Pizza Express - Powai, Mumbai.

We climbed down into the abyss, walked our course and easily climbed back on the other side. It was so easy compared to our ordeal before. We had found the place to be larger, deeper and spookier in the dark. Firsty fashioned a torch out of a piece of wood we broke from an old book rack. However, we faced a new challenge as we emerged from the structure. The island's remaining cowards who had no courage to explore the mansion on their own had surrounded us.

PizzaExpress(without the space) needs no introduction. Its a casual dining pizza chain located virtually all across the globe. The brand is quite a big player in Mumbai itself where they have four outlets in four different food districts.

The first thing that I noticed upon my entry was its dual styled ambiance - bird cutouts on one side and bird shaped lights on the other. PizzaExpress restaurants use a different theme in every outlet. Since this outlet was located in Powai, they used a lake and birds motif. One side appeared like a casual dining Pizzeria while the other side felt like a fine dine.

Ginger Fresca was a Ginger flavored fizzy drink that was cold, refreshing and quite comforting to the throat. Its flavor was dominated by Ginger ale with a hint of mint. A great choice if you are tired of the same old Mojitos and soft drinks.

Gamberetti Piccante was a healthy prawn based dish made in a spicy passata sauce. This passata is said to be sourced from the famed Greci family in Italy. The flavor was mildly spicy and savory. The Tomato passata dominated the flavor while the spinach and Italian herbs provided taste depth to the dish. The rustic home food flavor and the flamboyant red color concerted well together and made it quite a great choice for an appetizer.

Island Rogue : You may have beaten Cuvo but he was nothing more than a low level barnacle. I am the great Pirate Lord Roni and you will hand over the chest that you found inside that building to me.

Captain : Fancy title kiddo. Was the great Pirate Lord too scared to enter the dangerous structure himself? Sorry buddy, finders keepers.

Roni : Enough! My men have surrounded you. You stand no chance.

Captain(chuckles) : My, my we have quite the situation then.

Etna Pizza is named after the famous Sicilian volcano. Its texture appeared rough due to less cheese and its color was dominated by dry cured ham and sausages giving it an appearance like an active volcano. I thought the pizza appeared artistic. It was almost as if someone baked it in a Prisma Oven ha. The flavor was meaty, savory and the rough texture extended to the flavor as well. Its a great pizza to have if you enjoy good meat but if you are a cheese addict then there are other choices on the menu. The Jalapenos compliment the ham well.

First Mate : Stop messing around mate, just blow them.

Captain : Aww shucks, I was having fun ya know.

Roni : I wait no more. Get them Boys. 

Captain : Ever been in the middle of a storm Great Pirate Lord :)?  (Opens Chest of Storms while pointing it at Roni's gang)

Roni : Oh Lord...NOO.
(A strong hurricane blows Roni and all of his men away)

First Mate : Wow they blew further than a pro Golfers Tee shot.

PizzaExpress' Cheesecake is the classical and the near perfect rendition of the Baked Philadelphia cheesecake. The flavor is amazing and its definitely one of the best cheesecakes in India. The only thing not traditional about it is that PizzaExpress uses McVitties Digestive biscuit crumbs instead of Graham crackers for the base. The latter tend to be more brittle.

Raspberry Cheesecake Gelato is a recent addition to the PizzaExpress menu. Its a decent emulation of a cheesecake flavored ice cream. Unlike the versions found in major ice cream outlets in town, this Gelato truly tastes like a liquid cheesecake with a tarty raspberry flavor. While I did enjoy the Cheesecake above, I must admit that this was the better of the two desserts.

PizzaExpress serves great pizza though I do feel its pricing is on the higher side. However, they use imported ingredients for a truly Italian pizza experience so that affects things. 

The service was excellent. My server knew every detail of every pizza on the menu, the places from where the ingredients were sourced and answered everything I threw at him. His conduct was very professional. This is the kind of service one desires at any place.

I love Pizzas, its one of me favorite things in the food world. And I love going to PizzaExpress whenever I can. Its a shame that there isn't a PE outlet in my neighborhood otherwise I would probably be giving them business at least once a week. But yes, if you live in Mumbai and if you love Pizzas - Do visit Pizza Express.

