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.

Kerala House - Lunch

After the dinner experience me and K always wanted to check out the lunch. As in their hotel there was a photo which displayed that food were served in Banana Leaves and we always like south indian food that way.

We reach Kerala House during lunch time and we had to buy coupons when asked how much for 3 people...he calculated in his mind and said Rs. 120 (that becomes Rs. 40 for each person), and we added Chicken Fry to it which Rs. 60 for 2 pieces per plate.

We entered looking at peoples plate as we search for a place to sit. As we sit down the plates come in and after some waiting the rice starts its way towards us (though i am not fond of plain rice that much but i kind of made an exception for this). Few moments later see a bucket with Sambar in it and I gleefully let him pour the sambar in my plate. Then came our favorite part Chicken Fry so my combination was Rice, sambar and chicken.

After having double serving of rice...we almost fell sleepy....and with Rs. 100 for the whole meal it was just worth it.

Kerala House - Dinner

My first hand experience of Keralite food was in Udaya Restaurant a hotel in Chembur just near the station. That place also had chinese and other cuisines served with beer so all in all a typical Mumbai Restaurant but with Keralite Dishes also.

My second experience was in Kerala House - Vashi next to Raghuleela Mall. (not next but down the road towards Vashi Gaon) a blue tiled building with 3 floors. We were first introduced to that place by our colleague R who is from Kerala and at times after leaving office he used to go there for dinner. We got curious and interested about what the food is like and what's the cost. So we joined R for my second experience of Keralite Food. (here it goes)

This place serves Chicken Curry, Fish Curry, Veg Curry, Appam, Parotha, Rice, Chicken Fry, Fish Fry and Kappa (a tapioca based vegetable). Thats it for the menu....when you enter the building you would have to ask the guard where they have set up the hotel you enter a big room with massive tables and chairs waiting for you. A young guy well dresses in shirt and pant (i was sad that..they should come with lungi and kurta, would have made it more authentic) and when we asked what they serve pat came the reply with the stuffs which I have written above. So instantly we ordered Chicken curry, fish curry, appams and parotha, everyone says that Keralite food is spicy and I am the one who does not like spicy food much but I dared. Food was served in minutes as they have it already prepared and we started eating like people who did not have food for a very long time and it was spicy (but the spiciness meter changes from day to day), and as R says the food also taste like home to which we were happy that we are getting authentic food.

After first round of Curries we ordered another round but added Chicken Fry to it, and do our surprise Chicken fry was nice freshly made and hot. Eating and clearing up each bowl we were stuffed to the limit and now waiting for the bill which made us think it would come around Rs. 600+ but to our surprise 2 Fish Curry, 1 chicken curry, 8 appams, 2 parotha, 1 chicken fry and 1 plate of rice costed us only Rs. 240 which when we saw had to recheck whether they did a mistake and after that point this has being our favorite place for cheap food.

Thanks R for such a wonderful discovery.

Truly value for money and also beware of the warm water they serve (take a bottle of bisleri with you to enjoy the food at its max)

Hotel timing - 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm