I am not a glutton, I am an explorer of food! In a place like India, eating from the same place and the same local is not fun. I always have that craving to taste something from somewhere far away from where I stay. Navi Mumbai is one such place which has a lot of hidden places and some sweet places for fine dine!
I was invited for a food tasting session at The Wrapped by Pooja who is a part of Navi Mumbai Foodies (Now called as the NuvoFoodies) organized brilliantly by the team of four points by Sheraton. This hotel is one of the prime locations and a posh hotel located very close to Vashi Station and Wrapped is a mixture of a café cum fine dine and well known for the essential street food that they provide.
There were already butterflies in my stomach after an hour and a half of travelling to the wrapped and I was very excited to try out the mystery behind the wrapped. The café was well lit due to the sunlight from behind and again had a mix of a café and a fine dine! You even got that lovely bookshelf where you can even grab while having a sip of coffee. Facing up you had a wide spread buffet offered to you at just Rs.450/- and with what they had to serve, I was sure this is quite minimal compared to other buffet places around
I was greeted with a few similar faces and a lot of new interesting bloggers and reviewers at the table. You had the lovely team of Arvind and Nisha a.k.a The Guiltless Foodies, the duo of the gastronomical affair ( with a capital A :P) Sanika and Pooja and the team of two youngsters, Amisha and Dhruv a.k.a InsatFoodies , Zomato’s Numero Uno foodie Annette and her hubby and our lovely host Pooja who just set the perfect mood for the start lunch with
For Drinks, we had options to choose from a cold pint of fosters or buds.
(Buds any day for me) , A glass of wine or a mojito, FLS depending upon your liking. I started off with a chilled pine of glass and we started with a few mini starters.
We had a choice of four mini starters, three in veg and one in non veg.
In non veg we had smoked chicken with ratatouille and for the veg we had Tomato Cottage Cheese Salad, Mustard Glazed Baby corn salad and basil tossed yellow zuchchin with Tomato Verde. I decided to pick the Non Veg one whih I could not miss and the one in veg.
Tomato Cottage Cheese Salad:
This kinda reminded me of a normal local bhel flavor.
Yummy cottage cheese mixed in a tomato based sauce and onions on it. The soft paneer along with the tangy tomato made me go all tango and the onions to give you that crunch and the juice. Sweet and simple 🙂
Smoked Chicken with Ratatouille:
Oui Oui Oui Oui Ouiiiiee! Got ze Frenchman out of meh! Chicken smoked to perfection and your traditional French ratatouille was the perfect thing to go along with chicken!
The perfect side dish with again the presence of tomato was felt.
For the mains, we were in for a surprise as the chef, Mukul Jha and made a select menu for us. Wrapped in flowers was a sheet which were the dishes that were very close to his heart. Since the menu tends to serve and deliver to Indianize the Indians we were in for an epic treat. With my name printed at the start, it was quite an honor to try out what the chef has planned out for us
Missal Pav:
AH! Kholapuri Missal is my favorite thing to dig in any day and every time 😀 When the spice is nice in a missal it is the most divine thing to have. The chef pulled this out perfectly. The preps were perfect, sprouted lentils, onion, garlic and the other spices topped with lovely farsan with onions and lime for the side toppings.
And hey, do not forget those soft pavs besides which would tear off like butter and be the perfect partner in crime along with that lovely missal.
It was a tad spicy just the way I like.
The other half in the ussal was delightful, but I would prefer Missal over Ussal any day 😉
Kolkata Kathi Rolls:
Amiii Jhee Tummmmaaare! Kolkatas own best fast food. The Frankie killer and yes the iconic Kathi rolls are on to the menu, with fries which were not needed I felt.
Skewer roasted kababs wrapped in a paratha bread and egg in it. Kati kababs are chicken chunks marinated in spices and cooked on katis often referred as skewers over coals in a sigri. Inside it you had the wonderful and delightful mix of onions, chillies and sauces with the egg side up and a dash of lime.
The combination of all the spices were lovely and the fillings were apt, but the introduction of fries into the picture did not go well. It was bland and very salty. I would recommend the management to change the fries and put something else would be better.
Mutton Tikkia Parantha:
It is one of the most famous delicacies among the local Muslims of Uttar Pradesh.
The parantha was soft and tender and well hot, nothing beats a parantha with a dash of ghee on the top.
It just breaks of easily and had that lovely crispy taste on the inside. Along with those mutton tikka, done well but it did lack the spice in it and I did feel a bit disappointed in this.
Kheema Samosa:
From the best hydrabadi dishes got into the picture, kheema samosas are always my favorite.
Minced meat and the their secret spices mixed inside and the crispy samosa base on the out. The fillings inside were adequate and it was a joy to gulp each and single bit of it.
After having a share of the select menu, we had to help ourselves with the buffet menu.
You got a good range of veg but again slightly low on the non vegetarian end. I am a very picky eater and decided to start with a few.
I decided to go with the oriental style vegetable dumplings , Methi chicken, Murgh Avadhi Biryani and a few papads.
The Murgh Avadhi Biryani:
This is a type of biryani , pakki biryani using chicken broth, chicken breasts and basmati rice. The chicken was soft and tender, bubbling deep inside and the lovely basmati rice layered over. Loved the rice too
The Chicken Methi gravy:
The one dish in chicken that we could try with our lacha paratha for the non vegetarians. Chicken breasts in a methi gravy. Really Tasty.
For Desserts we had Gulab Jamun and Kiwi marques. The Gulab Jamun was sweet and soft and very hot, the way I love it.
If they had to had a scoop of vanilla ice cream to it it would have been the best combo on the other hand the kiwi marquee wasn’t a hit for me.
A kiwi based dish with a crunchy base below which had a hint of ghee below. Average and it could have been improved.
The buffet that was put on the table was a steal for Rs.450 but I would urge the management to put in a right balance in the veg and non veg so that the dishes and options are set right for both parties.
Overall, it was a superb experience with new people in navi Mumbai and the excitement to learn a lot more with new faces around 😀
I would once again thank team Sheraton and Pooja for such a lovely experience. We were also in for a little treat by Sanika Samant , when she presented us with a cute little red velvet cheesecake 😀
A big thank you chef for the wonderful shrikhand and karanji *_* Was indeed a delight to have at home 🙂
P.S A mandatory selfie with the chef is a must 🙂
Bon Appetit 😀
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Written by Amrith.
The Hogger's Blog 