The Captain's Score : 8/10

"

Captain : We got this chest but still don't have a clue to the next spot.

Navigator : The chests inscription's resemble our map greatly. Could it be?

Nina : Nya :3

Captain : (Places the map on the chest) Wow the inscription is a near identical copy except for this bulge here.

Navigator : That bulge happens to be Faraway island. The worst place in all seas. If I had to hide a legendary artifact. It would be there.

Captain : Makes sense. I have a good feeling about the worst place on the sea. Set course to Faraway Island.
"

Map Co-Ordinates
PizzaExpress,
G14, A Wing,
Ventura Hiranandani Business Park,
Powai, Mumbai.


-I was invited to sample the menu by the Restaurant. My review however remains objective.-

The Baisakhi Food fest at Nawab Saheb, Renaissance - Powai, Mumbai

Today be an important day. Whether more pages will be added to me journal or not will be decided by the outcome of this battle. The Rogues were after things that I had worked hard for. Me men were preparing for a battle and I thought that I would use this little time to write an entry about a memory. Not really a memory but it goes back to when we were given a coin by Nina's friends. We did not immediately board our ship, we instead decided to celebrate our victory by smuggling into a food festival and eat even more.

The Renaissance has been very active in recent times with food festivals making it a hot spot for connoisseurs. This would be my third run to The Renaissance for exotic food and festivals. The occasion this time was Baisakhi or the harvest festival of the Indian state of Punjab. Baisakhi celebrations are known for fun, frolic and good food. Nawab Saheb captured the essence of this celebration in its culinary form. I guess they integrated a bit of frolic too as visible from the pictures. Nawab Saheb retained its original royal court decor but had a bit of Baisakhi decorations at the entrance.

How can one start a Punjabi meal without a Lassi in a Kullhad(Earthen Cup)? The lassi was a little thin for my liking but passed well with the theme.

Multan Punjab Di Pasliyan : Multanese Punjab Ribs in English. I apologize for the bad imagery but Nawab Saheb's dim lighting makes it a hard job for a wannabe food photographer with a Samsung Phone. These were charcoal grilled Lamb ribs marinated in Indian spices. A bit dry as the meat was too well done but  tasted great as an appetizer. The smoky flavor lingered around in my mouth for a while.

Captain : Eating this Punjabi food makes me want to put on a Punjabi accent.

First mate:  Leave it mate, you don't want to sound like Irrfan Khan doing Baloo's voice in Jungle Book.

Bhatti Da Murgh - This was a thigh cut from a chicken with the bone. The meat was juicy and full of flavors. This was more ethnically Punjabi in origin than some other treats served in the night.

Amritsari Macchi Taliyan was Batter fried sole fish rubbed with chili and spices. The crust preserved the heat inside. The interior was quite spicy and combined with the heat from the cooking, it felt quite hot. The preparation though did feel a bit pedestrian as opposed to the first two appetizers.

Jalandhar De Tikke was an average Chicken Tikka if one goes by flavor alone. The preparation did not feel very Punjabi in flavor. It felt closer to Lucknowi cuisine. The crust was overdone and the flavor of the interior felt uninspired. Apart from the solitary sample piece that you see in the picture, I did not have more of this.

Keeme Di Seekh - These Lamb skewers made out of minced meat were perhaps the biggest disappointment of the day. These tasted bland, dry and the crumbly. I had just taken one piece and I found myself unable to finish that. It was easily passable.

Moving to the mains, one has to admit that the mains trumped the appetizers in the orders of magnitude.

Khaasam Murgh (White colored gravy) was the weaker of the main options. However the opinion was divided on this one with several folks across the table enjoying it. For me, the gravy tasted different from what it its appearance suggested. I am not too fond of curries where tomato feels dominant.

Dal Makhani(Next To Khaasam) was a good old Urad Lentil dish that was perfect in its preparation. Just the right amount of butter, spices with a lovable thick consistency - this Dal found everyone's support on the table.

