Farzi Cafe, Mumbai

Farzi Cafe, Lower Parel

I have been meaning to pay visit to this place since my trip to Delhi. I had dropped in here "galti se" when in Delhi. In one of expeditions around the city, we were looking for a real cafe where you can have cold coffee and some dessert and not being aware of Farzi back then, we forayed here only to return because turned out it wasn't that cafe. But it had intrigued me even then. It looked pretty happening and when I came back to Mumbai fortunately for me, it opened up here as well. Hip Hip Hurrah. Only the right occasion was the need of the hour and that occasion turned out to be a small Bachelorette and send-away for a dearest friend. Can I also tell you it was one epic girls night??!! 

This is another place where you need to pre-book weeks in advance or it's doubtful if you will get a place. I have learnt my lesson with 145, Kalaghoda and hence I made sure that I atleast inquire 2 weeks prior and even then had to compromise at a table of 7.30 pm. 

The day finally arrived. The ambiance of this place is spectacular, especially where we were seated, almost like you are in the clouds. To clarify, they have a projector playing scenic places on the wall and when we were there, most of the times, there were clouds being projected like you are in the skies which is a nice touch, I wouldn't mind just staying there. 

The service? Par excellence. The only place I have been to where the staff (I don't even want to refer to them as waiting staff which I actually did there. Quite an embarassment :P) are in one word - Charming. I don't even know how to put it in any other words. 

We started off our eating affair with some stuffed cheese kulchas, matar paneer with dosa, Tempura Prawns with nimbu mirch foam and chicken tangdi changezi style. The Kulchas were great but I am forces to compare them to the ones we had at 145. The ones over here are over stuffed with Masala and cheese which makes you after one point feel like you are having just masala cheese. Also, the quantity could have been improved but I have felt that is the case in most of their starters. The tempura prawns were my favorite of the lot and I was if a little besotted with the nimbu mirchi foam (Yes, it makes my instagram look good and I don't understand why so many people now a day have started to take offence to it like that it's just for show. What makes me happy, makes me happy) The chicken changezi tangdi was so good that my recently adopting to non-vegetarain food friend, also was like YUM!! The Matar paneer & dosa? Not much of a match made in heaven. All in all the Veg appetizers didn't live up to our expectations. For the main course, we went for the mutton pepper roast or something like that (really dont remember the name) which comes with malabar parota, Chicken Tikka Masala & Paneer Makhani. In order of preference, even though 2 of my friends are not much mutton savvy, they raved about the gravy, I did too. Class Apart. The Chicken Tikka also gives quite a competition (Also, it is brought to you in a London phone booth and a small presentation, did I say charming??!!) served with naan and the Paneer Makhani though yum pales in comparison to others. One point I would make here again is that the serving of the mains are good enough. However, do increase the serving of the bread along with it. Even though, we were full at this point, we had been again "charmed" into ordering the Bailey's lollipops. I loved these. It's fine molecular gastronomy, if anything.

Also, a small mention to the shot's ordered around the table - Bailey's shots. Never have I ever had alcohol before as my tongue repels it, I could get used to these if they are as good as these bailey's shots! I had also ordered a mock-tail of their Farzi's Special or something and then my friends ordered a second because well it was that GOOD! 

Farzi, nothing but a delight. Eating is an experience in itself. Food in itself is more than satisfying but this place understand the importance of this experience and how it all binds together with the right ambiance, service, presentation and the food itself! 

WHAT WE HAD  - Margarita stuffed Kulchas (Yum)

                            Matar Paneer with Dosa (Alright)

                            Tempura Prawns (Delight)  

                            Chicken Changezi Tangdi (Delighted) 

                            Chicken Tikka Masala (AH-MAZING)

                            Mutton Pepper Roast (Show Stopper!)

                            Paneer Makhani (Yum)

                            Bailey's Lollipop (Yumness Personified)

                            Farzi Special Mocktail (Delight)

DAMAGES - Rs 5500 - 6000 (Approx, for food only, we were 6)

                   Rs 10000/- (incl. of 2 rounds of shots 3-4 beers) 

WHERE -  Farzi Café, Kamala Mills., Kamala Mills, Near Radio Mirchi Office, Lower Parel, MUMBAI

