Call it a cliché but I really have saved the best for the last in terms of buffets in Bombay. Over the past 3 months I have had many sumptuous buffets ranging from Chinese to Continental to Veg :P, but without a shadow of doubt the ultimate buffet in this beautiful city has to be at Global Fusion, Bandra. Priced at a steep Rs 900 per plate on a week night, some might say it's not really worth it, I mean for that kind of money you can probably manage to eat at a 5-star, but trust me on this one - Every penny spent at Global Fusion is a penny well spent. This dinner buffet was something that has been eluding me for a while now, I had only been there once before for a lunch buffet (much cheaper btw), and I really didn't do enough justice for the amount of food that was on offer, I guess it was because I was ill-informed, nobody really warned me that this buffet would be THIS awesome. There are certain rules that you have to follow in order to thoroughly enjoy a Global Fusion buffet and since no one helped me out, I thought I could be the nice guy that I am and help everybody who reads this out:
1. Its okay to have incredibly high expectations once in a while, specially if its a Global Fusion buffet. Do not consume any solids 24 hours before the buffet. No matter how hungry and cranky you get, don't give in, completely detox yourself from all kinds of food and survive purely on coffee/juices. It helps if you have like ten hours of lectures at college, but either way figure out a way to distract yourself and STAY AWAY FROM FOOD. Think only about the buffet and brace yourself for the greatest dining experience of your life.
2. Make Global Fusion plans with the one girl who can never ever be on time. You will spend an extra hour waiting for her to come and in this process your appetite will increase, you will be super pissed that you are standing at Linking road, a mere sniff away from the prize, yet you have to wait for her to arrive. God bless her actually, (Mehek Contractor) she did give me her word about eating at Global and eat we did, albeit a little late.
PS: Next time Mehek, remember what you ordered and don't go pick up random stuff from the sushi bar.
3. Make sure you take proper foodies with you (veg and non-veg), preferably potheads who eat like dogs. This will make sure you don't miss a single item on the buffet and more importantly you don't waste any of the delicious food. In the larger scheme of things it doesn't really matter whether you eat one dumpling or the whole box, still its a nice thought not to waste food. Also it helps watching everyone on the table stuff themselves, that way you are encouraged to compete and eat to your maximum capacity.
4. They'll entice you with crappy ice tea and pepsi as welcome drinks, don't have more than one, although it's unlimited, they slow you down, unnecessary CO2, focus on the main prize - A lip smacking buffet. My friends if you have followed all the above steps you are now ready for GLOBAL FUSION.
Indulgence. Sprawling space this restaurant has, no other restaurant has this much space to operate under. The ambience is magical, gives the dinner a very formal and posh feel to it, its really something that they have found so much space in the heart of Bandra. Full marks for presentation, every item of the décor is immaculate, this is the kinda place you wouldn't might sitting and eating at for hours together. It's sensible to make reservations here, specially on a weekend because its kind of a fancy place. Like I said they start you off with a welcome drink of Ice Tea or a Fresh Lime Soda. Another very important rule, probably the most important rule of all, when you finally do lose your Global Fusion Virginity, make sure you have like a proper foodie friend of your's with you to guide you thru the place, because trust me, for a newbie it can get kinda overwhelming. The idea is simple, a dish of every starter on offer is kept near the kitchen, you have to walk there with your table number and select the ones you want to eat. There's only like 15 types of starters each to choose from, so if you go with a large group, just order them all. Specially if you are a non vegetarian, there's like Beef, Prawns, Lamb, Fish, Chicken well basically everything expect pork because they don't serve it. Settle down and the guys will keep getting those starters to your table. Empty atleast half the cup of Wasabi and dig in. Just keep them coming. Pepper Chicken check. Chicken Satay check. BBQ Chicken check. Spicy Mushroom check. Prawn Tanayanki check. Baked prawns check. Lamb shaped like hot wings check. Beef check. Seconds of the prawn dishes cause they were bloody incredible check. Total time about 20 mins. Pause now and make conversation.
After a breather laugh at the vegetarian who has already started eating his main course and head on down to the Dumplings and Sushi bar. Honestly I love the dumplings at Global Fusion. They are the best part of the buffet, simply because each box of dumplings has only 2 pieces each. So all you have to do is order for one of each and you are set. More wasabi again, this sauce is the unsung hero of the global buffet, keep telling your waiter to refill this every once in a while. Again I left the fish cause I honestly don't like fish all that much, go straight for the prawns. Honest to god, at this buffet alone I must have out done myself in terms of no. of prawns consumed for the whole year. Chicken dumplings are awesome too, very easy to eat. Load up on these, your head might tell you to slow down, but don't listen to that old bugger, you are gonna be fighting a losing battle anyways. More great food ahead. Next up the Sushi Bar.
