Review - Family Tree, Thane

Food: 4.5/5
VFM: 5/5
Ambience: 5/5
Service: 4.5/5
Veg friendly: 5/5

When I first heard of this place, I was quite intrigued by the concept, and I heard a lot about the cute chairs. But Thane is too far! So it was providence that got me an invite from Family Tree, and how could I refuse then?

Once again, as I've been mentioning in my reviews lately, read with a full tummy.

The menu is created in a family photo album style, and this is is the first page:

So heartwarming! Right then, I knew that it was going to be a good place, and that was even before I heard of their 40 year old legacy of much-loved restaurants in Thane. Chef Kabir told me about their other two restaurants, and how this is completely his endeavor under their umbrella. When I heard about it, I knew that this would be a good place, because staying in the restaurant business for 40 years is a commendable job. 

Right off the bat, before we could think of what to order, Chef Kabir sent over the Raspberry Cheesecake dessert shake. How cool that I started my meal with a dessert!

It was sweet, but not overly sweet. It tasted like an actual cheesecake and very few places can manage to do that! It was thick and delightful, and the thickness of the straw should be enough to let you know how deliciously creamy this shake was. 

It was garnished with whipped cream, raspberry syrup, and that's cheese, not white chocolate slivers! What can I say, the combination totally worked. 

We were quite intrigued by the juices, and ordered a mosambi-ginger juice. 

I loved the taste, and I asked how they made it.  Apparently the ginger is pulsed before blending it with the mosambi. It had such a wonderful taste, with just the right amount of sharpness. Many of you home cooks will like this, I'm sure.

Next up, the Jamun shikanji lemonade. 

Shikanji means spiced lemonade. Jamun shikanji, hence, is jamun added to spiced lemonade. It tasted like it was pretty healthy. Like some foods are just good for you, and you can feel it. The rim was dipped in lemon juice and then dipped in rock salt and Kashmiri chilli powder. It adds a whole different kick to the drink.

Lastly, I had the smoked strawberry chiller. I was so intrigued by their drinks menu. I am usually quite happy with plain water, but I couldn't stop myself from trying out the drinks here. And boy, am I glad I did!

It just looks so pretty! Like a cross between a gola and a slushie, I was alternately drinking it, and eating it with a spoon. The best drink here! I again asked how they made it, and I was told that they smoked the strawberry with a blowtorch and then pulsed it.

On to the soup now. First, the burnt garlic soup.

Perfect for those rainy days. This will surely clear your head, stuffy with cold or otherwise. You can taste the garlic in every spoonful. Quite a treat!

We also got the lemon chili tofu soup.

It was quite understated, and delicately delicious. I had way more of this than I intended to. A must-try, and they're generous with the tofu! I like soups that manage to be understated, yet bursting with flavor. This takes it all.

I had read a lot of recommendations of the Naanza, and Chef Kabir also suggested we try it, so we did! And I'm glad we did. 

Tortilla, cottage cheese, baked beans, veggies. Topped with sour cream and basil, served with salsa dip and sour cream.

How can I go out and not order nachos? I think I'm addicted to nachos. The Mexican baked nachos were great, served with salsa and topped with lots of yummy yummy cheese. There was more than enough jalapeno there and I liked it even though I'm not usually a fan of those! You can see the Naanza in the background!

By now we were pretty full (I have a tendency to stuff myself with appetizers), yet I still did want to try one of the mains, so we ordered Spaghetti Aglio Olio. Now this is a very simple dish, and yet, or probably because of that, it's difficult to pull off.

Chef Kabir has added an Indian twist to this dish, and it was a bold attempt. I totally loved the addition of burnt garlic to the spaghetti, but I feel like this could be a polarizing dish. If you love it, you'll totally love it though! Top points from me. Also, who can resist cherry tomatoes?

It was served with fresh, warm garlic bread. If you like garlic, or if it's raining, or if you just want an avant-garde version of Aglio Olio, try it out. You won't regret it.

Lastly, to top of the meal, there was Paan ice cream. Isn't that cute? It was stuffed with ice cream and topped with a cherry. It was so cold! What a combination of textures! A novel dish that you should try atleast once.

VFM: This place gets major VFM points. What you see in the pictures are half portions. Yes, if you order the same things, you'll get double the quantity. Definitely value for money. 

Ambience: It has a nice, homely atmosphere, and I so wanted to take a pictures of the chairs to show you guys, but people kept coming in, and there wasn't a single unoccupied table. Which just goes to show how popular this place already is! Also, I didn't want to be that creep who takes pictures of chairs when people are sitting in it. The menu is family album styled and the wall is also decorated the same way, with mirros and knick knacks.

