What: Hot chocolate on a stick by Sleight of Hand, Trafford House, 6 Prescott Road, lane opposite JB Petit School, call 22091445, Rs 50.

Why: Want your milk-shake to bring all the boys to the yard? Stick with this hot chocolate lollipop - in plain, mocha, cappuccino, marshmallow versions – that you can swirl around in a cup of milk, turning it into rich, yum cocoa. Add Baileys or drink virgin merry.

When: You want a bonbon nuit.

House Fly

Bandra has a new cottage industry, with old bungalows serving as venues for eateries, bars, spas and even dive stores. The latest addition is Bungalow 9, a pretty multi-cuisine restaurant and bar housed in a sprawling old wooden mansion that once was a tobacco factory, and later a venue for marriages. Do you take this manor?

Step Inn, Won’t You

Barely a week old, Bungalow 9’s space (seats about 150) is split into a leafy courtyard, rustic indoor dining area, tavern style bar and a private party room complete with high beams, wooden balcony and sloping roof.  Given the weather and willingness of the moon, we picked a dimly lit outdoor table, shaded with banana leaves, buzzing with barely any mosquitoes and set with a vast, 15 page bar menu. Comfortably rum.

We wanted to start with the Long Breakfast, a cocktail made with marmalade, but figured it was too ‘morning’ for dinner. So we went instead with Passion Drop, a potent and delicious mix of gin, passion fruit, peach liqueur, sparkling wine and lemon grass; a Margarita that packed a big flavour but lacked any ice; and an apple-vanilla-vodka potion that would have done better without the vanilla essence. Overall, a fun selection of cocktails to choose from.

Love and Lungs

It’s not surprising that Bungalow 9 tries to bring together so many different cuisines in one kitchen, given the space’s history with matchmaking. But like most marriages, the dishes - cooked up by former Athena chef - are a mixed bag. We loved the bread basket dip that nicely mixes butter and sundried tomatoes, but couldn’t get behind sushi featuring chicken, tomato, and pineapple. If you must, get Hella Hot sushi which comes with cream cheese, jalapeno, carrots and on special request, avocado. It’s pretty and surprisingly delish. Non vegetarians should dodge Spit Roasted Chicken with Tzatziki (dry meat, yum dip) and go instead with crispy fried calamari. Other interesting but diverse food categories like grills, noodles, wood fired pizza and pastas makes ordering quite confusing, but ask for Rishikesh and he will graciously guide you through the  menu.

He suggested we get the pizza with caramalised onion, olives, peppers and feta. Thin, crispy, light and not overwhelmingly cheesy, this is perfect, as is spicy and aromatic Sri Lankan yellow curry served with a tiny portion of jasmine rice, the highlight of our meal.

Sorbet National Park

Swedish Message

Just when we thought we were done making our list of top 10 restaurants for 2010, Mesa Bistro opened up: an all-day Italian bistro named after flat-topped mountains and housed in a newly opened Swedish chain of “design hotels” at Andheri. Sounded intriguing enough for us to put the list lamination on hold and the white ink on standby.

Aquarium for a Dream

Towering over a row of fast-food joints and crumbling structures in Lokhandwala, it’s hard to miss Svenska hotel’s blue glass building. After getting to a barely-there reception desk and a stark white lounge area contrasted by pink velvet chairs, we were escorted to Mesa Bistro. Here’s what we saw: a casual space with wooden flooring, granite walls, live kitchen counter, blinds that should have been rolled up to let the light in, and a see-through partition that separates the bistro from a bar. We got a table that afforded the best view – of a cute bartender across the glass. Dish bowl!

What: Kamasutra Cookies from The Baking Tray, call Rebecca on 09821694917 or visit www.thebakingtrayonline.com, Rs 1,200 for one kg.

Why: Not to put you in an awkward position, but bpb scoped out these cool Kamasutra cookies moulded in shapes of different sex poses and available in peanut butter, walnut and dark chocolate chips. Mission(ary) possible!

When: You want to take the cookie slutter approach.

We’re convinced that food blogger Shaheen Peerbhai (Purplefoodie.com) is the wicked witch from Hansel and Gretel. Why else would she lure us to her online house of treats tagged with fluffy cinnamon rolls and mud cake, poached pears and pesto bread? Why would she send jars of homemade strawberry jam to the bpb office and launch a new catering service just when we were starting to diet? And now, during the most vulnerable time of the year, she plays her plump card: a bake sale on December 15 featuring all our favourite treats from lavender shortbread to double chocolate chip muffin.

Yes, she’ll fatten us up and have us for supper. Bon appétit, Shaheen.

