Grand Hometel - New Year Party Review

There are only 4 reasons why we select a place to party for New Year and this New Year was NO DIFFERENT
Following are the pointers:
1. Friends - Without them you cannot go out
2. Location - Where is the place located but with awesome buddies that at times is secondary
3. Food - This is important factor, you do want to be stuck at a place at 4 am with 'bhooka pet' [Empty Stomach]
4. Drinks - This is very debatable topic as some drink some don't, so unlimited alcohol for non drinkers do not make sense.

So after deliberating and discussion on whatsapp group chat the final decision was taken on Grand Hometel in Malad West [Mindspace] and everyone was OK with it because the place was nearby [5 mins in Rick] and this place management told us great things about food and drinks part. So booking done at INR 2K stag and INR 3.5K couples.

Fast forward to 31st December and we all plan to meet at the Panaroma Banquet Hall on the 10th Floor of the Grand Hometel. Everyone assembled by 9:30 pm and then started the good and bad part, lemme first start with the Good Part and my favorite one too FOOOOODDD!! Grand Hometel has being known for its good food and it really did not disappoint us. Following were the starters Veg Spring Roll, Cheese Balls, Crispy Veg, Paneer Tikka, Dum Aloo and Mumbai Chaats. For Non Veggies - 3 Chicken starters, 1 Fish starters and Keema Pav. I would like to give the hotel management the thumbs-up for putting up mobile counter where food comes to you. I would like to mention that except the Dum Aloo and Crispy Veg everything was.

Now the Bad Part - Without the music the place however good it is will suck on New Years Eve and the Event organizers had got some kids who loved EDM and Dubstep, well we do like EDM but not we can dance for hours on it. Also the arrogance of the DJ was appalling where he said "We do not have Bollywood music, those who want to boo us can go and drink outside" which kinda pissed us and luckily for us there was another 31st party on ground floor where the DJ played the music everyone has heard about.

Now going to the Good part again, the main course was a huge buffet and not the regular 31st party kinda buffet with Rice, Dal, Chicken Gravy and Roti ...no no but here it was 5 salads, 2 kinds of Rice, Dal, 4 Veggies, 2 Chinese Gravy and 1 Burnt Garlic Rice, Fish curry, chicken curry and Chicken Biryani which lots of people missed out on due to extra drinks the system could not handle.

Ohh but there was dessert and it was amazing seeing 8 different kinds of them. The best was caramel custard.

Well to Hometel Management, good party and good food except for the 10th floor DJ I would have given it 8 star but sorry 6 star out of 10 for you.

WISHING YOU A VERRYY HAPPY 2014!!!

Borivili Biryani Center (BBC) - Dum Laga ke

This place is just before Toyota showroom if you come from Inorbit Mall and at you tend to miss it if you drive too fast. But this place is a must visit for all Meat Mughlai lovers. A small and VFM place has got some of the best dishes served in the Malad-Borivili area.

So a group of colleagues decided to eat on Friday night and after lot of discussion and debate we ended up going to BBC Dum Lagake which is just before Lakozy Toyota Showroom. After setting up place for 10 people all eager to get a bite into their famous chicken and mutton dishes (for many this was a first time).

This is all we ordered
Aloo Moti - Potato and Cheese mix with Red sauce.
Paneer Tikka - No description required here
Chicken Mumtaz - Cheese inside chicken (what more do we want)
Chicken Noorani - Minced mutton stuffed inside Chicken
Sheek Kebab Gilafi - Beaten egg over mutton sheekh kebab
Chicken Tikka - No description

Quantity in each plate was 6 - 8 pieces but big ones. So 10 people just ate them with roti and salad which you get served with the dish is the best you can get.

Later we ordered for Chicken Tikka Biryani, Mutton Biryani and Egg Biryani the quantity again is so huge, all 10 grown up dudes could not finish it.

Final order was the sweet dish which was caramel custard, I think they cannot go wrong anywhere......in terms of food.

Now the most important part...total cost of the bill Rs. 2500, that is a good idea for a cheap but a happy party joint.....for people who do not drink.

Service wise they are bit short of staff but whoever is there does a decent job.

