Last Updated on March 11, 2018 by hungryoungwoman
If you may have noticed, we don’t visit a lot of Indian restaurants in Dubai. It’s only because the best is found at home! But, we make an exception this time as we are curious about the hype surrounding the fairly new Moombai and Co. located at The H Dubai.
The ambiance is what you’d call of a dhaba (street-side joint in North India); a polished version of that obviously. Bollywood songs, think 70’s-80’s, fill the area as we walk to our table which is al fresco. Our seating area bears a striking contrast to the inside and looks nothing like the clichéd indoors. There’s an auto-rickshaw placed inside the restaurant, probably for anyone who wants to escape the noisy crowd! Surprisingly, more of non-Indians at the place, which might be a good sign or not?
As much as I’m happy with our place, the seating arrangement proves a tough place for the servers to take notice of us.A good 15 minutes pass before our server brings us a menu. (I’ll ignore this due to the houseful show) The menu is a mix of popular Mumbai street food and Parsi favorites, and the quirkiness of it soon lights us up.
I order a Bhel Puri [AED 25], Pao Bhaji [AED 40], and a Parsi special Tareli Kolmi [a wee bit expensive at AED 65] for starters. The bhel is a little soggy and lacks the spicy punch that is found on the streets back home. However, the pao bhaji is finished instantly and we consider asking for seconds of the Tareli Kolmi (spicy fried prawns)
Our tikkas arrive next; a creamy and tender Murgh Malai Tikka [AED 70],Lasooni Macchi [AED 65]which is soft and flaky but I would have liked more of that roasted garlic kick it promised in the description, and the Hari Mirchi ka Jhinga [AED 85] are prawns that are a tad bit overcooked which makes them tough to cut through. I notice there isn’t a platter of tikkas as is usually the norm in desi restaurants.
The real test of an Indian restaurant is when you order their Butter Chicken. Typical, I know, but that’s what marks it for me. Succulent pieces of chicken in a creamy gravy is a good match with the garlic and cheese naan. A nice attempt at AED 90.
Albeit too full for dessert, we cannot resist the Baked Gulab Jamun [AED 45] which are bite-sized dumplings baked in a mini skillet with a rich rabdi. Thankfully, it’s light and we aren’t bursting at the seams.Full marks for this one.
With some hits and misses, Moombai and Co. doesn’t really impress but doesn’t disappoint either. It’s a case of ambiance over food here as we find it lacking in that flavor and spice level we would have preferred. Servers can be advised to ask guests about their preference before serving as that would be more apt.
If we’re going back: Tareli Kolmi won us completely and the Murgh Malai Tikka sealed the starters with a smile. These are a must-try!
How do you grade a restaurant? Based on guests being of the same ethnicity as the restaurant, or otherwise?
Until then, happy eating! xx
