Bangalore restaurant reviews kid friendly

Shizusan Shophouse and Bar

Thursday, August 17, 2017ruthdsouzap

If there is one genre of food that Bangalore cannot get enough of, it pan-Asian. The idea of good Asian meal has long since gone past the fried rice and manchurians and people now look forward to good dimsums, some great baos, hearty ramens and udons and of course satays, laksas, grills and stuff off the wok. Which means that Asian restaurants opening their doors now need to up their game, go above and beyond and have a menu that is diverse enough for those who want to experiment, yet spot on in terms of flavours in every dish that is laid out. Attention to detail and being able to be innovative without being overwhelming is the key. Tough things to crack, but Shizusan Shophouse and Bar seems to have gotten its train moving on the right track. 

We were invited to try out the fare at Shizusan by the good folks that manage it but never really were able to have the stars align for a visit. Whitefield can be pretty much off the radar thanks to Bangalore's crumbling infrastructure. Nevertheless, we did manage to coordinate a group visit to the outlet, ate and drank for quite a while and I for one came away majorly satisfied. Have been plotting a revisit for a while now - considering the Metro to Byapanahalli is easily accessible to us and then its a short 20 minute or so ride away. Let's see...

The bar menu is quite an extensive one and we did have a significant number of drinks that day. Clockwise what you see is the - GinSing made with Ginger and Lemongrass and definitely a nice mild one to begin on. Iced Milo Milkshake- is exactly what the name says. Takes you back to your childhood, but this one is ideally meant to finish your meal on. The Sriracha Blush; Cocky Rooster - The description of  Bird's Eye Chilli, Tomato juice, celery salt with a pint of beer thrown in had me at first go and this was the drink I began with. 

While we waited for the food to starting streaming in, the very addictive Steamed edamame kept us company. There are two versions to choose from - the Himalayan Pink Salt and Shichimi as well as the Garlic and Sriracha. Do be careful with these - you may end up filling yourself up with them and trust me you don't want to. 

We then went into a series of dimsums. Again clockwise - soon after the steamed edamame that I could not help repeating is the Prawn and Chives, Crystal Vegetables and the Edamame Petit Pois. Each one of these worked well for me - the dimsum covers were just the right thickness- enough for you to feel them, yet not overpowering on the filling. Each of the fillings had their unique flavours which meant that even though we were tasting so many, each one had that distinctive set of flavours. They also looked very pretty.

Anoushka was the only child at the table that day and I was happy to see a Hainanese Chicken Rice - Classic street food/shophouse style filling meal, this one gets a nice upgrade here with sauces to help you customize your meal. Anoushka was very happy with the soft chicken, rice and the broth and of course those caramelized onions. Simple soul food that the child asked for repeats of... rarely happens but here it did!

So sushi has been around in Bangalore for a quite a while now and I personally find very few places that can really make you stand up to attention for them. At Shizusan I found that the Maki rolls, though pretty, did not really do it in the flavour department - a bit more on the sushi vinegar perhaps and some tighter rolling would have elevated it. The fillings - though popular in nature did not stand out. The sashimi too, was a bit too thickly cut, taking away from the freshness of the fish and the ability to enjoy a delicate slice of raw fish. Of course feedback given, am sure this has been taken care of already. Now what you see in the images above are Top and Clockwise - Rainbow Maki with Tuna, Salmon, Crabstick, Cucumber and Tobiko; These came 8 to a plate; The Sashimi- 3 pieces of each to a plate; The Philadelphia Roll with Salmon, Cream Cheese, Minced asparagus and tobiko and finally a classic platter of Nigiri.

One of the absolute highlights of the meal was the Black Pepper Lobster. It took me back to the night market of Bangkok at Ratchadaphisek, where after a particularly long day we had some grilled lobster at a shack. The lobster was cracked open, the meat scooped out and tossed with onions, garlic and those secret sauces that the people are so famous for, stuffed back in and grilled. This one here reminded of me of that, with its garlic, spring onions, portobello mushrooms, cilantro and black peppercorn filling. A hearty dish, I would go with a beer with this one.

This is another must-have on the - The Mussels in Lemon Grass and Coconut Cream with steamed Mantou buns. Even if you are a table of four- 2 of these would not be a bad choice. This mussels dish has a creamy, lemony ceviche like broth which has some textures added in the form of bird's eye chillies, caramelized onions and coriander. Hmmm... just made myself hungry for lunch!

The Half a Dozen Satay is an interesting idea where you get to choose a half dozen portion of satay from the options given, with a choice of sauce. We had here the Portobello mushrooms with peanut sauce, chunky cucumbers and onions.

This here is the Asian Watermelon salad - Radish, Feta, toasted almond, mint, cilantro tossed up with a chilli-garlic soy dressing. Refreshing and good palate cleanser.

Salt and Pepper Calamari which is nice and crispy in its own right, but its its celery aji amarillo chilli dip that you should be aiming for here. It packs some serious zing and can elevate just about anything to new levels.

Chicken Kaprow - with some great aromatics, basil, chilli and loads of minced chicken. This flavourful dish can be the perfect accompaniment to just about anything - from steamed jasmine rice to a heavier noodles or along with a set of other stir fries.

Kung pao calamari - I loved the way the calamari was cut up for this dish. A good Kung Pao sauce, and again an addictive dish, with some added textures from cashews, spring onions and dried chillies.

Desserts were the Vietnamese Banh Chuoi Nuong - the classic baked banana cake; The 5 Spice Creme Brulee and the Tender coconut cheesecake all of which can make the end of the meal a good, whether you order one of them or all of them.

Shizusan has a massive menu on offer with equal options for vegetarians and those who eat meat. It can take you a while to get through the menu and figure out just what to make a meal of. The ambience is lovely especially the semi outdoors and there are a lot of opportunities for selfies too - some fantastic backgrounds and light play going on. The space invites you to sit down and spend some leisurely time with friends, family and some good food. The average meal for two is around Rs 2700++. The one hitch in the restroom department is that you have to use the mall loos which is no fun.

Shizusan Shophouse and Bar
Address: Level 2, Phoenix Market City, Mahadevpura, Whitefield
Cuisine: Pan Asian
Serves Alcohol
Phone: 080672 66655

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