Wicked Witch of the Feast

Follow, at your own risk of course, the Purple Foodie's bread crumb trail to find her three favourite treats up for grabs at the Mumbai Bazaar bake sale. GleePS!

Nutella Pinwheel Cookies (Rs 180 for 200gms): It is rolled in Nutella. Enough said!

Callebaut Chocolate Mudcake (Rs 120 per slice): This Belgium chocolate contains 53% cocoa.

Jerry & Elaine’s Chocolate Babka (Rs 150 for 200gms): A cross between cake and bread, the babka is perfect for those who crave for chocolate yet don’t want something too sweet.

Getting there: Purple Foodie Bake Sale at Mumbai Ishtyle Bazaar, The Rotary Centre, Juhu Tara Road, Santacruz (W), call 9820995543, December 15  from noon to 8 pm, start at Rs 40.

What: 1 tbsp party catering service, call 9920366639 or log on to www.1tablespoon.com, start at Rs 225 per person for 4 starters (minimum order of Rs 5,000), servers included for party of 20 and more.

Why: After eat, tray and loving his way through New York (short work stints at Graffiti and Bar Lupa), Varun Sheth recently moved into a neat Mumbai kitchen where he caters out a mixed bag of gourmet treats - pretzels with beer cheese dip and chicken peri peri, khao suey and gnocchi. We tried and loved muhammara, mushroom crostini and chocolate fondant.

When: Spooner or cater.

They might have to fight through some of the city’s worst traffic, but office goers in Lower Parel are certainly eating well, wooed by restaurants both fast and fancy that are cropping up in the area quicker than you can say “delivery”. The newest suit(or) in this culinary contest is Garam Masala, a bite-size eatery wedged between the garage stores opposite Kamala Mills, which hopes to seduce with cartoons on its wall and lots of cheese on the menu.

Taking the Same Road

A few storefronts down from Mumbai Deli, Garam Masala has clearly been inspired by its neighbour, down to the graphic walls, strange business hours (it shuts at 9 pm) and super uncomfortable chairs. The cuisine offered, however, is more Shiv Sagar than deli, consisting of cheese balls and rolls, parathas and pizza: essentially, desi fast food.

Soft Serves

Although it’s meant to be self-serviced, the staff at Garam Masala is nice enough to take your order at the table, and can even offer useful suggestions. Remember though, to ask for plates, cutlery and tissues separately, and also specify how many of each you want. Apart from its lack of intuition (or even common sense), however, the service is quick and efficient. 

Driving in the Fast (Food) Lane

What: Vegan cupcakes from Cake It Away, Rajhans Building, flat number 18, G Road, Marine Drive, call Natali at 9820951925 or visit the Facebook page here, start at Rs 15 for a mini.

Why: They may be free of eggs, cream and milk, but these cupcakes are fat on taste. We suggest you steer away from the ho-hum chocolate versions and pucker up for Elvis, a seriously delish banana cupcake with mulberry jam center and peanut butter frosting.

When: You want to bake a leg.

In the Gresh

“Olives and figs grow by the side of the road, rosemary is there for the plucking... I’d never run out of ingredients...It’s beautiful, man,” said chef Gresham Fernandes about his recent culinary trip to Ibiza, an island where he conceived The Tasting Room’s newly launched menu. As his faraway eyes took on a shade of day dream, we knew we’d lost him to Spain. Sipping on a bowl of hearty onion soup, we waited for chef and chevre to arrive.

If a Menu Could Talk

Beginning with the sketch of an elegant, wiry chandelier and ending with a listing of simple, non-flavoured cheese cake, the menu here – new additions supported by old favourites – is clean and fuss-free, with dishes designed so they don’t clash with the restaurant’s bright pink walls. Seriously. Besides interiors and Ibiza, the food selection has other back stories too: songs that have spurred on sauces, textures that have taught tenderloin and cities that have stirred soups. After a fun afternoon tasting, we got Chef Gresham to return from his Ibiza mind trip and dish on our top 5 picks.

Red and Green

Christmas comes early as Chef Peter Ho from The Leela’s Great Wall restaurant sends bpb his favourite red snapper recipe with a side of greens. This stunning dish he also whipped up at November's Turning Tables, our monthly underground kitchen. Seasoning's greetings!

Steamed Fillet of Red Snapper with Sichuan Vegetable and Shimeji Mushroom

Ingredients

200 gms red snapper
50 gms shredded Sichuan pickle vegetable
50 gms Shimeji mushroom
50 gms shredded tomato
30 gms coriander