Mocha – Lot of Coffee!
A coffee lover who doesn’t frequent most of Mumbai favourite coffee hangouts is a statement that defines me! But today it was different. A beautiful evening and the best drink I could think of was beer errrrr (now where did that come from!)… coffee! Been sometime since I went to Mocha, so decided to try the Brazilian coffee here while my friend went for the Colombian version. Both coffees were served in a big cup, so big that my friend had to use both hands to lift the damn thing!
The coffee lovers that we are, we spent quite a bit of time taking in the strong aromas emanating from our freshly brewed caffeine concentrates. The Brazilian coffee was strong though the Colombian one was the more bitter of the two. Took us a good hour to finish the coffee as we engrossed ourselves in conversations on just about anything!
The coffee was excellent but a sound parameter to judge its effectiveness is how alert it keeps you in the wee hours of the morning. Its 3 AM and I quite alert even at this hour. Though ironically, my friend who had the ’stronger’ of the two coffees is fast asleep!!
Hangla @ Bandra – Authentic Bengali Street Food
Been around for more than two years, Hangla had escaped my rumbling stomach and my ever-growing appetite for new delicacies; but not anymore. A friend brought to my attention the new outlet opened in Bandra, opposite the erstwhile Cream Centre (anyone know what happened to it?). The foodie that I am, I couldn’t resist the call of duty of my relentless pursuit for new trials (still trying my hand with these big words, so be tolerant will ya 
). Went there twice already and haven’t been disappointed yet.
The first time I tried the Double Chicken Roll, a safe bet generally. The roti, draped with egg, included 10 pieces of chicken (OMG!) and some veggies to go with it. It was an absolute delight having the roll that never seemed to get over! The chicken was well cooked and the roti was soft, I guess because of the egg. Next time (the next day actually) I tried the Chicken Kasha and Laccha Paratha. The first thing I did like to say about this dish is that if I could have it, I did eat it everyday! The Paratha made me an instant fan and so did the spicy chicken kasha. A half plate costing INR 70 coupled with Laccha Paratha worth INR 20 was enough to fill my tummy. Makes me wonder, how much do Bengalis really eat?? Little wonder then that the place is called Hangla, meaning glutton in Bengali. If I may add a bit of Marathi here, Hangla is changla! 
.
Besides the chicken dishes, also tried the Fish Chop (prepared from Bhetki Fish). The chop accompanied by mustard sauce, a special mustard sauce, is apparently hard to get in Mumbai. Never have I liked mustard as much as I did here (wonder what is their secret mustard recipe). The Fish meanwhile was non-smelly, less oily (surprisingly at that!) and very tasty!
I wouldn’t know Bengali food so asked my Bengali friends who positively confirmed that the food here tastes like the food prepared in Kolkata. So, Mumbaikars, gorge yourselves on the
The prices though maybe a downer for some people but a full meal can be had for less than INR 100 which I think is a big positive. I rather spend less here and get more than vice versa elsewhere.
The Verdict
Food: 5/5 – Not since Carter Blue have I felt like going to the same place again and again for its rolls and other items. Kudos to Hangla’s for bring out the glutton in me 
.
Service: 4/5 – Loved it. Good fun interacting with the guy at the counter. He seemed a gem of a person!
Ashamed of: Not trying the outlet at Lokhandwala and Malad before!
Biona’s @ Hill Road
Was out for a drive with a friend and decided to pick up a Chicken Shawarma from here. All of INR 80, it is just a bit more expensive and maybe a bit better than its Carter Blue counterpart. Less of veggies and more of chicken for one, the Pita Bread too was much softer. In fact, it was what I think, the way Merhaba – The Gourmet Cafe intended to make the bread. The best thing about Biona’s shawarma was the bread wasn’t chewy nor was it tilting towards the crunchy side. The chicken was good as well and the roll was by far the biggest one I have had so far!
