Bird’s Nest

Every time I visited Singapore, I was very inquisitive to see and know more about Bird’s nest, but didn’t get the chance. I had seen it on National Geographic Channel. So this time, while roaming in one of the local market, I happened to enter a Chinese store. As you enter the Chinese store you will find many varieties of herbs, ginseng, dried mushrooms, dried fish, bird’s nest and many more products.
 Bird's nests is one of the expensive animal product that is edible and are made from the saliva of the Swiftlet bird. This bird’s nest are harvested and it holds a prized possession in Chinese culture due to its high nutrient value and flavour. Chinese believe that it promotes good health.
It’s extremely a difficult task to get this bird’s nest. In nature these are found high up in the caves. It’s a very dangerous task for the harvesters. They climb the top with the help of the rope and ladder. It takes lots of effort cleaning them, before it’s sold in the market.
It is categorised as per the type, shape, colour etc and then priced as per the category.  Now a day you get fake ones too, so you have to be aware about the product before you buy it.
While speaking to the shopkeeper, I came to know that it’s like gelatine, after it’s cooked it becomes thick and is used mostly for making sweet soup, but it’s also used as a ingredient to make other dishes due to its gelatinous texture. Bird nest soup is a delicacy for the Chinese people.

Rivers2Oceans

When Suprio invited me for the food tasting at River2Ocean. I was in two minds... later I decided to go. It was a wise decision. I am so thankful to Suprio (Admin of Mumbai Food Freak and The Nomad Foodie) for inviting me to Zorawar Karla’s restaurant Rivers2Oceans at Palladium Mall - Parle Mumbai. I must say it’s the place for all sea food lovers. They have variety of sea food dishes from across the globe. Most of the ingredients for the dishes are also procured from around the globe. You can actually feel the freshness of the ingredients. Not only sea food, but they have some of the amazing vegetarian and meat dishes too. The place also talks about unique varieties of Champagne and Wine. They have a lovely huge open bar and a kitchen.

 We could choose either Sea food or Vegetarian from the Chefs Tasting menu, it goes without saying that I chose Sea food. Peter and Mayur were our buddies from R2O helping us to identify the dishes and the ingredients used in the dishes. They both did a fabulous job. Chef Varun Kinger is the man behind the scene to create these unique gastronomical dishes. It was mind boggling.

We ate an elaborate 15 course meal which was categories into Cold tastings, Soups, Hawker’s Street, Small Plates, Sorbet, Mains and Dessert. Four types of champagne or wine was paired with the menu. Although I don’t drink, I enjoyed the visuals. Each champagne were served in different types of champagne flute glasses. It almost took us 4 hours to end this scrumptious meal.

Almost all the dishes were brilliant and delectable. Even though it was a sea food restaurant, as I said earlier the vegetarian and the meat preparation was equally good. It was a treat for the eyes and palate.
My drink for the evening -

Passion Fruit and Citrus... it was very refreshing.
The Amuse Bouche - It started with a palate cleanser -

* Yuzu Espuma with Caviar topping. This was totally vegetarian as the Caviar were created by molecular gastronomy from tomatoes, orange and cranberries, which had a citrusy flavour from Yuzu.
The Cold Tastings began with -

* Rock Oysters was served with Apple Mignonette and Asian Soy Sauce Dressing. The Rock Oysters rocks. It paired up well with the dressings. Yeh dil mange more.

* Scampi Tartare with Puffed Amaranth and Mandarin dressing. I enjoyed the visual as well as the taste.

* Tuna Nicoise Salad. This was a modernist take with tuna bits, with edamame and sous vide eggs. The Tuna salad preparation and the presentation was truly a treat to your eye and palate. It was a moleculer gastronomy dish.
This was followed by -

* Leek and Crab Soup with Butter Carb stick. The butter carb sticks were crunchy and went well with the soup. The soup was very flavourful. The presentation and taste was equally good.
The next in line was a dish from Hawker’s Street -

* Sea Bass Otak Otak, with Citrus Pandana dressing which was a Malay dish. It was delicious and I loved the distinctive flavour of the sambal paste and kafir lime. I am in love with the serving bowl.
The Small Plates dishes were -

* Textures of Mushrooms season with Taco dust.  The taco dust seasoned on the textured mushrooms was quite flavourful. There were many varieties of mushrooms added to the dish which indeed added texture to the dish.

* Chardonnay poached Mussels with parsley - paprika butter was served with Focaccia. It was delicious. The parsley - paprika butter at the end went well with the focaccia.

* Sushi taco with Avocado and Cream cheese. The covering of the taco was made with sea weed. This gave a crunchy texture and the sauce was creamy and delicious.

* Truffles fresh Lobster with Black Caviar and Dill Oil. Black Caviar are my favourite. I loved the preparation.