Opa Bar & Cafe, Mumbai

OPA BAR & CAFE, Santacruz

For a change, this was a discovery by a friend and not me. Also, I have to grudgingly admit that she did a darn well job of it, even more so than me.(I wish it was me who had suggested this place!) The only doubt, I had in my mind?? Will this group even like this cuisine. I love this cuisine. It's probably my favorite after what my mom whips up. You have got to be partial to "Maa ke Haath ka Khana", ask any kid who stays away from home and my "murder" (that's how I refer to her, murder and baap, there is more love in those than ever would be in Ammi Jaan and Abbu Jaan) is incredible when it comes to cooking. She could take part in Masterchef India (I am realistic enough and wouldn't say Masterchef Australia :P). I was talking about cuisine. The Cuisine here comprises of delicacies from the Gulf/ the Arab World. Now you know why I said second favorite - Food From the Homeland. Also, this place has sheesha (Bless the Govt for uplifting the ban on at least something instead of placing bans, for a change)

Arrive here early, as post 8 pm, it will be difficult to find a place and since it is a sheesha lounge, you will not find people moving out for hours so it would be a long-long wait! The ambience? You should ask for from my sister, as when I had tried describing it to her, her exact words "I asked you in general how the place and you haven't shut up for 15 minutes straight!" One of those places that impressed me in the first look, and I was already looking forward after glancing through online. The place borrows from the whole Arabian Nights look and feel, the date palm trees, the couches, even the fabric covering the couches, the curtained seating areas. It was as if, only for a night, I was in an Arabian City. (I really need to go home :( )

The only slight issue we faced, was getting attention from the attending staff, there was shortage of staff from what I felt, because from what I could see there was one guy who was managing half the place (and this place is huge!). I have gotten so used to this at so many places now, that I have adjusted to it and that's bad. Service is of essence and there cannot be a compromise in it. Yet, the more places I visit, the more I realize there is a huge gap in this particular area. 

The most important of it all - the food. We started off with a cold mezze platter, and this is one particular item to which I had my doubts. Not towards whether or not, it would be made well but rather would it be accepted well on the table. You either like it or you don't, since the mezze platter comes with dips which is very different from the chutneys etc the indian taste buds are accustomed to it. Though, I wouldn't say it was a huge success, I would say that I in particular did enjoy it and the rest were more lenient towards the Baba Ghanoush and Labneh Dip then the others. Served with Pita Bread, pickled veggies (I have a soft corner for pickled veggies, and was disappointed that they didn't give the pickled cucumbers which is customary) and some types of chips (for lack of a better word). I would recommend for you to try it, but if not you could do what the others on our table did - make Pita Pockets. One of my friends is even better than me in fusion (fusion food), and we had ordered a salad - chargrilled zucchini, puy lentils and spiced Halloumi Salad. Pita pockets were made with putting spoonfuls of this salad, adding the various dips and then gobbling it up. The salad on its own, simply put was not my cup of tea. I avoid salads, not really my thing. This had lentils, boiled lentils, all the more not my thing, but it blended extremely well with the Pita Bread and dip, and is a falafel on its own. Well, not falafel, but you get an idea. Next what we had ordered from the menu was the Moroccan Filo Cups and the Pita Sliders. The Moroccan Filo Cups were an instant hit - cups made of thin puff pastry (the kind that is used in Bakhlava, if you know bakhlava, if you don't, you need to have it!) and filled with vegetables/cheese. We took the veg variant as always we had more vegetarians on the table than the other way round (It's a conspiracy I feel like. We need more non-vegetarians!). I couldn't live without ordering at least something in the non veg, so we had ordered one veg and one non-veg pita sliders. Served with Tahina Sauce, I am in love with these. Giving a twist to the Western Burger sliders, served with Pita bread. These really were my favorite, or a close second favorite. The vegetarian one was a type of falafel and that is all i can tell you as I didn't bother try it. :P Next we had ordered was the Kabsa, we had ordered two and both in Veg, :'(. I wish I had the non-veg one. However, I have to say that I was in love with this and that is why I had actually ordered a second one. The taste was as authentic as it gets and the Raita type dip served along with it just increased the taste by a notch. We had also ordered for a Pink Pasta in Non-Veg and I wish this one I had ordered in Veg, but not all my decisions are wise. No, there was absolutely nothing wrong with the Pasta, infact the sauce was a perfect blend of white and Red, and would again be a recommendation, if you want to have something that is not well an Arab type food. The only reason I wish I had ordered in veg was so, I could have ordered a non-veg in the Kabsa! :D I think I am little obsessed with the Kabsa, well, more than little.

