Parsi Breakfast @ Cafe SodaBottleOpenerWala, BKC Mumbai

Cafe SodaBottleOpenerWala @ BKC Mumbai

Gastronomic funda:  Parsi Breakfast

Address: The Capital Building, 02, G Block Rd, G Block BKC, Bandra East, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400051 (Click for Google map Coordinates)

Gastronomers: Irish Pereira

Damages: INR 

Ambience: 4 /5

Food: 4 / 5

Service: 4 /5

Epilogue: It was a hectic week It was pleasant and cold friday morning to begin with and I had an early morning engagement with one of our customer's in Bandra Kurla complex Mumbai. Having a quick breakfast at restaurant 'Soda bottle opener wala' on my list since long. Now SodaBottleOpenerWala is a one-stop destination for people who are in love with Parsi cuisine. We had been there for lunch earlier during one of customer visits. Hence when I was done with the customer and the 'Soda bottle opener wala' happened to be in the same lane.

In next moment I found myself sitting in almost empty restaurant on a table near front glass facade. The prompt steward handed over the wooden tablet menu with menus printed on both sides.

The Menu Tablet - Front

The Menu Tablet - Back

There looking at menu i was kind of taken back to looking a expected menu missing and checked it again in the menu back and forth; however could not find it. It was 'Mutton Kheema puff' which I was looking. Also missing was 'Cheese Macroni with Bacon'. After inquiring with the steward i was told that these menus dropped from the list along with few other menus lately.

So alternatively after screening the menu decided to settle for Meaty Poro and Irani tea.

There setting i was screening the ambience. 

The interiors

The interiors

The ambience was of typical Irani cafe with palatable to modern taste. There was old hindi classic music being played in background.

........Bijli ki rani....me hu aayi....hawa Hawaii ....

There my sight  caught on a hand board written with chalk as below.

In next few minutes the dish was tabled.

'Meaty Poro'

The 'Meaty Poro' in a first glimpse appeared to me as an oversized puffed omelette. But on closer look it was stuffed with pork ham bits, bacon bits and fried onion. It was accompanied with a buttered soft bun bread, sauced cereals and potato piece topped with cheddar cheese. Omelette coupled crispy bacon bits is always a foodie s delight.

Followed it was 'Irani Chai'. It was a advanced version of tea both quality and quantity wise of tea we get at typical Irani cafes like Merwan and Kyani in South Mumbai; however priced 10 times of the same. But at location like BKC we don't only consider the food served but also the ambience and convenience.

There after concluding the breakfast it was time for me to make up to office at Andheri. I left the cafe with old hindi classic song playing in background ....

....Aate jate, haste gaate....socha tha maine kahi baar....

Prologue: To sum up it was wonderful moment spent pampering ones taste buds with typical Irani breakfast in one of the plush locality of Mumbai.

For more of my treks and traveloques you can check my blog. https://irishpereiraonthego.blogspot.in/

Disclaimer: The above restaurant in review was personally visited by Irish Pereira wherein he has paid for the full bill & does not believe in featured / sponsored reviews. The reviewer believes in anonymously visiting a hotel to present an honest account of all the factors to you.

Happy Eating, Keep Exploring!!!!

Long ride to Tansa Reservoir near Asangaon

Long ride to Tansa Reservoir near Asangaon Maharashtra

Activity: Bike Ride
Location: Tansa Reservoir near Asangaon
Base village: Aaghai Village
Distance: 150 Kms
Riders: Irish Pereira, Stuti Pereira
Map Coordinates: Tansa Reservior

Epilogue: It was a hectic week at office and there was a extreme need to reset on weekend, but was not sure of what can be done. Hence I checked my bucket list for travel ideas. Top on the list came a long ride which was long pending. My brother in law has bought a sport bike which was also dying for long drive i suppose... and hence thought why not burn some rubber. Finally given the timelines, we settled for Tansa Reservoir. It is the same on which Mumbai depends to quench its thirst.

The Ride:

We started at 10:20 from Nalasopara east via Sativali Vasai to start on on the Western Express highway (NH 48). Once on highway, there is no stopping till Mastan naka Manor, from where we took right turn to Wada Shahapur road.

