Sight Seeing

So you’re looking at a pile of nachos, but smelling Curry Laksa while tasting peanut butter on bread. You’re feeling rustic-Italian vibes, but listening to ABBA. Your senses will indeed be bewildered as you dine at the newly opened Hometown, a jumbled phenomenon that as a friend pointed out, is a ploy to divert attention from the fact that the food isn’t as good as it should be. Olfactories act!

Recently replacing delItalia in Juhu, Hometown (a China Gate property) is an all-day cafe that serves a bunch of snacks and Asian food, including a selection of Malaysian fare (disappointingly no roti canai) not usually seen on Mumbai’s menus. The large, clean wooden space here houses an upstairs section, two open kitchens, bar, and dining area embellished with stained glass lamps, wicker chairs, and huge canvas painted with a village scene that strangely boards up the beach view.

Get Your House in Order

We finally got our tossed senses together and tried to focus on a singular task – ordering. Alice would love the menu here, a book filled with pictures of soups, fried appetisers, breads, noodles, rice dishes and desserts. Each dish also comes with its own individual code that you have to have to write on an order slip and pass on to the waiter. Talk about decoding the menu!

We decided to cover as many categories as we could, starting with corn nachos (there’s also burgers, onion rings, chicken wings in this class), chicken and prawn dumplings and crispy lamb in black bean sauce. The tostada chips served on a blah bed of cheesy corn with a side of sweetish salsa was no postcard from Mexico. The dumplings were well endowed, but would have been tastier had the skins been less rubbery.  We know that black bean sauce is something China Gate does well, so it was no surprise that the lamb starter, handsome, dark and brooding, was yum.

Happy As a Clam

Mains here are dominated by seafood- bountiful bowls of noodles embellished with pearly clams and coral-hued shrimp, served with sides of fish cakes and fragrant jasmine rice. From this, the most interesting part of the menu, we got a bowl piled with oodles of Mee noodles in a spicy curry topped with sprouts and prawns and served with a bowl of steamed chicken slices. It was aromatic and unapologetically slurpy; those who don’t have a palette for coconut however, look for chicken broth-based dishes instead.

Special mention for the fun Asian bread section (that seems to be inspired in selection and visuals from here) including steamed pao, roti bakar, strips of naan, roti stim served with chicken curry or condiments like Malay coconut jam and peanut butter. We got the roti kulit (thick toasted pieces of airy baked white bread) slathered with peanut butter, a yum alternative to the tired dessert collection comprising brownies, mousse and cheesecakes.

Bonus Price

But what really warrants an extra special mention at Hometown is the pricing. When a bill of three starters, a main, beer and dessert at a fancy-ish restaurant totals up to Rs 850, it’s a pleasant surprise - or rather shock - for any Mumbai diner. Maybe we’ll return for cheap noodles and ice cold beer and a hint of the beach. We only hope ABBA won’t be joining us this time around.

Getting there:  Hometown, next to Mocha, opposite Juhu Beach, Juhu Tara Road, call 26112211/12, Rs 850 for a meal for two.

bpb reviews restaurants anonymously and pays for its own meals.