Ellipsis…

Posted on September 27, 2013 by reenamansukhani Standard Reply

… the 3 dots at the end of Ellipsis means that there is always more from Ellipsis…

…..ummmm

…….not happening – at all.

Went to Ellipsis for dinner last night, with hubby. Again courtesy Restaurant Week. Its a restaurant I’ve been wanting to visit. I’m glad that I went and I’m over it. I always wanted my blog to have good things to say about food, but Ellipsis really really let me down – Big Time. Due to some religious reasons, we ordered only a vegetarian fare.

While we waited for our first course – the salad, we were each presented with a small plate with 1 cheesy fried dumpling – it was nice. The meal started off well. They then offered us a bread basket with flavoured butter, honey miso and smoked pepper dips – the dips were really good but the bread was chewy.

Single piece starter

Bread basket

Both these were complimentary while were waited for the salad.

The salad arrived – looked fantastic. It was a spinach salad with spinach, arugula, caramelized and roasted nuts and goat cheese, It was great. So goooood. I thought to myself – great place to have come. But then, the salad was the highlight of my meal.

Spinach salad

This was followed by the Second course – the appetizers – we had to choose one each. I chose the aubergine starter – (eggplant, chilies, soy and crispy rice). Hubby selected The Tofu bowl (garlic, sesame and fall vegetables). We exchanged the plates.

My feedback – NO to the aubergine starter. The Tofu bowl was really good.

Hubby’s feedback – The Tofu bowl was decent. Reminded him of Chinese-styled cooking. Found the aubergine starter better.

Aubergine starter

Tofu bowl

Main course was Fettuccine – house-made pasta, grilled veggies tossed in marinara. Our verdict – decent but too much of marinara which gave a very tomato-y taste to the dish.

Fettuccini

Finally we were ready to order the desserts. We were really hoping the desserts would uplift our mood. How our moods crashed – shattered!

We ordered – Panna cotta (coconut, lemongrass, kaffir lime) and a creme brulee (nutella, white chocolate). My hubby had a bite of each and asked me to finish them off – if I wanted. Panna cotta was really bad. For the creme brulee, if I would have been offered a ramekin of pure Nutella, I would have felt happier.

Panna cotta

Creme brulee

… FULL STOP. THE END.

Shiro

Posted on September 26, 2013 by reenamansukhani Standard 2

Went to Shiro for dinner Tuesday night. I like the place. I think I go there 2-3 times a year. The menu is extensive and taste – very interesting.

This Tuesday night at Shiro’s was thru The Restaurant Week. Here for Rs. 1,200 + taxes + charges, for dinner you get a set menu to choose from. At Shiro, I got to choose a soup, appetizer, main course (selection of a gravy dish plus rice or noodle) and dessert. The Crispy seaweed and a portion of stir fried vegetables in chilies and basil were complimentary. Please note, the good part of this booking was, that each serving is lesser than what it is actually, if ordered ala carte. (Only because of this could I eat a 4 course meal!) I had perused the menu before making reservations. The menu seemed lovely and it did not let me down. I ordered vegetarian, while my partner ordered non-vegetarian – so – between us, we had a lot of food : )

My order for the night was Chili Lemon Soup – a clear tangy soup with a subtle hint of shiitake. Very good.

Appetizer – Vegetarian spicy California maki – Shiitake mushroom, cucumber & avacado in spicy Vietnamese sauce. Duck the sushi rolls in the dip and its nice. Loved the ginger pickle and wasabi alongside it.

Mains – Seasoned Korean styled tofu with vegetables and Yaki Udon noodles – The veg Yaki Udon noodles are Japanese stir fried noodles and vegetables in teriyaki and oyster sauce. MUST ORDER – THE UDON NOODLES. They are well flavoured and can be had by itself.

Dessert – Chocolate Sushi – a selection of sushi, flavoured with Bailey’s and Kahlua. Another MUST ORDER – Its alcohol flavoured mousse filled in finely made sushi rolls.

Complimentary were the crispy seaweed – interesting as I have not had something like this before and the side portion of stir fired vegetables in chilies and basil is excellent.

Chili lemon soup

Crispy seaweed

Vegetarian spicy california maki

Seasoned Korean style tofu with vegetables

Yaki udon noodles

Side portion of stir fried vegetables with chillies and basil

Chocolate sushi

All the photos you see above were only for me! Awesome. I tried to do justice to the meal but just could not finish the some of the mains. The noodles and dessert serving plates, of course, were cleaned-out!

Now, my partner’s meal. His order was Thai Kwai soup – very well made.

Crispy fire cracker prawns – prawns marinated in spicy Korean sauce, wrapped in a spring roll sheet threads and fried. VERY GOOD – A MUST ORDER

Seasoned Korean styled stir fried chicken and Japanese steamed rice. Well flavoured.

Misissippi mud slide – good chocolate mudpie but it required another ladle of chocolate sauce.

The pics. Here goes-

Thai kwai soup

Crispy fire cracker prawns

Seasoned Korean styled stir fried chicken

Japanese steamed rice

Misissippi mud slide

The above was my partner’s meal, inclusive of the crispy seaweed and portion of stir fried veggies in chili and basil. He also ordered a Long Island Ice Tea. Priced at Rs. 600 + taxes + service charge, it was decent. (Cheval makes it better. See earlier post on Cheval)

Stuffed after a 2 hour long dinner, we drive back home – to sleep. A well enjoyed meal – thanks to Restaurant Week.

Merwans

Posted on September 26, 2013 by reenamansukhani Standard Reply

My neighbour gave me some cookies from Merwans. They were yum. I couldn’t believe they were from Merwans. They are Walnut crunch cookies. A packet of 250 gms at Rs. 180. Fantastic. Makes a lovely partner with evening tea.

Walnut cookies

Cafe at NCPA

Posted on September 26, 2013 by reenamansukhani Standard Reply

This is an open air cafe on the premises of NCPA, Nariman Point. However, its now covered – I’m hoping its because of the rains and when the weather changes, it’ll be open air again. The cafe started off initially with just about 8 to 10 tables and now its expanded to thrice its initial dining area. Its a lovely place to unwind. The tables are well-spaced, music is soft and lilting. Service – impeccable. Guess, I like the place.

The menu too has expanded. It has its in-house list of options, menu from Amadeus and then a selection from Joss as well.

Starters were Ulte tawe ke gilouti kebab, Chili cheese toast and a Fresh lime soda.

Ulte tawe ke gilouti kebab

Chili cheese toast

fresh lime soda

The Gilouti kebabs were absolutely splendid. Rs. 175 for 6 pieces. Its a must-order starter. It gets a 5 on 5.

The chili cheese toast – melt in the mouth. As good as it can get. Rs. 160 for a portion of 4. It gets a 4.5 on 5.

Fresh lime soda – perfect blend of sweetness and the lime. Refreshing.

For main course, we ordered the Corn crusted cheese and jalapenos burger with creamy spicy sauce – sounds lip-smacking? : ) We also ordered the Prime grilled beef burger with cheese pickles and caramelized onions and a chicken Nasi Goreng.

Corn crusted cheese and jalapenos burger

Prime grilled beef burger

Nasi Goreng

The Corn crusted cheese and jalapenos burger was really, really good. Take a bite and you can taste the crunchiness of the corn and the melting cheese at the same time. The caramelized onions add to the flavour. At Rs 260, a complete meal as its served with french fries and Cole slaw. The Cole slaw is delectable. Rated it a 4.5 on 5

The Prime grilled beef burger with cheese pickles and caramelized onions too was appetizing. It too was served with french fries and Cole slaw. Price – Rs. 360. It gets a rating of 4 on 5

The chicken Nasi Goreng was good in taste. At Rs. 300 it was a regular fare. Rating it at 3 on 5

The above were ordered and eaten by three persons. We were satiated but my friend wanted to try their dessert. Our server recommended the Chocolate Cigar – so be it.

Chocolate cigar

The Chocolate Cigar is served with Prune and Armagnac ice-cream and a walnut cookie. At Rs. 350, the 3 of us went to heaven. Its a MUST ORDER. The chocolate cigar is a chocolate mousse (strongly coffee flavoured) encrusted in a thin chocolate casing, served with a two servings of awesome ice-cream. Rating 5 on 5. (If I could – i would give it a 6 on 5). Pure bliss.

Will definitely keep going back to try the other selections on the menu.

The prices mentioned are exclusive of taxes and their 8% service charge.

Irish House

Posted on September 17, 2013 by reenamansukhani Standard Reply

Entrance

I love the ambiance of this place. The vibe is just great. I was introduced to this pub my by hubby. It had initially opened at Phoenix Mills, Lower Parel. At the time, I had a drink and ordered a portion of nachos. Wow – the quantity of the nachos was so much that, that was my dinner!

Irish House opened another outlet at Kala Ghoda a few months back. I went there recently. I love the character that Irish House brings forth. Its warm, classy, chic, comfy, soothing, electrifying and relaxing – all at the same time. The outlet at Kala Ghoda has a larger space and like its Lower Parel counterpart, sports a huge screen. The music is fantastic – hats off to the DJ please.

The setting

As luck would have it, we reached there just before Happy Hours were ending. Buy 1 get 1 free. Ordered a Long Island Ice Tea.

