Restaurant Review : Copper Chimney (Phoenix Mills), Mumbai, India

There was a time when the area of Churchgate / Fort boasted of housing the best dining options in Mumbai or Bombay as the city was then known. For Chinese food, there was Kamling, for Mughlai food Khyber and continental food was only meant to be had at Gaylord's. The Kapurs opened Copper Chimney in Worli in the 70's and its chelo kebabs started drawing patrons away from Khyber. Soon after in the early 80's came Nelson Wang's China Garden at Kemps Corner and Churchgate started to lose its culinary numero uno status altogether. I belonged to the Churchgate fan club for the longest time and whilst there is a Copper Chimney at Fort (Kalaghoda), making a trip to the Worli parent is always at the back of my mind when I go to Mumbai. Having recently discovered that a Copper Chimney has opened its doors at Phoenix Mills, I stepped in to sample their fabled fare.

The restaurant is housed on the ground floor of the mall area and as you enter, you are greeted by a large number of waiters huddled at the entrance. A lady showed us to our table and inspite it being a weekday, the restaurant was reasonably full. Copper Chimney has two floors of dining space and the ground floor has a bar area segregated by a door. One is struck by the immense brightness of the interiors and coupled with high decibel music, the look is jarring. The sofa seats are unique in the sense the table is cantilevered giving you lot of leg space without having to worry about knocking into table legs. However, some people might find the straight backed sofa seats uncomfortable for a two hour meal.

We ordered paneer tikka and reshmi kebab for appetizers. It was a relatively late dinner for us so I decided to skip the heavy chelo kebabs which come with buttered rice. There was no reason to regret the decision as the Reshmi Kebabs were excellent. Succulent and cooked to perfection. The paneer tikka was a big helping and at INR 265 is value for money. For the main course, we ordered the vegetarian Malai Kofta along with Chana Peshawari (chickpeas) and Murg Makhani (butter chicken) alongwith an assortment of onion kulchas, potato kulchas and roomali rotis. The Malai Kofta was decent albeit a bit too sweet compared to other restaurants where I've sampled it. Chana Peshawari was okay too though the the chana could have been softer. The Murg Makhani was outstanding. It is butter chicken the way it should be - buttery, creamy, sweet with just the right amount of spices. Given the good portion size, at INR 355 I found it reasonably priced. The breads at Copper Chimney are a winner with potato kulcha coming out tops.

Whilst our main waiter was decent, the overall service is sub-standard and can be attributed to poor training. Our request for change of plates after the appetizers puzzled the waiters at first but having understood once what needed to be done, they changed the plates promptly. The food took a long time to come as did the check. What goes strongly against Copper Chimney is the overall ambience. As if the extra bright lights are not annoying enough, the sight of few waiters getting together to chat at every opportunity adds to the disappointment scale. A table had requested for some kind of mocktail and the waiter prepared it in a juicer right in the middle of the restaurant ! Imagine having the whirring sound of a juicer on top of blaring music for company on your dinner. What also puzzled me is that Copper Chimney has a very large floor area available to it so what is the need to place tables all the way till the bathroom? There is a table placed literally at the entrance to the washrooms which I found totally bizarre.

Overall, I was disappointed with the evening. The good food got overshadowed by pathetic ambience and lackadaisical service. The INR 2k bill seemed high for the experience and the 10% service charge totally undeserved. I am crossing my fingers that the original outlet at Worli hasn't suffered the same fate. Good memories of great meals there will make sure I visit the Worli parent once but the Phoenix Mills outlet has ticked me off for good. You won't see me here.

Restaurant Review : Il Lido (Sentosa Island), Singapore

I first went to Il Lido few years ago as part of Restaurant Week. The ambience coupled with the set menu of the time had won me over and I promised to be back. So it was for a relaxed dinner with friends that we chose Il Lido recently. The location and ambience of the place are hard to beat. Situated within the Sentosa Golf Club premises, the entrance is through a narrow walkway which leads you to the elegant reception of Il Lido. You are greeted by soft lighting, dark furniture and well spaced out tables. I was not too happy with the table reserved for us since it was smack in the middle of the restaurant. Desiring more privacy, I requested for a wall-side table which was duly arranged.

