Khush hua!
Oh wait. That was Mogambo; I am reviewing Mocambo, the restaurant. Nevertheless, it is the phrase we always think about when we pass by the restaurant.
I was eager to write a review of Mocambo because it would mean that 1) I would have to go there, and 2) I would have to review it, and I feel that my reviews are a good resource for my readers.
I was eager to write a good review of it because it seems too easy, and sometimes unnecessary to write a bad review of something. The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones. (Wow! What a wonderful sentence! I think that I shall elaborate upon it and develop it into a play and make lots of money!)
When I worked for Wells Fargo, providing excellent customer service was always emphasized to us Team Members. We read numerous studies and surveys that said that if a customer has a bad experience with something then he may tell it to seven other people, but if he has a good experience then he may tell it to just one other person. Thus, there were tremendous consequences to not providing good service. I do not know why this is; I just know that it is. Perhaps, though, it is because a bad experience seems to have a more significant and immediate impact in a person's life. Regardless, I think that sharing good experiences is equally valid in that it steers people away from bad things and toward the good.
When I worked for Wells Fargo, providing excellent customer service was always emphasized to us Team Members. We read numerous studies and surveys that said that if a customer has a bad experience with something then he may tell it to seven other people, but if he has a good experience then he may tell it to just one other person. Thus, there were tremendous consequences to not providing good service. I do not know why this is; I just know that it is. Perhaps, though, it is because a bad experience seems to have a more significant and immediate impact in a person's life. Regardless, I think that sharing good experiences is equally valid in that it steers people away from bad things and toward the good.
I knew that I would write a good review of it because
1) We had been there before. For the first Christmas after my arrival, we (including my mother-in-law, who was still alive at that time, but who could walk only short distances and hobbled around) went to Zarang & Jong's. This is a 5-star restaurant with 5-star prices. For the second Christmas, Caroline and I went to Mocambo. This is also a 5-star restaurant but with more affordable prices. Almost everything on the menu is under 400 rupees. During that visit, we asked the waiter about the Mocambo Restaurant in Mumbai. He said that they were related, and that there was another restaurant in Japan. However, I do not recall him saying anything about which was the original.
On this visit, the menu stated that it (presumably the one in Kolkata, not the one in Mumbai or in Japan) opened in 1956. A Wikipedia article says that the Mocambo was a nightclub in West Hollywood (and made famous in the I Love Lucy TV series in which it was renamed the Tropicana) that eventually closed in 1958. I wonder if there is any relationship between the two.
Unfortunately, I can find little relevant information about them. Mocambo does not have a website, nor do they seem to be on Google+ and/or Facebook. Perhaps they consider themselves to be too famous to need such announcements, but in this day and age, customers and potential customers want to interact with businesses.
In hindsight, it was amazing that we were there before, especially on a Christmas. When we went there, there were seats available, but the restaurant soon filled to capacity and we could see people outside waiting for their names to be called. For Christmas last year (2012), we saw that anything and everything on or near Park Street was filled to capacity. We eventually went to the recently opened Wild Rice restaurant which closed one week later, apparently, at the beginning of the year.
2) It was our wedding anniversary. Stereotypically, it is the husband who forgets things like birthdays and anniversaries. However, in our case, Caroline sometimes forgets the date of our wedding. At breakfast, she said that she wanted to go to Jimmy's Restaurant for dinner. (She often likes the pork fried rice, or anything with pork, there.) I told her that I had other plans. I knew that we would be in the neighbourhood of Mocambo for dinner so, after heading home from the place we visited, I stopped in front of the entrance of Mocambo. She was concerned about the price so I told her that when we went to Jimmy's (for her birthday) the bill was 850 rupees and that I knew that Mocambo would not be a lot more.
After going inside and after getting the drinks we ordered, I asked Caroline to make a toast, after which I said, "And Happy Anniversary!" It was then that she remembered the date, and realized that this was why I wanted to go to Mocambo.
Again, I was eager to write a review of the restaurant so I wanted to obtain relevant information. I asked if they had a paper/to-go menu (so I could attempt to write down some of the many dishes that they offer), but the waiter said they had only the standard menus (which made sense). I then had the idea of photographing some or all of the menu, but I found out that the camera batteries had died.
I can tell you that they have a wide variety of dishes, including seafood, Italian, vegetarian, chicken, tandoori , various alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, and others. I thought that they had some Chinese food as well, but they do not.
We saw paper napkins on the table, and Caroline asked for a cloth napkin (so that she could put it in her lap while eating) but was given the impression that they did not have cloth napkins (which seemed very strange). Shortly before the meal, however, they did provide cloth napkins.
Caroline had the Pepper Crab (because she likes seafood, and loves crab) and also the Fish Biryani. However, she did not particularly care for the pepper crab, and gave me one of the two pieces. The sauce did seem to overwhelm the taste of the crab. However, she did like the Fish Biryani.
I had the Irish Chateaubri and Beef Steak Sizzler because the name was very intriguing. I was a little bit concerned about the "Sizzler" aspect of it though. Sizzler meals do not seem to be as common as they used to be but in the 1990s, at least three people would order a Sizzler meal every time we visited Blue Sky Cafe or JoJo's Restaurant. It was a vegetarian dish consisting primarily of cabbage (I believe) and spewing out a pungent and foul-smelling plume of steam. A few years ago (when I was away), Caroline had this, and stated that it actually tasted good. I decided to have it, and found out that once the stench subsides (after the dish has cooled, and is no longer steaming) it is indeed tasty.
