Mumbai Food Bloggers Meet @Indian Harvest

In a nation obsessed with food and in a city obsessed with success, finding the right balance between the two is not easy.  Food has always been “social”. Like the British have the weather, Indians have food to talk about as an icebreaker.

Irrespective of the season or reason for the gathering, food often becomes a centerpoint of conversations. So it’s only natural how well Social Media complements the essence of food. Add to this, the burgeoning bloggers community in the city and you have an active reminder of how social sharing is impacting the business of food today.

I was the 2^nd Mumbai Food Bloggers Meet. In my hands was the menu exclusively designed for us (see photo) and in my mind was the thought “This is happening! We are here today because someone acknowledges the role of online communities in their Marketing Mix.” This excitement was greeted with an amuse bouche which has sparked off a new love for Indian Fusion cooking for me.  It was a Butter chakli topped with paneer bhurji and a light seasoning of spices, which will remain to be the highlight of the evening for me. 

Exclusive Menu designed for 2nd Mumbai Food Bloggers Meet

We were hosted by Meher & Satyen Dasondi of Indian harvest, who had started off this Indian Contemporary Dining experience by serving plated food. Sadly, it wasn’t well received by their local audience and they had to offer the conventional portions as well. For the bloggers, they served a tasting menu in the plated format and I promise you I could munch on that methi churan bhendi on my plate all day long. Palak Shorba spiked with Feni was a refreshing treat and indeed perfect for some soup shots! The Tomata Rasam came with miniature vade in them and some strong pungent flavors I adore.

The Parda Murg served next could well be a meal by itself and the most awaited Bhatkali Biryani came in last and completely lived up to our expectations. In between we drooled over Aalo Makhana Chettinad flavored with dagadphool, Black daal, a delicate paneer with pineapple and saffron cream, Ghost do pyaaza naarangi, but none of this could prepare us for the finale'...

A dessert they created in honor of the bloggers meet and dedicated it to Rushina, the sole strength behind organizing Mumbai Food Bloggers Meet. It was a rendition of honey noodles with ice cream, but in an unimaginable form of orange ginger honey coated thepla crisps served with a mouthful of phirni and a motichur laddu. It was an instant hit! None of what I describe here can possibly recreate the magic of those unique flavors. 

The evening ended with all of us picking up an Ice cream bon-bon from the ice bucket with dry ice and some (like me) went back home with a paradigm shift about Indian Fusion food. Here’s what some of my friends wrote about this dinner on their blogs:

The Sassy Fork

The Nonchalant Gourmand

Fond Of Food

Notes: Mumbai Food Bloggers Meet is put together by Rushina Munshaw Ghildiyal and hosted by different restaurants across the city every month. Our 1^st meet was held at 55 East, Grand Hyatt.

• If you are a food blogger from Mumbai and interested in being a part of this community, please join the Facebook group (Thanks Sunshinemom for creating this!)
• If you are a restaurant and excited by the idea of hosting food bloggers, please connect with Rushina. 

To make your reservation @Indian Harvest

Gate no.1,Acres Club,Hemu Kalani Marg.

Chembur

Mumbai

telephone:022-65169339; 022-65169338