It's raining beer

While the rains can bring out the romantic side of Mumbaikars, it is also true that incessant showers, snarling traffic jams and pothole-ridden roads can frustrate one to no end. But then, suggest something hot and fried with the rain pelting in the background, and even the greatest cynic in this city will be forced to smile.The Barking Deer brewery in Todi Mills Compound, Lower Parel, decided to romanticise the monsoon by having a four-day long street food festival, where they clubbed the best of Mumbai’s fast food with some international fast food such as hot dogs and burgers. Additionally, being a brewery, they also launched a masala chai beer for the occasion.

The taste report
The beer itself was excellent as it had just the right flavours of chai, with the taste of beer coming in only after it was swallowed. Although it was difficult to comprehend the idea of a cold masala tea, the beer did pleasantly surprise us. Having said that, the masala flavours were difficult to catch. Despite this little glitch, we hope that the beer stays on the menu.
The food served to us scored a three on five, losing out on two points because of the onion pakoras. While the first few fritters were good, the pakoras at the bottom of the plate had undercooked batter, which was a disappointment. However, the kheema samosas were fantastic, as was the gulab jamun, which had its sugar syrup made from a beer-based reduction and was probably the best thing we had on the food menu.

The final verdict
On the whole, Barking Deer deserves a thumbs up for introducing this menu, which apart from other things, is not too heavy on the wallet. Two beers (a one plus one offer), a plate of onion pakoras, a plate of two kheema samosas and a gulab jamun set us back by Rs. 900.