Restaurant Review : The Salad Bar & Walnut Cafe

We were invited to one of the newest additions to restaurant chains in Vashi - The Salad Bar & Walnut Cafe.

So What's new?
Before the advent of this place, Vashi has suffered from absolutely no cafes/restaurants available for fresh and organic salads. The Salad Bar & Walnut Cafe, which is located in one of the most prime & posh areas of Vashi, offers its diners a variety of 26 vegetarian & non vegetarian salads to choose from. Along, with these sapid and flavorsome salads, this new addition also serves a lot of other mouthwatering food which includes soups, sandwiches, wraps, juices, pasta, a lot of Mediterranean food and a variety of breakfast options.
The owners, Mr Kunal and his wife, Rakhi who were around for the entire meal, made sure we tried their specialties & took care that there we faced no troubles.

Things we had - 
Peanut Butter Banana Cafe, POWL (Pineapple, orange, watermelon and lemon), cottage cheese salad, warriors salad, mezze platter & waffles with blueberry and whipped cream.

What you must try -

•  POWL - 
  

It is a blend of pineapples, oranges, watermelons, and lemon. All the ingredients are used in the correct quantity and none of them have an overpowering effect, thus creating the perfect blend of goodness of all 4. Personally, it wasn't too sweet, was very refreshing and is just what you need in this scorching heat.

• Cottage Cheese Salad - 

This salad is literally all the summer colors on your plate! Along with being really pleasant to the eyes, this salad which included cottage cheese grilled in tikka masala, lettuce, olives, onions, cherry tomatoes, cucumber with basil & Parmesan in red wine vinaigrette. The seasoning on these veggies was beyond fabulous. 

• Warrior Salad - 

The warrior salad, one of their signature dishes, shouldn't be mistaken for a salad. It is definitely an entire meal for two! With some succulent teriyaki tofu, lettuce, buckwheat noodle, grilled mushrooms, broccoli, peanuts in spicy soy ginger dressing, this is definitely one of the best salads I've had till date. Amazingly fresh veggies, the perfect seasoning and some really creative presentation are the perfect recipe to this delectable item.

• Mezze Platter -  

The mezze platter with pita bread, hummus, baba ghanoush, tabbouleh and a Greek dressing was our favorite! The hummus was thick & creamy, with a strong flavor of garlic which hits you & will make you fall in love with it. The baba ghanoush was not in the regular paste form, making it an entirely unique experience for us! A must try! 

What you must NOT try - 

• Peanut Butter Banana Frappe -

The peanut butter banana frappe, was a bit of a disappointment and can be made better. They hadn't blended it well & we could taste the banana in the beginning, leaving the peanut butter at the bottom. After stirring it vigorously, it yet wasn't satisfying enough. 

• Waffles with blueberry and whipped cream - 

This was the part of the meal that we were most excited about. But, alas! The waffles weren't crunchy, but were hard. The blueberries used were canned ones, so that was a major disappointment. Also, it clearly lacked a generous serving of maple syrup.

All in all, it was a great experience and I would like to thank Mrs. Pooja Trehan Dhamecha a lot for this wonderful meal & the amazing time. Don't forget to follow her on Twitter & on Instagram 

I would give it a 4 on 5. Would I go back? Definitely!

Restaurant Review : Loco Chino

Loco Chino opened its new outlet in Oshiwara & a few bloggers were invited to review the place. Here's what I felt about the place  -


Ambience - The place has a lot of stuff going on inside in terms of wall paintings, wind chimes, dream catchers, wall hangings; all themed according to the cuisine - Chinese or/and Mexican. It's a bigger outlet than the ones at Bandra and Peddar Road & can seat about 20 - 25 people at a time. The place seems quirky but tries to fit in a bit too much. Since it had just opened a couple of days back, it was pretty empty & was filled only by us bloggers.

Location - Being in Andheri, it has opened in the hub of newly opened restaurants and eateries such as Tuk Tuk Thai Bistro, Sammy Sosa, etc. Pretty easy to find too!

Food - Loco Chino has recently introduced bits and pieces of the Chinese cuisine to the food they offer. 
Our order comprised of - peach iced tea, lemongrass iced tea, sassy senorita, mexican twist, chimichangas, kung pao potatoes, vegetarian dumplings, veg burrito bowl, vegetarian wok, banoffe pie & churros with chocolate sauce.


What you must try - 

• The beverages. All the drinks were refreshing, fresh, weren't too sweet and had some amazing flavors. We all helped ourselves to more than two.

• Kung Pao Potatoes -

  

These kung pao potatoes seasoned with kung pao & schezwan sauce, were tangy and spicy, had a great texture, thus making a good appetizer. The only complaint was that these seemed like an adulterated version of potatoes.

• Burrito Bowl - 

The Burrito Bowl, was definitely the best part of our meal! It can serve 2 people; the quantity is pretty generous. It included perfectly cooked rice, crisp nachos. some fresh & delightful veggies, herbs, guacamole, sour cream and other creams that blended perfectly. 

• Banoffee Pie -

Not the best banoffee pie there is, but this one does a decent job in satisfying those dessert cravings after a good Mexican meal. So, go ahead and indulge in some sweet bananaey creamy goodness! 

What you must NOT try -

• Dimsums - 

The dimsums, a mixture of all their vegetarian options, were a big no no for us. They were filled with pasty mixture which was grainy, instead of your regular veggies. The dumplings were soft and the dipping sauces were impeccable, but the fillings weigh them down.

• Wok -

The wok was a major disappointment; it was a big bowl of rice, with a few veggies and minimal sauces. What it lacked was a handful of spices and condiments, thus resulting in a really bland and effortless taste.

• Churros - 

The churros, an irreparable and inedible disaster, were definitely the worst I've ever had. Dripping with oil, they seemed to have been deep fried 4-5 times for such an end result. The taste of oil, overpowered the actual taste of the churros & the chocolate itself! A horrid disaster.

To sum up, I would like to say that they should either only continue with their Mexican food or work a lot on their Chinese. My overall rating would be a 2.5 on 5. 

Would I go back? Only for the Mexican food.

Keep Gobbling!