Makhni Kukkad De Tikke was undoubtedly the dish of the night. It was so good that I helped myself to three servings of the same and sincerely hoped that this dish would be a permanent resident on Nawab Saheb's menu. It combined two of the most celebrated North Indian dishes into one mouth watering concoction. It used the typical Butter chicken curry made of tomatoes, cream and cashews and combined it with Chicken Tikka.

So it was a Butter Chicken with a Tikka flavor. Its amazing how well these two flavors coexisted in a single dish. This dish alone was a good enough reason to dine at Nawab Saheb.

Naabe Waala meat(Dark Red dish on the plate) was another star of the night. This lamb dish was tangy and spicy with juicy chunks of mutton thrown into the curry. Though the gravy was thinner than the other mains, the dish was quite enjoyable and was more about the meat and less about the liquids.

Memna Pulao was made of tender young Lamb and infused with aromatic spices. I am told that it had a bit of Kevda essence in it as well. The Pulao was absolutely one of the best I have had. The restaurant was very professional to call it a Pulao and not pass it as a Biryani like many other places. But even for a well versed eater like myself, this could have easily been mistaken as a Mutton Biryani. A little known fact is that Pulao is Punjabi while Biryani is not.

Captain : This has to be the best Pulao I have ever eaten. Its so good, I can already feel the protein healing me wounds.

First mate : Aye, its better to stab at food rather than some dumb thieves.

Once again, Renaissance's old issue with thematic desserts repeated itself. The desserts were a classical mix of generic North Indian desserts. All good and sumptuous but still not Punjabi.

The service could have been better. There was a long gap between the appetizers and the main. There again was an issue with water as the servers did not sweep to check for empty water glasses. Much of these problems being similar to those encountered at Lake view last week in The Renaissance.

The Pricing varies from INR 2000 to 3000 depending on the set chosen. For INR 2500 The non vegetarian set was well worth the moolah.

Renaissance has frequently been hosting exotic food fests. Each comes with its own theme and has that feel that makes you want to visit em all. The core of the fest - the food had more ups. The downs would be the service and the lack of thematic desserts. But the food was good and the generic desserts worked too. All in all, another reason to dine at Nawab Saheb.

The Captain's Score : 7/10

"
First Mate : Ya know, the leader of the attackers looked familiar. 

Captain : Who would he be?

First Mate : A brute mercenary named Rocky.

Captain : Is he the Captain of the black sailed ship?

First mate : I doubt. He is too dense to be a crew leader.
"


Map Co-Ordinates
Nawab Saheb
The Renaissance Hotel, 2-3B,
Near Chinmayanand Ashram,
Powai, Mumbai


 -I was part of a Blogger Meetup organized by the Restaurant's PR. My review however is objective.-

Lake View Cafe at The Renaissance - Powai, Mumbai

I quite liked the sound of the ship gently colliding with the piers. After a lot of obstacles, great Calypso had finally allowed us to reach our next mark. But is this really where the next clue truly is? Or is it just some over thinking by me navigator. But now that we are here, I might as well explore the isle. On the exact center was an artificial lake, and a grand palace. The ship was to be heavily guarded lest our attackers cause trouble on the docked ship. Me and firsty decided to explore the island with Nina. The navigator's theory suggested the clue to be at exact center of the isle, so to the palace we go.

(A bit far away and hidden from the view stood a ship with black sails)
Rogue : Should we attack their ship Boss?

Rogue Captain : I am not interested in that ship, I am interested in that map. Their Captain has it.

Rogue : He just went to the island with one crew mate and his cat.

Rogue Captain : Good, send in a party after them. And...stay away from that Cat.

I was just at The Mumbai Renaissance a few weeks back for a food festival. Now in some sort of a re-run, I received another mail for yet another exotic food festival. This time however, it was for Tamil food. This festival lasts till the 19th of April 2019. If you didn't see me yell the same on my Twitter and Instagram, now is the perfect time to see it and grab a bite before the festival is gone.

