The dinner at MusTake...

                                        It all started when one fine day, we got a call from Binoj inviting us to a tasting session at the restaurant. MusTake, being a newly opened joint, we were totally hyped about the invite and fixed a date and time with Binoj. Being the good guy that he was, he let us schedule during the break time and even prepped a custom menu for us, with a bunch of their signature, and best dishes.

                    We arrived at MusTake on the pre-scheduled day, and were greeted by smiling faces. The hostess showed us to our table, which had a beautiful view of the Kakkanad landscape. Being separated from the city may have a few drawbacks, but it has a lot of perks too. The view through the glass wasn't the only good thing though. The interiors were done quite well too, with utmost care and thought. The whole place gave out a very rustic vibe, from the chain decor at the lobby to the "tree branch Chandelier" hanging above every table. Even the walls had that feeling of incompleteness about them; they were unplastered and had these pieces of decor on them too. The owner said that he wasn't completely done with it and he would be putting up some paintings on soon.

                                        As we were settling down, and enjoying ourselves, we were met by Binoj and Shibu (the Head Chef). They spoke to us for a while explaining why they started the place and future plans. Turns out Binoj isn't completely done building the restaurant. He has more ideas to be added, like a 'history of food' section in the menus and even some reading material about it. He also is working on a dessert menu too because they're outsourcing desserts right now. What was amazing is the passion Binoj had when he was talking about his restaurant. He spoke about MusTake as though this is what he'd want to do for the rest of his life. Oh, and he owns a kitchen equipment consultancy company besides the restaurant too.

                                        As mentioned earlier, we were given a custom menu which consisted of a soup, a few starters, main course and desserts. The starters included the MusTake 65, Curry Leaf grill, and their most popular Bang Bang Beef. The main course included Thai Chicken Fried Rice, Thai Red Curry, and the MusTake Signature Biryani. The desserts had an Apple Banana custard, and 2 brownies with ice cream, one was white and the other one was chocolate. The regular menu jad quite a variety of dishes as well. It had a range of cuisines including South Indian, North Indian, Arabic, Thai, Chinese, and a bunch of signature dishes as well. There is a separate dessert menu too as well, but as said it still is under construction.

MusTake 65

                                        Once we were done talking to Binoj, the food started rolling out the kitchen. the soups came first, which included a Tomato Basil Soup, and a Tome Yom Koong Soup. The soups were decent except that the tomato soup might be a little too tomatoey for some people. The Tom Yom Koong Soup was a prawn based soup and had a single prawn in it. Look wise, it wasn't the best soup, but flavour wise it was pretty darn good. It had that subtle sweetness of the prawns, the heat from the chillies and a mix of flavours from lemongrass, ginger and what not. Once we were done with the soups, the starters came out along with the apple banana custard. The Curry leaf grill was chicken marinated with curry leaves and while it had that slight hint of curry leaves in it, it did well to preserve the natural flavour of the chicken without overpowering it with other flavours. The chicken was very well done and the skin was perfectly crisp and was charred at the right places. The Bang Bang Beef was simply out of the world. It was very crispy and tender with so much flavour imbibed into it. There is a burst of flavours that happens when you bite into a piece which lingers in your mouth teasing you and forcing you to eat more and more of it! The MusTake 65 however, was a small let down. It tasted exactly like a regular Chicken 65 you'd find at a regular restaurant. Unlike the Curry Leaf Grill and the Bang Bang Beef, the MusTake 65 didn't have that special little twist the other dishes had. Then there was the Apple Banana Custard which was a little let down. Firstly, it only smelled of apple and didn't have any apple flavour. It had a predominant banana flavour with a burst of cinnamon. Secondly, it didn't have the consistency of a custard and was more like a smoothie than a custard.

Bang Bang Beef

MusTake Signature Biryani

 Once we were done with the starters, the table was cleared and we were given fresh new plates. Then came out the main course. At the point one thing that we noted was that their plating and presentation style was neat and fab. The main course was then served and it did take our flavour buds on a ride. The Thai Chicken Fried Rice had all those flavours and just the right amount of everything. The pieces of chicken were big enough to be noticed but didn;t overshadow the rice. The rice itself was very well cooked and seemed as thought it was made with extensive care and attention. The Thai Red Curry went very well with the fried rice but wasn't as great when eaten alone. It had a little too much of a coconutty flavour that was overpowering the curry but the fired rice did well to mask that. Finally the MusTake Signature Biryani which was the highlight of the evening. It had perfectly cooked rice and chicken. While it had all the flavours of a biryani, they did not punch you in the face like many other biryanis do. They were just there in a subtle way greeting your taste buds while at the same time giving you a flavour of all the other ingredients as well. This is how a biryani should be made and is easily one of the best biryanis in town as of now. Binoj tells us that the biryani was inspired from the very famous 'Thalappakkaty Biryani' of Tamil Nadu. Finally we were done with the food and it was time for desserts! For desserts we had a choclate sauce brownie and a white sauce brownie, both with ice cream! the brownies weren't the best ones out there. But it's not the restaurant's fault since they outsource all their desserts currently. They're working on a new dessert menu though and hopefully it will be much better.

                                        The review would'nt be complete without talking about the staff at the place. The  staff is very polite and patient enough to wait for you to decide your order. They were always an earshot away and quick at clearing tables. The chef too was kind enough to talk to us about the food and listen to our suggestions and opinions. The owner was kind enough to give us a tour of the kitchen after we were finished eating. the years of experience of working in the kitchen equipment industry have definitely payed off and it shows in the way this kitchen has been built. Have to appreciate Binoj for all this.

                                        Summing up, MusTake is a pretty great place. Their ambience is beautiful and perfect. With a little more tweaking the menu can become just perfect. It's a little bit on the expensive side but gives a fine dining experience. It is the go to place for families and couples! We wish Binoj and his team all the very best for his great venture that is MusTake! We had a great time at your restaurant sir, and thank you for that!

 P.S: The story behind the name 'MusTake' is simple. It means 'Must Take'.