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

Venus Bakery, Bandra

One of the oldest bakeries in Bandra, Venus is a popular one amongst people of all ages. And why not? With desserts and snacks ranging from INR 15-INR 50, it is easy to see why its well recieved by many! Its not just the pricing but the quality too which provides Venus with repeat customers like me. Cakes can also be had from here and they will, like most all bakeries, bake a cake according to your specification.

Though they do have many snack items like chicken fingers, chicken wings, chicken lollipops, chicken/mutton cutlets, burgers, rolls and many more. My current favourite though is the Chicken Sandwich. For INR 20, you get 3 half cut slices of wheat bread and in between as much chicken as you can stuff! Though the sandwich still doesn’t beat the one at Star Bazaar (Which is for INR 35 and with big chunks of chicken and tastes totally yummy) but its still good enough to be had on a daily basis!

Besides the sandwich, the plum cake is great and so is the pack of wheat bread which is for INR 15! The plum cake is a favourite of many in my office while the wheat bread is my personal favourite! Every friday I buy wheat bread from here so that my whole family can enjoy either as a sandwich, toast or just plain bread with milk!

A nice little bakery, Venus is a must visit during Christmas when they bakery itself is nicely decorated and selling even more delicious products!

Address: Near MET Building, Near Mount Carmel’s Church, Bandra Reclamation, Bandra (W), Mumbai 400050.

Ph No.: 26433263

MacCraig, another one of those takeaways in Bandra

The queen of the Suburbs is dotted with takeaways in almost every locality. Majority of them serve quick bites namely burgers, pan rolls, rotis, puffs, cutlets and so on. Some of them however, do differentiate from the others with Mac Craig being one of them! Even then though, it just ends up being a cheap (price wise and not necessarily in a bad way) copy of Candies.

Mac Craig is located at the Hub of the foodies paradise which is Pali Naka, the Khau Nagar of the upper middle class. It is in the same lane (St. John’s Road) a Cocoberry Frozen Yogurt and Papa Pancho da Dhaba.

One thing I really like about the whole setting of Mac Craig is how inviting it is once inside. You can go on ordering and only later realise how how much you have really eaten!

Something like that happened with me as well! I first ordered for a Chicken Pudhina Roll along with a Mutton Chop. While the Pudhina Roll was strictly ok, the Mutton Chop was good. The taste of the Chop did linger for quite sometime! Following up these two quick fill items, was a Beef Sandwich. Not the first time I ate beef but I am increasingly being drawn to beef or maybe I am just bored of chicken!  Well anyways, I didn’t like the beef sandwich, it was just too plain and dry for my liking. Wouldn’t have hurt to add some sauce I think! In the mean time also took a bite of the Fish Cutlet which is (As the pic above shows) places amongst the veggie items! (I guess it proves the point that Fish is indeed veg in some parts of the world!). Also had a ChickenPuff but sadly the freshly baked and hot puffs I get at Kalpana have really spoilt me to that extent that I do not like puffs anywhere else!

(That is the Chicken Steak my friend had. If I remember correctly, the gravy was a lot thicker two years ago when I first went there).

(The Garlic Chicken above was supposedly very good!. I didn’t want to be tearing meat from bones that day, so opted for boneless starters)

After the chicken, the mutton and the beef, I tried a bit if Aloo Paratha from my friend who flaunts his dislike for vegetarian food as if he is flaunting his 36-24-36 babe (doesn’t have one though!). I though the Aloo Paratha would go well with a chicken tikka or a garlic chicken which is what I had to conclude my meal! Overall, the meal wasn’t pricey (at INR 100) and wassatisfactory to the taste buds! Maybe it could be a bit better, but then again the prices might increase. Even though I was critical about the place, I still liked it. The mutton, fish and chicken was nice and so was the aloo paratha!

Before I forget, also bought wheat bread – thick slices and whole lot of wheat!!. That was on a friday. Its Monday now and I still haven’t finished it!  Chow!