Bandra Ride: Moshe's & San Churros

It's said that an empty mind is a devil's workshop but in my case it becomes more of a foodie. For reasons, that I shall not get into here I have been off work for a while and have been enjoying the "me time". And a part of this free time has also been trying to satisfy various food cravings and dining at some interesting places. 

So we picked Thursday Night for a drive to Bandra and meet a long lost and soon to be married couple friend. Sancho's had been the second choice and after learning about the 45 mins wait, it remained second. Moshe's the first choice was picked and we took the rickety elevator [we called it the world's fastest] to the 1st floor where Moshe's is located. This outlet is a little more spacious than the one in Cuffe Parade. It doesn't have the outdoor seating but in this summer heat I am not sure if that's to be missed. 

I always enjoy dining company who take on the responsibility to order the starters and make good recommendations from their previous experiences. So we started the evening with some jalapeno cheese fondue and labneh with grilled pita bread. I've not been such a fondue fan, so I think I over-liked the labneh. 

There are some cuisines where sharing is just not happening. You order a dish, eat it by yourself and there is complete satisfaction. Thanks to my 2 month stay in Kenya, I had enough of pasta and I skipped it for something more interesting - the Sicilian Risotto. I would have killed my friend who said it looked more like 'masala khichdi'. ghadero saalo. And I think it was a good meal choice - highly recommended. 

Other dishes which came to the table were - Oven Baked Crepe Roulade, different and exotic. The Corn Polenta although I didn't enjoy the 1 bite, wife said it was nice. The all popular Moshe's Penne was nice as always, said the recently engaged friend's bubbly to-be wife. Cheers! 

The black currant ice-tea was a disaster. I don't know how could they go wrong only to realise I ordered the Fizz rather than an ice-tea. Avoid it. Better stick to the ice-tea.

Service was prompt and although it was a busy evening I liked the fact that we were not being pushed into ordering or completing our meal. I think we sat there a full 20 mins after our meal was done thinking if we should go for the desserts or no. Not because we trying to balance our calorie or sugar in-take but because we had decided to do a short trip to the near-by new spanish dessert/coffee shop - San Churros. 

"Churros" are simple fritters that look something like a big “French fry,” but taste nothing like one. They are the Spanish equivalent of doughnuts. Instead of a ring shape, like a doughnut, churros are long straight or slightly curled lengths that usually have ridges. Eaten while warm and sprinkled with sugar or drizzled with honey. 

From: About.com

So they serve Churros in 3 sizes - 4 6 and 9 pieces with a choice of 3 sauces but you can order only 2. We picked milk chocolate and dark chocolate. The 3rd one I think was White Chocolate. Not the most satisfying dessert so if you're looking for something more exotic and wholesome see the other items like a 7 layered chocolate cake or the huge tiramisu serving. Go for it! 

It wasn't the best season to relish it but the hot chocolate with spice and cinnamon is awesome. Told the wife we must come back on a lovely rainy evening or winter night to enjoy this one. 

San Churros is a delight in a city like Mumbai thanks to the spacious seating area. You've got to order your stuff at the cashier on ground floor and then can choose to occupy the huge comfy chairs and sofas on 1st floor till they deliver your goods. Was a bit noisy, but I'll just blame the vacation time which got all the kids out even at that late hour. 

Bachelor's Kitchen Management Tips

It's been 2 months in Nairobi for me. Away from home without the mother or wife to manage the kitchen here. Although I am a foodie and once in a while I did like to experiment I don't think I can call myself even an amateur cook. And running and managing a kitchen on regular basis is an altogether different challenge which I experienced during this trip. 

What I am going to share is a little learning for the many challenges of running a bachelor's kitchen. 

Learn

I think one of the most important things to do is learn as much as you can. Ask family, friends and other people who live alone on what's easy to cook, meal ideas and helpful tips. I must thank some of my ex-colleagues at Mudra who gave me tips and meal ideas to get going. 

Dig

Yes, dig into your memory to remember all those simple meal ideas which you ate when the mother or wife were too tired/bored to cook. You'll be amazed how some simple recipes can produce good, tasty and quick meals to add variety to your daily eating. 

Plan

Don't go to the super-market without having planned your ingredients and other essentials shopping list. You'll end up home with at least 1 key element missing. So the way I did it was - Think Meal. For eg. 1 meal you want to do Thai Curry & Rice. So write - rice, coconut milk, Thai curry paste and veggies to go with it. This way you'll end up having all that is necessary for cooking that meal. 

