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.-

Grandmama's Cafe - Dadar East, Mumbai

We had drifted quite far from civilization and into strange seas. But being the explorers that we are, we decide to ride these seas and find the lands hidden in them. Sailing through the tranquil oceanscape, me eyes spotted a huge temple in the horizon. The temple must be on an island of course so we set out towards that temple and lo behold soon enough me lookout announced the approaching land. 

This island be a strange sight and I don't mean that in the flora and fauna way. There were rarely any restaurants here. After walking a bit, I spotted a small tavern called Grandmama's Cafe. There was something about this place, it was calling out to me. So it was decided, me and the lads will eat our lunch at this Nana's grub house.

Captains Note : This is a long post me readers but its also me favorite one. I poured me blood and sweat into it. Possibly some coffee too. I would love it if ye read it till the end. Thank ya.

The entrance looked quite idiosyncratic. I mean how often does one see an actual bicycle pinned on the signboard. Was it because the kid in the ET Movie somehow ran into the board while flying? Regardless of the mystery, it certainly was eye catching. Grandmama's Cafe's entrance reflected a mix of Victorian era, 60's India and a modern cafe culture.  As obvious from the pictures, the place has both an Al Fresco and an indoor dining. Not wanting to be the dense adventurous bloke who wants to sweat it out on a hot day, I went inside.

The indoor ambiance gives a very comforting and a warm feeling. It reminded me of my time at Ville Vandre but GM Cafe is much larger and comfortable. The music is subtle, no in your ear pop music. The walls are adorned with artifacts which are personal possessions of the owners, some of them literally being family heirlooms. The personal touch is strong on this one. The cafe is managed by the latest generation of the family behind well known Pritam group of hotels.

The owners have lovingly decorated the cafe and its visible on the walls, the ceiling and even the door. And they are personally present on the premises at most times. Unlike most cafes now days which follow a standard cookie cutter model, GM has actually taken a different route and offered something unique. Dadar East isn't as famous as the west side but this place definitely is a highlight of this district. In fact going by all my food experiences so far, I'd say Grandmama's Cafe was among my top five experiences in India.

The service was ample and professional. The Cafe was quite crowded when I had come and yet the service was sufficient, no table without a Captain. It was expected from a hospitality group that has been around for more than sixty years. What was unexpected was that the Cafe was doing such brisk business on only its tenth day. My expectations were growing larger by the minute.

Country Lemonade was a mixture of lemon and sweet orange juice. Unlike regular lemonades, this was sweet with very little acidity. It acted as both a refreshing drink and a nice palate cleanser in between different dishes. The taste was pleasant and subtle. No high notes of sweetness or tartness anywhere. Though a good drink, it does run the risk of facing criticism from normal diners who associate any term with the word lemonade as a sour desi shikanji.

Grandmama's Homemade Ravioli was a dish made from the owner's Grandmama's personal recipe. It was love at first bite for me. The dish can easily make a Le Cordon Bleu graduate jealous. The flavor was soulful with a mix of pumpkin gravy and a dill cream cheesy broth with a touch of sage. This spicy liquid was quite the aromatic elixir and the ravioli was one with the liquid.

The dish was vegetarian but easily one of the best preparations that I have ever had, in my life. I scraped the vessel clean, if that is any indicator of how much I savored this. The dish was a house specialty made with a family recipe thus it cannot be found anywhere else.

Captain : My head is shaking from the explosion of vibrant flavors in this dish.

Crewmate : If that actually happens, can I be the Captain?

BBQ Chicken Pizza - I love how GM manages to pull off a diverse menu without any flaws. This tasted much similar to BBQ pizza at any decent pizzeria. Large chunks of barbecued chicken with an adequate drizzling of BBQ sauce and a generous amount of cheese on a flat base made this a sumptuous pizza. It was quite light as well. Though not the best variant of a BBQ pizza, it was a steal for being a nine inch pizza at only INR 210. There are places that sell just one slice of bad quality pizza for that amount.

