Feb 27, 2012

Review: The Chocolate Room


Name: THE CHOCOLATE ROOM
Location: Panchsheel Heights, Mahavir Nagar, Kandivli West.

What I thought:

A little chocolate cafe tucked away in the Northern suburbs of Mumbai, one would not have imagined something in such an area in the first place. But there it was, right opposite where I live, and as I watched it spring up, the name caught my interest.

I must mention here, that I do not have a sweet tooth, and am not particularly fond of chocolate. But I had to try this place. So, when I managed to get a few other people excited about it (I would never be able to eat more than a bite of any chocolate dish, let alone finish it), we walked in.

Simple chairs, a couple of tables, not much space, no eye-catching decor to talk about. What does grab some attention though, is a display shelf, that is called the Chocolate Shop. Stacked there are chocolate gift boxes, and what looks like a wine bottle made of chocolate. It was exactly what it looked like! On asking, we found out that the bottle did not come filled (sad!), but was hollow and could be filled with any beverage of one's choice (yay!) and re-sealed.

The counter display had some chocolate figurines, a Taj Mahal in both white and dark chocolate and some pastries.

Moving on to the edible stuff on the menu.

The menu was short and sweet (no pun intended), yet covered everything from choco shakes and coffees, to some munchies, mocktails, and even a chocolate pizza. A chocolate pizza you say? That sounds interesting. Let us try it.

We tried the Rocky Road Pizza, and some cold Irish Coffee. The coffee was pretty regular. It was the pizza that surprised us. We did not know what to expect and were told that the pizza would take about 15-20 minutes.

What arrived, was a brown pizza base, with a load of chocolate toppings, something sprinkled, something splashed and something pink on it. Initially I thought the base itself was made of chocolate, and that put me off. But it was a pleasant surprise to find out that it was chocolate flavoured bread - not too sweet and just right. The toppings on the Rocky Road had some nuts, melted marshmallows and loads of chocolate of course. It was quite heavy, and for the price we paid, definitely worth the value. We were speculating the Chilli hot chocolate pizza (yes, you read right!) for the next time.

Service:
The service was smooth. Since the outlet has just opened, the management was sweet and gave personal attention to customers. They came and asked for feedback in person, after we finished eating. We spotted a bunch of kids on a sugar high inside, licking off a bowl of something chocolatey, and it definitely is a place the kids would love!

Moral of the story:
All in all, a decent place, some good innovative things on the menu, worth one try, especially for chocoholics. So all ye with the sweet tooth, head to Kandivali!

Feb 24, 2012

Sometimes...

I had the chorus of 'sometimes...its just a matter of time' playing in my head for a long time. Finally got down to penning a version.


Sometimes...it's just a matter of time


I walk along and stumble on
trying for a lift, path forlorn
I wave, I call, beckon and shout,
No one halts, they just carry on.


they may not see me today,
They may not care for who I am
but someday, they will look back on this day,
Someday they will regret what they say.
Today, they may have their way.


But tomorrow shall be mine
Cos sometimes...it's just a matter of time.


I tell them my dreams they laugh,
They try and cut my hopes into half,
They cannot see beyond a mile,
But the future has been in my eyes for a while.
Today, they may tell me I can't.


But tomorrow my dreams shall be mine,
Cos sometimes...its just a matter of time.


I don't need you to halt you see,
I for walk not alone but with my castles of sand,
And as you drive on you'll know eventually,
someday these very roads will all lead to me.


Tomorrow will be mine,
Cos sometimes...its just a matter of time.


- Haem Roy
Feb 24, 2012.