Strange Brew - Beer tasting in Mumbai

There's a warning next to the lift, stating that the Sargent House is not responsible if bad things happen to those who travel in the lift, owing to its age. That's not a particularly heartening note on which to start drinking beer, and it made me wonder whether I might plummet to my doom or worse still, if the lift was a gateway to a secret hell, and that I'd get trapped in a Japanese horror flick. I scattered these thoughts aside as I entered Alex's flat, or rather, technically Dom Moraes' flat, which is still occupied by Leela Naidu and which has been let out to Alex and his girlfriend. Leela's proximity ensures that we didn't get to hear the story about Dom and the cigarettes, which one of our motley crew of beer tasters was about to tell us.

We began with the Hoegaarden (who-gar-den), a iconic Belgian White beer,made from a mixture of unmalted wheat and malted barley (Beer Demystified - for those wishing to dive deeper into beer).



Hoegaarden is served in a hexagonal glass, with rumour having it that it's shaped thus as it requires a spanner to prise the glass away from the addict's hand. The mystery ingredient in the beer is dried orange peel and coriander, which gives it a distinct citrusy note and a taste like nothing else. Hoegaarden is what is known as a bottle conditioned beer and undergoes a secondary fermentation in the bottle. Alex was quite confident that it would go very well with Indian food, I don't mind trying that, nor munching on a slice of orange while drinking my beer.

Alex's living room is a strange mixture of poetry and beer. The life of WH Auden mingles with Micro Brewing Technology. 6 packs of half opened never heard of beers are scattered around the room. There's even one called Flying Dog Ale, with a picture of a rabid dog on the carton and a Hunter S. Thompson quote -"good people drink good beer". I'm sure.

Alex and his girlfriend Molly are probably poster children for the great India story which we all hear, but which also seems to have attracted a lot of talented expats to our shores also. Molly is an American of German-Irish descent, who now teaches English essay writing skills to students in Japan from Navi Mumbai. She was back early, and had escaped peak traffic, and was rewarding herself with a pint of Hoegaarden, her favourite beer, which she was now delighted to see, was available in India. Alex is a little stranger. He's a Political Science graduate from UCLA and a Fulbright Scholar with a research scholarship devoted to developing markets in India. Alex followed up his interest in beer with a spate of professional qualifications in the field including a diploma in brewing technology.

We moved on to another Belgian beer, the Leffe Blond, a murky or dumb blonde! beer as Alex put it. Leffe has also been just introduced in India, and is a perfectly quaffable beer, with a distinct taste and a 800 year old heritage from the time it was first brewed in the Leffe Abbey.
Its distinct taste, combined with a 6.6% ABV will probably help win it a lot of friends in India.


We moved on from the Leffe to a beer inspired by a cycle trip through Belgium by Jeff Lebesch. He came back with some interesting recipes, which he worked on with a home brewing kit which he then grew into New Belgium Brewing Company, making some fine Belgian style ales, including what we were just drinking, the Fat Tire Amber Ale. Fortunately, Fat Tire, tasted better than it smelt (manure!), with the smell leading us to believe that Jeff had missed some crucial parts of the recipe! Somehow I don't think Fat Tire's going to go down well in India.



We had as company @ the table, Brent from the American Consulate, who introduced the next beer we were about to drink, as it was from his home state of Oregon, and named after the famous Rogue River, which flows through it (remember the movie, the River Wild?, it was filmed on the Rogue).


The first of the Rogue River Ales we turned our lips to was the Hazelnut Brown nectar, which as one of our crew pointed out tasted like bread crumbs which had been left in the bottom of the toaster for too long.

The next beer we drank was even more distinctive, a Porter, (a style of stout beer, named after porters in London who were the biggest consumers!) from Meantime Brewing Company in America.


What was amazing about all the beers which we had drunk (and were about to), was the vivid aromas and tastes, which conjured up a world millions of miles away from the everyday lagers we drink in India. The Meantime Porter smelt more like Coffee than most Starbucks stores I've entered, and backed it up with a coffee taste also! To add to its curiousity value was the wire cork enclosure for the bottle. The Meantime was quickly followed with a Chocolate Stout from Rogue Ales, which we accompanied with a couple of cubes of nutty chocolate, and it's a great pairing, if you ever get your hands on the Chocolate Stout, which was another winner for me, with a chocolatey aroma and taste.



