Eating Out at Vientiene Loas

Red, pink, yellow, white, there were flowers of all colors everywhere, rocking slowly with the breeze in the lawns, Christmas lights circled the tree trunks, announcing that the Christmas is just round the corner. Neat, narrow, concrete paths, leading to the tables where diners enjoyed the ambience as they munched on their meals. I waited patiently for diners to hurry up, finish up their meal and vacate their table, so that I could start my dinner. I was starving. There was no table vacant. This seemed like a popular venue. Here I was, at Poysian Pulkone, a Korean restaurant in Vientiene Loas.

One thing nice about visiting new places is that you are eager to try new cuisine, especially the specialty of that city; I am always ready to brave a strange meal. Many times, the food may not suit me and I get bad stomach/ allergies from too much adventure but that does not discourage me from trying out new dishes in new places. So here I was, in the restaurant famous for its BBQ cuisine. Every table was fitted with a gaping hole into which they inserted tumbler of burning charcoal, as soon as the new set of diners occupied the table.

Plates containing peanut sauce, salads, garlic, ginger, shallots, deep fried brinjals, steamed green chillies, a tumbler of clear soup, and assorted meat filled up every area of the table

A perforated soup plate was inserted on the charcoal tumbler,, and thus our table was set for BBQ in which we were expected to roast the assorted meat on perforated centre and soak them into the soup on its' sides.

A vegetarian person is most likely to starve here ( just sit at home for quieter meals) while others can roast the meat, fill the soup plate with the clear soup, add all the greens, and everything that is on the table, lace it with all the possible condiments to relish the taste.

It was a delicious meal and I think I did take an extra mouthful. (hafta watch my weight) I couldn’t help turning my head at ninety degrees to watch slyly at the next table. They were enjoying too

Mexican Delight

Last night I went to this Mexican restaurant that is recently opened in Bandra, just few minutes away from my house. The décor was good with wooden tables and chairs that reminded me of the restaurants in Tenerife. On one of the walls there was a big wooden shelf with hundreds of sauce bottles, not sure whether they were new bottles or used ones, but it made an impressive collage.

Before our order, they served us a basket of tortillas with two sauces, a bland pink and chilly green. Since it was a new restaurant, the hostess would come to our table to check our satisfaction meter. “Is it good? Yeah?” Now even if it is not good, we would not be too rude to say so, our Indian culture does not allow us to speak the truth to the person who asks so sweetly expecting a compliment. Anyway, we order chicken wings and fajitas. I like it and enjoyed it too. But the friends with whom I went had continuous negative commentary to make.

Although a Saturday night, there were very few clients, which is quite abnormal in the suburbs where people are seen crowding outside the restaurants, waiting for their turns. They were quite disappointed that they didn’t have to wait for the table and got one immediately on entering. They compared this restaurant to the ‘Hard Rock’ which is also a well known Mexican restaurant that has everything comparatively better, the servings, the taste, and the ambiences. While they ate, they talked about things that were wrong with this restaurant and not up to its standards. They debated that the restaurant would do well if it served liquor. The soft drinks were not good and had sprite added to the juice. But still, whenever the hostess came around for a feedback, their comment was always ‘very nice’ with thumbs up.

Well, since I have ever been to ‘Hard Rock’ I was quite content with this one, nevertheless I gulped meekly when they told me that it was very improper and unethical to serve Mexican sauces in steel utensils.

“It kills the taste, you know?” they said

Lunch out at 'Banana Leaf'

It is rude to look at other people’s table to see what they are eating but this is something which most diners cannot avoid, especially if you are visiting the restaurant the first time and want to know why it is so popular that you had to wait for about twenty five minutes for the table to clear for you.

‘Banana Leaf' was as curious to me as its’ name. The food was served on a banana leaf with the tastiest south Indian Cuisine. It said in the menu card that “the name conjures aroma of the yummiest mouth watering delights of southern flavors. As the meal comes to you in ‘Vazhaillai’ a freshly cut banana leaf, the traditional experience transports you to southern states of India. Eating out of Banana leaf requires combination of reflex, skill and practice and the benefits are multiple, clean and hygienic”

Some time ago, my friend had suggested this restaurant to me saying that this one was most famous for its Appam and vegetable curry. As soon as we entered the restaurant my friend warned me that the food was good but was over priced. Which I didn't think so cause that extra charge must be for the ambience and the service, and both were good. The waiters were friendly too (one even posed for my camera haha!) and he was the one who suggested the dishes that were good and popular amongst the diners and was cooked with care and interest and he was the one who suggested that I have Appam with spicy vegetable curry, although personally, I think that the next time I go, I might try Appam with veggies in coconut curry. Ahem!

