The Ant Blog

Ever since the day I had eaten at Punjab Grill  , I had made a mental note to myself to be back soon. However, weeks added to months and for reasons one or the other I have not been able to re-visit this lovely chain. Made in Punjab is a newer restaurant chain by the same celebrity Chef Jiggs Kalra. At the beginning of this month I came to know of a Mid-night dinner buffet event to be held specially at Made In Punjab, so it was time I thought to make it for this event. Despite it being at least an hour's drive from my place, we booked a table and went for it. It was a Friday night and the weekend was upon us. And our Punjabi culinary journey had just began for the night. We had entered a little late so we had fortunately not had to wait for a table. We sauntered in, without being attended to, found a table and sat down. We headed straight away for the salads, and a few Punjabi snacks on the counter. I particularly liked the Dahi Vada . The starters arrived on our table. ...

Our cravings for Pizza heightened on a Wednesday night, after a long and tiresome day. I knew I had to try this place out, named Pizzaroma because I had read about it and also because i did not want to hang out in the fast chains. This place is about 10 minutes away from my house, so it couldn't hurt to visit and sample a few dishes from their menu. We reached there to find it empty, which was understandable on a weeknight. Pizzaroma is situated in the corner of a commercial building named Powai Plaza, taking up a very tiny place. Once we sat down with the menu, the names of the pizzas intrigued us. So we wanted to sample quite a few of them. To start off, we ordered for a Mushroom and Chicken Bruschetta. The bruschettas were crispy but were a tad too salty for my palate. We  downed it with an Appy fizz which went quite well.                                 Mushroom and Chicken Bruschetta at Pizzar...

I have grown up in a family which loves seafood, and more so I have grown up in Goa. So the smell of the sea calls out to me. However, growing up I do not remember seeing my mother cook crabs at home. So I  thought of breaking the tradition by cooking some at home and sharing it with mom. I live in Mumbai now, for over a decade, but this is also the coastal belt and the produce are a lot similar. So I borrowed this recipe from a dear friend, a few weeks back and tried my hands on it.                                                    Crab Masala cooked Maharashtrian style It looks gorgeous, but is quite a simple recipe. Ingredients for Crab Masala: Crabs- Cleaned, 4-5 medium sized Garlic- 10 cloves, crushed and chopped roughly Bay leaf- 2 Asefoetida- 1/4 teaspoon Onions- 2 large Tomato- 1 large Chili Powder- 3 teaspoons Turmeric Powde...

  It had been a while since we had visited TGIfridays .   What with all the new eateries in the city, there is always a new destination to experiment food in. And even the thought of doing so is exciting. However, we have had many a happy memories associated with this place. We reached here  quite late, by when most of the restaurants were closing for lunch. It was relatively empty as the peak hours were over. I ordered a November Seabreeze. For starters we ordered Loaded Potato skins topped with bacon. The dish was at it’s greasy best (but of course it was all fried!) but I let myself enjoy this rude boy lunch. The bacon gave the potatoes a nice salty aftertaste.                                          Loaded Potato Skins topped with Bacon at TGiFridays Although we wanted to try a few more with a side orders, I knew I wouldn’t have space for my m...

It was a Saturday evening, and I was catching up with my BFF after  many weeks (read ages). So I had this place in mind, as I hadn’t been there before and also because of it’s proximity to where we met up that day. At 7:30 pm this place was 80% occupied, playing eighties rock music and had an upbeat vibe.                                                                                           Nachos with tomato salsa at BBC We stepped in, and got ourselves seated. Meeting after long calls for celebration, so it was cocktails all the way! She ordered a Appletini  and I was in mood for a Cosmopolitan   ! Our drinks came in, with a side order of Nachos. This place has a great many kind of beers to offer, and a lively decor. ...

This dish happened to us, on a weekday night! I say so because we were very happily surprised with the outcome of my little experiment on that evening. With some left over minced Chicken and about 200 g of Prawns in my freezer, I could make nothing out of them. Then I thought of blending the two together and balancing the flavors, and it did turn out to be quite palatable.  So to begin with, I threw in the Chicken and Prawns in the blender, with 1 chili, 1/2 inch of ginger, 1 teaspoon of garlic, for the binding 1 slice of bread (cut into pieces) and some salt. For some added color and heat one can also add some Red chili powder (optional). Within seconds, this blitz was ready. I removed the contents in a mixing bowl and added 1 egg, and mixed the ingredients together. This mixture needs to be slightly firm and form lumps, in the form of balls or mini cakes. The Minced Chicken n Prawn mini cakes in all their glory! Ingredients for  Minced Chicken n Prawn mini...

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 have been to this place before for lunch, but knowing that Chili’s is a  great place for drinks we headed to the nearest Chili’s outlet last Friday. The place was full and we had to wait for close to twenty minutes to get in, which is acceptable on a weekend night. I was very thirsty after the wait, so we ordered a special drink which I had never tried before. A Beerita, which is supposedly a concoction of their Margarita and Beer. They came in big sized glasses, and I was pretty sure I would not be able to finish that drink. It was a clever mixture I must say, the flavor of the beer was more overpowering. Anyway the place was noisy and fun, so a heady mixture was exactly what we needed.    The enormous Beeritas at Chili’s A funny chimp poster at Chili’s The Beeritas require a big belly! I unfortunately didn’t finish the drink as I wanted to keep room to try another one! So we ordered a Slider and Crisper with a trio dip dish and an Applet...

This place feels like a confluence of the new and old..the ambiance is classy, the staff are very genial and polite which is a rare find in the new world , while the food itself has a contemporary flare to it. Also the average crowd sitting around would be within their thirties, so the place felt young and vibrant. I liked the wall graffiti, as if it was all pencil sketches. Very chic.                                The view from my table in the restaurant at Smoke House Deli For starters we skipped the Soup and, ordered a bucket of Sea food fritters which came with a delicious sour cream. The fritters were of calamari, prawns and fish but the dip was the show steal-er. To go with this I had a Red wine Sangria . I liked the punch in it, it was just right!                                         ...

“I am not a glutton - I am an explorer of food”  ―  Erma Bombeck This saying truly defines me..although I have probably “explored” only a few cups from an ocean. Despite my quest for new location and experiences, I sometimes find myself returning to a few regular hangout or even old favorites, from college days.  Alfredo’s is one such place. Perched next to the famous Juhu beach in Mumbai, it can be easily missed because of it’s size but if you turn to look, you will never find this place empty. This place is abuzz with vibrancy . Most of the Italian fare is present in their menu book. I for one am a fan of their thin crusts, and no matter how much I eat, I always land up ordering a pizza if we have missed it.                                 Bucket of Fried Seafood at Alfredo's So we visited this place last weekend, when we were in Juhu. We ordered for our chilled beers and ...