Bangalore restaurants- On my plate

Ranoosh

2012-01-30T00:33:00.000-05:00

I love Arabic food... must be because I was one of those Gulfie kids, born and brought up in the Middle East till the beginning of my teens. I had a Palestinian babysitter to boot, who could cook the pants off any hatted chef and who loved to feed me all the time. And that's why when I heard that Ranoosh serves Dolma, I was itching to get there. Dolma basically refers to stuffed vegetables - common ones that get stuffed are aubergines, zucchinis, peppers and others. But my favorite has always been the grape leaf that my babysitter made... these beautiful little glistening green rolls stuffed with rice, mince, slivers of cabbage and served warm.

We headed to Ranoosh and all I could think of was the Dolma. Thankfully they have valet parking, and the automatic doors open straight into the restaurant. A nice spacious floor with sofa and individual seating as well.

A view of one part of the restaurant

A complimentary fresh salad

As soon as I got the menu in hand, scanned through it, saw the Dolma in the cold mezze section and asked for it right away. It took a few minutes of waiting to realize that it was in the cold mezze section which meant it was vegetarian. The non-veggie ones are generally served warm. Never mind... it was coming to the table anyway. And then it did. First impressions - not as generously packed as my babysitter used to make them. It also had this tamarind glaze running on top of it. Popped one into my mouth and the initial taste was very lemony, coupled with the tamarind on top it was slightly over-powering. But for me... nice since I love sour to the extent of squeezing a lemon directly into my mouth. For those who don't really like lots a lemon, maybe you will need to tell the chef to tone that down a bit... So this one dish did not live up to my memories of dolma, but to a lemon lover like me it was not a complete let down.

Dolma

Moving on, we had another starter from the hot mezze section - Chicken liver sauteed with garlic and lemon with a pomegranate dip. I am not one for innards of any sort, but was in a mood to try out something different that the usual falafels, fatayers and Fatoushs that were there. When it did come, it was really great. The liver bits were not rubbery to bite into and with the pan drippings that they were served with and that signature lemony taste, it was really yum. Suffice to say that if it had me reaching out with my fork multiple times, it was good. We got a garlic dip here and not pomegranate as the menu mentioned. But it was nice nevertheless. We had the pomegranate dip which was surprisingly spicy at iKebab Istanbul Grill when it was open. Thinking back, the garlic dip was a better bet with this dish.

Sauteed chicken liver

There is not much by way of soft drinks here, and so a virgin mojito was all we ordered. Now that I think of it, that signature lemon was in it too. But it was pleasant.

Virgin Mojito

Anoushka had brunch already by time we got here and so we stuck to a simple chicken cream soup for her. It came with some bread sticks. It was all that the name said - creamy and filled with chicken and quite the filling soup for our little mite.

Chicken cream soup

As for us - the menu had the usual suspects on an Arabian menu - Hummus, Mutabel, Shawarmas of different kinds and we wanted to steer clear of those. We chose to go in for a platter of different meats. I mean, what's an Arabic meal without it. So we ordered for the Mixed Grill Meat with Shish Tawouk. It came with Lamb Kebabs, Shish Kebabs, Shish Tawouk along with french fries and a garlic dip. There was also grilled onions and tomatoes along with a pita bread that was garnished. It was quite a platter and even for two very hungry people like us, we took home a small doggie bag. The fun of eating a platter of meats like this is to make a roll out of them with pita bread and all the garnishes. So we called for more bread and partied on make pockets of goodness out of them. Needless to say, the meats were tender, each one juicy with different marination. Coupled with the grilled tomatoes and onions and a french fry to boot, each roll of pita bread was fun.

Mixed Grill Meat with Shish Tawouk

The soft, out-of-the-oven pita bread

One of the rolls before I rolled it up

They had this counter filled with goodies and which was constantly being added to. For dessert it was a toss up between Mahalabiyah and Oriental Baklava. Mahalabiyah won. It did look very coconutty and that was not working in its favor initially.

The counter of yumminess

Mahalabiyah

But when we ordered it finally, this sweet dish was the perfect example of how a simple milk based dessert can be such a fantastic end to a beautiful meal. One bowl looks like something that will sit heavy on your stomach, but that is just the way it looks. Each spoonful is like going through cream and the taste so light without being overly sweet. And that dose of crushed pistas made the perfect garnish.

Service is good and the wait staff know the menu inside out. The menu itself is long and there is a decent choice for vegetarians as well. For those who are not too experimentive, the Arabian biryanis they have should work good. I would love to go back and try their arayes and shawarmas for old time sake. The loos are clean. This meal came to Rs 1700 all taxes included.

Address: No 120-125 Mega Tower, KH Road, Shanthinagar

Phone:43452222
Cuisine: Arabic, Lebanese
Wallet factor: Rs 1500 for two

Parking: Valet parking

Village - the soul of India

2012-01-27T00:24:00.000-05:00

There are so many long holiday weekends this year and I already have things planned out for most of them. But when it came to this particular one (the Jan 26th one), we had to shelve most of our plans for several reasons. Not one to give up that easily, I had this one holiday well planned out - Get as early as possible to the Lalbagh Flower show and then head out to the Butterfly Park at Bannerghatta road with a nice lunch in between. The Lalbagh Flower show, at least what I got to see of it considering the crowd was like someone had told the Bangalorean population gold was being handed for free, was really nice. But we saw half and got out before we got squashed. Next we headed to Bannerghatta road, but half hour of not making any head way in senseless traffic and we just hightailed it back. I needed to pick up some stuff for junior and we headed to Central Mall in JP Nagar. As luck would have it I did not get what I was looking for. As we were leaving, happened to notice this ad painted on the lift - "The Village, Yeh Ek Restaurant Nahin, Ek Anubhav hai" - Its not a Restaurant its a experience". Since we were there and its was lunch time, we decided to head there. And so all the way to the 6th floor we went.

At the door we were greeted by this guy playing the dhol. You pay at the entrance for the buffet, which was vegetarian and then enter. I was totally floored then - below is one of the first sights you see... an absolute village setting. You have a fake neem ka ped (tree) with a jyothish (astrologer) sitting there waiting to read your palm, you can get mehendi done or even some tattoos. The whole place is divided into sections that are typical to the village. You have the Billu Barber section, complete with the mirror and grooming paraphernalia, Imperial Talkies where a real ancient B&W film was playing. Bal Vidya Mandir with the blackboard et al, the Police Taani, Babloo ki Goshaala (Babloo's cow shed) and more. It was so much to take in at one time and junior was in excitement overdrive.

The neem ka ped and astrologer

An overall look

The Billo Barber section

Imperial Talkies and Bal Vidya Mandir

Now for the food experience. As you enter, you have these guys dressed as chaiwallahs carrying little steel glasses of jal jeera and shikanji in those metal tea carriers. You can take as many glasses as you like. Next a chap dressed as an inmate of Central Jail (which later features as an important part of your meal) comes around with an old time kettle filled with hot tomato soup. The Shikanji and Jal Jeera were ice cold and great and the soup was so-so. We took in a bit of the movie at Imperial Talkies while we sipped on these.

Being served by the inmate. I just caught him at the wrong time,
he was actually smiling all the while

Next you can head to the Chaniya Maniya counter and gorge on all sorts of chaats. There was a shouting match going on between the Theka (where ice golas were being made) and this counter. Each was yelling out typical hawker style to get more people to their corner. It took me a few minutes to figure out that it was the same guy with the gun throat heading from one counter to another and creating the ruckus. But good fun it was! We missed it at the beginning, but opposite the GoShaala is the paani puri guy and you should have some from there if you like tangy, spicy, aloo filled puris on your little plates.

The food is a mix of Rajasthani, Gujrati, Marwari, Punjabi and some South Indian thrown in for good measure. And so, there is a push cart serving a variety of farsaan. Lot of crispy savories and junior came back quite often. All the mains were served at "Hungry Eyes Chowmein Center". From what I can remember - dum aloo, paneer in a thick cream based gravy, Sarson da Saag, two kinds of dals, a moong dal pulao, rasam vada, white rice, sambar, mango kadhi, dal kichdi, pav bhaji and jalebis made hot of the fire. Tried most of it and liked what I ate. What particularly stood out was the mango kadhi, the moong dal pulao and the sarson da saag.

The Farsaan Counter

Hungry Eyes Chowmein center (Oh Yes! there was chowmein as well)

And so where were the rotis you ask - in Central Jail of course. You head there and get your dosas or rotis made on the spot. The choice was between naan, makki di roti and parathas. I had one of each and all were great. Skipped the dosas though.

Central Jail, where most people actually stood and had their meal so that they could get hot rotis literally off the tandoor and into their plate

A look at one of my initial servings - dal khichdi, dum aloo,
makki di roti, sarson ka saag and a dal

We sat close to the theka in the Billu Barber section. Do not miss the truck wheels put up with those tacky oneliners you see on trucks. Now while seated here, one of the chaps was roaming around with this bucket filled with fake (or not) Carlsberg beer bottles filled with chaas (buttermilk). I called him over and had 3 three glasses of that cold yumciousness. Got a scratchy throat today though!

Now can you miss having an ice gola after all this - I could but Sudhakar was not about to. He decided on a strawberry kiwi one and had a ball finishing it off. I headed to the Mishtan Bhandar (sweet stall) and had one of each - kala jamun, tiranga burfee and something called Kela Burda. This looked very much like a gulab jamun, only thing the stuffing was predominantly banana... warm and yum.

In the making and on the plate

Strawberry Kiwi ice gola

Tiranga Halwa, Kala Jamun and Kela Burda

By now we were pretty stuffed and simply walking around - I got my palm read for Rs 51 and thoroughly enjoyed an impromptu Bhangda show by this big group of guys who came in and made the punctured autorickshaw cum seating table their adda. And through it all came this guy on cycle selling "garama garam chai".

Garam chai from the cycle wallah

This huge truck where a large family can be seated

The impromptu bhangda session

What the Village has to offer

I agree that this was an experience more than a restaurant. At the end of it I had spent more time taking it all in and taking photos than I actually ate. The food is nice, the novelty factor is certainly there. The "Laadies" and "Jhaantz" loos are equally clean, though the Laadies could do with some mopping. For the Rs 750 this cost us, chomping on a paan and ringing a bell on the way out to show our appreciation, I would say it was completely worth the fun!

Address: Bangalore Central Mall, 45th cross, JP Nagar

Phone:9663294243
Cuisine: North Indian, buffet, bit of South Indian too
Wallet factor: Rs 750 for two

Parking: Mall parking

Maiya's - Home Delivery

2012-01-16T00:28:00.000-05:00

We have lived in Jayanagar long before Maiyas made an entry. In the 10 years that we have lived in this area, we have been to MTR twice - once for the meals and once for the breakfast. And Maiyas - well we went there once and were told it was a 45 minute wait for a Rs 110 breakfast buffet. We didn't really think it was worth it and came home. I guess it mostly the crowds the put us off considering we eat out largely on weekends and would rather spend timing eating than standing in line.

If there is one thing I have mourned about in terms of food in Bangalore is the lack of people who deliver breakfast. Back home in Mangalore, we have outlets falling over themselves to deliver even just a bowl of chutney if you ask for it. So when I suddenly stumbled upon the fact that Maiyas was delivering breakfast beginning as early as 7 AM, I did a little whoop of joy. The menu is limited but covers all the essentials and my favorite - bisi bele bath. Here is a look

This is how the boxes come

The masala dosa with chutney

Pineapple kesari bath

Bisi Bele Bath

Idli Sambar

Chandrahara (available only on Sundays)

Now all the breakfast items come relatively hot. The chutneys and sambars are fresh. Typical of Maiyas, everything is loaded with ghee. The bisi bele bath in fact has a thin layer over it and also has cashews and those little sambar onions which add a whole new dimension to the taste. The sweets are typical breakfast ones and the Chandrahara has a good measure of clove in it as well. They also have meals of different kinds that get delivered. I ordered a quick working day lunch combo of the holy trinity - sambar rice, rasam rice and curd rice. Below is how the package came.

And this is how the meal looked when I opened the box. Nice, when you are in a hurry but if its a little leisurely I wouldn't want my rice and gravies mixed. They have chapathi meals, north Indian, joladda roti among other options.

Other likes for Maiyas delivery is that they also deliver their bakery products - have tried their wholewheat bread and butter cookies. Also tried a couple of pastries and they are all nice. Once you register with them, they give you a number and you don't have to repeat your address each time you call. Mondays are the only day delivery is not available. An average breakfast for two - 2 dishes and sweet dish is around Rs 200.

Address: 459/30, 30th Cross, 4th Block, Jayanagar Bangalore

Phone:43311111
Cuisine: South Indian breakfast, north indian meals, Gujrati too.
Wallet factor: Rs 200 for two breakfast

Dine with Panache...

2012-01-13T00:46:00.000-05:00

It was one of the evenings when we had gone to visit some friends in Koramangala and we decided to eat out. Dine with Panache is a hop, skip and two jumps away from their home and so we bundled the kids, squeezed into one car and got ourselves there. Got a good spot right outside the restaurant and had to walk up a flight of stairs to get to the resto. The lighting, from the staircase onwards was this dim ambient sort... nice.

The resto was empty when we got in and so we had a choice of seating. They have a split floor on one side of the resto with seating down there. Seating was around this little depressed well too. There is also a glass wall partitioned semi-outdoors set-up which seemed really pleasant, but with the kids and the climate we decided to stick indoors. They do have a decent liquor list but we decided against it as it was a working day in the morning. Here is a look at what we ate.

The Lagan ki Boti was described as mutton cubes marinated in garam masala spices, onion, yogurt and placed in the tandoor. These came out like kebabs when served and were quite soft. Despite the onions and garlic, it did not leave you searching for a mouth freshener.

We also wanted to have a vegetarian starter and went in for Karare Aloo ki Tukde. Their description of spicy potato cubes marinated with spices and curd and put in the tandoor was spot on... at least on the spicy aspect. Our initial thoughts of giving this to the kids was instantly chucked out. It was spicy and by the time we were finished, we had a glasses of water replenished twice over.

Safest bet for the kids was aloo parathas and this they had quite willingly. The parathas were soft, loaded with butter and stuffed to the hilt with mildly spiced potato. It was really a nice choice for the little mouths.

And for us grown ups, we teamed together Kesari Chooze ki Salan - which was chicken cubes with spinach and fenugreek in a onion-garlic base. This too was grainy in texture and went well with the makki ki rotis that we had ordered (below).

We needed one more side dish and that was Bhuna Dum ka Ghosht. Again, a similar tomato-onion-garlic-possibly almond/cashew paste gravy. Nice, because of the ingredients in it, but nothing to remember when hunger strikes at 3 in the morning.

And can we leave without desserts in a north Indian meal - the kids had gulab jamuns that were served warm = great. We had two shahi tukde go around. The slices of bread were quite thin and there were two to a plate, but still the taste was quite nice.

Gulab Jamun (above)

Shahi Tukde (Below)

Overall it was a pleasant meal to end the weekend. I wouldn't term it spectacular and my all time north Indian khana favorite continues to remain Sahib, Sindh, Sultan. The loo is not really in a discreet part of the restaurant and considering that my daughter loves to announce where she is going, it can get a bit embarrassing. The loo is clean though. This meal came to around Rs 2000 for 5 adults and 3 kids. This is without alcohol, which I still feel is reasonable. If you are in the area and want a pleasant meal, this is a good choice.

Address: No: 84, ST Bed, 4th Block Koramangala, Bangalore
Phone:42124141
Cuisine: North Indian
Wallet factor: Rs 700 for two with alcohol
Cards Accepted: Yes
Parking: Yes, small space outside restaurant

The Year(s) Gone By - In Meals!!

2012-01-02T01:33:00.000-05:00

Its a New Year and we are just back from having a whale of a time - wedding anniversary, Christmas, Anoushka's Birthday, New Year - these last 10 days have been a constant party session. Its been close to 3 years since I started blogging about the restos we have visited and I thought since this is the season of recapping on all the good and not so good, why not relive some of the great meals/dishes that this blog has seen. Am taking you through a very personal love list of yummy in my tummy.

The Piquant Tomato and Chicken Risotto at Bangalore Bistro. This was one of the first restaurants that found its way onto the blog. And even today we love the place to bits. We have eaten everything on the menu and are now at the stage of having the food customized for us. Love the way they look after kids here and how they adjust meals, portion and taste to suit them. It is located plonk in the middle of a busy street but is sooo cut off from the noise. It remains the number one of my list, though the remaining entries are in no particular order.

The Paan Ice-cream at The Higher Taste (Iskcon Temple), where a complete paan is ground into the ice cream mix. Now if you want to convert someone to vegetarianism, treat them at this place. It is one place that truly treats its vegetables with respect. Dishes from all over South India at prepared in the Satvic style and I am amazed at how wonderful they can be made to taste. Their Nellikai Charu - Gooseberry soup and their Elaneer Karaisal - a gravy made of the soft white insides of a coconut are brilliant. And no matter how much you eat here - you will not walk about feeling heavy on the tummy.

