Tag Archives: food

Of Keftede and Kofta – Restaurant Review of Sassy Spoon

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Another semi-formal outing from office, this time for dinner. Someone suggested Sassy Spoon, and there we were, after office on a Wednesday evening, in our formal shirts and trousers, at the doors of a classy-looking place.

On entering, we found a pleasantly lit, welcoming place with ambience that was serious but not uptight, and lighthearted but not frivolous: perhaps it was the soft and warm lighting, or it was the music, or the wall studded with old suitcases (watch out for it), or maybe it was just the welcoming smile on the usher’s face. And in a moment vanished our mild regret at the drizzle not letting us take up the cane chairs arrayed outside.

So we went in, and the place felt very spacious despite there being nine of us, and quite a few other people. First up, we ordered drinks, of which there is a reasonably good set of options. As we got talking, we found the music too loud to our liking, and the waiter very helpfully obliged by turning it down for us.

The menu at Sassy Spoon is something worth checking out. It not only looks different from the usual official looking booklet that we expect at such places, but also contains several foreign sounding terms. These give a good sense of the variety of cuisines that are served at Sassy Spoon – keftede, tzatziki and gremolata share space with the more common ratatouille, ravioli and bruschetta. I couldn’t help googling keftede, and realized it has the same roots as India’s very own kofta. Not surprising, because keftede refers to fried meatballs from Greece! We also noticed that there were quite a few dishes with a tinge of wine or beer in them.

With all this, I must warn you that portion sizes are relatively small, so it’s best to keep in mind, while ordering, that you might have to order more. That said, the time taken to serve was not too high, which could also be explained by the fact that we were having a lot of fun and didn’t notice how long it took for the food to come. The dishes are served in plates of various shapes including squares. Mind you, the plates might look delicate but they are surprisingly heavy, and not just because of the food loaded on them!

Among the dishes we tried were gnocchi with black pepper, which was good despite being quite heavy on the powdered black pepper. We also liked the brown rice paella with beans, artichokes and olives – it is warm and filling, feels healthy and deserves a second serving! There are several other dishes described so well you would like to keep coming back to try each of them, one by one. Among the mocktails, the ‘Very Berry Khatta’ found two takers (which also says something about the number of teetotalers in office!) and it did look inviting when served. The desserts didn’t seem as promising, but then we weren’t keen on desserts, so I’ll be able to comment only after another visit!

The dishes were on the expensive side, but they seemed worth it. At the end of the meal, we were pleased to receive a token that consisted of a nicely-wrapped square of chocolate cake and a short note on the origins of the restaurant. Naturally, I was curious to find out more, and learnt that Sassy Spoon was started quite recently by two friends. I am glad they did that, because they have designed something rare – a place where you will be equally at home with colleagues and with friends!

P.S.: The above review of Sassy Spoon was featured on the front page of Zomato Mumbai, and I thought my readers might enjoy reading about the experience!

A Visit to Britannia, Mumbai

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It was nearly a year ago that I went with some colleagues for a birthday lunch at Britannia in Mumbai. The experience was so enjoyable that I not only ended up writing a review and submitting it on Zomato but also winning the weekly ‘Write for a Bite’ contest. The review is available on the Zomato site.

We went with a vague sense that the birthday boy would “treat” us (meaning, he would foot the bill) but as the food vanished from the plates, someone came up with the idea that the group should treat the birthday boy. The idea quickly found support, and so we returned with lighter pockets and happier minds!

Here is what I had to say on the restaurant:

An old-time restaurant where a stately portrait of H. H. Queen Elizabeth II watches over you as you tuck in, a place that sports old-fashioned signs telling you to “not argue with the management”, Britannia is a homely Parsi restaurant. A bunch of us went for a birthday celebration lunch the other day and came back satisfied.

I must confess that I entered the place with a mild sense of apprehension, since my friends had told me that you get very good non-veg fare at Britannia, implying that the veg fare could be less than charming. However, I was in for a pleasant surprise, which immediately endeared the place to me: the ‘berry pulav’ at Britannia is a must-have – it looks and tastes different from every other rice dish, as the warm flavor of rice brings out the tart taste of berries.

