Le 15 Café – When France meets Bambai

It isn’t unusual for expectations to be sky-high when you’re touted as the ‘Dessert Queen’ of the city.
I’m sure it wasn’t an easy journey from Berries to Burrata and everything wasn’t just sunshine and flowers.

Yet as you enter Pooja Dhingra’s cafe at Colaba, you’d get just that – a bright, cheery and sophisticated space with plenty of natural light pouring in.

No unfinished walls and kitschy pendant lights, no tacky motifs and faux textured tables. Instead, we have elaborate flower arrangements and bright geometric upholstery. For once a place claims to be a café and actually looks like one!

The theme of ‘Less is more’ also shows in their menu.
There’s not a lot to try and that’s great because I’d rather have two stellar dishes than five mediocre ones.

The Buratta at Le15 or Joy on a plate

Clearly the most instagrammed plate of food this year, the Burrata with a bright tomato-basil sauce was light, summery and every bit as good as I’d hoped it to be.
My heart went ‘Tu cheese badi hai mast mast’ as I mopped up every last bit of the creamy cheese with the tangy sauce speckled with almonds to cut through the richness.
It shows thought, restraint and simplicity and is perhaps the best dish on their menu.

The Parmesan Waffle with the Tomato Jam and Poached Egg (Like perfectly poached. Perfect), however, left much to be desired.
The waffle was understandably soggy and almost limp by the time it reached us and the jam needed just a little more of the chilli kick to make the cheese and earthy yolk pop.
The flavours were too subtle and no particular element stood out for me.

Parmesan Waffle with Poached Egg and Tomato Jam – Let down by a soggy, cold waffle.

While I waited for my dainty little plates of food, a refreshing Elderflower Lemonade kept me company.
With subtle floral undertones, this should be your pick if you’re feeling particularly adventurous but also don’t want to let go of the tea-party vibe.

Our love for all things citrus made us choose ‘Carla’ which is Le15’s rendition of a Lemon Tart – with Lavender shortcrust crumbs and Lemon Curd served in a cutting chai glass complete with a bee smiling at you ( why you so cute?! )
Unfortunately, the lemon curd was a bit off and more than pleasantly bitter ( Perhaps they used more rind? ) which threw the whole dessert off balance.

Carla – To bee or not to bee?

Redemption was on it’s way in the form of ‘Amelie‘. A moist, dense, perfect cake soaked in a gorgeous milky reduction and topped with tart raspberry coulis and pepper crumbs.
With creamy, rich flavours that are perfectly balanced by the heat of the pepper and acidity of the berries, this is another plate that shows how simple, elegant combinations always work.

There’s no denying that the place oozes charm and has a lot going for it.
When you have two Cordon Bleu trained Chefs paired with some of the best ingredients money can buy ( Perfection in the form of bread from TBD or Chocolate from Mason & Co ), there’s bound to be magic.
And while I did see some sparks fly, the rest of the show isn’t something you haven’t seen before.

Oh Amelie – I would write songs for you if I could!

I intend to return for their glorious Salted Caramel Tart or Lucie, as they like to call her.
In the meanwhile, I suggest you head here just for the Burrata and the Milk Cake and grab some macarons to go.
P.S – Love the eye-popping flavours in their Paan macaron or the tried-tested-loved Sea Salt and Dark Chocolate.

Get : The Burrata , Amelie

Miss : Parmesan Waffles with Tomato Chilli Jam

(A meal for two would set you back by Rs. 1500-2000)

Le15 Cafe –> Shop 18, Lansdowne House Building, MB Marg, Near Regal Cinema, Apollo Bunder,Colaba, Mumbai

Ruka – Ai Kireina!

It’s not always that first impressions change drastically. But for me they did.

While the year began with me avoiding Japanese food like the plague, it ends with me yearning to get my wasabi fix every week!

My love affair with sushi has been a short one, but after my meal at Ruka, I’ve a feeling it’s ‘The One’

‘Twas nothing short of a Christmas miracle when we were invited to Ruka thanks to our hep and happening Santa, Assad Dadan.