From the Satvic table to the haven for meat lovers - The Mandi at Ta'am was a recent discovery. A complete meal - this has veggies and rice, cooked with a hunk of mutton in a large vessel to the point of the meat dropping off the bone. Served with Mandi soup and a coriander chutney with slivers of onions in the tempering, this is one meal where you will have to put on your eating pants and something that will have you dreaming off through the night. Their Khichdi and Kheema is another combo that we love here.

The Pigs in a Blanket at Plan B. This was one of the first pubs we visited after Anoushka was born. Of course, we went in the afternoon on a weekday making it easier to handle her. But I loved their take on sandwiches and my favorite then was the Pigs in a Blanket. Its been quite a while since we visited but I follow their innovations and their food based competitions. And they even served emu recently if I am not wrong.

The Kyoto Meal at Edo. Though this was a meal on invite, I have heard from others that the quality and consistency is no different on any other night. This was one meal that opened our eyes to more of Japanese cuisine than we really knew, despite being lovers of the fare. I am reading "Sushi & Beyond" by Micheal Booth right now and there are places which make me question the complete authenticity of the Kyoto meal served to us. But then we have to keep in mind that for some things to be commercially viable as well, they have to be tweaked a bit and I think Edo has done that brilliantly.

The Baby Fish in Putanesca Sauce at the Rogue Elephant. This is one restaurant that we have followed since its tiny outlet near Ulsoor lake. From there they came to Basavangudi near our home and then on to the more lavish Rogue Elephant Bistro at Koramangala. But what has remained constant is the quality of food and the love that Sheila Appa and Anand put into the outlets is great. Must tries are their Bangers and Mash, the Carrot cake and their Mughlai Chicken curry with Herb rice.

The Kebab-e-Koobideh at Sufi - This was one restaurant that I was very iffy about. Placed on top of Empire in Koramangala I just wasn't too sure about how it would go. But when we finally did go there, I just couldn't get enough of the decor and the seating and the food. The meats are treated well and do excellent time in marination. The softness alone stands testimony to it. Their dessert Ranginek is also something to be tried.

The Texas Cheese Fries at Chili's - Loved this place for being an alcohol based family style outlet. While we sipped on cocktails, junior was given coloring paraphernalia to keep herself entertained. The starters, which you see up here were the size of main courses and work great for when you are in a group. Since we were just three when we visited, we just couldn't get all the way to main courses. But still loved everything about the place.

Moo's your daddy at Cafe Thulp - one of the first places to show us how much more there can be to a burger. It of course does have competition now with the likes of the Whammy at Peppa Zzing. But all hail goes to one of the front runners in the creation of delicious burger abnormalities.

The Naga Chili Chutney at the Naga Kitchen - our first introduction to northeastern cuisine was the food festivals held by the Ants Cafe. The Naga Kitchen in Kamanahalli was one of the first N.Eastern restaurants we visited and the Naga Chili Chutney was an instant hit. Of course, you feel like the sun has risen in your mouth, but if you can get over the smell of Akhuni, appreciate smoked meats and cross into uncharted territory of hell-like heat on your tongue, you will love North eastern food. And.. there is a lot more to it than spice if you take the trouble to explore.

The Korean Spread at Soo Ra Sang - Its sad that the owner had to shift base to Wind Tunnel Road from Koramangala. Despite overlooking the Old Airport runway, the only thing you get to see take off now are military planes. But the food is great - The Kimbob and the Je Yuk Bokkum (a spicy pork gravy and sticky rice) are standards. There was this one time when we were lucky to be served a pork in kimchi that was actually cooked for the owner's family.

I know zip about Vietnamese food and still am at pretty much at the starting line. But what I loved about the Che served at the Phobidden Fruit was the combination of beans, peas, jelly and cold coconut milk to make a dessert. Definitely will take getting used to but was interesting. The Pho and the avocado shake were well appreciated too.

The Chicken Ghee Roast at Suggi had me licking my fingers. It came after a long drive and a long wait to be served, but was well worth it. The ghee used is enough to give you a coronary just by looking at it, but coming from the area of this dish's birth, such indulgences are allowed.

And finally on this list is the Kashmiri naan at Cafe Canada - Its place here is not because it blew us away by its brilliance but because even today - almost two years after tasting it, I cannot forget its audacity at just being served - This naan came with a generous slathering of mixed fruit jam, slices of marsh melon, orange and stray piece of chickoo and was meant to be eaten with a gravy!!!

Worthy mentions on my list also go to the Egg Factory for its ability to come up with all things egg, Flamenco, for being a lifesaver when it comes to decently priced Continental stuff in Jayanagar and Wild Spice for some unpretentious and great Coorgi Food.

With this new year and the number of restos starting up, am really looking forward to another year of exploration!!!

Basant Residency - for a Jolada Rotti meal I have been pining for

2011-12-09T00:33:00.000-05:00

When I was working in ETV Kannada, I ended up being the only woman on the programming team. It took me a good year to break the ice with this male-dominated office, but once I managed to do that I was considered one of the guys. Lunch, every afternoon was a quest - and thanks to those guys I discovered the best that Gandhinagar and Majestic had to offer, from the seediest of places that offered spectacular food to the better known places frequented by Kannada filmdom. And so I discovered the joys of standing on the roadside at a hole-in-wall place where you got mutton/chicken biryani only if you got there at 12.45. You stand on the road and eat and then wash it down with a goli soda from next door. There was also these fabulous Andhra meals and biryanis at Annapurna, there was also this place called the Mess, which served home made meals on banana leaves in a place that looked like it would fall down at any minute. One of the pleasures I was introduced too, being all new to Bangalore then and its cuisine was the jolada roti oota or jowar roti meals. Had it at Kamath and Pai Refreshments and used to be a fanatic. Once I quit ETV, I just never got around going to those places and indulging myself again.

And then off late, when I was taken over the "dying for some comfort food feeling", I found myself dreaming of this meal. Just happened to surf online about the meal and found on the Team BHP site that a place called Basant Residency in Gandhinagar were supposedly much better than the Pais' and Kamaths. This immediately took both of those places off my mind and we set out to discover it.

The geography of Gandhinagar hasn't changed much in these past years. A couple of one ways later we managed to roll up in front of Basant Residency. This was not one of the places I had tried earlier and I was really skeptical about it being a family place. But when I got there I sighed a breath of relief. It looked just like a Pai or a Kamath would. We just about managed to squeeze into a miniscule parking spot and then walked in. Settled down and immediately the plantain leaves were placed before us. One glance around it was evident that jolada roti was about the only thing ordered.

Here is the meal as it was presented. It started with a mix of fresh sticks of cucumber, carrot, radish and some spring onions. A handful of fresh methi leaves too were placed on the leaf. Loved the fact that nothing here looked faded or a little off. Every leaf on the sprigs of methi were fresh and full and the mini salad was freshly cut.

Then came the curd, the spiced buttermilk and a rice payasam that was sweetened with jaggery. I love anything curd-based and dipped into my little katori as soon as it came. Though thick, this curd was a bit too fermented for my liking. The buttermilk was great and so was the payasam. From the one spoon I had, it was of a good consistency and really sweet. Sudhakar doesn't like anything that begins with curd and has passed those genes onto junior and so we mutually agreed to exchange a katori of curd for one of payasam.

Then came the stars - a red bean palya, another semi gravy one of a type of gourd and finally the Enegayi. The Eengayi or stuffed brinjal gravy is the main accompaniment to the jowar rotis that keep coming to your table steaming hot. This style of making brinjals comes from north karnataka and has a mixed of tamarind, peanuts and coconut. It must be had steaming hot or else the flavor is completely lost and this one had a lot of it.

Waiters were running around with baskets of piping hot rotis. Each time you asked for one (and you can ask for as many as you like), they are placed on your leaf. You then open them out and take a spoon of the butter that is placed on the table and spread it over the roti. Only after that do you eat it with the brinjal gravy. Of course in between you can munch of the methi leaves, radish and spring onions for good measure. Each item brings a different flavor out.

There was also the traditional chilli bajji of North Karnataka too that found its way to our leaf. Spicy but not the hell hounds having an BBQ on your tongue types.

The natural course of the meal meant that we progress to rice and sambar. Not too sure of what the sambar was since I wasn't served any of the vegetable in it. But whatever it was, it was nice. I have tasted better sambars loaded with more veggies and perhaps that is the only grouse I have here.

From my hostel days, if there is one thing I can survive on 365 days of the year, its rice, rasam and pickle. As with any vegetarian meal, this was served as well. Loved the rasam, it was more the garlicky-pepper types and with the freshly mixed lime pickle on the table, it was a superb combination.

We did order a lime juice, but this is something you can avoid. It tasted like a mix between lime concentrate and lemon flavored Rasna. Bleckkkk!!

I did not miss the Kamaths and the Pais one bit with this meal. Basant made it a great way to come back for something I loved and still do - a good wholesome south Indian meal on a leaf. 10 minutes after we walked into the restaurant the place was packed and there was a line waiting outside. Two meals and two lime juices came to Rs 299. The loos are clean and this is definitely a family kind of place.

Address: No: 3, 4th Main Road, Opp Jain Temple, Behind Syndicate Bank, Gandhinagar, Bangalore
Phone:22443434
Cuisine: North Karnataka, South Indian
Wallet factor: Rs 300 for two
Cards Accepted: Not too sure. We paid cash
Parking: Maybe if you have one of those futuristic cars that you can fold and put into a briefcase! else you just got to be very lucky

Upsouth

2011-12-05T00:39:00.001-05:00

Every weekend, my kitchen is on strike... being a work from home mother takes it toll and by the end of the week I just want someone else to do all the work. And that is when most of our experimenting happens. Finding a good breakfast place can get difficult. There are a few good ones in Jayanagar but we have exhausted everything on their menus. Have been hearing of Upsouth outside Ragigudda temple and have been meaning to visit for a long time. So why not not begin the weekend this way we thought.

Its hard to miss the place. It has two levels of seating, the downstairs being largely occupied we headed on up. The decor is honestly a mix between an upscale darshini and a wanna-be coffee hangout. So while you have huge orange splashes and one-liner jokes all around, you have college / office canteen style tables and chairs to sit on, all packed really tight together.

What I instantly liked about the place is that they are a "thindi" place all through the day. So you don't have to worry about waking up in time to grab breakfast somewhere on a weekend. Second, you can order singles of every item or choose some of their combos. Its self service and so you place your order, pay for it and wait a short while. Just like in a darshini, the coffee counter has a nook of its own. Food will be a picto-review

A look at the service counter and decor

This is one of the combos we took for Anoushka - It has 6 button idlis and sambar, a mini masala dosa, 1 uddin vada with sambar and this was followed by a large poori (pix below) and veggie saagu. There were three chutnies on the plate - good old coconut, mint/coriander chutney and a tomato/chilli one or was it the pomegranate seed one?!. Since everything was piping hot when it came to the plate, it was great. The button idlis were really soft and nice and Anoushka thoroughly enjoyed the mini version. The potata masala in the dosa was thankfully well spiced and not clumpy like most darshinis tend to serve. Loved the plain coconut chutney. And the sprinkling of raw onions on the vada sambar really did a neat trick. The poori was off the kadai and into the plate and not as oily as they normally are.

Sudhakar started with the paper masala dosa. Perching pretty on the plate it came with the sambar on the side and was nice. Junior pretty much left her plate and attacked this when she saw it.

I am a sucker for good bisi bele baath. And now, after Maiyas home delivery for breakfast, this is the second place that serves it all through the week and is close to home. Steaming hot, it came with all the accompaniments that most darshinis scowl when you ask for them. There was coconut chutney, raita and a good helping of kaara boondi on top. The rice and dal where a good mash and loved that the veggies still had a good bite to it and were not a paste. Maiyas adds in sambar onions which are I feel are a brilliant addition, but nevertheless, this one was good too.

Bisi Bele Baath

Anoushka loves kesari baath/sheera and we had to have one of that too. I think there was a bit of food color in this one since the yellow seemed to be in competition with the sunflowers (if there were any around). But that did not do anything to bring down the yummy taste. It was nice, a good amount of roasted nuts in it too.
Needless to say junior did not need help polishing this one off.

We rounded it off with cold rose milk and hot kapi. I haven't had rose milk since I was maybe in school when mom used to make it for me. This was tasted really nice - no OD'ing on rose syrup and sweetness, but just right. The coffee too got a thumbs up from Mr Prabhu.

Rose milk, Kapi and the view from our seat

On another visit, we partied on

A nice glass of spiced buttermilk

This was a another combo with pooris and aloo bhaaji, a vada with chutney and sambhar, pongal, raita, curd rice and kesari. Loved everything on this plate except for the pongal. It was quite dry and very bland for my taste. Even the raita did not help.

Onion rava masala dosa. This was crisp and heavenly with the chutnies

Masala uttappam with shredded carrot, capsicum and a sprinkling of masala powder

Overall really liked the place - serves beautifully as a all-day breakfast/brunch place especially if you have partied too hard the previous night. There are several other options in terms of eating - plain parathas with veggie curries, a few other types of dosas, vadas and rice preparations. The service is quick enough. Each of the two visits came within Rs 250, which for a brunch for three was really good. The loos are on the first floor where we were and needed some attention.

Address: No: 23, 26th Main Road, 9th Block, Jayanagar Bangalore
Phone:22443434
Cuisine: South Indian
Wallet factor: Rs 150 for two
Cards Accepted: Not too sure. We paid cash
Parking: For bikes yes to an extent. For cars, "Dear Goddess of Parking, just this once, hear our prayer"

Legends Motorcycle Cafe & Museum

2011-11-29T00:24:00.000-05:00

One Saturday afternoon I was on the call of duty (something I seem to be doing most saturdays despite having promised myself not to) - I had to visit a very charming lady in Panduranganagar near Apollo Hospitals on Bannerghatta road for a story on miniature gardens that I was working in. Once I had the story in the can, it came down to the eternal question of where do we head to for lunch. Sudhakar asked if I was up for a drive - why not? I didn't have any other story I was working on so on we drove... and geographically challenged that I am, it was only when we crossed Commercial Street did I realize that we were heading towards Frazer Town. From then on it was just the question of "are we there yet... are we there yet.... are we there yet... ARE WE THERE YET!!" till finally we were there - outside Legends Motorcycle Cafe & Museum.

A nice small cafe with walls that were filled with picture frames. In fact in one corner you will even find the pictorial chronicles of owner Prabhu's biking adventures. The seating arrangements were all wood based. Nice salon styled high chairs against a massive wooden bar table (though the place serves no alcohol). Everything in the decor has a very "been there done that look", as though each piece can tell you of a good biker adventure. The one Singer sewing machine table was quite the cute thing. But what is really cool about this place is the small bike museum on the first floor. I don't know much about bikes but you can take a look at them in the slide show below and - each and every one of them is in working condition, having been ridden to this spot by the owner.

A view of the decor (above and below)

The menu is in a sliding folder and is a photocopied handwritten one, with little sketches in the corners for some of the dishes. We decided to go with what the menu recommended and what I happened to see on one of the certificates that the place has got. And so for starters we had the boneless tenders with chilly flakes and the stuffed mushroom moiley.

Boneless tenders with chilly flakes

Stuffed mushroom moiley

The tenders were well... tender, marinated in a slightly chinesey base and fried with chilli flakes. Despite which it was not overly spicy. In fact, it is just the thing you would like to be nibbling on if you had a chilled beer open on the table. The stuffed mushroom moileys were real neat in their presentation. Little mushrooms stuffed with potatoes, peppers, dusted off in battered breadcrumbs and fried. Really yummy... but don't do what I did and pop the whole thing in your mouth in one go, the center is deceptively hot and you risk losing the tasting member of your faculties.

Sudhakar went in for the Club sandwich with chicken, cheese and egg. He has been here before and refuses to progress beyond this sandwich. When it arrived, I could see why - between three toasted slices of bread, you have a nice omelet, diced chicken (quite a generous portion) some mayo, diced onions and tomatoes. Anoushka loved it so much that she manually deconstructed the sandwich and had a good portion of it. But put together, it can make one great lunch option.

Chicken club sandwich

Sudhakar's colleagues happened to drop in for a quick family lunch and I was able to sneak a photo of their meal. Grilled seer fish with a lemon sauce, blanched veggies and herb rice. Not to miss the heart shaped presentation for the rice. Their verdict was that the fish was really fresh, the sauce light and zesty and the grilling just right. Again, am guessing that the meal was great and that's why it vanished off their plates at the speed it did.

Grilled fish in lemon sauce and blanched veggies

I decided to go for the one thing on the menu that sounded really different - Chicken Baldonia - I was told it was diced chicken, in a spicy sauce with a peppers based rice. Bring it right on! I scoured the net to see if I could find anything about this dish and broaden my horizons a bit - but nada! Maybe I should go again and bug Prabhu about what it is. What came was quite the quantity of diced chicken in a distinctly, tomato, onion, herbs based gravy. Not spicy at all and a three pepper rice. I did try replicating the rice at home a couple of nights later and found that junior much appreciated the tri-color in it. The perfect hot plate of food that you would want on one of these cold nights that we are experiencing these days (and as if to contradict me, the sun is peeking out of the clouds just as I type this).

