Mumbai Food: Try this newly opened patisserie in Saki Naka

Caramel Cake

"Is this trip going to be worth it, or will we end up kicking ourselves?" That's the question running through our head as we hold an umbrella open to evade fat blobs of rain that descend relentlessly on Mumbai on a gloomy Saturday. The purpose behind our tricky journey is to review Cocoamaya, a new patisserie that's opened in a nondescript corner of Saki Naka, inside an industrial park. And when we get there after a mucky auto journey, Metro ride and a game of hop-scotch negotiating puddles, the thought of having to endure yet another mad Mumbai monsoon leaves us with a heavy heart and irritated countenance.

Signature

But at least there is the option of pastries to lift our spirits. And the joint paints a pretty picture as well. Three tables are set up in an outdoor foyer while inside, rows of desserts that look impossibly artistic take pride of place in a glass display. We pick three pastries - caramel cake (Rs 60), signature (Rs 200) and opera (Rs 160) - and a butter croissant (Rs 85) before getting them packed to be had in office. And after we have taken yet another perilous auto ride - hoping against hope that no passing car splashes us with muddy water - a colleague vindicates the visual appeal of the desserts when she says, "I'm feeling frightened to cut them because they look too pretty."

Of course, merely being intricate to look at isn't enough for a pastry to satisfy your taste buds. The proof of the pudding, after all, lies in the eating. But before we get to the sweet dishes, we try the croissant first. Is there anything more French than a croissant, we ask ourselves while taking a bite. Don't say, "Yes, a glass of wine, a cigarette and an expression of disdain," because there isn't. We had once been to a café in Montpellier where we'd asked for, "Un croissant, un pain au chocolat and un baguette." It remains the single-most French order we have ever placed anywhere. But does this patisserie's version make the cut? It does indeed, because the croissant is suitably flaky and the butter is subtle, though in retrospect, we'd have rather paired it with a cup of black coffee than the cutting chai we get near our workplace.

Opera

Moving on to the pastries, we try the caramel cake before the opera and signature. It consists of a layer of gooey caramel sandwiched between two sponge cakes, and is topped with another layer of caramel that has chocolate-coated hazelnuts embedded in it. The signature and the opera, meanwhile, are both chocolate-based. While the former has a delightfully soft mousse with crunchy bits layered over pastry, the latter leaves us with the characteristically bitter aftertaste of dark chocolate, and is the only dessert among the three that seems too overbearing for our palate.

Butter Croissant

Overall, though, Cocoamaya does a fine job of introducing a touch of elegance to the rather drab environs of the industrial park it's located in. Anyone in the neighbourhood looking for something sweet would do well to drop by here. All that the place probably needs is prominent branding, since you wouldn't know that it exists unless you're actually heading there to sample the fare. So coming back to our own question, did we end up kicking ourselves for making the journey on a rain-soaked day? The answer is obvious. No, of course we didn't.

Time: 11 am to 11 pm
AT: Shivani Dongre Industrial Premises, Andheri Kurla Road, Sakinaka.
Call: 28566666

Cocoamaya didn't know we were there. The Guide reviews anonymously and pays for meals.

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