There are days when the appetite is small and there are days when no matter how much you order, you just can't get satiated. I go through these cycles very often and it happened that I was in glutton mode on the day we chose to go to Bow Barracks. So much has been discussed about the place, good, bad, authenticity and more, but at the end of the day I feel if the food is good, you will make it through. And so we reached the doorstep of Bow Barracks for lunch on a weekend. It was more of a brunch. We had skipped breakfast and I could have eaten an entire chicken coup.
A low roof, comfortable seating and a menu in hand, there were a few dishes that we just had to order and while we were looking through the menu, we were served an amuse bouche - a slice of fig with a vinaigrette. For a stomach that was already screaming in agony, this was a perfect little teaser. Crunchy, tangy, sweet all at once, I had to hold onto my stomach tight for fear that the neighboring table might think elephants were stampeding through the place.
The fig amuse bouche
The menu had an Anglo-Indian section, a continental one and strangely a leaflet with typically tandoori items. They were of the slightly exotic nature and am guessing they will be done well and appreciated too, but we chose to stick largely to Anglo-Indian, with a touch of continental. We began with two starters - a bacon wrapped chicken salad and beef pantheras.
Bacon wrapped Chicken salad
Bacon, for us at least can make any dish a winner. Here too, you have a nice generous slice wrapped around a nugget of soft chicken and tossed in in greens with a nice simple dressing. Each wrap is around two bites worth and it worked for us. Thankfully not too salty too else we would have been guzzling water and lost all appetite. The beef pantheras - lovely beef mince, moist and stuffed inside a nice crisp casing - thoughtfully sliced - do squeeze the lime on - it really makes a difference. Tasted lovely and makes for a great meal for kids too. Anoushka made most of her meal with this.
Only later did we come to know that the Bacon chicken salad was part of the revamped menu and we were among the first to order it.
Beef Pantheras
A typical lunch for Anoushka is fish and chips and so it was Luv's Fish and Chips. Two good sized filets - crisp outside, soft insides and chips on the side. They did give her a good tartare sauce, but the dish is as far as we have managed to get her - the tartare is still a couple of months away.
Luv's Fish and Chips
And now it was our turn - and we had a pretty big order - onion rice, beef jalfrezie with tamarind water, Aunty Pamela's pork vindaloo and the Mango Chutney Dal. Yes! Pretty big for two souls, but we did the meal absolute justice between us and even had space for dessert. We did have a bit to take home as well, which was just as well - a nice way to relive a great meal.
Onion rice
The onion rice got all its flavor from the deep fried onions that were generously mixed into it. This with the beef jalfrezie and the tamarind water were a brilliant combination. The beef was soft and almost melt-in-the-mouth kinds. The tamarind water was literally that - be prepared for all-screwy face kind of sourness - I loved it though and kept sneaking spoonfuls - the onions, rice, beef and water all came into a nice yummy mix of flavors.
Beef Jalfrezi and tamarind water
Sucker for pork that I am (yes, am very Mangalorean that way) - I just had to get us some of that pork vindaloo. Now if you are used to the Goan styled vindaloo, which is what I am used to, then this is going to be a mild version for you - while Goans are generous with their chillis and vinegar - this one has more of a tomato onion base - nice no doubt - but for me it was on the slightly sweeter side. Great tasting, but personally will take some getting used to - certain styles of food are just too strongly ingrained.
Aunty Pamela's Pork Vindaloo
Now when you hear a dish like Mango Chutney Dal, can you not order it - I couldn't. Again preconceived notions of raw mango being used for some reason. Blame it on the overly South Indian style of cooking that we do at home maybe! The dal had in it ripe mango - and honestly am not too much for fruits cooked in any way, but I really liked this dish. I found that I enjoyed it best eating spoonfuls directly from the bowl.
Mango Chutney Dal
And after aaallll this, we still had space for dessert - we had our eyes set on the raspberry summer pudding, but were told it was still a little more time in the making and settled for something else. But I guess the stars were shining down on us, because we were then told that we could have some if we waited a little while. Of course we could wait! we had two meals worth of food inside each one of us. We could do with some time to allow our tummies to recuperate.
Raspberry Summer Pudding
Though what you see here looks rather heavy, it honestly wasn't. The chocolaty layers were not that sugar rush sweet, but just enough to complement the slight sourness of the berries. The cream and and the bits of fruit brought it all together. A few spoon fights are for sure on this one.
The service was nice and the loo clean. This meal came to Rs 2300 with all the taxes (but then we did order enough for four adults :-P I found it a great meal and a good reminder of how some preconceived notions of a recipe can be dispelled in a great way. Only when you get a chance to eat the same dish cooked in different interpretations are you really able to appreciate the wonders that can be done with food.
Address: 618/1, 2nd Main, Opposite Just Bake, Indiranagar, Bangalore
Phone: 42073555
Cuisine: Anglo-Indian, Continental
Wallet factor: Rs 1200 for 2
Wallet factor: Rs 1200 for 2
Parking: Some space out front and around
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