We started off with tried and tested appetizers : fried calamari and insalata caprese with lobster soup and peas soup. Whilst its tough to go wrong with caprese, the mozzarella definitely tasted fresher and better than in lot of other Italian restaurants in Singapore. The calamari was ordinary and nearly half the portion was left unfinished. The soups were too watery and bland. Not meaning to insult the chef, we had no option but to sprinkle a lot of pepper and salt on them. Another niggling thought was how could lobster soup and peas soup be priced the same (SGD 22++) ! We had bought a bottle of Chianti Classico with us. Il Lido does not levy any corkage but for every bottle you bring from outside, you have to purchase a bottle from the restaurant. We ordered a bottle of Le Pupille Pelofino. It worked beautifully after the first round of Chianti. If you are a group that will consume at least two bottles of wine, this arrangement of get your own + buy one is perfect.

For the main course, we ordered a mix of pastas as we had a couple of vegetarian diners on our table. Our waiter pre-empted the vegetable pasta request and of his own volition detailed all the vegetables that would go into it. Nice touch! Among the items we ordered, the cod ravioli with lobster bisque sauce was just average. The two spaghetti orders, one with tuna and other with crab meat, were disappointing as well. They hardly had any meat and I had to fork through my pasta to find the two bits of crab in it. At SGD38++ these were definitely the most expensive crab morsels I've had in my life ! Needless to add, most of the dishes were left unfinished. Being thoroughly disappointed with the food so far, we ordered desserts to stave off any hunger pangs. The vanilla Creme Brulee was excellent, chocolate cake good and the Tiramisu totally skippable.

As if the mediocre food is not enough, the icing on Il Lido's cake is the service. You really have to strain yourself to catch the waiters' eye to take your order and then remind them couple of times to serve it. It took us nearly fifteen minutes to catch the attendant's eye to serve our wine bought from home since they had promptly taken it away on arrival to 'cool it.' Every course had the same story what with the waiters being unavailable just when you need them to order the next round. And this is when the restaurant was not running to a full house. Maybe lunch time is better when you can sit outdoors taking in the expansive sea views to make up for the disappointing food. Whoever lists Il Lido as a fine dining establishment probably went there for a premises' inspection and thats it. All the negative factors coupled with how pricey the place is ensure I would not be returning here till there is a management or ownership change.  It is a pity to see a great location and elegant ambience being put to such poor use.

Hotel Review : Villa Soro, San Sebastian, Spain

There is something about private residences turned into hotels which makes me seek them out as my preferred accommodation over chain hotels. These niche properties usually lack the multiple restaurants, recreation activity options, add-on services (salon, spa, etc) that regular hotel chains offer but inspite of these drawbacks, I am always on the lookout for them. Guess it has to do with the fact I am not a heavy user of these add-on services and if I have to prioritize, getting the room basics, ambience and overall luxe factor carry more weight for me than recreation options, size of swimming pool, etc. Whilst these kind of hotels are to be found aplenty in history rich Italy and France, they are somewhat of a rarity in Spain. When it got down to where do we stay in glitzy San Sebastian, I thought it was a no- brainer that it has to be a hotel on the famed La Concha promenade. The two known hotels on the stretch are Londres and Niza. Apart from a fabulous sea front location, these hotels don't have much to offer and going by their tired exteriors, I reckon them to be 3 star rated at best. Having ruled out these two hotels next in consideration was Maria Cristina - the super luxury hotel owned by Sheraton. Whilst the hotel was open, a large part of it was closed for renovation. With benefit of hindsight, I am glad we did not stay here as it was surrounded by lot of construction activity and the location is in the central but very crowded part of town.