We had a spiritual activity lined up a Kanchad near wada. We reached there at around 11:30 pm. Then after lunch we started again at 2:30 pm on the Wada Shahapur highway towards our destination for the day I.e Tansa Reservoir. The roads are so well maintained and we enjoyed every moment riding. Sparse traffic with good road without speed breakers is a fun every biker will dream of. 

Then after refreshing at Wada junction we started again on Wada shahapur road for nearly 20 kms to reach the Tansa Reservior.

Pipes at Aaghai naka

We reached there by 3:50 pm only to know that the Dam has restricted entry and is not open for visitors and tourists. It comes under jurisdiction of BMC. There are barracks for water department  of BMC. We were very disappointed to know of no entry after the long journey. The local chap was telling other visitor in local marathi dialect....

"..... ओळख असेन नाहीतर परवानगी असेन तरच सोडतीन...."

(....Require contacts or permission to be let on the rervoir..)

...we had none of the both. There are steel barricades preventing visitors from entering into dam area.

Myself - Barricades and the reservoir in the background

We clicked few pics there. There was a cricket ground besides brimming with youths for local tournament. There while on the roads we came across a herd of cows. And we were surprised to see them walking in one line on the corner of the road. It was as if these cows were on the way back home from school and instructed by their headmistress to walk in line with hand tied back.

I feel we humans can learn a lot from animals and nature. Seeing i remembered the announcement made in Mumbai Suburban Local trains.

"....Sabhi Yatri ko binanti he ki .......krupaya qatar me uttare..."

There we decided to explore ("Jugaad" as it called) any alternate route to reservoir. Then inquired with a local chap of any alternate access to reservoir. His vague guidance and google map together ensured we get the access to beautiful view of the Reservoir.

And there we were beholding the water buckets of Mumbai. The view was serene and worth every moment spent in traveling to it. 

Tansa Reservoir

Such tranquil lake view soothes ones nerves from routine urban clatter. There we refreshed ourselves in the cool waters of reservoir as we were burning with heat.  Clicked few pics and bid adeiu to the place. 

This small place is nothing but a village of pipes. Huge pipes line the length and breadth of the area. The same pipes are ones supplying water to cities like Mumbai and nearby suburbs. 

There we passed through backyards of Mahuli Fort. 

Mahuli fort as seen from behind

Then our next pit stop planned was  enroute home at Hot water springs at Akloli near Vajreshwari. It is almost 30 kms from Tansa. There were we vrooming at lighting speed saddled on a mechanical beast on a traffic less road that was lined with pipes on both sides. Fortunately for us the road continued to be in good shape all the way long except few patches near Vajreshwari. There we passed through backyard of Mahuli fort near Asangaon. There we refuelled our beast at Ambadi Naka near Vajreshwari to reach the Akloli springs at 5:30 pm. 

I had visited these hot water wells nearly 20 years before as a kid with my family.  These hot water wells continued to be in bad shape with locals and even visitors soiling it. The locals step in the well to bathe and even was clothes. Sad part is that even local government has never took initiative to maintain the wells. 

We @ Hot water springs at Akloli near Vajreshwari

The brackish appearing water of the hot wells was pretty hot (around 60-70 degrees). We dipped our feets in the hot waters gor few minutes only to pull them out seeing the time. It was at 5:45 pm with the Sun nearing to set and we had decided to reach Vasai before dark.

Hurriedly after taking stock of route we started our journey back home. There enroute  Vajreshwari - Parol - Usgaon - Shirshad- Western Express Highway -Sativali, we reached our Final stop at Achole lake at 6:30 pm. Finally was time to thank Almighty for the wonderful ride. 

Prologue: To sum up it was a wonderful time on bike coupled with good roads in pleasant a climate towards beautifully serene destination to leave us together with loads of good memories to cherish with.

For more of my treks and traveloques you can check my blog. https://irishpereiraonthego.blogspot.in/

Happy Riding, Keep Exploring!!!!

