Bangalore restaurant reviews Continental

Jalpaan

Monday, March 22, 2010Me! In words

A while earlier I mentioned about having been stuck in the house for two weeks and finally wanting to break free. Eating out was the only option, because honestly, what is there to do in this city besides eat, especially when you have a three-year-old. Not wanting to venture too far, we decided to head to "Jalpaan - the dining saga" (their words not mine). Internet trawling turned up nothing other than that it was a North Indian place. It had been a while since we had north Indian food and so we headed there with our friend Bhavya.

The place is a stone's throw from home, yet we decided to take the car. Handed it over for valet parking and headed up a rickety elevator. The place is lavishly done and has a really good seating capacity. Beaded drapes and carved headboards separate seating nooks. A small bar
area was tucked away in a discreet corner. The hostess lead us to a table for 6 when we were only 3 1/2. We looked at her quizzically and found ourselves a nice table.

One look at the menu and I was disappointed. The place was purely vegetarian. It was divided into Italian, Oriental and a smattering of Indian. And the Indian was no where close to being north Indian. What's more, the menu even carried advertisements of jewelry stores and the like. Strange!! Five minutes for disappointment to abate and then I took a better look at the menu. The highlights were the cheese fondues on offer. There were two versions - The original and The Margharita. Two pages of photo-description on how to eat it were included for the uninitiated. And so Margharita Fondue and Cheese fries were called for.

The fondue set up was elaborate. First came the base with a wax-wick set-up. Fondue forks were given to us. Next came the pot of cheesy goodness. To go with it were toasted bread cubes, roasted potatoes and a bowl of vegetables with a green coating of some Indian based chutney. With the fondue were three little bowls - one, shavings of parmesan, red chilli flakes and dry herbs, the other olives and the third pickled carrots and cucumbers.

The Fondue set up with the bowl of spiced cheese shavings,
pickled veggies and olives

The vegetables with a chutney I couldn't figure out

Fondues as far as I know have to be thick and should coat the bread dipped in nicely. Though this one tasted good, it was thin. The accompaniments made for nice variations and it was the bread that tasted the best with it.

The bread cubes and potatoes with another shot of the veggies


We all enjoyed the fondue as much as Sudhakar did :)

The cheese fries

The cheese fries had a bit of melted cheese over them and were ok. Good for when you have a child with you. Now for main courses. Another special was the was Eggplant Marinara - where a delicious looking pasta dish was photographed and placed along with the recipe. I really wanted that and was politely told that it was a Sunday Special. Whaaat?!! what is so special about eggplant that it needs to be reserved for a Sunday Special. Anyway... all three of us opted for the Italian portion of the menu since the Oriental and Indian were so been there, done that. Not that the limited Italian was not.

So for me it was the Al Arabiatta which was "All Arrabiatta" for them. I had a choice of upgrading it and so opted for jalapenos, sundried tomatoes and mushrooms. What came was a huge plate of a yummy concoction. It was on the spicier side, but in a good way.

Al Arabiatta

Sudhakar had the Pasta funghi which came in a cream sauce. He put a bite in his mouth and gave it a thumbs up. Few seconds later, he founded something alien in his mouth. An overzealous dishwasher left a small portion of the scouring steel wool on the plate and that's what Sudhakar got. The dish was immediately sent back and a replacement came in five minutes. After that all three were a little more careful with our chewing.

Pasta Funghi

Bhavya had the Masala Mafia which was an Indianized version of pasta. Pleasant and surprisingly not spicy as we thought it would be. All dishes were nice but in the end none of us could finish them thanks to the fondue and so our non-existent dogs at home were parceled a treat.

Masala Mania

I just had to have one sweet to round it off and so a malai kulfi was ordered which was thoughtfully split into two bowls since Bhavya said she couldn't manage a bite. It was creamy, nice and closed the chapter well on the Jalpaan Dining Saga.

Malai Kulfi

A little something to end the saga

Couple of thoughts on Jalpaan. The Italian part of the menu is quite reminiscent of Eurasia which is across the road. The waiters seem to be Shanthi Sagar graduates and have a hard time with jalapenos, sun dried tomatoes and the like. Their ignorance was obvious when they tried to serve each of the three pasta dishes ordered to each one of us. The concept of it being a one-person meal seemed incomprehensible. While the food can't be termed bad, it is not all that authentic. For the people of South Bangalore however, this Bangalore restaurant is a novelty and no wonder the place was full. The loos are a little cramped and have a bit of senseless decor surrounding it. The meal came to Rs 1400. Reservations are recommended.

Address: # 539-49, 9th Cross, 7th Block, Opposite Netradhama Hospital, Jayanagar, Bangalore - 82
Phone: 26761992
Cuisine: Italian, Oriental, India
Wallet factor: Rs 1100, excluding alcohol
Cards Accepted: Yes
Parking: Valet

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