Mumbai Food: These three new milkshake outlets are the talk of the town

Peanut butter protein shake

Shake it up

With six branches in Bhopal, one each in Delhi, Bengaluru and the UAE, Milkshake Kulture has made its Mumbai debut with a hole-in-the-wall outlet on JP Road, Versova. We love the enthusiasm of the franchise owner, an ex-IT professional, who welcomes us at the car, offers to serve us without stepping out, gleefully takes us to the stall when we insist, and gives us a taste of Swiss chocolate and strawberry. On one hand, it is a relief that the shakes are not overly thick, but more like what we'd whip up at home. We take home a chilled peanut butter protein shake (Rs 219) and a tiramisu caramel warm shake (Rs 129). The peanut butter is wholesome, breakfast-heavy and nutty. We love the warmth of the warm shake on our palate but fail to spot the tiramisu flavour and find zilch coffee notes. The caramel tastes a tad synthetic.

Warm caramel

Time: 12 pm to 1 am
At: Aram Nagar Part 1, Versova, Andheri West.
Call: 9920857888

Ambience: With a couple of high tables to sit, and a building compound for campus, this one is more a pick-and-go set-up.
Service: The service is prompt, with the team well informed about the products. They are happy to listen to your likes and dislikes before recommending a drink
Cost: Value for money

Sip your brekkie

We'd heard great things about this one and decide to check it out. We've skipped dinner and are ready for a sweet treat, but with honey ball thick shake (Rs 229), which comes laden with gulab jamun, it's a sweet shock. We cannot taste anything beyond the sugar content; a bite of the Indian sweet and we realise it is not the soft, warm cushion we love, but a cold, dry and hard block that we forcibly chew on. We like the Superman's secret breakfast thick shake (Rs 189), which comes with honey and muesli, but we'll definitely ask them to go low on the honey drizzle the next time we order it. The best is the thinner milkshake serving of Belgian chocolate (Rs 169), which our server recommends when we complain about the overtly sweetened drinks. It is bitter, perfectly balanced but we do get some grainy texture which frankly we don't mind, as long as the sugar head has been averted. The shakes are served in reusable plastic take-away cups with orange caps. We love the orange and white décor, with the Diwali lights still adding a lit scene. One wall has caricatures of Dexter, Charlie Chaplin, Batman, Kung Fu Panda and Superman as milkshake cups. The hygiene levels were the best here.

Time: 10 am to 12 am
At: Thickshake Factory, Shop No 8, Khar, Bandra West.
Call: 9326711894

Belgian chocolate

Ambience: With Diwali lanterns still hanging at the entrance and caricatures of Dexter, Superman and Charlie Chaplin on the walls inside, the setting is peppy.

Peanut butter protein shake