Thai Ban

It rarely happens that I praise restaurants more than 50 times in the span of an hour! And I couldn't stop but thanking Tanay for taking us to this small Thai outlet, near Pali hill. Thai Ban is a 6-7 table restaurant which serves mainly Thai food alongwith some Chinese varieties. Serves both Veg and Non-Veg.


Date: May 17, 2012
Time: 10 PM - 11.15 PM
Occasion: My birthday!
Place: Thai Ban
Location: Pali Hill, Bandra (W)
Ratings: ****1/2
Courses Tried: Thai
Decently priced.
Pricing: Around 150-300 per dish.
Quantity: 1 dish = 2 people
Address: Shop No 8/9, Gaspar Enclave, Junction of St. Johns & Pali Road, Pali Naka,
 Bandra West, Mumbai 
Telly: 022- 26459775
Closest Station: Bandra


Thai food closely resembles our coastal Konkani food with coconut used very generously in most preparations. Thai Ban comes across as a tiny restaurant, cramped for space (which it sadly is). But the food it has to offer more than makes up for that. And when you go to a Thai place, order Thai. Don't even think of meddling with Chinese. We were in a hurry as we had reached quite late and our tummies were making noises ( :P ) so we skipped the drinks and starters and directly jumped onto the main course. We ordered a plain Ginger Mushroom Rice. Its a basic rice with invisible mushrooms and ginger (or maybe I was too busy eating). You can't have it without a gravy so we ordered a veg. Phad Phak. It comes with zuccini and tofu of which we got the tofu replaced with paneer. And we ordered veg. Phad Khi Mao which essentially are flat noodles. In non veg. we ordered a chicken Gaeng Phed or the famous red curry. The flat noodles were very spicy and I had to resort to the honey-based sauce which lay on the table to temper the spiciness. The red curry was par excellence. Superlatively brilliant. I strongly recommend it.

Prices as on the abovementioned date -
Ginger Mushroom Rice - Rs. 165

Veg. Phad Khi Mao - Rs. 230

Veg. Phad Phak - Rs. 295

Chicken Gaeng Phed - Rs. 345

It's worth a visit or a few more if you really like Thai food. Lot of varieties and very nice preparations. 

Disclaimer: The publisher, writer, blogger, or otherwise of this blog accepts no responsibility of whatsoever is written hereinabove. No claims or suits in any court of law will be entertained. Any similarity with living or non-living beings and/or things is purely co-incidental.

Timbuctoo

Date: May 1, 2010
Time: 9.00 PM
Occasion: Nightout at Akanksha's!
Place: Timbuctoo
Location: Mulund R Mall
Ratings: ***
Courses Tried: Mocktails, Starters and Continental
Moolah: moderately expensive
Pricing: Rs. 125-145 per dish, mocktails 100 odd !
Quantity: 1 dish = 2-3 persons
Transport - Closest Station - Mulund


surprise surprise!!! one more outing after exams, this time at Mulund at Akanksha's amazing Place. and we had to go out for dinner so we zeroed in upon timbuctoo. I was rather indifferent about the place but certain people made it sure that we ended up there. The place is a part of urban tadka and pop tates and is an open air affair! the place is filled with hooka fragrance and there are many tables for the ever-starving tummies.


we were 9 of which 4 were vegetarians ( :( ) so we arranged ourselves that way affording us convenience to eat directly from the plate! We concluded on ordering separate mocktails for each of us rather than share. I particularly didn't want to share those thirst quenchers. So we ordered around 7 mocktails with names like Sunset and Sun rise, Virginia and Zulu something. Virginia was quite nice, with lots of strawberry and a hint of other flavours. The zulu thing was colourful too, with the major drink being Orange juice. I was gettign restless with us having ordered zilch food. So we decided to order starters. a few veg and 2 non-veg. Dunno what the vegetarians ordered but we had Thai BBQ Chicken and Blasted Chicken. Thai BBQ chicken was little spicy, tangy, flat chicken discs fried in oil. The blasted chicken was good. Very tender and superbly herbed, roasted to perfection. It had a dressing of a tangy sauce and served with mashed potato and sour onions. The main course included a Chicken Lasagne and something called as bananani (not sure of the name though). The Lasagne was piled with layers and cheese and flat pasta and was filled with a very tasty mixture of minced meat. The Bananani was a sort of penne and chicken pasta with white sauce. I certainly disliked the fact that they served it an hour after we ordered and only when I threatened them to cancel the order. But it was more than sufficiently cheesy. We ordered an additional barbeque starter called Friday Night Fever or something (sorry but I really dont have an online menu to quote the correct names). That was the most awesome chicken started I had had. The chicken was deliciously soft and tender. And was roasted to perfection.

