MY DUBAI FOODIE BLIND DATE
“Smiling BKK” thats the name of the Dubai restaurant, recommended by my blind dates. Mona Lisa (with a moustache) graces this Thai eatery, ( the owner looks like Mona Lisa, we are informed). While the young luxury inventory controller Mohit Bidchandani is holding a gun (given by the waiter to call him) PR consultant Vaishali Chatterjee, trend spotter, dancer is smiling with the menu. As is Tech & digital enthusiast, travel pundit Aneesha Hingorani (thanks @petpujaris). We love the small, vibrant tucked away eatery with it’s Thai curries and fish cakes. Watch this space for more hidden secrets which my blind dates help me sniff out. Be my foodie date Instagram, twitter @rashmiudaysingh
Review: THE TREESOME CAFÉ
Fusion
Here, in rocking Versova ( Oooh! I love Versova) I am bopping around the globe in the ten day old “The Treesome Café”. While the food itinerary is not coherent, the trip is a lot of fun. As our my Versovite guests. Foodies to the core (one is a budding chef) they not only love checking out new restaurants but also live next door to this one. It’s a fun yet inspirational evening, as in these selfish and materialistic times, it is a joy to meet selfless crusaders.
Be it the lovely Natasha Sara owner of an eclectic hair studio (which combines hair fashion with spiritual wellbeing guidance for body mind spirit) Or her friend and brilliant criminal lawyer Suman Prasad. Together, for the past three years, they have taken on the welfare of an abandoned old lady in Versova. The crusading twosome is doing this through the law and government in order to help many other senior citizens in this similar plight. Having trained as a chef, Asmita Prasad gives us her culinary insights to the food here. They all live close by and are sure to be regulars at this new Versova Cafe.
DECOR
Pleasant. A fairly small, boxed in airconditioned area and an alfresco one (total of 1300 sq ft) are done up in casual, relaxed style. Two bars, exposed industrial- pipes look and tree mural on the wall complete the décor.
FOOD & DRINK
Be prepared to get your tastebuds assaulted, cajoled and seduced.Many a bar-bite and very few main courses serve up desi-global innovative flavors. South Indian masala infuses the delicious Rajnikanth omelette, while the butterchicken gives a spicy charge to the bland risotto.Unerringly cooked plump garlic Barcelona prawns, thermidor sauce drenched grilled fish delight. Flavorsome Goan prawn curry, chicken cafreal and must try Kheema pav too. Innovatively plated on trays made of grey slate (the dish of yummy baby burgers is served under a bird cage. Pl see pic). Many a creative cocktail, try the chatpatta Jamun mojito.
MINUS POINTS
Uncomfy seating, big, fat sofas crammed into a small indoor space. Not enough vegetarian options (I am told they are adding to the veggie menu) Indie steak (paneer and dal makhani) is a mish mash, the bhel lacks zing and the so called Maldivian fish cake Bokiba is lackluster and avoidable. Chewy Chicken
Gangnam Style ( served skewered in four fluted glasses). Stodgy Shroom cupcakes and the pizza base not crisp enough. No beef and only one pork dish. No desserts on the menu.
MY POINT
Open through the day, Treesome café (named after the fig tree outside) is more of a bar ( many an innovative cocktail) with many a bar bite. Although the menu has weak spots, with a few dishes not from the heart but from a marketing plan, the gifted chef Rohan DSouza’s (who has worked with Marco Pierre White) cooking is exuberant and reflects a steady, precise hand.
It’s mostly a mix of pubgrub stalwarts comfort foods, pizzas, burgers, bhel, kheema pao et al, creatively served (sometimes over the top). Beyond bits of mild nonsense and odd affectation are real merit and considerable merriment. Three cheers! Tree cheers!
THE TREESOME CAFE Jewel Shopping Centre,
Seven Bungalows, Andheri
Ph 60020202
Open noon to 1.30 am
Meal for two: Rs 2000
RATING FOOD 3.5 SERVICE 3.5 DÉCOR 3.5
YOUR REVIEWS OF TREESOME CAFÉ
Wow! Each one of you has made such insightful and relevant remarks (on instagram and twitter) that I wish I could print them all. Sorry space constraints.
