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.-

29 - Kemps Corner, Mumbai

"I noted that me sense of direction is better at sea than on the land. A few minutes back we had landed on this glitzy island of fun. But we were completely lost in the landlubber's paradise. I asked me men to spread out into different directions and locate our destination. As they dispersed, I along with one of me mateys walked in our chosen path. I saw a strange sight in the distance. It was a map made out of paint cans. And then it hit me, 29 is the number of states in India. This strange place had to be our destination."

"All aboard the Indian Super Express." That was literally the first thing I could think of when I entered 29. It being a really long and narrow community hall, I could feel that I was inside a train of some sort. The restaurant was brand new at the time of my visit. It still had some smell of the newly done paint job. And if that wasn't intriguing enough, the owner Nishek Jain told me that depleted paint cans from the restaurant's paint work were used to make an outline of India at the entrance.

29 sports a simple ambiance, apart from the train like feel. The tables mimic those used in small town restaurants and the decor has a very spartan feel to it. There are two lanes as evident from the pictures with differently done walls and ceiling lights on both sides. 29 literally mixes a city restaurant with a dash of small town culture.

A visibly tired Nishek(Getting a newly done place into service) was looking like a server himself. And the bloke was actually proud of it. He explained how he desired to bring the food of the twenty nine Indian states under one roof. Great Emperors have failed in bringing it all under one roof, could Nishek achieve what they couldn't?

There were some hits and some misses with 29's food. The place has a long way to go before it becomes a popular mainstreamer but it certainly had spirited beginnings.

Nimbu Paani - This was supposed to be a lemonade but I felt that it tasted more like a Jaljeera (cumin spiced water) drink. There was Jaljeera present in it and it overpowered the lemon's sour. I actually think this was a communication error. Jaljeera is usually used as an appetizer in Indian cuisines and this drink did a great job of that.

Following up next was the Four state platter served in a fancy and interesting way. Let me close in on each of the passengers.

Captain : Lets spin tis' thing and pick one of each.

Crewmate : What about the Dilli Chaat Cappy? There is just one of that.

Captain : I will spin first.

The chutneys served with the platter. There is mint, Sanmeholi and Tomato paste.

Potato chops with Assamese Sanmeholi Chutney. These tasted like soft potato cutlets with some onion and garlic thrown in. This complimented very well with the Sanmeholi Chutney which literally translates to mixed green chutney. The chutney is made out of garden herbs and chilies. This could make a great snack.

Dilli Chat is a mix mash of Samosas, crunchy poppadoms, Namak Pare(Salty Indian fried snacks) and pakodas. It was topped with sev and curd. Visibly, it does emulate Dilli chat with that edible basket bowl. It had the right amount of savory as well but what I felt was lacking was the right amount of chatpata. It lacked the spicy tangy kick that was expected of it. And the basket had a blistered texture which could be a turn off to food photographers.

Bharwan Khumb is one of the few known mushroom based Indian delicacies. I have usually associated this with the frontier Punjabi cuisine though its billed as Garwahli(Mountainous Uttarkhand State) delicacy at 29. This is usually supposed to be made of the Khumb mushrooms which may resemble button mushrooms. The mushrooms were apparently stuffed with spices, a bit of cheese and fried with a batter coating. Truth be said, I felt that the flavor was insipid. I could not sense the stuffing. And the batter coating seems to be atypical to this dish. It robs the dish of its naturally soft textured appearance.

Jodhpuri Pyaz Kachori (Jodhpur's fried Onion dumplings) was a delicacy from Rajasthan. This was the highest point of the four state platter. Figuratively and literally(It was at the highest position of the serving contraption) both. The outer shell was made of flour mixed with semolina, carom seeds and milk. It had more flavor depth than samosa like deep fried dumplings.

The stuffing was made of potatoes, onion, peas with spices and seeds. The appearance was not only colorful, befitting of the foodporn tag but the flavor was like a book in which each page was a separate story. Several shades of savory and salty entwined into a masterpiece that tantalized the tongue.