We ended the tasting, with what was one of my favourites of the evening (along with the Porter and the Chocolate Stout and the Leffe and...), the Framboise, a raspberry flavoured beer, which tasted like alcoholic raspberry cream soda, and which had a genuine to god, champagne cork (and a champagne bottle). Molly served up generous slices of chocolate cake from Colaba;s Theobroma bakery, and we munched and quaffed, as we toasted the end of what had been a memorable evening. Now all that was left, was the cigarette story, but perhaps we'll leave that for another day (and beer!)

Tulleeho!

Vikram Achanta

Drinking in Darjeeling

Yangdup's wedding drew us to Gayabari, just south of Kurseong, and a 2 hour hop from Darjeeling. Having never been, we had to tick Darjeeling off our list, and especially the "drinking in" part. Darjeeling on arrival seemed no different than any other Indian hill station of its ilk, or perhaps since the only part we saw was the crowded mall area, our perception may have been biased. Once you've taken a photo in front of the world's highest railway station (Ghoom @ 8000 feet) and taken in the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, it's museum and the Wildlife Sanctuary, there's not much more which appears doable in Darjeeling, which is no doubt why people drink so much rum in the hills. When in Rome!

There appear to be quite a few bar options in Darjeeling, from the seedy to the tourist friendly. Having whetted our initial appetite with a steaming bowl of Thukpa, and having dutifully shopped for curios for kith and kin (the Newar family doll set, purchased for daughter, now languishes in a drawer), we ploughed on to Glenary's, one of the landmarks of the Mall road, and a veritable tourist ghetto. It's a shame that you can't have a drink on the ground floor, with its amazing now you see them, now you don't view of the Himalayas. The live music @ Buzz, which is the pub downstairs @ Glenary was only slated to come on at 7 pm, and we had to be back at Yangdup's to witness some more riotous singing and dancing, so we sated ourselves with a slice of apple pie and a Coffee.

A Guinness Stretch Rugby figure and assorted Guinness and Murphy's collateral were the last things we expected to find in Joey's Pub as was the bottle of Munro's King of King's Scotch whisky, which now doubled up as an ugly lamp shade.





If you want the local flavour in Darj, then drop in to Joey's, sit at the bar, and chat with Sans, the manager, who stands in for Puran Gongba, the owner, affectionately known as Joey by guests. Old Monk and Coke hit the spot, although the plate of sausages going to a table looked good, we abstained with thoughts of impending dinner on our mind. Joey's is situated right opposite the Big Bazaar and from the outside gives the appearance of Ye Olde English Tea Tavern. Visit, you won't be disappointed.



Tulleeho!

Vikram Achanta

The Tulleeho Picnic

It all started with a case of Corona and Heineken each...

The question was how to consume it (well not too difficult I say!) in a pleasurable way, and what better way than a picnic with an al fresco setting! And thus some industrious employees of our company came to the conclusion of a “tulleeho day out”….

And the buzz was on : for 2 days, we had about 7 round table conferences….inside office and in our park-view smoking gallery!

The arrangement of venue was put on me, the menu (food and beverages) was taken care of by Aneesh ( pssst..one of the above-mentioned industrious employees) . We made the list of people and confirmed their availability in less than 5 minutes (strange thing…as the same people buy time for any confirmation regarding serious office work…which is rarely)

Gopiji (Our office chef/ events supervisor/ garnish coordinator/SPG (smiling person greeter in TGIF terminology!)) was on hand so the food equipment was not a worry (Although me and Aneesh had the brilliant idea of cooking ourselves, which was shelved without any further discussions!)

