Patina - When Desi meets Italian in Pataka style!

Patina is cushioned in a cozy space by the way side of the Woodpecker furniture store. The interiors are tastefully designed and a zingy appeal adorns the surroundings.

It has a very interesting menu comprising of street food, desi twist on Italian, a bit of North Indian and also added on are some delectable parsi dishes.

We were here on a weekday evening and tried a number of items on the attic and majority of it left us asking for more. First up the special carrot soup with coriander finely chopped was riveting. The taste was smattering containing a remarkable aroma.

On the snacks section, the okhra fries thatched with thecha aioli was crispy with a distinct taste. The anda pav which is the egg equivalent of the evergreen vada pav was a sure winner. The gun powder fries had a brittle feel to it subdued with an interesting tinge of masala which again was a tongue twister in a nice way. The aloo & peas samosa thought could have been a tad better with the mince of the flavour not appearing apparently. The best of all and rightfully the show stealer in the snacks side was the Papeta Pareeda a parsi dish comprising of sliced potatoes over a bed of tomato sauce bedecked with fried eggs on the up blossomed with a gooey center. This one was truly top notch.

For mains we tried the peas infused luchi. Now luchi is the upper North frontier version of the traditional puris. They tend to be a little more crispier and it went well with an aloo peas masala gravy. We also tried the Amritsari Panner Akhuri which were scrambled panneer pieces garnished with coriander and fried onions. This was like a high end version of panneer bhurji. We ended the show with a couple of pastas - the first one being the oil & herb version which had a lovely infusion of herbs, flakes and garlic. The second one and the better of the two was the Curry Macaroni pasta. Comprising of a tantalising creamy curry sauce topped up with corn & bell peppers these macaronis just danced away in full glory and it just tasted all the more exotic with a dripping layer of cheese dressed over the dish.

All in all, the food not only tingled out taste buds but also won over our hearts. It was a lovely experience with some fine churned up cuisine whipped up in a fashionable avatar which is not usually well associated within the city. Totally worth every bite.

Broken Bridge Cafe - When fusion trances with innovation for the win!

It was a delightful young early weekday evening and we decided to spend time at Broken Bridge Cafe which is a part of Somerset Hotel. The ambiance gives a breezy woody feel with hues of brown decor in addition to the plant like greenery surrounding. It gives a chiselled feel and ignites the laid back dictum in all it's vigour.

This is a recently opened restaurant specialising mainly on fusion cuisine. The menu is a simple slider but they've innovated tremendously within this space to bring out a lot of unique experiments. Amongst the items which we had, the majority hit the dart right at the center and it was just in a couple of stuff that felt the need for improvement. The menu comprises of small plates aka starters/appetisers and large plates meaning to convey the main course dishes. There are no gimmicks or over the top tomfoolery happening at all and the menu conveys the point as to what it intends to offer.

In the small plates, the show stealer was undoubtedly the Curd rice fritters. Innovation reached varying heights with fried golden balls made to mimic curd rice with hinges of lemon pickle. This was truly one 'one of a kind experience'. They resembled your usual fried cheese balls ala starter but on taste you get the riveting effect of mushy curd rice and to boot also was served a mayo dip with largely lime essence. Audacious work of fusion but I must admit it worked very well. The kalakki (scrambled eggs) with goat jam on bread was another delightful starter. The panneer Makhni papdi chaat was nothing much to write home about. Just a touch of makhni gravy over papdi puri's which were just decent. The spicy corn cakes were kind of nice and I thoroughly enjoyed the palak and Goat cheese flat bread. If you're able to withstand the smell and rawness of goat cheese, then you're bound to love it.

For the large plates, we tried achari 3 cheese kulcha melt as well as mushroom & olives goat cheese kulcha melt. These were really nice spread with melted cheese which was really hard hitting. I loved the flavours of these kulchas which gave a lovely crunch while consuming them and they good enough just to consume stand alone though they also came along with fries,dip and ketchup for company. Also got to try the blue cheese naan which if you are fond of the aroma of it, it'll dunk you in big time and to go along with it a juicily sumptuous panneer tikka masala gravy.

In the dessert draw, the filter coffee baileys tiramisu ruled the roost. Served in an ever silver tumbler, it was simply jaw dropping drool worthy. The skim of tiramisu infused with layers of coffee powder had everything in it to make you dig unabashedly. The nutella custard and maltova crumble was alao equally relishing.

The prices seem par for the course and not really in the vicinity to pinch your pockets. The service was amicable, friendly and on the button. Overall, a really pleasing experience dining at Broken Bridge. If you like a little bit of twists and fusion in your food without the core getting compromised, you should definitely head over to this place for a resolute fine dining encounter.

Godka - Class and Finesse!

