RAM ASHRAY, MATUNGA EAST.

Imagine a restaurant being crowded with a waiting list on Hindu New Year at 6 in the morning !! Surprising right? Well this is exactly the scene we experienced at Ram Ashray when we decided on having our breakfast there. This place is said to be one of the best places to savor the authentic South Indian food and is always crowded : morning, noon and night. So we decided to have a light little breakfast at this place and ended up having….

The menu is pretty long for a family who believes in eating right!!! We started by ordering Sada Dosa, Idli Wada, Medu Wada and Upma. Mind you the service is pretty fast. The dosa was crisp to perfection! The idli soft and fresh. Medu wada, divine and the chutney and sambhar, I could eat only that and nothing else. The second round consisted of Onion Tomato Uttappa and Coconut Sevai which is served only on Fridays and Sundays ( lucky us :p) The third order was the famous Sheera although we couldn’t have their Pineapple Sheera which is served only after 10. The sheera here is as good as the home-made, mom-made one. And ofcourse the last order was for ‘Filter Coffee’ ( how can I not have filter coffee at a south indian joint!! That would be the ultimate crime!)

So yes, this was a pretty elaborate menu and we were full but if you come to Ram Ashray you cannot leave without having their Special Paan. So we had those as well and those were as good as the food they serve. All in all I believe I don’t need to praise the place as regulars know what exactly I am talking about and the rest, the first-timers, you need to experience this yourself to see that I am not kidding or exaggerating !

P.S. This place opens up at 5 in the morning, so no one can have an excuse to not go to this place.

Butter Sada Dosa

Idli Wada

Medu Wada

Upma

Onion Tomato Uttappa

Coconut Sevai

Sheera

Special Paan

SWEET BENGAL.

If there is a go-to place for Bengali sweets , it is Sweet Bengal. With many outlets spread all over Mumbai , it makes access to proper Bengali sweets very easy. This place is also a good learning place for all of us who think of ‘Roshogulla’ and ‘Rasmalai’ at the mention of sweets of Bengal. And you get to meet the Bengali owners who are as sweet and accommodating as their ‘Mithai’.

So we visited an outlet and were delighted at the sight of the sweets put on display. We started with Kheer Kodom which is a speciality of these outlets. We were then suggested to try 4 different types of Sandesh. The next item was mind-blowing in literal sense : Malai Toast ; the taste of this particular thing will make you forget all the rasgullas you have ever tasted. Next on the menu was a pretty looking thing : Mohan Bhog. Mohan bhog = pure heaven! Then came the Mishti Doi ( no westernized flavored yogurt can beat this desi dahi !) Too many sweets ?? We have two more to go : 1. Chitrakut : this is also a paneer based sweet which is not too sweet and gives you a good feeling even if you eat more than 2-3 pieces at a go and 2. Langcha : this is malai filled Gulab jamun in an oval shape ( who wouldn’t want to eat this ?). Langcha is available in many varieties but I will be loyal to the Malai Langcha only !!! And we also did try our beloved Roshogulla which I guess doesn’t require any description.

Just in case you are wondering did we actually eat all of these , the answer is yes and we did take a box-full home as well!!! So go grab your share from your nearest outlet and get soaked in Pure Bengali Goodness!!!

  

Kheer Kodom

Sandesh

Sandesh - Variety

Malai toast

tempting?

Mohan Bhog

Pretty pictures

Mishti Doi

Must try!!

Chitrakut

The mighty one!!

Malai Langcha !!

Rosshogulla

!!!!!

MURLIDHAR SWEETS AND FARSAN                                                                       

Pleasing the taste buds of people in and around Dahisar (East) and Borivali (West) since almost a decade, Murlidhar offers a great variety of sweets and comes up with special new ones every few months. This is one place which is always flocked by people no matter what the occasion and even without an occasion. You will never require a special reason to come over to this place and take home a box of sweets.

As a part of “Diwali Special” review we decided to cover up some sweets shops and this was the first place we stopped by. We viewed many products, tasted some of them and we recommend all of them at least once. Starting with we had the special sweets: Blueberry, Orange Tart, Choco Block, No Sugar Apricot ( Good news for diabetic sweet lovers: Murlidhar offers a wide range of sugar free sweets as well), Motichur Ladoo, Gulab Pak ( this thing smells too good ) and Kesar Halwa. These were few sweets that we tasted because the names are really very interesting and so is the taste….as interesting as the name !!

We also tried three Shrikhand out of some 7-8 varieties they have and each one tasted better than the other and at the end it’s difficult to decide which one to go for but we finally ended up zeroing on 3: Panchratna ( with real fruits pieces ) , Rajbhog ( royal in literal sense ) and the classic one: Kesar.

We also did try the Kesar Basundi which was tasty beyond words and we learned that you get Sitafal Basundi every Sunday !!!

For more information do visit www.murlidharsweets.com

So , just in case the words haven’t succeeded in making your mouth water, scroll down for the pictures and check it yourself and even if that fails to tempt you , a visit to Murlidhar is a must !!

Blueberry

Orange Tart

The tart steals the Heart

Choco Block

No Sugar Apricot

Motichur Laddoo

Gulab Pak

Kesar Halwa

Rajbhog Srikhand

Panchratna Srikhand

Kesar Srikhand

Kesar Basundi 

GREENS RESTAURANT, MALAD WEST

A place very hard to miss when you are driving on the link road between malad and goregaon, Greens is a restaurant which has become a landmark and even the rickshaw-walas know this place. And anyone who visits this place will totally agree with the popularity of this place. Famous for its South Indian, North Indian and Fast food items, it is very difficult to come out of this place dissatisfied. We are regulars at this restaurant and would recommend it to everyone to try it atleast once. We bring to you North Indian Cuisine this time and we bet you are going to be very hungry by the time you get done reading this review.