Since this place has Sheesha/Hookah, we obviously had to have a round of that, and we went for the grape mint. I would rather not speak on this, but to each his own. ;) Also, if you are looking for a nice refreshing mock tail,instead of ordering from their menu, create a concoction of your own, or take inspiration from what my friend had ordered - mixture of lemonade with soda, no extra sugar with mint and ginger. Sugarless, and Ah-mazing! I think that is the reason why he probably ordered it, go sugar-free, but I really didn't even realize it till I asked him later on what was it that "we" ordered. We because, after having a sip, I immediately went - I will have what he is having. :D

I have been doing unpaid advertising among my circle since my visit to this place. So that should tell you how highly I think of the place, and though I don't know when I will be back again, I am going to keep telling you to pay a visit and then go - Didn't I tell You??!!. 

WHAT WE HAD - Cold Mezze Platter (Yum!)

                           Moroccan Filo Cups (Yum!Yum!)

                           Non-Veg Pita Slider (Yum!Yum!)

                           Veg Pita Slider (Yum!)

                           Veg Kabsa*2 (Delightful)

                           Pink Pasta - Non Veg (Yum*Yum)

                           Lemon Soda Mocktail (Refreshing)

                           Breezer - Assorted (I don't even drink Redbull!! :P)

                           Grape-mint Sheesha (Me likes!)

DAMAGES - Rs 6000/- Approx ( We Were 5, it would be 5k without the sheesha!)

WHERE - Opa Bar & Café., 7th Floor, Hotel Peninsula Grand, Opp. Sakinaka Metro Station, Sakinaka, MUMBAI

Koyla, Mumbai

KOYLA 

Look who is back??!!! After a really long and uncalled for hiatus, I is finally back in action, or rather back to eating, not that I was not eating before, but it was mostly restricted to eating at home, and though I have no complaints regarding it, because Ramadan is a blessed month in more ways than one. All the fasting seems so worth it when you finally sit down for Iftar, even though that is not the objective behind the fasting, it is an added advantage. So now that the festivities and all the family gatherings have been put aside, I have once my resumed my passion for trying out what is good out there. 

I had originally wanted to go to this place, or any place because of the sheeshe factor, now that the the ban his been lifted on it, how can you not??!! But alas, even though we did end up visiting the place, we had no Hukkah, don't ask me why. The table had been pre-booked and unfortunately sheesha is served in closed quarters, and not at the roof-top where we were seated. So we had to with a very long face let go of our desire for the night. But in all else, it was a wonderful-wonderful night. Having friends has that effect, I believe, In fact having friends and ambiance is mostly the saving grace for this place.

The place though located on a roof-top you have to cross many a barriers to get there, including its kitchen, one point that should be given to them is that the kitchen does not look unhygienic, since you pass through it, everything is in view and the many horrors that generally are said about kitchen of most restaurants, does not fall true for this place at least, not the cleanest, but you know that they have taken care that you are not going to fall sick the next day, not that I generally do, but never the less, you get the idea. However, taking the small elevator and the many steps and everything, is not exactly welcoming either, if there was an elevator that opened directly to the place, would have been nicer, but that has not stopped people from visiting here before.

The ambiance, is where the USP of this place actually lies. The exclusive open curtained seatings, reminds you of dining at the shores of sandy beaches and for effect, they actually have sand on your feet, I realized this when I took my shoes off and was wondering where did the sand come from on my feet, but no complaints as it actually shows the efforts they have gone into to give some authenticity to the place.

Lets talk about the service, nothing to write home about, very honestly but I would give their staff points for compelling you to try a dish which you probably didn't have in mind. I somewhere felt it to be a strategy to increase sales. Why I say this is because, the dishes that we were originally ordering, was of comparatively lower range (as if, there is anything cheap in places like these. :P), but our server was intent on getting us to order, the dishes as he recommended which obviously were marked higher on the pricing scale. If it happened with one, I would take that to be a special, as the server said so, but all? A little difficult to digest, but never the less we actually ordered what he recommended, so I would say that it is a good strategy. Other than this, the service is not even at par because except for taking your orders, the staff is not interested in anything else, and you would hardly get a smile your way and will not customize your order looking into eating preference to a degree of 1%, so that was something that irked me, but not enough to not enjoy the place as such. As I have mentioned, the USP of this places lies in its ambiance, and the sheesha parlour, The price you pay for a decent place, in this city! :P

