Chembur a quaint lil suburb in Mumbai famous for many especially famous because a certain mouthshut member satishkl hails from there … heh heh joking guys . This suburb houses many restaurants, Chinese , Punjabi , moghlai , South Indian , but somehow doesn’t make it to the big league simply because the restaurants are ordinary , some exceptional but the cuisine is never experimental. New restauranters are a lil wary about setting shop here. Predominantly south Indian , this suburb is slowly changing into a cosmopolitan suburb. Things are changing now though … Dosa Diner, Roti came in to meet mediocre success and then there was a lapse. Now suddenly 3 restaurants have bloomed up , Golden Wok serves authentic .. I mean authentic ..not the Deep fried Manchurian smelling like onion bhajias doused in a Soya sauce laden gravy laced and thickened with corn flour and a nice carpet of Coriander thrown in for Good measure. Give a Chinese that … and the poor soul will pass out. This is Indian Chinese or should I take the liberty to say Punju Chinese . Then there is Spice root specializing in Far Eastern cuisine and the new one which is different from these two and that’s … Anything on a platter – Sizzlers and Kebabs.
Me and my gastronomical Friend Vinayak who keep surveying restaurants and digging in on Sundays mostly decided a week ago to try this one especially after another friend recommended it. Sizzlers in Mumbai is synonymous with Kobe’s, Yoko’s , Café Royal (The place where Bill Clinton had another oral session when he came to India… I mean an eating session … What are you thinking ??? ) and Fountain. Located near the famous Basant Cinema , we ventured through the heavy downpour to the restaurant .
The Ambience
The ambience greets you warmly , wooden tables , Comfortable chairs, innovative lighting and very innovative decors. Stainless steel versions of Sizzlers , Cheese and Kebabs mounted on Wooden Planks adorn the walls , and then there’s greenery and a lot of them which gives a nice fresh sight around. What is clear is the cleanliness, probably because this is still new but its clean. The tables have a huge paper sitting which has some babyish crosswords and puzzles … cmon guys we have grown up.
The Food
Aha I have two menu cards, one for the Booze which is the normal Virgin and bloody mary’s , Screwdrivers etc etc. The Food Card is impressive …
Soups
Garlic Breads , Starters
Salads
Sizzlers ( Vegan and Non Vegetarian )
Oriental Food
Sandwiches
Kebabs
Desserts
We started with the Garlic Bread – the mixed platter types wherein you get a mix of all the types of Garlic breads ( Rs 60). Hungry stomachs await the Garlic breads and we gulp them down , the Mushroom topping was good and so was the tomato and basil one. Though the starters were tempting we didn’t take any.
Then we got the sizzlers, my Red hot Chilli pepper Oriental Veggie (Rs 180 ) and Vinayak’s Classic Chicken Shashlik (Rs 170). Whats a sizzler you may ask, well there is a sizzler plate , a hot plate to be precise on which are placed …Rice / Noodles, Veggies, Potato Chips and the Sauce is poured over them to Make it sizzle.
My Sizzler was awesome … on the left was Chilly garlic potatoes, on my right was Crispy spinach and on the middle was yummy tasty Chilli noodles with huge chunks of Crispy Cauliflower between and I was rushing with my mustard sauce and chilli sauce. Though there seems to be a lot of chillies its not that spicy , at least for an Indian.
My friend was biting into the succulent Chicken enjoying it thoroughly. After we finish our meals we look at each other… Dessert ..well a Walnut Brownie with ice cream (Rs 60 ) shared between the two I suggest and there it comes … Our eyes turn into Saucers , it’s a large portion and its really tasty.
The connoisseurs Verdict
Awesome place , a welcome change to chembur , I really enjoyed this sinful treat I had , it cost around Rs 500 between the two of us which is not bad and for such kind of innovative menu and succulent food … not bad at all …Come to chembur and I’ll take you there …
And ah … I forgot I have got this real bad habit …. I never carry any money with me …:-)