Chicken Baldonia

Anoushka is almost done with her soup spree and is now into penne pasta. Of course Sudhakar's club sandwich came first and so she filled her stomach with that, leaving us to split this dish between us. There is the option of having a simple aglio olio styled pasta - Prabhu suggested we add fish instead of chicken since it had just come in and so that is what we did. And from the picture you can see how generous the cheese was. Herbs and chilli flakes completed the picture and it was another really pleasant dish.

Pasta with fish tossed in olive oil with herbs

Apparently one of Sudhakar's non-coffee drinking colleagues converted to coffee after having the black version here. I personally can't get myself to drink coffee, but Sudhakar had one and it did look like something a coffee lover would appreciate.

Black coffee to round off

The most expensive dish on the menu is Rs 200. The crockery is a mix match of stuff giving the feel of being fed in a friend's kitchen. You may not say that about other places, but this one really does have that ambiance. Our meal came to Rs 600. The cafe is at the corner of a road and has a rounded off entrance. A small bike parking space up front does have bikers (maybe not in the true sense), roll up, have a bite and head on back into the traffic. The museum is worth seeing for any biking buff. The place is a great hangout. The loo is so-so.

Address: No: 15, Wheeler Road, Bangalore
Phone: 9448081969
Cuisine: Continental
Wallet factor: Rs 500 for two
Cards Accepted: Hmm.. not too sure. We paid cash
Parking: For bikes yes to an extent. For cars, call in a favor with Goddess of Parking

Zensation

2011-11-22T00:58:00.000-05:00

Jayanagar, over the past few years has seen this spurt in eating places. Of course, keeping with the overall preferences of this area, vegetarian in all its avatars is predominant here, but nevertheless, there are quite a few good ones that have come up. And so we heard that a place called Zensation had opened its doors at The Park Slope, a new hospitality unit.

I guess it happens with everyone... when you hear of a new place you automatically begin to imagine what it is going to look like. To me the name conjured up an Oriental place, Feng Shui in the decor, and for some strange reasons, black uniforms. As far as possible I try not to read too many reviews or write-ups on any place. Am human and I don't want to be influenced by anything, and so with this place I was able to keep an open enough mind. We got there, went up the elevator and came to an al-fresco styled seating.

There is a white canopy covering the top, you could see right through to the dense Lalbagh and if you twisted just right, you could see the lake in there too. There was fake grass on the floor, a dark wood for the decor and two brass Buddhas to complete the look. Fair enough! Nice and airy place... and then we were handed a nice folder with the menu in it. We opened it and all it had was a single leaf of plastic with a typed sheet in it. Menu was divided into Indian and Italian... and then it hit me... the board downstairs said Zensation - the Indo-Italian restaurant... now was I wrong to think Oriental??!!

The decor (Above and below)

As we looked through the menu it turned out to be very basic - typical Indian offerings of dals, rotis, gobi manchurians and biryanis. The Italian was pastas and to drink canned juice being the best on offer. And then the waiter came over to take our order - we decided to go simple, after all that was the only thing available. Pineapple juice to drink - "Spaghetti Pasta" as the waiter called it, with sun-dried tomatoes and chicken, a seafood pasta and a chicken biryani for Anoushka.

No points for guessing - Pineapple juice from a carton

Sudhakar wanted to know if the sauce on the seafood pasta was going to be red or white. Our good man had no clue and ventured to say "red and white sir". Ok, that was interesting. But good old Charlie went back to his station to confirm and came back with the revelation that the pastas were available in penne, spaghetti and fusilli and the sauces were in red or white with a choice of a meat/veggies. After which Columbus realized that he had not yet answered the question, went back and finally arrived satisfied that he at least part of the answer the first time round - the sauce of white. Phew!

Sun-dried tomato pasta with chicken

And then our plates arrive - with our orders the other way round - the spaghetti came with sea food and chicken/sun-dried tomatoes came in penne. And it took a few moments of convincing Charlie that the order was mixed up. By then we had decided to give the guy a break and let him go.

And after all this, both the pastas had a pleasant enough sauce. The chicken was ample in mine, but there was no sun dried tomatoes. What was there though was chopped cherry tomatoes. And the seafood pasta had good sized prawns and nothing else.

Seafood "spaghetti pasta" ;)

The biryani was again average. It used your everyday sona masuri rice, not even a low grade long-grain to give it the semblance of being a biryani for a hospitality place. But then the taste was pretty ok. Anoushka liked it enough to have a good portion of it. It had all the right trappings - the two colored grain, crispy slivers of onion and decent sized pieces of chicken. (Yes I ordered chicken, even though I am a staunch believer of "if its biryani, it has to be mutton").

Chicken biryani

We were offered desserts, which were ice-creams but politely declined. The chef did take the trouble to come out and speak to the us, the only patrons in the restaurant at the time. He agreed about the culinary education of his staff being non-existent. He also said that the sun-dried tomatoes were left out because they gave a bitter taste - hmm matter of opinion, but then pray, why mention it on the menu? The place is a month old and maybe still testing waters. Oh! and one other thing... having an open air resto with a great view in front and cowshed at the back means you alternate between fresh air and some not so good smells when you are eating. A menu, like say that of Flamenco would do a world of good to this place. At least, we didn't feel too down when the bill hit just Rs 500. My baby's growing up and so there was no customary visit to the loo.

Address: The Park Slope Hotel, Near Ashoka Pillar, Lalbagh, Bangalore
Phone: 26556466
Cuisine: Indo-Italian
Wallet factor: Rs 500 for two
Cards Accepted: Yes
Parking: Nothing much, but should be able to squeeze in somewhere

The Fat Chef

2011-11-18T00:12:00.000-05:00

We wanted to get out of town on the weekend. Fed up of the grind, we got into the car and headed to Whitefield... sure its part of town, but the traffic and the time we took to get there served the purpose of "getting out of town" in our minds. After whiling away time at the Forum Value Mall where junior had a blast in the kiddie play area, we drove backwards a bit and got into the parking area of The Fat Chef. It was quite the full house for a Sunday evening - a very good sign. Though we were four and half to be seated, we were lucky to get a table for six, coz 10 minutes into being there and we had to draw two chairs together for junior to go to sleep.

We were told that there were no menus and all the dishes were up on the boards right around where we were seated. But the starters available were told to us and we settled on Sauteed Beef and Beer Battered Prawns. To drink we also asked for a watermelon ice tea, 2 orange ones and a lemon soda. Unfortunately, my one pretty picture of the drinks got deleted by mistake and so none of it. The sugar syrup was served on the side which is a really good thing since most places generally seem to have a tie-up with the diabetes clinic in the vicinity. I chose not to add syrup to my watermelon ice tea since it tasted so naturally sweet and nice, but the others needed just a drizzle of it.

Sauteed Beef

Order the sauteed beef and you know why they say that sometimes its the simple things in life that taste the best. No fancy cooking techniques, no overdose of exotic spices - simple beef sauteed, soft... succulent and totally worth forgetting about being nice to others at the table and offering them the last bite. Not too spicy, not to bland and something that would go perfectly well with a chilled beer.

Beer Battered Prawns

The beer battered prawns were good sized fellows and the batter thin and crisp, good enough to give you the crunch when taking the first bite and then very thoughtfully fading into the background to allow Mr Prawn his moment of glory. The dip I felt was a slightly Chinesey one which was not a perfect fit for the great prawns and so I ate them as is and enjoyed it every bit.

And now for the main courses. Everything was up on the boards that you see in the pictures below. You get taken to the boards, a few suggestions are made and then you tell the staff your choice. Personally though I didn't like the idea too much since we had to take turns going with junior asleep. Also, with the kind of crowd going, everyone was hovering around the boards and in it all I missed the specials board completely. :(

But am told that the board thing is going to change, at least for the heavy days and printed menus will make their way in... so yay!!

The Menu Boards

And so we ordered, the Chicken breast stuffed with cheese and prawns. Chicken, cheese, prawns, accompanied by mashed potatoes and veggies.. Can it go any other way but the path to heaven. Of all the main courses we ordered that day, we all kept heading for that "one last bite" to this plate. The quantity was quite ample, and there was no issue finishing it at all.

Chicken breast stuffed with cheese and prawns

Sudhakar and I both went in for beef - him with beef ribs in cranberry sauce and mine beef steak with pepper mushroom sauce. We went in opposite ways on how we wanted our meat done. He had the well done, which I normally do and I had the medium rare. Both dishes were great... the beef done well in both ways. But the absolute winner was the cranberry sauce. It was a savory sauce with that light hint of fruitiness, combine that with some good beef and you have a great dish. The only thing here is that the salad and veggies both had carrots in them making for a very small difference in accompaniments.

And the one pasta dish on the table was the penne pasta with pesto and chicken. I know if Anoushka were not asleep she would have loved it. Cousin R liked it, but personally I would still go for the stuffed chicken with prawn and cheese. YummmY!!

Beef ribs in cranberry sauce

Penne in pesto with chicken

Beef steak with pepper mushroom sauce and mashed potatoes

Can't leave without a dessert can we and so a Mississippi Mud Pie it was. One to go by four people who love desserts. That's how much we were stuffed. But once this came to the table, I know the thought of ordering another one ran through everybody's mind. The pie itself was great and with that whipped cream on top... anyone on a diet is bound to forget about it.

Mississippi Mud Pie

Overall we enjoyed the food here. For cousin R, it was the second visit. My only grouse was the getting up to the boards to choose our meal and that I missed on some really interesting looking specials like the quiche and stuff. The place has a collection of wine. This meal came to Rs 2200 which is good for the splurge when you "out of town" like we were. For a full house day, the staff was pretty attentive and food hit the table fast enough. The loo was clean.

Address: #5/2A, Jagriti, Ramagondanahalli, Varthur Main Road, Whitefield, Bangalore

Phone: 42066166 (Reservations are always a good idea here)

Cuisine: Continental, American, Italian

Wallet factor: Rs 1100 for two without alcohol

Cards Accepted: Yes

Parking: Good enough space

Benjarong

2011-11-15T00:23:00.000-05:00

We were just done with our first Metro ride and since it was around lunch time were trying to figure out where to go. Sudhakar suggested we hike it up to Benjarong since it has been on that never-ending list of ours. Now, the authenticity of Thai food is not something I know much about, and so in my mind I had gone there with just "let's check out the flavor factor". Up the elevator we went and out into the waiting area of the resto. Just as we stepped out of the elevator we see this young maiden in a sarong sitting right below an ornate Oriental mirror carving a watermelon into a massive rose. Since she did not get up to welcome or seat us, I honestly thought she was part of the "living decor" of the place.

After we exchanged a few confused glances, a gentleman comes forward from within the restaurant and asks if we have a reservation, we reply in the negative and he runs off, only to send a second guy who asks us to wait a bit, goes in, comes out and then seats us. By then watermelon lady is done with her carving, she places it on the table and sashays off into the kitchen.

Ok... now done with that we were handed the menus... a recipe on the side panel of each page, then followed by the list of appetizers, soups, main courses and desserts with all the descriptions. Takes a minute or two to figure out the different tags, spicy, signature dishes etc.. So to make things easier for us, we just decided to choose from the signature dishes.

To drink Sudhakar chose the Siam Sparkle - ginger, some spices and a fizzy drink... nice! Reminded me of Sula Brut just a bit more spiced up! Since junior is now into soups we first thought of going in for the signature Tom Yum, which Benjarong has even got the Times Food Award for... but since it was marked spicy, decided to go in the for the milder Tom Som Pla (fish). The soup was clear, had a nice tangy zing to it and was generous enough with its fish.

Siam Sparkle

Tom Som Pla

While we were contemplating the main course, the complementary tray of Miang Kham came to the table. The name put together means eating a number of things in a single bite. Miang is a reference to food that you wrap in leaves, in this case, lettuce and Kham means a 'bite'.This tray of Miang Kham came with ginger, lemon, roasted peanuts, slivers of bird's eye chilli, the sweet n sour sauce (don't know what it is called though) and sliced shallots. All rolled up in the leaf, it did make browsing through the menu more fun. A word of caution though, those bird's eye chillis pack quite the wallop, you may want to think of adding just a skoosh when you rolling your leaf.

Miang Kham

For starters we ordered the standard chef's special at Benjarong, the Gai Hor Baitaey. This was a spiced chicken, wrapped in pandan leaves. The dish is quite the sight when it comes with these little parcels waiting to be opened. Anoushka was quite excited seeing them, though she was not about to get her hands messy. The chicken is steaming hot as you open the leaves, but the meat is soft and comes off easily in your fingers. The chicken was definitely marinated in ginger, pepper, coriander and few other spices. The slight sweetness I believe comes from palm sugar or perhaps an equivalent used here. This entire parcel is fried and thanks to the soy sauce, oil and of course the pandan leaves themselves, all the juiciness is retained on the inside. We really liked this one. The accompanying sauce was a bit overpoweringly sweet despite having the slivers of chilli in it.

Gai Hor Baitaey

And for the main course, we decided on Jasmine Rice, The Phad Thai Gai (chicken) and the Poo Pad Cha, a spicy dish made of crab meat. Below is a look at all three dishes together.

Jasmine Rice

Now from what I have read, Jasmine rice is best prepared by steaming and should have a slight aroma to it, which I have got when I have eaten it in other places, but not here. Also the rice, was quite the sticky mess, all clumpy and sticking to the spoon. In fact you can even see a few grains hanging on for dear life at the edge of the steamer. Anyways, this was by no standards a good rice and was definitely not fluffed out when it had done its time in the steamer. Most likely someone in the kitchen forgot it was on.

Phad Thai Gai

The Phad Thai Gai had all its ingredients right except it was missing the fish sauce am guessing and though we found it nice, I wouldn't really call it award worthy. Some of the noodles were sticking to each other and this was probably my main grouse with the dish. Now judging from the looks of the Poo Phad Cha you would say that there is a lot of crab meat in there and there was. Loved the taste, spicy, and right on the button. It even made the sticky Jasmine rice palatable, but a few spoonfuls later, I was tempted to give up. Even if the chef was trying to prove that he had personally shelled a real crab and put in the meat, I would prefer if he showed me a bowl of cracked shell on the side, rather than pepper my main course gravy with it. Almost every bite we took ended up with us finding a bit of crab shell. Blyak!

Poo Phad Cha

And yet we soldiered on. For desserts, despite having a totally messed up throat, I went for the signature Tub Tim Grob/Krob/Grub (found that there are many ways to spell this). Tub Tim literally means rubies and grob means crunchy and a final description of this dessert is crunchy water chestnuts in coconut milk. The rubies had settled on the bottom of the bowl of coconut milk. Once you scoop them up with some of the coconut milk, the crunch is really nice in the mouth. The dessert is great in the first few spoonfuls, but I felt the crushed ice that was added just diluted the already very thin coconut milk. After a point it was like drinking white water with chestnut rubies. Of course the next day I totally lost my voice thanks to the ice, but then I was asking for it.

Tub Tim Grub

Sudhakar went for the Sankhaya Fakthong - Pumpkin custard with coconut ice cream. Now this was one great dessert. The pumpkin custard was of the set variety and the spoon goes in ever so smoothly. Team that up with a lovely coconut custard and this is an absolute treat. Loved this one!

Sankhaya Fakthong

Overall, I wouldn't say we didn't like the meal, but its the small things, like the sticky jasmine rice and the shell in the crab that can spoil on otherwise good meal. The place does served beer and on a houseful day the staff can get a bit lost at to which table needs their attention. The decor is alright, and there is balcony seating, which on a rainy day can be really nice! This meal came to around Rs 2000 which is a bit steep for an average experience.

Address: #1/3, Ulsoor Road, Ulsoor, Bangalore

Phone: 42066166 (Reservations are always a good idea here)

Cuisine: Thai

Wallet factor: Rs 2o00 for two without alcohol

Cards Accepted: Yes

Parking: There is valet parking

Silver Oaks Farm House

2011-11-11T01:44:00.000-04:00

Once you have child, you will understand that the standard Bangalore weekend outings of restaurants and movies, or impromptu weekend trips, pubs, late nights, junk food are no longer an option. Places you go to have to be child friendly, the food good and clean, the loos clean and of course, it has to of course give you something to do as well. In my quest, I found Silver Oaks Farm House, which after we visited, I found many people knew about (talk about being in the dark). And from the reviews I found online - besides the view everyone was raving about Meera's cooking.

