Wednesday, November 23, 2005

Souk at The Taj Mahal Palace & Tower, Mumbai



I am amazed by the dazzling diversity of international food available in Bombay these days and not just at the five star restaurants. Chinese, Japanese, Italian, Thai and Middle Eastern seem to be the most sought after by Bombayites from Churchgate to Vashi. It's quite exciting to see Bombay develop into a terrific city for foodies and words like katsu, carpaccio, tabouli and satay become common parlance.

As luck would have it, I dined twice at Souk located at the Taj in South Bombay on my quick visit this time. Souk is a Middle Eastern restaurant serving mezze and other traditional dishes from Iran, Turkey, Lebanon, Egypt, Greece, and Morocco. The ambience is not particularly Middle Eastern (and I was sad that they didn't energize the atmosphere with Turkish music) but the top floor of the hotel offers stunning views of the Gateway of India and the Bombay Harbour. On my first visit for a business dinner, I was very lucky to be seated at the Chef Table in the exclusive Casablanca Room overlooking a small balcony with roses and other fragrant potted plants as well as a close-up view of the Gateway of India. The chef paid special attention to our table and surprised us with a delicious tasting menu including mezzes, humus and babaganoush, falafel, chickpeas soup, Moroccan vegetarian tagine, bakhlava and rose petal icecream. On my second visit, I had a simple dinner with Nisha and Vikram for Vikram's bithday. We ordered a few mezzes and shared a light couscous and vegetable stew dish. We were even treated to a creamy birthday cake. The highlight of my second visit was ordering a hookah in double apple flavour and savouring it with mint tea while catching up with my dear friends.

4 Comments:

Blogger Nish said...

hey, it was really fun sharing that exotic meal - look forward to many more in london. have lots of fun with the cousin-in-laws.

5:05 AM  
Blogger Mimi said...

Hey Lulu I was just browsing the net this morning and I came across your blog. It's actually a great delight to read. I especially liked your posts on Turkey they were fabulous. Well stay glam and hope to read more from you. Ciao -M

10:51 AM  
Blogger lulu said...

thanks nish, the pleasure was mine. wish i didn't have to rush back. i would have loved to stay in bombay longer and discover all the cool new eating spots in your side of town!

hi milissa
nice to meet you virtually! stay tuned,
lulu

11:01 AM  
Blogger lulu said...

hi chris,
wow, i can't believe it's been a year since n&m's wedding. can't believe how fast 2005 has flown! hope you and ken are well.

9:27 AM  

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