 Chef Cristian Cabrera Fratelli Fresh, the specialty restaurant serving Italian cuisine at Renaissance Mumbai Hotel & Convention Centre has a new chef leading its kitchen. Chef Cristian Cabrera hails from Chile and has an experience amassed across four continents of the world. He has worked in renowned restaurant kitchens from Chile to Miami to Europe and most recently India.
A tête-à-tête with the chef quickly reveals to you his jovial nature, passion for food and the regard he holds for simplicity in cooking. This fact is well reflected in the new menu conceptualized by him for the restaurant. The menu integrates chef’s modern twist to some of his grandmother’s gastronomic delights in a brilliant way. So passionate is the chef regarding his new menu, that while playing host he himself ended up serving us most of the dishes. Here is a glimpse of my gluttony with the various courses during a special preview of this new menu: With Valentine’s Day round the corner, the city is abuzz with events that are enticing people to celebrate this special occasion with delicious gastronomy. Numerous restaurants are dishing out enthralling preparations, so that cupid is assisted aptly in his endeavor by scrumptious food. A few of my foodie friends and I got an oppurtunity in this week to experience the Valentine vibe at Me So Happi, BKC, Mumbai through a specially curated menu by the restaurant and Burrp for us. Here is a look at my gluttony with a few select preparations in this interesting Valentine carte du jour:  Restaurant businesses today are gearing up more than ever to personalize experiences for their customers. The task at hand for quick service restaurants (QSRs) is even more daunting where they have to be inventive yet adhere to stringent delivery deadlines. Indi Kitchen, a recent QSR that has been up in the bustling Lokhandwala locality of Mumbai since November 2015 is tackling the aforementioned challenge in a great way. They have kept their offerings simple, limited and revolving around the Chipotle style concept popular in USA but with a twist of Indian cuisine. What does this translate into? The basic idea is that people are given the option to customize the menu by selecting the carbohydrate (Base), protein, vegetables and gravy component to arrive at their delicious meal. The choices are as seen in the image above. Basis the above customizations on offer my friends and I went ahead and designed multiple meals. But my favorite amongst the many was one which had the combination as under:
 The box was finished off with a garnish of birista or golden fried onions that brought a hint of sweetness to the dish. The gravy though termed Triple Teekha and comprising of three different types of chilies fell short of my expectations of being overtly spicy but added a nice punch to the dish. The portion size was absolutely perfect to serve as a filling meal for one person. Here is a look at the various customized meals we ended up devouring. The Tikka Masala was delicious and the vegetables blended very well with it. The Bhuna masala was a spicy, onion based gravy flavored beautifully with herbs and the Malai Chicken was moist and tasty even when cooked with this masala. The third combination of Mutton Seekh Kebab with Aloo Tikka prepared in Madras curry, which reeked of quintessential South Indian flavors achieved by combination of spices and coconut milk. The individual flavors of kebab, aloo and the curry shined through the dish beautifully yet were not overpowering each other. For those who seek a set offering, they can go in for Dal Makhani with Rice/Naan or can have the Biryani (option of vegetarian or chicken is available). We went in for Dal Makhani with Naan and Chicken Biryani. The dal was lip-smacking and went very well with the soft textured butter Naan. The Chicken Biryani went easy on the use of spices, had generous amount of chicken but fell a little short on the seasoning front. For dessert course, they have one single offering in the form of Chocolate Samosa that is simply delicious. The samosas have the regular savory coating but, the stuffing is that of a gooey brownie. The drizzling of chocolate sauce on the samosa makes it really indulgent.   (l-r) Founders - Anuj & Aalok Currently, Indi Kitchen is present in only one location and has dine-in as well as home-delivery options available within 5 km radius of the outlet. The four founders – Aalok Shah, Anuj Bagri, Chirag Arya and Varun Ahuja aim to expand its presence across seven locations in Mumbai in this calendar year. Planning is also underway on menu expansion.
Do try out this place and let me know of your experience. Till then, HAPPY EATING… |
AUTHOR- Regional Indian Food & Travel enthusiast Archives
January 2018
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