Run by Praveen and Meera Khanna, the farm house is close to Nandi Hills, is open to bookings on weekends. You can stay there overnight or you can visit for lunch or dinner/Breakfast. We have done both options. To say that Meera has magic in her hands when it comes to food is an understatement. Lunch is always an Indian buffet and dinners are sit down candle lit, 3/4 course affairs and breakfasts are buffets too... with all the trimmings. 99% of the ingredients used in the cooking is grown on the farm with natural farming methods. Below is a picto-review

Indian buffet lunch on our first visit

Chapathis and lemon rice

Dal and a dry mutton dish

Flat beans gravy on the left and stir fry of butternut squash on the right

Bajjis of Lotus Stem

There was also cabbage stir fry, and this amazing gravy made of
moong dal, tomato puree, fried onions and then tempered

Carrot halwa to round it off

Candle light sit down dinner

Home baked bread - out of the oven and onto our waiting plate

Beetroot soup - Anoushka who has rejected beetroot in every
conceivable form since birth actually ate some of this before we slurrped the bowl clean

Brussel sprouts (L) Salad with cabbage, apple & mayo, herbed baby potatoes and fish pie. The crust of the piece could be neatly broken in with the spoon. The fish filling on the inside was mixed with a white sauce and mild spices. Steaming hot, thanks to the casing and delicious right down to the last morsel.

Since Guavas were just harvested, a guava cheesecake (yummmmm!!!)

Buffet breakfast the next day

Guava jelly.strawberry jam.pomelo marmalade (all made on the farm) on the plate to the left.

All seasonal, all ingredients grown at the farm

Fruit juice and cereal

Fresh seasonal fruit and cheese spread

Choice of eggs and bacon (which BTW is unlimited)

And while you eat, this is view

At breakfast when the mist is lifting

At tea time

On a rainy day

We did visit another time and for lunch, the buffet had this amazing prawn stir fry with just the basic of spices to give it that zing. Dinner was a whole new affair. This time it was roasted chicken, a baby tomatoes and greens salad, a potato bake and hot garlic bread straight from the oven. Dinner was rounded off with home made apple pie and cream. Rather than have a stiff and hard casing, this pie has a soft casing, almost like a thin layer of chiffon cake. And the apple and cinnamon filling on the inside was divine.

Dinner on our second visit

Depending on what combination of meals you visit for, the prices vary. Walk-ins are not entertained at all. You will have to call in advance and make your bookings. Should you ever be dropping someone off at the airport, you are not too far away from this place. Oh yes! tea is also served and its always with a fresh home baked cake and cookies. Can you get more spoiled than this!

Walnut cake for tea

You can find all the details you need here http://www.silveroakfarm.com/

BBC's Good Food India

2011-11-09T01:34:00.001-04:00

When it finally did hit the stands, it was with this image screaming out on the cover - more than picking it up and opening it I, and am guessing a lot of other people did too, picked up BBC 's Good Food India inaugural issue and almost licked the front page. Thankfully, the cover itself tells you that the recipe is on the inside and I have kept it aside for one of those days when the chocolate urge gets very strong.

Food Lovers is perhaps the only "Indian" magazine before Good Food and it being Bangalore-centric was soon restrictive in its coverage I felt. And the repetition of the same names and faces in the magazine made me pick it up only for the superb food photography after a short while.

And for Good Food now - for a magazine it has all its fundamentals from magazine creation point of view in place. And why not, considering the stable from which it comes

* Its a food magazine and every picture is drool worthy. Wearing a bib while reading is recommended

* Information is not long and tedious, but rather in tidbits making you take your time on each page

* The feature stories are not too long and again page layout is so good you won't want to skip it.

* The sections are simple and basically cover everything a regular "foodie" would like - Eating In, Eating Out, and Eating Away

Stuff I loved about the magazine

* The pictures - the fact that a few of them were showcases on photographic ability, like the one on the Mediterranean menu were great. Even most of the ads in the mag are very food based in terms of their pix making for good continuity.

* The info given in most of the smaller sections is enough to pique your interest and giving the URLs for further information is really generous

* Coverage of the major cities of India and almost all of the big names (Indian and International) in this inaugural issue is a good way to make an entry.

* The little tips and nuggets of info thrown in many recipes are great value add and aesthetically done on the pages.

* The opportunities for interaction with the readers in Pro v/s Punter, the contest and even in the showcase of blogs and websites is really nice.

Couple of grouses

* Have been editing copies for almost decade now and have a tendency to spot typos (I make quite a few of them meself too). Didn't think I would find them in a magazine of this caliber but there are.

* Would have preferred if the 50 pages of recipes were a pull out section. Would be great to have my own Good Food Recipe collection. (But having been in the magazine making business for a while I can understand the several considerations that go into doing this.)

Well this is my two bit on the yummy magazine.. what do you think of it??

China Pearl

2011-11-07T01:37:00.000-04:00

To say its been busy would be an understatement. For a while there I almost forgot what my blog looked like. So much so I would go on a guilt trip everyday on how its been neglected. And so today, when all seems quiet in the house (respite before the next storm?!), I am getting down to as many posts as I can and hoping to get things back on track here.

China Pearl was among the first to hit the scene in terms of good Chinese in Koramangala. The fact that it belonged to a good family friend saw us dining there on several occasions, celebratory or otherwise. Back then it was on a single floor, with characteristic Chinese decor and a lot of Feng Shui principles being put into practice. Not once were we able to fault the food and this is with no partiality to our good friend. In fact, back then, food was even customized to your palate - do you want it the real Chinese way or the inimitable Indian Chinese way? Or if you have eaten almost everything on the menu (like we had done) and wanted something new, the chefs were always willing to oblige.

Time went by and many more restaurants came our way. We were in the vicinity recently and thought of giving it a shot. "Let's see how good it still is". China Pearl had now expanded and had another level to it. The decor though still based in Feng Shui had changed significantly and is now quite upscale to what it was. We managed to get a table without reservation on a weekend which was plain good luck. We were seated on the first floor and within a few minutes, the famous winding line that normally is outside China Pearl began. Some things don't change.

A look at the menu and we found that a lot had changed here though, some old favs of ours were there and many new ones had found their way in. The Dragon Punch was a drink we always had when we visited earlier and Sudhakar had one of it this time too. This was an interesting mix of mint, sprite, lemon juice and spice. Quite literally packing a punch.

The Dragon Punch

Another old favorite was the Spicy crab meat soup. And so a round of that too was ordered. Nothing had changed here as well. There was a lot of fresh crab meat in the soup, it was piping hot, peppery and good for the cold weather (thanks to an over enthusiastic AC vent over us) and bad throat if you had one. It does look like an egg drop soup, but all that you see is crab meat and not egg.

Spicy Crab meat soup

We then went in for squid, batter fried and served with a hot garlic sauce. Not something we had ordered before, but nice as a starter. Went down really well with junior. The quantity was good and the squid had been fried to a nice crispness and not a rubbery chewy one.

Batter fried squid with hot garlic sauce

The starters came soon enough and seeing the pace we ordered our mains well in advance. We stuck to an old favorite - Jade rice, made all nice, green and healthy with spinach and chicken mixed in and a Ta Wok Kay - the fact that it would be served in a small wok still cooking at the table was an added plus point.

And then the wait began. At first we whiled away time looking at the decor and reminiscing. Slowly we began to notice that tables seated much after us were paying their bills. Still - benefit of the doubt - we hung on for a while, till it began quite evident almost half hour (or a little more) later that we had been forgotten. A stern dressing down by Sudhakar and our food appeared in a genie's snap of the fingers.

Late service apart, the Jade Rice was just the same, flavor wise and quantity wise. The Ta Wok Kay was quite interesting, with the little flame below and the wok. Junior was quite thrilled. The chicken was diced, tossed in a garlic based gravy, spring onions, red and yellow peppers and topped off with large coriander leaves. All the right ingredients for a good, medium spicy accompaniment.

Jade Chicken Rice

Ta Wok Kay

We decided to skip dessert because we didn't want to wait any more. Other than the long waiting period for mains there was nothing to complain about. China Pearl still does retain its charm food wise and for the monetary value it provides. This meal came to Rs 950, which is an increase from when we used to visit the place earlier. But then what hasn't become expensive. Some other classics that you must try are the Lat Kay Fa - chicken with chilli, lemon and spices, the spring rolls, the Cantonese Hot Pot (if you are in a big group), The Natsu Kay, The Drunken Chicken and for the vegetarians, the Shaolin Sticks, Chilli Potatoes and Buddha's Delight. The loos are clean.

Address: #53/1, 5th Cross, 6th block Koramangala, Bangalore

Phone: 41105060 (Reservations are always a good idea here)

Cuisine: Chinese

Wallet factor: Rs 1100 for two

Cards Accepted: Yes

Parking: Its 5th block Koramangala! You need your fairy godmother to be in a good mood

Olio

2011-10-18T01:53:00.000-04:00

We were meeting family in Koramangala for a late evening outing. And so the eternal problem of where to have lunch in this haven of restaurants cropped up. Koramangala is one of those places where the sheer number of restaurants can have you at a total loss for hours on end. And so, rather than go in for a new place, we headed to Olio, a relative veteran on the street but one whose mettle we still had to check out for ourselves.

We got there at prime lunch time and the place of empty. A very neat and clean red and brick set up in terms of interiors. Age does seem to have set into the place, nevertheless it was well maintained. There is low lounge sofa seating on the side which we opted for. It was also closer to the guitar models on the wall that Anoushka was so fascinated with.

The interiors (above and below)

We just wanted to sit back and relax. To be in a resto in Koramangala on a Saturday, and to be the only ones there was really something. We just hoped the food was as good as well. We settled for a pint for Sudhakar and a mocktail called Late Evening for me. The mocktail was a mix of cranberry juice, lemon juice and some crushed ice. And nice cold mix of both flavors as I sipped on it.

A pint and Late Evening

Anoushka has progressed a lot in terms of food when it comes to eating out. We can actually order an entire main course for her and have most of it eaten. So it was fish and chips for her. These were fillets of fish that were coated quite generously in bread crumbs. So much so it was more of a casing for light fresh fish on the inside. I found the casing a bit tough to get through. But the fish on the inside was great and Anoushka couldn't really come up with a good sounding excuse not to eat.

Fish n Chips

Mustard relish and tartare sauce

For starters we both found Bacon and cream cheese tarts. These were bite-sized, loaded with bacon and cheese. They were really quite nice. The base was a wee bit soggy though like cookies that have been out a while. But still, they were real nice. Could have done with a few more on the plate though.

Bacon and cream cheese tarts

I was ravenous that day and went in for Spanish rice with bacon, shrimp and sausages. What came was a massive deep dish filled with the stuff. It followed the basics of browning the rice and then cooking it with chicken stock. It was really flavorful and real generous on the shrimp and bacon. After a few bites I realized this was one of those deceptive dishes which your brain tells you, you can easily finish, but which your stomach gives up on in a while. So we promptly packed that up and later had it home.

Spanish rice with bacon, shrimp and sausages

Bacon, shrimp sausages by way of sin for me, and for Sudhakar it was Chicken breast stuffed with bacon and cheddar in saffron sauce. It was a toss on who had a date with the patron saint of gluttony between us. All the yellow you see is molten cheddar cheese and the chicken breast was filled with more than our fair share of bacon. And the little bed you see there under the chicken, that was creamy mashed potatoes.

Chicken breast stuffed with bacon and cheddar in saffron sauce

We were stuffed to the gills and more after this and so skipped dessert. Throughout our meal we ended up being the only ones there. Service was pleasant and well timed. The loo was a bit leaky but ok otherwise. This meal came to around Rs 1100.

Address: #151, 60ft road, 5th block Koramangala, Bangalore

Phone: 40927888

Cuisine: Continental, European, Serves alcohol

Wallet factor: Rs 1100 for two with two mocktails each

Cards Accepted: Yes

Parking: Can be really tricky on weekends.

Food for Soul Week

2011-09-30T00:39:00.000-04:00

Help out by eating out. That's what this unique initiative is all about. It is the Joy of Giving week and here is a novel way to give...

'Food for Soul Week' is a unique initiative by Lovedale Foundation (www.lovedalefoundation.org) in association with restaurants across Bangalore to commemorate Joy of Giving Week.

The objective of this event is to create awareness and raise funds for Lovedale Foundation, an NGO which provides holistic education to under-privileged children from granite quarries in suburban Bangalore.

In this initiative, all the participating restaurants are reserving a table ‘Food for Soul Table’ for Lovedale Foundation. Proceeds from that table will be donated by the restaurant towards supporting Lovedale Foundation. The funds raised through this event will be used to procure a school bus for the children of Lovedale Foundation.

When you are thinking about where to lunch or dine during this week (2nd-8th October), think about the children who will benefit from your decision. Head straight to one of the participating restaurants and do not forget to ask for the special ‘Food for Soul’ table!

Enjoy a sumptuous meal and experience the little joys of life, the ‘Joy of Giving’ !

Participating restaurants:

Fava (UB City - 22117444)

Mocha (Lavelle Road - 42110094, 42110095)

Mocha (Koramangala - 41570437)

Mast Kalandar (all 25 outlets across Bangalore)

The Biere Club (42124383/84/86)

Opus (23442580)

The Gateway Hotel, Residency Road (66604545)

For more details, log on to

https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=270297846327680

http://joyofgivingweek.ning.com/events/food-for-soul-week

Dancing Wok

2011-09-27T01:06:00.000-04:00

We hadn't done the "waste time in a mall" thingi in a long time. And so for the heck of it, took the new vandi to Garuda Mall on a weekend. Did a customary walk through of all floors - had a snack at the chocolate fountain, convinced Anoushka that not everything she sees needs to be bought, meandered through Staples much to the better's half delight, stopped at Amoeba for junior and then decided it was time to do something about the slowly rumbling tummies.

Kobe? Na!! Food Court? With the crowds there? Nah!! and so, it was Dancing Wok, the new Chinese joint that has come there in the place of Sikander (the buffet BTW which I really liked). It was a buffet spread... and am seriously not a major fan of buffets on any given day. But it was a weekend, a new restaurant, and this was only the second Chinese buffet we were going to be trying out... BJN's Aromas of China being the other one and so in we went.

The only remnant of Sikander in the decor are the crossed spears of sorts on the glass entrance door. The rest has completely changed to dark wood paneling, a massive glass wall (or was that there before?) and dark wood tables and chairs. The lighting had this nice light purplish tinge to it which was quite nice and which my photo does absolutely no justice to. The soup and starters we were told would be brought to the table. Junior was brought a high chair and we were set to eat.

Don't go by this photo, the interiors are much prettier

The place has a nice selection of mocktails and Sudhakar decided to go in for the Burping Panda. This was a mix of ginger ale and apple and was quite nice, especially if you like ginger based drinks.

Burping Panda.

Hot and Sour chicken soup was the soup of the day. A good amount of chicken in it and nice mix of hot and sour. I always sour up my soups more with vinegar chili sauce and this one was not spared either. Junior liked it quite a bit too and downed most of her bowl.

Hot and Sour chicken soup

Starters too were brought to the table - there was Crispy veggies which was zucchini, potato, cauliflower, babycorn and garnished off with some spring onions. These did have crispy coats and were hot on the inside. Veggie fried wontons were there too which junior thoroughly enjoyed. There was spicy chicken wings which were really spicy but deliciously so. I actually asked for a second round of this. Chicken steamed momos rounded up the starter selection. We were tempted to take more starters, but decided to hit the main course instead.

Anti-clockwise - Crispy veggies, Veg fried wontons,

Spicy chicken wings, Chicken dimsums

Hot garlic sauce and another dip (not too sure of contents
- peanuts, chilli?) for the dimsums and wontons

I started with the salads, 2/3 which I feel were more of accompaniments than salads in themselves - there was the curried vegetable salad, which really did have a good curry flavoring to it. Quite nice for a salad to taste that way. There was kimchi which was more the instant done-in-a-day style rather than the ferment-over-a-while way. And there was a radish, carrot and beet salad that was quite vinegary thus putting it in my accompaniment list rather than eat-alone salad. But then again, all the salads were crisp, fresh and crunchy.

L to R - Curried veggie salad, kimchi, radish, beet and carrot salad

And now for the main courses. On the plate below there is Spinach and garlic noodles. These were in between crisp and moist and could be eaten on their own. Good for kids who sprout perpetual allergies to gravies like mine does. There was also the option of a vegetarian rice. In the the non-veg options there was Shredded lamb with peppers - slightly spicy and a good choice with the noodles. The Fish in Hoisin sauce was another well done dish, the gravy a nice mix of sweetish spicy, good for a rice though if you are not a fan of spicy. And then there was the Tsinghai Chicken which was cooked in rice wine and had the ever so slight fermented taste to it, but was unanimously mine and Sudhakar's favorite of the lot.

Spinach and garlic noodles, Tsinghai Chicken, Fish in Hoisin
Sauce, Shredded Lamb with peppers

Just as for the non-veggies, there was three (if I am not wrong) options for the vegetarians in gravy, all of which did sound nice. And then for dessert, 3 options - a kiwi souffle, a Banana toffee and vanilla ice cream. The souffle for nice and the banana toffee my choice of the lot. Took it twice. Not an ice-cream person, but judging from Anoushka's eating it (which strange for a child her age, she rarely does) it was good.

