Marine Lines

Rest : Oriental Blossom
Meal : Dinner
Date : 30/12/2006
Location :Marine Plaza, Marine Drive
Company : Pie

Experience- A nice classy ambience, the service is good and they have a nice options of seating and private banquets.

Drink :Water, Tiger

Food : We started with the Tom Yum soup and i must say its the best tom yum in the city thus far. We decided to skip the appetizers and go straight to the food. The food was dissapointing, i didnt spend enough time on the menu i think and i might have ordered incorrectly. We got the stuffed mushrooms in garlic sauce and the pan fried noodles.
They were both allright, the noodles were well done and the taste was ok. The mushrooms were not bad but werent exactly my thing coz i like a bit more spice and taste in my chinese.
All in all the place def has potential and i cant think of any alternatives to go to other than CG83 or Golden Dragon.
We got some dessert as well, the irish cheesecake (ok) the marbled mousse (average)
Rating : Food 7.5/10, Service 8.5/10

Damage : 975 ($21)

Ok, they serve two dals ( i went for the sweet gujju one) some fried farsan (not bad) on this day they served chana masala, aloo tamatar, some weird green thing, cauli flower, u get your start up off salad, pickle, onions.

In roti you get regular rotis, bhakri, bajra rotli and masala roti (new thingy, not bad) they served 4 mithai things but its over the cost of the thali if you want it. i avoid mithai so i didnt go for it.

i however did go for about 5 glasses of chaas (buttermilk) which unforutnately is extra too. Rice is of course also available and khichdi in the evenings.

The service is pretty good, although a little headless chickened with a having to ask for things sometimes but its all good natured.

Its not a comfortable or glamourous place (seating is awkward, no A/C)but the food is excellent.

If you are ravenously hungry on a busy afternoon in the heart Mumbai, head for Bhagat Tarachand (BT). To get there, walk up Kalbadevi Road from Metro, turn right at the Cotton Exchange, and to your left you will see a series of eateries named Bhagat Tarachand. All are equally good and serve similar food, so you can sample them one by one on your numerous visits and decide which one you like. You can also walk up from Crawford Market, through Zaveri Bazar, past the Gold Exchange and Mumbadevi Temple; or from Bhendi Bazar via Pydhonie down Kalbadevi Road. In case you live in the suburbs, get down at Charni Road station, walk down Thakurdwar Road and turn right at Bhuleshwar and walk past the Cotton Exchange. Don’t try to drive down – you’ll go crazy negotiating your way – and besides a brisk walk on a hot and humid Mumbai afternoon will build up a voracious appetite and rapacious thirst – sine qua non for total enjoyment of a delicious nourishing meal.

The first thing to do is to order a “beer bottle” of chilled chaas (buttermilk) to quench your thirst and soothe your parched throat. On your first visit sample the delectable thali comprising varied vegetable dishes, dal and melt-in-the-mouth chappaties. Once you are hooked on, on subsequent visits you can experiment with the variety of rotis and vegetarian delights in Bhagat Tarachand’s culinary repertoire. Each and every dish – the dal fry, paneer bhurji, methi malai mutter, bhindi, even baingan – is superb. Both tastewise and pricewise, Bhagat Tarachand is unmatched – it’s the best value for money vegetarian food in Mumbai.

Once you have relished your hearty meal, leisurely stroll down (digestive walk) past the Cotton Exchange and Panjrapole towards Bhuleshwar, turn right on VP Road towards CP Tank and soon you will reach Bhaishankar Gaurishankar which serves the most delicious lip-smacking rasgullas in Mumbai. As the luscious heavenly syrupy delights melts in your mouth you will experience such a fantastic blissful ecstasy that words cannot describe. A perfect ending to a perfect meal!

VIKRAM KARVE

vikramkarve@sify.com

http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com

Friends Union Joshi Club is a historic Gujarati Thali place in Kalbadevi. Walk down from Metro down Kalbadevi road for about 10 mins. You will see a small vertical board on the right. The club is on the first floor.

Eateries of this kind are evidence of the earliest practice of eating out in Bombay in the late 19th century. Restaurants were non-existent then, and such places provided wholesome meals to working migrants in the city. The Gujaratis had such clubs, and the Maharashtrian/Konkani/Goan folks had their khanawals and lunch homes.

The unlimited thali available here is one of the cheapest in Mumbai and maintains a very good quality and simplicity. Most items are very good as you would expect in a Gujarati thali. Their Shrikhand is very good, though their other outsourced deserts are unnecessary and avoidable.

A very old and famous instiution like and Irani joint. Serves good Parsi food. The national influence of Indian-Chinese food has crept in here too. None the less most people consider this to be very good. The attached bakery has yummy treat and Lagaan-nu-custard to take home or eat.

In one exceptional experience (an anomaly I am told), the mutton cutlets were reheated (and left partially cold), and the roast chicken was actually in a standard Chinese manchurian sauce.