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. 

South Indian Feast From Malgudi | Vegetarian Food Review | Consistent Deliciousness

Malgudi has been one of those dining destinations that my family trusts blindly for all south Indian delicacies. Having tried their dosas and idlis at many different outlets over 5 years have taught us that they are consistent in delivering delicious, high-quality, reasonably -priced south Indian dishes. So when my mom was craving some south Indian biryani the other day, I ordered in CALICUT BIRYANI WITH KORMA from Malgudi and it was delicious as per usual :)

I do not know how authentic Calicut Biryani is prepared but this one was quite spicy, fragrant, had good quantity of beans and peas, and the creamy korma went well alongside. The quantity also was perfect for 2 people for a light lunch so no issues with pricing. Delivery was quite fast too. Overall, as always, loved everything and heartily recommend Malgudi to everyone :) 

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. 

Poolside VITS Hotel | Pre-Christmas Dinner Buffet | Best Dessert Spread In Mumbai | Food Review | Restaurant Review

Spent a lovely evening with mom a couple of days before Christmas. The poolside atmosphere is charming and they had spruced it up with some christmas special decorations too. Good lighting and extremely courteous staff ensured we had a gala time. Of course, the food at their dinner buffet spread was perfect in every way and made us vow that we would be back soon, especially since the Chef and every staff member personally make sure to take feedback from every visitor.

Started off with FRUIT PUNCH that was not overly sweet or tangy, but deliciously fragrant and fruity. Thereafter the starters made their way and we loved everything as the flavors were balanced and distinct.

PANEER TIKKA

GOBI MANCHURIAN

VEG KEBABS

TIL KI TIKKI 

While the starters were served on the table, we made our way to the scrumptious buffet spread for the rest of the delicacies. The SALAD table beckoned and we had our fill of GREEN SALAD, HUNG CURD AND BEETROOT SALAD, MEXICAN BEANS SALAD, RAITA, SEV PURI. Healthy eaters won't be disappointed here.

Even in main course that seems to be the weak point at many buffet places, we found each dish carefully conceptualized and created with distinct flavors that did not make it seem like a mishmash of this-and-that. We absolutely loved-

TAWA PULAO

PANEER KHEEMA MATAR

CHOWGRA (similar to mix vegetables,a bit on spicier side)

STUFFED BELL PEPPERS

CHEESY PASTA (it looked simple and bland but turned out to be every child's favorite!)

CHOWMEIN

And of course, a bevy of rotis, parathas, naans, that the staff is more than happy to get as per the visitor's preference.

It was difficult to stop ourselves from overeating thus far because we also wanted to try out the fantastic desserts that included not just the usual pastries and ice creams but a plethora of Indian desserts such as RASMALAI, MALPUA, ORANGE RASGULLA, SHAHI BARFI, and everything is authentic to the T. Even the biggest buffet places in most big cities cannot replicate the authenticity of Bengali or north Indian sweets the way these folks have done. I have forgotten the number of RASMALAIs I had here but it was surely more than a dozen :D And the next time I am here, I will double that number :P

Try their buffet out today, and come away impressed just like this hungry hippo did :) 

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 :) 

Karwari Food Festival | Solitaire Restaurant Hotel Kohinoor Continental | Best Food Festival Destination | Food Review

Anybody making a list of best buffet dining destinations or food festival destinations in Mumbai, make Solitaire Restaurant at Kohinoor Continental your top pick right away. Delicious food, very value for money price point, elegant calm ambiance, excellent staff and superb service-pick your reason to visit Solitaire and just do it :)

I have been here for multiple food festivals over the years and not once have they disappointed me or my family. Have loved the Thai Food Festival, the Maharashtrian Food Festival, and now the Karwari Food Festival that is going on right now till 17th of November 2019. There aren't 500 items in the buffet, but more than enough for anybody to feast like royalty.