Mizoram Lal Hara Chaat was more than lal hara(Red Green) with a significant amount of Peela(yellow) as well. This was served as a palate cleanser but eh it had too much of a flavor of its own. This tasted exactly like the sprouts-gram salad that I have at home which I admittedly am not too fond of.

Dalimbichi with Usal ani Arbi Amti The dish was as difficult to capture on camera as its pronunciation. But it was quite a soulful dish. The sweet and sour colocasia(Arbi) curry had the flavors of rural Maharashtra. The dry field beans(Usal) tasted earthy and were great when mixed with rice and the curry.
This may be a simple looking dish but the flavors speak volumes.

Captain : I can never pronounce tis' right but I still love it.

Crewmate : Maybe you should have brought along the linguist to remember it.

Captain : We have a linguist?!! 

Crewmate : Somehow I feel you have said that before.

Kashmiri Paneer Rolls were a vegetarian avatar of the famed Kashmiri meat Rolls. The rich red gravy inside and the bread seemed to be an accurate emulation though the paneer felt a little too big. The flavor had not wrapped well around the paneer. Methinks this would have worked better with smaller cubes or minced paneer.

Litti Chokha with Baigan Bharta - Litti Chokha is literally stuffed bread eaten in the states of Bihar and Jharkhand. Though its mostly stuffed with minced meat, a purely vegetarian variant is quite popular too. The breads here were well cooked. Too well cooked actually. A little blackening would have helped it gaining a smoky rural flavor which is very much enjoyed in the North (This is an actual practice).

The stuffing was flavorful with minced greens and spices. The breads and mashing went really well together. The Baigan Bharta (Cooked Aubergine) however felt a bit out of place though that could be due to my personal dislike of the bitter vegetable.

The breads should not have bisected before serving. That would have helped retain the internal aroma which largely escaped by the time the dish reached the table.

Kanpuri Tikka Pulav was a delectable rice preparation. I wouldn't know how much influence did Kanpur actually have in it since the flavor resembled a vegetable herbed pulav found at many places in Mumbai. The only element that could perhaps have been from Kanpur city were the twin paneer add ons. The Spicy red paneer tikka and the makhani yellow versions faced each other in some sort of duel over the rice. These cheeses independently tasted great though they appeared like post work additions hence played very little influence on the rice itself.


I felt that there was a lack of diversity in the desserts served. One could find twenty nine desserts in twenty nine states but I cannot seem to bring myself to sing paeans about what was served to us.

Kesar Malai Ke Ladoo were fragrant, soft and spongy dumplings with little sugar and had a saffron flavoring. These felt incredibly light and pleasant flavored. Would be quite the treat for those with low sugar tolerance.

Captain : This be a soft affair.

Crewmate : Tasty affair too.

Captain : Wait a minute, did ya eat all of them?

Crewmate : Sorry Captain, I could not hold meself.

Captain : Guess who is getting Deckswe...no toilet scrubbing duties this week.

Mawa Jalebi with Kesar Rabadi had a remarkably different color and texture from the everyday street side Jalebis that I am used to. These were made of flour mixed with Mawa(Reduced Milk) and fried in good quality oil before being bathed in the sugar syrup. The taste seemed to mimic regular jalebis. But it had a better aroma. These were served with saffron infused Rabdi which I could not get to taste.

The service has a lot of room for improvement. There were a lot of teething issues and the desserts were delayed by quite a bit. The servers need to know about the vast array of dishes or at least have cheat sheets. They were clueless on many of the dishes. Their demeanor however was good and the crew was polite.

The Pricing seems fair for the portion sizes served. It is the kind that encourages patrons to come again after a good experience.

The food felt like an eclectic mix of cuisines from all over India. I think the essence of this place truly comes out when one orders stuff from one region instead of many. Ordering from many different regions tends to make a person feel that there isn't much diversity. Its simply a case of a palate suffering from several cultural shocks in a short period of time.