Hotel Gurubhavan, Munnar, Kerala

Kerala Food Diaries- Hotel Gurubhavan, Munnar Kerala

Gastronomic funda:  Non Veg Food   

Address: Near Teacounty Resort, Munnar Colony road, Ikka nagar, H O, Silent Valley, Munnar, Kerala 685612 (Click for Google map Coordinates)

Gastronomers: Irish Pereira, Stuti Pereira, Chandru

Damages: INR 493

Ambience: 4 /5

Food: 4 / 5

Service: 4 /5

Epilogue: It was a wonderful and cool afternoon to begin with where me and my wife had been to Munnar in the last week of year 2018. Munnar is a town nestled in the scenic tea gardens of Kerala and has cool and Serene Climate. 

There at noon we set out in search of good non veg food. I tried searching for any food blogs written by my fellow bloggers, but found none. (...and have volunteered to write one)  So without any online support, we have to resort to offline inquiry ..in this case we inquired our driver for good non veg restaurant on Munnar. Without a moment of hesitation he stated "Hotel Gurubhavan" in old Munnar town. We basing our discretion on his suggestions decided to give it a try. 

Located in Midtown Munnar is a restaurant with an ample sitting capacity and has a upscale ambience with proper hygienic setup. We settled at a table at end were handed over menu card. We were looking for something which seemed unavailable in the menu. To anyone's guess it was beef off course.

We inquired the waiter of the beef and he blurted out 3 menus of beef...Beef chilly, Beef roast masala, Beef biryani. 

We ordered for beef roast masala with butter naan. My wife was nauseating and decided to settle down for green salad. Not knowing the serving quantity, we also ordered for fish biryani. 

In couple of minutes our beef roast masala was tabled and was followed by fish biryani. 

Beef Roast Masala

Butter Naan

The beef roast and fish biryani quantity was so large that we were kept looking at each other in utter surprise; thinking who'll finish this all stuff. We were completely bowled over by the serving quantity. Each dish was more than enough for two persons.

So to avoid hassles of returning one of the dish, we decided to call our driver Mr. Chandru for what can be termed as "Gastro help". He was reluctant at first.. however gave in after our much pressing.

The beef roast masala was awesome with dense quantity of succulent boneless beef pieces all encompassed in thick gravy.  The green chillies within ensured the spicy taste and had been judiciously garnished with coriander leaves. Along with butter naan it made a perfect combo for our carnivore taste buds.

Fish Biryani

Then it was turn of fish biryani. It consisted of Seer fish (Surmai as we call it in Mumbai), papad and rasam accompaniment. The biryani was perfectly spiced with judicious fish servings. As wasting the food being out of our principals, my wife who was only for salad initially agreed to pitch in finish. the dishes. Together we three ensured to do justice to all the food served before us. 

The bill appeared to paltry sum as compared to that what we usually end up paying for non veg lunch. 

To the ones looking for good, spicy and pocket friendly Non veg food in Munnar,  the Hotel Gurubhavan can be considered as the perfect option without a tinge of doubt for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Prologue:
To sum up it was an wonderful afternoon spends fooding at one of the best restaurants in Munnar. And then after a hearty meal and burrping out we continued our sightseeing in the town. 

Menu Card:

 

Disclaimer: The above restaurant in review was personally visited by Irish Pereira wherein he has paid for the full bill & does not believe in featured / sponsored reviews. The reviewer believes in anonymously visiting a hotel to present an honest account of all the factors to you.

Happy Eating, Keep Exploring!!!!

An Idli Afternoon @ Balaji Idli Express, Andheri, Mumbai

Mumbai Food Diaries- An Idli afternoon@Balaji Idli Express, Andheri, Mumbai  

Gastronomic funda:  Veg Food trek – Balaji Idli Express

Address: Andheri-Kurla Road, Chakala, Mumbai, (Click for Google map Coordinates)

Gastronomers: Irish Pereira, Swati Thakarda, Sagar Narkhade, Ganesh Pabale, Vinayak Shenoy, Akshay Bhoir, Nishant Chaudhary, Manisha Rajput, Rajesh Sathe.

