Review: English Vinglish
Television chef Ranveer Brar makes his Mumbai debut, with a dessert boutique that gives Indian sweets an international makeover
Chef Ranveer Brar, better known for his TV shows and his stint as one of the judges on MasterChef India, has recently made his Mumbai debut, in partnership with the owners of Shree Gangour Sweets, in Juhu. English Vinglish, the “stylish dessert boutique", seems like any other patisserie outlet (an upgraded Monginis, perhaps)—one wall is given over to breads and savouries, another displays varieties of baklavas, cheese straws, energy bars and cookies, and there’s a pastry fridge lined with confections—but the USP is the videshi makeover given to desi mithais.
The good stuff
The Amrakhand Cheese Cake ( ₹ 130) was well presented and was the one pastry we enjoyed thoroughly. The cheesecake stood inside a mango frosting “crown" and enclosed a blob of mango shrikhand (sweetened hung curd). The combination of sweet fruit and tart cheesecake worked well.
Among the savouries, we tried the Baked Vada Pav ( ₹ 40), though technically there’s no batata vada (batter-fried potato dumpling) in there. A slice of pav is stuffed with spicy potato filling, sprinkled with garlic chutney on the outside and baked. The “sandwich" was delectable, but the baking had reduced the dry garlic chutney to crispy cinders.
We also picked up a box of Kalakand Cookie ( ₹ 210 for a dozen), which turned out to be our favourite teatime snack. The cookies are closer to madeleines in texture—chewy, slightly soft and crumbly. Stuffing kalakand and pistachios in the cookie dough is an inspired take on the north Indian sweet.
The not-so-good
The savouries seem a bit of a misstep at English Vinglish (see aforementioned Baked Vada Pav). The Jain Veg Puff ( ₹ 80) has a perfectly flaky and crunchy covering, but the filling is an overly spicy mishmash of tomatoes and bell peppers. They seem to have compensated for the missing onion-garlic flavours with an abundance of chilli powder. We picked up the Whole Wheat And Bajra Loaf ( ₹ 110), which is shaped like a traditional, round sourdough loaf. However, the bread has the uniform softness of sliced bread, and there’s no discernible crust. The proportion of wheat flour also seems to be much more than the bajra (pearl millet) flour, and the nutty flavour and slight bitterness that you would expect from the millet flour is absent.
Talk plastic
Our order—two savouries, one bread, three pastries and one box of cookies—cost ₹ 891, all inclusive.
English Vinglish, Shop No.13, Juhu Supreme Shopping Centre, Gulmohar Cross Road No.9, Juhu (26712660). Open from 10am-10pm.
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