A Spanish friend recommended Hotel Villa Soro in Gros. With a wee bit of apprehension about staying some distance away from the city centre, we took the plunge. Whilst the hotel is about 30 minutes walk from La Concha, it is very close to the lesser known and quieter Zurriola beach promenade. The hotel is situated on a tree lined avenue 500 meters from the world renowned Arzak restaurant. The hotel is housed in a 19th century villa with hardwood flooring, antique furniture and high ceilings. The grand stairway that greets you at the entrance is majestic and the overall look of the hotel is royal. After a smooth check-in process at the small reception area, we were shown to our room on the top floor of the main building. The room was luxurious with a king size bed and oak writing table atop which sat a bottled of chilled Cava as our welcome drink. Non-alcoholic drinks in the mini-bar are complimentary which is a nice touch I'd say. As with most Spanish hotels, storage space is an issue here as well what with only one cupboard provided. The bathroom is large with a separate shower area. Overall, the room is very spacious and the top floor offers lot of privacy as there are only 3 rooms here. Do note that none of the rooms in Villa Soro offer sea views.

The hotel does not have a restaurant but does have a small menu which is catered to from outside the hotel. This is not a concern really as anyone going to San Sebastian is going there primarily for the food and you are much better off trying the numerous award winning stand alone restaurants in this gastronomic heaven than eating at your hotel. The winter garden has been converted into a small and bright dining area where daily breakfast is served. The breakfast is decent and could do with more variety of eggs, juices and breads. What it lacks in variety is made up by the gracious service. Two smiling matronly women hustle about in the mornings making sure you are looked after. The Champagne bar is a small cozy set-up and adjacent to it is a den where you can kick off your shoes after a long day of sunbathing and pintxo hopping and relax in the company of magazines and newspapers. We ordered Sangria at the den and surprise of surprises, were told the drink is not on the menu but will be prepared on our order. Well, I have to say it was the worst Sangria of our entire trip!

The concierge service is very helpful and we made full use of it by booking airport transfers, making restaurant reservations and seeking advice on best pintxo bars. Tapas in Basque country are known as pintxos and I highly recommend you dedicate one entire day to downing Sangria with finger licking and beautifully decorated pintxos at Calle 31 and surrounding lanes in Old Town. Couple of bars we found top notch were 'Gandarias' and 'A Fuego Negro'. Useful tip for first-timers : help yourself to pintxos and after eating, go up to the cashier and honestly declare how many items you had. The entire food culture in Spain runs on trust and you don't want to earn the wrath of bar owners trying to 'save' a few euros.

Villa Soro offers complimentary parking of cars which is a rarity in space starved San Sebastian. Another interesting feature is that the hotel offers complimentary use of bicycles along with beach towels as well. San Sebastian is famed for its cycling culture and it really is a breeze cycling around the city on its dedicated cycle paths. For tourists planning to book Villa Soro, a word of caution though. The hotel has two buildings : the main villa and a newly constructed annex. Going by some rants on travel websites and our own sneak peak into the annex while there, I highly recommend you stay away from the annex and opt for rooms in the main villa only. The annex rooms can be smaller and noisier due to proximity to the road and that explains why rooms in the main villa are more expensive. Considering one will be in San Sebastian for 3-4 days only, I reckon the additional euros spent for main villa rooms are worth it to enjoy this fabulous property. Go ahead and check-in.

Hotel Review : Grand Hyatt, Jakarta, Indonesia

For most people a trip to Jakarta is usually a business affair and that too a short one. Jakarta doesn't deserve the tag of being just an in-out city. There is more to the city than its gleaming office towers, corporate offices and of course, traffic jams. I hadn't discovered this till my last trip to Jakarta. On previous occasions, I had just done the morning-evening trek from Singapore and now Iam thinking how under-utilised those trips were! On my last visit, I had a long 3 day stay at the very business focused Grand Hyatt and I have come back with a new perspective of Jakarta. Its albeit a rose tinted one but at least I saw more of the new confident emerging Indonesia than I do on way to and fro JKT airport.

