Review: JamJar Diner

  
You will wonder why the place is called JamJar Diner until you're served your drinks in cute little jam jars. *no kidding*
Located at Versova, where there is a queue of eateries trying to impress the locals, JamJar Diner is one of the most recent contenders. 

The little blue door that leads you inside this restaurant can be quite deceiving. Once you enter, you realize that the place is spacious, divided into two floors and has a terrace seating. We chose the terrace seating and simply loved the breezy, comfortable ambience.

The menu looks interesting but limited. The bar menu has all the cocktails with a twist. We called for the Red Sangria and the White Sangria. Although these sangrias were full of flavour, we would rather opt for the classic sangrias, the twist was too twisted for our taste buds. The Caprioska that we ordered next was stiff and perfect.

Coming to the food, we first called for the Nachos, and soon a huge portion of crispy tortillas with generous toppings arrived at our table. Absolutely delicious, we would totally recommend this! Next, we tried the Shrimp Popcorn. This was also quite good, makes for a great snack with drinks. Lastly we had the Chicken burger. The burger was passable as the patty could have been bigger and we missed some extra cheese!

For desserts we tried the Rocky Road - good, with large chocolate pieces that made it rather comfortable to eat, Mango Cheesecake - disappointing, we definitely think they need to work on this and the Ice-Cream Cookie Sandwich - this was the best out of the lot. 

Overall, JamJar Diner, with its impressive interiors, is a great place for a couple of drinks and some finger food. Skip, if you are looking forward to have an elaborate meal. 

Venue: JamJar Diner
Versova, Andheri West
Landmark: Next to Dhuan

Phone: 02226358880

Food Bloggers Workshop with Chef Sergi Arola

We were recently invited to attend a workshop by twice Michelin-starred Spanish Chef Sergi Arola, at Arola, JW Marriott by HT Cafe. The chef shared some of his favourite recipes along with some tricks and tips. Here are some snapshots of the dishes along with the recipes. If you want to try any of these dishes, they are available at Arola.
 

Patatas Bravas
Ingredients:
5 potatoes
1 litre sunflower oil
5 fresh tomatoes
1 fresh red chilli
1 egg
3 garlic cloves
1 tsp lemon juice
5 tbsp olive oil n Salt to taste
Black pepper powder to taste
2 springs fresh parsley
 
Method:
Cut the potatoes into exact halves. Scoop with a pineapple corer, and then scoop at the centre with a small scooper.
Put the potatoes in a tray and cover them with sunflower oil. Cook in the oven at 1500°C for 45 minutes, and then remove.
For the spicy tomato sauce:
In a pan, heat olive oil, add crushed garlic cloves and sauté. Add chopped fresh red chilli, sauté and add chopped tomatoes. Cook for one hour over slow flame. Season the sauce and blend.
For garlic aioli:
In a bowl, break the whole egg, add chopped garlic, lemon juice and salt, mix well and start whipping it; add olive oil slowly to form an emulsion, whip till the aioli is firm, then season it.
Deep fry the potatoes, take out on a paper towel and sprinkle with salt.
Fill the centre with spicy tomato sauce and top with garlic aioli. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley. 


Tandoor Lobster
Ingredients:
1 lobster
100 gms almond flakes
100 gms black olives
1/2 cup cream
2 garlic cloves
5 pieces rigatoni pasta
1 tbsp spicy tomato sauce
1 tbsp olive oil
Fresh oregano for garnish
Salt to taste
Black peppercorns to taste
 
Method:
Remove the lobster meat whole from tail. Marinate with olive oil, salt and crushed black peppercorns.
Slice the black olives and roast them in the oven at 1200°C till dry. Cool them down and blend to powder.
Toast the almond flakes with crushed garlic clove, add cream and simmer till almonds are cooked. Puree in the blender and strain with fine strainer.
Blanch the rigatoni pasta in boiling salted water.
Roast the marinated lobster in a tandoor till cooked. Remove and cut.
Toss the blanched rigatoni with olive oil, chopped garlic and spicy tomato sauce.
In a plate, sprinkle black olive powder and put the lobster on it. Put the rigatoni on each piece of lobster. Garnish with fresh oregano leaves. Serve the warm almond cream on the side.


Crema Catalana
Ingredients:
For orange form
500 ml milk

500 ml cream
1 stick cinnamon
10 gms orange peel
10 gms lemon zest
150 gms sugar
150 gms egg yolk
20 gms orange sorbet

For Mousse
50 gm Marie biscuit
200 ml milk n 100 gms sugar
100 gms cream

Method :
Make a Marie biscuit mousse from all the above ingredients in martini glass. Prepare the orange form by combining all the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to boil maintaining the temperature at 40°C. When the mixture reaches the required temperature, remove from fire strain and cook in an oven at 10°C for 20 minutes for steam. Then remove it, cool it down and add it to a nitrogen can.
Finally, take the martini glass in which the mousse is set, then put one quenelle of orange sorbet.
Put the orange form and sprinkle sugar syrup over it. Gratinate and serve.
(Recipes via HT Cafe)

Venue: Arola
Lobby Level, JW Marriott, Juhu

Phone: 66933000 

Review: Mia Cucina, Powai

Mia Cucina, translates to 'My Kitchen' has been in Bandra for a couple of years now and is a favourite of most Italian cuisine fans. It feels great to know that they now have an outlet in Powai as well, and this one, is bigger and better!

With a bar right in the centre and walls adorned with paintings/ photographs that are for sale, the outlet is bright and well lit. We were promptly directed to a table and handed the menus, bar and food. The bar menu had a fair list of cocktails, mocktails, wine and beer. The food menu was what made us really hungry; Antipasti, Salads, Pasta/Risotto, Grills and more! 

To start with we ordered for our drinks, Kiwi Mint Martini and the Rosemary and Orange Martini. Very flavourful and not too stiff, just the way we like it. 



Moving on, we started our meal with the Bombil Fritto - Fried pieces of Bombay Duck, crisp from the outside and tender once you bite into them; the Bruschetta Pollo con Olivata - Chicken, olive pesto and mozzarella bruschetta, crunchy, cheesy and delicious!





Amongst the pizzas we tried the Prosciutto e rucola - pizza topped with  italian ham, rocket leaves, mozzarella and the Quattro formaggi topped with mozzarella, gorgonzola, pecorino and parmesan. Loved the thin and crispy crust which didn't make the pizzas too heavy.



For desserts, we loved the White Cheesecake and the Almond Chocolate Cheesecake. It was the perfect ending to a delicious meal! 

Venue: Mia Cucina
G3 Transocean, Lake Boulevard Street, Hiranandani Bsuiness Park, Powai
Landmark: Next to Nature's Basket

Phone: 67094000