Cloudy with a chance of Dal Bhaati Churma

Review – Sudama Restaurant, Hotel Shri Krishna Palace

It's Friday afternoon, I look up from my cab window, clouds lining up in Marine Drives sky line. It's 12:30 pm and the sultry weather working on my appetite. I check my BB for recent updates. It's buzzing with Will & Kates wedding. I wonder why so much hype? It's just another almost bald guy who looked like he had borrowed his dress from Maganlal dresswala marrying a botoxed damsel dressed in froth! Yes it's a different thing that he is the future King of a dying economy and instead of rejoicing the British should be cursing him for blowing up all their tax money on his wedding!

"Arrey aadat apni sasuri bahut kameeni hai, bahut kamini hai. Humka peeni hai peeni hai humka peeni hai", I wake up from my reverie. My Indian Idol of a cab driver singing and bobbing his head to his favourite Sallu bhai number at the same time while maneuvering through the busy lanes of Tardeo/Nanachowk/Grant Road. Yep I really don't know what this area is called. All I know is that am hungry and I need food.

The cab comes to halt outside what looks like a line of hardware shops. Somewhere in between is a tallesh building that reads 'Hotel Krishna Palace'. Bingo. I enter restaurant on the ground floor - Sudama. 

The AC breeze a welcome relief. Dressed in wooden paneled and white walls the restaurant has a very contemporary look. The staff welcomes me with a friendly smile. In no time I am offered the menu, which is actually quite and exhaustive list of South Indian dishes, Punjabi, Mardwadi, Gujarati, Chinese and even a bit of Italian.

Ecstacy

I go right to the Mocktails. Something to cool me down. I order for an Ectasy – a sort of apple & kiwi fizzy drink which turns out to be quite refreshing for a hot summer day like this. My second mocktail the Flute Champaign  - a mix of custard apple and Sweet lime was also scored full points on the refresh-o-meter. I  move on to the food and on the maitre d' recommendation I try the Wanton Hunan Soup – a pungent and caustic combination of garlic and chillies. It just didn't do well with me. 

Babycorn Mushroom Chilli Garlic

Thai Pattaya Paneer

For the starters first comes the Mushroom Babycorn Chilli Garlic – babycorn and mushrooms sautéed in brilliant flavours of butter, green chillies and garlic made quite an appetizing dish. Quite a relief after the lovecraftian soup The next starter, the Thai Pattaya Paneer – velvety chunks of well cooked paneer painted with peanut sauce also made for a delectable appetizer. Please note not many places get their paneer right. At most places the paneer is a like a rubbery piece of car tire. A good piece of paneer is one which melts in the mouth at the same time does not look like bhurji on the plate which means that its not too soft and Sudama's paneer was just the right consistency. 


 Next, choosing from the Indian starters range, I call for Tilpuri Kabab – a sort of mixed vegetable kabab wrapped in till or mustard seeds. The kebab was quite bland and tasteless. The Paneer Makkai Sheek also didn't impress us much with no distinguishing flavor. The next was a Cheese Corn Ball and overload of cheese and no corn in sight. However it was still melt in the mouth yummy!

Lahori Paneer

In the main course I called for the Lahori Paneer – a bright red dish with topped with cream. Again the paneer was brilliant and the Lahori flavor is nothing but a Makhani gravy. Quite a delicious meal and when had with buttery Garlic Naan, it was like a marriage made in heaven. The other dish was Navratna Korma – a mix of vegetables like peppers, peas, carrots in orange gravy. Tasty and delectable went very well with their Pudina Naan. 

Navratna Korma

Next I called for Dal Bhati Churma – a traditional and now popular Rajasthani dish. Warning the dish is huge sin to your body as it entails a lot of calories but is a huge boon to your mouth because it entails a lot of yumminess! Ok so the Batti which is a sort of baked round breads about the size of golf balls is served drenched

Dal Baati Churma

 in ghee along with a bowl of Panchmel Dal or 5 cereal dal and Churma - unsalted flaked remains of battis mixed with crushed jagerry. Now all you have to do is take some batti add some panchmel dal on it and add the sweet churma. And what you get is pabulum dish, brilliant in flavours and nutrition but also high in calories. I would definitely advice you to eat this in the winter because right it's just to hot to have this dish. The Dal Baati Churma at Sudama was excellent and definitely a must try. 

