Mumbai is a goldmine of gastronomical delights. With a boom of restaurants, cafes and delivery services using the concept of innovation in food as their Bible, it only keeps getting better for foodies like us. If your taste-buds are into experimenting, we have a new place for you to call your meal from.
We're talking about The Souza's - a delivery kitchen operating out of their Vile Parle Bungalow, and winning hearts quite steadily. Now we know you want us to dive into what we ate, but let's tell you a few interesting bits about this kitchen. Their food isn't just a celebration of Goa's food, history and heritage, but also a treasure trove of the land's coastal delicacies. They do Goan meals with a modern twist, and they do it just right (Seafood lovers, you may want to bookmark them.) The owner, Adam DSouza (also a Goan) believes in preserving the authentic recipes that have been handed down through his family for generations. Pomfret Rechado, Baby Shark (Ambot Tik) and Xacuti, anyone?
Now let's get talking about the showstopper of Souza's. The Prawn Rava Fry (a.k.a pyaar) has our heart. The coating is crunchy, the quantity of six to seven piece for INR 340 is completely worth it, and this starter's something you wouldn't want to miss, unless you're allergic to seafood, of course.
Since we're always high on appetite, we called for two thalis, and some dessert (coz what's even a meal without it?) Their Fish Thalis have some soft and puffy Bullet Rice, a Neer Dosa, a Carrot or a Bombil (Bombay Duck) pickle, a bottle guard bhaji, two pieces of crunchy fried fish called Kismoor (typically a Prawn), a fish bhaji that's either made of Bombil or Mandeli, and the Sol Kadhi, of course. What IS a Goan meal without the kadhi? Oh and if you're not a fan of Neer Dosa, opt for their homemade Goan Poee. For INR 340, it is so comforting, and value-for-money. And if you're a fish lover, and have called for this after reading our review, know that you've signed up for the right thing.
Next up, the Chicken Thali. What remains the same is the Bullet Rice, the carrot pickle, an option between the dosa and the Poee, the bottle gourd bhaji, and the Sol Kadhi. But we really like the variety they have in the chicken gravy. You have chicken sukkha to go with the Neer Dosa, or you could do a chicken in brown gravy with the Poee and the rice. And since we love some sugar rush after our meal, we did a Serradura (INR 150), which basically is a Portuguese sawdust pudding, done perfectly by Souza's.
The delivery kitchen's on from 11:30 in the morning and they start delivering your orders by 12 PM. While they only serve Goan thalis for lunch, they also have an à la carte menu that opens for dinner after 8 PM. You can then call for the delicious Mackerel cutlets, Mutton Bottle Masala, and Baby Sharks. If you're already tempted, don't give this a miss, guys!