Taste Test: Fusion Box By Charcoal Biryani

Choose from their wide range of biryanis. Photo via Facebook

Charcoal Biryani made quite a wave with their thoughtful packaging and delicious biryanis when they launched last year. They recently added a few fusion boxes to their menu, which we tried for lunch on a weekend.

Ordering

There are two ways to order – you can either download the app or order via their website. Looking at the constantly shrinking storage space on our mobile phones –thanks to the umpteen food ordering apps – we chose the latter. The ordering process wasn’t entirely smooth and we were stuck at the online payment part for a long time before opting for cash on delivery.

Delivery

Charcoal Biryani covers a large delivery area including Thane and Navi Mumbai. While we were promised delivery in 60 minutes, our food was at the door well within 30mins.

Packaging

The food was delivered in spill-free boxes which were further packed in cardboard boxes.

Portion Size

While the cardboard boxes were quite large, the quantity of each dish was just enough for one person.

Taste

Our order included a Sri Lankan Veg Fusion Box, French Chicken Fusion Box, Chicken Tikka and Chocolate Mousse. The Sri Lankan box had a robust coconut based curry with rice. We loved the curry but didn’t find the huge chunks of vegetables appetising. The French box with chicken stroganoff and rice had rosemary flavour which overpowered everything else. The chicken tikka was the most disappointing of all with too much salt killing other flavours, if there were any. We were sent a half Margarita Pizza complimentary with our order which saved our meal. The thin crust pizza was perfectly charred on the edges. The mousse had a subtle flavour of coffee and wasn’t too sweetened which we loved.

Verdict

For the price we paid, we found the fusion boxes a bit underwhelming. Our biggest grouse was that the curries and rice were mixed together instead of being sent separately. With a number of places offering far decent quality of curries and rice, we don’t think we’re getting back to Charcoal Biryani anytime soon.

Rating: 2/5

Price

Sri Lankan Fusion Box Veg – Rs 250, French Fusion Box Chicken – Rs 270, Chicken

Tikka – Rs 250, Signature Eggless Chocolate Mousse – Rs 100

Login to www.charcoalbiryani.com to place your orders.

This review was conducted anonymously and the author paid for her own meal.

The author is a freelance food and travel writer and shares her stories on Foodchants. She is on a perpetual quest to learn about the history of regional food.