It has become a sort of practice with me to try out new restaurants every month and the only condition being that the restaurant should serve good non-vegetarian fare.
After searching in the Collection tab under the Kebab section, I found this famous restaurant. After going through the reviews and consultation with a fellow foodie, Sandeep Nadkarni, I finalised this place for our jaunt.
Location
:
If you are travelling from Dadar towards CST, as soon as you get off the flyover at the Byculla Zoo, take the left lane and go below the next flyover. You come across a traffic signal. Once you cross the signal, keep left and there you are.
Ambience:
The looks of this restaurant are deceptive. From the outside, it doesn’t seem to be a huge restaurant that it is. It seems to be a like an ordinary restaurant serving Mughlai cuisine but there are 4 levels / floors to it.
I rue missing an opportunity to sit in their famed dining halls which are designed with Persian / Arabic décor. We sat in the dining hall at the lower level. The ambience there is very minimal and nothing to rave or write about.
Food:
The steward gave a suggestion of ordering a Rann Tandoori but that was shot down as it would be too much for the 3 non-vegetarians and they would also have to miss out on the main course or eat only a part of it.
Hence they settled for a Mutton Champ Tandoori, a nicely spiced and roasted pieces of mutton. There were 4 pieces to a plate and a couple of pieces from the ribs area. They were eating it in absolute silence hence I presume that it was finger licking good.
Mushroom Chilly was ordered by us vegetarians. I am a mushroom fan and love it any form. The mushrooms were very soft and tender, cooked in a thick dark brown gravy with soya sauce, onions and dry red chillies.There was slight sweetish after taste to this dish but lovely.
Chicken Kepsa Biryani was raved about many reviewers and hence I suggested it to my colleagues. It was served in a big thaal with rice layered over nice and spicy red chicken gravy. The quantity for enough for 4 people.
Veg Biryani was an underplay of the spices. They had let the veggies speak for themselves instead of the spices doing the voice over. It was unlike any other Biryani I have had so far, though not the best one I had. It was mild gravy with a sprinkling of whole spices. It was nice& different.
You just cannot leave this restaurant without having their Phirni. It’s served in an earthen bowl which absorbs all the moisture content of the rice kheer thus giving it a slight earthy taste and leaving the Phirni thick& luscious.It was also not over the top sweet hence very likeable.
Damages:
The bill for the above came to Rs.1285 for 5 people which is value for money for amazing food.
Next time, I visit here I am going to try out their famed dining halls and experiment with their vegetarian fare and keep my capacity in reserve for the Rabdi or their famed dessert Honeymoon, a very quirky name for a dessert.
A must-visit place for non-vegetarian lovers especially the Mughlai variety.