Treating your taste buds in Mumbai

There's something magical about the food in Mumbai. No matter where you eat, the food is guaranteed to be tasty. During our 14-days long vacation to Mumbai my goal was to eat all the delicacies mentioned in this article on CNN: http://www.cnngo.com/mumbai/eat/40-mumbai-foods-we-cannot-live-without-974140.

Obviously, the old age is catching up with me. In spite of my best efforts I couldn't do proper justice to this list, although I did fairly well.

We visited quite a few restaurants, but the top 3 finalists were:

1) Buffet Lunch @Hotel Marine Plaza:
(http://www.hotelmarineplaza.com/thebayview.html)
The view of sea shore & Marine drive (aka Queen's necklace) was just awesome. The creativity of chefs became obvious as soon as we looked at the buffet. We didn't find the usual choices, such as, 'Tikka Masala' etc here. Instead we were greeted with tasty dishes such as 'Lamb Vermicelli'. Perfect place for dinner for two - although we went there as a group.

2) Dinner @ Jewel of India:
(http://www.busybeeforever.com/viewarticle.asp?filename=eatingout917200452321.xml§ion=eatingout)

This one is my personal favorite because Sachin (Tendulkar - of course!) got married here. Rumor has it that Sachin celebrates his birthday here every year with his family, and because of that it seems every Mumbaikar dreams of celebrating his birthday here! At the end of every birthday party they play a 'Happy Birthday' song on loud speaker. How annoying!!! Other than that the place is magical. Their slogan is 'Nothing you want is not available!'. I decided to challenge them. I asked for a 'Bahama Mama' with Mango juice instead of the usual Pineapple juice, thinking the Mango season was over! But sure enough, I got my 'Mama' w/Mango juice in no time. Very impressive.

3) Brunch @ Sahara Star - Earth Plate:
(http://www.saharastar.com/earthplate.html)

Once you enter the 'dome' at Sahara Star you wonder why India is still considered a third world country! My guess is that the ambiance and the chefs here would compare well to most 5 star hotels around the world. From 'Sabudana Khichadi' to 'Bacon', there's something in this buffet for everyone.

The proximity of Sahara Star to the domestic as well as the international airport makes it a perfect place to treat your business clients.



A few other finalists were...

"West Coast" @Borivali
"Peninsula" @Sion Circle
"Moti Mahal" @Inorbit mall (for Tandoori chicken)
"Food Court" @Oberoi mall (for 'Mo Mo'... a new unique delicacy!)



Having said all this, nothing beats the 'बोंबीलाचे कालवण' made by my आई, 'चिंबोरीचे कालवण' made by my सासूबाई, and the 'Parsi style' food made by my niece, Zenu -:)