Goregaon Social, Mumbai

Goregaon Social, Goregaon

I was happy to be here, as always. It's been a while since I have visited a social and my experience in all of them have always been on a positive note. My favorite by far is the Khar Social. I was super excited to bring my friend here who had never been to these place before, but unfortunately the experience ended on a sour note.

The place is designed to imitate a cathedral and is pretty mesmerizing. The service here is as always good. We actually had luggage with us as my friend had just arrived from out of the city and the staff was kind enough to find place and help us with the seating and everything. 

I have always found their breakfast to be of great value for money and the combinations offered. My friend ordered the Big Apple Breakfast and I ordered the Punjabi Dhingra Breakfast. One thing that irked us here was that the food took more than 30 minutes to arrive and we were the only customers at this point so we were really hoping the wait was shorter. This could be because the day had just started as it was 11 am in the morning. But my experience in the other Socials have not been this way so I can't really say. However, all was hunky dory and finally after a long wait our food made it's way to our eagerly awaiting table. 

The Big Apple Breakfast comes with french fries, sausages, toasted bread, jam-butter, blue berry pancakes with a side of maple syrup and eggs however, you want it. I have always loved this platter except for the blue berry pancakes which some how they never get it right. Some times it's undercooked, some times it's bland, some times it's rubbery. This time around it was almost okay except for the parts where the blue berry was where the batter seemed to be not cooked properly. Yet, as far as pancakes go, I would not recommend Social. Everything else? Wonderful! I even love the freshness of their bread which seems to be right out of the over or something. The french fries are always on point, and seems like they are air fried as you can't detect the oiliness anywhere, which is the best part for me. The eggs were sunny side up and perfectly done. For the Punjabi Breakfast I had chosen Paneer Paratha which comes with chhole, achar, curd on the side. Some lassi, chai and a piece of Samosa too. The Paneer Paratha is heavenly and I was trasnported to Amritsar where I had first had a Paneer Paratha with dollops of butter on the side. I appreciated the fact that they used the kala chana for the chhole which added authenticity to the punjabi breakfast combo. The masala chai was a pleasant surprise as I always find in most non-Indian specialty restaurants that the tea is almost bland. Here, it was exactly like the ones you would find in small tea stalls. I had it with the samosa and I was overjoyed. But as always there has to be a down side, what I looked forward to most was the Lassi. However, the lassi was unsweetened and infact looked and felt exactly like the curd they had given on the side, only instead of in the bowl, they had put it in the tumbler. Too thick and set to be called a Lassi. Disappointed there. 

Now comes the part which questions whether I will ever return to this place. I was 75% through my breakfast that I spotted a very very very tiny little cockroach on the table, on the side of the wooden tray they had served breakfast to us on. Upon closer look, it seemed there wasn't just one but two more. They were extremely tiny ones, almost liked they had just hatched but gave me a nightmare and made me lose my appetite there and then because God alone knows where all they were and I don't even want to talk about it because like I said, where all were they. And this a big NO. We even told this to our attendant, and he seemed to have spoken to the manager and I could see them discussing it but as soon as we called for our bill, they seemed to have forgotten about it and let us leave without asking anything on it. We were just eager to pay and leave at this point and seemed like as long as we were ready to pay the bill and leave quietly, didn't bother them either. From this point on, I don't know if I would want to revisit a social, I am always going to be wondering how many more of these roaches are there. 

WHAT WE HAD - Big Apple Breakfast

                           Punjabi Dhingra Breakfast
  

DAMAGES - Rs 900/- (Approx)

WHERE - Goregaon Social. Third Floor, The Oberoi Mall, Goregaon East, Mumbai

British Brewing Company, BBC

BBC, BRITISH BREWING COMPANY

My third visit in 2 years to this place. Some times I really wish, I could go out more often, eat out more often and most importantly not having to watch my weight. I love food and I have found a balance between eating and not gaining weight. At least not any extra weight. Then key in the "money" factor and well, the fact that I go out at all is a blessing. :PWhy did I say all of this? Because otherwise I would have been to this place more often than I do. Many places for that matter. 

