Gosh, I’m eating around at so many different places, it gets difficult to do an individual blog post about each one of them. But then again, I want to share my foodie experiences with you’ll. Hence, the idea for this post. Read on for the (food) week that was!
I. Five Fat Monks, Bandra
This place has been on my radar ever since I heard positive reviews about their Ghatkopar branch. They’ve made the move to Bandra recently, so yours truly decided to go check it out. This is a quick-service Asian restaurant serving up soups, appetizers, rice, noodles and what I was most excited about: DIY stir-fry woks. The entire space is done in a contrasting white and orange palette, and has a geometric influence.
I love the concept of creating your own stir-fry. You get to be the chef without actually cooking. I remember All Stir Fry, Colaba pioneering this concept in the city, which was then carried on forward by Noodle Bar. Five Fat Monks has the same funda as its predecessors: pick your base of rice/noodle, pick your protein, choose veggies, choose a sauce as your base, and pick three garnishes to go on top. All of this comes on an interactive worksheet, which you can pick your choices off and hand over to the server.
My Burnt Garlic chicken rice combination with pok choy, baby corn and mushrooms came topped with roasted peanuts, fried onions and spring onions. The portion size was impressive for Rs. 295/- and two of us managed to split it comfortably. The stir-fry came steaming hot and I loved the flavour of the burnt garlic. We ticked the box option, but ended up getting the rice in a bowl. (I really wanted to eat in those cute, red boxes they keep advertising.) Barring that glitch, the dish was decent. If you’re a fan of stir-frys, give this one a shot.
The Prawns Har Gow (Rs. 200/- for six pieces) had a lovely prawn filling but the dim sum coating was a bit too lumpy and thick. Completely avoidable.
Overall, Five Fat Monks is trying to fill the gap between thela Indian-Chinese, and fine dine Asian cuisine. It’s doing a decent job at that, barring a few glitches which need to be ironed out.
(P.S.: Do ask for unlimited servings of green tea while you’re waiting for your food.)
Contact:
Shop 2, Ground Floor, The New Kamal Society,
Near National College, Waterfield Road,
Linking Road, Bandra West, Mumbai.
Phone: 022 66711423, 022 66711424
They also deliver!
II. Mac Craig, Bandra
I’m a little possessive about this place. So possessive that I didn’t want to write about them, and share it with everyone. I remember going to Mac Craig as a little kid, and my mother would buy me their Lemon Jam Swiss Rolls. I went back to eat the roll years later, and it tasted just the same.
Mac Craig is housed in the same lane at a host of famous Bandra restaurants such as Suzette, Papa Pancho and BusaGo. Yet this tiny, little, take-away joint remains unknown to many. With barely two tables and four chairs this joint is frequented by those who want a quick bite on the go. The menu looks freakishly similar to Candies just down the road, and you’ll get some trademark Candies dishes here too. You can call Mac Craig a cheaper, smaller version of Candies.
Expect rolls, burgers, mini meals, sandwiches, colourful drinks, and desserts here. And if you’re lucky you may get to try some of their specials. On offer that night was Roast Stuffed Chicken and Pork Sorpotel. The Pork Sorpotel was deliciously tangy, spicy and had well cooked chunks of meat. Instantly transported me to Goa. Paired with their soft dinner rolls, this made for a finger-lickingly good meal.
Mac Craig’s Goa Sausage Bun (Rs.60/-). This fluffy bun comes filled with sausages in an onion-tomato mixture and makes for a yummy snack. This time however, there were lesser sausages in the bun than I remembered it to be.
The Lemon Jam Swiss Rolls (Rs. 30/-) were these soft, spongy cakes filled with lemon jam in the center and dusted off with sugar powder. This was like a little trip back in time.
P.S.: Also at Mac Craig you’ll find Whiskers and FlowerPot. (We named them that.) Two of the cutest, attention seeking cats. Beware, they’ll make cute, kittie faces and you’ll end up buying chicken lollipops for them like I did.
Contact:
Mac Craig,
18, Gasper Enclave, St John’s Road, Pali Hill, Bandra West, Mumbai.
Phone: 022 26411985.
III. Theobroma’s Cooknie
I’m not a fan of hybrid food. I’ve steered clear of the pizookies, cronuts, broffles, birizzas of the world. And then I had this- Theobroma’s Cooknie- a cookie brownie hybrid. Just the softest, moist signature Theobroma brownie on the inside and the yummiest chocolate chip cookie dough on the outside. This was a delicious treat and absolutely worth the 85 bucks I spent on it. Just pop it into the microwave even a couple of days later, and it’s as good as new!
Available at all Theobroma outlets across the city.
(All reviews conducted anonymously. The author paid for her own meals.)
