This is one place that blew my mind away, a lovely little restaurant virtually facing the Powai Lake is a dream come true if you wish to spend some quality time overthe weekend over wonderful food and drinks with a lovely view, great service and an evening to remember. Powai welcomes its arms to an absolute peach of a lounge and restaurant in the 38 Degree East.
I met a lot of wonderful talented personalities at the restaurant who have vast experience in the field of Journalism, Marketing, Fashion, Media, Photography and of course not to forget Food and Beverages as well. I was here invited to be part of the launch of 38 Degree East , taste the food and drink, enjoy their hospitality and give my views about this wonderful place.
The location:
The Lounge is located just at the corner of Powai lake in Powarwadi at Adishankaracharya Marg, and one must admit you could well take a cab with your map location on if your coming here for the first time as its located almost towards the corner, but trust me once you get into the place, you feel like as if you have entered a whole new world altogether.
The Ambiance:
The place is beautifully decorated and has a Blue and golden colored hue and shades that soothes the soul with its vibrant yet artistic ambiance.The lighting is niche and the ambiance along with the graffiti gets you into the groove. Certain sections of the lounge are absolutely buzzing with some good leg shaking music while the other end virtually is more like a fine dine with very little music for better conversations and privacy.
Drinks:-
The Tango Twist & Torafuku two beautifully crafted drinks that were offered as part of the mocktails, they surely were impressive, the Tango Twist primarily similar to a Pinacolada contained, Mango Puree, Orange & Pineapple Juice along with Vanilla Ice Cream blended to form a drink so soothing,one just cant get enough.The Tangy yet smooth flavors of the two citrus juices merge well with the ice cream to give us a mellowly tangy taste as a Pinacolada would have, in other words an upgrade over any fruit punch.
The Torafuku though was something I’ve never had before. A mix of coconut water, Lychees, Banana liqueur and pine apple juice, this will practically take you to the shores of Hawaii with each sip. Imminent flavors of the Banana and Pineapple juice stand out and they accompany each other brilliantly.
Cranberry Delight:-
The Cranberry Delight, looks absolutely stunning with how its presented. Cranberry juice with ginger Ale dolloped with regular ice cubes and dry ice to give it its bubbling effect, certainly has a lot of punch to it with its appearance and tastes exactly how a cranberry based mocktail should taste like, the drink wasn’t over powering our taste buds as cranberries usually have a strong citrus taste which could alter ones taste buds, but this one over whelmed us with its flavor and its presentation. Some scientists could be proud of the way this is showcased.
Starters:-
Jhinga Pakoda:-
Fritters of Shrimps made in an Indian Style Pakoda batter consisted of Besan or chanadal, was tasty and tangy at the same time with the right amount of chat masala that lifted the dish altogether.
Ideal Chakna or munchies to start your evening with drinks, went brilliantly with the Tequila based cocktail Minty Orange Tequila Smash, a tangy yet sourish Tequila drink that accompanied the Pakoda well with its flavors. This drink does pack a punch as this is a Tequila based cocktail so be careful in case one didn’t know much about it.
BBQ Chicken Wings:–
Tangy BBQ sauce well coated over the wings and a good mouthful of chicken wings perfectly cooked as it should have been, one can actually feel a good amount of meat unlike most chicken wings served in other places, these wings are quite a handful if you don’t have a ferocious appetite.
Ideal Drink accompaniment for the BBQ Chicken Wings was the Berry Wine Popsicle.
A Tangy Wine with the sweet and sourish flavors of the outer coating of the berry coulis and the creamy vanilla ice cream to go with it was a clear hit among-st the ladies.
Prawn Wanton Cups:-
The prawn in wanton cups were well presented, but as usual the Wanton cups were more than a mouthful, the slight coating of the chilly flavored sauce along with the soft sweet taste of the prawns and the crispy wanton shell added different flavors and textures at the same time, but personally those wanton shells were way too big to be served as a starter.
Veg and Non Veg Sushi:-
I am a huge fan of Japanese food and especially Sashimi and Sushi, I could kill for a good sushi, the Veg and Non Veg Sushi served here were pretty decent, if you are vegetarian and wish to try out Sushi, you can try that here, the presentation is pretty good with the sushi served on a aeroplane with Wasabi and Mayo served in its wings. The Rice could have been more tangier with the addition of Mirin and Wasabi for the whiff or had more Vibe to it but it decent for someone who wants to try out a sushi Maki Roll in veg options.
Their Non Veg sushi had the Californian roll for me which was the better sushi, not because it had meat it in but because of the favours coming out better than a Maki Roll.
Murg Lal Mirch Kebab:-
The Murg Lal Mirch Kebab are another cousin of the famou Chicken Tikka, a Tandoori marination of red chilies and yogurt along with garam masalas, the flavor of the dry red chilies stood out in the kebab and the chutney accompanied the Tikka very well.
Veg Singapore Spindles:-
Nicely crisp noodles coated over a Paneer stuffed fritter. Tasted well with the sweet chilly sauce and the crisp noodles along with the stuffed Paneer made it a wonderful treat to have. Served in a beautiful small cutting chai(Tea) cup with a spoon of Thai Sweet Chilly sauce which was ideal with this starter, the vegetarians who would come here would love this dish. you could practically feel your eating fried noodles but with a twist.
