Restaurant Review: Just Bing’g’e

I am a lazy foodie, in the sense, that while I’m very happy to try out new types of food and check out new eateries, I am rarely willing to travel for the sake of food. I’m quite content exploring places near my house or office that keep popping up regularly. I make it a point to at least drop in once just to see what a new eatery is like.

That’s what should have happened when Just Bing’g’e opened in Vashi. I can’t remember where I heard about /came across Just Bing’g’e, but I decided not to go there, even though it was fairly close to my place.

The reason was not related to the food being served, but to the way “Bing’g’e” was spelt. The extra ‘g’ and the inverted commas around it set my teeth on edge. Consider me old-fashioned or boring (in addition to the aforementioned lazy), but I’ve never been able to understand or appreciate ‘creative’ spellings just because it sounds good or seems different or unique. I generally ignore/avoid places, things and sometimes even people with such creative spellings.

Just Bing’g’e got relegated to that category and would have remained there if not for an invite from Pooja of Nuvofoodies for a bloggers’ roundtable or a tasting at Just Bing’g’e. I did cringe when I saw the extra ‘g’ again, but the warm and personal invite from Pooja won me over, and that’s how ended up I visiting Just Bing’g’e in Vashi one evening last month.

Live music welcomes me at the entrance to Just Bing’g’e, which is painted a pleasant pastel green. The same pastel green theme continues in the interiors. The brightly lit eatery is welcoming as is its pleasant ambiance. Looking at the food displayed behind the glass display counters, I recall the information provided with the mail:

Just Bing’g’e [is] a boutique western eatery and take-away … co-founded by Hardik Patel, Amit Patel and Chef Salil Fadnis, as a true-to-the-tummy venture… The menu at Just Bingge is plush with Salads, Sandwiches, Wraps, Waffles, Pancakes, Brownies and Assorted Snacks. The experienced staff are trained and certified by Chef Salil Fadnis & Chef Aditi Juneja, who are the true torch-bearers of Just Bingge’s quality, taste and difference.

The food looked fresh and there seemed to be a fairly large selection to choose from. Since I had a cold and a cough that evening, I decided to start with some Tulsi and Ginger green tea. It was so good that I had a second round!

I had initially planned to order one or two items and share/taste a couple of items that the others ordered. But Aditi Juneja, who was present that evening, put out a large selection of food items for us to taste. The vegetarians among us had about 10 items to taste, while the non-vegetarians had more items to sample. My review here is based on what I tasted and what I thought about them.

Clicking on any of the photographs below will start a slide show and the details of what I ate and review of each item will appear as captions. Do continue reading the rest of the post after you have finished.

Nachos with salsa and a cheesy dip. While the cheesy dip and salsa were fresh and flavourful, I did not like the Nacho crisps very much – they were rather thick and did not taste very fresh.

Vol-au-vent. A puff pastry filled with mushrooms and topped with cheese. In one word. DELICIOUS. They disappeared in a flash.

Broccolicious. A salad of steamed broccoli tossed in some mayonnaise. Though I like broccoli and mayo, I have never has this combination before. The salad was crunchy and deliciously perfect. I loved it.

Waldorf Salad. While the ingredients were fresh and the salad well seasoned, I’m not particularly fond of Waldorf Salad. So…

Eggplant Parmigiana. I’ll be the first to admit that the presentation does not look very appealing and was frankly quite off-putting. But one bite into the delicious mix of eggplant, marinara sauce and cheese, I was like, it is the most beautiful dish around. 🙂

La Pout. A basket full of fries is my idea of comfort food. But the same fries come mixed with mushrooms and lettuce, and is topped with 3 different kinds of sauces… well, it took me to food heaven.

“When Mac Met Cheese” is what happens when some pasta, red & yellow bell peppers, and olives are tossed together in a tomato-based sauce and served with cheese. Lots of tiny cubed cheese. It was tasty, but a little to cheesy for me. [Pun unintended]

New Love in Town is a huge, and I mean huge cold sandwich, stuffed with red and green bell peppers, onions, and pineapple cubes with mayonnaise oozing out from the sides. This is the first time I was having pineapple in a sandwich and I’m still not sure if I liked it or not. What I’m sure that I did not like about this sandwich was the amount of mayo !

Melting Sandwich. If you love cheese then this layered sandwich with gargantuan amounts of cheese is for you. I like cheese but not so much, so did not enjoy it a lot, even though it was tasty.

Brownies with chocolate chips and chocalte sauce. Just one word. Delicious. 🙂

There was a lot to sample and savour that evening. The large portions, the excess cheese and mayonnaise, and the many items served made it bingeing in every sense of the word. By the time I finished, I was feeling stuffed which is not a particularly good feeling to have especially when the food was good.

I wanted to see how the sandwiches would taste with less cheese and mayonnaise before writing this review. So, I went back a couple of times since that day and requested my sandwiches to be made the way I wanted them. I’m happy to say that they tasted just as good and didn’t leave me feeling overtly full. I still found the portions to be large.

Just Bing’g’e is a welcome addition to the café culture in Navi Mumbai, and I recommend it highly. It’s a great place to visit with a small group, but larger groups may find difficulty in finding seating for everyone; our own group of 9 people were fit in rather snugly.

The week has just begun and it is the perfect time to grab a quick bite and maybe relax after work at Just Bing’g’e. What are you waiting for? 🙂

PS: In case you’re wondering about my irritation with the extra ‘g’ in the Bing’g’e, it’s still there. I just pretend that it doesn’t exist. I can binge without the extra ‘g’. 😛

Disclaimer: The meal at Just Bing’ge was complimentary and I was invited by PRestaurants for this. This has, however, this has not influenced the review of the food I ate that day.

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