Very tricky part of the buffet this, by now I was well and truly full, I had eaten quite a lot of the starters. Mehek would eat like one bite of every starter and she went and ordered random other chicken items, so I would have the herculean task of finishing the entire plate. I managed to devour all the chicken and prawn, but the lamb and beef got the better off me, not that it wasn't nice or anything, there was simply too much food to eat. The Sushi bar is something you are either gonna love or absolutely hate. As much as it pains me, both my visits to Global and I've been a hater, I simply do not understand the concept of eating raw fish on top of a massive dumpling of rice - the icky looking mushrooms don't help either. Most of the seasoned sea food eaters love it and spend a lot of time on this part of the buffet, they've got a pretty decent selection of sauces here too, but my verdict on the Sushi Bar - a speed bump. Instead go eat 2 more servings of those awesome prawn dumplings and head on down to the main course.
Like any buffet, by the time you reach the main course you are simply too full and can barely process the thought of eating more food. Still it's against our Indian nature to not have a certain item on a unlimited dinner buffet, so I got myself a rather small serving of noodles with some chicken and prawn gravy. Honest to god, I ate every single prawn dish on the menu at least 2 times - it was just sublime with the Wasabi sauce. They had crab too, with shell but so I was still grossed out to try and break it and all, and Mehek is a useless person to eat with, she's GOBE after like 2 rounds of the starters and then all she does is play with the knives n forks etc.
Save enough room for the dessert guys, this place sets the standard in this department too. I'm such a harami I don't leave a single item on the dessert menu also, no matter how childish it makes me look. So there I was asking the man to give me 2 scoops of ice cream - one Milk Chocolate Chip and one Cotton Candy flavoured. There is absolutely no shame in admitting that it's one of the greatest memories of my childhood and to this day, I would still enjoy any form of cotton candy just as much as I did when I was a kid. Keeping with that trend, the kiwi and strawberry jelly were also decent, the cakes were tiny and awesome, my favourite being the mud cake and the other chocolate one. The blueberry cheese cake was okay and the walnut cookies were just there to make up the numbers. After a monster meal the baskin and robbins ice cream really hits the spot, and funnily enough this Baskin's ice cream tastes better than the normal ones you get in the "outside" world. Or maybe its just one more point for the ambience.
Global Fusion is not just fine dining, its an experience. No matter what kind of food you like, or what kind of appetite you have, there is only one kind of feeling that you get after dining here - CONTENTMENT. This is a luxury you can afford once in a while and make sure you do full justice for the price you pay. Do not miss out on a single item on the menu, even the veg sushi and dumplings taste alright. Don't waste "Stomach Space" on the soup and the sushi bar (my opinion) and focus only on the starters. Have atleast 3 rounds of the same and if you don't spend more than 2 hours eating your meal then you my friend are a failure. Global Fusion - Best Buffet Ever!! Peace.
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1. Its okay to have incredibly high expectations once in a while, specially if its a Global Fusion buffet. Do not consume any solids 24 hours before the buffet. No matter how hungry and cranky you get, don't give in, completely detox yourself from all kinds of food and survive purely on coffee/juices. It helps if you have like ten hours of lectures at college, but either way figure out a way to distract yourself and STAY AWAY FROM FOOD. Think only about the buffet and brace yourself for the greatest dining experience of your life.
2. Make Global Fusion plans with the one girl who can never ever be on time. You will spend an extra hour waiting for her to come and in this process your appetite will increase, you will be super pissed that you are standing at Linking road, a mere sniff away from the prize, yet you have to wait for her to arrive. God bless her actually, (Mehek Contractor) she did give me her word about eating at Global and eat we did, albeit a little late.
PS: Next time Mehek, remember what you ordered and don't go pick up random stuff from the sushi bar.
3. Make sure you take proper foodies with you (veg and non-veg), preferably potheads who eat like dogs. This will make sure you don't miss a single item on the buffet and more importantly you don't waste any of the delicious food. In the larger scheme of things it doesn't really matter whether you eat one dumpling or the whole box, still its a nice thought not to waste food. Also it helps watching everyone on the table stuff themselves, that way you are encouraged to compete and eat to your maximum capacity.
4. They'll entice you with crappy ice tea and pepsi as welcome drinks, don't have more than one, although it's unlimited, they slow you down, unnecessary CO2, focus on the main prize - A lip smacking buffet. My friends if you have followed all the above steps you are now ready for GLOBAL FUSION.
