JW Café-JW Mariott Sahar, Mumbai : Parsi Food Fest with the Bawi Bride

Two things attracted my attention when I looked at the invite – (A) It was another Parsi Food Festival at another five star property in Mumbai and (B) It was being hosted by one of the members of the Indian Food Freak family.

Showcasing regional cuisines at the multi cuisine specialty restaurants of five star hotels is an increasing trend in Mumbai and JW Sahar is one of the latest entrants to this fad.  Coming right around the time for the Parsi New Year, JW Sahar has roped in the very talented Perzen Patel, who also happens to be part of the IFF family, to be the Guest Chef for this week.

The Bawi Bride, as she is popularly known, started her food journey as a passion that has now converted into a full-fledged vocation. Of the several times that I have tried her food, it has improved progressively,  but working in a fully operational professional kitchen is quite a task and I was keen to check it out myself, so I decided to pay her a visit on Sunday.

The glossy and elegant interiors of the newly opened JW Sahar are quite impressive, similarly the décor within the JW Café looks  elegant as well. The section of Parsi food had some Raspberry & Ginger Sodas along with several candies in jars giving it an Irani Café from South Mumbai kind of a feel.

Just as a good Parsi would not waste any time in front of good food, I too jumped into my tasting session starting off with Chicken Farchas and Shirinbhai´s Egg and Cheese Cutlets.  The big chunky chicken drumstick was coated with a light, crunchy and flavorsome coating where the chicken was well cooked to the bone. The cutlets were a bit dense but a decent starter nevertheless. What I loved about the two was that despite being deep fried, they did not feel too oily and the marinade had seeped well into the chicken.

For mains I tried the Bawi Sasu´s Kaju chicken, Masoor Pav, Patrani Macchi along with Shehenshahi Kheema Pulao and some kachumbar.  My Parsi friends would have been so proud to see my plate. The Kaju Chicken and Patrani Macchi were the stars for me as the chicken in the very light and simple kaju gravy was tender and juicy and the gravy light and intensely flavorsome. The Patrani Macchi where the Chef had used Pomfret was another flavoursome dish where the fish was steamed to perfection in a delectable green marinade. The Kheema pulao looked like berry pulao and was quite good but somehow I kept drawing comparisons with the berry pulao. The only dish which I found to be on a blander side was the Masoor pav.

The Parsi staple Caramel Custard was an apt choice for dessert with its creamy textures and balanced sweetness and an overload of caramel which I love.

Perzen is also going to serve a complete sit down Parsi Wedding feast on the 18^th which is limited to only 25 diners where an 8 course meal will be served in typical Parsi way on banana leaves. This chef’s table special can be availed for only Rs.1500 tax inclusive.

Though there were many other cuisines at the buffet, I was quite happy and satiated with what I tried at the Parsi section and complemented it with some desserts from the sweet counter (yes I have a massive sweet tooth)!

It’s a pity that the Parsi special lasts only till the 18^th of this month. I would surely like to see some of the typical Parsi dishes as staple fixtures at multi cuisine Indian restaurants. I hope someone reads my request and complies with it. Till then, get your fix of some delicious Parsi Bhonus and head to the nearest Parsi food festival in town. I chose this one, hope you do too!

Meal for Two without Alcohol: Rs. 3,110 plus taxes| Alcohol: Yes | Credit Card: Yes| Wheelchair access : Yes

Address: Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, IA Project Rd, Andheri East, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400099

Telephone : 022 2853 8888

Disclaimer : This review was done on an invitation from the restaurant. Due judgment and care has been applied by the author to remain objective and unbiased in the review; however readers may exercise their own discretion.