Coming to the food, which is what this is all about, we began with 4 mock-tails, this place does not serve alcohol ( but serves sheesha! quite the irony, but then go to the gulf and you will see sheesha places at every nook and corner, people smoking broad day light, with kids even running around but alcohol is served but restricted.) We started off with Nawabi Paneer Tikka and Nawabi Chicken Kabab. The Paneer Tikka is Paneer Tikka, so it has to be good. The Nawabi Chicken however, with a stuffing of Capsicum, peppers, onion etc is something I wish I could make at home (I am sure my mom, the super cook can! :P). I love things made in Tandoor, on coals, I believe it adds extra flavour to any food. Even to Gravies, you have got to try my mom's home made Chicken Angaare, to believe it, or even the Butter Chicken for that matter. Since this place is specialized in ethnic cuisine, it fares well. For the main course we ordered, Paneer LazeeZ and Murg Chatpata or the other-way round, I don't quite remember. The one thing that I do appreciate is that the gravies varied in flavor and taste. One thing that is a disappointment in most restros is that the flavor is exactly the same whether you order a kadhai, masala, tikka masala, angaare, lazeer, chatpata or any other fancy name you can come up with. Again, I would mention that even though the food was good here, for the price you pay, you can probably visit Gulshan Dhaba in Bhandup, but then like I said, you pay here for the name that it carries, for the food and mostly for the ambiance. In the end, you will not feel disappointed. My friends however complained that the photos don't come out great here due to the lighting, I on that front have to say, that the lighting is perfect, it is just a place where low-lighting plays a huge role. In the bread that we ordered to go with the gravies, the roomali roti was the best. I have a soft corner for roomali roti, and nothing can quite beat it. The Cheese Kulcha they served comes a close second, and if you have just one cheese kulcha, it is equivalent to your meal, if your appetite matches mine in anyway.

You don't need a reason to be here, but to be here. This place already holds a name, and even though you might fixed reviews about the place, this place is still a must visit, for its ambiance. After all, sitting at a roof-top restaurant in the midst of Colaba with a view of the sea on a non-rainy day, is quite something. 

PS - Special mention for the candle lit in the tomato ( I didn't know you could do that!). Also for their mint-curd chutney, which is very difficult to find and is so common in Pakistani restaurants in Bahrain.

PPS - When? When will that day come when I have room for dessert, I stuff myself so much that even though I always make plans to order dessert, but 80% of the time have to drop the idea. :(

WHAT WE HAD - Nawabi Paneer Tikka (Yum!)

                           Nawabi Chicken Kabab ( Yum x10)

                           Paneer Lazeez (Yum! Yum!)

                           Murg Chatpata (I want more!)

                           Cheese Kulcha (Have only if you are a cheese-lover!)

                           Roomali Roti (My all time favorite)

                           Butter Naan (Soft! and yum!)

                           Passion Fruit Mojito (strictly Okay)

                           Bailey's Shake (Milky & Creamy)

                           Orange & Raspberry Ice Bomb (Good enough)

                           Koyla Thunder (Avoid!)

DAMAGES - Rs 3000/- Approx

WHERE - Gulf Hotel, HNA Azmi Marg, Colaba, Mumbai

BORA BORA, MUMBAI

1 down on my list of restaurants to visit and I am glad for that. Some times I really think my wish list will never be fulfilled, because living in Bombay alone, my list increases every week and it makes me wonder, there are just way too many places and how every nook and corner has something stored. Magical it

is to me. 

This place was again not the place I originally intended to visit, as it was a birthday treat from a friend who is more like a younger sister. But since that place was temporarily closed down and Bora Bora happened to be nearby and also was on my list, I was more than happy to head here rather since this place was recommended to me by one of my teachers. Its quite something when teachers recognize your passion and share it too. So, finally here, I did a little joy of somersault in my heart. Whoopppyyy!!!. and even though it was mid afternoon, this place was very lively, where most such other places come to life more after the sun sets.

This place is one of the ventures of china gate. I should seriously consider having a membership card for China Gate restaurants, I land up there more often than any other place. (Is China Gate listening?). Okay, coming back, this place is AWESOME. and you might get lost on your way. I did. Twice. Inside the restaurant. Finding my way back to my table. Probably since they have other restaurants of their joint to these. But this place alone has 3 different floors. Its dark in here, even in daylight so that sort of sets the mood for the place and has quite a catchy playlist playing. I guess it is another specialty of China Gate ( If you have read my Red Box review, you should know Red Box is also under China Gate and I have spoken quite at length of their music choices over there too). The place also has different types of seating available (see Pictures). I loved the bar-stools with the small round table concept more. Probably, because I have a thing for it. What I mean to say is I LOOOUVE this place. ^-^ I am becoming a little biased towards China Gate now.

