Dinner at Café Zoe

Guys we are officially more than 3 weeks into May…er what! Can time slow down just a tad? I was away from Mumbai for 5 weeks yet it somehow felt like 5 days! Nonetheless it’s good to be home…even more so that I had the Penn Masala concert to look forward to on Saturday night. For those of you who haven’t heard of them, Penn Masala is a South Asian a cappella group made up of U Penn students.  They often merge famous Bollywood & English songs, resulting in some of the best remixes.  Their Only You/Neelay Neelay Ambar cover (click on the link for a listen) is one of my favorites till date!

Before that my friends & I kicked off the evening at a restaurant nearby the venue: Café Zoe. I’ve eaten here multiple times in the past but they seem to have recently upped their game in terms of menu options & quality of food.  If you’ve been reading my blog over the last few weeks or following K Weigh on Instagram (and if you’re not, do it), you’ll see that there was no shortage of amazing food during my trip. Between the mouthwatering sushi in New York and sublime brunches in London, you could say I was somewhat well fed.  Although the restaurant scene in Mumbai seems underwhelming in comparison, dinner at Café Zoe certainly exceeded my expectations.  What kind of healthy living blogger would I be if I didn’t order the Quinoa & Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with French Beans & Lime Vinaigrette: 

This tasted yum but nothing that I can’t whip up at home. Fortunately the Smoked Salmon Crostini platter more than stole the appetizer show.  Despite not being a local fish, I was pleasantly surprised by the salmon’s freshness.  Bonus points to Café Zoe for not skimping on the topping either! 

Given my love for all things green, we also ordered a side of the Broccoli: 

Although I was initially a bit alarmed to see the florets floating in a puddle of butter, I dug in once the waiter assured us the gravy was actually a vegetable broth. I especially loved the olive undertones…almost as much as I loved the fact that it was served in a glass jar ;). Slowly filling up, we decided to share two mains between the three of us. Can this plate be any more visually aesthetic:

The John Dory was seared to perfection and the leek fondue perfectly complemented the fish’s otherwise mild flavour.  I just wished they served a bit more of the fondue! And now for the real star of the show: Penne with Mushroom Ragout.  Between Tagliatelle al Ragu in Florence & Lobster Linguine in London, I’ve certainly eaten my share of divine pasta over the years. Despite being a vegetarian dish, this pasta is easily one of my best yet.  

Between the meaty texture, smoky mushroom flavor and perfectly cooked penne (al dente style obviously), we just couldn’t get enough.  I was literally scraping the plate by the end of it- no sauce goes to waste!  Due to a combination of being full & in a rush for the concert, we gave dessert a miss this time round. But hey, all the more reason to come back to Café Zoe sooner rather than later ;)! 

What’s the best pasta dish you’ve eaten?

Who would you love to see in concert?