Long Island Ice Tea

Hmmm………..the drink was disappointing. Priced at Rs. 595, we’ve had better. To go with this, we ordered the Ultimate Cheese Combo.

Ultimate Cheese Combo

This is a platter of 12 pieces of 3 types of cheesy delights. Starting from the closest to the farther-est, they rated themselves similarly. Closed to the sauce are the Jalapeno Poppers (which were the best), followed by Breaded Sharp Cheddar Cheese Ball (nice) and lastly the Mozzarella Sticks (average). At Rs. 395, they paired well with the drink.

Main course was Moussaka Veg. Price is Rs. 375. Its well flavoured and served with potato mash.

Moussaka Veg

The Three Lion’s Steak & Chips was a good meal too. Priced at Rs. 575 it got an almost 4 on 5. Both dishes were served with potato mash and must say, they do make one of the better mashes I’ve eaten.

Three Lion’s Steak & Chips

Overall rating would be a 4 on 5. They get this because of the ambiance they have created together with prompt service. If only food was to be considered, then it would get a 3.5 on 5. The drinks are on the expensive side, apart from a few starters, portion sizes are small ( for eg. Mini Tacos at Rs. 275 are 8 pieces of bite-sized tacos) and the Cigar rolls are just 5 pieces.) However, the main course is appetizing. To all the prices mentioned above you need to add 10% of service fee that they charge as well as the taxes.

Shan – Chicken Masala

Posted on September 12, 2013 by reenamansukhani Standard Reply

Shan – Chicken Masala pack

I used this pack to make dinner for hubby last night. As usual, the taste was perfect.

Shan – Chicken Masala

I have used a few more products from Shan’s collection and they turn out faultless every time. Just follow the recipe mentioned on the pack behind and you can’t go wrong.

I recommend this brand of ready-to-cook masalas for all, especially those living alone or for those vegetarian persons who cook non-vegetarian dishes for their non-vegetarian partners / family members. Its hassle-free and easy to cook.

Brand: Shan – Chicken Masala

Net wt: 50 g

Price: Rs 60

Validity: 3 years

Rating: 5 on 5

Chicken Masala

Posted on September 12, 2013 by reenamansukhani Standard 2

I made this Chicken Masala dish for my hubby’s dinner last night . This is a thick onion gravy with chunks of chicken. Its a spicy masala and is ideally to be had with roti or naan but hubby prefers it with rice.

Chicken masala with rice

I used Chicken Masala from Shan range of ready-to-cook masalas. (for more info and pictures on the Shan masala I used, see following post). I must say – I am extremely happy with Shan products as they turn out perfect every time.

Wraps and Rolls

Posted on September 11, 2013 by reenamansukhani Standard Reply

Finally, I made them – WRAPS!

Ever since I made the Peppered Paneer, I’ve been wanting to put it in a wrap. (On the Mumbai roads, they are called ROLLS)

So,

last night’s dinner was :

1. Paneer n Aloo (potato) wrap

2. Grilled chicken and Aloo wrap

3. Egg n chicken wrap

The results were amazing. They tasted quite like the ones on the streets. Yipeeee…………

Check out the pictures.

Paneer n Aloo filling

Paneer n Aloo wrap

Grilled chicken filling

grilled chicken

Grilled chicken wrap

Egg n chicken filling

egg n chicken wrap

Dinner enjoyed. Happy. And another day goes by – well spent.

Hung Curd Dip

Posted on September 9, 2013 by reenamansukhani Standard 1

I enjoy making the Hung Curd Dip as my hubby relishes it. I usually make a big bowl of it on Friday so it lasts till Sunday evening.

Hung curd dip

We usually have it with a bag of potato chips. Sometimes, I add crudites (carrots and cucumber). We watch a movie, the dip and chips between us and a good 2 hours go by.

Dip with chips n crudites

I like having carrots and Reliance potato chips with the dip. (See earlier posts).

Request for recipe

Reliance Masti Oye – Masala Madness potato chips

Posted on September 9, 2013 by reenamansukhani Standard 1

Reliance chips – Masala madness pack

Reliance potato chips has overtaken Lays. I will now not buy Lays but this brand. Masala Madness is the 2nd flavour I have tried from the Reliance potato chip kitty and its really good. Packed with mouthful flavour. Have this by itself or with a curd dip.

chips n dip

Brand: Reliance Masti Oye – Masala Madness potato chips

Net wt: 59 g

Price: Rs. 20

Rating: 5 on 5

reenamansukhani

All Things Nice

Monthly Archives: September 2013

Ellipsis…

Shiro

Merwans

Cafe at NCPA

Irish House

Shan – Chicken Masala

Chicken Masala

Wraps and Rolls

Hung Curd Dip

Reliance Masti Oye – Masala Madness potato chips