Foodgasm, Mumbai

Foodgasm, Bandra

I have come to half realize that maybe small places are better at making your taste buds dance than their heavy counterparts. I was almost hesitant to try this place out because of this factor. It's a small, how would the food be? What if it's not worth it. But after the meal, all I can say is after quite some time, my stomach has felt as happy as it did. The real sign for being blown away by a meal is when the hunger has died in your stomach but stays alive in your eyes. (Aankhon ki bhook). This was that place.

Small place tucked away in Reclamation, Bandra. Mostly residential area as I couldn't really spot any other outlets or shops around. A serene feeling at that because no crowd. The place is pretty small, with two indoor sections, one has around 4-5 tables and the other 2. The inside was already full and hence, we were made to sit on the outside wala inside.

The service is at par. the waiting staff know the menu, and have the ability to recommend what would suit your taste buds well, a quality I appreciate because most of the time (even if I don't admit to it) I am confused with all the stuff on the menu. They welcome you with a red color drink with basil seeds (I think! the one we use in Falooda? If you know what I am talking about) served in shot glasses. It tasted like a version of hajmola in your glass and was actually kind of nice , after my initIal hesitation and almost wished I could have a few more of these to down. Then came the appetizers and mock tails - Foodgasm wings with Iced Tea and Fruity Mojito. The wings were Ah-mazing. I don't remember the last time I had such good chicken wings. Most places them seem to either not have the correct sauce, is bland  and etc. This was covered in sauce and you could feel the juiciness and the bbq sauce in every bite of the chicken. I would probably go back for these alone. The iced tea was again one of the best I have and I have had too many from too many places. The mojito was almost avoidable as it didn't really click with any of us. For the mains we ordered the Chicken Shawarma  and Basil Infused Chicken with soft butter noodles. I have been cursed here as my quest to find the perfect Shawarma just doesn't seem to end. No, even though everything else was on point, the shawarma left me disappointed once again. If you called it a wrap, I would say it did well for itself but not as a Shawarma. Just because you are using pita bread and adding tahini and grilled chicken to it, doesn't make it a shawarma. (The only place that made shawarma as it was supposed to be but since their management change, nothing is the same). They had served this with a side of sweet potato fries which was something new to me and even though I hadn't been completely on board with it, it did make for a good change. The basil infused chicken with butter spaghetti, was a class apart. There seemed to be two types of spaghetti mixed in this and the spaghetti on it's own would make for a great meal, so with the basil infused grilled/roast chicken it was just something else. I don't know how else to describe it. Generally, I am so full by this point that I skip the dessert, not today. The Bugs Bunny cake was what we ordered. You should know I am not a fan of carrots, no where close to it i.e. when they are row. Cook it up and I am their biggest fan. Whether they are used in Sambhar, gajar ka halwa and the carrot cake. I have grown up on carrot cake. My mom used to bake a lot of cakes and carrot was my favorite. But put it in a salad, and I won't touch the salad. I know, I am weird.  This was one of the softest cake and topped with vanilla ice cream, is like a match made in heaven. I almost wanted to order a second one but that would have been too much. So, foregone for the day.

To anyone who prefers to eat healthy or are very diet conscious, they have a range of healthy meals as well. So it's a place for everyone. 

WHAT WE HAD - Foodgasm Wings (Ah-mazing)

                          Chicken Shawarma (Average)

                          Basil Infused Chicken with Soft Butter Noodles (Yumness Personified)

                          Bugs Bunny Cake (Yumness)

                          Fruity Mojito (Avoid)

                          Iced Tea (Yumness)

DAMAGES - Rs 1500/- (Approx)

WHERE -  Foodgasm., Shop 4, Ankleshwar Building, ONGC Colony, Near IES College, Reclamation, Bandra West

                           

D:OH, Mumbai

D:OH!, Lower Parel

The sort of not so steep pricing, the ambiance and the freak shakes is what had attracted me here. Everyone around seems to be doing freak shakes and this place's looked insane and had a mention in quite a few articles for where to go for freak shakes. Me being me, had to try it out. 

Located in the Kamala Mills Complex (How many restaurants does this place have? and every few weeks you see one more opening up? Where do all of them fit??!! ). I love the ambiance of this place, and if you love taking photos of your good self, second favorite hobby of mine ), then you will too. They have huge jhulas (swings) for seating against the walls. They also have high chairs on another side, but it's the jhoola that is what attracts me and that is where we chose to be seated. The place has a little raw appeal with uses of wooden elements, bricks, white and hues of blue. 