I knew I’d been a good girl all year!

My eyes fell on the sushi bar and it was love at first sight! Slick, sassy and with some gorgeous seafood (I swear I could hear the Salmon calling out to me!) – this is the place to be for your sushi dreams.

We made our way to the main dining area which is an eclectic mix of extravagance and frugality. Bright blues mixed with plain greys and shiny wooden furniture mixed with distressed metal.

Also worthy of a visit is their lounge area with a water-feature and plenty of natural light streaming through the large windows.

Sushi for brunch? Yes please! A Wasabi cocktail to go along with it? Hell yes!

Perfection… meet the Nigiri Sushi Platter. Nigiri Sushi Platter… you already know perfection..

Bartender extraordinaire – Sagar, armed with some badass cocktails and a charming smile, started our meal on a great note (hic!). My French 1991 was a breezy, smooth, elegant mix of peach, lime and aromatic fennel – a delight for all senses. The Kyuri No Hara with a light cucumber foam and Pimms caviar was a brilliant play on textures and contrasting flavours in one glass.

We even got to try the award winning C-18 cocktail that was sensational – creamy, spicy and everything eggnog wishes it could be!

They plan to launch a new line of ‘Cocktails that you can eat’ with fruit leather and caviar and molecular mixology – If that doesn’t sound amazing then you need to get yourself checked.

The rest of the afternoon went by in a haze with enough food to feed a tiny country and then some.

We started with a gorgeous Nigiri Sushi platter with some of the freshest seafood I’ve had in a long time. Followed that up with a Sashimi platter that features some brilliant cold cuts of salmon, tuna, sea bass and crab meat.

The experience of Head Chef Mastado Toida speaks for itself through precision and knife-work.

A dash of wasabi and soy later, we were in happyland.

Perfect little Prawn and Bamboo shoot Dumplings

The impeccable quality of seafood shines through in their Spicy Tuna Maki Roll and their Softshell Crab Maki Rolls – both were absolutely delightful and let their simple ingredients stand out.

The consistency of the light batter on the Prawn Tempura Maki Rolls is so perfect, it made me want some of their Tempura Prawns right away.

But we’ll save that for another visit, another day.

The Mushroom Hotpot Rice with Truffle Butter and Miso was hearty, umami-filled and surprised us with it’s sheer richness and explosive flavours.

When a table of people who can’t get enough of seafood say that about a

vegetarian dish, you know it’s something you absolutely must try.

Impeccable Softshell Crab and Prawn Tempura Maki Rolls

As perfect as Ryan Gosling and his abs (sigh!) was the Saikyo Miso marinated Black Cod. The fish was perfectly done and flaked at just the touch of my fork. The punchy wasabi-miso sauce served alongside packed quite some acidity and savoriness to complement the simplicity of the fish.

It’s wonderful to see a kitchen showing so much restraint and letting the ingredients speak for themselves.

We also tried the Miso Marinated Foie Gras (Miso makes everything better. Period) that’s as soft, fatty and rich as butter and has a lingering sweetness. The savouriness of the miso was a great contrast to the tender meat.

Saikyo Miso Marinated Black Cod – My Precious!

Our meal ended with their giant Omakase dessert platter – featuring some beautiful passionfruit sorbet, a perfectly made chocolate fondant, banana cake with toffee and a coconut custard with papaya and passionfruit foam which is by far the freshest, lightest dessert I’ve ever had. The platter was also laden with fresh fruits so you don’t feel too bad after your sinful indulgence.

Everything we tried at Ruka was either fantastic or really, really good. The food is excellent and the cocktails are some of the best in the city.

The staff is super chatty and will spoil you silly.

Spicy Tuna Rolls and California Maki Rolls – Brilliant!

If I were you, I’d be planning my next special occasion here! Your anniversary? Birthday? Dog’s first haircut?