Banana toffee and kiwi souffle

This buffet came at Rs 329 a head. What I personally liked about the buffet was the fact that it was not one of those expansive ones where you can't possibly eat everything on offer. This was one of the buffets, where the courses are limited, but done well and you can easily eat everything there is and get your Rs 329 worth. Even the trays were not piled to the brim waiting to be emptied, rather they were refilled constantly ensuring that you don't eat food that's been on the burner a while. Overall a pleasant meal. Maybe the inclusion of a Jasmine or Green tea and some date pancakes or darsaan for desserts could make the deal more complete. But then, that's me.

Address: 4th floor of Garuda Mall, Bangalore

Phone: 41126622

Cuisine: Chinese buffets for lunch and dinner

Wallet factor: Rs 800 for two with two mocktails each

Cards Accepted: Yes

Parking: Its the mall parking at Garuda

Aioli BBQ and Grill Smoke House

2011-09-20T01:43:00.001-04:00

It was one of those weekends when we were scratching our heads on a place to head to. Someone in Sudhakar's office spoke of this new Korean joint in Kamanahalli and we thought of trying that out. And so with cousin Roshitha (our resident food guide in Kamanahalli) in tow we set out to find the place. We searched and we searched and we searched... and didn't find it. At last hunger got the better of us and so Roshi suggested we go to Aioli and that's how us 3 and half hungry souls landed at its doorsteps.

Its been around a while and I liked the casual interiors. We were the first on the scene and throughout our time there just 2 other tables filled up. Either we missed the weekend rush since we came in post 2.15PM or they have a hell of dinner service. Anyways, as the name suggests, everything here is about being grilled or smoked. The menu is not really extensive, but the pictures with each dish helps gets the stomach rumbling if you haven't reached the stage we were in.

The bar has a decent choice and we had Sangria, Wine cooler and Mocktail of the day between us. This is one of those long pending reviews and I don't remember what went in the wine cooler and the mocktail, but they were both really nice. The Sangria too was nice, but I personally loved the Sangria served at Jamavar at the Leela and haven't tasted one as good till now.

Sangria, Wine cooler and Mocktail of the day in front

For starters and to get junior going on her never-ending meal, we had the smoked garlic bread. Nice, hot, crisp at the edges. Didn't really get any smoky flavor but I loved the olive oil and chopped dill dressing that came with it. Added a nice touch. This was downed largely by Junior Prabhu

Smoked garlic bread

We knew we would need another starter and Warm pita bread with Baba Ghanoush was our choice. The pita was warm and made for a generous scoop for the baba ghanoush. Now that was really nice, finished off with a drizzle of olive oil. But again, the pita at Zaks is still my all-time favorite.

Warm pita bread with Baba Ghanoush

Can't get enough on the table and so Spiced Chicken wings was next. By now, we were the only ones in the resto and thanks to the glass covered grill space could see our chicken get made. When it came, it was piping hot. The outer layer was crisp throughout with a few charred edges. One bit and you know the chicken didn't have to work hard to get the "spiced" added to its name. It was spiiiiccy! But nice spicy.

Spiced Chicken wings

And finally we moved on to the main courses. We had Jerk Chicken with a side of mashed potatoes. Loved the fact that the starch came in a massive bowl. For those who love their potatoes, they will love this. The mash was on the grainy side and went well with the chicken, which was everyone's favorite part.

Jerk Chicken with mashed potatoes

The Seer fish with lime Aioli was as good as it sounded. There was another round of pita served with it and a salad. Anoushka grabbed hold of the pita. The fish was fresh and I felt the portion generous. Each of us also got this little glass bowl filled with four accompaniments. I really would like to know how they got all four in without them running into each other.

Seer Fish with Lime Aioli

I had the Moroccan Lamb Kebabs with Spinach rice and salad. That way I got get something decent like rice down junior's throat. The kebabs came on a skewer and were spicy, but melt in the mouth soft. They had done their time in the marination. In all three plates though, I found that the salad tasted a bit bitter. Maybe the lime squeezed was a bit too much or someone forget to take of the seeds when squeezing the lime. Besides that, the salads had their crunch.

Moroccon Lamb Kebabs

We shared a chocolate banana, which was grilled as well. Though, we really didn't think much of it. The ice cream and chocolate sauce portion tasted better.

Chocolate Banana

This meal with 3 starters, 3 main courses, 3 drinks alcoholic beverages and a dessert came to Rs 1800. This was the first time in god knows how long that I did not visit the loo with junior, so no comments on that. The service was good, the food good and the ambiance pleasant. All good reasons to drop by if you are in the area.

Address: #4,09 1st floor, 5th Main, 2nd Block, Kalyan nagar, HRBR Layout, Bangalore - 38

Phone: 42084359

Cuisine: Carribbean

Wallet factor: Rs 1100 for two with alcohol

Cards Accepted: Yes

Parking: Nothing exclusive and not too difficult

4 festivals and a diet (if any) gone to hell!

2011-09-19T01:38:00.000-04:00

I am a Roman Catholic Mangalorean, Sudhakar is a Kerala bred GSB and we are living in Bangalore. Between our religions, the places we come from and this city we live in there are about a dozen festivals that we would like Anoushka to be aware of. 4 of these came in quick succession this past couple of weeks and it was all about feasting. There were a few times when we all seemed to have miraculously sprouted our imaginary tummies-on-rent. There were also times when we said... no more... not another morsel more... but then happily plowed on. And so here it is... our food journey through 4 festivals.

It all began with Eid... we believe that if its biryani it has to be mutton... and so mutton biryani it was. Slow cooked mutton that was marinated overnight, mixed in with spiced rice, topped off with deep fried onions and then put on Dum with onion oil trickled in... I didn't really have any leftovers after this one.

To go with it, we had beef chilli fry. Modified a recipe I found online a bit and made this one. This was meant to be served with dinner, but was attacked long before.

Next came Ganesh Chaturthi - This year round, it was puris and white pea sundal with coconut shavings. I also made thick dal of sorts out of urad dal, tomatoes and with a tempering of ginger garlic and whole garam masala spices. For the sweets, there was the customary semiya payasam and kesar shrikhand.

A closer look at the shrikhand, topped it off with sliver of almonds and crushed pista.

Also the semiya payasam

Next came St Mary's feast. This too was purely vegetarian. I made the traditional payasam out of coconut milk and jaggery. Rather than go the traditional Mangalorean way, I went South Indian/Continental mix. It was the day we got our new car from the showroom and I could only begin cooking at 7PM. And so Baked pasta with olives and tomato it was. To go with that spiced potatoes tossed in olive oil, chillie flakes and dried Italian seasoning. I made the white peas sundal again on popular demand. And for sweet we had kesari baath.

And then came Onam. This sadya was entirely the hard work of Nishara Antony. My only contribution here was the cabbage poriyal. We had Avial, Red rice and sambhar, Erriserry, there was another dish that I will have to call Nisha for. banana chips, Shakkarperety (forgive all the spellings here), pickle and... payasam (SLUURRRP!!!)

Another look at our loaded leaves. There were 2nd, 3rd and even 4th helpings for all of us.

With the red rice and the sambhar

The one and only time I ate payasam with papad and banana mashed into it with all five fingers and the palm of my hand. Sometimes eating just like our countrymen has its own great pleasure.

Green Theory

2011-08-29T01:51:00.000-04:00

Found this place on FB and decided to give it a shot one Sunday. Purely organic veggie, outdoor seating, indoor seating, library area, business meeting luncheon rooms... got all this from the FB page and was dying to see how all of this could fit in on a place at Convent Road. Anoushka studies at Sacred Hearts and I know how strapped for space that area is especially when it comes to parking. But having a resto in that area really works well when you need to pick junior up and stop somewhere for a quick lunch.

We got there... ample parking space, it being a Sunday and the space outside the school not being bumper to bumper with cars. Got in and absolutely loved the outdoor setting, complete with a pathway, umbrellas and metal chairs. We sat in the semi open air seating, with its low sofas and low tables.

The open air outdoor seating

To drink we decided to go for Apple Strawberry Smoothie, Pomegranate Berry Smoothie, Mint Lemonade. The smoothies were real nice with sweet-sourness of apples in the first one. The Pomegranate Berry smoothie was a little liquidy than it should have been with more berry and a hint of pomegranate. The lemonade was nice.

Apple Strawberry Smoothie, Pomegranate Berry Smoothie, Mint Lemonade

Since Anoushka has now graduated to having soups, we decided to have a Minestrone Soup and in case she found that too spicy, a Irish Potato Soup. Both soups came with a crisp, hot slice of buttered bread. If you are used to Chinese resto size soup bowls, then this one may seem like one of the by-two versions. But if you plan to have a meal that includes all courses, then this quantity is good. Just a soup-salad maybe not so much.

The Minestrone Soup, I didn't much like. Though it is supposed to be tomato based, I found the tomato too overpowering. It did have pasta and a few veggies but could have done with more of those and a little more thickness. The Irish Potato Soup was thick, smooth and bland, as you should expect from a potato soup. I really liked this one... and for someone who normally doesn't like bland, that's saying a lot.

Minestrone Soup

Irish Potato Soup

For starters we went for the Stuffed mushroom crunchy. Lovely evenly coated mushrooms, stuffed with veggies, deep fried and finished off with a dash of cheese. Six to a plate... but for something this nice, would have loved double the quantity. It really got over too soon.

Stuffed Mushroom Crunchy

For the main courses, we had a Three Bean Gravy and Rice. I forget which are the three beans, but rajma was one of them. The quantity was really good with a healthy portion of dill rice and large bowl of gravy. Hot, steamy and just what was needed on a drizzly afternoon.

Three bean gravy and rice

We also had the Irish Vegetable Boxty which was a potato pancake, stuffed with an assortment of veggies and topped off with a mushroom gravy. There were mashed potatoes on the side and blanched veggies too. It had everything right in terms of ingredients with potato being the hero. A real nice dish this one.

Irish Vegetable Boxty

There was also Grilled vegetable pasta in a choice of sauce. Ours was a nice white cream sauce. Simple nice and wholesome this was.

Grilled Vegetable pasta with cream sauce

For dessert we shared a Oreo Cheesecake. A little too wafer thin for our liking. And in our friend's words, not a patch on the Oreo Cheesecake at Spiga. Haven't tried so can't comment. Taste wise this was nice, but just like the starter, it was gone before you knew it.

Oreo Cheesecake

Green Theory has a great collection of organic teas and being the absolute "Chai" wali... we had a pot each of Citrus Infusion tea and Kashmiri Kahwa. Loved the citrus infusion, with just the right notes of the fruit in each sip, with the flavor of tea. The Kahwa was good too, but the flourish of the Samovar was not there.

Citrus Infusion Tea and Kashmiri Kahwa

One of the many water bodies around

Overall this meal was more hits than misses. Would have appreciated better quantities on the starter and desserts. The meal came to roughly Rs 1100. The ambiance is brilliant and in my opinion its ideal to visit on a Sunday, when you get parking space.

Address: #15 Convent Road, Opposite Sacred Heart's Nursery School

Phone: 61435956

Accepts Cards: yes

Parking: Nothing exclusive and lunch time on weekdays with school being close by can be tough. Weekends are a breeze though

Iftaar Raid 2011

2011-08-22T02:08:00.001-04:00

Iftaar raid - an annual affair - and this time it was in the company of family - just as it should be. As we drove down MM road at 6.30 PM trying to find a parking place, the smells literally had us trying to fly out of the windows and on to the feast that awaited. It took a little while, and then it began..... I wish I could make this an aroma scope post - because it was honestly an assault on all the senses in a fabulous way...

Chicken and mutton tikkas frying away on the kadai - Kaadi Chicken - a small glimpse of tandoori tikkas on skewers - chicken rolls, kheema buns in the tray (above and below)

Sizzling hot kaadi chicken, off the pan and into our hands
- the tiny blisters that threatened to appear were not felt at all

Mutton Seekh kebab - Succulent, juicy and spiiiicy

Marinated deep fried prawns, complete with the tail still on and some pudina chutney

Beef/chicken cutlets - both looked the same and we all agreed
that the chicken one tasted much better

Beef "wheel" curry in the making

Idiyappam and beef chops - the idiyappam was soft and silky
and the beef well done, spicy and finger licking great.

Dahi Vada and Kheema Buns

Aloo bondas, Kaadi chicken

Straight off the tava, chicken kheema parathas
- heaven in every sizzling hot mouthful

Lassi - thick, sweet and a great coolant for an overwhelmed tummy

Falooda - a more drinkable version, but yummy

Pista kulfi (above) malai kulfi (below),
thoughtfully cut into cubes and absolute brain freeze in each bite

Gulabi Karamel - this is one sweet you can never get enough of

A glimpse of the faces hard at work to make iftaar a feast (above & below)

Raiders 2011(R to L) - Reshma, little raider-in-training Mika, Nisha, Sachi,
junior raider Anoushka, Moi and Moi's

Raider in training Mika and Papa Pramodh

We also had chicken samosas, Phirni, Kubani Ka Meeta, sweet samosas, chicken spring rolls - all of which reached our tummies a little too fast for the camera to capture. Unlike last year, we decided to order smaller portions and share, this way making sure we get to taste as much as possible without filling up too fast. So it was more like 3 of this and 2 of that with a couple of soft drinks thrown in. The only thing we all missed was the dry fruit sherbet which was over by around 6.00 PM and which we never got to taste. The eating went on from 6.30PM to 8.30PM. Pretty sure we did not cross the Rs 1000 mark. The rain did not play spoilsport till we were all done and back in the car on the way home.

Chakkhum

2011-07-27T01:44:00.001-04:00

An email one day told me of a mobile Manipuri Kitchen. Some reading later, I came to understand that Chakkhum (kitchen in Manipuri) has a website where you can read their menu. Choose anything you like and no matter where you are, the food will be delivered to you at a time you specify. Now if that is not enough to pique your interest, I don't know what is. I was really curious and since we have taken a shine to northeastern cuisine this was definitely worth experimenting with. So one evening, we got online, checked out the menu and pretty much went on a binge. Food can be ordered in 250 ml boxes for one person or 500 ml boxes for 2. What follows is pictorial...

Alu-Kangmet & Nga Ataoba (Chilly Potato & Fried Fish) - 250 ml

Just as the description says, its chilly potatoes and fried fish. The slice of rohu is marinated in spicy spices, pan fried with mashed spicy potatoes. Spice factor is upped a few notches with a generous sprinkling of chilli powder on the fish. This was really tasty and is definitely on the order-again list.

Eromba (500 ml)

This explanation of the dish is from their site - Eromba is a generic name for a dish prepared by mashing boiled vegetables along with fermented fish (Ngari) and chilly (Umorok or Uchimorok). It is prepared by boiling and mashing different vegetables like Pan or Arbi or Colocasia, Bamboo Shoot (Soibum), Banana Flower to name a few along with boiled/fried chilly, Umorok and fried dry fermented fish. As for the taste, the were lot of textures going on here. Some soft and squishy, some crunchy, some crispy, lots of spicy... overall this is meant to be a side dish, more of an accompanying chutney of sorts. Its a seriously acquired taste, especially for me.

Nga Atoiba (Partially Mashed Fish Curry) - 250 ml

The site says - A traditional Manipuri fish preparation using fresh water fish commonly known as ‘Sareng’ (wallago attu), a species of catfish, is must-have for all special occasions in Manipur. The fish is in there bones and all and so you have to be a bit wary when eating this. Goes well with rice since the gravy is a bit thick and loaded with peas, greens and tomatoes. Overall an interesting dish for fish lovers.

Nga ga' Soibum Thongba (Fish and Bamboo shoot preparation) - 500 ml

This is meant to be a thick gravy and is a party special. The fish used is rohu and the bamboo shoots are sliced thick. The fish is nice and chunky and if you like the punch of bamboo shoots, you will like this dish.

Ok Thongba 500 ml

Yen Thongba 500 ml

Ok Thongba (Pork curry) and Yen Thongba (chicken curry) - The photos make it obvious that the gravies were below a curtain of oil. Personally I loved the chicken curry, though am a pork lover. The pork gravy was spicy and tasted good too, but after a while, the oiliness of both dishes didn't work and the taste was lost somewhere in between.

Chak-how (Sweet Dish-Brown Sticky Rice)

This is made with a unique Manipuri sticky brown rice. And I read a little too late on the Chakkhum site about how this is supposed to be had with milk or cream. We didn't and just took a spoon each straight from the bowl. Sweet yes - but a seriously seriously seriously acquired taste.

Overall this meal was quite interesting. One thing you have to note about all the dishes that a predominant spice is chillies. Without exception, all the dishes were half way to heaven on the Scoville scale. I did talk to the people at Chakkum and they said that toning down on the oil and the spice is something they can work on, so I guess you just need to make that clear when you order in. There are several other interesting dishes Ngaringkha (Fried Head and Gut with Potato) if you are up for the experiment. All of these dishes here came to a nice Rs 750, which is great. To streamline things remember this.