* Pulled Lamb Ragout with Parmesan. It was delicious.
Or

* Charred Belgian Pork rubs with Maple and Balsamic Glazed. The fennel went blended well with the pork. It was one of my favourite. I didn’t mind if there was a repeat of the dish.
The next in line was basically a palate cleanser. It was -

* Orange and mint sorbet. The flavour of the orange and mint was distinct.
This was followed by another small plate dish

* Field mushrooms stuffed with Morels Home made Corzetti. I loved the woody flavour of the mushroom powder.
The Mains were

* Malabar Crab Curry served with Asian Rice and Parotta.  I like the crispy Parotta, but the Malabar curry was not to my taste. The sweetness of the curry at the beginning and the spiciness of the curry at the end didn’t agree to my palate. The dish could have been more balanced.
Finally it was followed by the dessert -

* Black Truffle with Gold leaf and Eton Mess which was an amazing English dessert. It was superlative. There was crunchiness from the meringue, sourness of the berries and the sweetness of the chocolate. It was delicious.
The presentation was good and I loved the crockery in which the food was served. This place is a treat for your palate and eyes too. I had a fabulous time at the restaurant with other foodie friends from Mumbai Food Freak and The Nomad Foodie. It’s an evening to cherish! It’s a must visit place for all food lovers who likes to explore and experience delicious food.

Su's Food Venture - Cup Cake Eco Friendly Ganesh....

Cup Cake Eco Friendly Ganesh.... #cupcakesganesha 

3000 cupcakes were made by 100 Mumbai Home Bakers to make Eco friendly cupcake Ganesha. The cup cakes were later  distributed among the underprivileged children. This was the brainchild of Rintu Kalyani Rathod, and was executed by the Food Army team, who had made Chocolate Ganesha last year which was dissolved in milk and distributed among the underprivileged children. There were many volunteers who in many ways opted to help in this noble cause. Some of the volunteers provided the raw materials in terms of chocolates, sprinklers, food colours.... Some of them made Ganache. Some of the volunteers opted to pickup cupcakes for different destinations and get it to the venue. Some came to help at the venue a day before and on the day of the event too. 

The cupcake Ganesh  was open to the public on Sunday 6th September 2015 from 10 am to 6 pm at Ramkrishna Mission Khar. This event was inaugurated by the Ramkrishna Mission Sawmiji, Swami Sarvalokananda Ji. There was a blood donation camp put up at the venue. 

The day was packed with activities for the volunteers. The volunteers packed around 300 gift bags and food boxes during the afternoon break to give away to the underprivileged children.

Photo Coutersy - Anupama Porohit

 Some of the B.M.C school children were invited at the venue. There was magic show put up for the children in the evening.

 The public began to pour in for the darshan. No one went back empty handed, Prasad was distributed to all the devotes. The atmosphere was filled with devoutness.

Photo Coutersy - Anupama Porohit

After the magic show,  Aarti was conducted by one of the Bramhachari Maharaj from Ramkrishna Mission. 

Photo Courtesy - Anupam Porohit

This was followed by Visarjan. The event came to an end by distributing books, bags, water bottles, eatables and cupcakes to the children. 

Photo Courtesy - Anupama Porohit 

Later on the extra cupcakes were distributed to other underprivileged schools and other poor children.
This experience left me in high spirits..

Taj Mahal Tea House Bandra

#Su's Food Venture..

Taj Mahal Tea House.... A perfect place to spend your lazy Sundays and Holidays ....

Few of the old bungalows in Bandra has been converted in to cafes and restaurants.. One of them which has opened up recently this month on St. John Baptist road is Taj Mahal Tea house... The place is huge around 3,500 square feet and the ambience is very cosy.. ideal for a lazy Sunday break fast or a brunch. You can visit the place with your family, friends or single... 

The interiors has a look of a charming old colonial house of a Maharaja..... with wooden celing and flooring.... Some portion of the walls are designed with Antique marbled tiles and antique furnitures kept all around the place. The place has a reading corner and WiFi connection.. and a cosy ambience to work, read and spend hours together without any one disturbing your privacy. You can comfort yourself in any corner as the area has been divided into many several small sections....

The Indian classical music follows with the ambience of the place and few musical instruments have been displayed. One of the instrument which has been displayed is the tabla used by Ustad Zakir Hussain as he is the brand ambassador of Taj Mahal Tea. Few of his pictures holds the pride position on the walls.

There is a take away sales counter from where you can buy tea and bread. 

   One of the menu card says all about different types of tea which is being served there like Saffron, Mint and Curry leaf iced tea,  Organic and Green tea, Chai smoothies and Chai lattes and a  filter coffee too. I loved there chilled Kashmiri saffron Chai latte... but a bit of sweetness could have been added in the latte, but no worries, I added  sugar to my taste. 

The other menu card says all about  food being served there right from breakfast, lunch, nibbles, high tea, sandwich, soups, salads, dinner and desserts.
Food is excellent and worth the price as a boutique restaurant,  although one of the item which I had there Homemade savoury waffle, sandwiched between Mediterranean vegetables, I felt was a bit overly priced as to the portion served.  

A  must have dish was Arabic fritter chaat with tamarind tulsi chutney... we ordered for a second plate. 

House made egg benedict and was another dish worth the try.  Rest of the dishes we had there and was also good was Belgian waffles with choice of apple compote, home made jam, chocolate, caramel sauce, honey or whipped cream, Parsi brun maska with homemade jam, Paneer and spearmint samosa with plum and kokam chutney,  Triple deck egg sandwich and Dhokla millefeuilles with asparagus, portobello mushroom and chickpeas ragout.

The people in the Tea House was very friendly and the service was very prompt. 

Wah Taj!!