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.