Now, the other part was entertainment…and therefore our programmer/Mr FTP –Shouvik, and our Accountant /travel agent/ ATM machine Rakesh, went off to Munirka, to purchase Cricket accessories.....and yes, music “THE” biggest concern of Aneesh, was finally resolved by Mr Yangdup Lama, ( celeb bartender, he likes to call himself), who promised us his precious Sony will accompany us….and the CDs and tapes were of course, the only creative contribution our CEO was specified…well he was out of station, when everything was schemed. In fact he was the last one to know about the ‘trip”!

Day of the trip:

We left office at quarter past 10….and reached our destination at 12.30! Ask CEO why and he will give you some gyan on the importance of pre planning, xl sheets, and maps!

Well, I did not take directions in advance…..and therefore we ended up spending an extra thirsty hour on the road…ask our London based greek flair bartender Illi, and he will give you a graphic description of the trucks on the road, and how they were all out to kill him! In fact he compared it to Lebanon, where the civil war is on! (which I felt was a bit unfair, since civilians are well protected there!)

We pitched, set up the bar, and started our game in 10 minutes flat! I was amazed at the tempo at which everyone got to their own business. Broadly categorized as:

1-The workers (Ashutosh, Gopiji, Nischal, Lama, Sanjay)

2-The players (Rakesh, Shouvik, Suprio, Pranav)

3-The Drinkers ( Vikram , a.k.a. CEO, Minakshi)

4-The Flair bartender (Illias)

After numerous games of cricket, badminton, and TT ( on a wooden table) and countless Coronas, Heinekens, Fosters, Spanish rose wine, ( lots of it was saved because Aneesh joined us late!), momos ( courtesy celeb bartender) it was time for Lunch…and yes by consensus it was by far the best Biryani we all had ever had! Long live Gopiji.

Post which we also added some sparkle to the occasion with a Formula One style opening of the sparkling wine..and another game of cricket…alas, which my team lost after winning the toss , batting first and frauding 3 runs! (Our team secret). In fact we ( Suprio gave some dada tips) tutored Illi on cricket quite successfully, though I bet he still can’t tell where to throw the ball when he has fielded it!


Post a photo session, chai and some interesting dance with the dogs ( Shouvik) we were ready to head back…though am sure, most of us were wondering how the day passed so soon! Infact quoting Illi, “it was the best day in his life”! ( naah…best day in India, so far…considering he has only been here 3 days..)

To sum it up, it did turn out to be a memorable day for all of us, not because most of the ‘players’ have body ache, but because it was a well spent day and very close to our brand essence…. That is, Tulleeho!

Minakshi

Drinking in Colombo

We had a thirsty flight over from Chennai as IC has stopped serving alcoholic beverages! My colleague who came over from Bangalore on Jet had a better time as he at least got a beer. We landed in Colombo and made amends for Indian Airlines' lapses by tarrying @ Orient Lanka's brilliant duty free, where Lama picked up a bottle of Woodford Reserve and we picked up some cans of Boddingtons Bitters and Tetley's Bitter (official beer of the English rugby team) for later consumption in our hotel.

Reach hotel, freshen up and off to Odel, where the Elephant House Dawg station enticed us into buying a hot dog and a can of Elephant House Ginger Beer. Odel's prices were daunting to begin with, but a short stint @ Labels, the Wine Bar, soon settled that. Dhanushkar the friendly bartender @ Labels served us a couple of the recently launched Duvel beer (a top fermented ale from Belgium @ 8.5% alcohol and served in an eye catching Duvel glass). Without doubt, one of the best beers I’ve tasted. Duvel is the Flemish word for devil.

Lama & Vikram try saying Saudia Puram

Dhanushkar, also told us that the Sinhalese word for Cheers (or rather Tulleeho!) was Saudia Puram - hope that means what he says it means or we're in for a rude shock in front of 35 bartenders the next day when we say Saudia Puram - for all we know we may be insulting their forefathers! For that’s what we’re here for, no, not to insult their forefathers, but to train 200 bartenders in 5 workshops in Colombo and Negombo on behalf of Smirnoff and Orient Lanka.

