Mamagoto - Restaurant Review

Our first visit to Mamagoto was when we were visiting friends in Gurgaon. The food was excellent and we fell in love with the cosy well designed interiors. Having heard some terrible stories of the long waits at the Mumbai suburban outlet we never bothered to visit it here. But when it opened up in South Mumbai we actually jumped on to it and visited the place in the first week of its soft launch. Yes, we walked in to an almost empty restaurant. Which I am now told isn't the case anymore. Minimum waiting is at least 1 hour. So all the best! 

Having said that, I don't think the wait is disappointing in anyway. Worth it. And all the popularity of the place is only a symbol of what diners like us enjoy. 

Wife was down with a cold when we visited and she ordered the chinese spicy sour soup with 22 ingredients. A perfect remedy to beat the cold away. It was a large serving so I helped her finish it off. The bit sized corn fritters were decent. For the meat lover, skip the crispy lamb (too chewy). Instead go for the honey chicken, I remember eating it when in Gurgaon so I am sure that's a better bet. 

Because they have large servings we decided to split one dish for the main course and choose the "khao suey style train station noodles". Delicious and we probably will eat khao suey again here only. Unlike most other places where they set it out on the table for you to mix it to your taste here the chef mixes up all the ingredients and cooks it well. And tastes a lot better this way. 

khao suey style train station noodles

End the meal with some of their nice desserts ... both the chocolate items on the menu are good. 

At the time we visited they didn't have the bar permit in place so alcohol was being served. I guess they must have got that in place by now. 

Final word: This will be one of our favorite places if they keep the quality good and we gather the patience to beat the long waiting time. 

Gypsy Chinese: Restaurant Review

Landed up in Dadar because of an event in the area. We were too bored to try and same old place in Phoenix so decided to try something new in that area itself. Gypsy comes with a strong recommendation from a friend who is rather fussy about "where" he eats. So this had to be tried.

Sunday evening and we thought we would be doomed with a 1 hour waiting. As luck favoured us we were seated in about 25 minutes. Lovely ambiance and thankfully not too noisy even though its a small place. 

Since it was our first visit we decided to go with the steward's recommendation and we were not disappointed. Started the meal with some Shanghai Mushroom and Steamed Wanton (Gravy). Really good stuff and what we call it "The Indian Chinese". 

Main course included Exotic Vegetables in Chilly Black Bean Sauce with Burnt Garlic Veg Rice. We didnt really want to experiment with the fancier - Thai currys and the sorts. I don't recommend the Malaysian Noodles - Disappointing. 

If I am in that area, I don't mind going to this place again.

Busaba - Restaurant Review

In it's old avatar Busaba was a little watering hole with lots of loud music. But a few months back a few friends decided to do a Saturday lunch there and I was very impressed with the place. So for mom's birthday we decided to treat her a super dinner at Busaba.

This is a cosy little restaurant+lounge bar in one of the by-lanes behind Taj hotel, Colaba. A dim-light setting invites you and there are 2 areas, the outdoor [but covered] and the inside seating. Opt for the outside, it feels really nice there. Service levels are impressive and there was at least one steward who ensured we are attended to all the time.

Started with the Momos and assorted veg rolls. Veg was good so I am sure the chicken ones should be nice too. Must must order the Veg Satay. 

Main course - Nasi Goreng & Mei Goreng is nice. The assorted vegetables in black bean sauce tastes nice and different from most of the other places we haven been.

The khow suey wasn't all that nice and could do with a lot more of the soup. Gets too dry with the limited soup serving.

Wine collection is not too wide, specially if you want it by the glass.

One line - Must go for a romantic candle-lit dinner. limited seating ensures there is not much chaos on most nights.

Mainland China - Restaurant Review

Mainland China, Kolkata's finest Asian restaurant finally got itself a place in town for the SoBo to not drive to Andheri anymore. They are located in the ex-Crossroads mall now SoBo Central at Haji Ali.

