GLUTTONY @ CAFÉ MANGII, POWAI, MUMBAI

"New Mangiilical Menu" that's how popular, casual dining brand Café Mangii is referring to its fresh, summer inspired menu. This carte du jour indeed weaves magic on the taste buds through its lip-smacking offerings. Classic food combinations are presented in an interesting way that take your palate on an impressive gastronomic journey.

Here is look at my grand gluttony with the "New Mangiilical Menu":

AMUSE BOUCHE
- Plateau De Fromage
We were off to an appetizing start with a remarkable cheese platter comprising of four different types of cheese served with crostini, cured olives, gala grapes, dried apricots and walnuts. Yellow cheddar was the mildest in terms of flavor notes while chèvre or goat cheese had the most robust flavor. Emmental too made an impact with its intense flavor. But, in my opinion it was the Brie that was the star of the platter with its sublime flavor and silken texture.
- Mini Watermelon Cups
One cannot go wrong with the classic pairing of watermelon and feta cheese. The sweetness from the miniature cubes of fruit was balanced off beautifully by the salty feta, garnish of a single, toasted pine nut and arugula leaf.

APERITIF
Post a delicious rendezvous with fruit & cheese, our taste buds were treated to a refreshing guava and mint granita. This was quite a stimulating drink for the palate in order to prepare it for the food courses to come.

SALADS
Next we indulged in two very light and delicately seasoned vegetarian salads.
- Pickled Beet Carpaccio
An interesting assortment of green leafy vegetables with goat cheese granola chunks and walnuts was drizzled with a raspberry vinaigrette. This mixture sat on a bed of fine, roasted slices of pickled beetroot. Each ingredient provided a different layer of texture and flavor to the salad making it a dish worthy of praise.
- Cranberry Apple
Crisp celery fennel slaw, gala apple slices, dried cranberries, roasted pine nuts and roasted sunflower seeds formed core ingredients of this salad. A honey mustard dressing held all these elements together in a toothsome way. An underplayed nutty flavor and subtle sweetness were the prominent attributes of this salad.

SOUP
Our vegetarian enchantment with the menu continued with the soups as well. We relished two sumptuous soups as under:
- Potage Parmentier
This was a creamy, yummy concoction of potatoes and leeks topped with crispy fried spinach. The soup bore evidence of apt amount of seasoning comprising of black pepper. The spinach cut through the creaminess of the soup imparting a lovely crunch to it as well.
- Red Pepper Soup with Melba toast
This was a delicious red pepper soup served with a beautiful, garlic flavored Melba toast. The sight of the soup was pleasure to the eyes and its lovely smoky flavor was a feast for the taste buds.

APPETIZERS/SMALL PLATES
I sampled four gorgeous appetizers that were very addictive. It was a massive struggle to restrain myself from consuming larger portions of these appetizers to save my appetite for the further food courses. Here is a look at the appetizers:
- Baked Jalapeno Molten
This was the most delicious appetizer amongst all served. Fresh jalapenos were halved and stuffed with a filling of cream cheese and salsa verde with a dash of sweet paprika for seasoning. These were then baked to arrive at an appetizer oozing with melted cheese. A touch of garlic dipping sauce further enhanced the flavors of the dish.
- Crostini di Polenta
This was a simple yet satisfying appetizer comprising of polenta and Parmesan cakes topped with yummy pepperonata and a touch of chive aioli.
- Jerk Chicken Olivetti
The chicken was moist and it was flavored by smoking it with peppers. In the chicken was ensconced a cured olive. Each morsel was then garnished with pinacolada dip.
- Gorged Mushrooms
These were fritters of button mushrooms stuffed with herb flavored cream cheese and parmesan. One simply cannot go wrong with the classic combination of cheese and mushrooms and this appetizer went on to further elevate the way in which this pairing can be presented in a delectable way. A smudge of BBQ sauce added a delicate sweetness to this dish.

PASTA
- Ravioli Orange Paprika
This pasta dish comprised of ravioli stuffed with pine nuts, leeks and parmesan served in an orange butter paprika sauce. I had great expectations from this preparation. But what I ate clearly underwhelmed me as the orange sauce was extremely sweet and overpowered the entire dish.
 
RISO
- Pollo Pesto
This was the dish of the day for me comprising of risotto flavored with sweet basil and pine nut pesto. Chicken cubes, chopped olives and sundried tomatoes adorned this perfectly seasoned dish that was a bliss to the taste buds.

MAIN COURSE
- Grilled Cottage Cheese Steak
As soon as the dish makes it appearance in front of you a bright yellow hue catches your attention. This is the delicate saffron beurre blanc that makes the dish a captivating one. A disc of grilled cottage cheese is placed in this divine liquid topped with a yummy olive and cilantro tapenade and a mound of crimson hued tomato rice. The entire food arrangement is indeed a spectacle to behold. Sweetness from the saffron beurre blanc is beautifully balanced by a faint briny flavor of the tapenade and gentle tart flavor from the rice making the dish a blend of wonderful flavors.
- Lemon Pepper Basa
Gently poached piece of basa in a lip-smacking butter sauce was perched upon zucchini fritters and stir fried peppers. The fish was cooked to perfection and the other components of the dish went on to further enhance the taste of the dish.
- Butterfried Salmon Steak
A beautiful piece of salmon was complimented by a decadent potato and broccoli au gratin. Beetroot purée and green beans added their own unique flavors to the dish.

DESSERTS
I was looking forward to the dessert course after a wondrous experience with the prior food courses. However, this course had nothing spectacular to offer. Below were the two desserts I ended up trying.
- Philadelphia Baked Cheese Cake with Blueberry compote
A generous slice of cheese cake with a spoonful of blueberry compote arrived at the table for this sweet course. The cheese cake was rich and creamy but was devoid of any kind sweetness leaving this dessert very lackluster. The blueberry compote tried to add the much needed punch but could not save this dessert.
- Velvet Brick Brownie with Vanilla Ice Cream
This was just an average sweet dish comprising of a very sugary, red velvet Brownie with a fancy red color served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and garnish of a tuile. The flavors didn't really excite my palate.

So do try out the new menu at Café Mangii and let me know of your experience.
Till then, HAPPY EATING...
(PS: The dishes from the new menu were served as part of special bloggers’ table so actual portion sizes may vary. However, my review is subjective and unprejudiced.)