Sails and Marketing

If the boats at Versova are missing their sails, captains should look at Trikaya, the neighbourhood’s new Asian restaurant where white sails – used as an alternative to umbrellas – arch over benches laid out on a wooden deck. On Monday night, bpb climbed aboard for a sneak peek (opens to the public on January 14) and discovered a trove of Amrut whisky (score!) and yum coffee-salted dumplings. No plank walk for them…not yet anyway.

Inside Scoop

In addition to the narrow al fresco setting, Trikaya (has its first outpost in Pune) also houses an indoor bar with quirky wooden stools and rows of pretty pink and blue bottles. But the containers you should really be lusting after are the ones guarded by the bartender, which include hard-to-find Glenfiddich Snow Phoenix, Underberg herbal digestive shots and an in-house spiced liqueur. Abovementioned Amrut whisky will be in stock starting next month. Incentive enough to visit! Next door is a caramel-warm dining section shaded by wooden panels and brightened by orange-gold lamps. Given the nip in the air and our affinity for all things maritime, we decided to sit outdoors where Buddha Bar-ish beats did their best to drown out muffled city sounds.

Buffalo Soldier

Despite a weekend full of cocktails in the Capital, we started at the bar (the things we do for you), where silly-sounding drinks take their job of pleasing rather seriously. The Waky-Baky for instance, a gin, lemon juice, banana liqueur concoction deliciously smoked with Lagavulin single malt, is like a delicious winter Alibaug bonfire you can drink. The next mix, Woodpecker, was equally crackling with Buffalo Trace bourbon, passion fruit puree and a sprinkle of red pepper. The honey-lime-vodka cocktail that followed couldn’t help but pale in comparison. The bar pricing here clearly encourages you to upgrade your taste with premium liquor costing just a fraction more than its cheaper counterparts (30 ml Famous Grouse costs Rs 250 and a Black Label costs Rs 300).

Next, our liquid diet switched to soup - Tom Yum and Japanese egg drop - which came in steaming bowls that look like giant soup spoons. The former is predictably good, while the latter is more interesting - a salty, eggy clear broth of mushrooms, prawns and crunchy greens. These were accompanied by yum, non-oily spring rolls that packed mushrooms and oozed goat cheese. On the carnivorous side of the table lay Fish Edamame featuring basa cooked in an interesting spicy semi-gravy with waves of citrus. Also good to get is the tenderloin tossed with crunchy lotus root and pepper. 

For mains we picked the diced lamb with chilli and sprouts from the char grill section which was a little dry and ultimately not worth an encore. Better are the curries, we discovered, as the robust, coconut-y red curry and sticky jasmine rice fought over who was more fragrant. The yummiest though, was the flavourful khao suey that came with a platter of gazillion toppings.

Le Fin

While dessert-ers will gravitate towards the chocolate blob with cinnamon kulfi – turned up partly melted and a bit too sweet – we recommend the stunning trio of mini Asian sweets that feature a date and coconut dumpling, a divine sweet-salty bun with coffee and lotus seed and a shot glass filled with elegant custard and frozen fruit.

Save for a few setbacks (pricey prawns and desserts, some passable dishes), this ship seems like a fun addition to Versova's cooking port. And if the adventurous bar can be matched with efficient service post opening day, we'll be there to salute the captain. Or at least have a drink with him.

Getting there: Trikaya, 6/11 Meera Apartments, Juhu Versova Link Road, Seven Bungalows, call 265021389 / 265047177, Rs 400 for khao suey.