A handful of reviews and photographs don’t do justice to the place at all.

Is it pricey? An elaborate meal here would cost you a small fortune.

Is it worth it? Going by the sheer quality of produce used, yes! A resounding yes!

Get : Nigiri Sushi Platter, Miso Marinated Black Cod, Spicy Tuna Rolls, Softshell Crab Rolls

Miss : Green Tea Cake with Toffee

Ruka –> Ground Floor, Ramee Guestline Hotel, A.B Nair Road, Juhu, Mumbai

Café Haqq Se – What’s in a name?

When I think of all the things I would call my own restaurant some day, ‘Haqq Se’ is definitely not one of them.

Completely lackluster name aside, the place itself is inspiring and kitschy. From a stunning mural designed by the very talented Kanak Nanda to the bright mix n match chairs from our very own Chor Bazaar.
Fun. Quirky. Unabashed. Still somehow manages to make sense.

We started with the delightfully tangy and chatpata Kairi Mary which was big on taste and inventiveness.
The citrusy and aromatic Narangi Starphool Mojito was a great drink but lacked the star anise hit and toastiness.

Spicy, Tangy, Delicious – Hello Kairi Mary!

The menu has a lot of wonderfully weird fusions to try out and the more you’re into mad experiments, the better it gets.

The Bhuney Chicken Wings were pretty much like any other, except that these were chargrilled and had a smoky aftertaste. The glaze itself was sweet and sticky and the dish served as a great start to my meal.

It’s hard to imagine Malaysian and South Indian flavours in the same dish but the Rasam Laksa here manages to pull it off with aplomb. Every spoonful gave me bursts of peppery, tomatoey goodness and creaminess from the coconut. Served alongside is a crisp naan topped with more seafood and is just perfect to mop up all the soupy goodness.

The Rasam Laksa – Give me a bucketful of this stuff!

The only real disappointment of the entire meal was the Saundhe Chicken Tikke.
Hard and unyielding with an unimpressive marinade, it was everything a good tikka shouldn’t be.

“It’s crispy prawns and lightly fried onions in a Tart shell” I’m told. They had me at crispy prawns, I didn’t even listen to the rest of the description.
The Kanda Prawn Fritts is the perfect example of East meets West.
Spicy, juicy, crispy prawns on a bed of sweet onions encased in a crunchy phyllo shell. It’s so good and weird and unfashionable at the same time.
The dish is incomplete without the raw mango and mirchi slice which ties the flavours together elegantly.

Oh Kanda Prawn Fritts – where have you been all my life?

It’s great to see how the kitchen exhibits restraint and respects ingredients when we try the Taleli Macchi that uses Pink Salmon.
The fish is moist and flaky and retains it’s delicate flavours instead of being spice-heavy and overdone.
It comes with a tempered yoghurt dip that’s great to have even as it is.

We had our hearts set on the Butter Chicken a lá Kiev from the moment we walked in through those huge doors and that’s exactly what we were going to have for our mains.

Butter Chicken A La Kiev – Makes you go Balle Balle!

The dish is brilliant. Absolutely outstanding concept, precisely executed and bloody hell! So tasty!
The Chicken Roulade was so moist that you could cut it with a spoon and oozed a delicious, buttery tomato gravy that’s exciting yet familiar and comforting.

Up next was the Golda Chingri Thermidor which is a wonderful coconutty, cheesy, indulgent yellow curry with bits of perfectly cooked seafood thrown in.
Is it Thai? Bengali? Who cares! The result is perfection on a plate.

Golda Chingri Thermidor – Whatte Beauty!

Equally enjoyable is their Raw Mango Crab Curry with a whole crab and a delectable, spicy, coconutty curry dominated by turmeric and hints of amchur. The result is the best kind of comfort food that you can ask for.