Anyway I don’t know what Paco Underhill would say, but a glass of Duvel is definitely an inhibition buster when it comes to shopping and I would recommend that all shopping malls have a bar in the middle to lower inhibitions. Now that's what they mean by best practices. Forgive the break in theme, but I have to remark upon the pretentiousness of one of the product displays in Odel, which had the following sign - "This display unit was produced using wood from a fallen tree"

On from Odel to a drive through Colombo on a Sunday evening. The streets were comparatively deserted and boring, with roadblocks sprouting every 500 metres. There’s something unnerving about the site of seeing sandbags with machine gun sprouting soldiers behind them. Our nerves being what they were, we had no choice, but to duck into the Cricket Club, which is the go to place for Cricket teams when they're touring Lanka - filled with memorabilia and a menu with Cricketers names - we ordered some of the local Lions lager and Lions Stout - which was really excellent! I think one of the hallmarks of a civilized country is their ability to make good beer as also ensure that a wide variety of beer is imported. On those counts Sri Lanka, is easily in my list of top 5 countries. Alpha Orient the operator of the duty free has tied up with India’s The Future group (the company formerly known as Pantaloon) and has got the contract for duty free @ Delhi airport. Cross those fingers!

What really caught the eye @ the Cricket Club, however were the brilliant Carlsberg ash trays, made out of stainless steel and with the Carlsberg C, with the word "Probably" under it. Subtle. I was inspired to flick the ashtray as I remembered one of my office colleagues’ tales of the ashtrays she had flicked. Minakshi and her friends were such a menace to bars, that whenever they entered a bar, the ashtrays were all promptly withdrawn. Some countries have gone as far to ban smoking in pubs! Anyway I egged on my colleague, Biswanath, who sneaked the ashtray into a plastic bag and we zoomed off.


The gleaming ashtray that now graces the Tulleeho smoking gallery

Our next stop was a popular tourist haunt called, Beach wadiya, apparently a favourite haunt of Ravi Shastri and Sunil Gavaskar. You have to cross a set of decrepit railway tracks to reach Beach wadiya, which as the name suggests is on the beach. The waiter promptly landed up and plonked a plate on our table, which had a fish, a crab and a couple of prawns as garnish. We were perplexed as we were wondering whether we had to cook the fish ourselves or eat it raw washed down with arrack. The waiter set our doubts to rest and told us that we could have the fish, anyway we liked it, with greens and rice on the side. We promptly ordered one of each and a bottle of 3 Coins lager (again a local beer) on the side. The food was excellent. We had a hard time convincing Biswanath not to whack the large Heineken clock though, which was above a door, which had a sign on it stating that the Tsunami had reached this level in 2004!

Everybody here apparently drinks "gul", which is the local arrack. There's no pretense here and the bartenders we quizzed the next morning on their favourite drink, prior to the commencement of the training, don't pretend to have been weaned on Single Malts or wine, but uniformly admitted to the fact that arrack was it.

We shared a couple of cans of Tetley in the room before heading off for dinner @ Spice Island @ the Hilton, where we were guests of Chris Doyle, the Business development manager @ the Hilton and his wife Sharmila. We decided to start with a Watermelon martini and a Margarita, which were both disappointing and were glad that we had tanked up with Tetley. We then moved on to the locally brewed Carslberg, which hit the spot with some fiery and excellent Thai food. Carlsberg is apparently setting up shop here in India and we certainly hope that along with the beer they also bring the ashtrays!

We were invited to a Glenfiddich and Balvenie tasting @ the Hilton, the next day, which we had to regrettably decline, as we had shopping to do. There would be blood spilt @ home if we returned without the amazing selection of clothes Sri Lanka has to offer at prices which seemed ridiculous to us. There are not that many countries where the Indian rupee weighs supreme!

26th November is Prabhakaran's birthday so there’s a high alert that week in Colombo, and on the short walk over from our hotel to the Hilton, Biswanath, was snapping away pictures, which caught the eye of the patrol on the traffic island who questioned him for 10 minutes and then made him erase all the pictures in his camera.

