Reviews Posted by: Salil |
| 5 Reviews |
 |
|
|
|
| "5-spices engages 5-senses !" |
27 Aug 2008 |
| To begin with any restaurant owner or management who is clever enough to name there establishment with a name with some history or story, gain’s a few points and impresses me even before I visit it! The name 5- spices is because of the Five-spice powder which is a seasoning in Chinese cuisine. It incorporates the five basic flavors of Chinese cooking — sweet, sour, bitter, savory, and salty.
I visited this place in the afternoon and found the place buzzing with activity! Always a good sign! The crowd is a mix a young executives, teenagers celebrating birthdays, Mondays whatever and families with bags of shopping from close bandra market!
The Kim chi salad placed instantly on the table is fresh, crispy and tangy in right proportion! A litmus test I do with any new Chinese restaurant is try the chili garlic paste placed on the table (if the kitchen gets that right your set for a fine meal), 5-spices gets that bang on!
We order a Tiger beer, veg salt n pepper & chicken steamed dim-sums! The beer is chilled, the dim-sums are marinated with appropriate thickness & the veggies make a carnivorous like me to take a second helping! Great till now!
For the main course we order pot-rice, veg sweet n sour , shredded lamb in black bean sauce , and the 5-spice chicken! The pot rice is excellent so is the lamb, the chicken does not disappoint either! My vegetarian companion informs me so is the sweet n sour! This start’s to sound & taste like a great place!
I’ am pleasantly surprised at being informed that unlike other Chinese restaurants this one does concentrate on desserts as well! Not only that they have engaged a Pastry Chef! hmm! I have the opportunity to meet her , the charming Ms Karnika Seth , she recommends n sends over a Chocolate Nut Torte & Walnut fudge cake, ! It’s par excellence! My wife says it’s the best she’s ever had, which means a lot as she’s ordered it on every possible menu, that she has got her hands on! So all’s exceedingly well that’s ends excellent! Recommend this place totally!!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| "salt water grill's your pocket but it's worth it!" |
27 Aug 2008 |
| The first time I visited this place was when it had just opened! Late in the evening with the boy’s! Had come back impressed and wasted & only remembered Wilson the server, who really was good at his job!
Subsequent visits have confirmed that the first impression was right ! The place is impressive the only thing that baffles’ me is how could it take so long for Mumbai to get it’s first waterfront restaurant! Anyways thanx to Mr. Kirti Karlaskar and friends we have an excellent one now! Though Wilson has left, service is still excellent!
I know we are here to review food, but this place offers you more than just food and good food at that! The place is bang on Chowpatty beach, I mean ON the beach , sand in your shoes , women limping & sinking in there heels beach, damn it! And the view , what a great view ,you see the entire marine drive the air-india building is right opposite you with just the Arabian sea in between ! The breeze aahh , it’s all good !
The “BAR”! Excellent flavors’ of margaritas, and mind you frozen margarita unlike some other joints! The mojioto’s are amazing!
A certain percentage of the menu keep’s changing! I did have a chicken dish with bread crumbs on it! Explain that to your server, they always know what you want! One dish that was excellent was the 3 cheese risotto! The menu is limited; vegetarians are left to hang dry! But whatever is on the menu is really good, I can’t remember names because they given the dishes very fancy names as expected!
Speaking of fancy reminds me, I think while printing the menu the lights must have been turned off, cause they don’t seem to realize what they are charging for what! it seems they thought “ jo price , jahan lag-gaya, sow lag-gaya!” . It’s expensive , but I love it for the atmosphere , the ambience, the view, the novel concept of al fresco dining!
All in all an excellent place! Go there for a special occasion like a birthday or Thursday!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| "The Talented Mr Moshe !" |
28 Aug 2008 |
| This place had been brought to my attention a lot of times, the only thing that had held up our dinner’s here, was the lack of alcohol! Now it’s not as if when I go out I drink like a famished Water Buffalo! But still a pint of Grey Goose never hurt anybody!
So sometime back lunch was scheduled there! Finding the place is a lil tricky cause it’s in one of the old palatial houses on cuffe parade, cramped between other houses and buildings, or maybe because that day it was covered with black plastic sheets to keep the water of bbay’s torrential rains away!
Once we entered the colonial bungalow, a part of which is “Moshe’s”, I was getting a good vibe. Though the outdoor verandah was covered that day , the seating was in place. It seemed that this would make a lovely alfresco, romantic dining for the cool nights, whenever they come to bbay!