The Chettinad food festival owes its name to the Chettiar community in the Chettinad region in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu but seems to cover food from other parts of Tamil Nadu as well. The festival was hosted at the premises of the Lake view Cafe in the Renaissance although the blogger delegation was given seating in a small lake facing courtyard outside the cafe.

First things first. Despite being a Tamil food festival, the restaurant had plenty of selections from a general continental fare so as to not turn off patrons who are not into the delicacies of the Chola empire. This measure had shortcomings as well.

Despite having an amazing dessert selection, the buffet ironically did not have a single Tamil dessert. This was reminiscent of the experience at the Iranian fest at Nawab Saheb. The Renaissance should make sure that they cover all courses for themed food fests.

Chettinad Kozhi Biryani was a twist to the famed rice preparation I know so well. It had a distinct curried flavor along with a southern spice mix. I found it to be moderately spicy which was probably done to adapt it to all palates. True Kozhi Biryani can be a rather tongue scorching affair. Either the Biryani was lacking fried cashews or had a lower concentration of the same. Kozhi Biryani usually has cashews.

Kozhi Mulaku or Red Chicken is a curry dish in Kerela. Apart from knowing that, I have never tasted or experienced this before. Chicken chunks were rubbed with a mix of onion and masala in this dish. The dish tasted more mainstream than Tamilian or Keralite food however. The flavor was very familiar and lacked the exotic uniqueness that was present in the Biryani.

Meen Paal Kulambu - Despite not being a visually promising dish, the flavor was quite something. This tender young fish was cooked in coconut milk gravy. It had just the right amount of garlic and spices. Its flavor could touch me deepest senses as such I think of it as the real soul food. This was one of the stars of the buffet platter.

Captain : This fish be tender and juicy in sweet curry. 

First mate : We are running out of time and you are engaging in rhyme?

Captain : Touche

Mutton Chettinad Curry was a spicy carnivore's delight. It was thick, loaded with meat and was an explosion of Southern flavors. This was my first time with a Southern Mutton Curry. I am a regular with North Indian Mutton curries and I could easily tell that this Southern variant was a completely different dish from what I am used to. Tamilian cuisine is not as popular as the Northern ones in the mainstream. Dishes like these are literally undiscovered treasures. It is a shame that this dish would be near impossible to find in Mumbai after the Chettinad festival is over.

Captain : This be a true sailor's grub... Oi Nina, where are you darting too?

Crewmate : Go find yer furball before she causes us trouble.

Captain : Eh more food for us without her.

Palkatti Chettinadu - Though I avoid vegetarian dishes in Buffets, I decided to sample this just to see how the other team feels. This was cottage cheese cooked in a gravy made of onion, tomatoes, Lentils, curry leaves, hot spices and chettinad paste. It felt very similar to the mutton curry in flavor. The heat content was perhaps a notch lesser. I think it works well for a green grubber.

Era Pulli Curry was a tangy and spicy prawn curry which for me was the star of the night. A new flavor can often anger some and please some. While a lot of the other bloggers were unimpressed by this flavor, I  found it quite to my liking. The kind of thing you smack yer lips after.

(Rogues attack the Captain and the First mate)

Captain : (Cutlass out) You scallywags again?

Rogues : Ha, There are five of us and two of you. We are gonna carve you up Game of thrones style. 

First Mate (Flintlock out) : Oye Oye, dont get ahead of yerselves lads. 

Rogues : Ha, look at you. Are you gonna beat us with seventeenth century weapons?

Captain : No one disturbs me when I am eating.
(Skirmish begins)

A Tamil Thali.

A snapshot of the western desserts at the Buffet. Shame, I could not find any traditional Tamil sweets. Not complaining here since these were quite good too but not quite Tamil.

The service was the nadir of the day. The blogger bunch was made to sit in an isolated area. A server would make sorties every fifteen minutes but this caused an erosion of the experience. Dirty plates would not be removed, new cutlery would not be supplied and there was an acute shortage of drinking water. The affair could have been handled better and I feel that we should have been seated inside the cafe. It was hot, humid and uncomfortable outside.