It's self service where you order what you require and they hand you over a buzzer and will buzz you once your order is ready to be whisked away. A pretty clean system. The one thing that I am not a fan of with self service is long queues (I would crib if the long queue even led to Shahrukh Khan! So queues not my thing, And even worse is no queues which leads to chaos). Hence, I appreciate this slick buzzer system. Hassle Free. 

When Ordering a freak shake, it's always for two, because well it's quite a lot on your own, but my friend wanted to have the chocolate and I wanted to have the caramel (majorly because it was garnished with a slice on cheese cake on top. Ek teer se do nishana types ). I am going to admit to it and say that was a mistake on my end. Or rather on theirs. It didn't really blow me away and after reading all the articles I had, I had expected it to. The caramel on it's own seemed good, but wasn't wow. The cheese cake, as much as I had to say it, is probably the worst I have had. It was hard, stale, lacked taste, the softness was missing. Definitely didn't seem fresh either.  The chocolate one was better, but then again, didn't wow either. Since the freak shake on it's own is too heavy, we ordered somewhat lighter food. We ordered the crispy sriracha chicken tenders and peppered mutton stew. All items on the menu are designed for one. The chicken tenders were crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, exactly how they said it would be and for that I am grateful. If it's fried, then I prefer the outer parts to have that crunch. (I liked even my bread to have a little crunch. A little lunatic, that way). The star of the day was the Peppered Mutton Stew. It was like a home-coming meal. After a long journey home, when your mommy dearest serves you fresh food cooked with her own hands. It evokes those kind-of feelings when you have the very first bite. Mixed with exotic veggies (So exotic that I was left guessing what it was, though all good!), served on a bed of brown onion pulav. On a side note, I love brown onion or what we call Biryan. It elevates the flavor of the rice. The mutton pieces were melt in the mouth. The mutton gravy was served on top of the rice itself which can go wrong if one is less or more. Here, the ratio is perfect. 

The more I be to places, the more I realize I should stick to my own gut feeling than go with what dozens of articles. I liked the place quite a lot, but I would avoid the freak shakes and rather dig into the food.

WHAT WE HAD - Choco Freak (Okay)

                           Freak Cake - Caramel (Below Average)

                           Crispy Sriracha Chicken Tenders (Yumness)

                           Peppered Mutton Stew (Yumness Galore)

DAMAGES - Rs 1500/- (Approx)

WHERE - DOH All Day.Ground Floor, Unit 2B, Trade View, Kamala City, Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel, Mumbai

212 - All Day, Mumbai

212 - All Day, Phoenix Market City

There is always a pro and a con to everything. When there is a movie theater so close to your place that you can just leave home 15 minutes prior show time but when you want to eat out post the movie session, everything is so far away and you are left with not many options but to look for places in the mall and frankly, I have never really felt that pull to any of the places here. But 212 has always intrigued me, so I finally was like let's give it a chance, mainly due to the very mixed reviews I have seen on the place. 

One attraction to this place would be the boards games they have on option and which you can opt whilst either enjoying your drink or meal, whichever would be your preference. Mine is food, if you hadn't guessed already and conversations which are like food for the heart. The service is the usual meet, greet and friendly smile, so pretty standard which is good enough.

Since, it was end of the month (Well, as per my company's salary cycle), I decided we should forego the appetizer options and just jump to the mains. I was more than a little confused if I wanted to have a burger or something from the mains.But in the end I decided to go for mains, because if it's a burger, I wanted beef and you can be fined upto Rs 5 Lac Now for having beef (I just had to say it because well, it's kind of ridiculous and has started to make me question, do I really want to stay here??!! Just so you know I LOVE this place but still you know what I mean) and a chicken burger wasn't holding my interest on the day My friend and me, we were both confused over the same thing. However, she chose to have the club sandwich then and I went for the Chicken Zurichoise. I had literally kept my fingers crossed, because I would be so disappointed if it didn't satisfy me. I was looking for some comfort food, something that warms the heart and the soul. Yes, a meal can do that. And you know what? This actually did that. I am completely in love with this dish. The balance of the flavors, the right amount of creamy and cheesy. Almost, like sitting in your blanket while it rains heavily outside. That it the kind of emotions it brought out and I frankly couldn't have enough of it. The Club Sandwich? another story. A club sandwich may seem like one of the easiest things around, layers of just vegetables and whatever you fancy. Yet it can be one of the plainest things if not done right. And if I wanted plain, I could have done it at home? Yes, I could have. (The one things I am good with is breakfast, and I always experiment with my sandwiches on the weekends). So, this was just plain Jane. Also, the fries felt a little stale. They lacked the crispiness of fresh fries and fries are meant to be consumed immediately. It never really is the same. 

