March 2017 | Branded Bawi's Biography

My March Food Favourites

March 31, 2017 No Comments

It felt like the month of March would never end. If an Ashutosh Gowariker movie was a month, it would be March. But all these never ending days, meant one thing. It meant a lot of food was eaten, some of which I blogged about previously. (Read about Pradeep Gomantak Bhojnalaya here. Also read about two new bar launches that happened last month here.) A few have made the cut and are featured on my March Food Favourites list. Read on!

1. If you’re looking for a South East Asian foodcation – Shizusan Shophouse and Bar, Lower Parel

When every third restaurant in the city doles out Pan Asian food, what do you do to stand out? You make your dishes the star, you let your food sing without any gimmicks – which is exactly what Shizusan Shophouse and Bar does. The entire three storeyed space is modelled on the concept of a South East Asian shophouse – a traditional business cum residential building. The decor has intricate Asian elements without being garish, and made me fall in love with the space the minute I walked in.

Bar, Bars, Food, Marol, Restaurant Review, Review, Swey, The Stables, Worli

Take a Trip to Drunky Town With These New Bars

March 26, 2017 No Comments

With restaurants and bars sprouting all around the city like moss during monsoons how does one determine which bar is worth your time, money and most importantly worth those calories. Yours truly recommends trying out these two watering holes among all the new entrants the city has seen this month. Read on, and then drink on! *hic*

1. Swey, Worli

Perched on the top floor of the now defunct Atria mall in Worli lies Swey – a sprawling casual dining bar where you can nibble on appetizers under the open sky and drink cocktails with the sea breeze in your hair. What I loved about Swey the minute I walked in was the sheer magnitude of the space – large and spaced out unlike most bars in the city where you’re bumping elbows with the drunk on the next table.

Their signature cocktails come strongly recommended. My pick of the night was the Kale and Hearty – a vodka, spinach, cucumber, kale and ginger mix – that definitely tastes better than it sounds. Why have your greens when you can drink them mixed with alcohol? Another favourite was the highly potent Tequila Surprise – a tequila, kiwi, jalapeno concoction. What I loved about the cocktails here was that they were generous with the alcohol quotient which is a rarity nowadays.

(Left to Right): Rechado Fish Tikka, Cajun Chicken Pizza, Bottle Masala Chicken

Food, Fort, Pradeep Gomantak, Review

Why We Need to Preserve Restaurants Like Pradeep Gomantak in Fort

March 13, 2017 12 Comments

There is an unwritten rule every time I dine at South Mumbai’s Fort and Colaba areas: I ensure that I dine at a regional restaurant which serves up some local food, or a restaurant that has endured the test of time and is a golden oldie! Enough time, money and calories are spent dining at trendy restaurants and hipster bars, owing to their abundance in the suburbs – Lower Parel and beyond. Which is why my train rides to Churchgate are spent reading up on vintage eateries I haven’t been to yet.

While rambling around in the by-lanes of Fort, I followed my stomach and my heart in the direction of Ideal Corner for some Parsi ‘bhonu’. Located right opposite Ideal Corner, is a tiny eatery that you’ll miss if you blink, and that finishes as soon as you enter. Pradeep Gomantak Bhojnalaya is your no-frills, average Gomantak joint that serves up home style food tracing back to the Goan Hindus. The food here is simple, hearty fare with a menu that focuses on doling out fish thalis to hungry office goers during lunch hours. This place is a dream for the pescatarian, but also does chicken and mutton thalis if you don’t enjoy fish. Vegetarians, stay away!

As I finished my decently average meal at Pradeep Gomantak, I could only think of why we needed more places like these in the city. And why we need to preserve the few that we have remaining.

Bandra, Food, Restaurant Review, Review, Su Casa

Su Casa es Mi Casa

March 10, 2017 No Comments

Two frisky Rottweiler puppies came bounding up towards me, tails wagging, tongues flying and lay down at my feet. I knew this meal was going to be spectacular even before it began. We were dining at Su Casa – Bandra’s newest European restaurant – one evening. The large al fresco seating with greenery all around makes for the perfect romantic setting, if you can ignore the random mosquito that is. The indoor dining room is just as classy and dimly lit which will explain the poor quality of food pictures you’ll are about to endure.

Situated in the new, amoeba-like Bombay Art Society building the decor and menu does justice to the classy location. The food menu is predominantly European with a lot of the ingredients fresh and flown in. The menu focuses on clean eating, food that is rustic and holistic with the menu spanning small plates, mains and indulgent desserts.