Twenty- five Seven

Personally speaking

Recent Posts

  • Saturday Lunch at Cafe Zoe

    Today’s lunch at Cafe Zoe reminded me of those lazy Sunday lunches at the club ever so long ago. Now don’t get me wrong – Cafe Zoe hardly resembles the club least of all the children’s section to which we were relegated most of our lives thanks to the children being below 18 years. At that time I remember being pretty resentful of the fact that we had to eat in a far corner of the club even though the food was the same as was served elsewhere. But we had a Sunday tradition and one that stood us in good stead – the weekly lunch where all we did was really talk. Over a simple Chinese meal or perhaps Fish and Chips, we would sometimes discover the most amazing things. For instance I once almost choked over a noodle when my 8 year old very seriously gave me a scientific explanation of why I didn’t have a son. She told me that she found out through a Roald Dahl book ( and you thought they were for kids uh??) how to ensure you had a son………. I also remember the time when we had the girls gob smacked with Hubby Dear’s tale of Aja the Spy. With a few inputs from me collaborating events in their grandfather’s life, the children really believed that their grandpa was secretly on the payroll of RAW.


    Gradually our Sunday lunches died out as do many family traditions – largely because of school commitments and finally because the birds flew the coop. With Saturday soon becoming a day for catching up on odd jobs, we developed a different routine – bank work, art gallery hopping and then a quiet lunch at one or the other club. However, today I decided that I’ve had enough of clubs and tentatively suggested a change of scene –  tentative because very often my dining suggestions turn up dud. This is because Hubby Dear is a creature of habit and is totally unwilling to experiment. But since I had been to Cafe Zoe earlier, I thought I’d be able to swing it this time……………

    So after our usual errands ( skipping the art gallery ) we made our way to Lower Parel. The heart of the city which is changing by the minute is a warren of small roads with cars going both ways through a street meant for just one, and a hodge podge of broken down mills now converted into office space and fancy eating joints. Cafe Zoe is one of those.

    Despite being the newest kid on the block ( Mathurdas Compound has three eateries) it has attained notoriety by recently being visited by Inspector Dhoble the Bogie Man of  the Nocturnal Bipeds of Mumbai.(party animalis) As late as last week his nightly visit made hundreds of people run out of the cafe in fear while Dhoble just said that he was doing his job…..checking to see if the number of people was in keeping with the statutory requirement.

    This afternoon there was a menacing cop van with a piddly cop waving his outdated AK47 ( or whatever) which we found was the security accompanying the diplomats who were dining inside the cafe. So we went in and were told that since we didn’t have a reservation, we’d have to sit upstairs which we did. Though there were enough waiters running around, the service here is laid back to the point of being indifferent but the ambience and buzz more than made up for this. Our DIY greek salad was good, the bread basket ok, the Beef Steak overdone and chewy . At one time I almost had a Peter Seller’s moment while cutting the steak and imagined it flying off to the next table; luckily it held. The Creme Brulee  which came highly recommended was runny and ok. but luckily Hubby Dear enjoyed his tomato based fettucine .  I could see what really won his taste buds were the double fried crisp fries with a yummy Cajun Mayo sauce to dip into.

    Over all I’d say the dining experience was ok. The ambiance was  great and the place lively with a happy and happening buzz. But considering how tense I get recommending a place and wondering whether or not it will live up to expectations, I’d rather go to the club. As Hubby dear says Good or bad it is consistent and you don’t get much of a surprise.

    A meal for the two of us with absolutely no alcohol or soda ( just a bottle of  bottled water) a veg salad, a veg main dish, a non veg main dish, a serving of fries and a dessert set us back all of Rs. 1800. Would you say this is worth it? Check out for yourself.

    As for me, I am waiting for Anna Shetty to return next month so that we can go to this place ourselves to check it out once more and give Cafe Zoe the final verdict.

  • Ferarri ki Sawari

    With morning shows at PVR now increasing their prices to Rs. 120, we have become even more careful about seeing movies than ever before. So it was strange how “Ferrari ki Sawari” slipped past our stringent criteria. And t make matters worse we saw it as a regular afternoon show which meant that the we forked out Rs. 175 a piece for a movie that was hardly worth it. 

    Typically a comedy is one that should make you laugh but at times the story line is so thin , the characters so hackneyed and the dialogue so predictable that the laughter is few and far between. The story revolves around Rusi the dumb looking Parsi Assistant RTO at the Worli Office (the last time a Parsi worked in a Government office at this low level was when His Majesty the King was ruling our country), his typically irascible father and  Kayo the cute cricket mad son. To this group add the crude Marathi Municipal corporator and his family, the pushy Punjabi wedding planner, some Mumbai cops , an  inept servant and watchman, a flashy red Ferrari and a harebrained plot. Shades of Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s harrum scarrum story line make his  latest film somewhat watchable but I would largely give it a miss.
    Sharman’s inane grin does nothing, Boman’s twitches are all too predictable, Vidya’s item number can easily be zapped out and the Ferrari moving through the sky is down right idiotic.
    If you are expecting a laugh a minute riot – forget it. If you are expecting a tear jerker – forget it. If you are expecting an unforgettable movie – forget it.

  • The Bitch is Back

    I don’t know why I woke up around four this morning with these words playing in my mind.

    There are many songs that play in my head which remind of days gone by. And sometimes when I hear the songs on the radio, I can actually feel I can reach out and touch them. Some songs make me incredibly sad like Lobo’s ” Me and you and a dog named blue” or the Beatles’ soulful ” Yesterday”. I feel incredibly happy when I hear Cliff Richards’ ” Congratulations ” a song which invariably used to play on Radio Ceylon’s afternoon show especially on days when I came home with my report card.

    Even though they may sound peurile, I find the songs of Abba unbelievably heart lifting. I love “Mama Mia,” “Nina” and those other songs. Similarly I feel happy when I hear “I’m leaving on a Jet Plane”. Simon & Garfunkel’s “Sounds of Silence” reminds me of the time I had tea with Ms. Eapen in her verandah by the sea. I was shocked that a school teacher could have such modern taste in music. I could go on and on with the moods various songs evoke – some which leave me close to tears while others that have me grinning from ear to ear. All songs have some association and I love listening to them chosen randomly by the RJ on the radio rather than putting on a CD myself.

    So I wonder why this song was playing in my head…………..all day long. 

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