Address: Shop No 2 & 3, Ganga Niwas, Next to Toyota Showroom, Link Road, Malad (W),Malad West, Mumbai

Landmark: Near Toyota Showroom
Phone: 64511223, 64511224

Apna Pure Veg Fast Food

The owner once just had a cart which he used to set up at 4 PM at Evershine Nagar (near Shimmer Lounge) and from 4.30PM till 8 PM he could not stop making hot vada, samosa, dal vada, idli, medu vada because in one go whatever used to come out his big hot oil pan used to get over. During that time he, his son and 2 more people used to help him to serve the hungry and repeat customers.

This is how he scene is outside Apna Fast Food

Today, he has his own small shop but the number of customers have increased and his quality of snacks have also increased. Now he opens at 7 am and closes at 9 pm but again still does not have time to breathe because customers keep pouring in. He will serve you Misal Pav, Upma, Vada Pav, Medu Vada, Idli, and many more awesome snacks and in the end it would not cost you more than Rs. 50 for two satisfied people. Now with over 10 people working under him he still has that humbleness and quality still remains the same.

So if you are hungry at anytime of the day and do not want to burn hole in your pocket he is the place to go in Malad. Yes there are many more but I guess none better than him.

Kareems Vashi - Can be avoided

Kareems is one of my favorite places to eat in Mumbai for their awesome Chicken Tandoori and other things. The best ones are in Malad and Bandra Carter Road but in this post I am not writing about either of these place but writing about one in Vashi which is in InOrbit Mall next to KFC.

Met up with a friend after a long time and had already decided to try out Kareems which was told by my colleagues which could be avoided but as we were hell bent on having Chicken Tandoori we reached there. It was Friday and around 9 PM we reached there and got ourselves a seat.

First thing we noticed was the place was dark as if we are sitting in a lounge, and the decor was similar to all Mumbai Kareems. Also the place was so short staffed that there was only one cleaning guy and 3 waiters. Dunno it has to do with recession or no one wants to work there at all.

We sat and the waiter came around to take our order after we had to call him and we ordered Chicken Tandoori and Mutton Kheema as other dishes which we wanted was not there in the kitchen (i mean pathetic!)

We had our not so succulent  Chicken Tandoori and Mutton Kheema was just Masala cooked and mutton put over it, we could taste the Elaichi, Black Pepper and some ginger but no mutton. Totally DISAPPOINTED! and the guys sitting next to us were also pissed with their butter chicken which the waiter tried to say it is cooked the way it should be....by that time we were out.

So if you want to take someone to Kareems in Vashi better avoid it and take them to food court upstairs in Inorbit you will be much happier.

Goan Food - The name says it all

Hidden away on the right hand side in the lane which has Uncle's Kitchen and Prems in Orlem, Malad West, name of the place is Goan Food...yes yes Goan Food.

It has place for only 6 people to sit and that too sit in one line and eat, seriously but who cares about the ambiance when the food is good, straight from the goan kitchen. We reached around 10 pm where it was empty but we noticed that it does have lots of home delivery orders.

The menu is not that big, it has burgers, Frankie and other stuff but the main things are chicken cafreal, chicken xacuti, Pork Sausages, pork sorpotel and so forth and so on. We ordered 3 gravies which were Cafreal, Pork Sorpotel and Chicken Xacuti where quantity was decent enough for Rs. 80 each.

It was suggested that their Chicken Steak burger and Beef Steak Burger is awesome, well it was not awesome but the sauce left a very good after taste behind.

The food is not oily neither too spicy it is just right. You can also order by the kilo. Sorry guys don't have the phone number but if you stay near Malad and love non-veg try this place out or else just come over and take home delivery.

Cake Shop - Mumbai

I am writing down 3 of my fav places to by pastries and cakes from not cheap tho but still worth it.

HANG OUT CAKES:

They make the most kickass cakes and some super mixes which does tingle your taste buds. The best part is they do also do Home Delivery till 11 pm and does not charge extra when you are near them.

Address Shop No. 3, Keshav Shruti, Opp. Pride Privilege, Malad (W), Mumbai
Landmark: Opposite Pride Privilege
Phone: 28714477, 28714488, 64228045

Gaylord Restaurant:

The name sounds a bit sidey but this place is here for ages and serves some awesome pastries and pies the uncle who i see behind the counter is being there for ages. Fresh stuff coming out of the oven on regular intervals. There are some good bread stuff like open chicken pizza and other things.