The restaurant had great décor with graphic on the wall, (which made enjoyable time pass practicing my reading skills) but the tables were quite close to each other and it was distracting (especially if the person on the next table burbs too loud such that you almost get soffocated and choke on your meals). hahaah! just kidding! The food was spicy. We had raw mango juice that has tangy flavor, and we order khichdi and uttappa. What I liked the most was the free assortment of chutneys like garlic chutney, mint chutney, coconut chutney and rasam. The service was quick and the pan that they served after lunch melted in the mouth leaving a minty taste.

It’s a good place to take my NRI vegetarian guests for lunch. And it is not very far from my house, on the back lanes of four bangalows, in Varsova, it takes me just fifteen minutes to reach there from Bandra. I am going again, as for my guests, they will like it, I am sure.

The Mumbai Times Café (Review)

Ever wondered how these youngsters pass their time when they are not in the college? Well, you will find them hanging around in one of the countless cafes that are scattered all over the city of Mumbai. Bandra is the suburb with more than 200 places to hang around. There are restaurants everywhere. If you are hungry, you only have to walk for two minutes and you are sure to find a restaurant. From this week onwards, there is one more place to hang around. The Mumbai Times Café (It is not the name of any newspaper, now they have started naming cafes after newspapers too. How innovative they can get!). On the 5th floor of Crystal Shoppers Paradise Mall, Linking road, we saw the opening of yet one more place to hang around. What I was amused and liked it, was a private terrace beach-like-look (sans sea) with muddy floor, fishing net and two boats. They plan to put Mumbai chaat stalls around that area. People can just hang around there, standing, eating and dining. The overall ambience and the concept of coffee are good. The menu resembles a new-paper, (what else? as the name suggests) In one corner, at far end, there is a newspaper-rack that resembles the broken dhabas and basket of dhabbawallahs of Mumbai.(Did they steal one from some railway station?). There is a mix of authentic ‘Mumbaiya’, Indian and global dishes throw in. (The prices are steep and cover the cost of bread, service and ambience). They have Wi-Fi broadband facilities, (you can take your lap-top and surf the net for free), LCD screen airing all major news channels (you can watch five news channels, all at the same time) and also separate lounge and outdoor areas. (Forget about chatting with your friends, the music murders all the other sounds). Just eat, dance and drink till you drop dead. If you are going late evenings, (8pm to 10pm) then there is ‘Live Band’ on Mondays and Wednesdays, ‘Karaoke night’ on Sundays and ‘Ladies Night’ on Fridays when there is one complimentary drink for every lady entering the café (they want to encourage ladies to become drunkards so that they can stop complaining about their man) There is ‘happy hours’ till September 30th and we took advantage of this offer. I ordered spicy fish and chips and my friend ordered Pav bhaji, but we paid for only one dish. We bought the assorted range of breads and cakes too (since the offer was to pay for one and get one free). The drawback is that there is no separate lift for this restaurant, it is shared with supermarket, which is on 3rd and 4th floor, and if you don’t wish to wait for lift then you have to use staircase, which is dirty and full of paan stains. (But, then this is the common sight, you get to see dirt and ‘Paan-stained Arts’ at all the stairways in Mumbai.) Well, nothing is perfect….. It is not supposed to be.