Truly delightful, the shawarma comes in two sizes, regular and large but I am guessing the regular one suffices the appetites of most people. It satiated my taste buds and stopped my stomach from growling further!
Singh’s Fish and Kabab Corner @ Andheri
Seen this place a million times but not until a friend took me here did I realise what I had been missing for so long! A small eatery, Singh’s is very famous, not only for Andherities but others as well. Not the biggest menu but that shouldn’t be a deterrent for anyone. While we were here, tried the Chicken Tandoori and the Chicken Biryani. The Tandoori was easily the best I have had so far. Freshly out of the ‘bhatti’ (oven), it was hot, and cooked well. The leg piece wasn’t burnt and was utterly delicious! Made me ponder if I should have had two of them cause the Biryani let me down a bit. Well cooked again, it wasn’t hot but mildly warm as the Biryani was already made sometime back (And they make kilos of Biryani every hour or so it seems!). Though the Quantity for the half plate of rice was acceptable, it could have done with a bit more chicken in it! Though it was good biryani nonetheless but again, a bit more chicken wouldn’t hurt. Though I wonder, if that is the case with a full biryani as well.
So that was what we ate at around 10:00 PM. A meal totally worth the money paid. Not often do I say this but for tonight it was true. I am surely coming here again!!
Ratings:
Service: 6/10 (Wouldn’t have hurt if the dude was a bit friendly!)
Ambiance: 7/10 (7 may seem too much but for a place that sees maddening crowds it is Quite clean!)
Price: 9/10: Affordable! Very Affordable!!
What to eat: Tandoor and Biryani. Period.
Night Out Eating @Cooper Hospital
One would think that an eating joint outside a hospital at 4AM is impossible but not here in Mumbai. One can understand if Tea or maybe a Vada Pav is available but steaming hot bhurji pav and pav bhaji and it is a different ball game altogether. And that is exactly what we found outside Cooper after a long night out.
The thing about late night food joints such as these is that food is available dirt cheap but is very oily and fattening. So for the health conscious this is a strict no-no but when hunger pangs call there is nothing like ‘healthy food’! We paid about INR 100 for the two anda bhurjis and extra pav. The food is excellent here, better than at Anna’s @ Andheri Station. Though more expensive and a little further away from my house it is worth going to Cooper for the anda bhurji!
Salad at Candies, Pali Naka
The Salad at Candies has become famous with patrons. The salad offers fresh veggies and meat and is specifically directed at those who are health conscious (and Bandra has a lot many of those!!). The other day I went with my colleagues to take advantage of the 25% discount after 8 PM. So the salads cost us INR 60 which is a great price for fulfilling meal. Wanted to try every salad at the counter but my love (or maybe fetish??) for ‘white’ food was too overwhelming. So the plate was filled up with the potato chicken salad, fruit salad and chicken macaroni and some tuna salad as well. The tuna salad was there only ’cause it passed the test the last time I was here.
The meal, had at 9PM, was surprisingly fresh. The veggies were freshly cut and it seemed like the serving was prepared only a few minutes ago! It was a real treat for all of us to have fresh salads at that time of the hour! Though one thing I realised was that I don’t prefer fruits with veggies I rather have either fruit salad or just a normal salad!
Salad at Candies is always recommended and there is nothing like fresh salad!
Aurus @ Juhu
Been to Aurus once but this time it was different. Came here for a dinner date with my school friends who I was meeting after ages. We almost had conversations like ‘OMG! Look how old u look! or ‘You have grown big’ you get the drift… Anyways, Aurus being expensive, I curtailed myself from ordering and let the orders! Though I should have known better. Had a chicken starter, which was just alright. The presentation (I assume that matters at Aurus) wasn’t up to the mark either. One would have thought they chicken would be accompanied by some salad dressing et al but none, we found.
Next up were a couple of vodka shots but since I had already had my pre-party pegs I avoided more shots! But sadly, still ended up splurging INR 1500 on a dinner that never was!
