Shagun Restaurant, Sea Princess Hotel, Juhu – Review

Strategically located in the heart of the city and overlooking the ever-popular Juhu beach, Sea Princess Hotel enjoys one of the best locations in Mumbai. The five-star boutique hotel has much to enthral you with its luxuriously appointed sea facing rooms, banquets and three restaurants  - The Lagoon, the Princess Lounge and Shagun.

Shagun Restaurant, Sea Princess Hotel., Juhu, Mumbai

Here’s the review of Shagun, Sea Princess’ multi-cuisine restaurant created around a warm Mughal theme:

The ambience: Fine paintings, an opulent chandelier, wooden furniture welcoming reds and whites... the restaurant spells a Mughal theme. The live ghazals by Asif Iqbal and Pappu Lutch smoothly blend into the evening and when they sing your requests, you know what it would have been like to be a part of the Mughal Darbar.

Chef Kaikoy Bokdawala

The food: Kaikoy Bokdawala, the chef at Shagun, has taken enough care to create an elaborate menu to please both the vegetarians and the non-vegetarians.

We stared the course with Jaljeera (a refreshing cumin drink) and Tomato Pudina Rasam (essentially tomato soup). Now as these are perfectly prepared, they raise your expectations for the preparations to follow.

For starters, we tried Kebab Gul-e-Gulzar (vegetarian) and Murg Malai Paan (chicken). Kebab Gul-e-Gulzar tasted just fine, but the consistency did not quite satisfy the palate. Murg Malai Paan surprised us with its interestingly different flavour but the chicken could have been softer. However, the amazing green chutney made up for all of that!

Murg Malai Paan

Kashmiri Mutton Rojan Josh, our choice for the main course, is a treat to the taste buds. The rather spicy dish is something we would order again in our next visit. Dal Peshawari, a black dal preparation served in a little bowl completely satisfies the dal lovers. Paneer Lababdar (a cottage cheese preparation) though needs to be still more ‘lababdar’.

For dessert, we opted for the Moong Dal Badam Halwa, but something was amiss here too.

Kebab Gul-e-Gulza

Service and staff: Shagun’s hospitality is worth a mention. The well-trained hotel staff offers prompt and impeccable service. They would not constantly hover around you, something that we personally dislike. Yet, they would be right there when they must be. The service is prompt. Perfect!

Washrooms: As I always mention in my reviews, I believe that if the washrooms of a restaurant / hotel are separate for men and women, clean and with all the necessary amenities, the hotel is good and maintains complete hygiene. I was not disappointed at Sea Princess.

Shagun Restaurant Rating: I would give the restaurant 3 on 5.

SHAGUN TRIVIA

Chef Kaikoy Bokdawala and the live ghazal singers Asif Iqbal and Pappu Lutch are associated with Sea Princess for over a decade.

Shagun was earlier known as Orient. The restaurant was rechristened and the ambience converted into Mughal theme early in the year 2010.

Click here for the official website of Sea Princess Hotel and know more about Shagun and the other restaurants of the hotel.

Location and contact details: Juhu Tara Road, Juhu Beach, Santacruz (West), Mumbai - 400 049.Tel: 022-26469500 , 91 22 26611111 / 6692 4455. Email: seaprincess@vsnl.com

- Review by Anuradha and Mrinal

Review of Hotel Perfect in Karol Bagh, Delhi

We recently took up an IRCTC Himachal Pradesh tour package. The journey from Mumbai started on 19th June 2010. It comprised a night’s stay at Delhi’s Hotel Perfect located at Karol Bagh. Unfortunately, just after making payment for the package, we happened to read TripAdvisor reviews about the hotel. Click here and you’d know why we were extremely worried about the stay there. It was too late to do anything about it, so we went to the hotel with zero expectations and prepared ourselves to book another hotel in Delhi if need be.

Now either we got the cleanest room or the hotel management has improvised things after actually going through the reviews. All in all, we were not disappointed.

Asian Kitchen restaurant, Sky Grill at Sheraton’s Four Points hotel

We had been planning to dine at one of the restaurants of Sheraton’s Four Points hotel in Vashi, Navi Mumbai, on my husband’s birthday. He awaited the opening of Sky Grill after noticing the continuous ads promoting the launch. So on his birthday, we planned to be at the Sky Grill for dinner. However, we reached at around 10.45 pm, when the open air restaurant was about to close. They had this board on the entrance displaying the vegetarian (Rs 650*) and non-vegetarian (Rs 750*) barbeque menu for the day and were about to close. They said they will close soon, but we can definitely dine and that they would be serving on the table. However, we were not impressed by the ambience of the Sky Grill (resembled a very ordinary seating and buffet-type setting) and decided to opt for the hotels’ other restaurant Asian Kitchen.

Here’s the review of Asian Kitchen:

Nimantran Restaurant in Belapur - Review

We visited Nimantran Family Bar and Restaurant in Belapur (Navi Mumbai) last weekend. We were more than pleased to have opted for it given the array of restaurants in Belapur. For the guys it was a bonus since the restaurant had LCDs and we reached during a twenty-twenty match.

Well, it was the first time we visited sector 15 of Belapur that's literally garnished with a great variety of restaurants. If I am not wrong there must be at least 15 of them (oh is it why they call it sector '15'?). Anyways, here's the review of Nimantran Family Bar and Restaurant that you must visit:

Abbott Hotel Vashi - The Creek Restaurant Review

It was my birthday and I wanted to treat my family at a nice restaurant that serves excellent food in Vashi, Navi Mumbai. I did not want to take any chances with the quality of food and ambiance so I consulted a few friends. My friend Ratish recommended Abbott hotel and we finalized it. I am so glad about the choice and thankful to Abbott for making my day special. Here's the review of Abbott Hotel's The Creek Restaurant that I strongly recommend: