Seas the Day at Boardwalk by Flamboyante

It's been forever since I wrote my last blog post and this post is by far my fastest post published. The n number of questions received by everyone after one check-in on facebook at this place, set aside my lazy behavior and motivated me put some time to write this!

I had been planning to visit this place since almost a year now, but never got a chance to go. Finally, this was my time to visit Boardwalk! We booked our tickets to travel by PNP and left from Gateway at 2pm. (priced at INR.165/- recommended pre booking)

Nestled in the beauty of Mandwa Beach, just besides the Jetty, you land at a complete aww of place surrounded with peace and mesmerizing beauty in just 50 minutes. It took me a while to take a breathe of the fresh air around me. It was a Saturday and since we hadn't pre-booked it got a little difficult to get a table on the spot. However, the manager was nice enough to accommodate a table for the two of us at the end moment. The place was actually house full, with a birthday party going on at one side, a bachelorett on another and a few other guests enjoying their meals here and there.

Boardwalk is a Greek themed restaurant with all white and blues doing perfect justice to the place. The interiors are on point, keeping in mind the location bang next to the beach. We got fresh and settled ourselves on a couch facing the sea, and I just couldn't get enough of that unreal view!

We had to place our order real quick, and finish our meal by 5pm since the place was booked for a private party later. We first called for a double apple - mint based sheesha which was presented to us in a tall hukka pot and gave a truly arabic feeling. For drinks, we had a sangria and a beer. The sangria was made well, but the bar menu isn't too pocket friendly.

Since you all know, I'm a hardcore sea food lover.. To begin with we called for fried fish and chips which was served with tarter sauce. The food isn't extraordinary but totally satisfying. The dish came in with only two big pieces of fish with chips and sauce. At first the quantity looked less to me but it had already ruined my appetite. The fish was bland yet fresh, tender and finely cooked. And, the tarter sauce served along with it compensated the taste.

We then ordered fish tikka. This was basa cooked very well, and the masala on it tasted typically like a Mughlai dish. This was so good, it almost melted in the mouth and i just couldn't wait to pick my next piece. It was served with green chutney which has always blended well with most foods.

For mains, we ate grilled fish sizzler which was basa once again. Unfortunately, we didn't know that this dish wasn't served with rice or noodles but only steamed and caramelized vegetables along with signature mash and potato wedges. (Forgot to click a picture of this)

We were so full after this, but no meal is complete without a dessert! We called for the famous mud pie with vanilla ice cream. Just one word, foodgasmic! Try it yourself to know more ;)

The sun was setting and the view kept getting better. I really wished we could wait for some more time and enjoy the sunset. However, since it was already 4:45 we had to vacate the place. Our bill came upto Rs.4000 and we were more than happy to dish that out of our pockets! 

The experience was totally worth the wait and I would definitely suggest each one to visit this place for a sun downer at least once. I do recommend booking a week in advance cause no matter how courteous the staff is, the place is so busy that even if they wish to help you they can't do anything about it.

We booked a ferry to come back to Bombay which was going to depart at 5:45pm. Meanwhile, we walked around the beach and enjoyed the magnificent view. We had tickets to a normal ferry that took us an hour to come back and the sunset was one of the best, I have seen so far! The Mumbai skyline looked extra pretty and here was the end to a day spent beautifully with the person who matters the most.

Hope this post has helped you fix a venue for you're next date or maybe even a day out with your family. Don't forget to like and share this post if it has helped you, it may help someone else too!

For quick updates and more pictures, follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/twentysomethingtripped/

Love,
Samidha.

Grandmama's Cafe : Review

Helllloooo,

Wasn't the first time I was visiting this place... but, the first time I went to Grandmama's Cafe in Dadar (East) we didn't get a place to sit inside. I had fallen in love with the interiors of this place and couldn't resist going there again. So elegant, vintage, Victorian and cosy!

During the first visit I wasn't very sure of the outside area because of the traffic, dust and people getting outside the station area, but it was still peaceful with jazz music which takes you back in time.

This time I went in the afternoon and got seated on the couch inside. The white walls and pastel hues with all the antiques hanging, was a treat to the eyes!

I munched on the cheesy and gooey Mac and cheese which was served in a small frying pan kinda thing. Loaded with cheese and a little seasoning it gave a simple yet satisfactory taste. 

I also called for mash potato with chicken which looked under-cooked by the look of it but melted in the mouth within 10 seconds.

I highly recommend the hot chocolate at Grandmama's Cafe which has won several  hearts. It is sinfully thick with an excellent taste.

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The bill came in a strange box and added a niche touch. The quantity of their food may look deceptive, but by the end of it 2 of us were holding our stomachs. While you exit, it gives you that I must come here again feeling and is a must must musssttt try!

But, the BEST thing spotted at this place, was this one true pair which displayed eternal love and makes me believe in FOREVER! ( Sorry abut the image quality)

No sooner was the sister to this place opened in Kamla Mills. Having already been to the Dadar cafe twice this time I wanted to check the one at Kamla Mills. This place, located in Kamla Mills gave us a round to the entire mill to find it. Everything there from the entry to it's ambiance to its menu's to its varied ways of serving condiments.. It's all so eye pleasingly gorgeous! This outlet serves alcohol too, so you can sip a wine and enjoy your meal.