Sri Lanka bartenders are a happy lot and we had an enjoyable 3 days of training with them. People on the whole here are far more chilled out, with no apparent agendas or attitude. If you can strike the right note, it’s easy here to build a relationship and do business. Our next stop after a hard day’s training (and shopping) was Inn on the Green, adjacent to the famous Galle Face Hotel and opposite the German restaurant. A cheery pub, with rows of beams running through the top all plastered with currency notes from different countries.


We wondered whether these were tips gathered from guests, which had been stuck up there. We had to restrain Biswanath again, as we knew that the consequences of whacking a bartender’s tips would be grimmer! Anyway, we succumbed to the temptation of a tall can of Guinness and followed it up with a pint of 3 coins lager.

Lama, Biswanath and Chanty hard at work

The chap on the bar stool next to ours was polishing off what looked like a whisky and soda with a plate of French fries. Hearing a familiar language he quizzed on what brought us to India. Neeraj (I shall call him that as I’ve forgotten his name), was an exporter of fabric and this was his 2^nd visit. To bring some life to his profession, he also boasted that he also exported bra cups. Weaned as we were on drinking phrases, this threw a completely new spin on the once innocent drinking phrase, “in the cups”.

We drank in moderation as we were pub hopping and were slated to visit Cheers, the popular pub @ the Cinnamon Grand Hotel. Pradeep, the vastly experienced bartender there, challenged us to name the cocktail. Impressed, we ordered a Manhattan and a Black Russian, which were both excellent, although it does take a really bad bartender to screw up a Black Russian. The Manhattan though was very good, and made with Canadian Club, as the original recipe demands.

We were going to top off the evening with a traditional Sri Lankan meal @ Raja Bhojun, and the buffet there demanded that we each finally ordered, the local brew, Arrack, which we did with a bottle of soda, and very nice it was. Disgusted as we often are with the inability of the Indian manufacturers of local spirits to refine their produce, arrack came as a welcome surprise, and I had no hesitation in spending a part of my duty free allowance on a bottle of Double Distilled arrack, which shall be opened @ the next Tulleeho party. Also in my shopping basket, were loads of beer, Stella, 3 Coins “all malt lager” and Boddingtons draught bitter!

Tulleeho! or as they say here, Saudiapuram!

Tulleeho Traveller Vol. 1 - Gangtok

Day 1

It's a half an hour chopper ride from Bagdogra to Gangtok, and accompanying us on the flight was the MD of the Sikkim Tourism Development Corporation, L B Chettri who was most dashing in his YSL jacket and his Ray Ban's. He told us that Chaang (the local Sikkimese spirit), was easily available and we should contact the travel desk at our hotel for assistance. For those of you who are Bollywood fans it may come as a surprise to know that Danny Denzongpa, the former bad boy of Hindi movies runs Yuksom Breweries at Malli, which produces two variants of Dansberg beer, one the normal one and the other a premium lager, distinguished by it's blue label ("made from Sikkim spring water, finest malt and imported hops") as well as Hit and the uniquely named He Man 900, both strong beers. It's a good choice of beer and goes down well accompanied by platefuls of steamed momos.

For such a small state, Sikkim has an amazing variety of alcohol and the Teesta White rum, looks like it's giving Bacardi a run for it's money. It was out of stock at the Hotel Tibet, so I ordered the Sikkimese special Whisky, which went down rather well with soda, and which was accompanied by Phing Sha rice (steamed rice, topped wiith 3 kaju's, with a steaming broth of chicken, shitake mushroms and potatos) on the side. Rather bland and I'm going to try the Special Gyathuk next time (noodle soup), but definitely not the Chetse Detse (Boiled noodle topped with Tofu). My brother was downing bottles of Hit ('aapko fit kar denga said the waiter!"). There was a cop at the table next to us, with 2 girls, more interested in their Razr's than the cop, or maybe that part was yet to come. Unfortunately there was no Cherry Brandy at the Hotel Tibet. Patience. 4 days to go and Cafe Tibet on main MG Marg with a fetching advertisement of good food, good beer and good music seemed like a "go-to" place.

