Mumbai Food: Try this newly opened patisserie in Saki Naka

Is this trip going to be worth it or will we end up kicking ourselves Thats the question running through our head as we hold an umbrella open to evade fat blobs of rain that descend relentlessly on Mumbai on a gloomy Saturday The purpose behind our tricky journey is to review Cocoamaya a new patisserie thats opened in a nondescript corner of Saki Naka inside an industrial park And when we get there after a mucky auto journey Metro ride and a game of hopscotch negotiating puddles the thought of having to endure yet another mad Mumbai monsoon leaves us with a heavy heart and irritated countenanceSignatureBut at least there is the option of pastries to lift our spirits And the joint paints a pretty picture as well Three tables are set up in an outdoor foyer while inside rows of desserts that look impossibly artistic take pride of place in a glass display We pick three pastries mdash caramel cake Rs 60 signature Rs 200 and opera Rs 160 mdash and a butter croissant Rs 85 before getting them packed to be had in office And after we have taken yet another perilous auto ride mdash hoping against hope that no passing car splashes us with muddy water mdash a colleague vindicates the visual appeal of the desserts when she says Im feeling frightened to cut them because they look too prettyOf course merely being intricate to look at isnt enough for a pastry to satisfy your taste buds The proof of the pudding after all lies in the eating But before we get to the sweet dishes we try the croissant first Is there anything more French than a croissant we ask ourselves while taking a bite Dont say Yes a glass of wine a cigarette and an expression of disdain because there isnt We had once been to a cafeacute in Montpellier where wed asked for Un croissant un pain au chocolat and un baguette It remains the singlemost French order we have ever placed anywhere But does this patisseries version make the cut It does indeed because the croissant is suitably flaky and the butter is subtle though in retrospect wed have rather paired it with a cup of black coffee than the cutting chai we get near our workplaceOperaMoving on to the pastries we try the caramel cake before the opera and signature It consists of a layer of gooey caramel sandwiched between two sponge cakes and is topped with another layer of caramel that has chocolatecoated hazelnuts embedded in it The signature and the opera meanwhile are both chocolatebased While the former has a delightfully soft mousse with crunchy bits layered over pastry the latter leaves us with the characteristically bitter aftertaste of dark chocolate and is the only dessert among the three that seems too overbearing for our palateButter CroissantOverall though Cocoamaya does a fine job of introducing a touch of elegance to the rather drab environs of the industrial park its located in Anyone in the neighbourhood looking for something sweet would do well to drop by here All that the place probably needs is prominent branding since you wouldnt know that it exists unless youre actually heading there to sample the fare So coming back to our own question did we end up kicking ourselves for making the journey on a rainsoaked day The answer is obvious No of course we didntTime 11 am to 11 pm AT Shivani Dongre Industrial Premises Andheri Kurla Road SakinakaCall 28566666Cocoamaya didnrsquot know we were there The Guide reviews anonymously and pays for mealsCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates