19 September,2017 09:23 AM IST | Mumbai | Snigdha Hasan
A new Sobo health food joint offering meals in bowls, DIY salads, wraps and smoothies - topped with flaxseeds - promises to set you on the path to fitness
So Thai Bowl
A card with the message, 'You've started a new journey of right eating, healthy living and a nutritional lifestyle!' congratulates us as we unpack neatly stacked boxes of our order from Flax, the latest addition to the city's health food scene. We know the owners take the name seriously when we flip the card and get a fact sheet on why flaxseeds are being touted as the new superfood. That's not all. Each dish comes topped with a generous sprinkling of the seeds.
Greek Bowl
Housed in a Breach Candy gym, Flax is the brainchild of Bunty Arora, who is behind popular SoBo nightspots Doppio and Tryst. The menu has been curated by nutritionist Snehal Nanivadekar. What we find useful is that the nutritional USP of each dish is highlighted with descriptors like Low Cal and Vitamin E; Essential fatty acids; and High fibre and Vitamin C.
DIY Salad
DIY health
From the array of bases, toppings, proteins and dressings on offer for the DIY Salad, it's possible to create almost any blend you can think of. But here's the catch. If you don't weigh your options carefully, you might end up placing a pricey order. For '180, you can choose up to three bases from the greens and essentials sections, and one dressing. For another Rs 30, you can choose one raw topping of veggies like cucumber, radish and carrot fettuccine (throw in another '80 for the exotic avocado or edamame). Add your protein (veg options for Rs 80 and non-veg varieties between Rs 75 and Rs 175), and to go the whole hog, opt for extras like sunflower seeds, dates, capers, and even spirulina, a dietary supplement.
Bro Don't Be So Mush. Pics/ Nimesh Dave
Our customised version comprises Udon noodles, arugula, red cabbage, avocado, roasted sweet potato and beetroot, steamed sweetcorn, grilled cottage cheese, raw mango, goji berries, hazelnuts and basil pesto dressing. It comes up to a total of Rs 535. The ingredients work well together, with the pesto dressing making for a delicious glue. The goji berries lend a pleasant sweet-sour touch. The quantity is good enough for a hearty lunch.
We also order the Power Booster (Rs 325 for large; Rs 225 for small) from their set Signature Salads menu. While we have nothing to pick on about the grilled chicken, quinoa, baby spinach, cranberries, feta, mustard dressing concoction, it pales before the DIY extravaganza.
Wonder bowls
The Greek Bowl (Rs 325) is polished off in no time. The chicken souvlaki and fish pâté add delicious meaty flavours to the meal, and when we enquire, we are surprised by their choice of the bhetki, a variety rarely used in sea fish-loving Mumbai. The barley base, baba ganoush and lemon olive oil complement the proteins.
The So Thai Bowl (Rs 195) ingredients are not too different from the other Thai bowls we have tried, but the addition of red rice is a welcome, fibrous change. We try not to judge the Bro Don't Be So Mush Sandwich (Rs 175) by its cheeky name, and we are not disappointed. A mushroom lover's delight, the generous stuffing of broccoli, caramelised onions and tomatoes comes packed between two warm, super-soft loaves of bread.
With this big a lunch on a weekday, we are able to get on with work without a hint of drowsiness. That's health food in a nutshell.
Time: 10 am to 10 pm
At: Nitrro Bespoke Fitness, Hubtown Skybay, Breach Candy
Call: 7666779000
Log on to: Swiggy and Scootsy for delivery within four km
