Little Italy Review

The family went for a dinner last evening at “Little Italy” restaurant newly opened inside the Croma Showroom at Malad. There were couple of strong recommendations from friends about Little Italy chain, they seemed to have enjoyed the cuisine at Juhu and Andheri outlets. So we went, but instead of going to Andheri or elsewhere, decided to go to the nearest one at Croma, just 0.5 Km from our home.

The ambience of the first floor of Croma was excellent - I saw four restaurants - all new. There is a children’s timezone-kind of playground as well. We decided we would try all these restaurants eventually. But for the moment it was Little Italy. It was a nice restaurant, very much like the upscale ones in Singapore. The interior decoration and ambience was classy, but the best surprise was the Menu. In India, the restaurateurs communicate their knowledge and emphasis via the Menus - I have seen several good and tough ones, but the Little Italy one beat them all. There were pages and pages of items, some of which I have never heard or seen all these years. I had to assume that my knowledge of Italian food is not that good enough, though it has remained our favourite food for the past many years.

We ordered some delectable mocktails, and the food. While the starters were good, the main courses were so and so - the fusilli pasta was soggy, with overcooked tomato sauce drenching the pasta and not delivering the expected taste. The margharita pizza was wood fired and good. The only other item worth mentioning is the Zucchini In Carpione starter which was very good. The other items (Siciliana Pasta mentioned above, Pasta Tortellini Del, and Insalata Gennarino salad) neither deserved the price nor the expectations.

The obtrusive handling of diners by the waiters is another pain in India. They are either not trained properly, or have never been exposed to fine dining restaurants. They keep interfering in conversations, and try removing the plates before we are done. It is, well, irritating to say the least.

We did not order any desserts, though the menu items appeared good on paper.

Little Italy is yet another example of trying to tap ignorant peoples’ fascination for all things “phoren”. What they sorely missed out is that the crowd who is going to choose Little Italy, unfortunately for them is mostly an educated, well-travelled, well-heeled group. The thing which would surely upset these folks is a soggy pasta, even taking the most elementary of the Italian dishes cooked in homes all around.

To continue this story, I cooked fusilli pasta tonight, and it simply turned out to be far superior to the one at Little Italy ! The crowning delight was when my kids ate the food quietly, and then clapped in appreciation ! The recipe is secret and will be discussed sometime in the future !!

Have a wonderful weekend,

Cheers

Vijay Srinivasan
18 Aug 2007
Mumbai

Some Pics for the Previous Post - Open Top Bus Ride and All Stir Fry

DSC01517, originally uploaded by vjsri99.

This is a very old Church located close to the place where one starts the Open Top Bus Ride.

DSC01514, originally uploaded by vjsri99.

This is the Asiatic Society Building - missed the name on the top of the building. Reminds one of European architecture.

DSC01501, originally uploaded by vjsri99.

This is the Revolving Chinese Restaurant “Pearl of the Orient” on top of the Ambassador Hotel - not recommended for the food, except for the first-time experience of having dinner in a revolving restaurant.

DSC01509, originally uploaded by vjsri99.

“Flora Fountain” area - again reminds one of an elegant European City in the night. Will appear different during daylight though.

DSC01507, originally uploaded by vjsri99.

Another view of Flora Fountain.

DSC01481, originally uploaded by vjsri99.

Elegant European architecture in the heart of Mumbai - could not get the name of the building.

DSC01524, originally uploaded by vjsri99.

“Self-selected” and “Live Cooked” Chinese food at “All Stir Fry” restaurant of Gordon Hotel - strongly recommended.

DSC01535, originally uploaded by vjsri99.

Again, a view of the food at “All Stir Fry”.

Cheers

Vijay Srinivasan
6 April 2007
Mumbai

All Stir Fry at Gordon House

Today we again decided to venture out on a long trip to South Mumbai. Being Saturday, it was a bit easier but we still took approximately 100 minutes to reach Marine Drive area where we decided to stop at the Cafe Coffee Day for a quick coffee and snacks. The idea today was to go on the Open Top Bus Tour of MTDC (Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation) and have dinner at “All Stir Fry” restaurant - though that was not the original plan. We had planned to have dinner at the famous Indigo or Cafe Basilico at Colaba, but both declined the reservation saying that they were completely sold out !

The Open Top Bus Tour was interesting - it’s a one-hour journey around the landmarks of Colaba, Nariman Point and Churchgate. We had to save our precious heads from the branches of the trees lining the roads, and we were warned to keep our heads down below. I did not see the point of the Open Top Bus Service when the sole purpose seemed to be to get the bus to break the tree branches and in the process, get some tourists injured. Completely reckless and laughable to say the least. While watching the heads, I did click some photos. Due to a technical hitch in the uploading software, it has not been possible to show off those photos. These will be uploaded soon !

The highlight of the evening was the dinner, ofcourse, at the quaintly appointed Gordon House Hotel behind Regal Cinemas at Colaba. We went to this fabulous “All Stir Fry” restaurant inside the hotel. It was excellent food. Great selection of a la carte - both Thai and Chinese. We went for the selection of dishes to be cooked in front of us with special sauces. It was absolutely delicious.

Have a great weekend, more stuff soon.

Best Regards

Vijay Srinivasan
31 March 2007
Mumbai

Mainland China at Lokhandwala

The family wanted Chinese food of some authentic variety and so we went to the Mainland China Restaurant located at Lokhandwala area of Andheri West last weekend, a distance of approximately 4 Kms from where we live. This is the second such restaurant that we tried out in Andheri.

The ambience of the restaurant was very good, it looked formal something like the fine dining ones at the Chijmes or Boat Quay in Singapore. I was surprised to find ample parking space dedicated to the restaurant inside the building’s compound, a rarity in Mumbai. We arrived at 7:40 PM, and were apparently the second family to arrive. The restaurant actually started filling up only after 9 PM, which is the usual Indian timing for dinner. So, we enjoyed the attention of the maitre d’s of the restaurant, who were all over us trying to determine our spending pattern.

We eventually ordered Tofu Hainan Style and Sweet & Spicy Chicken as appetizers. Later we realized that there is just no comparison to Singapore, or Hong Kong. The Tofu was not as good, and the Chicken was very oily. We anyway had to show that we are enjoying the appetizers, and quickly progressed to order the main course hoping that what is going to follow would be inifinitely better than what we just had. We ordered Whole Sea Bass, Vegetable Parsley (I could not get Baby Kai-lan which I am very fond of), Chilly Asparagus, and Stirfried Hakka Noodles. To be fair, the Sea Bass was not bad. It did not appear as white as what I would have wished for, but the taste was good. Must be from Mumbai sea !

I realized that in India, they had way too much salt than necessary. The vegetable was not at all good, was overcooked, and did not have the right look. The noodles was all right, but looked very oily - it tasted good though. Mainland China was not even close to a Hong Kong !

Overall, it was not a very bad dining experience, but I realized it is better to temper expectations while seeking Chinese food in India. I know full well that some 5-Star hotels such as the Hyatt and Taj lands’ End have excellent Chinese cuisine, but it is too much trouble driving across Mumbai. I decided to look for better dining options around, it is difficult to forego tastes one has developed over a decade !

Have a fabulous weekend !

Cheers

Vijay Srinivasan
17 March 2007
Mumbai