Next we move on to the Paalakwale Chaawal – a khicdi comprised of rice in a spinach gravy. Immaculate. There were no added spices like chillies etc to disturb the dish. The natural juices and flavor of spinach tasted balsamic and soothing. A must have at this place and even the menu says so.

I topped all this off with a Phirni – a dulcet rice pudding that was sweet to right amount.

After all this I was so stuffed, I actually needed someone to pick me up and put me in a cab. But alas, I knew no one could have picked me up at that time without fracturing themselves that is. So with some help of the sturdy table I picked myself managed a smile at the waiters who greeted me goodbye and walked right outside Sudama. Yes without falling or damaging anything in the restaurant.



On the whole the meal was quite good. I would suggest sticking to the Chinese starters and Indian Main course of traditional dishes. An average meal would cost anywhere between Rs 150 – 300 per head which is quite an affordable amount these days.

Verdict

Food: Good especially the Indian fare

Ambience: Good

Service: Friendly and prompt

Quicktip: Women, head here with your kitty party group and you would be guaranteed a good meal at affordable prices. Also if you're a non-vegetarian and like me you have to eat veg food on a particular day of the week due 'family rituals' head to this place with your family. If you are a vegetarian then definitely head to this place for some amazing variety.

The Co-ordinates

Sudama Restaurant, Hotel Krishna Palace 96 / 98, Sleater Road, Nana Chowk, Grant Road; Call 23873311; Time 11.30 am to 11.30 pm

Flavour that 'Ling' ers

Lings Pavilion

Lings Pavilion (source Burrp.Com)

There are very few places I would call home besides my own & Lings Palace is one of them. Located in the lane adjacent to Regal Cinema, Lings is now a part of the culture & heritage of South Mumbai or SOBO. Almost like a landmark of South Mumbai like you have The Gateway of India, The Taj Mahal, Regal Cinema, Lings Pavilion and now Leopold (famous due to the 26/11 attacks). Lings along with Golden Dragon (Taj) and Nanking (now shut down) formed the early Chinese restaurant culture in this part of town. 

Frequented by SOBOites (a name given to people like me- born and bought up in South Mumbai), if you see the demographics of its patrons there would typically be grandparents mostly in the age bracket of 50 – 80’s then the children in their 30’s – 50’s and then the grandchildren from new born to the one’s in their 20’s.  Hence I use the word 'patrons', Lings enjoys three generations of patronage. Typically you will see these families celebrating one of the important family days – birthdays, anniversaries or their weekly meal outside. If you see the younger generation sitting there, my bet is they have been introduced to this place by their grandparents if not atleast their parents. Lings Pavilion therefore in it’s true sense is a family affair. Again, I would call it an affair and not a restaurant because too many of us who have been going there since 'time without beginning’.It’s much more than just a restaurant.

There are three main factors that make this place so special 1) consistency – the food here tastes the same since forever. From the barbeque chicken to the friend rice – pure, delicate, appetizing in short Soulful. 2) the staff  - friendly, courteous and again have been here since really long, if not there is always Johnny, long would be an understatement to describe his tenure. He has been the maitre d’ since my grandfather frequented this place 3) the familiarity – if you’re a SOBOite (yes I am quite proud of calling myself that. If you’re not one you probably hate me by now, if you are one then you’re probably nodding your head away to this. However just bear with me I promise you this is worth it) you are bound to meet a family friend or your cousins (hence don’t get your date until its official) or a school/college acquaintance. If not there are always the fish. Right next to the entrance there is a small pond with baby sharks and other fish with a overhead bridge. These fish are my acquaintances, I have been watching them since I was 10 while I used to walk sometimes run up & down on the bridge. They still fascinate me like they used to when I was 10. Over the years the fish have become less. I wonder if that’s cause the Shark fin soup on the menu :).

I can go on and on about this place but there is one key factor or warning if you allow me to say - Don’t come here if you want to see your food while eating it! Yes you read that right.  Lings is a very dimly lit place and you can hardly see what you arer eating! I think it’s just a part of the ambience or the comfort the patrons already have with this place.

Now getting down to the food – I am a huge fan of soups so that’s what I always start with – it’ a family tradition ;). The Chicken Hot & Sour soup is great. It’s delicate & peppery, the right amount of sour and also finely chopped cucumber. Heaven. There is also the Clear Noodle Soup for the health conscious & vegetarians. It’s a kind of clear soup very light and yet delicious. Those of you who like black mushrooms can ask them to add it. They also serve khimchi which unlike the tomato sauce and cabbage one at Five Spice is delicious.

