Another Cheat Day Treat - Bun Men

After that late afternoon cookie stop at Sweetish House Mafia, My plan was to follow Senapati Bapat Marg then head left at Dr. E. Moses Road through Mahalaxmi Race Course and make another stop at Breach Candy, Warden Road.

Over the weekend at IFBAI 2014, I was introduced to Hormuz and Kushal, Owners of Bun Men -  A barely three weeks old dessert shop which is making the right kind of a noise on twitter feeds since a week. They specialize in a unique dessert - Choux Buns pumped with assorted crème.

Choux Buns - Something like this probably does not exist. A light dough meant for choux pastry ,profiteroles or eclairs is used to make these creations. The guys at BunMen have executed a gimmick well i.e - Make larger Choux pastry, probably the size of a donut and drill some silky smooth fillings like decadent dark chocolate, banana strawberry or salted caramel into it's airy center. Vola ! You have a Choux Bun with Filling. 

Bun Men at work

This fun little pastry shop shares it's space with Gelato and is located right next to M.O.D. Each of the filling is kept chilled in a unique bowl with corkscrew handled base unit and removed out on order, pumped into the pastry and sent back to sit inside. After having tasted almost all the flavors, Strawberry Banana came out as my favourite followed by Hazelnut. Salted Caramel misses the mark slightly by not quite giving those yin-yang burst of sweet and salt. Red Velvet looks distinct with a red bun and white filling. Unfortunately, Pistachio was out of stock during my visit. The Choux itself needs a tad bit more of consistency since bite after bite sometimes you get more of the crème filling or more of the pastry in your palate.

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It is a value for money deal considering it's uniqueness and quality at this price point. Each filled bun weighs 50gms and packs around 250 calories. That's something that will keep the weight watchers at bay. Nevertheless, on a cheat day, All is fair in eating high calorie desserts.

Cheat Day Treat - Sweetish House Mafia

What's the fun if there ain't no cheat day once or twice in a week, Right ? And it's even more awesome when you get to binge on some monster cookies with nutella sticking to your fingers and then licking them off clean.

So two days back, early in the morning outta nowhere was i humming " I can't keep my hands out the cookie jar" with little bit of beat-boxing to keep the rhythm going and then my mind was stuck in a rut - Cookies - Cookies - Nano - Nutella Sea Salt Cookies ! If you've been hooked to twitter since the past year or more then you've probably seen tweets about a Tata Nano parked at pretty locations and selling freshly baked batches of assorted cookies. What started out as a mere food truck, err - food car, eventually transformed into a store at Lower Parel. That's one of the finest start-up success story you'll hear. The baker face behind this venture is of Neha Sethi, An Investment Banker.

The store is brightly painted in that cute baby blue that we saw also on the Nano. Sticking to it's roots, Exterior wall have a Nano painted just below it's logo - Sweetish House Mafia (No, This ain't no EDM joint). Their signature cookie is the Nutella with Sea Salt. My honest comment would be - It's big, It's filling, tastes better than the best, crumbles into bits and gives you alternating bursts of melted chunks of Nutella and Sea Salt. It's that sweet yet salty dwindling mind games that your palate is forced to play bite after bite is what works brilliantly here. Equally indulgent are the Double Choco Chip Cookies and the cinnamon infused Snickerdoodle followed by Peanut Butter and Oatmeal. Cookies are available in both egg / egg-less formats (Not all though).

The cookies from SHM are highly recommended. My half an hour bike ride was made all worth after that first bite into that Nutella Cookie. Simply cannot get over it - Highly addictive.

Store Location : Next to Café Zoe,  Mathuradas Mill Compound, Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel.

Nutella with Sea Salt

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Mojo of Banana Sandwich

My first question over the phone while speaking to a sandwich specialty eatery in close vicinity to my office (Sandwizzaa) was "Yeh Banana Crush sandwich mein kya filling hai?"

The first thought even before he answered my question was a sandwich filled with sliced banana, crushed walnut, peanut butter and a sprinkle of cinnamon powder. I even imagined a hint of Nutella to be honest. Rather what I got to hear from the guy was a sandwich filled with Spiced & Boiled Banana. I reverted back to him saying "Ek Grill Sandwich without cheese dena"

This conversation stayed with me through the week and on weekend I dropped by Sandwizzaa in the evening to test out this Boiled Banana Sandwich. If you're not aware about Sandwizza then they are a sandwich only humble joint spread across the city with multiple outlets. Thankfully no run-of-the-mill filling like cheese club, masala cheese & paneer mayo which every other roadside stall offers. Instead, They offer options like Banana Crush, Carro Bite, Basil Bite, Activity Toast and few more which sets them apart. 