The Raw Mango Crab Curry – straight out of a Grandmother’s Kitchen

The words ‘Wasabi Custard’ made us squeal with delight and the Kheer Japani was an obvious order.
The dessert, though perfectly executed, was underwhelming.
I expected more hit from the Wasabi and more creaminess from the Kheer sushi.
It was a toned down version of the bold, eye-popping flavour that could’ve been.

The Pista Jam Pie is more decadent and rich with the soft gulab jamun and the salted toffee cream.
Innovation aside, the flavours are more conventional and Indian this time around.

Kheer Japani – Not quite as Japani as I would’ve liked

I’m not particularly fond of Rasgullas (chill! Put your guns away!) but there’s no doubt that the Rasgulla White Chocolate Mousse here is brilliant!
It’s creamy, almost marzipanish in taste with bits of Rasgulla and tart strawberries that offset the heaviness from the Mousse.

Also worth trying is their delicious Baked Amrakhand – which is a light and airy cheesecake with the slightest hint of saffron and mango.

The Baked Amrakhand – If only all Indian Sweets were like this…

The food at Haqq Se is everything that fusion food should be – it’s new and interesting and bloody delicious.
The whole meal came for about 1600 bucks per person and I would happily pay that much and more for twisted interpretations that are sometimes even better than classics.
The service was exceptional and our server, Wayne, was a superstar!

It’s wonderful to see new found respect for Indian food and Haqq Se gets it right by eschewing the whole nitrogen and Molecular charade for some real flavour innovations.
Will be back for sure.. Haqq Se!

Get : Kanda Prawns, Butter Chicken A la Kiev, Golda Chingri Thermidor, Rasgulla Mousse

Miss : Saundhe Chicken Tikke, Gulab Jam Pie

Cafe Haqq Se –> Ground Floor, Trade View Building Oasis Complex, Gate 4, Kamala Mills Compound, Lower Parel, Mumbai

Panayaa – Lavish and how!

From tempered chocolate to solids that really are liquids and liquids that disappear into thin air – molecular gastronomy sure has come a long way.
So did I, all the way from the other side of town to try out the latest entrant in ‘Liquid Nitrogen Land’ – Panayaa

It’s refreshing to see a large space with high ceilings and finished walls!
The pristine white alfresco area gets my vote as against the more docile and conformable dining area inside.

I’m many things, but late is seldom one of them. Thanks Jay Dhawan for adding another dimension to my personality! (P.S – remind me to buy you a really loud alarm clock)

So bottom line – we were over an hour late to the pre-launch invite and we missed pretty much most of the appetisers.

We did, however, try the Smoked Mushroom Salad which was really interesting save for the dressing.
The mushrooms were doused in the creamy, slightly bland harmalai dressing which made the ‘salad’ a bit too indulgent and heavy. Perhaps more restraint here would help.
I loved the fact that this was a cold salad and the mushrooms were perfectly cooked and still had a bite to them. Ofcourse the theatre came from the Liquid Nitrogen – which the dish didn’t really need in my opinion.

Smoked Mushroom Salad – hit n miss

The Dhokla Oxide was more of a miss. Too much going on with the sev and caviar and dhokla. Add the nitrogen smoke screen to this and there’s just way too much going on for anything to stand out.
It’s a great attempt to recreate a classic Sev Khamani – but the result is underwhelming.

Dhokla Oxide that tries being too many things at once

The mains were more conventional and predictable with the regular naan-subzi regime.

While I liked the Amritsari Kofte for the soft, almost air-like dumplings, the gravy was pretty much like any other.
The Thecha Bhaji could’ve used a lot more punch from the chillies and cruised closer to a mild, bombayesque version than a Kolhapuri Thecha.

Amritsar Kofte – tender and beautiful koftas – but the gravy was too underplayed

The Multani Paneer was mellow and delicate but could’ve benefitted from better paneer while the Dal was all buttery and creamy awesomeness.

What stood out was the Jeera Basil Rice which has bursts of freshness from the Basil and had a very subtle, nuanced flavour.