Celebrated my in-law's anniversary over dinner on a Monday night. And boy for a Monday, you would be lucky to have got a table without reservation.

The place gives you fantastic first impressions. Black, gray and silver - A chique combination makes it a really classy place. A place you would like to bring that very special set of guests, a place you would like to be seen at on a weekend.

Something very interesting about the menu that may grab your attention - the prices are in words and not figures. I guess, makes them a little pleasant on the eyes. What say?

So what did we eat

• Shanghai Spring Roll
• Mushroom in Garlic Chilli [Must have]
• Claypot - exotic veg in chili basil sauce
• Tofu black mushroom Bamboo shot in black bean sauce [must have - very large and nice chewy pieces of the black mushroom, probably one of the best I have tasted]
• Pot rice

Quantities are good and the service was exceptionally fast considering they were packed that night.

They have a very good arrangement of tables on one side of the restaurant where the tables are placed on a little height and away from the main dining area. gives a good sense of privacy and perfect for the big date night.

Oh and if you don't happen to visit the loo - besides the food they've got some useful things on their menu, just incase.

Verdict - highly recommended place. great ambiance & some really good food.

Mr.Chow's Chinese Food Home Delivery

If there is something about Sunday that puts me off is the long waiting time outside restaurants, parking lots and even the shopping mall's billing counters. So what better way then to spend the Sunday evening at home with a VCD and home delivered hot-piping food.

Bored with the regular we decided to try some Chinese food from the close by Mr.Chow's. We ordered the Meal Combo which was a mix of rice and vegetables in black bean sauce and a portion of spring rolls. The noodles were ordered separately - Shantung Noodles (flat noodles). The servings are large and can satisfy 2 people on an average. Spring rolls were sad. But the rice and noodles were good and the tasty bit has given us a new alternative over the regular 5 Spice and Sizzling China from where we order our regular Chinese meals.

Service and delivery times was impressive. We asked them to add some extra mushroom to the noodles and they indeed put in a large share - there was a small charge of Rs.20 for that bit. 

Total damage for 2 people was Rs.300 and it's a total value for money deal. Recommended eating and they have a couple of branches across Mumbai.

Contact:
Mr Chow’s. Bandra: 26423595/86/64; Worli: 24334554/51/58; Colaba: 22160074/75/76.

Restaurant Review: Jasmine Moon

Living in South Mumbai sometimes has a downside to it. There are limited restaurants and if you start liking something there is a good possibility that it will shut down soon. And so, every time you want to dine out the search begins for a place the taste buds would have not touched before.

Last Saturday night a few friends decided to experiment a new place called Jasmine Moon located bang in the middle of Colaba Market. The surroundings tend to put you off especially if you land up there during dinner time. Anyways being familiar with the place we all crawled into this tiny triangular shaped chinese restaurant with the center table given to our group.

The asparagus soup was a disaster and trust me I have tasted much better soup in some clubs of Mumbai - Radio Club (next door neighbour) being the best example. The Crispy Mixed Vegetables was strictly ok. Main course comprised of Burnt Garlic Rice (I think the best dish of the night), Tofu in black sauce (nice soft tofu but the sauce was tasteless - no salt, spice). The Singapore styled noodles seemed they were sun-dried before serving and only a good helping of soya sauce with chili sauce helped us eat the damn thing. To spice up things we ordered the Vegetables in Schezwan sauce (extra spicy). I don't know what the chef was thinking but he just sprinkled the dish with a lot of raw red chili pieces and sent it out. Not that the dish would have tasted any better but the chili made even more difficult to push it down the throat with the chili hurting you. In general the food was bland, tasteless and boring if I may call it. The fresh lime soda I ordered to help me wash down the dinner tasted like limbu pani made earlier in the day.

Conclusion: The place lacks a location advantage and does nothing to appeal the diner. If the chef does not do something seriously soon to improve his dishes he is going to be unemployed soon. Unfortunately this place does not even make it my "nice home delivery Chinese place".