Mumbai Food: New Vile Parle restaurant offers a healthy high to diners

Mumbai Local PicsDatta KumbharBeing Vile Parle e residents for over two decades now wersquove often curbed our cravings for a bowlful of Caesar Salad and soup with a DIY tossup at home or an odd trip to salad bars in KharBandra due to the lack of healthy dining options in the neighbourhood So when we heard of Garde Manger a health cafe that recently opened on a bustling stretch near the railway station populated with tea coffee vada pav and farsan shops we instantly decided to drop inThough small roughly a 10seater including indoor and outdoor sections the cafe warmed up to us with its bright lights forkshaped wooden chairs soft instrumental tunes Rihannarsquos Unfaithful playing in the background and a wellstocked salad bar The allvegetarian menu since the locality is home to largely Gujaratis and Maharashtrians offers a range of soups salads wholewheat pastas specials like Multigrain Stuffed Parathas and Caesar shots quinoa smoothies and sandwiches each dish also highlights its health benefits For instance Black Rice Salad is rich in antioxidants and dietary fibre while Som Tam is loaded with vitamins A and C calcium and magnesiumThe cafe features a wellstocked salad bar with DIY optionsNutritionist onboardldquoWe curated the dishes with the help of nutritionist Charmaine DrsquoSouza whose clientele includes industrialist Anil Ambani We are also planning to add a calorie count to each dishrdquo shared cafe partner Parvinder Singh With a degree in hotel management the 33yearold has worked in the garde manger French keeper of the food section mdash which witnesses prep of cold food like salads and appetisers mdash at city fivestars leading him to start an eponymous health cafe which is poles apart from his familyrun restaurant chain Mini Punjab Singh confessed ldquoMy father was apprehensive about the concept but I wanted to do something of my own and took this up as a challengeNitrogen in my chaatWe began with Mumbai Local 100 a chaatlike salad packed with chickpeas cottage cheese cubes puffed rice onion and tomatoes served in a cone Laced with tangyspicy tamarind and mint chutney the dish made for a great snack but could have done without the forced addition of nitrogen smoke We washed it down with Muesli Peanut Smoothie 180 a thick blend that finely balanced peanut butter with digestive biscuits muesli honey and soymilk The starchysweet rice in Black Rice Salad 350 went well with crunchy bell peppers red cabbage tomatoes and greens doused in a zesty lemon vinaigrette making it a wholesome meal ldquoWe source black rice from Thailand Most of our vegetables are sourced locally or from a cousinrsquos farm in Wada Thane district while sugar is from my home town Amritsarrdquo revealed Singh making us try the unprocessed sugar made using jaggery crumbs with a hint of gheeItalian CapreseCaprese on a stickComprising skewers of basil leaves cherry tomatoes and bocconcini dipped in pesto sauce Italian Caprese 350 scored on presentation and tangytart flavours that greeted our palate in quick succession as we tucked into it like a tikka We tasted similar flavours in the Roasted Tomatoes and Bocconcini Sandwich 275 that was served in a perfectly baked panini We found comfort in the warm Cous Cous Upma 325 It presented familiar flavours of the South Indian brekkie dish in its turmericlaced beady semolina balls tempered with kadipatta and chillies We stepped out glad to have found a cafe to step into post a vigorous morning walkParvinder Singh partnerBlack Rice SaladTime 8 am to 11 pm AT Parmar CHS Paranjape B Scheme 1st Road near Mahila Sangh School Vile Parle e CALL 8291816108