TAG - GourmArt Kitchen By Ranveer Brar | Modern Vegetarian Journey | Food Review | Restaurant Review

Ranveer Brar has done it again. As if leaving young girls shrieking in his presence is not enough (I have seen this firsthand and would just like to say-he is married girls, get a grip :P), he goes ahead and creates a piece of art, literally! One of my most memorable review invites-welcome to TAG-GourmArt Kitchen By Ranveer Brar.

The first floor is like a blank canvas, literally, very white, contemporary, minimalist, interested in showcasing works of other artists be it via photographs or paintings and so on, it is on the first floor with colorful chairs and open kitchen, an inviting book shelf, a semi-geometric decor pattern where Ranveer's culinary artistry comes to fore. The ambiance here is so welcoming, positive and upbeat that I won't mind coming back here every week just to soak up on all the positivity,

The menu is eclectic with naan sharing same space as sushi and flatbread given same importance as upma and risotto! But nothing is as it seems, nothing is plain Jane, it is all encased in a shell of creativity, with ingredients like Tofu, Kale, Flax Seeds et al making their appearance in the unlikeliest of places very successfully. The plating, presentation and top-notch quality of each dish makes me not complain about the pricing. If I am being honest, I would certainly agree that it is expensive. Every dish is just a tasting portion (small plate) and for a hulk like me, it means I need at least 4-5 plates before I can call it a meal (so I will need to pay at least Rs.1500 for my meal alone)! 

But,again, in the vein of honesty, I would admit that it is worth it. Why? Because nobody becomes a masterchef overnight. It takes years of skills, practice, dedication, massive amounts of creativity and ingenuity to achieve this level of mastery and we are paying a premium for that. Just like we pay a premium when we buy branded jeans of 4000 bucks when we know it costs barely 400 bucks to make or see a movie at an elegant multiplex for 500 bucks a ticket instead of at a dingy theatre for 50 bucks a ticket. There are not many  places I would get to sample mock butter chicken ravioli or a watermelon sashimi salad, but here I do. Not many places infuse me with the same amount of optimism as the decor here. Not many places have their staff so well versed with the menu that they suggest dishes perfect for each individual palate as the staff here does. Not many kitchens are equipped  with the same kind of excellent staff here that make every single plate stand out as if it was an entry in the final round of Masterchef competition. Not many places are vegetarian (with some egg dishes also making an appearance), yet elegantly gourmet in theory as well as execution that they help so efficiently in dispelling the myth of 'veg food can't be tasty/gourmet/international/compelling/extraordinary'. So yes, I am ready to splurge a bit here every 2-3 months or so because I am ready to pay the premium :)

The best part about small plates,we get to do portion control and also try out a variety of dishes instead of getting hungover on massive amounts of ghee/butter/oil in just 1-2 dishes (I am looking at you,dal makhani and veg biryani of last night :P)

So we started our lunch with an off the menu refreshing Orange mocktail for me and The Coffee Sangria with Americano, Oranges, Green Apple, Sweet & Sour Mix, Pomegranate for my sister (a bit too heavy for my palate but my sister loved it,so :D)

Our soup journey was kicked off by Tomato Cardamon Shorva with Ginger Chevre Sphere, Dhokla Crisps, Crispy Fava and Salted Methi, very wholesome and fresh, subtle yet flavorsome,

My absolute favorite was Chilled Melon Gazpacho with Tofu Puree and Toasted Almonds, cool, refreshing, rolling around my tongue like a sorbet, so light and pure, I could marry this one!

An array of small plates made their appearance next,starting with Cucumber Kimchi Roll with Tempura Pearls & Mango Lime Foam, this one had the stamp of authentic sushi all over it with just a hint of acidity, loved it,

My sister's favorite eggplant made an appearance with a flatbread - Aubergine Caponata with Garlic Crumbs and Aged Balsamic with Pine Nuts, I thought it would be excessively oily (it wasn't!) or unnecessarily cheesy (again, it wasn't) or at the very least,bland and boring but I actually finished 2/3rds of it, so enough said :D

One of the must-haves here is their Seasonal Beans Hummus with Sweet Peas, Beans, Red Radish, Flax Seeds & Khakra Toast, get all the cooling qualities of hummus with down-to-earth ingredients, a healthy choice we couldn't get enough of, and a filling portion for a light eater too!

Another must-have for me was Afghan Mantu i.e. meatless meaty Central Asian Dumplings with Tomato Braised Lentils and Smoked Yoghurt, this is a dumpling like never had before, soft, meaty, an explosion of flavors, little pockets of delight is how I would describe them,

If you hate Kale, then you must also try Kale Papdi Chaat with Kale Fritters and Potato Puff tossed up into a chaat with Yoghurt espuma, TAG chutneys and tempura pearls, none of that horrible Kale bitterness to be found here, the tangy-crunchy avatar of Kale here is good to look at, delicious to the  core, very unique twist that an average foodie like me won't even dream of,

Finally, melt in mouth Mushroom Galawat i.e. Lucknowi Galawat Kebab with a hint of truffle and sour dough crostinis, buttermilk lacchha is what would warm the heart of any mushroom lover, I always find kebabs anywhere a bit too salty for my taste but could find no fault with this one's flavor or texture :)

Among desserts, we settled on 3 distinctive choices, starting with my favorite Chocolate Fondant with Orange, Thyme Center, Black Pepper Vanilla Ice Cream, Chocolate Soil, it was as dense and rich as I expected it to be, as worthy of a repeat as any good chocolate dessert should be,

Next up was Merlot Poached Pear with Creme Anglaise, Burnt Chocolate , Fresh Berries, Fillo Pastry, a good juxtaposition of creaminess with fresh fruits, but a bit too eggy for me personally,

Finally we had the beautiful Lunch Special Veggie Dessert with Red Cabbage and Cranberry Panna Cotta, Yoghurt Sponge, Salted Caramel Walnut, Sweet Balsamic Caviar and Ginger crumble, very light and refreshing, all the different components complimenting each other beautifully to create a fitting finale to our meal,

So, food is delicious, staff is super efficient, service is extremely quick, decor is charming and uplifting and Ranveer Brar has created a distinctive mark in all aspects, what's not to like? Can't wait to be back :)

Sheesha Sky Lounge | Wholesome Indian Goodness | Food Review | Restaurant Review

Shifting to a new house sucks! Your items get lost,like I almost lost my bag containing all tech items, including my laptop and my camera, which contained all the pics taken during the review dinner in last fortnight and led to this abominable delay in me putting up this review! Yeah, so moving houses sucks,

What doesn't suck is Sheesha Sky Lounge, it is actually a pretty nice place to land up at with friends for a perfect chilled out evening :)

We were here about a fortnight ago to sample some of their delicious offerings on a breezy weekday evening. Took an elevator to the top and walked into a reallllly huge space divided into 2 zones-enclosed dining space & bar as well as open air rooftop sheesha and dining place. You can have an entire wedding party of 300 people eat and dance comfortably here! Ambiance, very very cool, instantly relaxing us, especially with good rooftop views around us. The decor is part industrial,part Arabian Nights-ish,part typical hookah place, part lounge..you get the idea,right :D Utterly perfect for go here with friends which is what we noticed people all around us doing, gossiping or catching up with friends over some sheesha and good food (it was about 75% occupied at 8.30 PM on a weekday,that's really good),

Since we neither do sheesha nor drink, we only focused on food and it did not disappoint us at all, so this goes in the list of one of those rare places that do not neglect any department be it food,drinks or sheesha. Prices are not that high either, Rs. 300 for a Veg Biryani that can stuff 2 very hungry folks and Naan/Kulcha around 80-90 bucks is pretty good for this ambiance, quality and quantity. The only thing they can improve on is service time, since our food came in quite late (almost half hour of waiting and 3 reminders) and was also a bit cold. But our staff was fantastic, they did tell us there was some problem in the kitchen, maybe it was an off day, or just teething problems of the beginning days, once we had the food we really liked it though :) The staff was really helpful and friendly.

