said :D




From Baesic Lite, this is all the awesomeness that I got for review and loved to the core-

ROASTED BELL PEPPER JAM - Tried something like this for the first time in my life, can't wait to try more again, had a tangy base with little sweetness too, went well with chips and later, with bread :D

ROASTED GARLIC HUMMUS - Smooth and not overpoweringly garlicky, just the way we love, fresh and tasty,

MISO ONION DIP- If you are a hardcore onion flavor fan, this is your thing. I have never tried this kind of strong onion flavored anything, it is naturally sweet and goes well with any dip or sandwich,

CLASSIC COLD BREW- Strongest brew I have ever tasted, I am not a big coffee fan, but my sister is and she LOVED it,

LAVASH- The ultimate accompaniment for the hummus and jam, not unnecessarily salty, just right, felt light,

ALMOND COOKIES- Light and delicious, not unnecessarily sweet and not bland either, perfectly crispy and just right for evening snacking time!

Needless to say, everything I have tried from Baesic as well as Baesic Lite is worth reordering and this hungry hippo gives a big thumbs up to both :)