Fort

Description:

For the kind of place this is, I am amazed at the fan following and the kind of crowd it attracts.

No frills means absolutely no frills. This place defines the term. No frills in food, no frills in service, no great shakes on decor - even the building is a creaky old structure that looks like a hundred years old.

So why does the place attract a lunch crowd of young professionals from the nearby banks and offices?

Let me describe the experience.

First of all, for people who aren't the urban explorer types, it is a little tough locating this place. The regulars just brush you off. "It's opposite Sterling yaar" - is the most concise direction I got. I've never found the place in the first attempt (I always ended up at the wrong place, then try a couple more buildings and watchmen) until my office shifted close by. So here's how - get to Sterling cinema, and walk towards the Cathedral and John Cannon School (in the opposite direction from CST). The second building on the left side of Wallace street is the decripit Apeejay Chambers with many old world offices.

You could go around to the back of the building for a rickety lift ride up to the fourth floor - or take the equally rickety wooden stairs up. If you are in lunch hour - 12.30 to 3.00, simply follow the well-dressed crowd.

Right. Now you are on the fourth floor. See a dining room? No, don't barge in there. You are advised to meet the well-built man on the counter on the left side, and buy a token of Rs 40/- (TR coupons accepted). Then, join the queue.

Modern Hindu Hotel serves eaters in batches. There are two halls, which seat around 12 people each. Only when either of these halls empty out, are you invited in by an old gent. You sit in a chair-table combo, and then it all starts.

You can chose to eat in a steel plate or a plantain leaf. (Shed your north Indian sensibilities and nod for the leaf, man). The quick, mechanical, efficient procession starts as soon as you have sprinkled water on the leaf. First, two katoris (small steel bowls) get plonked (If you like your dal in a katori, ask for an extra) on your table. Sambar (a delicate, yellow type which looks and tastes more like a Gujarati kadhi with cucumber, than the Udipi sambar we are all used to) comes first, followed very quickly by rasam (tangy gravy-soup made of tamarind, dal, tomato) - these are filled in your katoris. Then a curry of the veggies of the day (it was beans + gourd + brinjal once and beans + pumpkin the other), and a creamy but light dal, on your leaf/plate. You could ask for a spoon, but everyone else would be eating with their fingers.

Chapatis follow. Once you are done, rice, dahi and a large papad follow.

That's about it. You could ask for extra helpings of the same stuff which are free of charge. However, chaas, extra papad and sweet (Mysore Pak, usually) are charged separately.

The meal isn't exceptionally rich or heavy. Niether is it made with desi ghee or the finest, most expensive ingredients. But it tastes homely, simple, light and easy on the palate and wallet. No great gastronomic experience. But I go there again and again because it somehow reminds me of a simple time long ago, when you did not have to bother about trans-fats and lifestyle diseases - because they just did not exist. There is much joy in partaking a simple, hot and filling meal.

Modern Hindu Hotel is open for lunch from 12.30 to 3.00 pm and dinner from 7.00 to 9.00 pm.

Description:

So Casa Soul Fry is the newer sibling of the Soul Fry in Pali Naka (not reviewed as of 13/04/07)

The decor is really nice. Understated but warm.

The menu is very similar (if not identical) to the older establishment. The have live bands on wknd evenings (call and check) and unlimited lunch on sundays.

The service was good, atleast the guy who waited on us was patient, and came up with good suggestions (not the most expensive ones)

We had the prawn loncha (prawns tossed in a dry coconut/garlic/curryleaf filling) was excellent, ordered a repeat.

the bombil fry was subpar, flattened thin, and the rawa breading was too thick and maybe a little burnt. I for one prefer the non-flattened bombils anyway, but restaurants seem to be thinking otherwise.

We ordered two crab gravies, one was the richard(s). a deep red, spicy but sweet like a typical goan curry. very good. The other crab was a more traditional dried coconut/onion based gravy, but was ordinary. the crabs themselves were very good though.

ordered a teesrya gravy. good but not great. so was the fried bangda, the breading was too thick, altho the fish was nice. ordered rotis/nans/rice etc as well.

the beer was nice and chilled. 4 people ran up a bill of 2500. but we over-ate and drank well..

overall place is more formal than the pali market cousin, but definitely recommended.

