It was the same group who relished Parsi khana in Mumbai but this time it was a Bengali food outlet they headed to.Yes, a group of food loving Bengalis descended upon the Bijoli Grill Restaurant @ Powai,on Shosti afternoon.
Pandal Hopping in Mumbai called for fuelled tummies and Shosti being a Sunday was ideal for us to meet the Sen paribar and go Durga Puja touring in Mumbai and suburbs.The best part was that they decided to treat us for lunch at Bijoli Grill.
Yes,it is the same Bijoli Grill that is a catering heavyweight in Kolkata,and whoever has Bijoli Grill arranging the food at their social do's are assured of lip smacking food and guests leaving with a smile.I am an ardent admirer of their Fish Fry ,though others swear by the Fish Orley that comes out of their kitchen.
In Mumbai, however they have a small outlet at Powai which opened its shutters during Durga Pujo 2010.Since then ,many a time we thought of visiting the place...but the plans never materialized.So,Soshti 2011 was the destined day. We did pay obeisance to the Goddess @ the Powai Bengali Association Pujo before we reached the grub stop.
Bijoli Grill was serving a set menu for the Pujo days and when we reached the place was filled with people relishing their meals. They told us that the 25 items were on the menu and that made us opt to wait till the ac section had space for the six of us.
The first item Lebu Jal/ Doi er Ghol was served as we were waiting outside. A cool thirty minutes later we were ushered in and seated at a table with a view of the playzone outside. The 25(veg+ non veg) items were not displayed as in a buffet,but were served at the table much like in a biye baari.This arrangement was made ,I believe because of the paucity of space inside the restaurant.
The starters started rolling in Fish Fry, Chicken Kobiraji, Prawn Pakora.All of us being non vegetarians gave the veg starters which included Doi Vada,Paneer Finger a pass.
The Fish Fry was delicious and the Prawn Pakora a damp squib but the queen of starters that day was the Chicken Kobiraji.It was too good ,golden and crispy on the outside with a mouth watering chicken mince filling inside,not too bland nor too spicy it was flavored just right.
The starters were repeated but we were being careful as we wanted to sample the other dishes too.
The Phulko Luchi,Aloo Dum and Sorshey Narkol Phulkopi were all good and we liked the Dhokar dalna too.Steamed rice came in next and we had the rest of the dishes with this.
The Shukto was ok and could have been better.We moved on to the fish delicacies and all of us relished the Pabda Jhal which merited a five star. The Chingri Malaikari was average and we felt the chingri were a tad small in size for such a festive affair.The Murgi Kosha was around but we opted to taste the Kochi Pathar Bangla...but sorry to say it was a bit bland for our taste.The sweet and tangy kancha aamer Chatni with Papor Bhaja was an instant hit.
(We skipped the mooger dal,Chachra ,Veg.Pulao to accomodate the other dishes...eating at a 25 item sit -down buffet is no mean feat!;)
By this time we were happily filled and were bursting at the seams...but Bengalis cannot resist the sweet temptations and we did have a rossogolla and Kalo jaam,followed by ice cream.
As we were eating merrily there were many people who went out with satisfied smiles and many more came in and others waited in the waiting area outside for their turn to sample good Bengali food.And another noticeable aspect was the sizeable number of non bengalis in the crowd.What a smug feeling to know so many love Bengali Khana! All of us agreed that The lunch merited a 7 on a scale of 10 and the service was reasonably good ;but my personal choice is always a-la-carte.
This long, leisurely lunch was a lovely start to our Pujo celebrations....
The Smile says it all!
PS: Will be back at Bijoli Grill to savour the Kobiraji & Mochar chop soon:P
Pandal Hopping in Mumbai called for fuelled tummies and Shosti being a Sunday was ideal for us to meet the Sen paribar and go Durga Puja touring in Mumbai and suburbs.The best part was that they decided to treat us for lunch at Bijoli Grill.
Yes,it is the same Bijoli Grill that is a catering heavyweight in Kolkata,and whoever has Bijoli Grill arranging the food at their social do's are assured of lip smacking food and guests leaving with a smile.I am an ardent admirer of their Fish Fry ,though others swear by the Fish Orley that comes out of their kitchen.
In Mumbai, however they have a small outlet at Powai which opened its shutters during Durga Pujo 2010.Since then ,many a time we thought of visiting the place...but the plans never materialized.So,Soshti 2011 was the destined day. We did pay obeisance to the Goddess @ the Powai Bengali Association Pujo before we reached the grub stop.
Bijoli Grill was serving a set menu for the Pujo days and when we reached the place was filled with people relishing their meals. They told us that the 25 items were on the menu and that made us opt to wait till the ac section had space for the six of us.
The first item Lebu Jal/ Doi er Ghol was served as we were waiting outside. A cool thirty minutes later we were ushered in and seated at a table with a view of the playzone outside. The 25(veg+ non veg) items were not displayed as in a buffet,but were served at the table much like in a biye baari.This arrangement was made ,I believe because of the paucity of space inside the restaurant.
The starters started rolling in Fish Fry, Chicken Kobiraji, Prawn Pakora.All of us being non vegetarians gave the veg starters which included Doi Vada,Paneer Finger a pass.
The Fish Fry was delicious and the Prawn Pakora a damp squib but the queen of starters that day was the Chicken Kobiraji.It was too good ,golden and crispy on the outside with a mouth watering chicken mince filling inside,not too bland nor too spicy it was flavored just right.
The starters were repeated but we were being careful as we wanted to sample the other dishes too.
The Phulko Luchi,Aloo Dum and Sorshey Narkol Phulkopi were all good and we liked the Dhokar dalna too.Steamed rice came in next and we had the rest of the dishes with this.
The Shukto was ok and could have been better.We moved on to the fish delicacies and all of us relished the Pabda Jhal which merited a five star. The Chingri Malaikari was average and we felt the chingri were a tad small in size for such a festive affair.The Murgi Kosha was around but we opted to taste the Kochi Pathar Bangla...but sorry to say it was a bit bland for our taste.The sweet and tangy kancha aamer Chatni with Papor Bhaja was an instant hit.
(We skipped the mooger dal,Chachra ,Veg.Pulao to accomodate the other dishes...eating at a 25 item sit -down buffet is no mean feat!;)
By this time we were happily filled and were bursting at the seams...but Bengalis cannot resist the sweet temptations and we did have a rossogolla and Kalo jaam,followed by ice cream.
As we were eating merrily there were many people who went out with satisfied smiles and many more came in and others waited in the waiting area outside for their turn to sample good Bengali food.And another noticeable aspect was the sizeable number of non bengalis in the crowd.What a smug feeling to know so many love Bengali Khana! All of us agreed that The lunch merited a 7 on a scale of 10 and the service was reasonably good ;but my personal choice is always a-la-carte.
This long, leisurely lunch was a lovely start to our Pujo celebrations....
The Smile says it all!
PS: Will be back at Bijoli Grill to savour the Kobiraji & Mochar chop soon:P
Thanks to Haimanti di for the Treat!!
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