One should stick to one or two states instead of several. So the place is worth several trips and each time a different experience can be lived. In fact, one could even sit under the certain state nameplates and order food from those regions. Sounds like an interesting idea.

The Captain's Score : 7/10

"Some done, many to go. We will ride our sails and come back to this place some day again."

Map Co-Ordinates
29

Ground Floor, Mohammedbhay Mansion,
Near Cumballa Hill Hospital,
Kemps Corner, Mumbai


-I was invited to a Bloggers table meet by the restaurants PR.-

 

Gurukripa - Powai, Mumbai

The waves roared as the ship wafted through the coastal seas. Everyone had their eyes fixed on the coast. The lookout confirmed that we had no visual yet. I took out me own glass and studied the coast. We were on the right co ordinates but could not spot our destination. Then someone shouted that a restaurant had been sighted on the other side. We were looking at the wrong side. Upon moving to the port side, we immediately saw our destination. I removed my looking glass and smiled. "Time to give this salty episode a happy ending lads, its grub time."

So lets be honest, what does one expect when they hear Gurukripa as a name? They expect a traditional South Indian fare in a simplistic Udupi style setting. Did you judge this book by its cover? Shame on ya. Assumptions are always bad. Sometimes, life gives you a lot better than you expected. Despite being on the main road, Gurukripa is a difficult to spot gem. So lets call it a "not quite so hidden but difficult to spot" Gem. Geez, I guess hidden gem sounds easier.
 

The place has both an Al Fresco and an indoor area. However, one would be crazy to sit outside in the sweltering summers of Mumbai. I had come here with a small group of friends with similar food interests. We figured that as a group we could experience more of the menu than one person could. So there we sat around the dining table like the Avengers around a conference table deciding what to eat.

Gurukripa leaves the stereotype of the typical Udupi restaurants down in the dust. It has a classy ambiance with artistically finished walls. The indoors are further divided into a main area and three private rooms upstairs on the mezzanine floor. The main area has a typical restropub feel to it and feels real cozy. There is a proper bar counter with an experienced bartender as well. Methinks, it lived well up to its name, Gurukripa (God's Grace).

At the time of our visit, the restaurants ambiance had been given a festive touch with IPL merchandise all over. In fact, there were even live sized cut outs of players at the door. I am told that the ambiance looks even more classy at dinner time. And the pictures certainly attest to that.

With a little chatter and banter, the group decided to have some grog and appetizers.

Strawberry Punch - Was a strawberry drink which bordered somewhere between a smoothie and a milkshake. The taste was rich and had a natural tang to it which made it well worthy of being called a Punch. Punch your senses up to a new high...wait that sounds wrong.

Captain : Sweet and thick.

Crewmate : Tangy and smooth.

Captain. Yes...Hey wait ! Did you take a sip of me drink?

Mango Blossom was very much similar to my drink. Just remove strawberry and add Mango. The consistency and the milkiness were similar. It did have a very summer like aroma to it which kind of explains why its called Blossom.

Virgin Pinacolada was surprisingly good. Here I thought that without the rum it would lose its typical flavor but the mixer did a great job retaining the flavor sans the alcohol. This goes on to show that a good bartender can perform well in any conditions. It also tells me that I forgot my own wisdom nut about assumptions a few paragraphs above.

To Conclude, I feel that Gurukripa is quite a great place to get your grog fix. 

Moving on to the appetizers.

Grilled Chicken with Black Pepper - This was a tasty snack with lightly moist chicken and an essence of pepper. Could be quite addicting and you may forget that you have to eat mains later. It was quite aromatic and well plated. As an improvement, the spice quotient could very well have been a bit higher.