Service: Pretty good, and I could see that Chef Kabir was really making an effort to train the servers in the details of every dish and it came across. Our server was pretty knowledgeable too. As always, discreet yet attentive is my favorite kind of service, and Family Tree manages that, for the most part.

Veg friendly: Yes! So much! They can make a good number of their dishes Jain friendly too.

The ones I would be back for: Smoked Strawberry Chiller, Lemon Chili Tofu soup, Spaghetti Aglio Olio

The ones I want to try next: Nutella Shake, Pesto Lasagna

*This review was on invite, and the meal on the house. However, all views are unbiased.

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Review - 145 Kala Ghoda, Fort

Food: 3.5/5
VFM: 3.5/5
Ambience: 4/5
Service: 4/5
Veg friendly: 3/5

This place has a pretty nice ambience, effortlessly switching from a restaurant by day to a happening hotspot by night. We had a pretty weird melange of dishes, but it was decent overall.

According to them, their ambience is evocative of Bombay nostalgia. I didn't feel that, but I guess it's a matter of perspective. My favorite part was Tom and Jerry playing on the projector.

I do love Tom and Jerry (who doesn't?) and that instantly made me feel like, yeah, maybe this place would be nice. 

Kickstarter - eggs, hash browns, a solitary sausage, bacon strips, bread and a banana smoothie. From my hardcore non veg friend, the smoothie was the best part. She was pretty disappointed with the food, and the bacon was not tender at all. The sausage was not great either. 

Nutella pancake - Beautiful. Just amazingly beautiful. Chocolate chip pancakes slathered with Nutella. Served with maple syrup and melted butter. 

I cannot stop thinking about it. If you have just one thing on the menu, make it this. You will not regret it. Look at it, just look!

S'mores tower - marshmallow, Nutella, cake, repeat. Six layers of deliciousness. 

And it turned from a marshmallow into a beautifully burnt marshmallow, with a blowtorch right at the table. I do like that blue flame. This was sooooo sweet. The pancake was comparatively balanced in terms of sweetness. This was a little on the sweeter side. Maybe it would be fine without the Nutella; it might temper the sweetness. Just a thought. I'm the first one to proclaim my love for Nutella, but sometimes it's alright to not add it to things. 

VFM : I feel like the place is slightly over priced for the quantity as well as quality. They could do well to make it affordable, but considering its a maxed out nightspot I guess it's to be expected. 

Ambience : Decent, but doesn't give me that nostalgic feeling. However it's pretty clean and hygienic, plus brownie points for the Tom and Jerry love. 

Service : Attentive and unobtrusive, this kind of service is my favorite. It always hits the sweet spot and for me, service should be exactly like this. 

Veg friendly : Enough options for vegetarians, but could be better. Plus there are quite a few options that include egg so that isn't great for people who don't eat egg. 

It's nice, but competition is high in the area here. I still might go back for the Nutella pancake. 

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Review - Veranda, Bandra

Food: 5/5
VFM: 4/5
Ambience: 5/5
Service: 5/5
Veg friendly: 5/5

This place is pure elegance. It managed to change the associations of North Indian cuisine in my head. Not very many places can pull off such deliciousness with panache, but Veranda does it. And how!

Pro tip: Make sure you have a full tummy before reading this, or you're going to get hungry. Very hungry.

This was what greeted us on entry. Isn't it beautiful?

This is a little home decor store called 'Cocoon'. Isn't that just so cozy? These knick knacks as well as the paintings there are for sale. Paintings like the one pictured below. Isn't it breathtaking?

As I reached my table, this is what I saw:

Every table had people's names written on it on a tiny blackboard. Isn't that so thoughtful? 

Then, we met Chef Monish Rohra, who had very kindly invited us and specially curated a menu for us! We were really excited to see what was in store. The restaurant is barely a couple weeks old, and yet I noticed that each table had names written on the little blackboards. I think it says a lot about how quickly the word spreads about a hot new place in town. And that just raised my expectations more. Add to that the beautiful ambience and my obsession with pretty lights.

Chef Rohra took us through each course, and explained each dish to us personally. That level of commitment is really impressive. Without further ado, on to the food! 

This beauty here is the Dravidian mini idlis. Piping hot, ghee soaked, gun powder coated, topped with pumpkin puree and microgreens. To be washed down with a test tube shot of chilled Aam Panna. In an actual chem lab test tube! I absolutely loved this one, in terms of presentation taste, the medley of flavors - everything. Perfect.

It is an Amuse Bouche, which is basically a bite-sized hors d'œuvre, served at the chef's discretion. This is complimentary to all patrons, but you can also order off the menu if you'd like. I know I will.

Next up, roasted Pumpkin Soup, called Kin Su. Because pumpKIN SoUp. I loved the naming. That was made of pumpkin, which was roasted before it turned into this delicious soup. With sour cream on top, and chives. Served with a little tray of blue cheese croutons. Those croutons were to die for. And the soup! So hearty and appetizing. 