Anna’s @ Andheri Station
Been on a mini-break trying to avoid outside food due to an on-going health crisis. But I couldn’t resist this one. Got a call late at night from a very hungry soul. It didn’t take me long (never really does when someone mentions food!) to agree to his plan of eating out so without hesitating we headed out in search of food at 2 AM in the night. Since we didn’t want to go anywhere far we began asking around and were directed to Andheri station.
Not too sure what the stall’s name is but it seems to have been operating for quite sometime now. At 2.00 AM you find all kinds of people waiting here for the bhurji pav, pulav and the chicken masala. Not sure of the prices as we had all three and paid INR 105 in total. Two of us sharing three dishes for just a little over a 100 bucks is a steal IMHO! There was also Pav Bhaji but the waiting time was too much.I’d recommend the Bhurji Pav and Chicken Masala though the veggies can try the Pav Bhaji.
Here is a tip if one wants their food to be served quickly. Wait at the counter and be nice to the guys cooking and the guys serving the food and they will serve u sooner than the others. As my friend put it ‘begging here really does help if you want to satiate yourself quickly’. Mind you, this place is not for those looking to satiate their taste buds but for those intending to fill up their hungry tummies!
(Couldn’t take a picture here due to some very ‘understandable reasons’ so this is the best I have. The stall with the bright light is the one which serves the delicious and oily food!)
PS: The food at Cooper is better and far more in quantity but the price is also higher. Also, if one is conscious of the crowd then cooper is a safer bet though Andheri too had its fair share of ‘hip and happening’ crowd!
Food Inn, Colaba
Having heard only good things about this place, I decided to check it out on a hot sunny afternoon. Wasn’t sure what to eat so decided to try my favourite dish, the Chicken Biryani. Was in two minds before placing the order as I didn’t want to become drowsy after the meal but concerns of ’sleep walking’ aside I went ahead with the order. Prior to the biryani, fresh onions, lemons and pickle was served along with Green Chutney.
The Biryani arrived soon thereafter along with the Raita which has to be ordered seperately. Since it was boneless, I was forced to order the Chicken Tikka Biryani which was a bit of a disappointment as I would have liked the normal biryani with boneless chicken instead of the chicken tikka pieces. Nonetheless, I began gorging on the Biryani but failed the realise that the masala was sitting pretty at the bottom. It was only at the end that I had much of the masala, which was very spicy!! Helped that the raita was next to me to save my tongue from burning!
The Biryani was good I though. The fact that it was tikka biryani was easy to comprehend as the chicken was cooked in the tikka masala which was also present in the biryani. The Raita was alright though. Would I have the tikka biryani again? I think I may just try the normal biryani next time. Besides, the spicy food and the hot sun kinda made me dizzy!!
The bill was INR 140 – INR 110 for the Biryani and INR 30 for the Raita.
Rating: Ambiance: 3/5 – Plain and simple ambiance. Did not check the A/C section which was mostly frequented by Indians!
Food: 3.5/5 – They served what they promised. Though the extra spicy masala was a disappointment for me!
Price: 3.5/5 – +INR 100 for Biryani has become the price benchmark.
Bembos – I am loooving it!!
Four hungry stomachs, equivalent appetites and a penchant for trials led us to the burger place Bembos. This was one of those rare occasions where everyone agreed instantaneously. The South American (who knew??) burger place has two distinct seating areas – the inside part which is clearly for the afternoon hangouts and the outside part where a burger can be enjoyed whilst overlooking the bustling city traffic. So as we went there during lunch, we decided to grab a table inside before anyone else could!
The four hungry stomachs that I mentioned earlier, grabbed a different burger each with me trying the Grilled Chicken Burger. They generally have two sizes for almost every burger except for the Mutton Burger and the Grilled Chicken Breast (I guess chickens do not have different breasts sizes??). The large one I had was worth INR 99. Bigger than anything you get at Mac or at KFC but smaller than the ones at Gostana! My friend also ordered for a small pack of fries which according to her was more than what is served at KFC.
