This fun recipe courtesy Aurus Head Chef Vicky Ratnani (demonstrated at bpb’s Gourmet Science class) involves filling watermelon juice in a syringe.Have you taken your shots this month?

Note: Ingredients can be sourced from Chenab Impex, 228478880 or visit website here.

Ingredients

For the watermelon base:

100 ml watermelon juice

0.8 gms algin

For the calcic bath:

1.3 gms calcic

100 ml water

For the garnish:

Sugar and lemon syrup

Fresh mint (chopped)

Method

Juice the watermelon and strain. Mix in the algin and blend using a stick blender or mixer. Dissolve the calcic and water in a bowl and keep another bowl of water to rinse the formed caviar. Using a syringe, drop the watermelon mix into the calcic bath to form spheres or caviar. With a slotted spoon, fish out the caviar and rinse it in the water solution. Serve the caviar seasoned with lemon juice, sugar syrup and mint leaves.

The Tian building on Gulmohar Road is like Juhu's transitory little black book - we've lost track of the number of restaurants that have occupied space here and disappeared without a trace, only to be replaced by others. For the latest contact flip the book to 'P' where you'll find that Petra is now Panki, a restaurant that dishes out Gujarati and Rajasthani fare. Dhokla-la-la!

Shak Attack

The moniker (named after the popular Gujarati snack) here is the most radical change the restaurant has undergone, given that it retains the wooden interior from its predecessor. The menu is tedious and stretches itself to include Chinese cuisine (how we hate the "multi-cuisine" ambition), not to mention cocktails and mocktails that appear randomly in between names of dishes.

We started by ordering the restaurant's namesake, a dish that's ordered often from Swati Snacks at the bpb office. We're glad to report that this one measured up, a Mysore panki, fiery and fragile at the same time, folded in banana leaves. As we proceeded to order the rest  of our lunch, we were told due to an unexpected response the restaurant had received the previous night, only three other Indian dishes on the menu were available.

Not about to try the desi chilli chicken here, we got all three. The gatte ki sabzi with masala satpadi (Rs 159) was a yummy sweet and sour yellow curry with veggies. The kela nu shaak with chunks of cooked bananas, served with satpadi rotla (Rs 159) was a little too sweet for our liking. The high point of lunch was definitely the fada ni khichdi (Rs 154), a mixture of rice, dal and vegetables served piping hot, the kind of comfort food that students studying abroad long for. All of the above were plated portions for one, served with two papads, two rotis, curd and pickle

Survivor

Panki is barely five days old, so we recommend you give them a week to get their house in order. Dinner is definitely a better time to visit when you can a get a taste of their special Rajbhog and Nizam thalis, farsan, dal dhokli, undhiyu and other nocturnal works. One lunch however, was enough for us to hope that Panki survives the Tian curse and goes on to become the Swati of the suburbs. Maybe they can start by getting rid of the Peking order.

Getting there: Panki, first floor, 48 Gulmohar Road (previously Tian), above Café Coffee Day, Juhu, 26240999, Rs 700 for a meal for two.

bpb reviews anonymously and pays for its own meals.

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Getting there: Panki, first floor, 48 Gulmohar Road (previously Tian), above Café Coffee Day, Juhu, 26240999, Rs 700 for a meal for two.

If back in the day you were a regular at Foodland (Juhu), the suburb’s first (now defunct) supermarket, you’ll remember Jyoti, the stern but effective manager who struck terror in the hearts of employees and dawdling customers alike. This butch(er) boss has now started Super Fresh, a four day old fish, meat and poultry shop in Khar. 

Cold Shoulder

Apart from frozen ready-to-fry/cook Venky’s and Al Kabeer products, Super Fresh stocks fresh halal broiler and boneless chicken, beef slices and mince, chicken drumsticks and different sized prawns, pomfret and crab – all stored neatly in refrigerated containers. You can even get exotic fish like baby sharks, oysters and large red snapper fillets on order.

According to Jyoti, Super Fresh will soon offer pre-marinated meats and cooked dishes like chicken Kolhapuri and special mutton biryani over the weekends. With an in-house fryer in the pipeline, you can even get your fish fried. It’s getting batter and batter!

Located on a buzzy, busy Fort street and focused on feeding its frenzied masses, Ovo’s is a new eatery/takeaway place that operates out of a garage and doles out simple eggetarian fare: the kitchen and the egg?

Bite Size

The menu here is scaled down to match the tiny space, divided into egg dishes, sandwiches, parathas and rolls. These can be eaten off high, slender tables or packed up to go, which is a better option since they have no chairs (they plan to get some soon). Delivery is offered, but a risky prospect: their phone’s almost always busy and the staff is unsure about neighborhoods they’ll cover.

Chinese Whispers

The best dish on the menu is noodle rolls, spicy, old-fashioned hakka noodles wrapped in tensile Frankie skins with plenty of sauce. These also travel better than the egg dishes, which include a skinny, bland Spanish omelet that comes with green peppers and pav instead of toast. Salvage it by asking for the pav to be toasted with lots of butter, and pile on the omelet. College canteen, part deux.

Those looking for a heartier meal, parathas are served with generous sides of chole and raita. We tried a tomato and onion version, made crunchy with bits of papad crumbled into the filling. Nothing to write home about, but still filling, which is more than we can say about an egg club sandwich: slapped between three slices of untoasted bread it is a measly, miserable affair.

Past Perfect

Ovo’s is never going to be your favorite lunch place; but if you’re in the neighborhood and hankering for a cheap, quick bite or a nostalgic taste from your college canteen, you should stop by.

Getting there: Ovo’s, Raghunath Dadaji Street, Fort, Off DN Road, 2265615611, Rs 100 per head.