5 Spice restuarant in Bandra...

Today is my brother-in-laws birthday. Morning I call him on his mobile to birthday wish him and promise him a birthday gift if he promises me to treat me in a restaurant. He says he does not believe in celebrating birthdays because he is too old. But I know he will treat me in a good restuarant. So, in the evening, as I wish him happily, I smile, expecting a treat in a fancy restuarant. My sister is not surprised. We go for dinner to 5 Spice, a cozy-two-storey Chinese restaurant. It is at Pali Hill in Bandra. He has already booked a table for five and when we arrive at the restaurant, the valet drives away our car to a secured parking. As we enter, my sister orders a cake, with the name engraved on the cake, to be delivered to our table at the end of the meals. The hostess smilingly leads us up the wooden stairs, to a table for six on the first floor. I sit facing the red, warm wall that is behind my known faces. The table is laid with white china ware and white napkins that are so soft to touch. The waiter comes immediately to our table to take our order. They don’t like to keep people waiting for too long. All the tables are occupied. the sooner the people leave, the better is their business. On week-ends, you see many people waiting patiently outside the restuarant, on the road. The popularity of this restaurant is good and it is known for its good food, with big servings at a reasonable price. While everybody orders fresh lime soda, my brother-in-law orders whiskey (he wants to celebrate his birthday) I order sweet and sour soup.(I have stopped having fizzy drink)My brother-in-law is in playful mood and he keep dailing different people and fooling around, teasing my sister. We order pan-fried shrimps, spicy chicken and spring rolls for starters. Ummy the shrimps taste so good and juicy. The quantity is quite a lot and we are already feeling full. The sauces add to the richness of the taste. Before the next course arrives, we pass our time joking and singing 'Ay ganpat, whiskey lao, soda ko glass me jaldi lao, we are the bhais, mum-bai bhais....the girl on the next table is laughing hysterically and we laugh with her too. The next course arrives and it includes fish (my nephew’s choice), burnt rice (the speciality) and fried vegetarian noodles. I am already feeling too full, but the food is too tasty and I cannot stop myself form over-stuffing myself. I have extra noodles in my fridge (we packed the left-overs) and I plan to eat it tomorrow. We rinse our throats with Chinese tea but are too full to eat the birthday cake. Anyways, my brother-in-law is an old man, cake is for kids. I am happy to visit this 5 Spice restaurant, if you happen to be in Bandra, do dine in, you will love it.

Light low-diet dinner, Indeed!

Today, my friend calls me to join her for evening walk to Jogger’s park. I have already had my dose of walking in the afternoon sun to finish some string of odd errands and I am in no mood to go out, once more, for an extra round of evening walks (I know, my paunch is showing and the walks might help) but I was in no mood to walk. But my friend has brighter ideas, if I am in no mood for walks, could I join her for a diet food of only soup and sandwiches at ‘Just Round the Corner’. Well I am in no mood to cook either, so having just soup and sandwiches is a good idea and I decided to meet her for dinner after her walks. ‘Just Round the Corner’ is the name of restaurant near my house in Bandra. (Yep, once, I had invited my cousins to this restaurant and they kept stopping at every street-corner, thinking that we had arrived at a restaurant, I had told them ‘Lets go to the restaurant just round the corner’). Well, this is the restaurant where you can chill for hours and the management has no issues about you whiling away your time, warming their chairs for endless hours. You can order cups after cups of coffee, or chat for hours over just one cup of coffee. I arrived at the restaurant, after my friend had finished her doze of evening walks and was comfortably stretching her knees at the corner table. (She had called me several times on my route, but there was too much traffic at Linking road, and walking through the crowded traffic is a nightmare) The ambience at the restaurant is very warm, with lots of diet-conscious-youngsters. There are self-service counters, where you take a tray, and self-serve whatever you wish. There are only two pots of soup, veg-asparagus and non-veg chicken hot and sour. Then there is the display of variety of salads, pastas, sauces and dips. You make the combination of your choice and fill your plate of one helping only at the cost of Rs100. (The girl on my right is starving, she fills her plate to a brim, with strands of noodles swinging from the edge of her plate.) Then there is a counter for sandwiches with a display of the variety of fillings that includes beside veggies, a variety of cold meats, and barbequed chicken or spicy fish. You choose the filling and the kind of bread (white or brown), and the chef toasts it for you at the cost of Rs80 per sandwich. the girl on my left makes it very clear that she want no butter, nothing oily, she is dieting, she announces loudly for everyone to hear.Then there is variety of fresh juices that include sweet lime, water-melon, etc. priced at Rs40. I wait for the chef to toast my sandwich, and see that there is also a courtyard outside the restaurants that serves Pizzas on left side and variety of hamburgers on the left side of the restaurant(in the courtyard). There is cobbled-web path and plastic tables and chairs in the courtyard where youngsters enjoys the long smoke-rings as they slowly bite on to their slice of pizza or chomp down on their hamburgers. I self-serve an asparagus soup, a sandwich with the filling of ham, bacon, salad leaves and tomatoes and then gulp down with fresh watermelon juice. At Rs140 for this (too) healthy a meal, I can hardly walk back home. My paunch increases by one centimeter with this healthy meal!.