Order Timings:

7:00 AM - 10:00 AM - Lunch orders for the same day

10:00 AM - 4:00 PM - Dinner Orders for the same day

4:00 PM - 10:00 PM - Orders for next day

Website for menu - http://www.chakkhum.com

Phone: 9686669988

Accepts Cards: Cash on delivery

Closed on Wednesdays

Ta'aam

2011-07-25T01:10:00.004-04:00

There are some times when you wake up in the middle of the night... starving and craving for that one particular dish from that one particular place. Sometimes you have that really fabulous meal earlier in the day and just couldn't pack away that one small morsel and are so regretting it now. It has happened to me with mom's cooking, and with a few restos in Bangalore - the Shawarmas of Kebab Magic, the biryani from Richies.And now- its everything on the menu at Taa'am. This is a small restaurant in the basement of a largely residential area on Queen's Road.

A friend and colleague of Sudhakar's introduced the gang at office to the place and after one visit, Sudhakar kept talking of this dish called the Laham Mandi... and he talked and talked and talked, till in the middle of the week one day, Anoushka and I decided to meet him for lunch there. Its truly a place in the basement, a sliding door for an entrance, neat and clean table and plastic chair setting and a huge curtain separating the open kitchen area from the dining area. And of course the first thing we ordered was the Laham Mandi.

The Laham Mandi is an Arabian version of biryani. It comes on a huge platter - one mandi = two supremely satisfied people OR One supremely happy, ravenously hungry individual (keyword being ravenous here)The rice is soft, mixed with vegetables, on top of which is the hunk of meat. What you get is a really big slab. Along with this comes a bowl of mandi soup and a mint chutney that will have you constantly asking more for. Its tempered with slivered onions giving it a fabulous flavor. You need to hold up the piece of meat, use your spoon and simple push the meat of the bone. That's how soft and succulent it is. This dish is cooking constantly in a huge vessel on the side and if you sit in the right place you will get a peek of it. Its of course ghee heavy, but in that nice way.

Laham Mandi with Soup

Another must have here is the lamb chops. Its one a plate and even though you will find it difficult to stop, you better simply because there are so many other great things to eat here. The meat may seem a bit charred on the outside, but that's the hue its gets after its done its time in the tandoor. The meat is soft and you know the marinade has been on a long time.

Lamb chops (one to a plate)

Another great combination at this place is the Khichdi Kheema with chutney. We visited on two to three occasions and the chutneys that come along constantly change. When we ordered the Khichdi Kheema there was tomato chutney which kind of wiped away the memory of the mint one. Am not a fan of khichdi, but this was not the watery version you tend to associate with the word khichdi. It was a more dry and firm version with dal and spices. The kheema, topped off with butter was spicy and with the rice and chutney seriously made you wish science progressed on that tummy for hire concept.

Khichdi

And the accompanying Kheema

Tomato Chutney

There were some visits where the folks with us wanted to go easy since they had important client meetings in the afternoon and did not want to the entire conference room to hear their satisfied snores. They grudgingly ate biryani rice with baingan ka salan on one occasion. The biryani rice was more a khushka, but really tasty and as for the salan, vegetarians, you will have a great thing going here.

Biryani Rice

Baingan Salan

They do have a sweet dish they call falooda. It doesn't look like what we know as falooda, but is quite tasty for a milk based sweet. If you have been able to save some space after this meal, then its worth a try. The Mandi will cost you Rs 250 and honestly, it will take 2 heavy eaters and one eating champion to finish this off. The menu has a range of other Indian/Chinese dishes which is an attempt at pleasing finicky people. Haven't bothered trying so won't comment on that. A meal for two will come to Rs 400 if you order kebabs and soft drinks as well. There is a unisex loo which is clean. On Fridays lunch service begins a bit late, after the day's namaz is done.

Address: Queen's Road Cross, Munniswamy Road (After Caricon ACs)

Phone: 9845538234

Accepts Cards:

Parking: Easier if you are on bikes

Coffee Day Square

2011-07-11T01:36:00.000-04:00

We love leisurely breakfasts and are constantly looking around for some of those bacon-eggs and toast kind of places. And in due course of time we came to hear of the breakfasts that Coffee Day Square has on offer. Off we headed one Sunday morning. This was the first time we were visiting the place and it was nice, airy and the tables seriously well spaced. There were options in sofa-settee seating, table and chair and high backed chairs. We went for the sofa and settee - good view of the statues and traffic outside, enough to keep junior in one place to get some breakfast down. We were the only ones and this was around 9.30 AM. It pretty much remained that way till we left, with a few stragglers coming in for a caffeine fix.

A view from our sofas

The outside view from where we were seated

A look at the menu and you have a few set breakfasts like the Morning Glory and Good Morning America. If you feel they are incomplete there is a decent a la carte section where you can top your breakfast off. Sudhakar went in for the Good Morning America which was toast-butter-jam-eggs of choice-grilled tomatoes and sausages. Though the menu doesn't mention it, hash browns come with each of these breakfasts. I had the Morning Glory and topped it with sausages too. Sudhakar had his eggs sunny side up, and Bhavya and I opted for scrambled. For junior we got an extra order of toast-butter-jam, her latest obsession.

Good Morning America!

Morning Glory

There are other options like From Europe with Love which is waffles, a choice of sauce and bowl of fruits. There is also the diet-conscious special Health is Wealth where you have an egg white omelet with yogurt and bowl of fruit. The Continental Daybreak comes with croissant/ muffin, muesli and a bowl of fruits.

Three breakfasts with an extra order of Chicken sausages each

Now about the breakfasts we had... two large frankfurters to a person - reaaaal nice!, can't go wrong with the toast and grilled tomatoes. Sudhakar had one of his bulls eye knocked out and the scrambled eggs were rather watery. The hash browns are definitely packeted, cracked out from the freezer and deep fried. Overall, just about ok when you are out for a quiet breakfast. Decent - yes! are there better places? - Definitely!

Now the specialty of the place is its single origin coffees. I am a tea person and so left the experimenting to Coffee-holic Prabhu and to Bhavya. He had the Ethiopian coffee which comes served with a chocolate chip cookie with a lashing of whipped cream. He liked it so much that he wanted to bring the blend home. Bhavya had her standard Tropical Ice Berg which I guess most of you have already tried.

Ethiopian Coffee served with a chocolate chip cookie and cream

Tropical Iceberg

The place is quiet, clean and service good enough for a Sunday morning. The breakfasts we each had could have been better in terms of finishing touches. Hash browns from a packet is quite typical of chain, but since there is no rocket science in toast and eggs at least these could have been made from scratch. The order does take a while coming, so factor that into your visit. This is the first time, I think, since I started this blog, that I didn't have to take junior to the restroom, so have no idea how it is. These three breakfasts came to Rs 1100 which I think is too high for what we were served. There are breakfast buffets with a lot more options where at least 7 people could have eaten their fill for the same amount in a classy setting.

Address: Diagonally Opposite UB City, Vittal Mallya Road- Bangalore

Phone: 40012101

Accepts Cards: Yes

Parking: Ample space behind the building

Yana Sizzlers N More

2011-07-01T01:18:00.000-04:00

Many of my friends think that for me its an easy thing to pick restaurants to visit. Sure, I visit restos, I blog about them and stuff. But actually deciding on which one to go to each weekend is quite the nightmare. What do we want to eat? What Anoushka will be able to eat? How expensive? Do we want to eat heavy/light/continental/fast food.... so many questions to answer. This weekend we decided not to waste our weekend morning on the useless debate. We got into the car, headed for Koramangala (that's where everything new seems to be opening anyways) and decided to wing it. And to our luck we spotted Yana's Sizzlers n More at the same time.

From the looks of it, it was a new chain to enter the area... bright colors and nice interiors. A very family place. And as luck would have it, we found parking space right outside the resto. Now how is that for a good sign? The resto has a mezzanine floor, but we chose to sit downstairs. The paper table mats had little puzzles to solve and what I really liked was that a table of 4 had two different sets of puzzles. So if you end up having to fight with the junior of the family over one or need to be one up, you can always chose another puzzle. The menus obviously start with a range of sizzlers. Ample choice for vegetarians too. The beef sizzlers are a separate category discreetly titled "steaks". There is also a separate section for BBQ sizzlers which Yana claims to be the first to serve.

Mad About Town and Litchee Soda

For drinks we had the Mad About Town which was a mix of orange juice, pineapple juice, grenadine syrup and soda and a Litchee soda. At the same time, a bowl of mustard sauce was brought to the table. After a while of debating between a fish and steak, we finally settled on our orders.

Mustard Sauce

I went in for the BBQ steak with mashed potatoes and BBQ sauce. And Sudhakar opted for the Steak with Chicken and cheese with garlic pepper sauce. Besides being able to choose your own sauces, you can also choose your sides from rice/noodles/mashed potatoes/french fries. Sudhakar and I both opted for rice so we could feed junior some. I had the mashed potatoes and Sudhakar the french fries. The blanched veggies and caramelized onions too were a part of the offerings. Now we were in a bit early for lunch and so were the second amongst those seated to order. If I had any inkling about the size of the sizzler, I would have maybe thought twice about ordering two.

BBQ steak with mashed potatoes in BBQ sauce, rice and veggies

Steak with Chicken & cheese with garlic pepper sauce, rice,
french fries and veggies

The sizzlers came with smoke almost hitting the mezzanine (ok, bit of exaggeration there), but it was sizzling quite a bit. The sizes were quite substantial and they were brought in quick succession, so we were not waiting for the other one's meal to come in order to begin. It took a couple of minutes for the smoke to clear up before we could gingerly discover our sizzlers.

My steak was well done (come to think of it, no one asked about how we would like it), I like it that way. The portion was generous and meat soft to the nice. The rice was drowned in BBQ sauce and the fat of the meat had dripped into it too. And so junior was mighty happy with its flavor.

Sudhakar too had a great sizzler with the chicken and cheese melting into each other. But after a while we found that the garlic pepper sauce was a little more salty than it should have been. After getting through half the sizzler, he couldn't go much ahead. Nevertheless... if the salt had been right, the sizzler would have been good.

What I love about sizzlers is that your meal remains hot right till then end. This is sooo important for someone like me who spends times putting things onto junior's plate and then transferring it to a mouth that refuses to open. And dutifully, each time my meal arrives, junior realizes that she needs to visit the restroom (the very reason it became an integral part of my reviews). So actually getting down to eating is almost when the meal is cold.

Small portions of our sizzlers were packed away for late night movie snacks. We had to have a dessert and decided to have the sizzling apple pie... which was a distant cousin of the now boring sizzling brownie. So out came a dessert sizzler plate... a generous slice of pie, a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a tureen of apple sauce poured on for the sizzling effect. Nice apple pie with the actual pieces of apple and not the CCD variety in which raisins are considered to be apple substitutes. A good taste of cinnamon and smooth apple sauce.

When the sauce was poured on!!

Sizzling apple pie with ice cream

Since we were winging it, am really glad this turned out to be a nice one. The resto has been open now a few weeks and also has other branches around town. One in Shivajinagar if I am not wrong. The "more" on the menu refers to a Chinese menu which I honestly did not want to try considering the specialty of the house is supposed to be sizzlers. The service is nice and the staff know what is on offer. Since we chose "steak" we were discreetly informed that it was beef. Apparently there have been a few run-ins with people who didn't know. The loo is really clean. This meal came to Rs 1200.

Address: Yana Sizzlers N More, Koramangala- Bangalore

Phone: 25505538

Accepts Cards: Yes

Parking: Nope! But I hope you get as lucky as we were

Turquoise - European

2011-06-27T02:05:00.000-04:00

There was a time we had decided to stay away from Koramangala as all we seemed to do was review restaurants that were located here. We wanted to spread our wings... but can you blame us if Koramangala is like a magnet to all things good and delicious (and a couple of not so good on the tummies as well - gotta balance things right). So after a friendly introductory mail from Spento Cooper the man behind Turquoise, we landed at its doorsteps this past Saturday. Turquoise has two levels - the European and the Indian. We have been on the Continental/European run for a while and are still going strong. So up we rode the elevator and honestly were quite taken aback at how massive the place is. Done in beautiful shades of peacock blue and wood, there is a choice of high-backed seating and sofas.

The interiors - from one part of the restaurant

We were handed menus. It took us a while to settle on stuff simply because junior was like a spring coil on crack and bouncing off the place, quite literally. The menu is a mix of Italian, European and Mediterranean and this was another one of those moments when I wish I had that tummy on hire I have spoken off earlier. Sudhakar was intent on wine and he zeroed in Four Seasons Classic Shiraz which went perfectly with our appetizer and then the main course. I settled for the Apple Martini... we were going for a movie after this meal and honestly did not want to fall asleep like I have a tendency to do after a bit of alcohol. A complimentary bread basket (freshly made) also made its way to the table and junior was (un)suitably occupied with a game of fencing with the bread sticks.

Bread basket

Four Seasons Shiraz and Apple Martini

A little bit from everywhere is how we decided to go and started with a Greek appetizer called Souvlaki. This was marinated beef cubes, skewered and barbecued and served with Tzatziki, Toum and pita bread. Off late, this is the second restaurant that has reminded me of the food my Palestinian babysitter used to stuff me with, which was blissfully great. A cube of beef, with a bit of tomato, onion and bellpepper, rolled into the pita bread and slathered with toum and tzatziki and popped into the mouth was how we had it. The tzatziki had this nice grainy texture while the toum had the bite of the ground garlic that is its primary ingredient. Delicious enough to fight over (which we did, turning out to be worse than Anoushka and her friends at a play session)

Souvlaki with Tzatziki, Toum and pita bread

Anoushka is done with her garlic bread phase and the pasta one. She is currently on her rice/noodle phase and asked for rice. We went Italian and ordered the sage and parma ham risotto for her. A large deep dish came in with steaming hot risotto that was generously peppered with ham and sage. It took her a while, but she did manage to finish one half of it. I don't claim to be an expert on the final textures of risotto, but I did find that this may have needed a wee bit of time more in the pot. But then again, if it could go down the eternal fuss pot's little throat, am more than happy with it.

Sage and parma ham risotto

For my entree, I decided to have the breaded pork chops with beetroot and apple relish. Now this was a first for me - breaded pork chops. The pork was perfectly proportioned and could easily be sliced off from the bone. That for me is great, since I invariably ask Sudhakar in every place we go to do the honors for me. I can be quite messy when doing it. The chops were great undoubtedly, but what caught me really by surprise was the apple and beetroot relish. Thin slivers of both, in a marinade I couldn't figure out since I was busy eating. Was quite tempted to ask for another portion of it, but decided to maintain some level of decency - being a glut is a sin right?!

Breaded pork chops with beetroot and apple relish

Sudhakar went in for the Tenderloin Pouppiet, which was stuffed with chicken liver pate and olives and served with green pepper sauce. Its really nice when you are able to see each part of the description clearly on your plate. And for someone who loves innards as much as Sudhakar does, the chicken liver pate stuffing was brilliant. I did taste it and liked it a lot, but am not much of an liver person to begin with.

Tenderloin Pouppiet

The way this meal went, we knew were missing out on something if we did not have desserts, but we just couldn't. One more bite and Turquoise would have had additional fixtures to their decor in terms of two sprawled out people on their sofas. Not something that would work well for them. I really regretted not having dessert, especially after reading what they had. But sometimes you need to have something good to look forward to and that is what I am going to do here. Another visit will definitely be on the cards. This meal came to Rs 2100 (inclusive of VAT), worth every bit of the money spent. The service is brilliant and unobtrusive. The loos are spotless. Oh yes and the valet parking in a place like Koramangala is heaven sent.

Address: No. 9, 2nd floor, 5th Block, Koramangala- Bangalore

Phone: 65776588

Accepts Cards: Yes

Parking: Valet!! Yippee!!

iKebab Istanbul Grill

2011-06-22T02:55:00.001-04:00

iKebab Istanbul Grill - its the Istanbul Grill part of the name that intrigued me (iKebab does too, I tried scouting around, but couldn't find a logical meaning to iKebab, other than it being an iPhone app. Could it possibly be Istanbul Kebab?). This was at a time when I decided to get back to some serious blogging and this place sounded interesting. Located in Koramangala and in the same premises as Kiwi Kiss and Booster juice, this place is another offering from the same management.

Now we went there assuming that this was a restaurant on a separate floor and stuff, but it turned out to be a cafe like extension to the Booster Juice outlet. The seating was predominantly low and white with a couple of tables and chairs set up as well. The counter itself is really small and you are bound to be skeptical about what is available if you were like us ie completely clueless about what to expect.

Anyways, now to the food. The place serves the Doner Kebab, which is the original form of the shawarma as we know it. Now its the same in terms of what goes in it - the chicken, lettuce and tahini. But you can ask for it to be upgraded a bit with a choice in hummus - the classic, lemon garlic or jalapeno. There is also a really spicy version in the form of a chilly garlic version. But what caught our eye was the pomegranate relish. Sounded real interesting. And so.. what follows is more of pictorial review.

