Sharing experiences on Zomato

As part of my food reviews I have now also started sharing my experiences at Zomato. It's a great place to know about the latest in food, be it restaurants, home delivery or even catering.

You can track me there : zomato.com/kapilb


  Zomato - Restaurant search and Food Guide

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. 

Flurry's: Kolkata's Legendary Tearoom

The last week of November was spent in Kolkata. A trip which I would like to call a "foodie delight". In the next few days I shall try and share some of the notes of the lovely food which I enjoyed in Kolkata. 

Let's begin with one of Kolkata's landmark eatery - The Flurry's. I am told this place originally was an English style tea & pastry outlet for most gentlemen and ladies who would spend the mornings or early evenings here chatting & discussing the then situation of a rapidly changing India. If you see the place you will find an old world charm in the decor, the massive chandelier a symbol of the times then. Later it went on to become a place where marriage brokers got people to see some of the potential son-in-law prospects, since this place was most often visited by the boys from the neighbouring St. Xaviers College. 

It was lovely to know a little bit history of this place over a nice Sunday brunch with our family in Kolkata. Since we were a large group some of the much recommended things on the menu were ordered right away. Eggs / Mushroom / Corn on toast are some of the popular and tasty dished. The cheese quiche seemed very popular, they had only 2 pieces left by 1pm that afternoon. 

Eggs on Toast

Mushroom on Toast 

You must splash some of the mustard sauce on to your dish and take a bite. The sauce has this lovely strong aroma of freshness and the little tangy effect it plays on your tongue. 

Flurry's is also best known for their bread and pastry collection. The chocolate short bread and blackforest were a delight. 

I ended the meal with a cold glass of cold coffee. Just the way I like it. Thick & creamy even without the ice-cream. Not the watered down versions you get in the coffee shops around these days. 

The good news is you don't really have to make a trip to Kolkata to enjoy this delightful place. They are soon coming to Mumbai.  

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.

Barking Deer Brewpub

Wanted to go out drinking with boys and we were too bored with the regulars - Irish House (Too Loud), Mondy's (Been there a 100 times) so we decided to try something new and landed up at Barking Deer. 

Sunday night, the place was practically empty ... even the bar just had 2 tables occupied at 9:30PM. We intended to drink so got seated in the bar area. The chairs are terrible. Long, heavy and rather uncomfortable. After about 3 hours we just wanted to get off them. Even though it was empty the aircon didn't cool so well. I can't imagine what happens on busy nights. 

They don't have a brewing license yet but said would be activated by December (so let's keep a watch on that one). While there try some of the international beers. We settled for the Indus range, called for all the 4 variants. Not my liking and I don't intend to have it again. 

The BITES can get a bit boring if you are going to be sitting there for long and keep munching with your drinks. They don't have pizzas which was disappointing.

After having exhausted the BITES we called for some Sandwiches - which I must say was really GOOD and satisfying. Ate the Goat Cheese and Roasted Veggies. 

I am going back here only if I want to dine and maybe to check on the brewery. This is not a place for a boys night drinking session.

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