Day 2

Out for a stroll the next morning, it was refreshing to see liquor shops open at 7 am (7 am - 8 pm). I resisted the temptation and picked up a packet of doughnuts from a surprised shopkeeper who was shocked to find out that I knew what they were and that people ate doughnuts in Delhi.

Raj, the manager @ The Oriental where we are staying was quizzed on Chaang. He was off to his native Kalimpong the next day and promised to get us back some home brewed Chaang, as he said the local one didn't pass muster. His sister made Chaang at home every day for his father to drink. If your'e a drinking man, you can drink 2 Thumbha's (the cylindrical wooden mug used to drink Chaang), if not, 1 would do you just fine. It's drunk through a straw called the Pipsing. Raj also promised to bring us back the "marcha", which from what we gathered, was the yeasty substance used to ferment the predominantly millets based brew which was what Chaang was. We also put in an order for 2 Thumbha's and 2 Pipsing's to take back to Delhi. Wouldn't be a bad idea to start a Tulleeho musuem of Indian spirits, considering the little which is known about this subject. We inquired in the local market about Thumbha purchases and were told that they were available in the price range from Rs. 100/- for the plain vanilla ones to Rs. 5,000/- for fancy ones made from silver, etc. I picked up 2 Thumbha's and 6 pipsings from Lal market.



For dinner, we tried some Newari cuisine @ The Square. Chicken Shevka (Grilled chicken in mustard oil) and a Sikkimese style Thai Red Curry. The Dansberg Blue made it all palatable. Lining the walls of the bar were the range of the Johnnie Walker collection from Red to Blue. We were suitably impressed and made enquiries about the price, to be told that the owner had just brought them in today and the price hadn't been set yet. Too bad, we could have done with some Glenfiddich.

Day 3



Out for my morning stroll, I picked up 3 bottles of Cherry Brandy for the folks back in office and a bottle of Pan Liqueur for me. I was also amazed to see a bottle of Southern Comfort in the shop window and picked up the same also. SoCo as it is popularly known was launched by Brown Forman in India in 1997 as 2 bastardised variants of the original - Amber and another whose name escapes me. They tried to position it as a whisky and it bombed. One of the finest whisky liqueurs in the world and one of the only beverages to be invented by a bartender (the legendary MW Heron @ Mcauley's bar in New Orleans), it didn't deserve this fate. I picked up the Amber variant @ Rs. 300/-.

Raj and his wife were both Cookery students from the Food Crafts Institute up at Darjeeling and he ran on the side a small homely restaurant on Tibet Road, called Tibet Kitchen. We were to go there for dinner and Chaang and duly wound our way up the steep slope. Hotel California was blaring out of the stereo, as 2 Thumbhas of Chaang were placed on our table. The mugs were brimming over with the millets and a few grains of rice on top (signifying welcome). A steaming mug of hot water was poured in and we were advised to wait for 5 minutes, before we dipped our Pipsings in. The Pipsing is a long narrow bamboo straw, which apart from the hole at the end which gets dipped in, also had 4 slits around that end, all of which ensured that the millets didn't get into your drink. The best momos in Gangtok were served on our table and we sipped our first draught of Chaang. And how does it taste? The closest comparison I can give is that it tastes like a warm wine. It's nice and definitely leagues ahead of the only other native spirit I have had so far, feni. It's very like the German Gluhwein.



Pema Changyal, the wife of a local friend, told us that her mother in law gave her a lot of Chaang after the birth of her child. Not only was it supposed to have medicinal properties, but also was instrumental in making sure that the baby slept a lot. It certainly didn't seem to have any deleterious effects as the baby in question is now studying art and design @ Washington State University. There have been a few attempts to bottle Chaang which we believe failed. It is sometimes available, we were told from shops which sold country liquor. Far better option - speak to Raj @ Tibet Kitchen on Tibet Road.

Sated with momos, Chaang and Beef curry and rice, we walked back to our hotel. Next morning was going to be yet another try to get a glimpse of the elusive Kanchenjunga, which although theoretically visible from our room window, seemed determined to stay hidden by the clouds. Come on Kanchen, give it up.

