Happy to present a new series at this blog –Gourmet Mondays. The first Monday of the month will see me post reviews on all things I do with food : eat,drink,review of books,restaurants, street food delights,new food products,food event snapshots,speciality food stores and also include snippets of information on where to buy food & baking supplies in and around Mumbai – my current hometown. These are not paid reviews, and is based on my own personal experience. If you wish to read about something more at this space, do drop me a line. Starting today, I wish to make this a monthly event, and time permitting a fortnightly one. I begin this series with a restaurant review at Vashi – Navaratna, where I recently sampledMissal Pav. Missal Pav – to all those residing outside Maharashtra(India)- is a staple breakfast / snack dish comprising two parts : a medium/soft bread (called Pav) and a tangy spicy gravy called Missal, which is usually made of dried and cooked white peas or chickpeas and is topped with a farsan (or sev / Indian Noodles) and finely cut onions and lime wedges. For most people in and around Mumbai, this is one way to get most of the dietary requirements in one go – fats, carbs, proteins. Now a debate whether this is healthy to eat everyday is beyond the scope of this review. But gorging on this once in a while didnt seem like a bad idea. And one of my sojourns took me toHotel Navratna @ Sector 17, Vashi (New Mumbai) where I sampled this recently. Now off to the review:
One of the best Misal Pav I have eaten till date is at Hotel Saroj – Opp Joy Hospital, Chembur. Having done that, this one at Navratna was quite a dampener. Mind you, they warm the pav ONLY if you ask for it – else its generally cold as the gravy is slightly hot to the touch. The secret to this dish lies in a unique clove-induced masala powder : which lends itself to a fiery hot combo when mixed with the cooked lentils. But the clove seemed to be overpowering the taste of the Missal itself. All I could do was to gulp down this rather hot spicy with the very cold pav with water. I have had Pav bhaji and Masala dosa at this restaurant earlier, and for a Mumbai-based Udupi quality restaurant, they hadn’t disappointed me. However, this day the Missal was quite a let down – both in terms of quality and texture. And the pav – forget it. I wish I just had the missal alone. All in all, it needs to pull up its socks. The restaurant itself is large (by Mumbai standards) and has split level seating (with the A/C section on top). Service is usually quick here, as its in the midst of a busy shopping complex, opp the Vashi bus depot. On a service level, the waiters are quick, but I do wish they paid more attention to the quality of food too.
Rating : (On a scale of 5)
- Overall cleanliness : 4
- Service (Quickness & Efficiency) : 3.5
- Quality of meal : 2.5
- Value for Money : 3
nice review
Definitely useful for many peoples reside in Mumbai,fabulous review..
I'm sure it'll help people make better choices when they read a review and go to the place. It is a great initiative by you.
Keeping my eyes open to the list of baking supply stores in Mumbai review. Keep that on your list Please.
Love Ash.
very nice post dear…
Am hosting a series event on SPICES starting this month…let me knw if you would like to guest host in future months…
SYF&HWS – Cook With SPICES" Series – CARDAMOM (Dec 5th to Jan 5th)
LGSS -"Tomato" – Nov 5th to Dec 5th
100 Friends/Followers & GIVEAWAY
Nice review dear..
Jabeen's Corner
Ongoing Event – Bonjour
Find me on Facebook..
Jabeen's Corner
Come join our face book page..
Food Court
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.