Indulgence. Sprawling space this restaurant has, no other restaurant has this much space to operate under. The ambience is magical, gives the dinner a very formal and posh feel to it, its really something that they have found so much space in the heart of Bandra. Full marks for presentation, every item of the décor is immaculate, this is the kinda place you wouldn't might sitting and eating at for hours together. It's sensible to make reservations here, specially on a weekend because its kind of a fancy place. Like I said they start you off with a welcome drink of Ice Tea or a Fresh Lime Soda. Another very important rule, probably the most important rule of all, when you finally do lose your Global Fusion Virginity, make sure you have like a proper foodie friend of your's with you to guide you thru the place, because trust me, for a newbie it can get kinda overwhelming. The idea is simple, a dish of every starter on offer is kept near the kitchen, you have to walk there with your table number and select the ones you want to eat. There's only like 15 types of starters each to choose from, so if you go with a large group, just order them all. Specially if you are a non vegetarian, there's like Beef, Prawns, Lamb, Fish, Chicken well basically everything expect pork because they don't serve it. Settle down and the guys will keep getting those starters to your table. Empty atleast half the cup of Wasabi and dig in. Just keep them coming. Pepper Chicken check. Chicken Satay check. BBQ Chicken check. Spicy Mushroom check. Prawn Tanayanki check. Baked prawns check. Lamb shaped like hot wings check. Beef check. Seconds of the prawn dishes cause they were bloody incredible check. Total time about 20 mins. Pause now and make conversation.
After a breather laugh at the vegetarian who has already started eating his main course and head on down to the Dumplings and Sushi bar. Honestly I love the dumplings at Global Fusion. They are the best part of the buffet, simply because each box of dumplings has only 2 pieces each. So all you have to do is order for one of each and you are set. More wasabi again, this sauce is the unsung hero of the global buffet, keep telling your waiter to refill this every once in a while. Again I left the fish cause I honestly don't like fish all that much, go straight for the prawns. Honest to god, at this buffet alone I must have out done myself in terms of no. of prawns consumed for the whole year. Chicken dumplings are awesome too, very easy to eat. Load up on these, your head might tell you to slow down, but don't listen to that old bugger, you are gonna be fighting a losing battle anyways. More great food ahead. Next up the Sushi Bar.
Very tricky part of the buffet this, by now I was well and truly full, I had eaten quite a lot of the starters. Mehek would eat like one bite of every starter and she went and ordered random other chicken items, so I would have the herculean task of finishing the entire plate. I managed to devour all the chicken and prawn, but the lamb and beef got the better off me, not that it wasn't nice or anything, there was simply too much food to eat. The Sushi bar is something you are either gonna love or absolutely hate. As much as it pains me, both my visits to Global and I've been a hater, I simply do not understand the concept of eating raw fish on top of a massive dumpling of rice - the icky looking mushrooms don't help either. Most of the seasoned sea food eaters love it and spend a lot of time on this part of the buffet, they've got a pretty decent selection of sauces here too, but my verdict on the Sushi Bar - a speed bump. Instead go eat 2 more servings of those awesome prawn dumplings and head on down to the main course.
Like any buffet, by the time you reach the main course you are simply too full and can barely process the thought of eating more food. Still it's against our Indian nature to not have a certain item on a unlimited dinner buffet, so I got myself a rather small serving of noodles with some chicken and prawn gravy. Honest to god, I ate every single prawn dish on the menu at least 2 times - it was just sublime with the Wasabi sauce. They had crab too, with shell but so I was still grossed out to try and break it and all, and Mehek is a useless person to eat with, she's GOBE after like 2 rounds of the starters and then all she does is play with the knives n forks etc.
Save enough room for the dessert guys, this place sets the standard in this department too. I'm such a harami I don't leave a single item on the dessert menu also, no matter how childish it makes me look. So there I was asking the man to give me 2 scoops of ice cream - one Milk Chocolate Chip and one Cotton Candy flavoured. There is absolutely no shame in admitting that it's one of the greatest memories of my childhood and to this day, I would still enjoy any form of cotton candy just as much as I did when I was a kid. Keeping with that trend, the kiwi and strawberry jelly were also decent, the cakes were tiny and awesome, my favourite being the mud cake and the other chocolate one. The blueberry cheese cake was okay and the walnut cookies were just there to make up the numbers. After a monster meal the baskin and robbins ice cream really hits the spot, and funnily enough this Baskin's ice cream tastes better than the normal ones you get in the "outside" world. Or maybe its just one more point for the ambience.
Global Fusion is not just fine dining, its an experience. No matter what kind of food you like, or what kind of appetite you have, there is only one kind of feeling that you get after dining here - CONTENTMENT. This is a luxury you can afford once in a while and make sure you do full justice for the price you pay. Do not miss out on a single item on the menu, even the veg sushi and dumplings taste alright. Don't waste "Stomach Space" on the soup and the sushi bar (my opinion) and focus only on the starters. Have atleast 3 rounds of the same and if you don't spend more than 2 hours eating your meal then you my friend are a failure. Global Fusion - Best Buffet Ever!! Peace.
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