Day 4

Off to Changu Lake, Baba Mandir and Nathu La. Nathu La @ 14,000 odd feet is the pass where the Indian and Chinese borders meet. Indian and Tibetan borders meet, if you want to be politically correct (or is it incorrect?). On the way up @ Kyongnosla, we had a cup of tea and a shot of cherry brandy. I thought the cherry brandy would calm my vertigo, but it did only momentarily. The taste reminded me of alcoholic cough syrup and I resolved to go back and exchange the cherry brand I bought for Pan liqueur. In 1962, when the Chinese invaded India, they came all the way to Kyongnosla, some 20 km odd from Gangtok and 30 km in from the border. The driver informed us that one of the regiments, stationed here, the Black Cat Eagles, do not have a nose in their logo, as the Chinese still occupy the Indian border post (the one we spotted just across the border). Fact or fiction, we don't know, but the Black Cat in the picture is indeed sans nose.

Karma Kele, husband of Pema, told us that in 1962, with the Chinese on their doorstep, Gangtok was blacked out, with all the windows covered with plastic. The richer citizens headed for their bunkers and drank Chaang as their servants kept supplying them with hot water. Nathu la Pass is the route the old silk route took and is scheduled to reopen for trade between India and China later this year. This was to be our last day in Gangtok as we drove back to Bagdogra the next day. We celebrated with a traditional Sikkimese repast at Hotel Netuk house. Bamboo shoot curry, Nettle soup, Pork curry, Chicken curry, rice all washed down with Dansberg Blue. A fitting end to a great trip. Back to sweltering Delhi now.

Watering Hole of the Month : Saltwater Grill

Location: On Marine Drive, right side next to the sea.

Budget for two: Rs 2500(includes food)

Open from: 1700 hrs to 0100 hrs

Waiting Scene: it’s the current hot spot in town, so reservation is called for, though the bar area is a free for all. There are 120 covers and there is still waiting, now what does that say about a place.

Music: Lounge

Owners: Riyaz Amlani, Varun Sahani, Kiran Salskar

Chef Viraf Patel & Naveen Kotyankar, Restaurant Manager

Tulleeho Besides the Fact that it’s next to the Bay, does the name SALT WATER GRLL have any other significance?

Chef Viraf: Proximity to the sea (salt water) did activate the nomenclature but also the facts that SALT and WATER are the two most essential ingredients in making food. The menu features a lot of grilled items and subject to availability we have a good variety of seafood to boast about (Norwegian Salmon, Australian mussels ...). The name is very intrinsic to what our place is all about.

Tulleeho What makes the Salt water Grill experience Unique?

Naveen: We have a very non-exaggerated menu. Expect precisely what is written on the menu. We have a daily special menu, which features the catch of the day.

It’s a chilled out natural ambience, in the open air overlooking the sea as well as the Queens necklace coupled with the soothing serenade of lounge music makes for the all round relaxing experience which is a rarity in our city. This all makes it a unique outing in Mumbai.

Tulleeho . What are the ‘Specials’ at SWG?

Naveen: The watermelon caipirojka is simply the best in Mumbai, not surpassing the Green Apple martini. We have the Plum infused vodka which is brilliant on the rocks and just as good is the Lemon Grass Vodka. Infusion of the plum and the lemongrass is done over 3 weeks and it is well worth the wait. Herb flavor vodkas, such as lavender and basil are must tries as well. Gewürztraminer (Californian) and chardonnay are the high selling wines from the list of 70 wines.

Tulleeho Ambience at SWG comprises of…

Naveen: Beauty in Simplicity is the key feature, Ambience is very natural, and there are sand sculptors, hammocks to lounge on, and straw umbrella shades, a small boat converted into a sofa!!! And all of it overlooking the beautiful Bay of Mumbai.

Tulleeho What’s the trend change in Mumbai where food and beverage is concerned? Are the ‘Burbians’ easy to convince in making the trip all the way to marine drive for a drink?