Shopping List

Goes without saying plan, check and make a list. You'll have some basics which you need to buy every time - bread, milk, eggs, chicken and veggies etc. But every trip you'll want to also pick up some items which add variety to your daily menu, so go back to my "Think Meal" approach. 

Control 

The first few trips to the supermarket you'll go crazy. You want to pick-up pasta sauce, fresh chicken and lots of fresh veggies. And then you only realise that some of it got thrown because you never managed to cook it all in good time. For eg. I bought either chicken or then paneer otherwise you end up consuming one and other rots. 

Experiment

If you're in a new country and see a whole new set of brands and products, I think you should go ahead and experiment. So your first round of shopping should be a mixed bag. For eg. I love flavoured yoghurt. So I bought a small pack of 2 different companies to try. I liked 1 and and now that's a regular in my shopping list. 

So that's it. Hope it helps you manage your kitchen better. Would love to know if you've got a kitchen tip to share with my readers. Leave your thoughts in the comments area below. 

In my next post, I am going to try and share some simple meal ideas which have become my favourites. 

Pali Village Cafe - Good food in a torn down interior

We count ourselves lucky when we get the chance to try one of the new eateries in the suburbs. And at our rate of trips to Bandra we manage to find a new one every time. This weekend it was Pali Village Cafe.As soon as I tweeted about my dinner plans, they followed me back on twitter.[Pali Village Cafe on Twitter] Interesting ... but the conversation didn't go forward.

Firstly, a big thank you to them for seating us in good time even though we reached there much earlier than our scheduled booking. I think the dry day helped.

For all the popularity this place enjoys I was stunned to see a very rugged, unfinished interior decor of the place. Most of the walls are not even white-washed, forget painted. The wine racks are the ones you see in godowns. Furniture was nothing fancy either. Actually the chair was a stunner.

But I think this is the new taste people seem to enjoy. Anyway, the ambiance was beautifully dim lit and some very interesting crowd walked in and out. A visual delight ;-)

We started with "The Greek Salad" and Pita bread with red pepper humus - yummy and the salad is a must try. The bread basket is nice with some very soft bread slice, sticks and mini buns. I like the butter re-fills which kept coming without the asking. For the mains, vegetarian offerings are limited so while the wife selected the Mushroom and pepper risotto I tried the Grilled Chicken. The risotto needed some spice and I think some chili flakes took care of it nicely. The chicken breast was a good selection, soft and fleshy. Just that the sauce was a bit tangy. A black currant ice-tea was a good choice since we could not try the Sangrias [dry day].

Being a Saturday evening, I want to excuse the rather pushy waiters who were dying to clear off the dishes from our table and get us to the next step as soon as we were done. Would have been nice if they gave us some time to enjoy the experience a bit more relaxed.

The menu is designed for an all day cafe - pizza, sandwich and lots of mocktails/smoothies. But the pastas come during lunch and dinner time only.

Location is a blink and miss, so drive slow once you reach the Pali Naka and look for a cream colour uniformed valet drivers. And that's it.

Conclusion: Not wow if you are a vegetarian so go there with meat eaters, enjoy the ambiance and the wide variety of wine collection.

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.

Dakshinayan - south indian in town

This review should have been online long back. And apologizes for no accompanying photos.

Dakshinayan is the south indian eatery at the Teen Batti junction of Walkeshwar. Simple interiors with a strip opened ceiling. The owner sure didn't do much to make this place fancy for the areas audience.

What did we eat?

Mini Masala idli. yummy. a good serving suffices 2 comfortably and is loaded with tomato and onion. Must try.

Apam - strictly ok, felt it had gone a bit sour. I think the wife makes them much better at home. Or else then there is the Konkan Cafe in Taj President which does it wonderful.

Mysore Masala Dosa - a bit oily but we really liked the Chutney they served it. Normal south indian coconut chutney only but NICE.

The place is small, I don't think more that 30-40 people would fit in. Tables are close to each other so don't expect to exchange sweet nothings or discuss family issues over meals. Yes, the all veg menu makes this a super choice for the marwaris and gujaratis of the area. So, I am sure it must be a mad house on weekends so weekday is your best choice but there will be waiting even then.

Dakshinayan
183, Teen Batti,
Walkeshwar Road,
Mumbai - 400 006.

Telephone: 23676701 / 23673926