(Butterchicken risotto…
Ultimate indo-italian soul food)
mariyakach ( Rajnikant masala omlette is the yummiest. Great ambiance and food)
(YummmmYummmmYummmm…. And full of tasty fluff)
(Can eat yummiest Omlette and burger anytime of the day) @mansidavda
(Tasty Cupcake Shrooms , Orange & Lemon Grass Cooler)
(Great place!! Amazing food )
The opinion was divided about the presentation (esp bird cage) many found it gimmicky, too loud, others loved it.
@thebigbhookad@crazyloveshoes@voraviya@tarunkapoor11
@meghasarin @chicorychai@ekazloveatfirstbite
@purplefoodie@mamatha_1@romakripalani
@cookingfiesta1 @ila_ii@ankitawagle
Thanks for your feedback @karanrajkohli @riotofflavours
@ankitawagle @simranimita @rajvi85
@pereiraaaron@d_diane@the_locamojo @shunzie
@vivekmittal23@poonampalnitkar
@dubai_fo0d @arunkatiyar
value your feedback. Instagram and twitter @rashmiudaysingh mail rashmiudaysingh2015@gmail.com. Waitingly yours
Gulnaz Ali’s Recipe – Banana Walnut Cake
SAILING INTO HEALTH
What on earth is this photo of a sailing regatta doing in my Food column? The answer is simple, the young sailing champion Samaria is the inspiration and the reason behind her mother Gulnaz, baking the most unique and healthy cakes. Having tasted Gulnaz’s baking in Chennai at our “Whats hot tasting session” I realized that I had not taken the recipe for her healthy cake. So when I called Gulnaz from Mumbai, they were in the midst of a sailing regatta in Hyderabad which the talented young Samaria was taking part in. I also requested for an on location photo. Voila! Thanks to high speed internet, here it is.
FROM BANKING TO BAKING
The multi-talented Gulnaz Ali having worked for more than ten years in a successful bankers job quit to take care of her daughter and turned to her other passion, baking. “I did this to keep my daughter’s sweet tooth satisfied”. And then ofcourse, ensured that she not only used the finest and freshest of ingredients but also the healthiest. Gulnaz’s healthy cakes are in great demand, as are her regular cakes. She has studied baking and taken special fondant classes too. Ask for her scrumptious banana walnut cake. Amongst her regular cakes, it’s the orange and a Almond cake, hazelnut chocolate cake and strawberry pies…which are her signatures. The recipe for Gulnaz’s part wholewheat cake follows, as do her tips for healthy baking.
GULNAZ ALI, 2/157 Karikata Kuppam, Muthukadu, Near Mayajaal, Chennai. Ph 9840943500/ gulnaz13@gmail.com
Gulnaz’s tips for healthy baking
*Use homemade cream cheese/ mascarpone cheese instead of store bought. This way you can keep a check on the amount of sugar in the product.
* Replace sugar with jaggery.
* Replace maida with wholewheat flour. Start with replacing 1/4 quantity in the recipe and slowly increase the amount of wholewheat flour used.
GULNAZ’S RECIPE
Part wholewheat banana walnut cake.
Maida – 1 cup Whole wheat flour – 1 cup Baking soda – 1/2 tsp Salt – 1/4 tsp Banana – 2, large Unsalted butter – 1/2 cup Jaggery – 1/2 cup Granulated sugar – 4 tbsp Buttermilk – 1/2 cup Vegetable oil – 4 tbsp Egg – 2 Vanilla extract – 1 tsp Chocolate chips and walnuts/ almonds – 1/2 cup Preheat oven to 180C. Grease one 8 inch pan.
Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the banana, unsalted butter, jaggery, sugar, buttermilk, oil, eggs and vanilla extract until smooth. Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and fold together with a rubber spatula until completely combined. Coat the chocolate chips with maida and mix into the batter. Pour the mixture into the greased pan and bake at 180C for 30 to 35 mins or till done when checked with a skewer.
YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE
Do you want to be featured in this column? Like Gulnaz Ali today. Then read on to find out more,The hunt is on, I am looking for baking and cooking talent. Do you bake or cook out of home and so so professionally? Do you know anyone who does so? Please do get in touch with me and we will invite you, along with some others for a “Whats hot tasting session”. After tasting your creations and chatting with you and photographing you, I will then write about you. Please do email rashmiudaysingsingh2015@gmail.com with the subject CHENNAI FOODLINE. You can also tweet and instagram t @rashmiudaysingh.
