The Ant Blog

We had the perfect Sunday lunch here. As soon as we entered, we were greeted with smiling faces, and ushered to a table. We went around to check the buffet spread and were convinced about trying it out.  To begin with we went to the Sushi counter. The sushis on display looked very interesting and we tried all of them. Perfectly balanced flavors and the quality was superlative. I believe we must have tried at least a couple of rounds of Sushi of all kinds, to our hearts content.  Next we tried the South Asian counters, which had the Indonesian, Singaporean flavors. There was a lot of prawns and fresh ingredients in these counters. Also there was the live counter, from which we hardly opted for anything. We next walked to the Indian counter to find chaats, knick knacks, and some tandoor starters, fish cutlets. Main course had a mix of North and South Indian options. The  Indian food was the right amount of spicy. We enjoyed ...

I recollect this evening with a lot of fondness. The Monsoon season has kicked in , and the showers are typically incessant in Mumbai. On this particular day however the rains were intermittent. We had driven down to South Mumbai to the one end of the city at the  NCPA for an evening performance. The show got over at 9:15 pm and left us with a myriad choices to catch a grub from. After debating for a while, we drove to one of the closest eat-outs The Tea Centre. I had heard of this place a lot, so was happy to pay a visit. The place has an old world charm, and has the look and feel of an era gone by. The name of the place  reciprocates in their menu, where the first few pages are dedicated to various kinds of flavors and blends available. It was late and the diners were all having their dinner. So we thought of trying our ' chai ' at the end of the meal. We ordered for our starters, Chicken with sauteed mushroom and onion , and Chicken Catchatori.       ...

About a couple of years ago, one of my dear friends had taken me to eat at a stall during the Durga Puja festival. It was probably the first stall by Bong Bong and we were among the first to sample their baked Rasgullas as customers. I was then informed that their restaurant was opening up in Bandra. Given the kind of variety in Bengali fare already available in the city, I didnt think of driving up to Bandra to give their food a try. However, until a few weeks back when I saw their new outlet in Powai. I went straight  up to this place to try a few of their dishes. It was a take away outlet, so I rummaged through their menu card and ordered a few unfamiliar looking dishes, especially the Rolls had a few strange names. I also carried along the menu card, simply because I liked the individuality of it.                                             Bong Bong outlet in P...

The week before last, we had a wonderful Sunday brunch at VongWong ’s. It was a clean stretch of a drive on Sunday, straight up to Nariman point located next to the Oberoi Hotel. I was quite hungry as we had arrived late for lunch. We decided to go with their Sunday brunch menu. I ordered for the Strawberry cooler drink, while my husband went for a Pinacolada . Brunch Salads on the Right and Desserts on the Left at VongWong Strawberry coolie at VongWong I tried portions of most of their Salad options from the spread, and they were good. I quite liked the Seafood salad, and the Prawn cocktail . There was also a Crispy Duck in spring rolls option, which we tried. The duck was cooked in Hoisin sauce , I believe and was a little too sweet for my palate. Crispy duck rolls at VongWong Next we ordered from the Dumplings and Starter options. Among the dumplings , we had a portion each of : prawn and garlic chive dumpling, wasabi prawn dumpling, chicken...

It is in recent times that my husband has developed quite a palate for Japanese food. I have a great fondness for the cuisine too. So we often scout for new  Jap  hang-outs. We visited Kofuku a couple of weeks ago on a Friday night. When we entered, the place was roaring with laughter and chatter of young crowd. Since we planned it at the end moment, we did not get a regular table and instead got a place over the sushi bar. I like facing the kitchen directly since I get to see the goings-on in there, so I was happy. We quickly ordered our Sake and a plate of non-vegetarian Maki Boston Roll to go with that.      Sake at Kofuku                                             Boston Roll (non vegetarian Maki) at Kofuku The Maki was well made. Next we ordered a plate of Okonomi Yaki, which is a form of non-vegetarian pancake. We ordered our...

It had been long since we had eaten at a Goan or Mangalorean restaurant. These coastal cuisines can be a delightful treat. So I was surfing through the internet one day, when I came across this quaint little place in Malad. Now that is really far from where I stay, but I kept a mental note of trying it out when we plan to head that side. And so that day came along a month or so later. We had a little difficulty finding the place, as the restaurant’s signage could not be located from the road while driving. It is a small rooftop eatery. But it has its loyals, even on a late weeknight people had come over to dine there. We were quite hungry by then and we began by ordering a plate of Spicy Squid batter fry, and Pork Chops BBQ. Spicy Squid batter fry at Mangoes The squids were very good, they went well with the dip. Also the Pork chops were delish. Full of spices and cooked to a nice brown hue. The quantity was humongous. We were instantly doubtful, as we had come a long w...

We visited this place over a weekday, just to unwind over a drink and we ended up having a three course meal. The ambiance is very relaxed and vibrant at the same time. I had always heard of this place being a winner with their cocktails, and with what I had tried that night, I think they lived up to it. So to start with, we ordered a set of Non-vegetarian dim-sums and Watermelon martinis to go with it. The drink was very fresh and really well made. Full marks for that! Next the dim-sums, they were good too.                                            Non-vegetarian Dim-sums at Mamagoto Watermelon Martini at Mamagoto                                           The fun/quirky Decor at Mamagoto We really wanted to try their set menu as...