If I had to I would give a 4 or the dish I had and a 2 probably for the sandwich and hence, I am actually left a little confused. Maybe you can try your luck. We also ordered for a lemon soda (for me) and a Sangira (Happy Hours) for my friend. 

WHAT WE HAD - Chicken Julienne (Heaven)

                           NV Club Sandwich with Bacon (Average)

                           Sangria, Red Wine 

                           Lemon Soda (Refreshing)

DAMAGES - Rs 1500/- Approx

WHERE -  212 All Day., F-97, First Floor,Phoenix Market City, LBS Road, Kurla, Mumbai

N Bar & Grill, Mumbai

N Bar & Grill, Chembur

I had heard so much about this place from my friend, that I had over exaggerated it in my head and hence, I just had to be here. I generally don't go to Chembur much, or rather I never go there. Although, I have heard Chembur is slowly picking up and developing on the hang-outs, eateries and bar scene. Though, it still has miles to go.

The place, itself is pretty well done up. The place is divided in two sections - the bar area with high stools and dim lights. The other a proper dining area with proper dining tables, and soft lights. I had initially wanted to take the dining area, but unfortunately, this was fully occupied. However, the blessing for us was that the bar area was almost empty, which meant less noise. Generally, it's the other way round with loud music playing over your head and screaming over each other to be heard over the music. This was not the case here. The entire place has wooden elements made use of and soft dim yellow lights, which gives the place a pleasing look.

Now here is where my sort of disappointment began. The last my friend had visited, there was a continental menu which had no sign of now. Only Indian & Chinese. I had come here for the Continental cuisine, my friend had raved about their continental fare. The photos looked oh-so-beautiful too and I had been dreaming it up in my head. Also, I really didn't want Indian food. I love Indian food but I had been having too much Indian for some days and I really wanted that change. Alas! I almost thought should we go somewhere else? But it was already late in the night and seeking out another place??!! Plus, we were in Chembur, very few options at this hour. So we made the best of what we could and decided to stick around.

To begin with we ordered some classic french fries, because you can never go wrong with them especially when they are freshly made and the Golden Fried Camembert. The French Fries were crisp and the potato was just the right amount of soft, sprinkled with some spices on top. The problem I had was with the sauce served along side it. It seemed to be a mix of cranberry and imli ki chutney. I honestly, can't say I even understood what it was made of. All I can say is it didn't go well with the fries. This also seems to be their favorite sauce, because it was served along with the camembert as well. At least with the fries, it was served on the side, so you can choose to ignore it, but when sprinkled on top of the Camembert, you just can' ignore it. Now, the other slight issue I had was with the Camembert itself. Though, I don't particularly blame anyone for the dish. It is a type of cheese that is fried and served to you. Sounds delicious right? However, it was just about average. You need to have a developed taste bud for this because it's not like your regular cheese. I have realized I like teh regular cheese much better over all the fancy cheese out there. So that's what happened here, I had it but I would have preferred to not have it. Now here is where the service matters. I would have preferred if the Waiting staff educated us on this little fact. It might not have been recommended by them, but some times if you just share what you know of it, goes a long way. People who work day in and out in the restaurant know best after all! For the main course we had an Andhra Style mutton gravy served with laccha paratha on the side. This dish is more than sufficient for two and was the saving grace. The mutton pieces in abundance and just the right amount of soft and succulent. They give you types of curries, one is mixed with the mutton, is heavy and spicy, the other is more of a curry, light enough and as flavorful as it gets (and would have gone wonderful with rice, I was more in love with this). We had ordered Naans on the side as the laccha paratha wouldn't have been enough and it would have been wiser to order some steamed rice. 

I wouldn't mind going here again, but only if they bring back the continental menu. 

WHAT WE HAD - French Fries (Classic)

                           Golden Fried Camembert (Okay!)

                           Andhra Style Mutton Curry (Yumness)

                           Margarita 

                           Peach Iced Tea (Yum)

DAMAGES - Rs 1600/- (Approx)

WHERE -  N Bar & Grill Near R.K. Studio, Sion-Trombay Road, Chembur, Mumbai