Pita bread and jalapeno hummus - real warm pita, nice, but a little more crisp than it should have been. A really healthy quantity of jalapeno hummus. Substantial amount of minutely chopped jalapenos, giving the creamy hummus some great zing.

This is the only rice dish they had which ended up ordering for junior. Iskander Kebab comes with dill rice, and a chicken kebab in spicy sauce. I did not anticipate the spice and so this is not something for a kid. But the dish was good, a complete meal for one and is sufficient encouragement to order something cooling from yonder Booster Juice. Ended up giving Anoushka just the rice that was not mixed in gravy and some pita bread.

The Turkish Hot Spice Doner - spicy, but not as much as Iskander Kebab. Neatly wrapped in pita, the two rolls are decent sized and amply packed. The chicken was moist and not overdone.

Lemon Garlic Doner - Now who can beat lemon and garlic as ingredients. I personally love them and so a doner in them was a must. This is the perfect one for those who like mild food. The lemon and garlic is perfectly blended into the sauce that is used for this doner. This is one for the kids too.

And now for the pomegranate relish - am surprised that a relish made of pomegranate is spicy, but this one is and is really really nice. Dip the end of your doner into it and it adds another element to the tastes going on in your mouth. I found it a good combo with plain pita too and with a bit of jalapeno hummus mixed in as well.

Overal, we enjoyed our meal at iKebab. Its not a place to head to if you are looking for a lavish Turkish sit down meal. This is more of a snack place or one of those quick office lunches. The staff need some serious training in handling the menu. When we asked pomegranate relish on the side, we were brought pomegranate relish doner. This was after needing to point it out on the menu. And also it took us a while to figure out that the little bowl that was on the table, brought with the lemon and garlic doner was actually the relish. Other than that, having Booster Juice and Kiwi Kiss at your disposal enhances this really casual meal. The ladies loo needed some repair and some amount of cleaning. This meal with add ons from Booster came to around Rs 600 in all.

Address: 1-A Cross, 80ft Road, 8th Block, Koramangala- Bangalore

Phone: 41435723

Accepts Cards: Yes

Parking: Nope.. and in that area you can imagine how tough it can get

Sufi

2011-06-20T02:30:00.000-04:00

It was dad's birthday and I needed to find place that would suit all tastes in the family -we are a seriously varied bunch... and so after wading through a lot of reviews, food blogs and the like and I decided to take a chance on Sufi. This is on the 5th floor of Hotel Empire in Koramangala. The place serves Persian food and our previous encounter with the cuisine was at Ayda on Church Street. I was a little worried about the ambiance, since I couldn't really find any info on it. With only Ayda (which is small dull lit and a wee bit cramped) as a reference, I was apprehensive about how comfortable my parents would be. And then we entered Sufi...

For once, my breath was taken away by the expanse of the place and how airy it was. No ACs here, lots of sunshine and lots of fresh air (supplemented with a few fans). The seating is of two kinds, the diwan where you can keep your legs on the floor and if you want to eat the Persian community style then the diwan where you fold your legs beneath you is available too. There is a small gate that is opened, for you to climb onto the diwan and then you settle down.We choose the feet-on-floor version, purely for the birthday boy and his wife.

A partial view of the restaurant

The diwan where you eat Persian style

The menu can take a while going through. There are dedicated sections for vegetarians and non-vegetarians and a complete Indian section for that segment who loves to walk into a specialty place and ask for the mundane. To help us through the order, we asked for Doogh, a yogurt based drink - dried mint, chilli powder, crushed ice all beaten together. Really great!!

Doogh

We decided on two starters - Baal Konjedi which was chicken wings that have been marinated in a special Persian mix, sprinkled with sesame seeds and then deep fried. The exterior was crisp and crunchy from the coating and the sesame seeds and the meat, soft. Rub that down with the roasted tomato on the platter and you have some wonderful tastes going in the mouth.

Baal Konjedi

The second one was Kebab-e-Koobideh, personal choice of the birthday boy. The thing with most Persian dishes is that the come with Polo/Chelo rice or Kubbus (Naan is the Indian, smaller equivalent). This Kebab dish we asked for with rice so that junior would have what she liked. The kebab were two really long skewers of minced beef and lamb that had been broiled. There were definitely some spices in there. But it is amazing how soft meat can get if treated right and the chefs at Sufi sure know what to do with theirs. The rice comes with a customary blob of butter on top. The kebab was however, worth waging war over.

Kebab-e-Koobideh

Now judging from the quantities of the appetizers, we decided to go with just two main course dishes. This was quite a tough decision since most of the dishes sounded fabulous. I settled on Baaghaali Polo Baa Morgh, which is chicken, either the breast or leg that comes with basmati rice that has been cooked with dill and double beans. The meat was fall-off-the-bone soft, with a distinct tomato puree base. The pickled red cabbage on the side gave it the zing it needed since it was not spicy. And who would have thought that rice with double beans is something that would go down as well as it did with the dish. The little blob of butter on the rice should not be missed.

Baaghaali Polo Baa Morgh with the rice below

Mom and dad decided to go in for Lobiya Polo Ba Murgh that had basmati rice with chicken pieces, french beans, all blended together in a tomato sauce and again some interesting spices that I still need a couple of more years of eating experience to figure out the combination to. The picture was before the dish was mixed up and eaten. The chicken and the beans are packed below. Honestly, one spoonful took me back to my Palestinian babysitter's dinner table. Plates used to be licked clean there and this one was too.

Lobiya Polo Ba Murgh

Four and half tummies could not finish all this food and a decent amount was packed up for home (that apart that we skipped dinner that night). But, who can end such a fab meal without a dessert. And so we had Ranginak - this was finely roasted maida and sugar, done in ghee with dates that had been stuffed with walnuts... The dessert looks simple... but heavy would be an understatement. Each of us could just about handle the one date and a bit of the sweet base. It only looks soft and moist, but it has more of a cheesecake base texture.

Ranginak

We wanted to have some tea before we left, but then were so stuffed, we would have passed out on the diwans. The food is fabulous as is the ambiance. The staff are a little absent minded and need to be briefed more on the menu. The food is a bit different from what you are used to, so don't go here thinking its close to Indian cooking with the kebabs and rices, its not, and in some cases can be an acquired taste. We went in the afternoon and the airiness and ambiance were great. All of this came to Rs 1800 including taxes, its on the steep side, but since it was a birthday treat NOT sponsored by me, I was happy. The loos though clean were wet and that can be a bother.

Address: #103, 5th Floor, Empire Building, 5th Block Koramangala- Bangalore

Phone: 65901177

Accepts Cards: Yes

Parking: The parking lot next door which is a nightmare of slush right after the rains

Kim Lee - Indiranagar

2011-06-15T01:44:00.001-04:00

We are seriously on a mission of discovering places other than those close to home. Since we were in Indiranagar to meet Reshma, we asked her for some suggestions on where to go. She spoke of this small little place that served some good Oriental food called Kim Lee and that's where we decided to go. Am not familiar with Indiranagar as such and to someone as directionally challenged as me, I found that the area it was located in was quite nondescript. The decor is in red with high backed chairs and most of the lighting is thanks to the sun light. Not fine dining atmosphere as such, but then good food doesn't need to come in great looking places. And so we settled down on some sofa seating on the side.

From where we sat

The staff moves quick and we had our menus and water almost as soon as we sat and turned towards the table. As we began to look through it, the owner of the place Walter Chung came up and asked us if we would like him to suggest anything that was off the menu. He was, I believe in the process of revamping the menu and wanted feedback. Ever ready to experiment, we told him to go right ahead. Lime soda to cool us down to begin with.

Lime soda

Anoushka was yelling for a soup and so the suggestion was the Moku Soup in chicken that was thickened with egg drop. This soup was really nice, not too thick and not too heavy on the tummy since we were planning on going all the way. I have a bad tendency of butchering soups with vinegar sauces just because I like tangy stuff, but this is one soup that did not warrant any butchering.

Moku Soup

We wanted a spicy starter and the suggestion for this was a Hakka Chilli chicken. What came was thinly coated batter fried diced chicken with lots of green sliced green chillis. Was it spicy yes! Close to fire alarm ringing spicy. Was it something to remember. Nah!

Hakka Chilli Chicken

We had two kinds of noodles, one on request from Anoushka. The suggestions were Burnt Garlic Chicken Noodles for us and Hakka Noodles for junior. Both dishes were nice and went well with the side dishes that were suggested with the accompaniments. What I liked about the Hakka Noodles were that they were moist and something Anoushka could eat without having a gravy on the side. This really helps when you have a fuss pot like my baby. Apologize for the photos - the flash made it look bad and without flash dull.

Burnt Garlic Chicken Noodles

Hakka Noodles

We asked for something in pork to go along with the noodles and we were told that there was only one pork dish on offer and so Pork Roast it was. Nice mix of fat with meat and the marination was something real unique. I believe rather than use the 5-spice mix as most restos do, at Kim Lee they use 10-Spice. Whatever it was, it did make a great difference in a good way.

Pork Roast

The Peking Chicken gravy was for Reshma, but of course we dug in as well. Pleasant, nicely spiced and went quite well with the noodles.

Peking Chicken Gravy

We had a really long chat with the owner, quite informative too on Chinese cooking styles. As for the food, it was nice for meal out but except for the pork roast, nothing really stood out for us. The presentation of the food too was close to nothing considering there was experimenting with newer dishes. All of this came to around Rs 1100 which I think was steep compared to other places which have a much better ambiance and presentation. Nice place to stop by for a quick meal if you are in the area. They have another branch in Rajajinagar. The food was on the table in like 5-6 minutes of ordering. The loo is unisex and clean.

Address: 54, Double Road, Near CSI Hospital Indiranagar - Bangalore

Phone: 41153227

Accepts Cards: Yes

Parking: Nothing specific

The Bohemian

2011-06-13T01:55:00.000-04:00

The Bohemian has been open a while now in Jayanagar. They have a coffee shop out front and the restaurant at the back. The first time round, we walked up to the cafe, saw that it was closed for some reason, missed the sign pointing out to the resto and went away. This was a dinner attempt. The second time round, we came to the spot in broad daylight and realized our mistake. There are ample number of signs indicating the resto is at the back and so there we headed.

Done up nice, the resto is airy, spacious and brightly lit. Tables are well spaced and a TV ensures silent entertainment to those who need it. The menus came soon enough and there are individual ones for Indian and Continental. Am a bit skeptical about such vast menus for any restaurants. Doing real justice to them can always be difficult.

The Interiors

Once we gave the menus a look over we decided to order a starter and salad with a mocktail to give us more time to ponder on mains. And so we ordered a Spice Girl, a Salami Egg and Shrimp platter and a Greek Chicken Salad. These came soon enough. Now I don't remember the exact ingredients that went into the mocktail, but it came to the table green in color and honestly did not taste any different from slightly watered down Sprite. Just about ok if you just want something cold on a hot day.

Spice Girl

The Egg, Shrimp and Salami platter came neatly arranged with some raw onion rings and a dip that tasted distinctly bottled. Am always a little wary of seafood in restos and when I saw the boiled shrimp with a little of the black veins on them, I was a tad bit worried, but then I do understand that shrimp are difficult to completely de-vein and you ain't gonna keel over with a few small veins. But what seriously put us off on this dish was the salami. It was definitely directly defrosted from the freezer in a microwave. Some of the slices were warm, some cold and some still had ice crystals on them. A real bad thing to do with processed, frozen meat. After a certain point, we gave up on the dish, we did point that out to the staff though. It was a working day the next morning!

Egg, Shrimp and Salami platter

The Greek Chicken Salad looked pretty nice when it came. But on first bite, it was evident the chicken was a basic first step to some Indian dish with the crushed pepper on it being over-powering. It was still dripping a bit of the oil it was cooked in. And teamed with the other cold salad ingredients like tomatoes, onions and olives really didn't allow it to come together well. Oh yes and the feta on top was just the 3 miniscule bits you see in the photo.

Greek Chicken Salad

Now this was not really a good beginning to our meal and so we decided to play it a little safe with the main courses. For Anoushka we ordered the aloo paratha which came in a basket with yogurt on the side. Absolutely no complaints here - the aloo was hot and spiced well and the parathas soft and moist. Of course, Anoushka stayed away from the yogurt (takes after the father!) and finished it all.

Aloo Paratha

We were going entirely continental with this meal and I ordered Chicken in Lemon and Thyme with Buttered Rice and blanched vegetables. Excepting for the lemon slices on the dish, I was surprised at how nice this dish actually was. The diced chicken was moist and tender, the lemon and thyme sauce it was in was very pleasant and not bitter in the least and with the rice and caramelized onions on the side was really pleasant. The portion was quite large and I was not able to finish it.

Chicken in Lemon and Thyme

Sudhakar decided to have the Rose lamb, which was Roasted Leg of Lamb in a red wine sauce. This too with mashed potatoes, caramelized onions and blanched vegetables. Again, pretty wholesome with mushrooms and carrots thrown into the brown sauce. Tasted good, but after the two starters, we were half to full to begin with and so this came home too.

Rose Lamb

Gulab Jamuns

We were told that there were limited desserts available from what was printed and so decided on the Gulab Jamun which was something junior would have too. In the time that we were there, the restaurant did fill up decently and I noticed that almost every table seemed to have Indian dishes on their tables. Perhaps we should have gone the Indian way, judging from how good the paratha was. But then since we started continental, we decided to keep going that way. As we were going through the menu, I saw some dishes am not too sure have got their fundas right - The Greek Vegan Salad which has Feta Cheese? - While there are ways of making vegan feta cheese, the very presence of feta in a vegan salad defeats the purpose. There was also a Seafood Ravioli with a description that began with "a lasagne with....." - huh? Ravioli and Lasagne are two distinct styles aren't they?

Anyways, I do want to go back and try the Indian menu which seemed a lot more promising. This meal came to around Rs 1100. The main courses were the saving grace of this meal. The loos are really clean.

Address: 1011, Ground Floor, Sree Krishnapoorva Arcade, 26th Main, Jayanagar 4T Block - Bangalore

Phone: 41690996

Accepts Cards: Yes

Parking: Nothing specific and can be a problem.

Pepper Cafe

2011-06-07T01:46:00.001-04:00

What seems like eons ago, Abhijith suggested that Pepper Cafe would be a great place to head out to. And so we did. The first time round, we drove down to St John's Road and there we saw this nice looking place set up on flight of steps and with a large glass facade. We were there for dinner and opted to sit downstairs since junior was a bit cranky that night. The lighting was a pleasant dim and the interiors comfortable.

The menu looked pretty interesting and started off with the customary ice teas -lemon for me and strawberry for Sudhakar. Tall glasses of cold respite. Both used concentrates, while the lemon was decent, the strawberry was tad too strong. As a starter we had the Fish Rissoles with tartare sauce. This little snack dish were small patties of fish, evenly breaded, pan fried and served with a thick tartare (the real deal) and greens salad in a vinaigrette dressing. The hot and crisy + thick and creamy topped with crunchy tangy made for some great textures in the mouth. Many permutations/combinations to do that too!

Lemon and strawberry ice tea

Fish Rissoles with tartare sauce

The second time we went to Pepper Cafe was for an afternoon lunch. This time we decided to sit up stairs which is more spacious, has TV to keep kids occupied and gives you a nice view out on the street if you happen to sit somewhere close to it. This time we had one of the specials for starters - Argentinian batter fried calamari with a summer cocktail dip and chickpea salad. We love calamari and were not disappointed with these - quantity or taste. The batter was light while being crispy. The dip too was pretty light on the tongue and did not take away the taste of the calamari. But what we loved most on the plate was the fabulous chickpea salad with slivers of beetroot on it. Truly worth fighting over. I love the fact that they were cooked soft, not the mushy kinds, but the one that turns to mush in your mouth. Would love the salad as a side to any main course.

Argentinian batter fried calamari with a summer cocktail dip and chickpea salad

The one thing you will see on Pepper Cafe's menu is that their dishes have really long names, which are descriptions in themselves. Quite enticing then if you read something like Parmesan crusted chicken on a bed of spring onion garlic mash with wild mushroom sauce. How can you go wrong with cheese, chicken, spring onions, mashed potatoes and mushroom sauce. You can't and that's why this main course was fab. There was ample quantities of all that was mentioned in the name. The mash was not the smooth one, but rather the textured variety that you need to bite on a bit. Dunked in mushroom sauce, with a helping of chicken and you are ready to meet your maker.

Parmesan crusted chicken on a bed of spring onion garlic mash with wild mushroom sauce

Now how can you read a dish titled Line caught wild bassa topped with cajun spiced crab with red cabbage coleslaw and hand-cut chips and not order it? Again, you can't and so we did order it. Two nice and thin fillets, topped with lots of crab meat (one of the two had a slightly fishy smell to it though) that had been tossed in a lemon, parsley and butter mix, coleslaw and chips. Scrumptious to the last bite (if you ignore the slightly fishy smell, which I did, though I did mention it to the staff). The smooth fillet with the crumbly crab made for a great mouthful.

