The Grand
China House

It’s top class. Good food in a wonderful ambience. You could be anywhere in the world

China House specialises in Sichuan cuisine. It also boasts some lovely Peking and Cantonese dishes as well; but the emphasis is on demonstrating the sophistication, complexity and diversity of the cuisine. The main chef is from Sichuan, Qiu Jia.

Unfortunately, in India Sichuan has been a much abused cuisine, merely because the predominant ingredient has been chilli, the assumption is that it gives liberty to the chef to put in masalas and Indianise the food which then has no semblance to the traditional cuisine.

For full article & recipes: CLICK HERE (Archives: April - June 2008)

Regional Thalis In Merchant Bombay

To sample the regional vegetarian cuisines of India, you cannot do better than visit Rajdhani at Zaveri Bazar for its thali meals

If it’s Wednesday, it should be Rajdhani. That’s the day this nondescript little place between the Dava Bazar and the Attar Market serves its munificent Rajasthani thali. And the thali is as crowded with food as the area is with merchants and tradesmen. This is merchant Mumbai, busy and overactive. Best disembark at Crawford Market and walk the short distance to the end of the street, just before the Jumma Masjid. Let’s go straight to the thali. It is vegetarian, no liquor service, no beer, but there is jaljeera and a most unique smoked buttermilk, also known as barbecue chaas.

For full article & recipes: CLICK HERE (Archives: July - Sept 2000)

Step Out Of Khyber, Into The Red Light!

Restaurateur Sudheer Bahl’s Khyber is Mumbai’s best-known restaurant for Indian fine dining still... but the entrepreneur in him has gone places, like to the Red Light next door

Inside Khyber at Kalaghoda, which is Mumbai’s heritage business district, restaurateur Sudheer Bahl is going through the sauces and marinades for the day and tasting selected signature dishes from the menu. He calls for Baked Red Snapper, Mutton Pasanda, Paneer Khorma, Pomfret fried in Green Masala, Chenna Tikka, Mirch Ka Salan, and the renowned Khyber Raan from Chef Amol Patil’s kitchen. Tasting it Bahl nods his approval to the chef who is standing and watching him intently.

For full article & recipes: CLICK HERE (Archives: Jan - March 2004)

6 Major Cusines Under 1 Roof!

The Pan Asian restaurant at the ITC Grand Maratha Sheraton in Bombay makes eating out truly an international experience

The new Pan Asian restaurant  has introduced the Korean barbecue, the Chinese hotpot and the Japanese yakitori grill for the first time to this food-crazy city. Chef Gev Desai says, “It has six major cuisines, count them, there’s Chinese, Thai, Japanese, Mongolian, Korean, and a spattering of what is popularly known as Indo-Malaysian food. We have also introduced the Mongolian brazier and the Chinese shinjiang roaster.”

Putting together the menu for such a restaurant must have been the most difficult part of setting up the Pan Asian. Chef Desai agreed. “But we took our core competencies and put them to work,” he explained. “Whoever knew anything of these six cuisines, we got them on our team.”

For full article & recipes: CLICK HERE (Archives: July - Sept 2003)

A Star Named Stella

The new Italian restaurant at The Leela in Mumbai is a real ‘Star’, as its name denotes

Winds of change are blowing through the Leela Palaces & Resorts and the good news is that the Leela Kempinski Mumbai, in keeping with the times and the competition in the neighbourhood, has replaced its old Fiorella restaurant with one serving genuine and traditional cucina Italiana.

Here is finally an excuse not to travel to Italy for great Italian food and wines. Though townie foodies will still have to make the brave journey from south to north over dug-up roads and through appalling traffic to get to Stella! But at journey’s end, they will find Stella is one of the most welcoming places in Mumbai and one of the few restaurants that offer true authentic Italian food and the widest variety of Italian wines.

For full article & recipes: CLICK HERE (Archives: April - June 2006)

Indigo Go, Go, Go!

Busybee goes eating out to Indigo which celebrated its second anniversary with a brand new menu of summery fusion foods

Summer winds are blowing through Rahul Akerkar’s landmark Indigo, off Colaba Causeway in Downtown Bombay. Cold tomato consomme with warm basil floating inside, green tea-scented cold duck breasts, with cranberry sorbet, a smoked Norwegian salmon and spinach souffle, and a half-dozen Kerala oysters, the morning’s catch, served raw with red wine and oregano. The restaurant completed two years on April 1. And this is the new summer menu. Get yourself reintroduced to Indigo.

It is among my five favourite in-town restaurants... make that four. The food looks and eats handsome, the decor is uncluttered and masculine, the service is not obsequious, and as far as the bar goes — you have come to the right place.

For full article & recipes: CLICK HERE (Archives: April - June 2001)