हायवे गोमांटक

No, that's not a mistake... the name actually is written in Marathi, and only Marathi. In fact, everything at this Gomantak restaurant in Mumbai is written in Marathi. They obviously cater to a very niche clientèle, but what they serve will satisfy any gourmand's palate.

The menu consists primarily of fish based dishes with everything from paplet and surmai to halwa and rawas. The main item is the fish thali, with your choice of fish - depending on availability of course, and the true connoisseur of fish can tell the difference between the different varieties.

The thali is served with one medium sized piece of curried fish, the type of curry depends on the fish, a bowl of rice, two chapatis, a katori of sol kadi, and a little pickle made of shell fish. The size of the thali is a tad small, but immensely tasty. A side dish of fried bombil is just about enough to push the experience to the next level, but throw in some baakri as well to bring it home.

The fish thali is priced at Rs.120/-, and although it's rather small in quantity, the crowd at this restaurant at lunch time proves that it's well worth it.

The sol kadi is a little light when compared with other konkani restaurants I've been to, but still has about the right flavour. I'd suggest getting an extra glass though.

Apart from fish dishes, they also serve mutton, chicken and fish kheema.

Blues rates it:
Food - Pretty darn good
Service - Okay
Price - A tad uppish, but worth it
Ambience - None whatsoever
Overall - great lunch place

Recommendation - definitely go there, go there often.

Getting there:
Highway Gomantak is a little hard to find if you haven't been there before. It's on the service road parallel to the Western Express Highway in Mumbai at the Kala Nagar Area. To get there, turn onto the service road from the Kala Nagar signal, and go down alongside the Kala Nagar flyover for about half its length. The restaurant should be on your right hand side, with a small Marathi-only name plate.

Mangalore Pearl - Cole's Road, Bangalore

Maka zai zai, maka zai zai.

Mangalore Pearl leaves a little touch of Mangalore in the heart of Bangalore. Never again will I crib about the state of food in this city.

Situated near the corner of Cole's road and Wheeler road, it's easy to miss Mangalore Pearl if you don't know where to look. We spent about 45 minutes roaming around Cole's road, but that was partly because we were given bad directions. It was worth it.

We were five, one mangalorean, one goan, one konkani, one keralite and one dehliite. Fish was on the menu, and a little chicken too.

We ordered Pomfret curry, Surmai curry (King fish or Seer fish), Prawns Masala, Fried Mussels, Chicken Kuri Roti, and Sol kadi. It was heaven. A little on the spicy side, but we loved it.

About the dishes:

You can't really expect fresh fish so far from the coast, but the fish curry was as close to the coast as you can get without actually being there. Eat it with rice.

The fried mussels weren't as good as I've tasted at Martin's in Goa, but they were good.

Chicken Kori Roti was my favourite. You get a bunch of rice wafers (looks similar to a crushed up dosa) and you pour the chicken curry over it.

Oh yeah, when eating mangalorean food, use your hands.

We've ordered food from here again. Chicken Roce Curry, fried fish and the Lunch meal are good. Best of all, you get a fish meal for 30 bucks.

Update

A few more things to try:

• Pork/chicken vindaloo with sannas
• Mutton patroday curry (on weekends)

Blues rates it:
Food - excellent, a little spicy
Service - good
Price - very reasonable
Decor - bright
Overall - all thumbs up

Recommendation - If you like Goan or Mangalorean cuisine, this is the place for you. If you like fish, this is the place for you. Definitely go there. Also, don't order anything vegetarian.

Getting there:

Get to the Wheeler Road / Cole's Road junction. Turn onto Cole's Road. It's on the first floor of the first building on the road. Look up as soon as you turn or you'll miss it.

Phone Number: 25578855