Global Culinary Journey At The Sassy Spoon Powai | Beautiful Modern Dining Destination | Food Review | Food Photography

Powai has suddenly turned into the party zone and top culinary destination in the suburbs, giving tough competition to venues such as Lower Parel, Anderi, and BKC. One of the newest entrants here is this sassy place. Walk in to feel like you just entered the saner version of Alice in Wonderland. 

The greenery below the ceiling with the fairy lights, the differently-colored chair cushions, the careful arrangement of quirky collectibles along the booth wall, the life-size van fixture at the well-appointed bar, the medley of high chairs with zebra pattern, the cherry blossom motif on the pillar in the center and the juxtaposition of primary colors against each other. Look at me, I can write an architectural digest episode here! 

Combine this with an ever-helpful staff, a menu that promises a tour around the world, live music on special nights, a general bonhomie in the air and you know this is a winner. Prices are on the higher side but cannot complain looking at the location and the brand name. The quality of the food certainly justifies it to a large extent.

For our review session, we had and loved-

TOMATO, OLIVE AND PARMESAN SOUP- LOVED, hot bowl of warmth that I needed on this chilly evening,

WARM LEMONY COUSCOUS WITH TOASTED ALMONDS, PEPPERS, CHILLI, CORIANDER SALAD- Healthy wholesome bowl, different flavors and textures went well together, a nice trip through west asia,

SPICY KIDNEY BEANS EMPANADAS WITH QUESO - Straightforward, heavy dish, try it when you are in a group, could feel a bit dry but tasty nonetheless, 

BAKED BEETROOT & FETA KEFTEDES IN ONION SEED PITA WITH CUCUMBE TZATZIKI -LOVED, MUST-HAVE, the beetroot & feta koftas were OUTSTANDING, if I could make beetroot taste like this I would never eat outside food #justsaying :D Would come back here just to try this,

BAKED LASAGNA WITH CREAMED LEEKS, MUSHROOMS, SWEET POTATOES & CHEDDAR - Again LOVED, and on the healthier side with layers of lasagna sheets, mushrooms, sweet potatoes in a hearty tomato sauce, Italy tastes good :D, 

NUTTY RICOTTA RAVIOLI WITH HOMEMADE RICOTTA, WALNUTS, PINE NUTS AND GARLIC CREAM SAUCE- Hands down my FAVORITE, the play of ricotta mounds with nuts and creamy sauce, explosion of flavors in mouth, had the potential to be bland or heavy and was none, try this for sure!, 

SEVEN TEXTURES OF HAZELNUT AND CHOCOLATE-Think of every chocolate and hazelnut based dessert form-pastry, disc, biscotti, mousse, molten sauce..this ultimate dessert has it ALL, if you love chocolate and hazelnut, try this. If you don't, well try this anyway and then probably go for therapy :P, 

RASPBERRY MOUSSE- Dark Chocolate meets Raspberry in a mousse form and gets immortalized in a fluffy decadent dessert with tangy raspberry sorbet by the side. MUST-HAVE!

True to their promise, you can travel around the world on one plate here with fresh ingredients, delicious culinary experimentation, cool ambiance, prompt service, and smiling helpful staff. On all points, a complete pleasure. This hungry hippo gives a thumbs up. 

Shree Raj Ghatkopar | Hidden Gem | North Indian Punjabi Cuisine Home Delivery | Food Review

My mom was craving some SHAHI PANEER yesterday so ordered it yesterday alongside TANDOORI ROTI and GARLIC NAAN from here. Very reasonable pricing, fast delivery, extremely good portion, secure packaging, clean and tasty food. 

Roti and Naan were great as expected, shahi paneer as we all know is on the sweeter side but thankfully here the gravy was creamy but they had not added extra sugar. I find it very irritating when restaurants add extra sugar that makes the gravy cloyingly sweet. Here, shahi paneer was calorific, on the sweeter side, creamy, delicious, LOVED IT.

Would love to reorder again soon :) This is the place that does justice to the concept of delicious and fast everyday food for the masses. 

Starry Pizzas From Starboy Pizzas And Shakes | Vegetarian Food Delivery | Review And Photography

Tried 3 pizzas from here 2 days ago, for a fun family dinner night. The pricing is just right for the quantity, especially since we got a massive 50% discount while ordering from zomato. Delivery was super-fast too, and the packaging merits a special mention. The boxes are colorful, immersed in the colors of US flag, and there are pictures of American celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley on the oregano + chilli flakes packets :)

We had VEG SUPREME LOADED, GARDEN VEGGIES & THREE CHEESE TRIO, TANDOORI PANEER TIKKA pizzas. My favorite was PANEER one, with super-soft paneer pieces on a bed of loads of cheese and proper ratio of sauces to spices. LOVELY :)

Both VEG SUPREME as well as GARDEN VEGGIES variety had nice amount of bell peppers, olives, onions etc. and good cheese + sauce ratio, were delicious. But frankly I could not distinguish any difference between them, both tasted almost the same. Anyway, my parents enjoyed both the varieties while I loved the tandoori paneer.