Starting with the starters, we had asked the manager to suggest us their speciality and he told us to order Paneer Tikka and Veg Manchurian Dry. Thinking okay a regular dish we were waiting for it and as soon as we saw it we had a jaw-dropping expression on our face ( I am not exaggerating....you will believe when you see the photos). The paneer was fresh, the masala on the paneer tikka blended to perfection and the taste of those authentically grilled tikkas is what we experienced in this plate. The Manchurian also tasted as good as the tikkas and we were in a food bubble by the time main course arrived. For the main course we had ordered ( again on the recommendation of the manager ) Paneer Mumtaz with Roomali Roti, Butter Kulcha and Butter Roti. Panner Mumtaz sounds different and as the name suggests tastes different as well but “Different in a good sense” – it is panner stuffed with a mixture of capsicum and boiled green peas and dipped in red gravy with chunks of paneer (So much paneer!!) and it is neither too spicy nor too bland on taste and the texture also is different – something between not too smooth and not too coarse. The Roomali roti was excellent but I would suggest having Butter roomali roti and not plain. The Kulcha was so good that you could eat it alone without needing any subzi to accompany it and so was the tandoori roti ( it’s a speciality according to Ajeenkya). We then ordered Tawa Pulav, again a favourite of ours. The veggies in the pulav are always crunchy and the dish on the whole has a subtle taste -  a properly balanced dish we can say. For the desert we ordered Kulfi Falooda and it was pure heaven. Falooda sev topped with sabja seeds topped with rose flavoured milk accompanied with raspberry jelly and kulfi slices this dish a devil in its purest form. You just cannot resist biting into it as soon as you see it.

So as it can be made out from the menu, we had a feast and then we could hardly move after the meal. An important thing to be noted is this is one restaurant which is easy on the pocket and heavy on the quantity. The quantity they provide easily feeds three people in one order. The staff also is quite friendly and always has a welcoming smile on the face. We suggest visiting this place with family when you want to celebrate dinner time so that you don’t have to worry atleast about the food and its quality and quantity!

And we won’t keep you waiting any more...go scroll!!!!

 

Paneer Tikka

The corners tasted the best

So did the salad 

Manchurian Dry

Tempting 

Paneer Mumtaz and Roomali Roti

The stuffed paneer on the extreme left of the bowl

Butter Kulcha

Butter Roti

Tawa Pulav

Kulfi Falooda

Look at that !!!

This totally cannot be resisted 

OVENFRESH, DADAR WEST

One of the best vegetarian places located at Shivaji Park in Dadar, this place never disappoints you. A problem only vegetarian foodies can relate to is, it is very difficult to come across a place which offers only vegetarian food when it comes to Italian and Mexican cuisines. But Ovenfresh solves all our problems if we are in the same area and craving veggie Italian and Mexican. We have visited this place many a times and the menu still seems new even after ordering a new dish every time we visit. Here is a little rundown of our last visit to this amazing place.

We started our meal with the Ovenfresh Signature Nachos, a dish every Ovenfresh regular swears by! Baked beans, Glucamole, Salsa and Sour cream create a medley of taste in your mouth with every savory bite and the melted cheese acts as the cherry on the top....it’s a sure thing that you won’t be able to share it with anyone. We then ordered Passion Fruit Punch to fill in the gap between the order and well because it sounded tempting enough !!! ( Passion Fruit = Passion Food....get my point? ) This glass of Punch knocked us off our senses with its rich sweet and sour taste. A simple looking glass of an innocent looking juice played havoc with our taste buds as we took our first sip. I would personally recommend having this if you are a Fruits person. Moving on we had ordered Chilly Paneer in Manchurian Sauce – a sizzler which again is the speciality of the house. Not singing praises or something but you can find sizzler on practically all the tables at Ovenfresh. And who won’t have sizzlers which makes you a fan of vegetables? The French beans and carrots are so fresh I will be a happy customer even if the serve me with only those two indtead of the whole sizzler plate ! You can experience the perfectly burnt and smoked taste in the veggies, the fries and the rice/spaghetti in your sizzler.

Coming to the favourite part of all the meals, Deserts, the deserts at Ovenfresh are to die for!! One, they look delicious and two, they taste as good as they look. We had ordered two of them. 1. Desire! Yes that’s the name and yes they do look and taste exactly like the name. 2. We ordered Tiramisu. I am not launching into the details of the taste of these deserts because if not for the food it’s a personal request please visit this place for its deserts !!!!

So yes, like always we had a wonderful time eating at this place the only complain being the staff here really need to come back on earth from whichever place they are on cloud nine because the restaurant works on the quality of the food and not on the snobbishness of the staff! It is difficult to place order, ask for water, ask them for serving and in general have their attention on you for 5 minutes straight. That is the only disappoint you face from time to time. I guess the staff works in two shifts because they never disappoint all the times you visit but this particular batch was treating all their customers as if they are some “Fatichars” sitting in the restaurant for some free food!! But if we forgo the staff, the food here really makes it up for all the other nonsense that goes on !!

Sooooo......scroll down for the photos without waiting much!!!!

 

Ovenfresh Signature Nachos

What to eat and what not !!

Passion Fruit Punch

Such a cute yellow!!

Chilly Paneer in Manchurian Sauce

Mouth = Watering 

DESIRE!! 

Tiramisu!!

Stop looking...go eat !!