A Meating Joint for Meat Lovers
Last weekend for lunch, I decided to take Priam’s mother to Imbiss, a quaint little restaurant in downtown Mumbai that serves primarily meat. I had ordered from the Imbiss restaurant in Bandra before and found it very satisfying, so I thought I’d try out the Colaba location as well. Mumbai has tons of pure veg restaurants as I’ve been told about 50% of the Indians in India are vegetarian, so a restaurant that focuses almost exclusively on meat is quite rare. Part of Imbiss’s name is aptly named “The Meating Joint”:
The entrance smelled like delicious barbecued meats as soon as I entered:
While this restaurant would generally be considered small, its Bandra counterpart is much smaller with room for only two narrow tables on the ground floor. I actually prefer the smaller size of the Imbiss in Bandra because it feels more cosy.
Priam’s mother ordered beef roast:
I ordered chorizo rice topped with a duck egg:
Priam’s mother was very happy with her beef roast, although halfway through the meal, she said that she needed some vegetables (other than the mashed potatoes) to go with it. When she asked the waiter, he recommended garlic bread instead, so she went with that suggestion. Priam’s mother was pleased because she said that she haven’t had beef in a very long time, and the flavors remind her of Goa. She gave me a few pieces of the beef, although I thought the texture was a bit tough.
While the presentation of my chorizo rice was appealing to me, I thought that the chorizo rice from the Bandra location tasted better. My guess is that the chorizo rice in Bandra was oilier from all the fats, and hence had a stronger chorizo flavor. Overall though it is still good with spiciness that I can handle.
Priam’s mother ordered pork ribs, sausages, and more beef roasts as dinner for the whole family. I was glad that she did because I really liked the pork ribs and sausages; the mashed potatoes that came with the sausages also had a nice smoky flavor. Before we left, she had a chat with the restaurant manager, who was praising his own branch over Bandra’s by saying that it’s physically bigger with a bigger menu selection and liquor (the Bandra location is too small to acquire a liquor license).
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A Rooftop Birthday Dinner
Last Thursday was Priam’s mother’s birthday, so Priam’s parents asked me to pick a place (they are under the impression that I know all the interesting places to eat in Mumbai). I went on Zomato (equivalent to Yelp in the US except only for restaurants) to find places appropriate for special occasions; after looking at the list I made, Priam’s brother chose Mekong, a Chinese/Thai/Vietnamese rooftop restaurant at the Palladium Hotel (a high-end hotel next to the Palladium Mall in Lower Parel). It is quite common for restaurants in Mumbai to feature multi-cuisine food instead of just one non-Indian cuisine exclusively; I even read a review online stating that this one Mexican restaurant in Mumbai would be even better if it included Indian food on its menu.
Mekong is incredibly fancy:
The Room Leading to the Restaurant
The Restaurant Itself
Since Mekong is on the 37th floor, it has an amazing view. Initially, the hostess refused to seat us by the windows because she said that the tables only fit four, and having five would be a tight squeeze. She finally relented after Priam’s dad persistently stated that this was not a problem.
Priam’s brother was checking out the view, while Priam was busy with his phone as usual.
We ordered some dim sum appetizers:
At the top is shrimp with shredded vegetables, on the right is fish (partially eaten already), at the bottom is shrimp dumpling, and on the left is some kind of rice cake with meat filling.
By the time the mushrooms and broccoli were served on my plate, I had already finished the other appetizers. I couldn’t take any pictures of the dishes because it is customary in Mumbai for waiters to scoop portions directly onto the diners’ plates if food is eaten family style. While these appetizers did not taste like dim sum in the US, they were very good and flavorful in their own right.
I went to the restroom afterwards, which was really fancy as well:
The bathroom stalls are on the right side of the picture.
I chose the stall at the very end and had a nice surprise:
I actually prefer the view in this stall to the one we had in the restaurant because this view has more tall buildings lit up; this stall comes with its own sink as well.
The main course items came after some time:
At the top left is eggplant, at the top middle is vermicelli with minced chicken, at the top right is fish, at the bottom right is pork belly, and on the bottom left is mixed vegetables (maybe with some meat too but I can’t remember). The main course items were pretty good too, very flavorful. I can’t recall if we ordered any Vietnamese or Thai items, but I would say that everything we ate tasted Chinese. One of my school coordinators had been to Mekong before, and she thinks the food tastes like Indianized Chinese. While the food doesn’t taste like Chinese food in the US, I don’t think it tastes like Indianized Chinese either because traditional Indianized Chinese food just tastes like Indian food to me (heavy spices).
Lastly we ordered dessert:
The mango pudding at the top contained basil seeds (I really like basil seeds, which are common in falooda), the creme brulee in the middle had an added Asian flavor that I unfortunately can’t recall, and the coconut milk had some crunchy stuff and fruit pieces in it. All of them were really good (not too sweet) and quite different from the usual chocolate cakes and Indian desserts in Mumbai.
I had a great experience at Mekong and most importantly, Priam’s mother was very happy with her birthday outing. I would recommend this restaurant for special occasions.
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Lamb: The Other Red Meat
Yesterday for lunch, I decided to go to the Palladium Mall to get a smoked lamb burger from Smoke House Deli. I had gone here in the past thinking that it was a no-frills fast food joint (basically I was fooled by the small entrance), not realizing that it’s a trendy sit-down place. The Smoke House Deli is one of the restaurants where I can get a discount using the Mumbai Coup Card. Participating restaurants of the Coup Card generally serve non-Indian food; you can learn more about it at http://coupcard.in.
The Smoke House Deli theme looks like an artist took a sketch pen and sketched all over the room and even the menus:
The presentation of the bread is very cute, while the taste of the bread itself is a little above average:
My ultimate favorite bread still comes from the Acme Bread Company in Berkeley, California.
The smoked lamb burger is as good as I remembered it:
I ordered the lamb medium, and it was so juicy with a very nice smoky flavor. The fries were good too though not exceptional. While the burger looks small, this was actually quite a filling meal and I was comfortably full until dinnertime.
American Foodie in Mumbai 