Restaurant Review : Kobe Sizzlers, Hill Road

Kobe is a chain of restaurants - the original harbingers of sizzlers to the city. (An aside -isn't 'sizzler' an amazingly evocative name? A pity that its become a blind spot and just another name of a dish now. :( ) Though later entrants on the sizzler plate are supposed to be better than Kobe, the word 'sizzler' still brings to mind 'Kobe',like a Pavlovian response.

I have sampled the fare at several Kobe outlets across cities, but the other day it was the turn of the outlet on Bandra's Hill Road. I'd been to lunch with GP, a vegetarian friend with a strong 'stick-to-the-tried-and-tested' philosophy and she placed an order of Vegetable Shashlik and Orange Squash in a matter of moments (I knew what her order would be before we even opened the menu!) On the other hand, faced with so many choices (about 6-7 in chicken 2 in lamb, 4-5 in seafood and 6-7 in vegetarian) I hemmed and hawed and tried the patience of our waiter who admirably answered all my questions about the sauces on offer, the vegetables I could choose etc. :)

Kobe's is one of the few non-fine dining restaurants in Mumbai serving beef, and a plethora of options in that. But since I don't eat beef or mutton, I finally ordered the Sizzling Chicken with Pepper Sauce, swayed by memories of the delicious peppery sauce relished at Ovenfresh (at Dadar) years ago. And in a bid at being virtuous, I asked for mash to replace the french fries, to the approval of my companion. :D

The condiments on offer on every table - kethcup, mustard, Worcestershire and chilli sauces and salt-and-pepper)

Our sizzlers arrived in record time (20 minutes) wreathed in plumes of thick steam/smoke, which made visibility a problem. (Or not a problem, since I took advantage of the invisibility to blow the steam into GP's face till she realised my ploy when the steam started clearing :P) My sizzling chicken plate had a massive cloud of mash, a large-ish chicken steak and steamed veggies (carrots, cabbage, spinach, peas and french beans), all ladled over with a dark brown pepper sauce. Thankfully, my noble intentions of cutting back on the grease were fulfilled as the mash was purely that - boiled potato - and not the usual cream-and-butter-laden indulgence.

My behemoth of a sizzler

While everything was good - crispy, just-cooked vegetables, comfortingly soft mash, well-done chicken - the sauce was nowhere close to the one I remembered from Ovenfresh and was unconsciously expecting. This one was good too - just a tad too salty - but my palate is attuned to a sweet-and-spicy taste and this sauce was simply salty-and-spicy. On the other hand, GP's Shashlik sizzler had a yummy sweet-spicy sauce (how alliterative!) which had me dipping my fork into her plate all too often. :D

GP's Orange Squash and Veg Shashlik- don't miss the pineapple on the top!

While I polished off my sizzler (to reveal a Kobe-branded sizzler plate underneath - nice attention to detail!) GP struggled to finish her's (she loyally said that her sizzler being a carb-overload thanks to the mound of rice AND fries,made it tough for her to finish it and no, it wasn't that my appetite is Goliath-ish. :P ) Obviously when the last 10 minutes of your meal are spent watching your pal finish her's, there is no room (literally and figuratively!) for dessert. Thanks GP, for keeping my dietary resolutions intact! :D

On the whole, Kobe's offered a good dining experience - my failure to love my sizzler was born out of my over-expectations and not a serious shortcoming in Kobe's execution. The price mark is reasonable given that sizzlers, as a dish are expensive (Average price is INR 330) And the comfortable seating, lack of noisy crowds (as would be there at the nearby Elco restaurant) and pleasant interiors made it a good place to earmark for a leisurely lunch with friends.