The pricing is on the higher side. The multi faceted buffet felt like a satisfying experience though I do feel that the restaurant Captains played safe with the Tamil aspect of the buffet.

A few more Chettinad dishes and some Tamil sweet dishes won't have been such a bad idea.

In totality, the experience was decent and certain dishes really excelled. Grab a bite at the Chettinad food fest before April 20.

The Captain's Score : 7/10

"
After a hard fought battle the defeated rogues retreat.

Captain : Barnacles, me wound has re opened. Filthy bilge rats.

First mate : I need a good drink after all this excessive violence.

Captain : Where is Nina?

First Mate : Who cares?

(Captain walks around to find Nina and two more cats)

Captain : Aww, she found friends.
(All three cats mew and look at the Captain who is holding a drumstick)

Captain : Oh come on, I need food to heal.

Cats : Nya, Mew, mew :3

Captain : Fine, Fine have it.

(After eating, one of the two cats leaves a coin at the Captain's footstep.)
First mate : Is it paying us for food?

Captain : (Lifts up the coin) I think, Nina's friend just gave us our next clue.

First mate : Wait what?
"

Map Co-Ordinates
Cafe Lake View
The Renaissance Hotel, 2-3B,
Near Chinmayanand Ashram,
Powai, Mumbai



 -I was part of a Blogger Meetup organized by the Restaurant's PR. My review however is objective.-

Nawab Saheb at the Renaissance Hotel - Powai, Mumbai

I remember these parts of the sea. This is where we first met the Kraken many moons ago. Maybe our battle with the Kraken a few days back was a hint towards our return to these waters. It all began with a call on me radio. It talked about Persian food and what not. Eager to try Iranian food, I charted my course to a remote island away from civilization. 

A magnificent palace stood on this desolate island in the midst of trees. We docked near the beach and embarked on a mission towards the palace. The Royal court and Persian food awaited us.

Nawab Saheb at Powai is well known for its Mughlai food. But surely Iranian food is a different sphere? Right? Not quite.

The evolution of the Northern Indian Mughlai cuisine is an interesting tale. Iranian food along with Turkic food has been a part of the colorful Mughlai culinary tapestry. In short, Persia is the place where much of Mughlai food predecessors were actually born. Nawab Saheb at the Renaissance brings a festival of Iranian food which lasts till the end of February, 2016. It is an event that takes one along the silk road to Iran itself.

I was invited to the restaurant as part of a FBAI Blogger's delegation to sample this exotic grub.

Nawab Saheb has an ambiance that mimics the royal Mughal courts or Darbars. The environment is rich. The exquisite Kaleens(Carpet) on the floor, the vermilion hues, Mughal themed chairs and the intricate wooden frames - All of it turns time momentarily back to a forgotten Golden age. One almost feels like they are royalty of some kind. 

And what good is a court without classical musicians, right?

The event is curated by Chef Haleem and Chef Mona Poordaryaeizadeh(Who has specially flown in from Iran). This is my first time with mainstream Iranian food so I will have to trust Chef Mona for the authenticity of the food.

The food is served in special set menus. A patron may choose the set they prefer the most. A Vegetarian set, a Meat set, a Seafood set and a mixed bag set are offered by the restaurant. The prices range from INR 2000 to INR 3500.

Though not part of the Persian sets, this Zafrani chicken salad caught my fancy. The tandoor roasted chicken chunks and the greens provided a perfect appetizer before the main courses. And it was quite visibly pleasing as well.

Joojeh Kebab is a popular Iranian dish. Made with Fresh and tender saffronized young chicken, this dish excelled on all fronts. The appearance was appetizing, the aroma divine and the flavor was amazing. These juicy chunks literally send the taste buds on a high.

Captain : These Royal Kebabs are truly meant for a Captain.  

Crewmate : Crew too right?

Captain : (Ignores) Nom Nom Nom

Crewmate : Right? Cappy?

Kabab e Barg - These juicy Lamb fillets were made out of lamb shanks. A rather simple construction, it was the Kabab's sumac and saffron seasoning that ultimately created its unique flavor. Though these taste very close to Indian Lamb kababs, the subtle differences were perceivable. Sumac for instance is rarely used in Indian cooking.