Three Visits and I still have not got a chance to be seated in one of the Beer Barrels. They have Barrel shaped little structures, and seating made inside which I think is very cool but unfortunately, only if you happen to be more in numbers can you get this place to yourself, that is how crowded the place generally is. We were lucky this time around to get a place in under 5 minutes as otherwise generally it takes a minimum of 30 minutes of waiting time. 

I admire the speedy service they have and as to how you don't have to be involved in the hassles of attracting some server to note your order down. Why? They have integrated their entire menu on i-pads which are very swiftly handed over to you as soon as you are seated where you can order with a click and it the order directly reached the Kitchen. The only thing the servers have to do is get it on your table as soon as the order is ready. The place is divided into seating as well as a bar, where either you can be seated right at the bar and enjoy your drinks and if you are looking for a full course meal, then there are aplenty seating everywhere. The bar is in the center of the room and all around it are the tables set. Most places generally have the bar in one corners and is very divided from the dine-in area. They have integrated the two in one which makes for a good change. Add in the beer-barrel at the 4 corners, makes for quite interesting interiors for lack of any better word (:P)

So as soon as we received our i-pads, we started browsing through the menu.Its little things that add the x element to a place, and even though most of us today own smart phones and tablets, still using it to order your meal, does bring in a certain level of excitement like when you were a kid and saw something different. So with that energy we scrolled through the menu and took our own sweet time in analyzing the menu and finally placing our orders. I must be one of those few people who visits pubs/lounge/bars etc and not have a single drop of alcohol. I do love the vibe that these places hold and obviously the food! We began by ordering two mock tails - Virgin Mojito & Peninsula. For starters we order Chicken Cigar Rolls - Which is a long spring roll filled with cheese and a log of chicken rubbed in spices unknown, maybe because I happen to also be hungry but the though of it still makes my mouth water. We also ordered for some Britsh Style Sausages, the name of which I seriously am unable to recall right now but sausages are my favorite thing after Shawarma, Cheese cakes and French Fries/Potato Wedges. So you can-not go wrong with them, I could eat them in any form, and they did actually do a really good job. I should give a special mention to the veggies and mashed potatoes served with it. I generally am not a huge fan of Mashed Potatoes. They are just a bland version of our Aloo ka Bharta. But the one thing I could say was, I finished the entire mashed potatoes here and not because I don't appreciate leaving food on my platter. ( I don't, I feel very strongly on this and many of my friends have been the victim of my angst in this regards). I was confused between ordering a Pizza or a Sizzler, but having just had pizza the day before, we decided upon the Prawns Sizzler. Ordering sea-food when eating out is a bit of a risky business, as if they don't get rid of the stench, I for one one can-not bear the smell, forget eating it and it has happened to me a few times. But since, I did not want to have chicken and I do actually like sea food (in a limited way, and am choosy of the type of sea-food). It was not extra-ordinary but it wasn't ordinary either. It was just the way a Sizzler should be and well, Sizzlers are no longer a dish that you have to seek out. even small places do them now. 

All I can say is BBC is one place that should be on your list for your next hang-out, because the ambiance sets the mood like no other. Whether it is just for a round of drinks or for a proper meal, you will definitely not regret stepping in here, even if you have to wait for a minimum of 30 minutes. 

WHAT WE HAD - Chicken Cigar Rolls (Yumness!)

                           British Sausages in BBQ Sauce (Yumness!)

                           Prawns Sizzlers (Yum!)

                           Virgin Mojito (Thirst Quencher)

                          Peninsula ( I did not try it out, but my friend finished it in one go!)

DAMAGES - Rs 1700/- (Approx), We were Two.

WHERE - British Brewing Company - BBC, 3rd Floor, Oberoi Mall, Film City Road, Goregaon East, MUMBAI