Banana Leaf - Idli with a Difference

Please say 'Aye' if you are a fan of hot pipping Idli which when dipped in super awesome sambhar taste even better but Banana Leaf located at Versova, near 7 Bunglows has changed the full definition of the Idli what we used to eat.

First visit was few months ago after a night out with friends and one of them was insisting we should try it, and after bowing down to her wishes we reach Banana Leaf on lazy late Sunday afternoon and luckily got seats in A/C section which my friend says is minimum waiting of 40 mins during peak hours.

The setting is nice, tall ceilings and enough place between the 2 tables so you do not overhear other people conversation. We started off with Rasam Soup which is regular Rasam with huge quantity of black pepper [If you have a sour throat this is the soup for you forget Hot and Sour or Manchow soups]. Then comes the magic of Banana Leaf the Idlis which is cooked in variety of masalas, I guess around it takes around 3 big idlis per serving cut in 4 pieces we started off with
1. Hyderabadi Tomato Idli
2. Chef Special Dakshin Masala Idli - This one was everyone favorite
3. Mulgai Idli

If you are the ones who love to try out different things well start off with this place and you shall not be disappointed.

For dessert you can go the regular Payasam route or try out the Nutella Walnut dosa which is a must try.

The overall cost per person came around Rs. 300 and it was totally worth it.

Shift of Power

There was a time when going to Bandra from Goregaon was a must because every week a new place would open up and it used to be awesome. Recent times have changed the location from Bandra to Andheri Link Road, Lokhandwala and New Oshiwara Link Road where most of the big places have opened up their franchise...

Hometown Cafe, Bora Bora, Grillopolis, Red Ants, China1, Sammy Sosa etc etc are the ones which have opened up first near the Andheri area. Woodside Inn, Cafe Mangii, have opened up recently in Andheri now no more traveling upto  Bandra or town to enjoy your favorite dishes at your favorite places.

But then still there have being times when new branches do not serve the quality what we are used to the original one. So the big question here is...do restaurants and cafes open up at new places but serving bad food affect the overall quality or just have the original one and make it even better.

La kebabiya - Lunch Buffet

Near my new office there are lots of eating joint located and one is Le Kebabiya located opposite Hyundai showroom in Lokhandwala.

When I went there last time it was for drinks and hookah and IPL matches but did not know it serves you Lunch buffet also. Colleagues were planning to go for Friday Buffet and i tagged along.

The place is bit cramped in terms of space but the spread is nice which is written down.
Soup (veg and non veg) we got Manchow soup
8 starters (4 veg and 4 non veg). The good part about the starters was they were prepared only after guest arrive so we would get them hot and nice. The best of all was Malai kebab which was soft and tasty. Also there are 2 chinese in the starters and 4 Indian and 2 Mexican. The waiters serve it to you so you do not have to leave the table again and again.

Then there was main course which had 12 dishes in total out of which there was Mexican, Italian and Indian again....the buffet is such a risky deal if you are lucky you can get the best or the worst. But we had an 50-50 deal in terms of quality and taste.

The best of the lot was the dessert, we had 5 flavors of Ice Cream, Chocolate Souffle and Firni which was super duper tasty.

All in all for Rs. 325 without taxes on Friday it is a good deal if you want to sleep at work.

Pratap Da Dhaba

This place has being in New Oshiwara Link road for a very long time and my last visit was some 3 years back. But today there was a surprise lunch party and we all zoomed to The Dhaba. This place has changed its name quite a few times but the decor and menu have remained the same.

There is an a/c sitting and non a/c sitting which can accommodate around 80+ people which is quite good. But as we decided a place to sit we found a cockroach basking itself and it was a bad start. Finally decided on sitting in a cleaner place, we were divided into veg and non-veg eating section.

We started off with ordering starters such as Kukkad Sheekan, Kukkad Achari and Kukkad Tandoori (do not be confused Kukkad = Chicken). After waiting for almost half an hour the starters came in and we all started devouring Kukkad Piece by piece (the food was not hot but no one complained because we were already late). The Kukkad Tandoori was nice and succulent with not much colour and Achari was supposed to be tangy it was anything but. The good part is quantity is quite large for 5 chicken eating people everyone had 2 piece for themselves.

We ordered for main course which was Adraki Kukkad, I thought it would be bit spicy again they mellowed it down big time. It was good to taste but nothing near what the name is. Again good quantity.

Sorry, I am not writing anything about veg food as I did not taste it but I guess it was good as no one complained.

In the end we had Paan Shots....dunno what exactly it is if you go there in the end ask for Paan Shots it is complimentary.

Mainland China (Andheri) - Lunch Buffet

After ages decided to go for a Buffet on Sunday which friends said is quite good but as it turned out one friend had some work on Sunday and we decided to go on Saturday for which she could not come. Finally 2 of us decided lets go and reached Mainland China in Andheri Link Road behind Hyundai Showroom at around 2 pm. We were told to wait for few minutes just so that we can get a seat and soon we entered seeing the buffet for Saturday I was pleasantly surprised and rubbed my hands in anticipation.

Buffet Details:
Cost: Rs. 699 (inclusive of taxes)
Soup: One Veg and One Non Veg
Starters: 5 Veg and 5 Non Veg
Main Course: 5 Veg and 5 Non Veg (excluding Rice and Noodle)
Desserts: 14 Varieties
Also as complimentary you do get a Kingfisher Beer/Iced Tea/Fresh Lime Soda

The good thing is the waiters serve you the soup and the starters so that you can relax on your table, talk and eat no need to get up again and again. As we were pure non-veggies decided to go for Chicken Dumplings, Chicken Satay, Prawns Satay and one black chicken which looked like manchurian but Chicken was too hard. For veg there was Veg Dumplings, Spinach Wanton and Veg Chrispy which we tried. Sometimes the food used to come out cold and later we saw to keep them warm they kept it under a bulb (yes! brilliant idea! not)
We got ourselves a Sea Food Delight Soup which had, I think, around 5 varieties of fish in it tasted average but no complains.
After chatting a bit as we both were stuffed with the starters, walked out to get the main course which was super considering it had Fish, Shrimps, Crabs, Lobsters and Lamb with dash of Rice and Noodles everything tasted quite good and was worth it.
Dessert section was amazing which now I regret of not having it before the main course it had different kind of fruits, lots of pastries and one Chinese specialty (starts with a D) name which I currently don't remember.
So if you want to have value for money meal this place is good enough, bit noisy as the place was full but nice place.

Sammy Sosa - Mexican they say

It was Rakhi on 5th August and on the 4th i was searching out for new places on Burrp.com near where i stay. Turns out a new place just opened up called Sammy Sosa which was a mexican joint.

Me and my sister reached there by 9 pm and luckily got a place there. It is a 2 deck place and i guess not more than 30 can be seated at a time. People can wait outside and can place orders during the waiting period.

The alcohol is quiet cheap and we got one on one offer for Whyte and Mackay Whiskey which we grabbed with both hands. The place look and feel is really cool you can play UNO while waiting for the order and the lighting is super cool. Not too dark not too bright really perfect.

As i like to try out new things in the menu we went for Charmulla Chicken which was described as chicken satay with green african herb paste. And it turned out to be really good as it went down well with the whiskey.

Second in line was some Chicken Quesadilla Fella, basically cooked chicken and stuffed between the roti and as it was taking time the owner gave us some Tortilla Chips which were really tasty and crispy.

Third one and the finale was Loco Stuffo Chicken, chicken stuffed between the potatoes and with some mexican sauce which was really tasty.

I would definitely go another time and try out something new.

VFM place