Oral Orgasm...

Kwality Walls (tm) vanilla ice cream with Dabur (tm) honey. Awesome!

I wanted to have vanilla with fresh fruits the other weekend. But the local fruit vendor only had hapus aam for Rs 250 a dozen! The "fruit cocktail" (tinned fruits in sugar syrup) were also out because I didn't have a can opener and neither did any shop in Bhakti Part. So I ended up picking a small Dabur Honey bottle instead.

Yummy!

The only problem is that the honey solidifies as soon as it comes in contact with ice cream. Next, I want to blend the honey in the ice cream and enjoy the honey "swirls".

PS: Last time I had brought a brick of vanilla from Amul (tm). For some reason it tasted awful and very artificial. That's why I specially mentioned "Kwality Walls" vanilla ice cream.

Hornby's Pavilion, ITC Grand Central, Lower Parel, Mumbai

There's something about buffets that has started turning me off. You plan for them - almost fast for an entire day ahead of it. You drool at the sight of food once you get there. You heap up your plate for the first helping. And after the first few bites, you suddenly lose your appetite. And then you're simply gorging either for paisa vasool or peer pressure ("Abe tu to itne mein hi khatam ho gaya!") In the end you've paid a very high premium (sometimes a thousand or so per head) for a meal you didn't quite enjoy and which is going to be on your conscience for the next two days (calories!!)

I've had quite a few breakfast buffets at Hornby's Pavilion, ITC Grand Central. At Cleartrip we have this "tradition" (though the higher-ups are desperately trying to "de-tradition" it!) of going out for the breakfast buffet at the Grand Central after a big, early morning release. Add to that a couple of times we've rogered someone on a Sunday morning on the pretext of some treat or the other.

So, the other day, while going home, when we stopped at the ITC Grand Central on an impulse for dinner, I was pretty sure I didn't want to go in for the Rs 875 + taxes dinner buffet.

Instead we ordered for a jalapeño, capsicum, olives, bell peppers 12" pizza (Rs 395) and a vegetarian lasagna (Rs 425). The pizza, although not bad, was nothing to talk home about. It was decent. But the lasagna, was tops! It had Mediterranean vegetables, layers of soft pasta, interspersed with spinach and mozzarella. Now don't ask me what Mediterranean veggies are - that's what the menu said - I saw pieces of pumpkin there too! The taste was awesome. The spinach and med-veggies were giving it a lovely flavour. Just the right amount of cheese, tomatoes, and oregano as well. Most Italian fares that I've had, have an overdose of one of these three ingredients.

I had a look at the dessert buffet, but priced at Rs 600 + taxes, I didn't find it appealing enough.

The food was good, but for a five star hotel, I found the service slightly bad. The place was too crowded, and probably they were not equipped to handle the load.

Whatever said, all in all, a thousand bucks well spent.

Google Map for the ITC Grand Central, Mumbai

Mocha, Mumbai

I discovered two more dishes at Mocha, which make the visit all the more worthwhile. Next time you're there do have the Maggi Arabiatta (Rs 95) or the Scrambled egg on toast (Rs 65). Complete mini-meals in under a hundred bucks each. Both yummy!

Food Inn, Colaba, Mumbai

It's such an unassuming kind of place. You'd never think that this place can dish out such an amazing fare. That too, at such an unbelievably low price.

Two of us had a dal fry + steamed rice for our first helping. It was yummy but didn't suffice for two. Then we ordered for some veg biryani + dal makhani. Amazingly tasty - especially the veg biryani. I'm sure other stuff is as tasty.

IIRC, both of us were stuffed for under two hundred and fifty bucks! This is one joint I'm going back to for decent Indian food.

And yeah, just outside the restaurant is a paanwaala who maked amazing meetha paan. And he's from Kanpur :-) He recognized my bike's UP78 number. Give him a shot too.

Cafe Mocambo, Fort, Mumbai

Cafe Mocambo is the place for club sandwiches and burgers. For a hundred bucks apiece (served with french fries and coleslaw) its value for money. Just one sandwich or burger and you're done for the meal. Do try the chicken club sandwich or the special. A thumbs-up for the Fillet-o-Fish burger as well - scrumptious!

Kitchen Square -- Where I Start My Day

My office is located in Mathuradas Mills Compound (Lower Parel, Mumbai), which is the most godforsaken mills compound in the entire area. When I came for my first face-to-face interview with Cleartrip, I thought it was a slum!

Anyways, there are lots of places around my office, but none match the convenience, price, and taste of Kitchen Square. My day starts with a nice cup of cutting chai with either an omelette a plate of poha, upma, or idli-sambhar. I used to patronize the usaal paav till some time back, but now I find it way too oily and spicy.

Kitchen Square is a good place for snacks (breakfast or evening), but it sucks for lunches. It suffers from the same Red Curry Syndrome that ails 90% of all restaurants in Mumbai. Surprisingly though, it serves very good sambhar. The least sweet sambhar I've had anywhere in normal Mumbai restaurants.

The prices are rock bottom -- Rs 2.50 for a cutting; Rs 14 for a double omlette; Rs 12 for a plate of idli-sambhar. In the evenings you can get a vada pav for about four bucks I think. It's nothing to talk about but it's the closest vada pav from my office :-)

Monsoon Malabaar, Mocha

Instead of the regular cafe lattes and cappuccinos, I tried a "Monsoon Malabaar" at Mocha's (Bandra) the other day. With an overdose of the Italian fare at the Baristas and the Cafe Coffee Days our palettes have forgotten the taste of good old Indian filter coffee. Monsoon Malabaar was different. It took some time to get used to. It had a distinctively strong taste. It was heavenly after I did manage to adjust my taste buds to appreciate it. At forty bucks a cup it's definitely worth a shot.