My friends say that the ‘sali boti’, a spicy meat dish with crisp fried potato shreds sprinkled over it, and the ‘kheema berry pulav’ are stuff they would like to have again. We ordered each of the three desserts on offer, and while they come in small servings (which is good if you are watching your calories!), each one had a strong individual look and taste. The ‘caramel custard’, delicious without being too sweet, turned out to be my favourite after sampling all three.

As would be clear by now, variety is not the hallmark of the place. The entire menu fits on one side of a large-ish card. Indeed, I found it interesting that the menu card was placed below the glass topping of the tables, making for a very convenient choosing process. The seats are closely placed and the service is decent, and the place is not too harsh on the pocket. Of course, Britannia does not offer high-class fine dining, but it never promises to! All in all, an affordable and homely place where you will enjoy going with friends and family rather than with colleagues.

Note: Copyright for the restaurant review is subject to Zomato ‘Write for a Bite’ contest rules.

On the Biscuit Trail, Sightseeing (Notes on Hyderabad)

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“I have orders for fruit biscuits from Karachi Bakery,” said my friend, as we set off from the guesthouse to the venue of S’s midnight wedding. “So do I,” said the third member of our party. By then, yours truly was torn between curiosity and the need to feign awareness.

“Karachi Bakery? I can tell you where that is,” said the otherwise reticent man who drove our car, suddenly becoming loquacious in describing the location of the apparently famous shop. So I was the ignorant one. But only for a minute longer. My friends soon told me how S used to bring those biscuits to their hostel whenever she came back from home, and how they all used to “just love it.” The next day, these two friends skipped a part of the post-wedding puja in order to trace Karachi Bakery and buy huge quantities of the said item. All this was why I decided to stop there on my way later from Salarjung Museum to Begumpet.

On Nizam Shahi road, the huge blue and pink signage of the bakery stood out, and the crowd in the store, engrossed in Christmas purchases, reminded me of Mumbai. The matter-of-fact way in which I was handed a sealed packet of fruit biscuits and a piece of the same to taste was a mild letdown: I had expected, quite unreasonably in hindsight, that such a famous item would evoke a sense of awe in its handlers. Nevertheless, I could see that customers in that particular section of the shop were reassuringly enthusiastic.

The welcome that the biscuits – square shaped cookies with tutti frutti and cashewnut– received at home was little more than lukewarm, perhaps because they were poor competitors to the thick home-made jaggery pudding prepared the previous day. The tales of visits to Golkonda Fort, Charminar, Birla Mandir and Salarjung Museum found more enthusiastic audiences.

To whoever would listen, I repeated stories that the guide had narrated, of the intriguing history behind various features of Golconda Fort, including how sound was transmitted from the gateway at the entrance and the reason behind the name of the fort. We could see that although large parts of the fort were destroyed by Aurangazeb, the existing structure was deemed worthy as a film setting, for we came across a full-fledged team shooting a movie and two youngsters repeatedly trying to record a short amateur dance video.

At Charminar, it was the apparent lack of functional purpose of the building that bothered our party initially. A little like the Gateway of India, said one of the viewers. But the bangles and pearls at Laad Bazaar made up for that.

At Birla Mandir, I was amazed by the devotion shown by the crowd as everyone chanted “Govinda, Govinda” in a peculiar and catchy rhythm. The whiteness of the structure stood out in stark contrast to my memories of temples in Kerala made of dark granite. The art exhibition at the adjacent Birla Science Centre complex was worth seeing but hardly attracted visitors, who were more interested in watching the show at the planetarium and the huge skeleton at the dinosaurium, and in exploring the interactive science exhibits.

Salarjung Museum was huge and well-maintained. The various forms of Arabic calligraphy caught our attention, including the Tughra style where the letters are used to form the shape of an animal, bird or object. We stood captivated by the Veiled Rebecca, a life-like and delicate depiction of a demure woman, sculpted in white marble. In several rooms, the utility items and ornaments of the royal family reflected taste and indulgence, craftsmanship and lavishness. We returned from the museum having covered only the central block, leaving the eastern and western blocks for another visit.

Back home, most of the Hyderabad saga was forgotten amidst the holiday season. But I was in for a pleasant surprise when I casually offered the fruit biscuits to a friend. “Karachi Bakery!” he exclaimed, in instant recognition, although the biscuits were no longer placed in their original box. Here, now, was a very memorable brand! Going on the biscuit trail in Hyderabad was worth it, after all.