We started off with Paan Gulkand and Fresh Lime Soda,former being a sweet creamy concoction with dominant paan flavor with gulkand supporting it fantastically, maybe not everyone's cup of tea but we loooooved it, and would love it again sometime as a dessert item in itself :D Fresh Lime Soda was usual, refreshing :)

Since we could not decide on one starter but wanted to overdose on paneer, we requested for a special Paneer Tikka Platter and were happily served one with a variety i.e. Paneer Afghani Tikka, Paneer Ajwaini Tikka, Paneer Malai Tikka, all soft and scrumptious with various marinades making them melt in mouth for us, look out for the chutneys and dips they serve alongside, absolute KILLER!

In main course, we had Mughlai Kofta, soft Veg koftas in rich, creamy, dense gravy as well as Paneer Nawabi, soft Paneer chunks in mildly sweetish-spicy gravy with lovely Cheese Garlic Naan, wholesome Aloo-Onion Paratha, all of this enough to fill up 3 people easily (thank God we were starving and we also got left-overs packed) Actually gravy wise both were kinda similar but enjoyable nonetheless, next time we will try something drastic like one extra spicy and one sweet-ish dish :D 

Menu has more options for the non veggies but veggies have a full house of options too, many classic north Indian and mughlai dishes, so no complaints,

Finally we tried Subz Dum Biryani, and again it was not a generic Pulao served in the name of Biryani and rather a rich medley of veggies with proper layer of masalas and fragrant rice, actually we got it packed and our mom finished it at home and her verdict is, very very good Biryani :)

All in all, a really good meal in fantastic ambiance with some wonderful staff, just a little bit of tweak here and there needed, but nothing is gonna stop this sky lounge from touching the sky in terms of success :)

#FBAIsoiree With #FarziFeast | Farzified Fun | Gastronomic Experience

Having already been Farzified at Farzi Cafe last year, it was a beautiful stroke of providence to be back here for a fun-filled FBAI Soiree in the company of many accomplished food bloggers,masters and connoisseurs of Mumbai very recently. Farzi Cafe has already made its name when it comes to delivering top-notch gastronomic experience to food lovers and this experience was no different. This place is actually one of the earliest where I started my food blogging journey and will always retain a special place for this fact, along with the realization that my mind was opened to all new avenues, experiments and experiences offered in modern global culinary scene right here!

It was a bright sunday afternoon when the who's who of Mumbai culinary scene descended upon Farzi Cafe, its dark elegant interiors welcoming everyone, rocking music and extremely polite + helpful staff ensuring everyone having a gala time. A round of drinks and cocktails made its way to everyone's hands, my favorite Farzi Tina being my companion, perfect for those like me who are not much into alcohol yet wanna get a bit tipsy in its lemony-vodka concoction. There is no room for complaints about small portions or high prices here when dining here is an experience in itself, in fact it is actually value for money compared to many other similar experimental places. For starters, Upma-Mozzarella sticks were pretty nice, crunchy and savory, with a tangy chutney elevating their flavors. 

Moving ahead, I really loved their tangy take on Paneer Tikka with Lachha Paratha, lip smacking dish that I actually cleaned myself (apologies to my fellow foodies who waited to get a taste :P) They also had Wok Tossed Veggies in a Peanut based gravy which was wholesome, crunchy but a bit bland-ish when it came to flavors, I loved the Dhaniya Kulcha they served alongside!

Wholesome Mushroom Biryani and very authentic, very soul satisfying BisiBele Bhaat with Asparagus were lovely main course options for us veggies, easy to fill up on one's quota of veggies everyday if it is served like this!

Oh I know, you all are waiting for a glimpse into the dessert section, where indeed the best is saved for the last. Farzi Sundae is one big jar of extremely rich happiness, needs to be devoured by 3 hungry hulks at least, the twist being Malai Rabdi used in place of regular ice cream to make this a decadent treat. Mind you, if you do not have a sweet jaw like me, you might find this too much after a spoonful itself. I happily devoured an entire jar full of about 30,000 calories :D 

What everyone will love for sure is their Ghevar Rabdi with Saffron Foam, another decadent treat with a twist, this one is a bit less sweet but equally flavorful, and the one dish our table kept reordering at least 5-6 times :D

Need any more motivation to land up at Farzi Cafe anymore? Go get farzified now!