As you step up into the restaurant you come face to face with the desserts counter, they look beautiful & delicate behind glass enclosures! Reminds me of Amsterdam! Any ways!
The crowd is a mélange of ex-pats, actual food lovers & wannabe be lovers!
Me likey!!!!!!!
So my wife n me are sat down in this small restaurant a lil to close to the kitchen door!
The entire place is packed and it’s 3:15 in the p.m! not bad!
My wife informs me that,” The chef/owner is a certain Mr. Moshe Sheikh & he damn cute”. That’s way more info than I need , I tell her!!
My wife takes charge of ordering as she’s visited this place a few times before!
First of the cheese fondue! Excellent?? Beyond excellent! It’s served in this earthen pail with a flame lit under it & not an electric fondue pot, the likes of which are preferred even by high end establishments abroad! The herbs in the fondue are in perfect harmony!
The fondue goes in and takes possession of our stomachs like a bad Indian tenant!
We still need to order though, so next up the main course roasted chicken with mushroom sauce, boiled vegetables & mashed potatoes on the side, and Moshe special lasagna! With a strawberry smoothie and a ripe n raw mango cooler for me!
The food is served at a leisurely pace; actually it’s all very laid back, in a good way!
The food is served and is excellent! The lasagna is nor a small portion nor is it stacked too high! The mango cooler is “cool”!
My wife & I exchange dishes half way, the chicken she ordered is superb too!
We order a chocolate gooey cake as coming here and not having dessert would be like going too see Paris and skipping the Eiffel tower! When it arrives a nice young lady seated next to our table inquires what we ordered my wife fill’s her in and asks her to give it a try! She declines as she’s off sugar! She informs us she’s ordered the sugar free cake , while we polish off our dessert, the young lady gets her order an offers a sample to my wife “ it’s okay “ the review is unanimous on it!
In the mean time I request my damage report & fill in the visitor’s book. I wrote “ Mr Moshe your blessed with a talent “!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| "bukhara-fever like symptoms post paying for a meal!" |
07 Sep 2008 |
| Now I feel dwarfed by the league of exetraordinary gentlemen who before me have reviewed this establishment.
It has been visited my dignitaries from all over the world including that cheating on his guy, what's his name ,ah yes , bill, Bill Clinton! Also they say Mr. Puttin also put in a good word!
It's ranked in the "Best 50 Restaurant'ss in the World"!
That's all fine, but like the great Mr. Clint Eastwood said it "Opinions are like A**holes; everyone has one!"
So here is mine! (Opinion!)
I haven't been here in years, I remember it vividly though from all those family dinners we had there as kids! Today I come back to review the place!
As I told on the phone they don't take reservations for after 9p.m, we arrive there without one & are told the wait would be 45 minutes!
I being an optimistic, take this as divine intervention for me to try the bar. We find empty stools for our party of 4.
We order 2 Grey Goose Vodkas with guava & litchi juice & 2 glasses of Red wine for the ladies.
There was no litchi or guava juice so we settled for humble cokes! The red wine was served to the ladies tepid!
I bring this oversight to the attention of the bar keep. He informs me (a lesser mortal obviously) that Red Wine is supposed to be served at room temperature! I thank him for the input, though I can't resist inquiring, that did he know this that the theory of Red Wine being served at room temperature has originated from Europe, were the weather is a cool 16 degrees in July while here its 36 degrees! Then I further request if he would overlook my ignorance & replace my Wine with another one which is cooler than a Nuclear Reactor!
Later were told our table is ready, We find ourselves seated on a couple of some very uncomfortable stools with the table in front of us too low & fashioned in the form of a log cut vertically & placed horizontally !
I give the place a once over, the decor was exactly the way I remembered from my juvenile days! The crowd is the same melange of diplomats, ex-pats, western tourist who have been shopping around Janpath the entire day. Now they have come to enjoy "Frontier food" whatever that means! There's another species here the local Punjabi crowd, the King Singhs who have made an obscure amount of money from there Karol Bagh stores selling "Ladies Items" & now can no longer be seen at there favorite Pandara road haunts!
So were ready to order but there are no menu pages to browse through here, its all on one piece of wooden plaque. We settle for the non-veg platter as it would offer all there best of the best, along with a serving of Daal Bukhara, I'll explain why later. It arrives in a humdrum fashion.
Ready to eat, I look form my napkin but there isn't any instead there's a bib ! A BIB? An elongated one though, but a bib. Just like the one my daughter has but minus the statement "I love daddy"!