We walked-in on a Tuesday night for dinner during the IPL so the place was packed with families and was very noisy since daddies-uncles and kids were cheering loudly non-stop.
We started with the four cheese pizza which as the name suggests was topped with four amazing cheese.. And was stringy and delicious.

We also called for the Orange Rosso Sangria which comprised of red wine with slice of orange and apple. The concentration was 10/10. Not only did the sangria appeal to the eyes but tastes superb as well. The Cold Press Juice is an 8/10.

Then we ordered for Patatas Bravas which were brilliant. Loved these fried potato cubes laced with tangy marinara sauce, topped with dollops of mayo. An absolutely super perfect finger food to go perfectly well with your favorite drink. 

The next order was Achari Khichdi, a must-must try. The wholesome combination of yellow dal and rice combined with not just whole spices but also onions, garlic and tomatoes imparted a tangy twist to the khichdi making it flavorsome. Served with fryums and freshly cut onion and tomato salad this one is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

For dessert we called for Nutella waffles which was topped with the chocolate powder and some chocolate chips and served with vanilla ice-cream and Nutella! The waffles were soft and fresh and that's how waffles should be!

Wise words- Since these are Grandma's homemade recipes, you can never go wrong. But I would expect the same warmth, love & care you'd feel in her arms, the aroma of her recipes which are passed on from generations. The light you'd see in her eyes when you take a bite with all the excitement. You can almost feel it at their Dadar café, but lacks here. As they say, there's always a next time & perfection comes at the cost of practice.

And...finally the most important & positive thing is to look forward to the perfect and almost pocket friendly pricing for the experience they provide, in comparison to the places nearby burning deep holes in the pocket. A fantastic experience and we are definitely coming back for more . :)

Review - Mighty Small Cafe, Smaaash

I wanted to upload this post since long but I've kept delaying and I don't even know why! It had been long since I wanted to go to this carnival themed cafe and I was really happy when we got a table there after waiting for about 20 minutes.

I went there with 3 other friends to watch the quarter final between Indian and Pakistan during the T20 World Cup. I loved the ambiance of the place, bright and colorful. The seating was in big round tables for 8-10 people, so even if you went as a couple you had the whole table to yourself which was a sheer waste of space.

The menu looked interesting and reasonable. It had a wide variety right from Tandoori to flat Chinese noodles which left me perplexed to figure what I wanted to eat or begin with!

The first thing we ordered was Kung Pao Potato which was good quantity for 4 people. It had dry chilli, scallion and cashew.

We then called for veg and non veg nachos. They were cheesy AF and served with salsa sauce on the side. The amount of grilled chicken pieces got the biggest smiles on everyone's faces. The way it was served was fancy too, the veg and non veg nachos had a green and red flag respectively!

Any match is boring without some beer, we decide to call for a pitcher of bira, but unfortunately it wasn't available at that time, hence the waiter suggested that we go for Draft beer. The service was very quick, and the way everything was served for impressive. The beer was served in Mason jars and available at some offer which is why one beer was priced at only 49 Rupees.

Since I'm not a beer person and experiment a lot with my drinks I chose Jager Iced Tea - a mixture of vodka, white rum, triple sec and Jager meister topped with coke. The taste wasn't that great and I felt like I had a medicine for cough and I wouldn't recommend it to anybody.

Then we called for peri peri popcorn, which again had a good amount but tasted very spicy.

Later, we ordered for the meat lovers - loaded pan pizza. Unlike other pizzas this one was shaped in a rectangle and had an amazingly thin crust with mad amount of meat!

The quantity for each and everything was so good and stomach filling that we couldn't finish the pizza and the nachos either! Overall it was a good experience, and I'm definitely going to visit this place again to try the dessert section which has highly been suggested by many people.

Lots of love :')

Authentic Tidbit at Prakash!

Hi guys,

I'm back again with another review on one of the most famous places ever heard off! It was a sudden plan to visit this place and being a Thursday, it was the perfect place to be as I do not eat non-veg on that day.

I had heard a lot about Prakash and it surely lived up-to it's reputation of serving lip smacking Maharashtrian snack. It was difficult to get on a table but we managed to share it with two other people. I felt ashamed, on being a Maharashtrian and have never tasted the food here.
Name any Maharashtrian food and it's here! We called for the famous Sabudana Wadas, which were perfectly fried and not so oily. The groundnut mixed chutney served along with the wadas complimented it well. It had a tinge of khatas which made it little tangy.



Next we ordered for Dahi Misal, which had an exceptional taste. They served their misal 'without' pav, because they do not want to deface the taste of their misal with the pav. 



Then, we called for something that looked absolutely new to me namely, Sabudana Puri. Again, this was fried well and served with the peanut mixed chutney. The puris were stuffed with boiled potato and looked exactly like the wadas with a sweet taste.



They have variety of drinks (They do not sever any aerated drinks) we called for kokam and avla sharbat that had a very good balance of sweet, salt and sour. 

    

Although I was full I couldn't resist calling for a glass of Piyush seen on almost every table at Prakash. It was thicker than the other ones we have in Mumbai. It is a bit on the sweeter side generally with a very mild feel of sourness.

Overall the food is very fresh and authentic to Maharashtrian- Brahmin taste with value for money!

Prakash Shakahari Upahaar Kendra
Horizon Towers,
Ranade Road Dadar West,
Shivaji Park,
Mumbai 400028.

Landmark: Near Shiv Sena Bhavan