The Panayaa Special Rice was a pretty different take on a Biryani (well… Vegetarian) but was let down by it’s mushy texture. I’d go for it’s simpler Jeera Basil sibling any day.

The desserts were by far the best part of my meal at Panayaa.

We started with the delicious Strawberry Dome with smooth, creamy and slightly tart strawberry mousse with a shiny chocolate ganache exterior. Great textures and clean flavours.

Strawberry Dome – berry good indeed

Next up was the Scrappy Mountain – which is an experience in itself as you watch chocolate and vanilla and butterscotch combine into a work of art. It has a lot of elements and surprisingly, if had together, the whole dessert makes perfect sense. The chewy butterscotch, the dense chocolate, icy vanilla and tart strawberries – simple and pretty damn good.

Scrappy Mountain – so much fun and so much to love!

I don’t have a thing for Indian Sweets and Mohanthal isn’t something that makes me swoon.
But my word was the Mohanthaal Cheesecake spectacular! Perfectly set, creamy, just the right sweetness and accompanied by some flaky baklava shreds – so good.

Mohanthaal Cheesecake – love at first bite!

Panayaa’s appeal lies in it’s innovative perspective. You can twist food and turn it inside-out but you can’t describe how it tastes. Molecular gastronomy adds the element of visual appeal to the food that makes it almost digitally transmissible.

Head to Panayaa and be surprised by it’s refreshing take on vegetarian food and some of the most instagram-friendly dishes I’ve seen in a long, long time.

Get : Mohanthaal Cheesecake, Strawberry Dome

Miss : Mains completely! Get just the appetisers and desserts!

Panayaa –> Block No.25, Raghuvanshi Mills Compound, SB Road, Lower Parel, Mumbai

Pa Pa Ya Asian – Absolutely Am-asian!

I was perfectly content in assuming that Pa Pa Ya would be a restaurant with a bark stronger than it’s bite.
With food that’s better to look at than to eat.
Totally ignorant and happy in my tiny little bubble.
And then a cumulative rating of 4.8 on Zomato and some stellar reviews burst that bubble.

After rounds of military level planning and strategy building, we were finally here – with sky-high expectations.

At first glance, Pa Pa Ya doesn’t seem like a spacious, brightly lit space with a sense of occasion. It always struck me as more loud and clubby.
But dig deeper and you see it’s actually pretty well spaced out with royal fuchsia coloured walls and a bright and buzzing bar.
And well – molecules. Hundreds of them.
Instead of acting as distractions they add to the ambience and give it a sense of depth and pops of texture and colour.
I’ve been told the whole place is 3D mapped such that you can project images on the molecules.
If that’s not cool, I don’t know what is!

Compressed Watermelon with seaweed foam served as an amuse bouche

I started with the highly recommended ‘Tokyo Summer’ – a heady concoction with vodka and notes of pickled Ginger and Wasabi topped with a piece of Nori.
It’ll play with your mind on so many levels that after a point you’d just give up trying to understand it.
It smells like sushi. Tastes like sushi. But it’s a drink.
An incredible drink at that too!
Tokyo Summer – 1, Every other cocktail I had this year – 0

Followed it up with ‘Lighthouse’ that comes with notes of lemongrass and ginger with some pineapple juice and ofcourse a generous dose of vodka.
Served in a cute light bulb, the flavours are familiar this time around.
It’s pleasant and citrusy in all the right ways.

The Seafood Laksa served in the quirkiest way possible. Soup 2.0

We started our meal with a brilliant Seafood Laksa Soup.
Served in waterproof paper…
(I’ll give you a second to process that….)
Paper!
The Soup was delicate and milky with generous chunks of seafood thrown in.
Although, the spice could be amped up a bit more on this one, it’s refreshing and light unlike several others that tend to be too heavy and thick.

Next up was the Prawn Har Gao with Green Curry Farce – brilliantly prepared little pockets of perfectly cooked prawns and a spicy, punchy green curry drizzle.
It’s understated flavours work very well as having a more prominent flavour from the Curry or the prawns would ruin the balance.