I guess it is a good place to hangout with friends. It is more of a hookah place and is a very good deal for non-vegetarians. It's not too costly and the bill came to around Rs. 300 per head. The quantity is okayish though. You could book a place in advance during peak times.

Not just JAZZ by the bay !!!

Date: April 28, 2010
Time: 10.00 PM
Occasion: Celebrating end of third year exams !!!
Place: Not just JAZZ by the bay
Location: Churchgate
Ratings: **1/2
Courses Tried: Continental, Mocktails, Desserts
Moolah: Very Expensive
Pricing: Rs. 200-300 per dish, desserts 120-175, mocktails 150 odd !
Quantity: 1 dish = 1-2 persons
Transport - Closest Station - churchgate


aha!! this is what you call - being Green to save electricity!!! I had to actually use the torch of my mobile, which I rarely get to use in Mumbai, to read the Menu... the lights were way too dim temporarily making us feel we were nocturnal creatures :P The only thing that shone was the fluorescent marking that was stamped upon our hands.


Whatever the consequences of our decision to come here, we did end up relishing the food. we were asked to pay Rs. 100 per head as 'entry' fee to hear some tom-dick-harry bands play some music. We were sitting right besides the band so we could hear it quite 'loudly and clearly'. I felt more than once that they should have provided every table with a few pens and a few loose papers, just so that people could atleast communicate as to what they would want to eat. The loud din made it quite impossible for us to have a conversation, and I should not be blaming the restaurant for this. Maybe the ambience is what people come here for and I was a bit away from reality! We began ordering with the drinks, a few hard a few soft. I had something called as Tropical Storm which was quite refreshing and tangy due to the heavy presence of Orange! The others had God knows what. Ankita had sprite whereas the girl on my right had Virgin Mojito which the others wrote off as a 'Tulsi' drink!!! Kaustubh did have a Long Island Ice Tea and I distinctly remember someone ordering a 'Ginlet'... God know what that is... When I do begin drinking alcohol ( which is quite not that easily possible ) , I will offer better reviews of non-alcoholic beverages also. Till then I'll stick to food and patchy mentions of these drinks. :) The bands began playing songs which I had never heard before, but were well appreciated by the more music-educated crowd ! They alternated as there were two bands that night, so that the rest-endowed band could sip their chilled beer. Our conversations were thus restricted to the neighbours ears! I as usual was 'damn' hungry. We began the ordering process and finally decided on cottage Cheese Paprika, Penne & Barbeque Chicken and Jamaican Grilled Chicken. It arrived sooner than I expected. The Cottage Cheese Paprika was served with 2 paneers tikkis with bell peppers and spicy paprika sauce. The paneer was soft and tender, sufficiently marinated in the sauce. The Penne and Mushroom was as usual creamy and the chicken succulent. But I was disappointed with the quantity of chicken therein and the quantity of the dishes per se. When you charge a lot, you are expected to serve sufficient quantities and the waiter had the audacity to tell me that this would be enough for all of us. Bah!!! Thereafter we moved towards desserts and people were already decided on what to order. New York Chocolate Cake and Ebony and Ivory although cliched and passe, we ordered them. I wasn't too amused. I ordered for myself a Mandarin Chocolate Mousse. It turned out to be the piece de resistance! Served in a tall slim glass, cold, liquefied chocolate with a hint of orange and brandy ( which I couldn't fathom till the end). But it was sinfully delicious! A very good end to a not so good beginning.


Prices as on the abovementioned date -

Long Island Ice Tea - Rs. 425
Tropical Storm - Rs. 175
Virgin Mojito - Rs. 175
Cottage Cheese Paprika - Rs. 325
Penne & Barbeque Chicken - Rs. 375
Jamaican Grilled Chicken - Rs. 385
New York Chocolate Cake - Rs. 110
Ebony and Ivory - Rs. 155
Mandarin Chocolate Mousse - Rs. 150



I would say if you are looking for a musical night, without much of talking or sharing the days events and do have a huge purse or have someone who will shell out for you too, then this place is worth a visit. They have different bands playing everyday and you can sit for as long as you want. The food is not bad but excessively priced. The desserts are better than the main course and I would say DO NOT MISS THE MOUSSE!!! Bon Appetit!