Kabab Hosseni had a tantalizing aroma with high piquancy. These juicy lamb nuggets were seasoned with a mixture made out of Tomatoes, saffron and a green pepper paste. These were quite addicting and second only to the Joojeh Kababs.

The Koobideh Morgh Kababs differed a lot on visuals from what I saw on Google. These skewered Kababs were made out of minced chicken cooked with an onion-garlic paste. The aroma was not as captivating as the other kababs and I felt that these tasted a bit dry. It was difficult to eat these without the green mint chutney.

Maho Sorkh Kardeh was Pan fried Basa rubbed with fenugreek seeds, pepper and dry lime. The admirable thing about these kababs was the fact that the flavor had sunk in properly into the Basa. The disappointing thing was the usage of Basa in the first place. Any other fish fillet would have tasted better than Basa.

Abadan Falafel is a Persian version of Middles east's favorite Chick pea patties. While the appearance was very refined, the flavor was a bit rough. To me, a good falafel is one that tastes remarkably different from an Indian Moong dal vadi, despite using the same chickpea base. This variant could not make that distinction.

The main course felt a little disappointing as opposed to the Kababs. This could be due to many reasons. Maybe my palate could not perceive the subtleties of the Persian mains or perhaps it was the common issue that happens with most Kebab serving restaurants - People dislike anything outside the Kababosphere.

Khoresht E Khalal Badam - I actually had to Google this before writing about it. Every single image that Google threw up made it appear rather visually pleasing. The variant here in comparison appeared like a damp squib. The billed Almond(Badam) slivers were too few and had become too soggy to stand out. The dish was also missing its trademark tangy flavor and tasted too close to an Indian lamb curry.

Khoresht Fesenjan appeared a little lighter than I expected. This is usually a dark(almost brown) colored stew. The flavor however worked well for me. It was made out of chicken, pomegranate sauce and walnuts.The flavor was a fusion of savory and sweet. The spices also created a unique aftertaste in the mouth. This was a flavor, I had never tried before. The dish thus gave a thrill of discovery.
I would like to try this dish with duck(The traditional recipe uses duck) instead of Chicken someday.

Captain : This stew has some nice sensations on me tongue.

Crewmate : We discovered something new. A Stew.

Captain : That be true lad, lets plant our flag on it now and give it a name.

Khoresht Aloo Mosama is a chicken stew made with carrots and prunes. The flavor was acceptable but was a little too sweet for my liking. Pardon me for the horrible image, the dish blended in with the scarlet lighting.

The desserts were fun but sadly these were all Indian. I did expect Persian desserts and had to ask twice to confirm whether these were indeed the correct desserts. I was looking forward to things such as Masghati.

The service was excellent, as was expected of a restaurant inside the Renaissance's premises. The serving crew was professional, routinely changed cutlery and ensured that empty water glasses were filled as soon as possible. At no point of time did I ever require to instruct them anything.


The pricing for the Persian food ranges from INR 2000 to 3500 depending on the set chosen. It feels high but how often does one find Iranian food in India. Coupled with the rich ambiance of Nawab Saheb and the professional service - the pricing feels worthy.

The food had its ups and downs but the experience certainly was unique. Even as a slightly above mediocre food traveler, I rarely come across events such as this. In normal circumstances, for a genuine Irani experience - I would either have to go Iran or at least Dubai. But an event like this brings it all to my own city and reduces air fare to cab fare.

The Persian Festival ends on February 27 ,2016. If you are in Mumbai, visit The Renaissance and be Royalty for a dinner at Nawab Saheb.


The Captain's Score : 7/10

"Shame, we have to leave this island. There is so much left to explore. Mark it on the map lads. We will be back, soon."

Map Co-Ordinates
Nawab Saheb
Renaissance Hotel, 2-3B,
Near Chinmayanand Ashram,
Powai, Mumbai

 -I was part of a Food Bloggers Association of India Meet up organized by the Restaurant's PR. My review however is objective.-