Prawn Har Gao with Green Curry Farce – only complaint? I wanted more!

The only real disappointment for me was the Duck Confit Salad.
Instead of tender, slightly crisp and gamey meat, the Duck was shredded and served as crispy juliennes that completely defeat the purpose of the cooking technique.
The Yuzu orange dressing did very little to kick the flavours up.

As a testimony to our love for prawns and tempura, we called for their Ebi Maki Rolls.
There’s so much to love here – beautiful, crispy tempura prawns served as the perfect little Maki rolls.
Gone in 30 seconds.

Ebi Maki Roll which was superbly made and was all love and awesomeness

The XO rolls, needless to say, were impeccable with the savoury, garlicky XO sauce with bits of seafood thrown in. The sauce could completely overpower the sushi but the flavours complement each other so well and the plate shows thoughtfulness and restraint.

Eschewing the beautiful sushi matrix for something more substantial, we called for the sushi boat.
How else would you feed 5 sushi hungry souls?
With the quality of seafood being ace, everything laid on that boat was delicious and polished off.
What really stood out for me was the carbon sushi where the salty hit from squid ink adds oomph and panache to an otherwise tried and tested way of having sushi.

The gorgeous Wasabi Yuzu palate cleanser

While the Marinated Scallop Roll checked all the right boxes in terms of preparation and inventiveness, the flavours left much to be desired.
The cucumber covering provided freshness and crunch but stole thunder from the central character – the scallops. The natural sweetness and earthiness from the scallops was sorely missed and though technically sound, it was my least favourite roll of the evening.

Between courses we were given a Wasabi Yuzu Palate Cleanser that could very easily have a place of it’s own in the desserts.
Tart, acidic and every so lightly spicy with a zingy, refreshing aftertaste.

We called for the Peanut Crusted Ikan Bakar with Nyonya Curry as our mains with a beautiful Khimchi Fried Rice.
The rice was absolutely spot on, colourful and packed with flavour and worthy of being enjoyed even as it is. What made it even better was the gorgeous fish enveloped in a creamy, nutty, tangy curry. The peanut crust was akin to a spicy chutney and the fish within was perfectly cooked. Simple, delicious and so hearty that I almost licked my plate clean. Gloomy plating aside (who serves fish on a… dead fish?), one of the nicest dishes of the day.

With little space remaining to squeeze more food in (believe me, we tried!), we decided to go simple and order an Ice Cream sampler for desserts.

In came 6 small waffle cones with some of the most inventive flavours I’ve had in ages.
Damn you Pa Pa Ya! Can’t you keep anything low key?

The Ice Cream Sampler would be enough to make the child and grown-up in your happy

What caught my fancy most was the White Peppercorn with a pleasant, almost addictive spiciness and the Truffle Vanilla which is so weird but so good with it’s robust earthiness and garlicky undertones. Even the simple strawberry was treated in a refreshing way with berry ripples and nuanced flavours.

The service was absolutely flawless and our server Manish was spot on with his recommendations and was open to feedback and criticisms. His enthusiasm is infectious and knowledge of the menu and understanding of what the diner wants is astounding. Great, great team they have here!

For the quality of the food and techniques used, the prices are a steal! It’s not every other day that a restaurant is innovative yet classical in it’s approach, with brilliant food and spectacular service. At 2.5k per person with enough food to feed a small country, I’d unabashedly say it was totally worth it.

Would I be back? Absolutely. And I’m going to get every person I know with taste-buds.

Get: Ebi Tempura Maki, Peanut Crusted Ikan Bakar, Khimchi Fried Rice, Ice Cream Sampler, Sushi Boat

Miss: Marinated Scallop Rolls, Duck Confit Salad

Pa Pa Ya –> Level 3, Palladium Mall, Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel,
Mumbai

Papacream – to scream or not to scream? That is the question…

From the subtle Tender Coconut at Naturals to the creamy, rich Macadamia Nut at Häagen Dazs to the Spicy Guava at Apsara – I love ice cream to the moon and back!
Oh you magnificent frozen dessert – is there anything you’re not? Life. Love. Comfort. Joy. Relief. A true 4 am friend.