Keema Pav was said to be a house specialty if Twitter was anything to go by. I am extra skeptical about frenzied folks on twitter using phrases like mind blowing, awesome and spot on. However try as much as I did, this dish had no flaw in it. It was a delectable lamb curry with just the right amount of onion, tomato and it was embellished with masala.

The fries added a crunch element, one has to mix the fries in the curry before eating. I think I will have to agree with the social media folks on this one. This was the most perfect Keema pav I have had. It wasn't mind blowing, it was mind warping. It would take you to the land of fine food in an emotional ecstasy or should I say ecs-tasty.

Captain : The Grandma who made this must be the Grand Master of cooks worldwide.

Crewmate : Maybe we can enlist our hack of a ship cook in her class.

Captain : He won't probably come back after he starts cooking that good.

Chicken Tariwala. Coming from a North Indian household where Punjabi home cuisine was used quite a bit, this flavor felt very familiar to me. Indeed, it was the same thing I last had fifteen years ago at home. With the advent of fast food and dining out culture, this old home favorite was forgotten in the pages of time. It almost made my eyes moist upon tasting what I had left behind and the beauty of things from the past.

This coriander chicken curry with North Indian spices felt very home made but light and whole compared to things like Chicken Makhani or Shalimar. Again at 180 INR, it was quite a steal.

Bibji Ki Achari Khichdi was a mix of the classic homemade Khichdi rice with pickles at the bottom. The treasure trove of spices and the buried pickle boosted the flavor of the legume rice to a different level altogether. The tanginess from the pickles was quite addicting. My spoon kept diving to eat more grub from the bottom, until I realized that I had completely devoured everything. The restaurant's Grandma theme was playing quite well as far as food was concerned.

Done with the mains, I sampled some of Cafe GM's fine desserts. There were a lot of choices so my four were a small sample. And to note, all desserts were of high quality. Identical to what I find in patisseries inside five star hotels.

Blueberry Cheesecake was an unbaked eggless variant similar to that found in most pastry shops across Mumbai. But GM had used a superior biscuit base and the pastry had a much better flavor than the run of the mill blueberry cheesecakes. For one, the blueberry actually tasted like real blueberry and compote rather than the syrupy flavor I feel elsewhere including at places like Indigo.

Caramel and Chocolate Mousse was one of the newer additions to the menu. It definitely was artistically presented looking at its shape and chocolate sauce graffiti. The mousse was quite airy with a soft base. This was a milk chocolate mousse which was sweet and creamy. There was a hint of caramel in the undertones. Not that I didn't like it, I still felt that this could do much better with either more salted caramel or Toffee sauce and a little less milk chocolate sweetness.

Grandmama's Biscuit Cake was very humbly named for the absolute delight that it was. This was a crunchy biscuit sandwich filled and topped with rich, creamy and dense Chocolate ganache. The popcorn at the top added extra crunchiness. The ganache was made out of dark chocolate and felt of premium quality. Each bite into the pastry would make the ganache bleed out like a never ending waterfall or Chocofall. Richly sweet, mildly bitter and a whole lot of crunchy - This was easily my favorite dessert at GM cafe. I am salivating as I write about it, maybe I should have toned down on the detail ha.

Captain : This cake be like Beethoven's melody.

Crewmate : Pray tell how Captain?

Captain : The balanced rich flavor, the creaminess and the crunchiness are all in sweet harmony.

Crewmate : That makes no sense apart from the sweet part.

Captain : Ah! perfido – Per pietà, non dirmi addio.

Crewmate : Neither does that.

Baked Philadelphia Cheesecake was a good quality Cheesecake. It tasted quite similar to Starbucks now discontinued Lemon Jazz cheesecake which was my favorite dessert at Starbucks. This was a true baked cheesecake made with cream cheese and eggs. The glazing at the top provides the lemon undertones which again was a welcome addition.

Mandarin orange and Jasmine Green Tea. I was rather full by this time feeling quite heavy and sluggish. I may have had food equal to a small army's rations and lunch time had become tea time. Drinking green tea was an ideal way to beat sluggishness. This tea takes five minutes to reach its ideal flavor and to make sure that you don't mess it up with your smartphone stop timers, they even provide you this little trio of sand glasses.