Banana Crush Bite

So ordered my Banana Crush. This sandwich is available in two sizes - Toast version & Bite version, The difference being that the toast is regular loaf sandwich and the filling does not have all the elements which the Bite (bigger) version has in it. Having tried both the options, i would recommend going for the Bite simply because it has everything in it. The filling is made of up Boiled & Mashed Kaccha Kela mixed with three types of Bell-peppers, Chopped Lettuce and Boiled Sweet Corn.  The Green Banana is boiled, mashed and spiced with subtle grounded masala thus giving a very potato like starchy texture in taste and appearance to make believe that it is indeed potato. This mixture when spread between bread and grilled with a slap of butter, tastes divine. When dipped in their unique Red Chutney (made up of Pomegranate, Raisin & Kashmiri Dry Chili), The sandwich tastes a notch better.

Mind you, Having a full portion of this sandwich did leave a typical after-taste like that of an unsweetened starchy green banana.

Thali at Friends Union Joshi Club

Thali has to be the most desired lunch-time meal from this city or you could say even this country, where you can get served equal morsels of different preparations (usually ten to twelve food items) of a particular regional cuisine, starting from fried appetizers like vada served with a few different types of chutneys to bhaji with chapati and finally the main course which in this country has to be rice along with a rich mash of pulses tempered with cumin and chillies. 

You can find just about any kind of a thali, like the Malvani Thali that comprises of fried Surmai, with chapati, bhaji, fish curry and a cup of quintessential sol kadhi or a Kerala Thali that starts from parotha and tapoica and ends with rice, rassam and payasam. The more well-known thali from the city are usually the Rajasthani, Marwadi and the Gujarati thali. These usually make up of many items on the large eating plate, the choices in each course ranging from two to three, like different styles of fried or baked appetizers or few options in bhaji or dal preparations and also two varieties of rice-plain or a pulao cooked with pulses and vegetables.

While Thackers and Bhagat Tarachand are two of the most well-known eateries from South Bombay that have been into the business of offering some of the most nonpareil thalis, there are also a few smaller establishments like Soam and Swati Snacks that have made a name for themselves serving some of the more non-popularized Gujarati food while occasionally offering thalis by hosting one-off kathiawadi food festival. 

'Friends Union Joshi Club' at Kalbadevi is a unique, lesser known old school eatery where time has almost stood still; To be precise it is an old school 'bhojanalay'. As Mr. Yogesh Purohit (owner) says "We serve the best thali in Mumbai." He also adds that he has seen people from all parts of India walk in here to have a meal and people generally don't come with special agenda for having a thali. In-fact, his daily clients are people from stock market and people who are not from this part of the town and who finish their work and drop in because the neighboring stores suggest them as a good eatery. The place is open for lunch from 11.00 a.m to 3.00 p.m and for dinner from 7.00 p.m to 10 p.m. No dinner on Sundays.

Located in Narottam Wadi on Kalbadevi Road, The entrance is a bit inconspicuous as you enter a large arch and see a tiny 'Joshi Bhojanalay - 1st Floor' board over the stairs that lead to a very old structure. Once inside, it appears as old school and rustic as one can imagine. A very canteen like one sided table and bench arrangement that is unusual for this modern world and service staff doing rounds around different tables 

Once on the table the drill begins. One after the other, the components of the thali are delivered. Diced onion, tomato and cucumber is followed by a miniature batata vada and roasted papad. The vadas are like delicate fluffs, ever so light that one can just keep popping until the assorted flat-breads arrive; plain chapati, masala chapati, puranpoli bhakri and biscuit bhakri (Puri is served only on Sunday). Pairing these chapatis or bhakris with the different bhajis leads to some unique taste and textures, like the biscuit bhakri (stuffed with jeera, dhaniya and gud) which essentially is thick and slightly crumbly, pairs extremely well with the karela bhaji almost like yin-yang of flavours where the bitterness of karela is cut by the slightly sweet tasting and almost biscuit like texture of the bread. Masala chapati works across the board with any of the matki ki bhaji, aloo bhaji or palak paneer where the spinach is not a fine puree, but a slightly mashed affair with a whole lot of texture in a dish that is generally abused by restaurants and served almost like a soup with a few pieces of paneer. What's noticeable right off the start is the zero compromise on quality of the finished bhaji, where it is rich and dense and never watery. The entire menu is almost rotating every single day, thus you will never find the same bhaji repeated in the next day or two.

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Staple like rice is served plain or occasionally during dinner service is replaced with khichdi. Dal is offered both ways, the classic tempered mildly-spiced and the Gujarati style sweetened version, again both thick and dense. The choice to be made here comes down strictly to personal preference. For the sweet course one can opt from either a bowl of Fruit Custard or the traditional Bengali Cham-Cham. Finally, just like any other thali joint you are served with a glass of digestive to wash down the entire meal, here it is Masala Chaas slash Spiced Buttermilk. 