Since everything tastes better with ice cream (True Story), we can’t wait to shake things up, can we?
Mix and match? Add a zillion toppings?

Just when I thought I’d had enough of this charade, Papacream stepped in as a game changer.

Liquid Nitrogen for theatre.
So?
Indulgent toppings.
Yawn!
Savoury flavours.
Say what now?

A place that’s as cute as a café with bright pastel walls (finished and painted and everything!), comfortable cushions, twinkling lights and enough seating to easily accommodate 20 people at a time.
It’s as easy on the eyes as a perfect little scoop of your favourite flavour.

We started with their signature Ice Cream Sushi – served in a plastic container complete with a chocolate dipping sauce.
The dessert is a Lemongrass ice cream with Passionfruit and Kiwi jelly wrapped in a chocolate crepe and rice crispies.
Everything else on offer is pretty standard issue – everything except the Lemongrass ice cream that’s ingenious.
It’s fresh. It’s light. It’s smooth and has a lovely lime-y flavour that cleanses your palate. Loved it.

Sushi Ice Cream – The lemongrass ice cream was amazing!

Next up was the Salted Caramel Ice Cream with Caramel popcorn and Caramel sauce.
At this point it’s imperative that you know how much I adore Salted Caramel. It’s my Kryptonite.
Which is why it was so disappointing that the ice cream is all caramel – no salt. No savouriness to give it some depth and oomph.
I would imagine myself being pretty happy if I wasn’t told I’d get a salty-sweet treat.
The flavour was completely one dimensional and adding the popcorn (or too much of it) and more caramel sauce didn’t help.

Salted Caramel Ice Cream with popcorn and caramel sauce – yes there is such a thing a ‘too sweet’

The Chocolate Ginger Crème Brûlée was a lovely combination of clean and sophisticated flavours. The slightly bitter chocolate was set to a smooth, almost custard like consistency. The ginger hits you just towards the end to leave a lingering aftertaste.
Great as it was, beyond the first few bites the ginger gets overpowering and completely masks the subtle chocolate.

My favourite of the lot was the Horlicks Ice Cream with Nutella Pancakes.
As a kid I’d have Horlicks straight from the bottle… with my bare hands… like an animal.
To have that as an Ice cream with Nutella… Sigh!
It’s not sophisticated. It doesn’t make any sense.
It’s messy. It’s indulgent. It’s childish. It’s delicious.
It took me all of 20 seconds to demolish it.
I didn’t quite like the Pancakes. It just meant less Ice cream.

Horlicks. Nutella. Childhood. Bliss.

Papacream manages to elevate it’s product with simple yet amazing flavour combinations (case in point – their Lemongrass or Horlicks Ice Cream) and set themselves apart.
Then why complicate it with too much going on?
It’s ice cream people – not rocket science. Keep it more Pinocchio and less Frankenstein

I do intend to return and give their savoury flavours a go. Till then I’d be happy with my plain ol’ scoop sans the drama.

Now all this writing has made me hungry and I’m about to destroy a tub of double choco chip ice cream. *slurp*

Get : Horlicks with Nutella Pancakes or just some Lemongrass Ice Cream

Miss : Salted Caramel with popcorn and caramel sauce

Papacream –> 18, Cambatta Building, J.T Road, Churchgate, Mumbai

Bandra Dessert Pop-Up : Because the best things in life are sweet!

Pop-ups are a fine, fine concept.
The perfect way to judge your audience and gain exposure.
The most effective and convenient way to experiment without the risk of bankruptcy.

Bombay has an eclectic and strange food culture. From Vada Pavs to Pav Bhaji, from Parsi Food to Parisian cafes.. Our city has it all.
It also has a major sweet tooth. Big. Huge.