Perhaps because the Irish Chateaubri did not have as many vegetables, or because Mocambo prepared it in a different way, it was not at all odouriferous. The Beef Steak was quite tasty and filling; it was a large piece of meat and a very good value for the price.
The total bill, after service charge and a hefty tax, was under 1200 rupees. And if Caroline did not have two meals then it would have been about 900 rupees--a very good price for two people at an excellent restaurant.
In addition to the food, I offer kudos to the service. Like that of a 5-star hotel or a cruise ship, there were always a large number of employees around, so the service was always fast and efficient.
1) We had been there before. For the first Christmas after my arrival, we (including my mother-in-law, who was still alive at that time, but who could walk only short distances and hobbled around) went to Zarang & Jong's. This is a 5-star restaurant with 5-star prices. For the second Christmas, Caroline and I went to Mocambo. This is also a 5-star restaurant but with more affordable prices. Almost everything on the menu is under 400 rupees. During that visit, we asked the waiter about the Mocambo Restaurant in Mumbai. He said that they were related, and that there was another restaurant in Japan. However, I do not recall him saying anything about which was the original.
On this visit, the menu stated that it (presumably the one in Kolkata, not the one in Mumbai or in Japan) opened in 1956. A Wikipedia article says that the Mocambo was a nightclub in West Hollywood (and made famous in the I Love Lucy TV series in which it was renamed the Tropicana) that eventually closed in 1958. I wonder if there is any relationship between the two.
Unfortunately, I can find little relevant information about them. Mocambo does not have a website, nor do they seem to be on Google+ and/or Facebook. Perhaps they consider themselves to be too famous to need such announcements, but in this day and age, customers and potential customers want to interact with businesses.
In hindsight, it was amazing that we were there before, especially on a Christmas. When we went there, there were seats available, but the restaurant soon filled to capacity and we could see people outside waiting for their names to be called. For Christmas last year (2012), we saw that anything and everything on or near Park Street was filled to capacity. We eventually went to the recently opened Wild Rice restaurant which closed one week later, apparently, at the beginning of the year.
2) It was our wedding anniversary. Stereotypically, it is the husband who forgets things like birthdays and anniversaries. However, in our case, Caroline sometimes forgets the date of our wedding. At breakfast, she said that she wanted to go to Jimmy's Restaurant for dinner. (She often likes the pork fried rice, or anything with pork, there.) I told her that I had other plans. I knew that we would be in the neighbourhood of Mocambo for dinner so, after heading home from the place we visited, I stopped in front of the entrance of Mocambo. She was concerned about the price so I told her that when we went to Jimmy's (for her birthday) the bill was 850 rupees and that I knew that Mocambo would not be a lot more.
After going inside and after getting the drinks we ordered, I asked Caroline to make a toast, after which I said, "And Happy Anniversary!" It was then that she remembered the date, and realized that this was why I wanted to go to Mocambo.
Again, I was eager to write a review of the restaurant so I wanted to obtain relevant information. I asked if they had a paper/to-go menu (so I could attempt to write down some of the many dishes that they offer), but the waiter said they had only the standard menus (which made sense). I then had the idea of photographing some or all of the menu, but I found out that the camera batteries had died.
I can tell you that they have a wide variety of dishes, including seafood, Italian, vegetarian, chicken, tandoori , various alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, and others. I thought that they had some Chinese food as well, but they do not.
We saw paper napkins on the table, and Caroline asked for a cloth napkin (so that she could put it in her lap while eating) but was given the impression that they did not have cloth napkins (which seemed very strange). Shortly before the meal, however, they did provide cloth napkins.
Caroline had the Pepper Crab (because she likes seafood, and loves crab) and also the Fish Biryani. However, she did not particularly care for the pepper crab, and gave me one of the two pieces. The sauce did seem to overwhelm the taste of the crab. However, she did like the Fish Biryani.
I had the Irish Chateaubri and Beef Steak Sizzler because the name was very intriguing. I was a little bit concerned about the "Sizzler" aspect of it though. Sizzler meals do not seem to be as common as they used to be but in the 1990s, at least three people would order a Sizzler meal every time we visited Blue Sky Cafe or JoJo's Restaurant. It was a vegetarian dish consisting primarily of cabbage (I believe) and spewing out a pungent and foul-smelling plume of steam. A few years ago (when I was away), Caroline had this, and stated that it actually tasted good. I decided to have it, and found out that once the stench subsides (after the dish has cooled, and is no longer steaming) it is indeed tasty.
Perhaps because the Irish Chateaubri did not have as many vegetables, or because Mocambo prepared it in a different way, it was not at all odouriferous. The Beef Steak was quite tasty and filling; it was a large piece of meat and a very good value for the price.
The total bill, after service charge and a hefty tax, was under 1200 rupees. And if Caroline did not have two meals then it would have been about 900 rupees--a very good price for two people at an excellent restaurant.
In addition to the food, I offer kudos to the service. Like that of a 5-star hotel or a cruise ship, there were always a large number of employees around, so the service was always fast and efficient.