This burger outlet is the only place known to me which serves mayonnaise sauce along with ketchup and chilli sauce. Besides the mayonnaise another highlight is the fresh veggies used in the burger. The patty too was freshly made. The four hungry stomachs really enjoyed the burgers with some saying it was the best they have had till date! It took a not-so-well-known Peruvian fast food chain to bring out a statement like that!
I did like the burger a lot. Infact it was a lot better than the last time we tried em’ here! I hope they keep up the good work and keep churning awesome burgers!
This Peru-based burger place was an interesting find. According to Wikipedia they have another outlet in Delhi and in Panama City besides the many outlets in Peru!
If anyone knows any other South American eatery do post here! Would love to try it out!
(Image linked from http://www.brandsoftheworld.com)
Address: 34, Manorama Chambers, Opp. Indian Bank, S. V. Road, Bandra West, Mumbai 400050
Ph No (For Takeaways): 26415599, 26415600, 67100625
Rasoi – Good Food, Great Service!
This past week was a good one as far as finding new eateries is concerned. Rasoi is no different. Until last week, I didn’t know it existed. And on top, Daniel tells me it is a good restaurant. So I had to check out for myself. At first sight, Rasoi comes across as an expensive place. But then again, it is also a bar besides being a restaurant and a makeshift banquet hall.
But since we had travelled all the way to Malad just to try Rasoi, we weren’t going back now. So parked the bike and moved towards the restaurant as we were greeted by 2 gentlemen who led us inside a huge hall with four rows of tables and chairs. Upon request we were guided to table in the corner as opposed to sitting right in front of the exit! This was a good gesture I though as the other table was apparently reserved for someone else.
Once seated, we were greeted by a North Eastern gentleman was kind enough to suggest us some dishes. Infact his friendly nature made us feel comfortable and at home at Rasoi. His first suggestion was the extra spicy Tangdi Kebab followed by the not so spicy Chicken Kadai. Ironic how the dish that is supposed to be spicy was nearly sweet while the Kebab was a spicy affair. In fact, we utilised their promotional offer of one-on-one free beer from the stable of Little Devil. The mild beer perfectly complimented the Kebabs but lost their usefulness once the starters were over.
The main course, Chicken Handi, was good to taste, albeit a bit sweet. The quantity was quite good as we were of the consensus that three can eat from this dish as opposed to the two of us then! Following the Handi were the Gulab Jamuns and the Malai Kulfi. My friend and me are in love with this combo which is akin to having a sizzling hot brownie – the only difference being this is an Indian version of the same! Mix a bit of sugar syrup with the Kulfi, and have the hot Gulab Jamun – the combo is just heavenly!
Whilst we were already contemplating another round of desserts the bill was served. The to
tal meal cost us INR 668 which for just the two of us is expensive! Minus the beer at INR 125, the price was still on the higher side for us (others may differ off course!). The food was good, the service even better but the not so affordable prices at this stage of our lives makes us wonder when next will we go to Rasoi!
Yummies, Carter Road – Not really that Yummy but light on the wallet!
Yummies is a small takeaway outlet located close to Rizvi College and is a favourite hangout of the college kids and passers-by. Mainly a Chinese eatery, it serves both veg and non-veg. I have been here a few times and tried out a couple of puffs, croissants and rice. Their rice items come in either half or full plate. The full rice plate is enough to satiate 2 gargantum tummies (tummies, yummies get it?) like mine. Though if one is only looking to eat something irrespective of the taste and other things, yummies is a good choice for its cheap takeaways. This is not the say the food is not good. But it is far more simpler and lacks the complex mixture of ingredients found elsewhere.
In my opinion, the rice/noodle items are one of the better ones here. One can try the items kept in the shelf but the problem with such food is that it stays in the shelf for a considerable duration. There isn’t anything else that I would prefer here if I was hungry except for the rice (Since I am not a big noodles fan).