Damages: Rs. 3120

Ambience: 3 /5

Food: 3 /5

Service: 3 /5

Prologue: It was a cheerful Friday as well hectic afternoon as our team was about to leave for Exhibitions and busy preparing for the same.... At 12:30 we pack of 9 hoggers set out in search of our game .... Till the main gate there was dilemma as to where should our hungry planes crash-land on .....but we we're sure to avoid our regular friday lunch menus..namely Chicken Nukkad biryani and pizza's Smokin Joe... 

We had two rough options in mind though.. "Subway"  or "Idli Express". On approaching main gate, the balance had tilted with majority vote in favour of 'Idli Express' near Chakala Signal Andheri. Sagar the ardent chicken lover of the pack was not ready for so called "veg lunch". However outvoted Sagar was literally dragged by Ganesh to the venue just like shouting opposition bencher's are marshaled out of Lok Sabha. He had made his mind for non veg chicken burger in Subway. He kept on whining all the way.

Balaji Idli Express as it is named is a small cafe sans coffee type of setup with only 12 - 13 sitting chairs. However the place is known for its long list of varied Idli menus. We reached there to find it partially occupied. Till then we placed our orders and stay put till table are empty. Within next 5 minutes we found ourselves resting our bottoms on seats around the table.

Before our orders came the soft drinks.Then in couple of minutes came our orders. 

First menu was masala coloured 'Peri Peri Idli'. It was fried idlis sates seasoned with masala. Along came the Mayonnaise dip. Together it was a menu to reckon with.

Then was the number of Neer Dosa's. We had ordered for two varieties of Neer dosa- one with veg kurma and other with Chettinadu Veg Masala. Neer Dosa's were soft, however the accompanying vegetables were just ok types. We intermittently washed our food pipes with pepsi.

Neer dosa- one with veg kurma

Neer dosa - Chettinadu Veg Masala

Accompanied came the Idli Spicy Lasooni Cheesy Tosado. It was basically a toasted idli topped by garlic and coated by cheese overcoat. It is idli version of typical garlic bread and was yummy.

Idli Spicy Lasooni Cheesy Tosado

Then came the Idli Indian Spicy Pizza. It appeared like regular thin crust Pizza; however it had the Idli bottom. It was just like regular pizza. 

Idli Indian Spicy Pizza

Then came the Cheese Mayo Idli fries. It consist of 5 small circular fried idlis tucked by a stick purged in thick Cheesy Mayo gravy. It as a dish to reckon with which was repeated on majority demand.

Cheese Mayo Idli 

It was followed by Paneer and Cheese Grilled Idli Sandwich. It consisted of  bread layered with Idli and paneer and cheese making the inner layer. This menu was also ok types category.

Paneer and Cheese Grilled Idli Sandwich

Then came Butter Garlic Idli. It consisted of hexagonal idlis fried in butter with grated garlic. However it was garlic overdose which made it more pungent.

Butter Garlic Idli

We repeated the soft drinks to cool our burning throats.

Myself with that yummy Mayonnaise dip..

Then the Mayo Cheesse Idli was repeated.

And then came the desert part - couple of dishes of Desi KitKat Waffle... It was 'Dish of the Day'. Crusty idli bottom topped with hot chocolate made it a treat to ones taste buds. So much so that we would have repeated it hands down; however given out short lunch time we dropped the repeat.

Desi KitKat Waffle

The Menu Card:

Menu Card

Epilogue:
It was a wonderful afternoon spend tasting variety of 'Idli and south Indian dishes' with cheerful group. However when bill arrived we were left surprised. The bill was more than our regular non veg bills. Then we can hear Sagar still whining in background,....

".... didn't i told u guys, eating veg is more costlier than Non-veg".

And then joyfully pulling his legs we made it our office to get lost in our work.

Disclaimer: The above restaurant in review was personally visited by Irish Pereira wherein he has paid for the full bill & does not believe in featured / sponsored reviews. The reviewer believes in anonymously visiting a hotel to present an honest account of all the factors to you.

Happy Eating, Keep Exploring!!!!