For appetizers I have the Barbeque Chicken served with grated cabbage khimchi style and peanut sauce. I used to like the barbeque chicken when they used serve it on a miniature grill. Johnny says they stoped it because people cribbed about the smoke  :(. It’s good now but earlier it was something else. The Peanut Sauce with it is simply amazing. Together it makes a great a combination. 


There is also Concurd for the vegetarians – crispy on the outside & soft on the inside served with a sweet honey like sauce. I prefer to eat it with the peanut one. The Chicken Wantons are great both fried & steamed. The steamed ones are topped with garlic & spring onions. Again both go really well with the peanut sauce. So if you’re not having the Barbeque Chicken order a peanut on the side it goes well with any starter. The prawn starter that is amazing is Prawn Chilli Garlic. Delicately spiced with garlic and chilli, it is stir fried. The perfect blend

Moving on to the main course – I have tried 4 types of rice here and all of them are great! First there is the usual Fried Rice. Besides the usual veggies it has peas. Don’t cringe am not too much of a vegetable fan too but this actually tastes great. Then you add a bit of spice to it and make it Schezwan Fried Rice, not for the faint hearted though. For a more authentic experience I would suggest trying either the Pot rice or the Bamboo shoot rice. The pot rice come in earthenware topped with mushrooms (you can skip if you don’t like that) vegetables and chicken if you would want to add. The bamboo shoot rice comes in a huge bamboo stick shaped wooden cylinder and waiter would take this fragrant rice out from the cylinder and serve it to you, steaming hot. If you love authentic Chinese sticky rice, both pot rice & bamboo shoot are great. 


For the main course,  I personally love the bland Chicken in Three Mushrooms, it’s intricately flavored with soy & the juices of the mushroom. For spice lovers there is Hong Kong Chicken, a red gravy with shallots, peppers and cashew nuts. There is also red cooked chicken again red gravy, it’s pretty spicy, with shallots and chopped chilly pieces. Note the red cooked usually comes with shredded chicken. If you’re not too much a fan of that you could ask for diced chicken instead.  Then there are the usual Hunan, Cantonese, black bean etc. 


For vegetarians there is the pure & heavenly Buddha’s Delight, a bland preparation of exotic vegetables like avocado,bamboo shoot, brocolli, peppers and water chestnuts in white sauce. Again it’s very intricately flavoured with garlic & vegetables. If you want it spicy you can also ask Johnny, he would happy suggest black bean sauce or schezwan style Buddha's Delight.

For noodles, there is the American Chopsuey, am not too fond of it usually but this one is less sweet. There is also Pan Fried Noodles, a combination of crispy noodles, soft noodle and vegetables and sprouts you could add meat to it if you may want.

On the side you could call for their Jasmin Tea. It helps keep the meal light and aids digestion.

For desert (usually I am stuffed with all the above) there is Honey Fried Noodles, or your choice of ice creams. What I suggest and what I have been doing since I was 10 is – 2 scoops of vanilla with chocolate sauce. If you not full don’t’ share it! If you are, offer it to the people around you (earned me some brownie points).

The pricing is moderate around 300 – 500 per head if you are a moderate eater.

All in all this place won’t disappoint you. If you hate the ‘Five Spice’ kind of Chinese and you’re not quite there with the authentic Royal China bit. This is the place for you.

Quick Tip: Celebrate an important family day here or take your grandparents (if they like Chinese that is) and request for Johnny to take you order (He usually does that if you arer sitting on the ground floor). Take it from me you won’t be disappointed

The Co-ordinates

·      Lings Pavilion, 19/21, Mahakavi Bhushan Marg, Behind Regal Cinema, Colaba, Mumbai

·         Phone: 22850023, 22850024, 22824533

Disclaimer: I have no personal association or partnership with anyone at Lings Pavilion. Nor am I going to get any monetary consideration of some sort after writing this review. The review is an unbiased account of my experience

(thought I should spell this out incase people thought I was being paid to write good things about this place. Let me tell you the owner of Lings Palace Mr. Baba Chang, a shrewd Chinese businessman, couldn’t care less who wrote what about his restaurant)