Description:

If you happen to be in Fort area of Mumbai, are famished and hungry for a sumptuous lunch, and in a mood for Kerala cuisine, try Fountain Plaza. There a number of eateries who derive their names from the erstwhile Flora Fountain (now Hutatma Chowk) and I’m not referring to the more famous Fountain Restaurant opposite HSBC Bank which is a Sizzler and Steak place, or Fountain Inn, the Mangalorean seafood eatery in Nanabhai Lane. I am referring to Hotel Fountain Plaza, on RD Street off DN Road, near Handloom House next to Eastern Watch Company, my favorite Kerala Cuisine restaurant in south Mumbai.

There is plenty to choose from – Fish, Chicken and Mutton, not much a choice for vegetarians, except in the snacks department, which you can try at “Tiffin Time” in the evenings.

To start off, I like the Fish Curry in white coconut gravy with Malabari Paratha (Parota) with a fried Pomfret on the side. I pop a piece of the succulent fish on my tongue, followed by a generously soaked portion of the soft paratha in the delicious rich gravy, close my eyes, and press the juicy food between my tongue and palate. Never bite, just press the tongue upwards against your palate and savor the heavenly taste as the fish disintegrates releasing the delicious juices and spicy flavor.

Next I order a Chicken Korma (the Chicken Stew is good too) with Appams and then have my favorite Malabari style Mutton Biryani.

There are a large number of dishes on the menu including Chinese and “Mughlai”, but at Fountain Plaza it’s better to focus on Kerala Cuisine.

If you are heading home in the evening, stop by for tiffin, and enjoy an evening ‘banana based’ snack like banana roast, banana fry, banana bonda etc which are the specialty of the place with a cup of tea or coffee.

I like Fountain Plaza. A no-nonsense Spartan eatery. Mouthwatering food. Nourishing snacks. Lip smacking gravies. Satiating meals. Value For Money eating.

Next time you are in Fort, Mumbai, give the place a try, and let me know if you liked it.

VIKRAM KARVE

vikramkarve@sify.com
vikramkarve@hotmail.com

http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com

Description:

My favourite Vada Pav is CTO Vada Pav at Ashok Satam’s stall on the Flora Fountain (Hutatma Chowk) side of the Central Telegraph Office (CTO) in Mumbai.

The Vada is served freshly fried piping hot and is crisp and crunchy on the outside. That’s how a good Vada should be from the outside, nice and crisp, not soft and soggy like most of the fare dished out elsewhere.

The moment you bite the sharp zesty effect of the spices and greens hits you – there is an abundance of tangy greens in the tasty fusion inside: green chillies, coriander, curry patta, ginger-garlic. Don’t chew, just roll your tongue and press the hot stuff against your palate and let it dissolve. You’ll feel stimulated for sure! It’s not only mouth watering; it may be even nose-watering too if you have a delicate tongue. So might as well put the vada in a pav and savor the CTO Vada Pav gazing at the Hutatma Memorial, the Fountain and nice faces in the crowd rushing by towards Churchgate.

Can anyone tell me where I can enjoy a good Vada Pav in Pune? I’ve tasted a few so far, and found them quite soggy and insipid compared to the Mumbai’s ‘CTO Vada’.

VIKRAM KARVE
vikramkarve@sify.com
http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com

Description:

Pancham Puriwala is a 150+ year old restaurant opposite VT station in Mumbai which sells Puris with North Indian vegetable curris and kadhi.

This place is not to be confused with the "Puri Bhaji" served at various Udipi restaurants in Bombay which serve bland mashed potatos as "Bhaji". Here the "Bhaji" is a spicy veg curry.

I would recommend the Masala puris which are very tasty. Try them with the vegetables of the day. You usually have a choice between 3 types of vegetable curries and kadhi.

For accompaniments there are papads and mirchi.

Finish off with a cold glass of Lassi with crushed ice!

A complete meal of Masala Puri Bhaji with papad and Lassi would not cost you more than 35 rupees!

Description:

It's one of the last remaining small quaint Parsi food places in the mould of the old Cafe Mocambo.

We had the following dishes among the two of us and the bill came to 157 only.

Akuri

- It's the Parsi version of scrambled eggs / bhurji. Usually served on toast (according to the ).
- Excellent. Had with pao.

Chicken Sali

- The sweetish gravy was off-putting at first but in the end I was wiping the plate clean of the gravy with my Pao.

Mutton Cutlet

- Not too good. Wouldn't recommend.