They have brought the perfect home-cooked feel, everything tastes like prepared by a loving grandma, so this is the right place to say goodbye to oil-laden food that is the usual trademark of typical 'restaurant food'. And the walk till Solitaire is also adorned with ambiance-enhancing decorations, nice touch :) For me, the main draw was that Karwari food, from the coastal Karnataka region, that is mainly seafood based, also had many options for a hardcore vegetarian like me. Ingredients like coconut, hand-pounded spices, tamarind, potatoes have been used generously and I cannot emphasize this enough-nothing has been doused in ghee or oil to make it tasty, rather the real taste of real ingredients shines through in every preparation. This is the best differentiating factor here that even my mother loved a lot.

Started off with PANAK, the most refreshing drink hands down, with Jaggery, Lemon, Ginger, Black Pepper together, how can this not be magical :) Alongside there was also SOL KADI and BUTTERMILK but I ended up having 3 rounds of Panak and would have had more if a delicious spread of food did not beckon me :D

The starters and salads section was hands down my favorite with plethora of bites in crunchy and healthy avatars, including-

BEETROOT KISMOR- Tangy-Spicy medley of Beetroots, Peanuts, Onions and just a dash of homemade masala,

TOUSHE MULYAR- Cooling preparation with Cucumber, Dahi, Coconut,

ASSORTED PAPAD- Do not miss the Shankh shaped papads!

ASSORTED KAAP- Basically fritters but baked, not fried, thin slices of Potatoes, Bananas, Brinjals and Yams. Sound humble but wait till you taste them, the delicious crumby coating will force you to go back for seconds.

DAL VADE- THE BOMB! I lost count of how many of these I had. Looked like the simple tikki we have but I haven't had a more balanced mix of spices, onions, daal in a tikki version EVER. I kid you not, I am salivating just thinking about it even now.
KHOTTE- Idli steamed in Jackfruit leaves, try it for the earthy other-worldly flavor not found in any food nowadays :)

For main course, we noshed on another set of down-to-earth dishes found in Karwari households. Think veggies with coconut, curries with mix of tamarind and chillies with capsicum and raw mangoes, bhakris made of healthy ingredients such as jowar way before quinoa and kale became fashionable! We had and loved-

KAIRI UDIT METHI- Raw Mango + Karela in red curry, a bite of bitter with a lot of tanginess,
BATATA TALASINI- Simple Potato Bhaaji with Mustard, 

CHANA SURANA GASSI- Bengal Gram and Yam in a hearty thick curry with coconut and hint of tamarind,

PUGHE MIRSANG ROSE- Capsicum and Potatoes in wholesome coconut curry,

BHINDI SUKKE- Ladies fingers frolicking in a paste of coconut with loving masalas,

DAL made just like mom makes at home, no butter, no ghee, no flashy tadka, just plain happiness,

JOWAR and RICE BHAKRI, AMBE-MOHAR RICE that went as well with all the curries as the jodi of Leonardo di Caprio and Kate Winslet,

The Home-made pickles were a great hit with mom in this section too.

And then we had to save some space for dessert too, a limited but nonetheless delicious selection of authentic Karwari delicacies enticed us. We had-

FRUITS such as pineapple, kiwi, watermelons, papaya,

MOONG DAAL PAYAS,a lightly-sweetened moong daal porridge, can be had even by those who do not like sugar,

SUKRUNDE, looks like pakode but tastes like Puran Poli, with the same stuffing inside the outer gram flour covering, a dollop of ghee will make it even better,

PATOLI, my mom is from Orissa and she tells me there they call this Pittha, rice batter stuffed with coconut and jaggery and then steamed in turmeric leaves, MUST-HAVE, simple but heavenly,

And the most delicious dessert ever-GADBAD ICE CREAM, a rage in Karnataka, mix of Vanilla, Strawberry, Mango ice creams with wafer chips, chocolate straws, chocolate chips, tutti-frutti nuggets, jellies, sprinkles..basically just let yourself be a 5 year old kid again and enjoy a trillion calories in a glass :D

Seriously, what else is the definition of good life? :)