Taco Lime Grilled Chicken Skewers
These lemon scented chicken skewers are mild in taste, I would recommend anyone who starts with their Non Veg Starters to Start with the Sushi and The Lemon Chicken Skewer first as its taste varies from Mildly Tangy to just over mildly spiced. The Subtle flavors of the marinade of the chicken and lime come to the fore, its a pleasant dish which one can enjoy with a good serving of Videsi Pauva, which is exactly what I am coming on to next.
The pauva is certainly gonna make you go bonkers in its own unique way not because it is served the way it should be but because one has the thrill of experiencing a mix of all the wonderful liquor in one go in a Desi yet a Videsi style. I mean who can imagine sipping a Pauva in a classy fine dine restaurant?
Lets now talk about the Pauva Baby, the dominant flavor is of the Bourbon Whiskey and then the Rum. One could definitely enjoy this drink with a good amount of Tikka or Chicken Skewers. the Pauva definitely has got me going and for someone like me who isn’t a hard core drinker, i don’t mind trying it a second time.
Mains:-
Singapore Chilly Crabs:-
Loved the Chilly Crab to bits, but again, its not something everyone would try their hands on considering its a whole crab and its a messy affair eating it. I personally love crabs and ate this shell on till the lat bite.
The Chilly crab wasn’t overly spicy and the heat to the dish was just about right, a good crab chilly does not mean the chilly has to overpower the mellow sweet crab meat, the right amount of peppery heat to the sweet taste of the crab made this a fan favorite for all around who love their crabs.
I definitely suggest people who love their crabs ,please do try this dish here because it was really well made with the right amount of sauce coated over the crab unlike in most places where the sauce runs over the place. One piece of advice , eat it with the shell and forget about the rest.
Lamb Burger:-
Beautifully cooked ,succulent pieces of lamb went well in the Burger ;along with the cheese and other accompaniments. Eating a Burger is a Messy affair, so be prepared this is no different.
The Tangy yet flavorful lamb is just divine in between the burger buns unlike most other places where a standard burger recipe is used, this places has done well with how its assembled its lamb burger, not like a regular patty. It is just the right sort of food to curb your Meat cravings. I definitely recommend people to try out their Lamb Burger.
Thai Chicken Red Curry :-
One of my personal favorite dishes that evening, the Red Curry, a mixture if the famous fiery Bird Eyes Chilies based to a pasted along with Galangal, Lemongrass, Kaffir Lime leaves and Balachan ( Dried Shrimp Paste) authentically, but now a days we get a ready made paste which is cooked along with coconut milk to bring down the heat from the chilies.
Wonderfully cooked, mark of a truly talented chef who made this, cook this more than required the coconut milk with split, cook this less than required the dish wont come together with an amalgamation of the flavors coming together. .
The Dessert:-
If you’re a fan of some classic yet simple desserts, this is your ideal berries and ice cream delight, served in wanton cups. The Beautifully baked Hot Berry Coulis are topped with ice cream like a Compote over ice cream and served in Wanton cups. Beautifully presented, wonderful design of the dish with regards to the sour tangy berries and the creamy vanilla ice cream served in a crispy Wanton cup, I mean a bit of invention here and one could have had a baked Ice Cream if the entire dish was covered with Wanton sheets.
Such is the beauty and simplicity of this dish, a dish to make anyone happy. Imagine having your favorite Berry Cheese Cake in the form of an Ice Cream, that’s exactly what it is minus the cookie crust.
This is to kill for, probably the best desert of that night, Pisang Goreng is a Malaysian favorite, fritters of bananas topped with honey served with ice cream, this is a Malaysian/Indonesian version of the honey noodles and Ice cream, ( Authentically it is only Banana Fritters without the ice cream), the difference being the Banana fritters with honey unlike the flat noodles with honey and sesame seeds served with lychees and ice cream.
A beautifully crafted dessert, a classic hot and cold combination of the hot banana fritters dipped in Honey which gives the fritters a crispy caramelized coating and the ice cream takes it to a whole new level altogether. Brilliant dessert to have and a strong recommendation to try out their Pisang Goreng. Come lets fall in love all over again, with Life, by having this dessert.
A trifle is an English Classic, layers of cake dolloped over each other, in this case the Gulab Jamun was stuffed with layers of cake and ice cream in a Jar. This is a heavy dessert and not many can finish this dessert themselves, but still a Classic British Dish converted into an Indian Favorite yet again a hot and Cold combination of the hot Jamun and cold vanilla ice cream. Lovely way to end a brilliant event, the launch of this wonderful lounge, Restaurant and Bar.
Rating the Restaurant and Bar over all:-
Ambiance:- 9/10 Absolutely loved the ambiance, Decor and Vibe of this place.
Food:- 8/10 A new place, will definitely offer a lot more interesting stuff going forward food wise.
Service:- 8.5/10 The Service Here is very good, the staff are well dressed, always smiling and have a proactive in approach.
Image Credits for the:- Location, Ambience, Torafuku, Tango Twist , Pisang Goreng and Cranberry Delight:- Mr Suunil G Murudkar.
Special Thanks to Mrs Geeta Sridhar or fondly called Geeta Amma, as she arranged a wonderful event for the launch of 38 Degree East and my Best Wishes are with the entire team of this restaurant to go great guns.
thefoodiedoodie 