Fancy a closer look?

Next up, our drinks.  As we were teetotalers, we got mocktails. Tamarind Virgin Mary, Watermelon and Basil Mojito, and the Classic Mojito. The Tamarind Virgin Mary with that impeccable salt rim was just awesome. The Classic Mojito was pretty good too. 

But my favorite was the Watermelon and Basil Mojito. It tasted like Watermelon fruit roll ups, which is just the best thing ever! I finished it way too quickly.

Now, for the salad. A standout dish. 

Beetroot with hung curd inside. A bed of quinoa, and arugula leaves topped with citrus malta and a honey mustard sauce. Feta cheese spread all around. And those little dots you see? That's carrot gel and beetroot gel, made with agar agar. Who knew beetroot was so delectable?

Now for the dish I had heard wonders about. People have been raving about this dish. This is a deconstructed version of the ever popular and much loved dahi bhalle. It consists of two main parts - the baked yogurt, and the fritters, ie, the dahi and bhalla. The baked yogurt is infused with tamarind gel and a pomegranate reduction. The fritters are made of urad dal, soaked in yogurt and topped with potato slivers. All on a bed of mint chutney. Chef Rohra suggested we take some yogurt and bhalla in each bite to get the full flavor of the dish. My God, every mouthful was an absolute delight. It was even better than what I was anticipating, and my expectations were already sky high for this dish.

I must say, Chef Monish as well as his brother Rahul were super attentive, and we had a great time, not just because of the food, but also because they were just that sweet and hospitable.

Next, the Palak Bhindi pakora, topped with chutney, tamarind sauce, and yogurt. Also, tomatoes. I love tomatoes. I swear, these were the most delectable pakoras I've ever had. 

Soft yet crisp, with the optimal amount of topping in every bite. I could not find a single flaw in this dish. Actually, I have not been able to find a single flaw in a single dish so far.

Next up, Paneer Trilogy. From left to right, it is tulsi, zaffrani, and malai. The zaffrani one has a little pipette stuck in it, which contains spicy makhani. Topped with micro greens, this was absolute melt-in-your-mouth. Impeccable quality.

Next up, Sabz Galouti. 
The red one - beetroot topped with sundried tomatoes. I'm telling you, this place makes beetroot awesome.
Dark green - Spinach galouti topped with mango chutney. 
I don't know how to describe that color (grey? brown? brown-grey? ) but it was a mushroom galouti, tooped with Shimji mushrooms.

I'm not even a mushroom fan, but I know galouti is traditionally super melt-in-your-mouth soft, so I couldn't resist trying it. They were all great, but my favorite was the beetroot one.

By this time, we were quite full, and we told Chef Rohra as much. We requested a really small portion of the main course that he had lined up. But as you can see, it was still a lot! On the left is the mouthwatering baingan bharta, and on the right is their special version of the dal makhani. Served with kulchas. 

Both the sabzis were great, and I do love both of them. It's difficult to choose, but at Veranda, I preferred the baingan bharta. It was so flavorful and optimally spiced. As was the dal makhni. Ah, I can't choose. Here, you can see the sun-dried tomatoes kulcha. Keeping in line with their innovative take on traditional dishes!

And now, *drumroll*, time for dessert!

As Chef's brother Rahul said; however full we are, we can always make space for dessert!

This is the gulkand choco bar. It looks like ice cream, it's served like ice cream, but is it ice cream? No! It's chocolate coated mousse, with a hint of gulkand, topped with slivers of almonds and coated fennel seeds. This one was yummy, with just the right amount of gulkand. Any more, and it would have overpowered the mousse, hence it was a perfect balance.

Next, last, and the opposite of least; the white chocolate soufflé. Served with chocolate ice cream, both topped with almond slivers, with a side of caramelized 'chikki'. This was one of those beautifully inviting dishes, reminiscent of a cozy bakery/dessert parlour.

But, take a bite, and what's that? White chocolate oozing out! I have no idea how I controlled myself enough to take a picture of that beautiful beautiful deliciousness, but I did. You're welcome.

That brings me to the end of a supremely satisfying meal, and Mr. Rahul very kindly let me check out the kitchen. As a pleasant coincidence, I ended up at Mr Dayashankar's work-space, and I got to see him make the beautiful soufflé that I had just devoured.

The kitchen is spacious, neat, tidy, and all the chefs inside looked really happy to be doing their job, even at 11 pm.

That's a mark of a good place, and of course there would not be any disappointing meals there.

A big thank you to Chef Rohra for inviting me to Veranda. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

*This review was on invite, and the meal on the house. However, all views are unbiased.

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