Bread Pudding

- YUMM

Chocolate Mousse

- YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
- Maybe it was the distinct presence of Old Monk in the mousse ;-)

Description:

A mallu eatery, frequented by regulars; although it's in fort area, it's hidded in a small lane, which is distinguished by a South Indian temple at its mouth. Known as Deluxe, they have added a family dining area also. It's an excellent place to dip soft frest appams in any steak or fish curry. The chicken sukka is the typical rich-in-coconut-curry leaves one. The fish fry
is fried just right, with nicely marinated masalas. And all this at very affordable rates!

Description: An quaint little Irani bakery in the Fort area. Yazdani serves the usual Brun maska, chai. However since it is a bakery and not so much a restaurant you have a host of cakes, breads, pies to choose from. For some reason there are lots of things written in German on the walls, posters of sweets, and suddenly a picture of Arnold Schwarzeneger. The things to eat here are the pies and biscuits. The ginger biscuits are famous and claimed to cure coughs :). They also have freshly baked varieties of bread to carry away. This is the bakery. This is the place from the inside. This is the old-style bread-slicing machine the workers use.

Description:

Ankur is a restaurant in Colaba which serves seafood from the western coast of India, predominantly from Kerala, and Mangalore. The selection of dishes isn't too wide but they do a good job preparing a limited menu very well instead of spreading themselves too wide and too thin.

Getting There.

Getting to Ankur, especially in the night is a bit unpleasant. It's located on the lane at the back of "Fountain Sizzlers" or "Kandeel" which are between Kala Ghoda and Fountain. Since I was with P and I didn't want to go to a fuck-all shady area, I almost gave up when I couldn't find the place and I saw a fuck-all crowd there. But P persisted and asked random panwalas and we reached.

The simplest directions would be. Coming from VT or Churchgate take the small lane at the back of Fountain Sizzlers. Take a left after that and you have Ankur on your right.

The Ambiance

After the unpleasant surroundings once I stepped into this place I knew it was worth it. The crowd was mostly business class. No not the stock market sub-broker type you find in the area, think "Business Class" as in air travel.

It's a small place where the tables are spaced wide enough to have pleasant private conversations. Waiters are non-intrusive but accessible quickly and the service is overall pleasant. Not too pushy, not too lazy.

The Food

Did I say limited menu? We were actually overwhelmed with choices within that small menu ;-)

I wanted to order one 'Coondapur' dish because I had fond memories of Chicken Ghee Roast at Shetty Lunch Home at 'Kundapur' which is near Udipi. But somehow I didn't get to order that. It's on the TODO when I go back next.

What I did order was excellent!

Seafood Manchow Soup. - Not bad but a bit too spicy for a seafood soup. Lots of prawns, squid etc. We had one by two. Will try the seafood clear soup the next time. Cost: Rs. 90/-

Squid in Butter Garlic Pepper Sauce. - Whooo! I have never had (in my limited experience) 'BGP' sauces this way. Everywhere 'BGP' sauces have been mostly sparse and dry. But this was flowing and there was lots of it like a curry. And the squid was soft and melted in your mouth instead of being rubbery like I've always had anywhere else. Cost 150/-

I finished off the squid in super-fast time and scraped off all the BGP sauce off the plates and the tray it was served in.

Un-named Special Dish - I'm always a sucker for these 'We have a special but it's not in the menu' pitches :) So we went for that. It was Surmai with Garlic and Ginger with red chilly paste and without coconut (I think the guy heard me mentioning my dislike for coconut). Cost Rs. 190/-

When it was served we both let out a collective "Whoah". It had two large pieces of Surmai about 10 inches each. The gravy was looking dangerously spicy but it wasn't. We polished off all the gravy in no time licking our fingers as we finished.

The bad part.

Serving mainly South Indian food they have a serious non-choice of Dosas and Parothas. Only neer dosa was available. And 3 neer dosas (yes, three!!) at Rs.120/- is highway robbery! And at 20 bucks a single Parotha. WTF?! :-(

They have the usual roti / naan / paratha etc but who the heck wants to eat that? I think the way to go will be to have rice the next time after maybe one Parotha.

Also, according to P some part of the fish wasn't good which is strange for a Surmai.

Drinks

The drinks aren't too expensive but not on the cheaper side, maybe consciously to avoid the office going drunkard crowd one sees frequenting the Apurva/Bharat/etc places and "Thank God" for that. I had a pleasant quiet time with P while at Apurva I would have random drunkards around.

Conclusion

Nice pleasant place with excellent food. Ideal for a business lunch or for a quiet dinner with family, girlfriend or friends.

Description:

A standard bar and restaurant in the Fort area. Slightly cramped in terms of seating. Decent food and bar.