After the five minutes pass, one can use the piston in the serving jar to re mix the ingredients and push out more flavors from the leaves. Then one can serve themselves a fine cup of tea on a lazy afternoon. This brew had an almost magical flavor of floral senses. There was an undertone of Mandarin but the flavor was dominated by Jasmine.

I have had green tea before but never have I found such a perfect infusion of floral themes in tea. So there indeed is a difference between real green tea and conveyor belt green tea. GM's Green tea carried a mesmerizing enchantment of some sort. My sluggishness was gone and I could easily march a dozen miles.

Captain : This easily beats Earl grey in the afternoon lad.

Crewmate : Woah, you are starting to sound like a Navy Admiral Cappy.

Captain : This tea is for refined palates lad. Its incomprehensible for most scallywags such as yourself.

Crewmate : Aww, that hurts Cappy. 

Captain : Worry not lad. I will make it up to ya. You are in charge of hull and deck sanitation services next week.

Crewmate : That sounds fancy :)....hey wait...isn't that a clever way to say deck sweeping ?

The pricing at Grandmama's cafe is quite light. I mean its cheaper than a meal for two at McDonalds while offering far better quality, portion sizes and Grandmama's love. Its perhaps the best priced restaurant I have found in Mumbai.

This was quite a long post but I usually let the inspiration from an experience dictate my writing. Grandmama's Cafe was perhaps one of the best Cafe experiences that I have ever had. The food was excellent, flavorsome, well priced. The ambiance was comforting and inspiring. The service was excellent and the menu had diverse options. The special Grandmama's recipes are heart warming and soul touching. Whether you are a vegetarian or a non vegetarian. Indian or a Non Indian. This place is for everyone. I sense that great things will come from this place in the future.

This place was amazing. Great experience and I will come back again and again. My only anxious thought is whether my words did justice to this place. The food was that amazing.

The Captain's Score : 9/10

"The voyage of paradise is over lads. Its the end to our reverie. Now back to the rough seas for us. This place be legendary and we WILL be here again someday."

Map Co-Ordinates
Grandmama's Cafe

Shop 5, Near Swaminarayan Mandir,

Pritam Estate,

Dadar East, Mumbai

-I was invited by the restaurant to sample grub hence it was on the house. I have fallen in love with the food though and this place is definitely among my top five experiences in Mumbai-

Amaya Indian Grill & Kitchen - Kurla West, Mumbai

Tis' was a perfect sunny day and I was on me relaxing chair on the deck looking up at the clouds above the sea. The cries of the seagulls reminded me that despite no shores in sight, we were quite close to a coast. Without warning an innocuous piece paper flew in from nowhere and fell flat on my face. Startled, I sat upright and saw what the paper was. To me surprise, it was a restaurant flyer telling me about a new place and it invited the reader for a tasting. Not one to give up free grub, I immediately ordered the crew to set course for the nearest coast.

Phoenix Market City is one of the biggest malls in India and Asia. So all trips made here feel a bit special to me. There is always something new to explore and in the past few months a lot of new restaurants have become operational over here. The place is so large that it should probably have its own pin/zip code.

Amaya was quite easy to find as its close to the main entrance. This serves as a strategic advantage as Amaya is one of the many restaurants in the mall. It would face a tough competition though. How will it fare? Only time shall tell.

Amaya is a small restaurant with an area closer to that of a cafe. The place has a feeling of brand new all over it. It felt pristine and evoked a sense of romance. This feeling is best described as "this moment will never happen again so savor it while you can". The ambiance felt mixed. Despite being a North Indian eatery, the decor feels like a mix of a European cafe, a Victorian wall and some Rajput influences. The lighting felt just right. It illuminated the walls but was not in your face bright. Quite a comforting ambiance but it did not feel typical of a North Indian installation.

I was invited by Bellona Hospitality (is a subsidiary of the group that owns the Phoenix malls) along with some other Bloggers and Zomans as part of a tasting session. Our grub was part of a fixed taster's menu which included a large course of appetizers and a generous number of mains.

Punjabi Lasooni Kebabs were well textured, well marinated, yoghurt infused and flavorful kebabs. The garlicky core would often make these addicting to the taste buds. Each bite would bring out the flavor within. A classic well played.