Godka impresses immensely with its ambiance and that's one of the sterling factors giving it a major head start. The interiors are intricately weaved and the vibe suggested a beautiful subtle confluence between a vintage olden style diaspora and a relatively modern quirky avatar. I found the whole place reeking of splendor and the artisan touch was pretty prevalent with the surroundings being quite artistic. Combination of music, movies and sports as themes was another well played part giving it a theatrical influence. The portraits of superstars from respective fields along with few fancy motivational quotes and places of importance definitely helped in hefting up the atmosphere of the place. Also the inherent middle eastern touch was evident with the Arabian Jewel boxes, rich flowy curtains, chandeliers, miniatures and antiques. The dim lit lighting played to the gallery and the color palette comprising hues of asparagus green with predominantly brown wooden based decor gave quite a fine imprint about the aura of the place.

We were here on an invite to savor some of the signature specialties dished up by this restaurant. The sabzi shorba soup had a lovely essence to it with the veggies being very finely grated. This one wasn't usually as light as a shorba and felt riveting to taste. On the mocktail front, we got to sample quite a few varieties and the one which stole the show was the Litchi based one having a flavorful punch to it. The orange + vanilla medley mix was fairly decent but the pineapple drink with several cut pieces inset seemed a dampener. The other drink was more like a mirinda fizz with thin shredded mangoes and felt a little extra sweet.

For starters, we were initially served a platter comprising of Sheekh kababs, mushrooms, panneer tikkas and cutlets. They weren't too impressive except for the minced cutlets. The Panneer Tikka and Sheekh Kababs also came as standalone starters and felt much better separately. There were also some cheesy rolls served which were breaded on the outside comprising oodles of cheese inside with french fries for accompaniments. It was lovely, just that would have loved a nice mayo to dip in those delectable rolls. In the main course side, we began our foray with Thai food in the form of rice with both green and red curry. The green curry lacked that authentic Thai flavor but the red one more than made up for it having a nice pleasing coconuty aroma with exotic veggies to boot. The veg biryani was one of the best I've tasted anywhere. It was wonderfully well curried and flavored and it was a delight consuming those colorful morsels. The Pizza comprising of a bunch of exquisite toppings was another crowd pleaser. The Roti's were soft and well prepared and the Panneer gravy which came along was passable although felt a bit too pureed and artificial. The white sauce spaghetti intermingled with olives, corn and rosemary felt slurpy and creamy. Didn't have much of a shot at the desserts, but they were really good from whatever little I could conjure up. There was a strawberry panacota, brownie with vanilla ice cream and chocolate and strawberry ice creams.

Overall, the food seemed to have passed the test with more hits than misses. The service seemed a little extra slow and there was a really long waiting time between items. However the staff seemed really courteous and more than willing to help us by whatever means. I'll skip commenting on the pricing as it was over an on the house invite. Other facilities like valet parking is very much available which is a boost.

'Godka' seems a nice little place to chill out and for those looking for an insouciant easy paced dining option, this seems such an apt and perfect place to relax over a comfortable and relaxed meal. It can also be considered a good stop over point for those heading on the ECR stretch.

Chiangmai Thai - A Thai based restaurant at Surfers Paradise

Chiangmai Thai is an upmarket Thai based restaurant in the vicinity of Surfer's Paradise at Gold Coast. It signifies a lot of 'Thai' by the way the interiors are designed. There are a lot of Buddha statues, gold griffins, antiques hanging across, monastery miniatures, lion and elephant statues and other interesting patterns. The color pallette also tries to be in sync with the whole south east asian surrounding. The decor is royal and the place is massive in size and there is an inherent buzz about the place. They've spaced out the place really well to have maximum tables and chairs within the available space.

The restaurant is for the out and out meat lover and vegetarian food is sparse. There is hardly anything available and you would have no option but to settle for a red or green curry to go along with your rice/noodles of which variety is again exigous. Of course you wouldn't have any sort of worry if you love your meat as there are plenty of choices available.

Obviously I went with a veg fried rice and chose the vegetable green curry. There were not even soups available for veg but we requested for a tom yum vegetarian but they said they cannot make it without adding a fish sauce which forced me to politely refuse the offering. Highlighted below is an account of the vegetarian side of things.

The Veg fried Rice was more of a colored rice with plenty of fresh veggies accompanying it and was pretty nicely flavored. The green curry was almost a replica of a veg stew. Covered with a bundle of veggies over a layer of coconut cream, it was pretty nice although i did expect it to be a tad spicier. It felt a little mild for the liking.

The service was quick with the food coming to the table in quick time. Pricing seems to be moderate. I guess I am not the right person reviewing this place considering anything even remotely to do with veg is not their forte. Just from the 2 items I had and considering the ambiance scape, would term it as a reasonable fare. I suggest you avoid this place if you're a vegetarian or even an egg eater. If you like your sea food it looks like a pretty good bet as seen from the heavy crowds thronging this place.