The meal is maintained quite friendly to any local person's wallet at 200 rupees for the thali plus 20 rupees for each bowl of dessert.

It is quite rare to come across places that offer wholesome meals with uncompromising quality of food and that do not charge a huge amount in return. Friends Union Joshi Club is one such remarkable place. 

Address : 381-A, Narottam Wadi, 1st Floor, Kalbadevi Road, Mumbai

Phone : 022 2205 8089

Quick rundown of Chili's Powai

Chili's needs no intro, It's Tex Mex and bit expensive to be true for an american fast food joint. Chili's powai is located on that posh street on Hiranandani Gardens after D-Mart. It's noisy, chittery-chattery all around and has 90s pop music playing through at high decibels. Conversation are difficult and so is finding any of the service staff. The staff is either too less or is just instructed to get back to the kitchen after each service. 

Soft Taco Shells with Crispy Chicken Filling.

Chili's food was pure fast food affair, Something i haven't had since a long time. Appetizers were served in quick succession. Tandoori Paneer Quesadilla is very cleverly devised nugget of paneer and mozarella cheese. Both the textures compliment each other really well. Southwest Caesar Salad was bit dud, too much of cheap lettuce leaves and barely any chicken. Chicken Crispers were neat long strip of fried bread crumbed chicken but served a bit late and had lost that crispy coating. Fajitas were hearty and one of the best dish of the night. Chicken Burger too was massive with a generous steak / fillet. The best dish of the night was the last one - Crispy Chicken Tacos. The staff suggested that we go for a soft shell tacos and we did. Not too soft but average. Loads of chicken strips, iceberg bits, tabasco all in that one taco is real goodness of what fast food is about. They also serve a small portion of mexican rice & fried beans along with it. 

To sum up the experience, Chili's deliver the goods at a slightly steep price. If you're particular about ambience and prompt service, then this might not be the right place for you.

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Jumjoji, The Parsi Diner

This review and visit was done in July but was not published on the blog. 

My memories of Parsi food goes back to just one and only place, Dorabjee & Sons in Camp, Pune. The old rustic setting and i remember my cousin sister from UK freaking out seeing chicken drumstick with its skin in gravy, all slithery and slimy. Other than that i have attempted having Dhansakh from Cheron's and the sunday Dhansakh my mums makes with the fragrant brown basmati.

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Jumjoji is a more upmarket or better to be called 'Gourmet' Parsi food. The place is hard to spot amongst the flashy row of eatery on the ONGC colony stretch. Draped in white and wood, the place is bit understated and the interiors bit too tiny. You get to glance on a parsi wall of fame. The setting is candlelight cozy and during our visit the other end of the restaurant was fully blacked out.

The menu is crisp and short. The dishes mainly carry a parsi name like zarine dastoor's hara bhara kebabs and more. Patra ni machi was one of the pre-decided main course item even before we reached the place. Sadly the expectation was short-lived and we were informed that the recent dry spells of mumbai monsoon had lead to jumjoji not being able to get their fillets from the macchi market. The kebabs were ordered, chicken kebabs looked dull and skinny like the cold storage ones but the mutton kebabs saved the start of the night. Perfectly XL sized meat balls, finely minced meat covered in a thin and deep fried crust was just the right portion, a little over-salted but i guess that we all loved it. Next up was Mutton Salli with pav. The gravy was bit too sweet and ketchupy for anyone's palate, The ratio of onion to meat in the gravy was bit overwhelming. A simple daily thing like pav was not fresh and felt that such a small yet important binding agent was not paid attention to. Then again the meat chunks saved the night. Every strand pink and as you just pressure with your fingers it breaks apart. The cooking techniques has to be appreciated but the ratio of it's ingredients needs reworking to be true.
The Berry Pulao was strictly okay. The chicken bits were hand to find among the colorful layer of rice. The dal that was served with it again was too sweet and didn't help in any way. This was the most disappointing dish of the night. Last in main course was Dhansakh with brown rice. This dish was a complete opposite in terms of portion size and rice quality - hearty and basmati as opposed to the tukda variant of the pulao. The chicken flesh from the dhansakh was yet again skillfully slow-cooked. Moist, juicy and just a little pink on the insides.

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Lagan nu custard was the last to arrive and in my books was just stuckin brilliant. The eggyness is just heavenly in this dish. All that previous inconsistency was blown away in a gust and how !

Basically if i have to sum the experience at Jumjoji, It's a parsi diner with a unwanted twist. The twist is that of sophistication and miserly inconsistent gourmet portions. Hope they improve and soon.