Hare Mirch aur Dhania Ki Tikki could use a smaller name as that would help people remember this tasty delight. This was the best appetizer amongst the ones served to me. The core taste was dominated by a Cheddar cheese base with balanced flavor from the coriander and spice. Despite their simple appearance, they pack a pleasant surprise within.

Captain : These Tikkis could be mistaken for Gold coins if I go by the taste.

Crewmate : Or Cheese Coins.

Captain : Well put. Here is a coin for your efforts.

Crewmate : Hey! Thats a worn copper coin from your pocket. Where is my Tikki?

Pahadi Murgh Tikka had a strong mint(pudhina) flavor within. Even its aroma was infused with the mint. The meat however felt a little hard and there were quite many overdone areas as visible in the picture. The overall experience was still good but the blackened areas affected the aesthetic appeal of the item.

Lamb Gilafi Seekh Kebab was a little too tangy and tart for me. I suppose it originated from the cilantro added in its mix. While the item had a good appearance and texture, the flavor suffered a bit.This could however very well been a teething problem.

Noorani Seekh Kebab is a vegetarian kebab with a tricky name. I initially assumed that it was a meat kebab till I actually saw it. However, that did not deter me from devouring it like a ravenous monster. The minced vegetables and seasoning complemented each other like Romeo and Juliet.

Karare Macchi had a crunchy coating but the soft gooey Basa within proved to be anti climatic. I do feel that a different fish should have been used for this. Basa is too over used and feels like a misfit in some places and dishes.

Bharwan Aloo was an aromatic and piquant preparation. Despite the humble appearance, each morsel was full of tasty potato and spices. The undertones of Tomato gave it a very Lucknow like feel. One slight issue however was that it was far too soft. It would literally melt in the mouth which shouldn't be the case for this preparation.

Captain : I'd love my potato to be like this. 

Crewmate : It feels very soft for Bharwan Aloo.

Captain : Is that bad? No worries lad, I shall have yours too then.

Hara Bhara Kebab felt quite off to me. It felt too spinachy and less kebaby. This item is usually a safe choice for me at many restaurants but Amaya's version did not work well with me. The potato content felt too low as the flavor was completely dominated by the peas, spinach and cumin seeds. It also was far too soft as compared to all other Hara Bhara Kebabs that I have had.

While the appetizers had their hits and misses, for me the highlight of the Amaya experience were their mains. The Gharana style cooking made the mains a pleasant experience rivaled only by the best of fine dines.

Kadhai Paneer had delectable chunks of Paneer tossed into a thick gravy made of creamy tomato sauce and cilantro. The flavor was balanced well and no ingredient dominated the flavor solely. The creamy flavor felt comforting to the taste buds and the Paneer satiated the appetite created by the wonderful aroma. The pedigree of the Gharana style cooking made this variant several times superior to all other Kadai Paneer variants that I have had.

Murg Makhani or Butter chicken is one of my favorite dishes. It is one that I have had across many restaurants in India. And I must admit that this variant would easily be in my top three Butter chicken experiences. The gravy consistency was perfect. The Tomato flavoring was mild and appropriate. The creamy flavor could make a glutton out of the purest man. There was a slight sweetness that acted as the pivot to the flavor balance.

The best part was that the chicken chunks were all well done. The chicken was cut into some kind of cuboid pieces rather than random shapes elsewhere. There were no bones, burnt edges or taste anomalies in any part of the dish. The flavor had sunk in quite well into the meat. I would come to Amaya again just for the Butter chicken. Its definitely the best that I have had in Mumbai.

Captain : This is positively one of the best Butter Chicken dishes that I have ever had. 

Crewmate : This is the best Better Chicken that I have ever had.

Captain : Better chicken? You mean Butter chicken. Is your tongue slipping on the cream?

Dal Makhani had a tantalizing aroma but an atypical color. I am used to seeing darkened and almost brown color for Dal Makhani everywhere. The flavor was good with the butter enriching every morsel. But its consistency had a small problem. It was a little thinner than usual. Dal Makhani is supposed to be thick and dense. It went great with the Amaya Special Naans, then again everything went great with the Amaya specials.

