Image, Goregaon

Shifting my focus from Bandra to Goa and other suburbs of Mumbai is the trend for this month! Keeping up with this trend, decided to check out Image on SV Road. Image came highly recommended by a friend and for my gastronomy trials took her along as well.

Image is a family restaurant and can get packed with families and their kids. There are a couple of swings as well for the children so that the action inside can be followed up with some more on the swings in the small garden outside the restaurant. A brightly lit place is Image, with cushioned seats at the edges of the restaurant.

We arrived early here and easily got a place to sit. The three of us, Trance Dude, Rock Chic and Crazy Mommy were pretty hungry and couldn’t wait for the food to arrive.  We ordered for chicken chilly, chicken abhadi for starters along with mocktails to go with it. The starters were good with the Chicken Abhadi being the standout for me. Tasted more like Reshmi Chicken though wasn’t exactly like Reshmi Chicken.

For the main course we had the Dhaba Chicken and a variety of bread including Tawa Paratha , Pudina Paratha and Garlic Naan. The Tawa Paratha was pretty rich with its layer of butter and ghee. Trance Dude liked the Garlic Naan as well and of late, has developed a liking for Garlic Naan. The Roti-Sabzi combination was followed by Chicken Dum Biryani and Boondi ka Raita to go with with it. I liked the Biryani here. Made in the traditional way of cooking biryani in an earthen pot, it was also served from the very same pot. The flavours were amazing and the biryani was just the thing to top off the dinner. Extremely delicious it was right up there with the best biryani’s we have had in a long while! Trance Dude, Rock Chic and Crazy Mommy were pretty happy with it but that wasn’t the end of it. The sizzling brownie was our dessert and we enjoyed it thoroughly!

The food was good though for the most part Trance Dude can confidently say ‘he has had better’. The food was delicious but not affordable for someone for whom eating out is a regular affair. The total bill came to INR 1320 while the Biryani cost INR 185 (a must have at Image).

Good place (though noisy cause of the kids but then again cannot complain for Trance Dude was once like them!) and good food make image a fantastic choice for a family meal, if you can afford it.

Harish Bar and Restaurant

Irla is not a place I have eaten much at except for the overpriced Papillon and Amar Juice Centre. So it was a surprise for me when a friend suggested we go to Harish Bar and Restaurant for some choicest meat dishes and off course some drinks.

For starters, which for this post means drinks, we ordered for Royal Stag quarter at INR 220 which is quite reasonable by any standards! For the food though, there was a long list which included the choicest of prawns (Prawns Lassuni), the sweet tasting Crispy Chicken, Chicken Lollypop, and the evergreen Surmai Tawa Fry. I think the fish here was awesome and so were the prawns though the lollypops held forth for the chicken!

The main course included Chicken Hyderabadi and the Chicken Sukha. The Sukha I rather have at Janta Bar and Restaurant. Though not bad,  it wasn’t the same as at Janta. The Hyderabadi Chicken was lip-smackingly good as were the Parathas we had them with.

Overall the place is on the expensive side though the booze is reasonably priced.

Verdict

Food: 3.5/5 – No complaints with the food. Though the prices could be reduced a bit here.

Service: 4/5 – Attentive and friendly waiters.

Price: 3/5 – The real downer here. Harish could possible be a back up if only the food prices are slashed by 20% or more, which seems unlikely to happen!

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

Takeaways in and around Bandra!

Got the idea of posting a small blog on the many takeaways in and around Bandra that I have either been to or want to go to! Bandra is dotted with such eateries. In every corner, nukkad there has to be one atleast and what is more amazing is how they have managed to sustain themselves!

I have blogged about quite a few of them already.

First up is Mac Craig where I went recently. This small eatery serves chicken, beef, mutton, fish and also desserts! Besides, it also sells wheat bread!

Rating: Food – 3/5

Price: 3/5

Mac Craig, Pali Naka

The daddy of Mac Craig is definitely Candies. Though there is ample seating space many do prefer to order takeaways!

Rating: Food – 4.5/5

Price: 2/5

Candies, Union Park

Then there is the good ole Kalpana Stores at Chappel Road. Cheap and never once gave me stomach problems! Burgers are good, so are puffs and lollies, but only when they are hot!

Rating: Food – 3.5/5

Price: 4.5/5

Kalpana Stores, Chappel Road

Near Kalpana is Jeff Caterers. Been a while since I have been here but the Sheesh Kebab is still as good I hear!

Rating: Food – 3/5

Price: 3/5

Jeff Caterers, Chappel Road

Cheron Caterers on hill road is similar to Mac Craig though is much cheaper. Here sandwiches are good and so is the Chicken Biryani. Also serve Dhansak! I love the Chicken Croissants here. Can never get enough of them!

Rating: Food – 4.5/5

Price: 4/5

Cheron Caterers, Hill Road

Rating: Food – 4/5

Price: 4/5

Then there is Dee Rolls as well. Excellent Chicken Rolls!  but not sure where they are now! Last I heard they had shifted somewhere close to Mount Mary Church!

Rating: Food – 4.5/5

Price: 4/5

Dee Rolls

Another one of the takeaways is Open Bake situated at Pali Naka. Does have ample seating space though!

Rating: Food – 3.5/5

Price: 2.5/5

Open Bake, Pali Naka

Ribbon and Balloons is essentially a a cake shop but does stock up on puffs, patties and similar items. Do not prefer the food here though. They rather stick to making pasteries!

Rating: Food – 2.5/5

Price: 3/5

Ribbons and Balloons, Chappel Road

There is another place I frequent a lot, Carter Blue. One of the best places to have a Shwarma and is considerably cheaper than the competition!

Rating: Food – 5/5

Price: 4/5

Carter Blue, Carter Road

A new takeaway recently opened is Mikneil neat St. Andrew’s Church. Liked the Chicken Sandwich and Beef Pan Roll I had there. They also serve Vindaloo.

Rating: Food – NA

Price: NA

*Only eaten once so no rating here!

Mikneil

An old takeaway place, Hearsche Bakery has never disappointed.

Rating: Food – 3.5/5

Price: 3.5/5

Hearsche Bakery, Hill Road

Opposite Hearsche is American Express Bakery. Been there only once though. Shall try soon!

Rating: Food – NA

Price: NA

*Only eaten once so no rating here!

American Express Bakery, Hill Road

There is another bakery,Venus Bakery that has been at Bandra for many many years now. These guys are known for their Plum Cakes and many other Delicacies.  However they also serve quite a few items such as chicken and veg sandwiches, puffs, chicken wings, chicken fingers and mutton cutlets among others. This is offcourse besides the many cakes and pastries they have in stock!

Rating: Food – 3/5 (While I love the Sandwich I rather pass the rest of the stuff here)

Price: 4.5/5

The last one on the list for now is Grub Corner. Again, I like it for its cheap and gives exactly what it charges! This doesn’t mean that the food is bad but quite the opposite. Try out the chinese preparations here or if you want to indulge in some starters the Mutton Kebabs and Chicken Liver is worth the money!

Rating: Food – 3.5/5

Price: 3/5

Grub Corner, St John Baptish Road

The others I have tried out include Lucky Star near Jeff and the small takeaway outlet of Lucky Restaurant on SV Road. While Lucky Star has become expensive (since I first began going there) lollipthe one to look out for is the Lucky Restaurant Outlet. Wonderful varieties of chicken including Schezwan lollies!

There are few I have missed I am sure but will update this once I visit those places. Anyone else wants to add anything more please feel free to comment!