Saturday, May 18, 2013

Spoonbill- A Street food Experience

Spoonbill was celebrating its 1st birthday celebrations and I wanted to  go back there and see how much has changed from my previous experience. A few of my friends got together and all of us gathered at Spoonbill on TTK road for the street food experience. The ambiance was well lit and the kitchen was on the other side of the tables. This restaurant is a self serving restaurant which means you will not be waited upon. You got to place the orders and ask for regular water or pick up a bottle.

As I am a veggie, I wanted to try and taste all the items on the list. We ordered as a group and it was a mix of Veg and Non Veg.  So the order was Spanish Omlette, Empanada, Burrito,Nachos, Ragada Patties, Momos, Crepe with fresh fruit and cream and Corn on Cheese toast.

The first was the Spanish Omelette accompanied by fresh toasted bread. Spanish omelette was delicious as expected. I had seen many reviews on the same from my friends and it did not disappoint me. It was full of flavour and the filling inside with potatoes and onions was soo good. I would want to go back there and try this again.


Nachos was a good try. It perfectly captured the street food scene. I enjoyed the crisp nachos with sour cream and salad on top. It was superb. The Nachos was tangy and interesting.


Empanadas were of a completely different category altogether. I was surprised that the Jalapenos were held together by a mould of Cheese which was absolutely Chewy and delicious. The Jalapenos were full of flavor and tangy. It was hot and couldn't help finishing one whole Empanada in one shot even though I had to taste other items on the list. I can still remember the taste of it.


Ahh the Burritos :). This one was completely packed and with the Mayo oozing was completely filling. Loved the taste and flavour of it and every bite of it was interesting enough. The only grieve i would have about the burrito was that it was sticking on to the roof of the mouth but otherwise the filling was simply good.



The good old Ragada Pattice, the soul food of Bombay !! :). I would have loved a little more spice to it but i guess spice and tanginess is an acquired taste and I will have have to back to get used to tasting food with an open mind.



The momos were super tasty and i loved the accompaniments to it too.I would have expected the momos to have a little more filling inside it. A little more filling meant a little more enjoyment.


Corn and Cheese toast was simply mindblowing. I loved the taste of it but by the time this came to the table i was already full to the neck. The corn and cheese as always make an amazing combo and it was super delicious.

We had ordered different beverages to down the food. One was flavored yoghurt. My friends had ordered a Mango and a strawberry flavour. The yogurt was thick and the flavors of Mango and Strawberry was really good. The other was Thandai. Thandai had flavor but it was watery to my liking. The same goes for Ice Tea as well.




How could I miss mentioning the dessert. We ordered for Crepe with fresh cream and fresh fruits. The crepe was pretty ok. I only wish the cream wasn't watery and the mild chocolate sauce actually added to the flavor. Am not too sure if the crepe should be warm but the taste quite made up for it. The other dessert which I did not get a picture of and still chide myself for it is the muffins. The muffins were mind blowing and superb. Perfect blend of everything and it was THE dessert we were looking for. I want to go back there for the muffins atleast if not for anything else.




To sum it up, this is street food at its best. This was a better experience than my previous one. The only hassle I had was climbing up the rigorous stairs leading up to Spoonbill was tiring. However Charlie has assured that he was working with the building owner for the lift and hopefully it will be done soon.

Looking forward to visiting it once the lift facility is in place

Thursday, May 16, 2013

ID Restaurant- Sathyam Cinemas- A Classy Entertainment

After an interesting movie, we decided to enter into ID, the most famed ID restaurant at Sathyam Cinemas. The ambience was clean and neat with good lighting and seating. We entered and there was a live kitchen in the middle of the restaurant. The kitchen was well kempt and not cluttered or messy. One was immediately attended to and made comfortable. They always wait around you and fill your plate or glass when needed.


The Menu card was very simple and easy to read in the form of a Book Mark. The front side gave the menu and the back side the prices. I loved the way the Menu was presented. The orders were taken immediately and the Kitchen looked busy inspite of the crowd being less. The staff were constantly on their toes and ensured that no customer was made to wait for a long time.


We werent that hungry and we decided to go for a dish each. Our order was Rava Idli and Aappam with Ulli Theeyal. While we waited for the food, we were checking out the ambience. There were small focus lights that were throwing light on the plate kept. It made me all the more hungry and was waiting for the food.


The first to come was the Rava Idly (though after a reminder) with accompaniments of Corriander Chutney, Coconut Chutney and Onion Chutney. The Idly was quite filling and tasty. The veggies on top were cooked to perfection and the Chutneys were a 10 on the taste. The focus light on the plate made food all the more interesting.




Then came the Aappam. The aappam was a little cold but i was looking forward I was given four options of Vegetable Stew,Vada curry, Vegetable Kurma and Ulli Theeyal for the accompaniment. I opted for the Ulli Theeyal as I hadnt tasted it before and I thought I might have made a wrong decision going with it. But when it actually arrived, it was no looking back. The Aappam was tasty and the Ulli Theeyal was a perfect balance of taste and flavor. I finished it till the lost drop of it and was left wanting more.

We wanted to try more dishes but left the place due to lack of time. The place is not very elderly friendly or accessible for a challenged person. Sathyam Theater has a lot of issues to be addressed on this front but they do have a wheelchair availability and they have assured the cooperation and help of their staff with the wheelchair as well.

Other than this I would definitely want to go back to ID for a proper meal again.