Amaya Special Butter Naan deserves a special mention here. It was among the tastiest breads that I ever had anywhere. It looked like a rainbow on a Naan. The appearance was colorful due to the different herbs present on it. All these spices and herbs enriched the flavor to something truly spectacular. It complimented Butter chicken and Dal Makhani very well. Regardless of what one orders as a main, this naan should form the bread part of the order.

Captain: I would like to meet the chef who made this Naan.

Crewmate : And compliment him?

Captain : No, recruit him in me crew.

Kache Murg Ki Bhuni Biryani looked peculiar to me. It was my first time with a Dum Purdah style Biryani. It is basically covering the Biryani with a roti like dough. The dough preserves a lot of aroma and warmth inside. The chicken chunks in the Biryani were quite juicy and tasty. The rice also was flavorsome and delicious. Yet there was a problem with this Biryani.

The Chicken and Rice felt like two beautiful yet unhappy partners forced to be together. The flavors had not been married together. I supposed this too was a teething problem since everything else seemed perfect about this dish.

Paan Ice Cream provided a fitting end to a good Amaya story. This ice cream had a rich flavor of Paan(Betel nut leaves and Areca nut) which served as a palate cleanser, mouth freshener and a Dessert. All into one. The crushed Saunf (Fennel Seeds) also added to the above effects. I thought that it was quite odd for a North Indian place to serve ice cream as dessert but the Paan flavor made it shudh desi.

Captain : This is the Indian peppermint.

Crewmate(chuckles) : Or peppermint is the western Paan.

Captain : Trying to be clever, are ya lad?

The service was satisfactory. The servers were polite but they often lacked information on dishes. So a bit of polishing up on the service would be nice.

The pricing is higher than the average casual dining place but lesser than places like Zaffran. For the quality that was served to us, I felt that the prices were well justified.

To round this up, I shall just say one thing - If this place was close to my home, I would regularly come here for the Murgh Makhani and Amaya Special Naan. Amaya is a new restaurant which has got most of its notes in the right place. The food (especially the mains) is fantastic.

And, I will add a special note here -  the food was surprisingly light. I often feel heavy after my North Indian food outings but I felt no such thing here. Some of the grub appeared oily but yet did not feel oily nor heavy.

The Captain's Score : 9/10

"It feels sad to depart lads but onward we must go. Its a long way back to the ship and a longer voyage out on the sea."

Map Co-Ordinates
Amaya Indian Grill & Kitchen

Ground Floor, Phoenix Marketcity,
LBS Road,
Kurla West, Mumbai

Phone :  022 60508084


-I was invited to wine and dine at the establishment as part of a connoisseur meet. -

Punjab Grill - Andheri West, Mumbai

I was sailing to one of me favorite spots of the ocean. I knew these waters so well that I could steer the helm with me eyes closed. The winds were favorable and the ship steadily moved towards the south. The lads were upbeat and there was almost a carnival on the deck. Our destination for this voyage was a place called Punjab Grill. Those big lion faces on the entrance always fascinated me. The time to discover what lies beyond those gates is upon us. What lies ahead...well read on mate.

The Lions beckon you inside. They literally do. I have seen other branches of Punjab Grill in far off malls. Those lit up lions have always fascinated me. I have been curious about what lies beyond those gates for a long while. And as the universe would have it, I received an invitation from Food Bloggers Association of India to join in for a "Connoisseurs Experience" over here.

Punjab Grill without a doubt has one of the most impressive facades that I have ever seen. In a world where people judge a book by it's cover, Punjab Grill enthralls the viewers completely. In fact, one can even hear an adult Simba voice calling you inside in a jovial Punjabi accent. "Oye, come inside."

Well I finally opened those doors as I walked into the gleaming golden light of this Punjabi Safari. I was welcomed in by two smiling hostesses who appeared to be genuine with their emotions. I have had frightening memories of Air Hostesses smiling at me when their mood was clearly not happy.