I look for my fork to fish out my seekh again there isn't one, I'm told by the server "Sir, we like our dinners to enjoy the warmth of the food!" to which I politely answer "Sir, my mouth is not lined with fleece, I'm sure when I put my food in my mouth with the help of my fork, I would be able to enjoy its warmth." I m provided with a for somewhat haughtily!
The platter is furnished with modest amounts of Kalmi Chicken which has a bit uncooked marination in some places! The Chichen Tanoori Tikka is overcooked & has sustained 40% burn injuries! The Fish Tandoori is split open in two! Seekh kababs are pretty decent, last but not the least is the Lamb! Now this animal went through the trauma of death just to feed a carnivorous like me but the Chef did not give it the proper respect it deserved. It has humiliated in some kind of over spiced marinating paste & then in order to add insult to injury was left in the tandoor to be over cooked. So it lay in front of me tasteless & rubbery, masecating on it like a cow was the only way to swallow!
Thank God for thr Daal I had ordered, everybody cracked the papads , scooped some Daal on it & a few drops of Pudina Chutney , having them like some Indian canapes !
We were ready to order the main course. We asked for the Daal Bukhara ( duh!), Murg Tikka Makhani & the Raan with Roomali rotis .
The daal was excellent as always, Murg was good too, the Raan belonged to the same Lamb I had earlier thus had meet the same fate! The Roomali rotis were served at room temperature (European) & were rubbery, slightly raw from the edges.
Finally we ordered Kulfi Faludas for dessert; I've had better ones on the streets of Chandini Chowk!
We ask for the bill, instead are handed over a report of the fiscal deficit of Libya! On further investigation we realize that this is the penalty we have to pay for patronizing a place which is designed to cater to foreigners , tourists and company reimbursing executives , who don't know that food at par , even better is available all over Delhi , from Connaught Place to Pandara Road to Vasant Vihar at the fraction of the cost.
In conclusion the food is good, very good at times no doubt, the service is horrendous the attitude of the staff is the same as of the British in the late 1800s for us! The decor is 1980s, don't think it been renovated! The place is expensive considering all this!
It's over rated in my humble opinion!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| "tetsuma- tetsuuuuu !!" |
01 Mar 2009 |
| Tetsuma- Tetsu to me !
It's were Athena used to be next to Prive ! Same management both places though!
It's no cover, no entry, just walk in, IF u look the part that is! It's a plush joint, uber cool actually!
As u enter u come eyeball to eyeball with the bar on ur left corner & an arrangement of 4 tables on your right! The place is divided by glass partitions hung from the ceiling down & water bodies thrown in for good measure! The place achieves to feel Japanese influenced but in a very subtle way ! The right side of the restaurant throughout is a wine rack filled top to bottom with fine wines.
The drinks as expected, r **** expensive! Smirnoff Black was 800/- after taxes!! 800 * 7! You do the math!
Though the Glam Quotient of this place is way high, evident from the Mercedes Benz- SLR parked outside with the valet to the hot chick sporting a sheer organza top with a crystal encrusted bra underneath!
As the serve u your drinks it's accompanied with Wasabi flavoured green peas! I on the other hand was accompanied with a gujrati friend who popped a fist full of these assuming they were something from "Dave Farsan Mart" & got the Wasabi flavor punching him in the nose n making his eyes water , providing comic entertainment to us n at least 4 other tables in our vicinity !
Now there is one thing that makes this place even more special, they serve Kobe Beef Steaks! Well if u don't know what that is -That my lil country cousin is the most fashionable food which, ever walked on 4 legs ! These r from Japan?s specially breed cows who in order to make there meat tender and tastier r kept on a diet of beer and r given a massage twice a day ( Well that just sounds like the lifestyle of Mrs Jagtiani & Mrs Bambani of Neapean Sea Road) ! Anyways!
Here the cut they serve is the Kobe Sirloin Steak priced at rs 1200/-, which is pretty decent! The sushi, the Maguro platter r good too! The food over all is decent, but u don't just go there for the food.
The place has a good vibe, good location, good ambience, great eye candy here u can party till 2a.m then head for nearby Bade-Miyan!
Also when going there don't take out the i-10 to be environment friendly or parking issues or whatever lame excuses you give yourself, the entrance is right in front of the valet & there are too many people waiting , smoking outside they all seemed to cringe at the sight of my friend Mr. Patel's black Camry Spring/Summer 03!
|
|
|
|
|
|
GRUBHOGS.COM © 2008-2012 , All rights Reserved