We started off with ordering a small Shawarma plate and Classic Cheese Fondue. Both were Fantastic. Couldn't get enough of the cheese. In the Shawarma Platter, first let me say I was delighted by the presentation. But instead of using Tahina, which is a variant of mayonnaise , they had used Hummus and since I love hummus, I did not mind at all. But this is just to let you know as I have found many a times that people who have not grown up in the middle east, they tend to not like it all that much. But to me it is A-okay. and as it is we had quite a lot of cheese, so it made a good variety. For the main course, we had each individually ordered different meals. My sis went for Char grilled Chicken, I went for a traditional Malaysian cuisine which Wikipedia tells me is the National dish of the Country - Nasi Lemak. It consists of rice made in coconut milk, a coconut based Chicken Gravy, some fried peanuts, a side salad, half a boiled egg, onion pickle (I personally loved this the most and want to have it with every meal probably - I love pickles, if you didn't know and cuttlefish. The only thing, I didn't like in the entire meal was the cuttlefish. I do like fish, but this did not sit well with me. My other friend also went for a Malaysian variety, a type of noodles with crab meat, i I unfortunately don't remember the name. Its quite difficult to memorize Malaysian names. I didn't try much of it, because I had to much on my plate already, but it was good and my friend was not at all disappointed. So thumbs up again. For drinks we had ordered mock tails, and the same one at that.

You could head here anytime, and since they have a variety of cuisines available - you will almost always find something to your liking. :)

WHAT WE HAD - Shawarma Platter

                           Classic Cheese Fondue

                           Nasi - Lemak 

                           Chargrilled Chicken

                           Malaysain Noodles with Crab Meat

                           3 Mocktails

DAMAGES - Rs 2777/- Approx ( We were three)

WHERE - Bora Bora, 155, 1st Floor, Caravan Serai Building, Waterfield Road, Bandra Talao, Bandra (West), Mumbai.

RED BOX CAFE, MUMBAI

Sometimes the best experiences come out of expecting nothing. This was my 2nd visit here, and each time it was not planned. But also each time, I have enjoyed this place to the fullest. I have always said that for me the food that a place serves is the most important factor but I have always judges places on more than just that. My reason is simple, I am blessed with a family whose culinary skills can give tough competition to the best chefs around town. So if I am going out for a meal, it has to offer me much more than just good food even though thats the primary factor. And I have got to say, this places impresses me in all those fronts.

I love the glass walls, which has little bubbles trapped in it, as if. I love the seating arrangement which is not too congested and yet ample place for accommodating a good number of people. I love the way they have used the color red in their theme. The one thing that I have found in many other places is that you can either enjoy the music or make conversation. Here, one of those rare places where you can enjoy both equally. The music is not soft, its on the louder level yet it doesnt interrupt the flow of conversation, rather you feel your it creating a mood for the same and the music is not the soft kind as such. In addition to this, since it was the IPL Finals, the matches were screened everywhere and you can just as equally enjoy that. I have got to say, I want to know how they do that. Infuse so many things and you can enjoy all 3 at the same time.

Coming to the food, the last time I had come in, I had thought, because I had no expectations, probably I was mighty impressed, but this time too I was equally bowled over with the quality and the taste of the food served. Its just perfect, if I wasn't too exaggerate . The chicken that we had ordered as starters was the star of the meal, the right amount of juiciness and well, just how chicken should. This is also one place where the drinks menu for both hard drinks and teetotalers ( like moi) will enjoy their drinks.

I would highly recommend this place for anybody who is looking to have a good time, be it with your friends, partners etc. Also, this place is pure value for money.

WHAT WE HAD - Involtini ( Chicken starters) - Extreme delightfulness

                        Java Java Chicken Salad ( Delightful)

                        Grilled Fish wrapped Coriander ( Double the delight)

                        Chicken Burger with cheese ( Ordinary)

                        Mojito - ( Cocktail) - The friend gives it a thumbs up!

                        Black Passion ( Mocktail) - ( Delight)

DAMAGES - Rs 1600 ( Approx) - We were Two

WHERE - at Red Box Cafe. Akruti Building, MIDC Pipeline, Andheri East, Mumbai