Would definitely reorder :) 

Vegetarian Meal And Biryani Lunch From Faasos Vikhroli | Food Review | Food Photography

Faasos is tried and tested in our family when it comes to their wraps and biryani. So a couple of days ago, when we were in the middle of shifting houses and needed quick lunch options, Faasos came up as a dependable name on a sultry afternoon. As always, delivery was fast and packaging was stellar. Pricing a bit on the higher side.

We tried-

AWADHI PANEER BIRYANI

PALAK PANEER MEAL

The Biryani was FABULOUS. Quantity more than enough for a heavy lunch for even a hippo like me :D 2 light eaters can easily fill up on this alone. Bright colorful rice strands with hearty portion of Indian spices, paneer chunks, and a side of cooling mint raita. LOVED it. But also, dear Faasos, why you put elaichi in biryani? whyyyyyyyy? :P

Palak paneer meal had 2 parathas alongside palak paneer gravy and it was good enough too, though I would like a thicker gravy and lesser oil, but oh well :D Quantity is sufficient for a good working lunch for a single person but priced on higher side. 

Waffle Pizza Galore With Wack Waffle Pizzas | Delicious Innovation | Food Delivery | Review And Photography

They serve dessert waffles as well as savory waffles. I ordered a bunch of savory waffles for dinner some days ago and LOVED the experience :) One more thing, I think these are the same as the Starboy Pizzas since the delivery was done in their boxes. So same company, different brands. In any case, Starboy serves amazing pizzas and Wack Waffle serves amazing waffle pizzas :D Win-Win situation. Delivery done super-duper fast.

We tried-

VEGGIE DELIGHT WAFFLE PIZZA- Savory waffle base with cheese, onions, tomatoes, bell peppers and jalapenos, a bit tangy sauce on the base that I liked but my dad is especially sensitive to tanginess so he did not like it much.

BARBEQUE PANEER WAFFLE PIZZA- Savory hearty waffle base with BBQ paneer pieces, bell peppers, onions, jalapenos and loads of cheese :) Also a bit tangy sauce but even my dad loved this because of the smokey bbq touch :)

POCKET PERI PERI PANEER WAFFLE PIZZA- Pocket waffle, basically waffle folded in pocket sandwich style so easy to carry and eat :D Stuffed with peri-peri paneer pieces, onions, tomatoes, bell peppers, I finished this in 3 minutes flat. DELICIOUS :)

We got a massive discount while ordering online so all of this came to just about Rs. 300, enough quantity to be a light dinner for 3 people! If the tanginess of the base sauce was a bit less, I would give perfect 5 stars. But even now it is pretty amazing and completely recommended by this hungry hippo :D 

Shawarma Express | Delicious Shawarmas Healthy Sandwiches And More | Food Delivery | Review

Before yesterday, I have had Shawarma a total of 4 times in my lifetime, 2 were disasters and 2 were mindblowing. Thanks to Shawarma Express, now I can safely say that I have had EXCELLENT Shawarmas a total of 3 times in my life so far :D

They sent over some delicious food for review that was delivered by an extremely soft spoken boy on time. We all know the traffic condition in Mumbai and despite that, whenever anyone makes timely delivery, I am super-duper impressed. So a good start :) I tried and LOVED everything. In fact, honestly, I did not have huge expectations, because come on, there was a sandwich and a pasta and a shawarma, and how extraordinary can any of these taste. But boy, was I left licking the plate clean!

CORN-SPINACH GRILLED SANDWICH- Generous portion of spinach and corn with a mild infusion of creamy cheesy flavor, this was more on the healthy side, even though the menu doesn't put them under such category. Very delicious, very filling, definitely worthy of reordering if you want something tasty without compromising on health quotient.

PENNE PASTA IN PESTO- Creamy basil pesto sauce and good chunks of mushrooms and corn with penne pasta sloshing in there tempting the hippo in me. Do not let the term 'healthy' even get anywhere near your mind while having this. It is ULTRA CHEESY, ULTRA CALORIFIC, ULTRA DELICIOUS. Maybe 5 million calories in there due to toooooo much creaminess, but who cares :D I am very greedy when it comes to such delicious food so I want more quantity please :P That's the only thing I can say to improve it, more quantity.

PANEER SHAWARMA (LARGE)- STAR of the meal. Huge Pita Bread rolled with Lebanese sauces including lip-smacking hummus, fried cabbage, pickles, and nice soft chunks of paneer. Too filling, too delicious. I am literally drooling over my keyboard as I am typing this! MUST-MUST-MUSTTTTT HAVE :)

This hungry hippo is still salivating thinking about this meal, so I suggest you get your fill soon too :D 

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

I 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 :) 

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.