The restaurant has a moderate sized dining area with a Bar-lounge and a main dining area. The lounge appears quite special with its artistic lamps and mesmerizing artifacts. Though the lighting isn't your typical dim dark types, the lounge does well to blend in Punjabi themes.

The main area has comfy looking seats and a very family themed atmosphere. Under the Golden lights, its easy to enjoy the meal with some light talk.

A special table was set up for our group within the lounge and it felt quite awesome to have that lovely lounge all for ourselves.

Jamun Ice Tea is a house invention. Its a time when restaurants are busy fusing Western and Desi cuisines in hopes of coming up with a legendary creation. Punjab Grill is up on their game with this. The distinct sweet and slightly bitter flavor of Jamun dominates the taste. Indian Spices and tea give it depth making it more of a Jamun Masala Ice Tea. This is definitely a first time for me.

A true Punjabi fare needs a real drink. And hence came in the Bloody Mary or as Punjab Grill likes to calls it - Bloody Chameli. Again breaking convention, this was served in a short glass instead of a high ball and the Chilli really put a Desi touch to it. Although, its shape made it resemble a tomato with the chilli resembling the green on top. The Tomato and Tabasco were strong on this and I felt that the Vodka was mild.

Pickled Olive Bhel is a Western Twist to a Desi special because it gets boring to give Desi Twists to Western dishes all the time. A little Bhel background over here - I dislike it completely, abhorring it most of the time.  However, this Bhel was different. It was Bhel by taste but somehow it didn't repulse me. The pickled Olives were sour and tangy. This gave this old staple a new dimension. A true twist of taste.

Captain : This is good. Savory.

Crewmate : You meant Savvy right?

Captain : Do I look like Jack Sparrow to you?

Tandoori Guchchi is a vegetarian appetizer that could be given to carnivores when they are abstaining from meat. Using the prized French Morchella mushrooms in a Punjabi Tandoori twist is quite a bold step. But boldly going where no man has ever gone before does have its rewards. Having the sponginess of Paneer, these mushrooms tasted great on their own. The flavor of the sauces and spices had gone down quite deep. It also goes well with the dressing provided. Its a shame that I didn't go for seconds for this. The smell, the flavor and the plating were all splendid.

Captain : This is a great Paneer with spices.

Crewmate : Its actually Guchichi or Morel Mushrooms.

Captain : Wow, that would make a good Paneer too.

Murg Malai Tikka was almost a perfect preparation. The meat was just the right rare and the flavor was present uniformly in and around the meat. The salty - tangy flavor would pamper my taste buds while the meat would literally melt in the mouth. I may be a bit biased here as I love this appetizer and I have had it too many times to remember. But then that means a lot when I say that it tasted so well.

Norwegian Salmon Tikka was one of the highlights of the day. Extending the popular recipe of Norwegian Salmon to a Tikka format was a move well played. The kebabs were marinated with spices and served with a dollop of Saffron Aioli. The meat was medium rare by text book definition. The Kebabs were super soft and would break easily. The flavor of the Salmon combined with the spices and the tangy-savory Aioli was something that won over everyone. It was a hot Desi experience while sailing the cold Norwegian Sea.

Captain : We should sail to the Norwegian sea just for this.

Crewmate : If you liked it that much, we could just come here again.

Captain : Ah, that works too mate.

Tawa Grilled Prawns was a pan fried prawn dish. Personal experience suggests that pan grilled prawns usually tend to be a little dryer and more crunchy. While the well cooked Prawn flesh went great with pickled Lemon marinade, I did feel that a little more peeling would have been nice. The thin shell was difficult to remove after being cooked and became a bit of an annoyance. I am no expert in Prawn recipes but I do favor peeled and deveined prawns.

Chaamp Taajdar was a tri-bone meat lollipop. The meat was succulent and flavorsome with spices blending in quite well. But I did feel that uniformity had a slight problem here. The meat was uneven and was difficult to extract from some regions of the bone triplet. From some areas it would come off quite well while some others ran a risk of chewing thin bone off. Since the marinade had drizzled over the extending bone as well, it was a bit messy to eat this little morsel.