Bombay Blue

Well I have been to Bombay Blue once before with Mrugank and Gayatri, but since I hadn't begun blogging then, I am writing the review this time on my visit with Ankita and Kaustubh. (Notice I'm the Kebab mein haddi in both the places. :P) I prefer writing a combined review of both my visits in order to cover a greater variety. So Lunch it was!!!
I have had Humus with Pita and wasn't too pleased with the thing itself and would not blame Bombay Blues therefor. Its cold, tasteless and slimy!!! Not for those who love spicy food ( I don't but still ) and tasty delicacies. I specifically remember having Corn and Cheese Balls. Very succulent, cheesy and crispy! This time we began with Sev Puri which was nice but unlike the Chaat wale Bhaiyya's tasty, lip-smacking ones. We chose to have sizzlers rather than the regular fare. So One Veg Shashlik with noodles which was little bland, the noodles were not too tasty, and not many fries. Whereas the Non-Veg Sizzler of which I do not remember the name was amazing. It had Lamb, Salami, chicken, Sausage, etc and had an appropriate amount of everything and mustard made it sizzlier. Do try the sizzlers.

Date: January 9, 2009 and a few years ago!!!
Time: 1 PM
Occasion: Helping Puneites hang out in Mumbai
Place: Bombay Blue
Location: Phoenix Mills
Ratings: ***
Courses Tried: Snacks, Chaat, Sizzlers
Moolah: Moderately Expensive
Pricing: Rs. 250 approx
Quantity: 1 dish = 2 persons
Transport - Closest Station - Lower Parel
Buses - 70, 80, 91, 167


Prices as on the abovementioned date -
Humus with Pita - Rs. 145
Corn and Cheese Balls - Rs. 135
Sev Puri - Around Rs. 50
Veg Shashlik with noodles sizzler - Around Rs. 275
Non Veg Sizzler - Around Rs. 350

Bombay Blue certainly rocks. you get a variety of continental stuff alongwith a few Mumbaiyaa dishes. A good place to hang out with family due to the serene ambiance.

Disclaimer: The publisher, writer, blogger, or otherwise of this blog accepts no responsibility of whatever is written hereinabove. No claims or suits in any court of law will be entertained. Any similarity with living or non-living beings and/or things is purely co-incidental.

Costa Coffee?

There was no real reason to visit this place anyways. I was going to eat here for the very first time and since I had heard a lot thereabout and was very keen on trying it for once. Kaustubh seemed to be a regular pro here and he guided us and Ankita (Pune Return) to the one at Phoenix. The first thing Kuku told us to do is sit on the black couches. We literally swamped in as the seat beneath us caved in. We had loads of time to spend so were in no hurry to order. But then how can I not order??? So I ordered one Tropical Temptation described as 'Thick shake with fruit flavours'. I regretted that decision in the next 15 minutes!! I mean it stunk of milk, had no hint of any tropicality, and was certainly not 'thick'. On the other hand, Ankita had a Green Apple Mojito and it was indeed refreshing. Fizzy, minty fresh, and aptly laced with lime. A bit strong andit was enough to make me regret the Tropical thingie further. Kuku had a Peach Ice Tea which was ok.
Round One - Very bad ratings!!!

Surprisingly I went to another outlet of Costa Coffee in the same very premises. This time it was for desserts. I again made a not-so-good choice, weird by my standards - Marble Chocolate Cake or something. It was like the quintessentially homely cake, a bit on the dry side but nice. Sadly, in front of what the other two were having, it was a paltry second. They were gulping down Chocolate Truffle Cake with Vanilla Ice-cream and hot chocolate sauce. yummy! If I give this place good ratings, it is only for this dish.
Round two - Ratings Saved!


Date: January 9, 2009
Time: 11 AM
Occasion: Helping Puneites hang out in Mumbai
Place: Costa Coffee
Location: Phoenix Mills
Ratings: **
Courses Tried: Beverages, Cakes
Moolah: Moderately Expensive
Pricing: Rs. 250 approx
Quantity: 1 dish = 1 person
Transport - Closest Station - Lower Parel
Buses - 70, 80, 91, 167


Prices as on the abovementioned date -
Tropical Temptation - Rs. 80
Green Apple Mojito - Rs. 80
Peach Ice Tea - Around Rs. 80
Marble Chocolate Cake - Around Rs. 70
Chocolate Truffle Cake with Vanilla Ice-cream and hot chocolate sauce - Around Rs. 125


It's a welcome relief from the every evening Cafe Coffee Day though one is advised to not chose one's course based on the supercilious descriptions in the menu. Go for the tried and tested!!! And listen to Kuku!!!

Disclaimer: The publisher, writer, blogger, or otherwise of this blog accepts no responsibility of whatever is written hereinabove. No claims or suits in any court of law will be entertained. Any similarity with living or non-living beings and/or things is purely co-incidental.