Address: Mayfair Building, Ground Floor, Veer Nariman Road, Churchgate, Mumbai
Phone: 22821259, 22044693


Theobroma:

So whenever i go to eat somewhere in Colaba i do land up in Theo which we all lovingly call it. They have some super wicked pastries and i always get confused on what to Eat and end up eating 2 or 3 pastries. They do also serve you coffee which is generally ok but i have always seen this place full.


Address: Shop 24, Cusrow Baug, Colaba Causeway, Shahid Bhagat Singh Road, Colaba, Mumbai
Landmark: Opposite Central Bank of India
Phone: 22873778, 22886464, 22830101, 65295629


Note: I am not going to suggest you anything...just go and enjoy

Moti Mahal Deluxe - Nice but definately not Deluxe

My second visit to Inorbit Mall Moti Mahal after years with friends. Located at the entry of the Fame Theatre which you cannot miss it.

This place prides itself for creating the best tandoori food which is true to one sense but there is a catch which I shall tell at the end.

We seated ourselves, the place is bit cramped up as spaces near other eaters was very near (i think they could listen to all our jokes)

As all were non vegeterians we started off with Promfret Tandoor and Chicken Tandoor Platter, for such a big place we get only one piece of Fish and almost 5 pieces of chicken for 4 people. Which I think is rather less compared to paying more than 250+ for each stuff.

Then we ordered Chicken Tawa, which was soft and properly spiced and Paneer Methi Malai as the name says was sweet but not too much with Garlic Naan and Kulcha, surprising part is waiters don't serve Roti on your quarter plate you have to find what you have ordered and then eat it. They did serve the main course properly but no roti..why why why?

Now comes the main part...COST...I know the food made here is nice and all jazz but Rs. 200+ for Chicken Tawa I mean common you gotta be kidding me.

So that would be my last visit to Moti Mahal Deluxe until and unless someone gives me a party there ;)

Suryavanshi Paan Bandar - A Paan for everyday

Located in Malad West S.V. Road for ages opposite Bajaj Hall, this Paan eating place is famous for its different style of Paan and the person who owns it, who is an eccentric fellow.

I used to go to his place at times but not that frequently, during Ganesh Chaturti after having meal, friends decided for some paan and we ended up at Suryavanshi.

As I am a fan of sweet paan ordered one but was super surprised when he sliced some flavored ice on the paan and they tasted super giving you a small brain freeze. Later we came to know he serves Chocolate Paan by that time we were 2 paans down.

Yesterday, with my paan fan sister we went again to have Chocolate Masala Paan, with the layering of ice the paan taste brilliant and also does not leave a leave that chocolaty taste for long. We then tried he Chutney and I think he had around 10 different flavors of them, Blackcurrant, rose, Kachi Keri, strawberry, pineapple, etc etc.

What is Chutney? Chutney is a sweet flavored masala put to give taste to paan.

So if you do want to try a different Paan try Suryavanshi Chocolate Paan only for Rs. 15

Flag - A Veg Multi Cuisine

Have being going to this place for ages, my first visit was during my college days after a movie had whole sizzler and then forgot about the place.

Family said why not try it out and i said ok...so for past 3 years we are regular infact more i guess. I say it is my family celebration restaurant coz i never get tired of eating at this joint.

Place was started by a guy who came down from States after doing his Hotel Management course and then taken over by a South Indian Management, which at first sucked coz they started serving dosa also, but later got into the groove.

The place has it all Indian Mughlai but not the regular Navratan and Kolhpure fare but something like Tiranga and other supremely tasty dishes. Don't miss on the Cheese Masala Papad...no one makes in Mumbai i guess...Grated Cheese over Masala Papad super awesome.

Sizzlers, they have around 10 of these and they make them really well from the Indian style to Italian to American to Mexican to Chinese, quantity is quite good and cost way cheaper the Yokos and Kobe.

Chinese, we don't have those much except Veg Humpty Dumpty which is Manchurian and spicy french fries.

Mexican, they do have some wicked Alfredo Corn Nachos super pipping hot cheese and corn with crispy nachos do work wonders as my sister always wants one of these. Burritos and ENCHILADAS are brilliant and tasty.

Italian, did not have pasta alot but their Cheese Garlic Bread is superb and bruschetta al pomodoro is purely wicked never had anything better anywhere in Mumbai.

To end it all have Black and White, hot chocolate with brownie and ice creame.

They do also organise parties and kitties so all you veggies this is heaven for you.