Box8, Mumbai

It was another semi-winter evening, my sister and I were watching a re-rerun of FRIENDS for 100th time (don't judge us :P) and obviously, Joe makes an entrance having a sandwich and both of us suddenly feel the need to have one too! But we were not in a mood to actually go anywhere, so home delivery it is. Hey, I heard about this cool place from one of my friends in Lower Parel, something called Box8, so time to try it out :)

There we went on Box8 website and out tumbles a beautiful menu with Biryani, Sandwiches, Salads, All-in-One Meals, Wraps, Desserts. Now I AM Hungry :D To keep things low key, we decide on sampling Shahi Paneer Biryani, Paneer Overload Sandwich, Chef's Special Wrap (Whole Wheat) and Veg Salad (Yeah, that is low key :P Stop judging us!) We had kinda skipped lunch and it was still 4 hours to go for dinner,so we thought this should suffice us enough, and it did more than that.

By now it is understood that when most of the places say Biryani, when it comes to the vegetarian variety, they actually serve Veg Pulao. Not ALL, but most. It is one of the cruel jokes played on vegetarians in India. Many people in fact refuse to believe that there could be something as a Vegetarian Biryani. I suggest (to such people) to go to Hyderabad and sample one of the lip-smacking Veg Biryanis there to see how it is as delicious as the non-veg ones. Or, you could have an amazing friend like mine and go to his place on Eid and his sweet mom would make the most killer Biryani possible, yes, in VEG variety that even my non-veg friends swear by, with all the spices and marinated,smoky flavor that one expects from a bona-fide Biryani ♥ But again, many people & dining places in India are not exposed to any of these options *sigh*

Anyway, I am fine with places serving Veg Pulao in the name of Biryani, I have made my peace with it, as long as it is delicious. Less than a week ago, I had a disappointing 'Biryani' at Punjab Grill and was not keen on getting that experience repeated. And guess what, Box 8 actually gave us better Biryani than Punjab Grill! It still is not completely Biryani, none of that Slow-cooked-for-hours taste, BUT and this is a big BUT, I could clearly taste a hint of spices that I expect in a proper Biryani! In every spoonful, there was this brilliantly aromatic (saffron aroma) Basmati rice, a juicy Paneer and just that smack of spice mix that warmed my heart :) Loved it, couldn't stop eating it. I would say that the Biryani served by Box8 is better than what a lot of fine-dine places serve nowadays, it is not 100% Biryani as the Nawabs had, but for once-in-a-while indulgence, it comes quite close. Very tasty, and very easy on the pocket, VERY!

Then came the Paneer Overload Sandwich. True to its name, it was loaded with big chunks of soft & fresh Paneer to the brim, with the perfect array of sauces and other veggies mixed together. AND the bread they served in, un-freaking-believable! We always talk of melt-in-the-mouth paneer, right? Ever heard of melt-in-the-mouth bread? That's what we had. It wasn't crumbly, it wasn't tough to crack, it wasn't stale, it wasn't just okay, it was warm, so soft, it had a character of its own. I could have that bread alone and then ofcourse with all the Paneer and veggies and sauces it just became the star dish of the evening :) Trust me, it is so much better than Subway's, I don't think I can ever have a Sub again without thinking about this sandwich from Box8 ♥

Just sharing a Biryani and Sandwich was more than enough for my sister and I, that is how good the quantity is. We shared our Wrap and Salad with our mom. And had to forego dinner because we were stuffed to the brim :D The wrap was again delicious, Salad was fresh,crunchy and flavorful with loads of veggies just the way I like it.

We barely paid about Rs. 800 for this feast where every dish was superbly prepared, fresh and delicious to the core and perfectly packed. It was delivered to our home within 25 minutes even though expected time of arrival was 38 minutes (and come on, traffic in Mumbai is killer, have a heart and please do not penalize the home delivery guys for coming in a bit late, they are humans too!). Honestly, I did not expect our evening snack time to convert into a royal food fiesta but Box8 did it. Will be ordering again soon ♥♥♥♥♥