ITP Indian Travel Places: Food, Travel, Tourism Business Events and Trade Shows
Phone: 022 61701331, 022 61701332
Address: Ground Floor, Viviana Mall, Eastern Express Highway, Near Jupiter Hospital, Majiwada, Thane West, Maharashtra, India
Time: 12 Noon – 1:30 AM
Meals for two: Rs. 1,300
Cuisines: Modern Indian, North Indian, Chinese, Momos, American, Biryani, Continental, Fast Food
Facilities: Full Bar Available, Mall Parking, Nightlife, Indoor Seating, Restricted Entry, Table Reservation Not Required
I’m in Thane! It’s a refreshing daylight bathed room, rocking with a buzz so thick that I can slice it and pop it into my “Dragon fruit Mojito” and “Nacho Nacho” with it. Innovation, playfulness bubbles over in every plate and Thane is lapping it up. I walk in without a reservation with my partner in crime. Alas! Not Kunal Vijayakar this time. This one is a seasoned well travelled gourmet, who loves to eat, cook, golf and workout (in that order) and his international code name is Dunkel Kurbis. Our review follows…
Hitchki, Majiwada, Thane: Decor
Pleasant, pleasant surprise. Greenery peeping in from the large picture windows. Old fashioned fans with bulbs. Black and white flooring. Well-stocked bar. Happy buzz. Packed. Rectangular black plates and movie clapper boards all over.
Hitchki, Majiwada, Thane: Food
Gimmicky, clever names with puns sprinkle the menu. Kha—muuuush is actually a moist, intense mushroom galoti kabab. Charlie chapli kababs are delicious, boldly spiced mutton kababs.
Can a fiery red chatpata momo actually taste good? Would it be a good idea to ask for a dish name ‘Gassi to phassi‘? The answer is yes in both cases. The soft sphere of a momo sparkles with chatpatta spices and that thick gassi reaches all corners of the palate with it’s rich coconuttiness. Homestyle rajma served in a pressure cookers warms my Punjabi heart and the khichiya papad hits the sweet spot with my Gujarati buddy.
Flamboyant, over the top desserts. ‘Jungle main mangal‘ is a tray full of black forest gulab jamun, covered in chocolate.
Sagar Dhanawade takes amazing care of all in the restaurant.
Minus Points
Sadly, there hiccups and hitchkis in many a dish. Overcooked, over-salted, unhappy mixed marriages fighting on the plate and the palate. ‘Yeh to hona hi tha‘ is a stodgy pani puri pakoda. Lacklustre, Savji mutton and over-sweet, over-worked desserts.
‘Tareekh pe tareekh‘ a case in point. Many a dish not available — ‘Ulta Punjab‘, ‘Ja surmai ja‘ and a few others.
My Point
What you see in the photograph is our lunch table for two. What you don’t see in it is the vibrant buzz, the refreshing daylit space and the happy lunch crowd.
Mixed marriages on the plate, some happy, some shrieking divorce. Rajma in a pressure cooker to Thalaiya dimum, but in many a dish there is high impact flavor. Low impact prices. It’s not for the purist, nor for the old at heart. While it doesn’t merit a special trip, should you happen to be in Thane, don’t forget to visit Hitchki.