When I realised there was this ‘one of a kind’ Dessert Pop-up at Bandra, I almost did a little somersault.
Well maybe a little flip.
Okay, it was a high jump.
Fine.
I’m lazy. Sue me.

Just look at these pies by The Baking Co. If my stomach was a bottomless pit – I would’ve had ’em all.

The space at ‘Out of the Blue’ was utilised pretty damn well to accommodate all the stalls and then some.
I walked in and there were just… so.many.people.
It was like a wave of humanity… But not the good kind.

Huffing and puffing, I walked in to spot a gorgeous cake. No it wasn’t pink with little bows. It was the Iron Throne. What a beauty!
Deliciae Patisserie got first movers advantage. Everything looked so enticing with the cakes and cookies and cupcakes.

Have you ever seen anything more beautiful?

I, however, veered towards the baker who was after my own heart.
‘Caramella’ started by Chartered Accountant turned Baker, Ketki Barfiwala, was the showstopper.
Indulgent and addictive, I ate bite after bite of her sinful Kitkat and Nutella cake.
Little did I know that I’d have to end my little affair, for the jars were sold out before I could get my hands on one.
But I survived.
The beautiful Raspberry and White Chocolate Cake in a Jar was smooth, creamy, tart and just so, so good. At 300 bucks a jar, I’d say this was well worth it.

Dessert Jars priced at 300 bucks each and totally worth it – Caramella.

Up next was ‘Flakes’, a unique concept of ‘Mousse on a stick’. While the inner child in me was pleased, I was more impressed with the dessert itself.
While the Three Chocolate Mousse was a little dense and overpowered by the milky white chocolate, the Ferrero one was smooth as silk and nutty.
The Truffle Mousse was my pick, with the perfect blend of sweet and bitter and it’s airy, light consistency.
Priced at 150-180 bucks for each piece, it’s recommended you try it for the novelty of the cute concept.

Mousse on a stick. Sounds ridiculous, but ‘Flakes’ manages to pull it off!

I also sampled some treats from ‘Cake Pop Factory’. Priced at 50 bucks a pop, the cake pops were really nice, fudgy and smooth.
But I wouldn’t travel halfway across town just to have these.
The Dark Chocolate was too mild and the Milk Chocolate too familiar.
Perhaps some more experimental flavours next time? – Berries? Red Velvet? Lemon Meringue?

‘The Dessert Cart’ stall looked like something a fat kid would dream of. Tarts, Mudpies, Meringues, cupcakes… Sigh!
The Passionfruit Tart was excellent – sweet, sour and creamy with a delicate shortcrust pastry.
The Lemon Meringue Pie was absolutely spot on. The Meringue slightly chewy and the lemon curd just beautifully set.

Lemon Curd and Litchi Pie by The Dessert Cart. Marvellous!

The only thing I regret not trying is the amazing looking Edible Chocolate Soil by ‘Fat is Flavour’.
Some nights I can hear their Davidoff Coffee Jar calling out to me.
If only….

There were some usual suspects in the mix as well.
My eyes greedily zeroed in on the lovely fudgy cookies from Sweetish House Mafia ( they have ginormous s’mores cookies ) but my stomach told me otherwise.

The Baking Co. had some delicious looking caramel and Nutella pies on offer as well. Surely want to try them sometime soon.

There were brownies and waffles and cupcakes to try – but who would go for something so familiar when you can experiment with so much more?

Fat is Flavour and their edible Chocolate Soil – Mind + Blown.

It’s great that we are finally waking up to new ideas and innovation.
Liquid Nitrogen seems to be the future of ice cream.
Soil seems to be the future of chocolate.

Obesity seems to be the future of the city… But who cares when the present is so delicious, right?

Khush hai zamana, Meetha hai khana!

The above event was the first of it’s kind (Brought to you by Chrome Entertainment and Out of the Blue) in the city to encourage some our best Home Bakers. Here’s wishing it isn’t the last.