Naveen: Over the last six years Bombay people have realized that it is just as much prestigious to eat at stand-alone outlets as it is in 5 star hotels. People have become more open to trying out new foods and drinks. Wine culture has picked up. Eating and trying out cuisines has become an integral part of our lifestyle. In the bid to try and experiment with new cuisines, food styles, ambiance and experience consumers do not mind undertaking the journey from the suburbs town. Despite the fact that the majority of the clientele is from the town side, we have a fair share of people from the suburb.

Tulleeho. What makes SWG a wow experience for its patrons?

Naveen: We have happy hours all day, from opening to closing which does not really mean that we give the old ‘one free on one purchase’ but the fact that the experience no matter when you come in will be a happy one. A guest will always go home satisfied. Everything about us is wow.

Tulleeho What have you tried to inculcate in service team?

Naveen: It’s important that they provide pleasurable service to their customers and be comfortable while doing so; that they keep everything simple and yet are constantly attentive to guest needs. They have a sense of belonging to SWG and a feeling of pride in what they do and an understanding that there is a constant scope of improvement. We have told the guys to open all doors for the guest. Get into conversation with him, understand his needs and comply with demands. But suggest not what the guest wants to have but what he might want to have but just doesn’t know about it. Up sell doesn’t have to be selling something of higher value or pushing dead stock, up selling the experience rather than a single item is much more productive in both the long term and the short. It’s all about the attitude.

Tulleeho Open air, nice breeze: I loved it, but what do you do during the rainy season.

Naveen: Well making sure that the sea is visible from the lounges even when the total area is covered up was on the priority list right after keeping the area and people inside SWG dry during the torment of the rains. Therefore during the monsoons, tall poles are erected on the beach and plastic and straw sheds extend from the restaurant wall to the beach.

Worked wonders last year and we will rock this season as well. Like I said its wow all through. The rain will not dampen our experience.

Rolls Royce of Rose

Sogrape Vinhos is a large Portugese wine maker, who make amongst other wine, Mateus Rose, often referred to as the Rolls Royce of Rose. Tulleeho interviewed the Area Manager, Goncalo Sousa Machado, recently @ Tonino in New Delhi.

The Wine

Mateus Rose is a light, fresh, young and slightly fizzy wine. Its quality, extreme versatility and consistent style make it the ideal wine to accompany life's fine moments.

Tasting Notes

A rose with a very appealing and bright hue. On the whole, it is a fresh and seductive wine with a fine and intense bouquet and all the joviality of young wines.

Interview:

When did you enter the Indian market?

Goncalo - It’s almost been 20 yrs now, and we are present in 130 markets worldwide.

The consumption and popularity of wine is growing by leaps and bounds in India. Are you undertaking or planning any activities which are Consumer focused?

Goncalo - We are concentrating on brand and product awareness primarily. We are also looking at more visibility in on and off premise outlets.

Do you think it should be positioned as an Aperitif or paired with food? What food do you think it will go with?

Goncalo - It can be enjoyed as an aperitif, and goes great with Italian, Indian, as well as continental food. Seafood and barbeque items go very well with this particular wine.

Do you think this wine would be paired well with Indian food? Your suggestions...

Goncalo - Yes of course, it’s great with tandoori and most of the Indian cuisine.

Are you facing any challenges or issues in the Indian market?

Goncalo - The biggest challenge for us is to make the consumers aware of this brand. Worldwide we are a very established brand, and would like to see that happening in India as well, and I must assure you we are achieving that steadily with our work towards visibility drives and great on trade support.

What other market according you comes close to the Indian scenario? What is the best tactic applicable?

Goncalo - Japan, and to some extent Australia can be compared. In fact in the 1990's, Japan's scenario was very much like India's present status. And it has gone up by leaps and bounds from then on.

How much is it priced at?

Goncalo - In the retail it is priced at Rs 810 in Delhi.

Have you tasted any Indian Rose's? Your opinion ?

Goncalo - Yes, I have tried the Sula Rose, and it’s good, but very different from what we make. But we don’t consider them as competition.

What is your desert island drink?

Goncalo - The Mateus rose of course! And I am saying so not because I market it but, it will match with the fish that I catch and the fruits that I pick in the island!