Given we landed on a weekday afternoon, traffic was minimal and the hotel was a smooth 45 minutes drive from Jakarta airport. The hotel enjoys the most enviable location smack in the central business district overlooking the famous Bundaran HI roundabout and adjacent to the upscale Plaza Indonesia mall. After a prompt check-in, we were shown to our Grand King room. At 500 sq feet, it is one of the most spacious non-suite rooms I have seen in business hotels anywhere. The room has a contemporary design with strong Indonesian influences and through it's double bay windows you overlook the free form pool. Surrounded by lot of greenery and gazebos, the pool looked very inviting. The bed was very comfortable and as is the case with most deluxe hotels, a pillow menu is on offer. The large bathroom with its marble soaking tub and walk in shower was luxurious and the walk-in wardrobe (a rarity in space starved hotels nowadays) lent a majestic touch to the overall feel.

Breakfast was an in-room affair for us. The American and Continental breakfasts we tried on different days were good but nothing exceptional. The Grand Hyatt is a very busy hotel. While checking in, one cannot miss the crowds of business people conducting meetings in Fountain Lounge, entertaining clients at the hip Burgundy bar, high society Indonesian women shopping at the Hermes, Cartier stores at lobby level and the Jakarta glitterati socializing in general. We had tried the buffet dinner on our first day at Grand Cafe and the poor service attributable to large crowds had put us off. Wanting to avoid the crowd, we ordered dinner in room for the rest of our stay. One such dinner was ordered in from C's Steak and Seafood restaurant. Having decided to stick to seafood, we ordered prawns in black pepper with chargrilled fresh lobster. Whilst the prawns were jumbo sized and delicious, it was the lobster which came out tops. The portion was mammoth sized, cooked to perfection and considering the price (USD 90++) was a steal. Seafood is sold by weight and I'd recommend you to order less than what you think you can eat. The portions are genuinely huge. I would go back to Grand Hyatt only for the lobster if nothing else!

The lobster indulgence meant i had to take it easy the next day. Plaza Indonesia is conveniently connected to Grand Hyatt through a special lobby passage. The mall is home to top luxury brands like Armani, Louis Vitton, et al and is huge. You can spend an entire day there but I was exhausted after a couple of hours and headed back. Spa therapy beckoned and I made a beeline for the Olympus Wellness Centre for my pre-booked two hour Javanese massage. The spa ambience is not top notch but the skilled therapist made up for it. Being post-lunch time it was thankfully very quiet and the zen quotient was upped by the dim lighting and soothing music. I was lulled to sleep during the massage and at the end of it, the spa graciously offered me complimentary use of the sauna and jacuzzi. What hedonism but I wasn't complaining!

As we reached the end of our trip, I realized we hadn't stepped out of the hotel at all (popping into Plaza Indonesia doesn't count as it is right next door). So we asked our friendly concierge what is a good place to have brunch and were promptly recommended Hotel Intercontinental. Considering it is one 5 star hotel's recommendation for another, we went along with it and landed at Java restaurant at the Intercontinental. The champagne brunch is excellent and it was the fist time I saw a brunch extending across multiple restaurants. You have an impressive choice of food from not only Java but also from the award winning Italian restaurant Scusa. A day well spent in gluttony!

When it was time to check-out I was genuinely sorry to leave Grand Hyatt. With previous experiences of busy business hotels which lack soul, this hotel stay had taken me by surprise. I had definitely relaxed more than I had intended to. How is one to find fault with smiling staff, spacious rooms, great location, gleaming well maintained interiors, excellent dining and recreation options, friendly concierge services topped with reasonable tariff (approx USD 300 per night which goes lower if you get corporate rates)? A few niggles here and there can't take away from the overall superlative experience one is capable of having here. Mine was great and with high expectations for an encore, Iam waiting to go back. I suggest you do the same.