‘Let’s order fish fingers.’
‘No.’
‘Let’s order fish fingers.’
‘But fish fingers are so dry. There’s hardly any fish in fish fingers. Just a thick, oily, bread crumb coating.’
‘Are you ready with your orders sir?’
‘Galauti kebab, dahi kebab, guacamole and cream cheese in fried potato skin.’
‘And a plate of fish fingers.’
I rolled my eyes up incredulously.
Then the fish fingers arrived. Plump and juicy rawas (Indian salmon), perfectly seasoned, coated in a thin breadcrumb coating. Fish was the hero ingredient of the fish fingers that we had at @gallopsmumbai last Sunday. It sounds obvious, what’s so special, you ask? Well, let me tell you that it is never so in my experience.
I thought of how I tried to dissuade our friend from ordering them. I was happy to eat the humble pie, the work of art-like fish fingers in this case.
The galauti was all about perfection. The texture was galawat (melted), spices balanced and they were served on baby shirmal. We didn’t know what to expect with the potato skins, but they were nice and crunchy, the filling was a cheerful blend of cream and tart. The salli (potato sticks) on top added to the fun. The dahi kebab was a bit too khoya mithai-like for my taste.
We were full after the starters but got tempted and ordered a prawn Thermidor. We were presented with pot of piping hot creamy sauce with large juicy prawns and sliced boiled eggs inside. K & I used to order and share it when we would save up enough to go to Gallops for dates before we got married. You could say that the Thermidor was part of the foundation on which our relation was built. It tasted just as full of love this time as it did two decades past. Plus there were no camera phones to capture things then. You could just look into each other’s eyes and not phone screens then. Which might not have been a bad thing!
You might find my page boring as I often repeat restaurants here. That’s because we have our favourite restaurants and keep going back to them. What draws us to these places?
The food. It should be the sort of food you would want to eat again & again. Service & comfort (we were in the cabana) follow. What works for you?