Joss me up

Twas the day after new years when not a drink was being stirred. 6 beings crept towards Joss with a foul and fiendish plan to get treated by the fattest of them all.

The menu was long and the atmosphere was warm. The waiter was friendly and the ordering was copious. The Mekong Whisky Fried Prawns I say, The Smoked Salmon Nori Sounds Good, The Oriental Crab Bisque sounds risque and bring on the Teppan Grilled Eastern Veg. The eating began and it was good. The wine from Hardy's said Riesling Gewurztraminer and it was drunk by the bottle. The Jura was 10 years old and that too was sipped. But ahead lay the main course.

The main course, The main course oh what shall we have for the main course. The rain in Spain stays mainly on the plain but what about the course main ? Lead on The Wood Flavored Tender Ribs, Bring out the Grilled Lamb Chops, Lay Out the Prime Tenderloin steak and reinforce with the Tataki of Prime Beef. Prithee how can we forget the Bacon Wrapped Scallops or the Nori Maki Sushi.

That was the main course, that was the main course but then what about the dessert. The dessert, the dessert give the fat one his just desserts. The Hot Kahlua Chocolate Souffle is decent I heard vouched one. And twas twas. Glory Glory Halleleujah The Hot Kahlua Chocolate Souffle is absolute pleasure and sin. How can something like this be a mortal creation ?

The bill was long and the bill was onerous but the food was excellent and the desert extraordinary so the bill was paid.

The food was worth repeating but the bill the bill, the butcher's bill...

Kwality - Mixed feelings

Continuing with my eats down memory lane was at Kwality in Worli the other day. Coincidentally it was with a bunch of really old friends. The first thing that struck me was that the average age of the staff was plus 50. I mean I know its a old restaurant but never seen so many old waiters. Anyway onto the food. The kebabs were so so. The Seekh could have been spectacular but the meat was a bit dry. The main course was very good. The Alu Ghosht was good, the dal makhani so so and I have been informed that the Paneer Bhurji was amongst the best Paneer Bhurji ever. Post Delhi I am not a Paneer fan so I really have no opinion there. The Chicken drumstick was succulent while the fish was a tad over fried. All in all a good trip down memory lane as opposed to the really bad trip that was Flora

Mahesh

I have fond memories of Mahesh. Some of my first sea food experiences have been at Mahesh (Thank you Arvind!!). For some obscure reason I stopped going there when it became cheaper to drink at a quarter joint and then do Vandana for dinner. Whatever happened to Vandana incidentally ? Great sea food at Mahim it used to have. Anyway last weekend went there and was somehow disappointed. Its not like the food was inedible or bad but just bleah. It was competent but nothing stuck in my mind. The Bombil fry was done the bawa way with the whole fish being fried and not flattened but Brittania is much better, Ladyfish fry was so so and the pomfret in green sauce is way better at Excellensea. The only thing that stood out for me was the yellow dal which was a weird hybrid between Sambar and Dal oh and of course the wine list had some very decent wines. We had a nice tart Chilean white which cost us 1200 bucks which was a steal.

Goa Portugesa : No Sa

I really hate it when a supposedly speciality cuisine restaurant serves you food which is so very clearly tweaked for the mass market. If I wanted that I would have gone to a blooming multi cuisine restaurant or a frigging five star. Not that the food was bad but my basic issue is that when I go to a Goan food place I expect to get authentic Goan food not Goan as done by someone who has never left Mumbai but read a lot about Goa. The crab cakes were delish but the rest of the food was good. Liver, Brain and Pomfret along with Squid. All done well but again not quite goan.

Incidentally I perhaps am becoming a cynic (Probably am) but really the thought of knowing who the host is or how he met his wife and what all he does is sickness inducing. All i want to do is know about the awards won or what he suggests we eat.

In one respect at least the place is Goan as the service was very Susegad.