Address: 36 A Rajan Apts, Nr Rizvi Complex, Off Carter Rd, Bandra West, Mumbai – 400050
Ph: +(91)-9833908045 | +(91)-(22)-26002467, 26040040
(The do home delivery in Bandra)
Merhaba – Gourmet Cafe
Discovered this outlet while on my way to Turner Road through the bylanes of Bandra starting from Carter Road! Located in the quiet Sherly Rajan Road, it is not suprising that no one knew about this place. Since it was around 11 PM, most of the shelf was already empty with only a couple of chicken and mutton cutlets remaining. Giving them some company were the pastries which were at the other end of a very long shelf! This rectangular shaped ‘cafe’ doesn’t have seating space, making it essentially a takeaway or a free home delivery option (which it does have).
Now, you will not associate a takeaway with an extensive menu. Normally, what you see is what you can get but here its something different. An extensive menu, with exactly 250 items (They have numbered every item in the menu. Did you really think I would count all 250 of em??), makes me wonder how they can manage to offer so much. If you look closely at the menu, it is easy to figure out that this place primarily serves Lebanese.
Alright then, since it was late night and most of the items were already over, I decided to try the Mutton Cutlet which was covered with Vermicelli – making it a crispy delight. The presentation was a bit different wherein the cutlet wrapped around a thin stick in a way similar to the way chikken tikka is served in the many takeaways in Bandra. The cutlet wasn’t a hit with my taste buds. Maybe it was because the cutlet was made in the Lebanese style – less oily and less spicy – which was a bummer! Though less oily is a winner in my book, less spicy isn’t!
Merhaba extensively serves Lebanese and is the first such place I came across which does so. Otherwise, for instance, for Falafels you need to go somewhere and for Shawerma somewhere else! I am definitely coming back to try out their many dishes on offer.
Update: Went again here and ate a chicken shawerma. The shawerma was strictly ok. The pita bread was baked just about right and wasn’t hard to chew. Gotta give them that – they do know how to bake a pita bread to perfection! Though the chicken was a downer here. A bit too try and overcooked! There was a paneer shawerma that my friend had and she seemed to like it thought I couldn’t get to taste it!
Address: No.4, Hardik Villa, Sherly Rajan ROad, Bandra West, Mumbai 400050
Ph: 9222384321 | 9222394321
Gloria Jeans – What’s a takeaway?
Here is a small little rant about a big name coffee house which doesn’t know what a takeaway is! We ordered for a Caramel Latte and a Cafe Latte. Anyways, after ordering coffee worth over INR 200 we weren’t given a takeaway cup but the usual cup which is used if coffee is served within the premises itself. We thought the guy at the counter forgot that it is a takeaway so we asked again and were told that this is all we will get as they didn’t have any takeaway cups. How can a coffee house not have takeaways?? Cafe Coffee Day has and so does Barista and they give you the coffee nicely packed!
I am unsure whether they have a takeaway system or no but the fact that we had to carry 2 coffee cups without proper packaging, on a bike, over bad roads, did not sit well with us. I hope they implement a takeaway system if they do not already have one asap or else they might just loose valuable customers!
We experienced this at the Bandra Outlet which is located next to Sahibaan on Turner Road.
Blog Networks
Color Brochures Printing
UPrinting offers a full line of print templates including Calendar print templates to make it easy for you to prepare your files!
Recent Comments
 | Nishant Singh on Weekend trip to Diveagar and H… |
 | puneritraveller.com on Weekend trip to Diveagar and H… |
 | Drnked on A photoblog of Aarey Colony,… |
| Nishant Singh on Kashid-Murud Trip |
| puneritraveller.com on Kashid-Murud Trip |
| Nishant Singh on Hangla @ Bandra – Authen… |
 | Ryan Valles on Hangla @ Bandra – Authen… |
Flickr Photos
|
SocialVibe