FOODLINE
I write this from Gulmurg and I am delighted to hear from you on email, instagram and twitter. Thanks for keeping me plugged to the foodie network of Chennai. Love your foodie news and views…on foodstores, food services, dessert makers, caterers and more. Please do keep calling (9884065010 ) emailing (Rashmiudaysingh2015@gmail.com) tweeting, instagraming, FB (@rashmiudaysingh). Waitingly yours.
Review: MAINLAND CHINA ASIA KITCHEN
Image Posted on Updated on
Pan Oriental
We are excited. It’s a brand new 6 week old restaurant. I swoop down with eight of my blind dates( foodie readers who Id never met except over twitter and instagram).This Pan Oriental casual eatery has been newly born to the established 20 year old “Mainland China” family. Its more Oriental than Chinese. It’s more casual. More affordable. Is it worth going to? Nine of us troop down, eat, tweet and instagram for three and half hours. Our review follows…
DÉCOR We all love the mega-voltage energy of the colorful ambiance. Ride up the escalator in the gleaming Oberoi mall and walk into a vibrant, high-ceilinged hall. Buzzing open kitchen, Oriental grocery shop front décor, with a retail shelf hanging over the kitchen fitted with long ladder on rails, walls plastered with street scenes of countries of the Far East.
FOOD On the subtle-to-blunt spectrum, the food here falls almost smack in the middle. It serves up the popular dishes of Mainland China and also some Japanese, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese and Burmese ones. Robust flavors gallop across our taste buds, be it the Dynamite tofu (lives upto it’s name) the crisp sambal fish made more lively with salsa and intensely flavored Black pepper chicken. Chatpatta Kimchi rice too. Flavorsome curries be it the Thai green or the Burmese Khao suey (complete with crunchy condiments) here. Amongst the more subtle and steamed dishes the plump chicken suimai is worth trying, but it’s maestro Chef Rajesh Dubey’s the unerringly cooked Seabass sparkled with Tamari sauce and presented with panache that dazzles.Infact, creative presentation marks many a dish… eg balls of dynamite tofu served in a Martini glass. Desserts are above par, but it’s the feathery sponge that is drizzled with luscious sweet caramel to wickedly flavorful effect
MINUS POINTS Gloopy sushi , undercooked prawns in the Thai curry, lackluster Mee Goreng lamb and the Korean Bulgogi (we try the mock meat version) is not authentic but tasteless too. A thick sticky skin clasps the vegetarian dimsum. We try booking ahead, but because of their no reservations policy, end up waiting for our table. When full (like it is when we visit it) the restaurant can get very noisy.
MY POINT A brilliant concept, executed with gusto and delivered in a vibrant, high ceilinged ambiance, bar et al. The food is a mixture of appealing and ho-hum. But it almost always delivers high-impact flavors (well presented plates) at relatively low-impact prices, (Rs 1000, meal for 2).
Anjan Chatterjee’s Mainland China’s Asia Kitchen is not about fine dining, but Fun dining.
MAINLAND CHINA ASIA KITCHEN, Oberoi mall, Film city Road, Goregaon East. 28423141 9322249924 Open lunch and dinner RATING FOOD 3.5 SERVIE 3.5 DÉCOR 3.5
MEET MY FOODIE BLIND DATES
Whoa! Take a look at the photo and you ‘ll know what fun 9 strangers can have together simply because we are foodies. I invite them over twitter and instagram and they travel from far and wide. I love meeting each one…from the corporate lawyer and chef to belly dancer by passion. Kavita Tejnani certified Yoga Instructor, finsancial insurance advisor, thoughtfully brings Sindhi sweets and a thank you note.Passionate belly dancer, Chitra Kannan the Vice President of a packaging company , Jyoti Narula Ranjan @jnrispartof techie turned entreprenuer is now building @SynTalk. @priyahgandhi a corporate lawyer between jobs and @theglobalfoodie Urvika Kanoi a classically trained chef from LCB ( setting up her own restaurant soon) all share their views. The fit foodie @KamathGurudutt and the HR professional @elsonsequiera are the two gallant males amongst us. Adding even more fun to the lunch is Perzen Patel better known as @BawiBride, a Marketing Manager by day and Parsi caterer/food blogger by evening. Needless to add all of us love to cook, eat, tweet, blog, instagram and yes we all enjoy Mainland China Asia Kitchen.
P.S Join in. Be my next foodie date email rashmiudaysingh.instafriends@gmail.com, twitter, instagram @rashmiudaysingh