Chicken Ghee Roast is a true hidden gem within Manglorean cuisine. Its not something that one would find in many places within Mumbai. Unless you are traveling to Mangalore, have this in Mumbai right here at Gurukripa. This was a well marinated and roasted chicken. It was then coated with ghee and spices. This was my first time with this dish. Spicy, tangy and savory at the same time like a tricolor of tastes that tease your taste buds. If you are a carnivore then this dish is an absolute must. In fact if you are a dish trailblazer, a trip to Gurukripa just for this is well worth the effort.

Captain : I never knew you could make such a tasty thing with good ol ghee.

Crewmate : This is like a sea of flavors.

Captain : And we are on a quest to find them all.

Crunchy Mushrooms was a fried snack made out of Mushroom caps and cheese stuffing. They were plated excellently in a manner that made them more appetizing. Mushrooms have been overused for stuffing around the world but some people just do it better. The deep fried batter encasing the Mushroom gave it an unexpected but welcome crunchiness. I am a big fan of creativity and I loved what they did with this dish here.

Filled with my share of appetizers, I moved to the mains.

Just a few years ago, I won't have known what a Neer Dosa is. But with the expansion of South Indian cuisine within Mumbai itself, it was a matter of time before Neer Dosa became mainstream. Its like you suddenly discover after a whole life of eating brown chocolates that white chocolates exist too. But if that was not enough, you also discover that the white chocolates that you have had so far were all an imitation. Sad story indeed.

These Neer dosas or rice batter dosas were soft melt in your mouth types. They had a shiny appearance which made them appear a tad bit oily but I felt that this was an optical illusion.

Captain : What if I told you that lentil brown dosas are not the only ones in existence?

Crewmate : Then, I would ask you to stop playing your Morpheus routine with me.

Chicken Malwani is an excellent coastal dish which I have had in many places before. Surprisingly, each place had its own variation with a basic underlying taste. Gurukripa's variant was succulent and decent. But I felt that the chef should have added spice to the gravy for flavoring rather than adding chopped green chillies separately from the top. This caused a slight off beat flavor which felt alien to the dish's central theme.

Nonetheless, it went great with the Neer Dosa. I would like to thank our server Rajendra for recommending this excellent combination.

Gadbad is an Indian Sundae that is found in many Mumbai eateries. Usually treated as a haphazard mixture, it seems to have lost his sheen over the decades. However, Gurukripa revives the old favorite with its own touch. It is made with Vanilla , Mango and a hint of strawberry ice cream. And added to it is an assortment of local tropical fruits. The jelly at the lowest level provided both flavor and aesthetic beauty to this concoction. Topped with raisins and a wafer biscuit, it was made to please both the eyes and the tongue.
Dive your spoon into this sweet sea of sundaeness and treat yourself to a truly divine dessert.

Captain : Deep within the sea of ice cream lies the fabled red jelly. 

Crewmate : But as you travel towards the bottom you also find semi sunken treasures in fruity forms.

Captain : And as you rise back to the top, you see a magnificent wafer standing grand like a lighthouse.

Crewmate : I reckon that we both should be high on dessert at the same time Cappy.

The service was excellent and it was nice to know a server who was well informed on the menu. Our group felt like a bunch of lost musicians who desperately needed a conductor. Our server Rajendra fit well into that role guiding us with the house specials and flavor combinations.

Gurukripa's pricing could be slightly more than the traditional Udupi joints but then it also provides a superior standard. Its pricing I feel is equivalent to most North Indian/Mughlai type restaurants in Mumbai. I did feel however that the non alcholic drinks were expensive in comparison to other restropubs. In terms of the whole experience, I feel the prices do well.

To wrap this up, I will say that Gurukripa is definitely one of the better South Indian eateries in Mumbai. Its humble name may put off stylish connoisseurs but if you are one for the food then march straight away to dine at Gurukripa.

The Captain's Score : 7/10

"All right lads, the ship wont sail by itself. Time to raise the anchor and venture back into the ocean's mist."

Map Co-Ordinates
Gurukripa

55, Thunga Village,
Saki Vihar Road,  
Powai, Mumbai

Phone : 022 28578763

-Me and a few food friends were invited to visit the establishment-