Call me conservative, but the charm of cooking with a good ol’ recipe book beats YouTube videos or articles on the web! Which is why I was super thrilled to receive Nisha Katona’s new cookbook – Pimp My Rice – where rice is the supreme star! An entire book with recipes ranging from smoothies, to mains, to dessert all emphasizing on everyone’s staple crop, is a genuinely handy book to have.
I read this quote somewhere on the internet – ‘What Masala Library did to Indian food, Pa Pa Ya attempts to do to Asian cuisine.’ If there is even an iota of truth in that statement, it is only fair for me to have sky high expectations from Pa Pa Ya. Zorawar Kalra’s Massive Restaurants group pulls yet another rabbit out of the hat with this new age spin on an Asian bistro. The philosophy behind Pa Pa Ya is simple – present Asian food and drink with a twist. And my meal was filled with tons of twists and turns that night. Buckle up!
You know this Asian restaurant’s going to be different when you don’t spot Oriental motifs on the walls. Metal exoskeletons and cuboids that look like molecules jut out from the wall, forcing me to think of organic chemistry lectures from a decade ago. The food is however, the catalyst in creating this ‘high energy dining’ formula. Throughout the menu you’ll see the influence of newer cooking technology such as molecular gastronomy, and mixology making the meal here a treat for all senses – umami included!
Highly recommended are the Pa Pa Ya Tales – cocktails that each come with a back story, that your enthusiastic server will be more than happy to narrate to you. Infused spirits, and cocktails with Asian ingredients set the drinks apart. Foam, fumes, and fire – expect all three! The Lighthouse – that comes complete with lemongrass fumes, in a light bulb that you have to unscrew every time you take a sip – was my pick of the night.
Before I start off this post, I am going to share some happy news with you’ll. The website Rebates Zone recently published an infographic on the top fifty food blogs in India, and yours truly features in the list at number forty. See the list here.
Anyone who knows me well enough will know that I love Indian regional food more than I love world cuisine. I may be falling into the rare minority group here (no, I don’t mean that I am Parsi), but I rather explore cuisines from different Indian states than run-of-the-mill Italian, Chinese, and Thai. It is a pity that we don’t think of the vastness and diversity that India has to offer when it comes to food or travel.
My food week pushed me out of my comfort zone – Bandra – took me to the far suburbs of Borivali and old gullys of Fort. My food week encapsulated me back into my comfortable cocoon with two cuisines that I love – Maharastrian food and Parsi bhonu.
Disclaimer – This is not a review. It would not be fair to review places or things that are sentimentally close to your heart.
Being a Zoroastrian Irani, I feel proud of my community’s contribution towards evolving the cultural landscape of a city back then known as ‘Bombay’. Irani cafes or restaurants are what initiated the dining out concept in colonial Raj. Irani restaurants were among the first community spaces that threw open their doors to people of all caste, creed, religion and socio economic status alike, and served them copious amounts of chai with bun maska. You could be a British Army cadet, stock market babu, or a roadside vendor – an Irani restaurant would serve you equally and generously.
The journey of the Irani restaurant has been beautiful and colossal. What started off as a single Irani gentleman selling chai to office goers from his ‘sigdi’, which later culminated into restaurants that served Parsi dishes and bakery products in addition to the humble chai. And then there is SodaBottleOpenerWala (SBOW) which is attempting to redefine the Irani cafe experience, without altering the sanctity of what an Irani cafe should be. Modern yet quirky, idiosyncratic, and nostalgic – dining at SBOW, which has just launched at Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), tugged at my heartstrings because it is a beautiful attempt at trying to preserve the dying legacy of Irani restaurants.
It’s sad how scarce the fine dine options get once you travel past Andheri. The launch of Olive Bistro in Goregaon’s Oberoi Mall serves as an oasis in the middle of a scorched desert. It is a breath of fresh air to Mumbai residents who live beyond the Andheri Line Of Control. Why should SoBo-ites have all the fun?
Olive Bistro (OB), is the modern, casual bistro version of Bandra’s Olive Bar and Kitchen that arrives in Mumbai after making a mark in Pune, Hyderabad and Delhi. The vibe here is fun, quirky and a contrast of colour as opposed to the white washed older sibling, that is Olive. The food here is comforting, deli fare with modern elements. I spent a Sunday afternoon there leisurely checking out the place, tasting the menu, and enjoying what Olive Bistro has to offer. It was a perfectly beautiful Sunday brunch – how Sunday brunches should be. Here are three reasons why you should consider checking out Olive Bistro –