Paneer Malai Pede was perhaps the best Paneer dish that I have ever had. I am not saying this lightly. The Paneer was made in an unorthodox way and as a result it was almost like a "Peda" or "Modak" made out of Paneer. The small soft paneer balls would melt in the mouth leaving an aftertaste of cream and spices behind. The consistency was unique. Never have I found Paneer that tastes like this. I found myself swooning to the absolute delight that this dish was. I could shout from the rooftops or hilltops rather that this was great.

Captain : This looks like a yellow universe with Soft Paneer stars and spicy planets.

Crewmate : And I feel like Galactus devouring this cheesy universe.

Captain : It feels great to have Galactus scrub the decks for me.

Rarhya Meat was an average fare. While the dish appeared great in appearance, I found it a bit too oily for my liking. The curry consistency was not thick enough either. It felt more like a thick soup than a curry.

Dal Panjratni is usually made of five different Lentils. Though the appearance indicates the dominance of one lentils with minor aesthetic additions of the other four, the taste resembled the common Dal Fry found everywhere with a bit of homely spicy flavor.

Punjab Grill's Butter Chicken suffered from what I call as a "Tomato deluge". This happens in quite a few Punjabi/Mughlai serving places. Butter Chicken is one of my favorites and a dish that I have had in several dozen different restaurants. The tomato puree should usually be balanced to prevent it from overpowering the flavor. Over here the gravy didn't even feel that it belonged to a meat dish. The creaminess felt lacking, the savory salty flavor was absent - The Tomato had conducted a hostile takeover of the flavors.

Captain : This Dish is too much of Tomatoes.

Crewmate : Is it more than the tomato in your Bloody Mary?

Captain : Its more than the tomato in La Tomatina.

Mango Sorbet with Pomelo was somewhat of an intermediate dessert served to us as our main dessert was under preparation. While I loved the sweet-sour Mango and Pomelo liquid, I wasn't entirely fond of the onion like strands and spices at the top. They felt like a mismatch to an otherwise great invention. Almost like Jack Black appearing on the cast of "The Expendables".

The Summer Dessert platter was a mix of fruits, caramel, Special Churros and Desi treats. While I enjoyed the visual aspect of it, I did feel that it had a bit of a "Jack of all trades" thing to it. It is a new item that is being added to the menu for Summers only. The theme does play well with the fruits. The Litchi with caramel sauce tasted quite great. The Churros which were made out of Jalebi flour were clearly the highlight of the platter. Although dipping them in mango puree and Raas Malai did feel odd. I felt that a flavored Lassi shot in the platter would have done wonders for the Punjabi theme.

Captain : I am confused lad. This looks beautiful yet a bit unsatisfying. 

Crewmate : I quite like the Churros.

Captain : Oye, save some for me or I am tossing you overboard in the high seas.

This Punjabi voyage reached its end with the Paan shot. This was a sweet minty Paan drink which acted as both a palate cleanser and a mouth freshener. I quite enjoyed it and would have loved to have more of it.

The service was good with the servers accurately describing each thing as they served us. And they were quite co-operative for the pictures. Though, one does feel that there is room from improvement.

Punjab Grill feels a bit pricy for the entrée menu while the mains tend to be priced somewhere between a Zaffran and the run of the mill Mughlai restaurants. The starters are really great but could very well do better with a slight pricing shave off.

To wrap this up, the Appetizers were great and their inventions worked well for the most part. Their mains felt a bit lacking with the exception of the Malai Paneer Pede. For a Carnivore like myself, this is could be a peeve. The ambiance is one of this establishment's greatest strengths. It seems to have been done in a very loving and tasteful manner. If the facade impresses you then the interiors will live up to the excitement. Even with the flaws, I very much enjoyed the Punjab Grill experience and do look forward to trying their mall outlets as well.


The Captain's Score : 7/10

"Oye Lads, time to go back to the winds. The Leo constellation awaits us."

Map Co-Ordinates
Punjab Grill
Ground Floor, Morya Landmark - II,

Opposite Infinity Mall, Off Andheri New Link Road,  

Andheri West, Mumbai

Phone :+91 9920302139

-I was invited to a tasting event organized by Food Bloggers Association of India and the restaurant.-