Looks like Bachelor’s, the (unmarried) sweet heart of Marine Drive, finally has competition; Ice Cream Works is the new kid on the block, a Cream Center offspring that comes armed with delish dessert, sky blue walls and comfortable seating. Cold war, indeed.

Rolling On The Tongue

Pitched as parlour and café, Ice Cream Works has been on quite a roll, with the Marine Drive branch opening within a month of the first outlet in Shivaji Park and talk of a third in the near future. We love how even they couldn’t resist playing Adele’s Grammy-sweeping songs, which kept our feet tapping while we decided from the fifteen-odd ice cream flavours offered.

Cassata Player

The doggy bags at bpb and The Tasting Room's (Lower Parel) Make Pasta from Scratch class included pretty jars with freshly made sauces and personal contact details of the cute and very talented chef Gracian. Score! And for those of you who couldn't make it, see below the recipe for gnocchi.

Ingredients

300g potatoes

50g refined flour (keep a little extra for dusting)

15g basil (chopped)

15g arugula (chopped)

30g Parmesan (grated)

Pinch of salt

Method

Cook the potatoes in their skins in an oven for about 20-25 minutes or until tender enough for a knife to easily slide through. Allow to cool. Peel the potatoes and grate them into a bowl. From this, measure out 250g for the gnocchi. Tip the grated potato onto a floured work surface. Add in the chopped basil, arugula and Parmesan. Knead the flour until the mixture comes together to form a dough. Divide it into four equal pieces and roll out into thick sausage shapes. Cut each sausage into 2 cm/1 inch pieces and press with the tines of a fork to create a pattern.

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and add the gnocchi. Cook the gnocchi for 1-2 minutes or until they float to the top. Remove with a slotted spoon into ice cold water. Serve with a sauce of your choice.

Parsi Diary

Everyone’s black book has a Homi or a Tanaz in it. From school, college, or perhaps through a friend of a friend. We’ve always loved them, but never without an agenda, perpetually angling for an invite to a jolly mum-cooked lunch, navjot or lagan, dreaming of hearty dhansak and soft, soft caramel custard.

If you’ve been stupid enough to break ties with H and T (or annoy South Bombay Irani Café owners), head to Jumjoji, a new Bandra Reclamation restaurant that serves up Parsi fare in a plush space. No temperamental owners and slow service here, but also no pretty wooden chairs and checkered table cloth sightings. You winsome, you lose some.

What: Chicken Cafreal at Ainsley’s Grills And More, shop no 15, Bandra Silver Croft, Pali Market, opposite Sante, Bandra (W), call 9920022379/9920022539 for home delivery, Rs 150 for half plate of chicken.

Why: This new Goan and East Indian food shack home delivers dishes not unlike the ones available at Soul Fry next door: Chicken Vindaloo, Tongue Moile, Prawns Balchao and beef chili fry. bpb tried and loved the flavourful, garlicky Chicken Cafreal and well spiced Pomfret Recheado. The watery caramel custard however, didn’t travel well. Thumbs up to generous portions and double quick delivery. Speedy Gonsalves!

When: You need a Mac Pro. Shut on Mondays.

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This one's for the veggies: A yum juicy burger recipe from all-day restaurant 36 Oak & Barley.

Ingredients

1/3 cup fresh basil (finely chopped)

2 tbsp Dijon mustard

2 tbsp honey

2 tsp lemon rind (grated)

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper (freshly ground)

4 garlic cloves (minced and divided)

1 pound firm or extra firm drained tofu

Cooking spray

1/3 cup of pitted Kalamata olives (finely chopped)

3 tbsp reduced-fat sour cream

3 tbsp light mayonnaise

6 (1½ ounce) hamburger buns

6 tomato slices

1 cup of watercress (trimmed)

Method

Combine the first eight ingredients and three garlic cloves in a small bowl. Cut the tofu crosswise into 6 slices. Pat each square dry with paper napkins. Place the tofu slices on a jelly-roll pan and marinate both sides of the tofu slices with the mixture. Reserve the remaining juice mixture and let the tofu stand for one hour. Prepare the grill or non-stick pan. Place the tofu slices on grill rack coated with oil and grill for three minutes on each side. Brush the tofu with the extra juice mixture.

Combine the remaining minced garlic clove, chopped olives, sour cream and mayonnaise in a small bowl and stir well. Spread about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the mayonnaise mixture over the bottom half of each hamburger bun. Top each serving with one slice of tofu, one tomato slice, about two tablespoons of watercress and finally cover it with the top half of the bun.

 “Describe the restaurant in one sentence.” It’s a game we Scouters have played before, but rarely at a 10 am review or with such accurate results: Café Zoe, new eatery at Lower Parel is like Kala Ghoda Café on magical steroids we discovered, space, menu, wi-fi and all.

Name Game 

Allow us to present parallels: décor at both is predominantly black and white, with exposed brick walls and soaring, sloping ceilings; both boast pretty lofts populated with fat couches; both focus on breakfast, soups, salads and sandwiches; both offer free wi-fi; most importantly, both have a happy, hippy vibe, where food is prepared carefully and served casually. That Café Zoe is much larger with a full bar and a kitchen which also sends out a selection of entrees, can be accredited to the abovementioned steroids. Good drugs, these. 

Bright Shiny Morning

We went on the morning of opening day (first customers!) and focused on the breakfast and all-day menu, ordering eggs, soup, sandwiches. These included a deep bowl of salty, satiating chicken broth, swimming with matzo balls and shredded meat; and a dish of Eggs Florentine that came elegantly arranged but went messy in a minute, splattered with yolk and hollandaise sauce. Sunshine on our plate, Somewhere Over The Rainbow on the stereo. Lovely.

Bread Head