Line caught wild bassa topped with cajun spiced crab with

red cabbage coleslaw and hand-cut chips

Spaghetti Bolognese

The Spaghetti Bolognese was when junior was going through her pasta phase. The dish was really wholesome, generous on the proportion and with the cheese too. Of course, a couple of bites later, the dish was packed to become dinner for me in the night.

Warmed grilled tenderloin strips with a tossed vinegar salad

This dish was exactly how the title describes it - Warmed grilled tenderloin strips with a tossed vinegar salad. The tenderloin was moist and soft and the vinegar salad placed on top had permeated down into the meat, making each bite warm, tangy and adding that crunch from onions, tomatoes and cheese. Another fabulous dish.

Grass fed matured tenderloin with buttered broccoli, potato patty & pepper parmesan sauce, mashed potatoes and horseradish cream

The tenderloin dish was cooked great - yielded to the knife without too much effort. There is an option to get it down medium rare or even rare, but I haven't reached that level yet. The pepper parmesan sauce was just the right level of spice and cheesiness. You can't beat a potato patty and topped off with some cold horseradish cream, you have a collection of tastes, textures and temperatures in your mouth. Yummy! And for dessert, we had the Chocolate something cake. Its just that the names of the main courses had me so overwhelmed that I couldn't remember to write down a simple dessert's name. But it tasted every bit as good as it looked on the plate.

Pepper Cafe has some great food. Attention is paid to presentation and the chef seriously likes to play with textures, tastes and temperatures. We thoroughly enjoyed the food. Now how far, the "bassa is line caught", the "batter is Argentinian" and "tenderloin is grass fed" I wouldn't know and honestly it shouldn't matter. The menu can make your mouth drool and the dishes can make it worth the while. A meal for two, going all the way is in the Rs 1200 ballpark. The loo is on the ground floor, unisex and clean.

Address: No: 9, St John's Road, Ulsoor - Bangalore

Phone: 41130000

Accepts Cards: Yes

Parking: Nothing specific and not that big an issue

Flamenco

2011-06-01T01:50:00.000-04:00

A restaurant that has always been a life saver for us has been Tandoori Nights in Jayanagar. Several times, when we dropped by for our take-out, we saw this banner for a new resto on the block - Flamenco. Waited quite a while for it to open and when it finally did, we were there knocking on its glass doors. The first thing that hits you when step in is the yellow lambretta. Beautifully restored, you will spend some time ogling at it, before you settle on either the low settees or the bar stool style seating. There are also the regular table and chair variety for those who prefer it.

If you love this lambretta you should check out the
owner's bullet parked outside

Flamenco has a nice menu - the burger, hotdogs, salads and drinks kind. We visited the place twice and here is what we had.

What burger meal is complete without fries?

Sudhakar had the chicken club sandwich and asked for its to spiced up with the sloppy joe side. Now this is not something they normally would do, but the big guy of the place - Abhijeet sportingly agreed to and it turned out to be a good decision. The sandwich was grilled, stuffed, spiced and wholesome.

Chicken club sandwich with sloppy joe

This next is a small remnant of my bad habit of thinking I have a supercomputer for a brain. I know that its called a double dog something. Basically its a simple hot dog with two dogs :-) . With coleslaw and spicy chips on the side, this too is quite the tummy filler.

Double dog .....!

For drinks we had the green apple and orange granitas once and kiwi and strawberry slushes the next. Both blessings in glass when it came to the scorching heat on those afternoons.

Green apple and orange granitas (Top)

Kiwi and strawberry slushes (below)

Flamenco also does breakfasts and its a good thing the dishes are available at lunch time too. How else could we indulge junior with pancakes and butter (actually it comes with maple syrup, but junior loves butter). Definitely not the packeted stuff and the pancakes were soft and fluffy.

Pancakes and butter

The first time we went there, I had a Chicken burger. A substantial patty between toasted buns and cheese, with fries and coleslaw. What I really liked about the burger was that the patty felt very home made and not the frozen packet variety. The same goes for the meatballs and spaghetti. The sauce was just the kind mama would make at home. And I really hope things remain this way at Flamenco.

Chicken Burger

Meatballs and spaghetti

Flamenco has all the strappings of that friendly neighborhood place that you can head to for a good meal at any time of the day. It comfortably seats around 20 people. Service is very personal and friendly. The loo is small and fit for someone of my stature, anyone a little bigger will have some maneuvering trouble, but its really clean. A meal for two will come to around Rs 550 which is really reasonable.

Address: 138-139, 16 C Main, 4th Block, Jayanagar - Bangalore

Phone: 9886346863

Parking: Nothing specific and weekends can be a problem

Mummy's kitchen secrets - Edition 2

2011-05-30T01:46:00.004-04:00

Ok, I have promised myself several times this year that I will be more regular with the blog - make no mistake, I do miss it a lot. Its just that life seems to have railroaded me into a rut and with this post I firmly intend to get out of it. When I first started this blog, I mentioned that as a child, I was a fussy eater... well fussy to the extent of redefining the term. And so poor mom had to innovate in millions of ways to get me to eat my food. There was honestly nothing that interested me (she loves to retell the story to all who would listen, now that I have my own fussy eater - something to the effect of life coming full circle)

Once retired life took over for my parents, mom went back to what she loved most - tending to a beautiful garden, experimenting with cooking and overall becoming supermom. People began to ask her for recipes... this went on to become cookery demos in various clubs, her own cookery columns in the Konkani language publications as well as English websites. I still remember this one time, she participated in a Nestle product based cookery competition, where she was up against the cream of the Mangalorean cookery experts fraternity. Once done, she had her bags packed ready to leave pretty sure that the competition had outdone her. And then they announced that she had won the first place for her creation - a dish with the maximum number of Nestle products.

This streak of success went on for a long time and soon culminated into mom's recipe book in Konkani and on popular demand in English 7 years ago. Jane's Cook Book in English made record sales. With demand for the book still pretty high more than 2000 copies later, mom decided to release a second edition with 100 new recipes. And here it officially is today!

With 480 recipes, let me tell you why I like this book - for one, there is a equal mix of vegetarian and non-vegetarian recipes. For people like me who tend to struggle a bit with vegetarian, this is great. Being Mangalorean, there are a dedicated section to our specialties, so no calling mom (which I still do) if I forget how much of what goes into a Mangi dish. The Indian and Continental sections have a number of recipes you may or may not have seen, but each with mom's little twist to it. There is also a section on snacks, drinks as well as the making of basic masalas. The book is completely no-nonsense. There aren't any photos, which I think are good, since there are more recipes. The book also has recipes that mom created from scratch and won recognition for. This time round, many of us (friends and family) were deemed to have done something right in our culinary escapades and have some of our creations showcased in the book.

Everyone know that mommy knows best when it comes to the kitchen, this is a chance to get some secrets out of my momma's book. You have my assurance that you won't be sorry. Here is a look at what is in the book.

This book releases today and comes at Rs 250/- (if you pick it up yourself) + a little more if you want it sent to you in which ever city you are. If you would like to add this to your collection or gift it to somebody, drop me a mail at ruth@bangaloresrestaurants.com or send me a private message on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/ruth.d.prabhu

Chicken and Brinjal with ghee rice

2011-05-24T02:18:00.000-04:00

Its' been a while since I posted a recipe, or posted anything for that matter. The reviews for Flamenco and Pepper Cafe will be up soon. But till then to soothe my guilty conscience, here is a simple recipe for chicken and brinjal. May sound strange, but it turns out yumm. Am always looking for recipes that allow me to combine meat and veggies to make a one pot meal. Especially since junior, like most other kids is allergic to the thought of vegetables. One evening I ended up having just brinjals and chicken at home. Scoured the net, read through a couple of international and Indian recipes, mixed and matched ingredients and methods and came up with this.

Ingredients
* 1/2 kg chicken - small pieces would be nice
* 3 medium sized brinjals diced
* 2 medium sized onions chopped
* 1 big tomato chopped
* 1 tbsp of ginger garlic paste
* 2-3 tbsp of any chicken masala powder
* 400 ml of chicken stock (I used maggi cubes, 1 cube (foreign ones or two cubes Indian version) boiled in around 500 ml of water till it reduces a bit)

Method
* Fry the onions till they are transparent. Add in the ginger garlic paste and fry
* Throw in the diced brinjal and fry till they are slightly brown at the edges
* Put in the chicken and the chicken masala powder and coat the chicken well. Fry till the chicken crisps a bit on the outside.
* Add in the tomatoes and the chicken stock and cook the chicken till the stock reduces to a thickish gravy. This takes around half hour on medium flame.
* Once done, check for the level of salt since the stock will already have salt in it. Add as per taste.

For the ghee rice
Ingredients
* 1 large cup of rice
* 1 large onion sliced
* A little bit of whole cinnamon, clove and elaichi
* 1 bayleaf
* 1/2 cup ghee
* Salt

Method
In your pressure cooker, add the ghee and fry the bay leaf and whole cinnamon, clove and elaichi. Add in the onions and wait till they are brown. Put in your rice, double the quantity of water and salt. Close and make as you normally do.

Cafe Pascucci

2011-05-02T02:33:00.000-04:00

One month and one week exactly since I last posted on the blog. Guess that's the longest I have been away from it. Not that I really went anywhere, but the past month has been a round of summer holidays beginning for junior, admission process for LKG, summer camp transport service, mini holiday and of course work... in all this... the blog took a back seat. I did think of it from time to time and decided to make a fresh start beginning May 1st (which is when I wrote this). So hopefully I will remain a bit more consistent with the posts.

To begin the comeback - Cafe Pascucci - I have seen the MG road branch a couple of times (hardly go that part of town anymore) and Sudhakar even went in there for an office lunch with some colleagues. But the set lunch seemed outrageously priced and pretty meager. So they walked out. Cafe Pascucci opened an outlet in Jayanagar a while ago and after a lot of should we-shouldn't we, we thought we should. And so, onto the RX we hopped (you don't stand a chance in hell with car parking) we headed off to the cafe. The cafe is bang opposite KFC, in the same building as 1947 and a building away from Macdonald's...

The AC inside, along with the high-backed white chairs, pleasant music, seemed to start us off on the right note. The food on adjoining tables seemed interesting and before the little drops of drool began to show, we covered our faces with the menu. For starters it was potato crispies/croquettes (I have got to start labeling my pictures as soon as I take them) with a mayo dip and a fresh salad. Hot potato, cold dip, crunchy, vinegary salad. Yumm! time for the main course.

Potato Crunchies

For junior, who has thankfully starting to take to more interesting food, we had the tomato and basil fusili with smoked chicken. The portion was extremely generous, but what I didn't bank on was the chicken being spicy. So after a couple of bites, junior decided to stick with the garlic bread and helpings from my risotto. But, her pasta was really good and one, I polished off for dinner later that night.

Fusili with smoked chicken and basil

I had risotto with mushroom and an add-on of chicken. Honestly, the only place I have loved risotto is at Bangalore Bistro, and after having the versions at Veekes and Thomas as well as Frescoes, I would give Cafe Pascucci two thumbs up. Since am not really an expert on rice, I do doubt whether arborio was used, but, the texture and flavor were absolutely brilliant.

Risotto in mushroom with add on of chicken

Ice tea peach for me

Now the wood-fire pizza is something that the Jayanagar branch opened with and one that is recently introduced at the MG Road branch. Since its a glass encased chamber it had quite an audience and the chef was kind enough to allow me and junior to come in a watch him make a pizza, up close. We had a simple smoked chicken, peppers, cheese pizza in 6". Great for one person with a decent appetite. It turned out really nice. We have been here twice after and have always ordered a pizza and enjoyed it.

From the wood fire oven to our table

Smoked chicken, peppers, cheese

Confuso Scuro

Am not a coffee person at all and Sudhakar more than makes up for this. He had this thing called Confuso Scuro which was Gold Espresso, Chocolate Powder, Dark Confuso Cream, Chocolate Crunch, Chocolate Syrup. And judging by how the glass was close to crystal clean at the end, am guessing this is something you would like to order.

Double chocolate something cheesecake

Again, damn the not labeling immediately thingi. The Jayanagar Cafe has a good enough dessert display if you still have place at the end of it all. We ordered this double chocolate something cheesecake, an apple pie and lemon tart to go. The double chocolate was two mortal sins over a crumbly biscuit base. At least we can go to hell on sweet note. The apple pie had a good dash of cinnamon in it and was more apple than anything. The lemon tarts were good too. These last two we ate up and then remembered about the photos.

We also happened to visit the MG road branch soon after to treat ourselves to something nice after a grueling morning with the babus of Mayo Hall. I couldn't resist ordering the same risotto here and it was as good, though slightly more watery compared to Jayanagar. I also ordered a Infuso Al Frutti Rossi Di Bosco, or simply put, a Rosehips infused tea for a particularly bad throat. No clue was Rossi Di Bosco means though. A fruity tea sans sugar so its more like a hot berry flavored drink, but I liked it after maybe half the cup.

Infuso Al Frutti Rossi Di Bosco - Rosehips

We ordered the same "curly curly pasta" for junior, but this time skipped the smoked chicken and opted for plain chicken. This went down very well with her.

Fusili pasta in tomato basil sauce with add on of chicken

Sudhakar decided to create his own Italian sandwich and put together this - in multi-grain bread - Lettuce and Tomato, feta and grilled peppers and Chicken ham. Quite a package but a really nice one. He had a cold coffee to go with it.

Sudhakar's sandwich

"I promise to label my photos as soon as I download them"

Cafe Pascucci, both Jayanagar and MG Road share one problem... the lack of decent parking space. But the food and primarily the wood fire pizzas are brilliant. Sudhakar has now a different opinion on the place considering he enjoyed both the places. A full course meal, starter, a drink each, a main course each and a dessert to share is in the vicinity of Rs 1100. The loos in both outlets are clean.

Address: United Mansion, MG Road and 4th Block, Opposite Vijaya College, Jayanagar - Bangalore

Phone: 40912134 (MG Road) 7259175969 (Jayanagar)

Cards Accepted: Yes

Parking: Nothing specific and weekends can be a problem

Zingron

2011-03-23T01:26:00.000-04:00

In continuation with our exploration of all things Northeastern, we decided to give Zingron in Koramangala a go. Its right next to 64 and shares building space with Coorg, another restaurant. They have simple glass table-cushioned seating on one side of the restaurant and these really cute cane settees and low tables on the other. The restaurant is small and seats around 25 in one go and you will be greeted with the smell of pungent bamboo shoots. Anoushka decided for us that we would sit on the settees.

The cane settee and table seating

The rest of the resto

The menu had a whole selection of food from Mizoram, Nagaland and was divided according to the various tribes it comes from. We wanted to try something different from what we had. For drinks we asked for the Shaksha Theira, fermented gooseberry juice and a rice wine (can't remember the traditional name). The gooseberry juice was nice, with that slight acidic punch of being fermented. The rice wine was not at all what I expected. It came in a bamboo cup - and had the consistency of really thick rice porridge. You could see the rice and each sip will take an effort. The taste reminded me of thick curd which has that pungent acidic taste if its a bit old. This, as with most Northeastern fare is really an acquired taste.

The rice wine and Shaksha Theira

For starters we had the Smoked Pork Ribs Naga style with fried garlic, steamed broccoli, Chinese cabbage, some traditional herbs and a smattering of king chilli chutney on it. Compared to the Naga Kitchen and the NE Diner, I found the smoked pork here much more yielding to the knife. The taste was absolutely brilliant, with spiciness of the king chilli, the crunchiness of the fat on the bone, the contrast of the traditional spices mixed in and of course the veggies. There were four portions to a plate and by the time we were done, we were quite stuffed.

Smoked Pork Ribs Naga style

For Anoushka we ordered the Naga Chicken curry with steamed rice. The chicken curry was predominantly a coriander based one and was finger licking good. Have no clue what was in the curry, but junior kept asking for second and third helpings and so it was certified by the most fussy eater on earth. In fact, I too swiped a couple of mouthfuls. The chicken was boneless, which makes it a good choice for kids.

We asked for the Mixed parts pork gravy with steam rice. As the name points out, this is an offals-special curry. For us from the Mangalorean/Goan side - the pork sorpotel is the equivalent, except that we have an elaborate cooking process and masalas. Here the gravy was a simple, thin one, once again with a spices I am unfamiliar with, Hanshi, the menu said and garlic. This, with the Chicken chutney with king chilli and ginger made for a complete and supremely satisfying meal.

Naga Chicken curry with steamed rice

Closer look at the chicken curry

Mixed parts pork gravy

Chicken chutney with king chilli and ginger

As with any Northeastern restaurant, the food can take some getting used to. But for the those who love to try out new things, Zingron offers you an interesting enough range of tastes to choose from. The loo here is clean enough. This meal came to Rs 750 and thereabouts. The one consistent thing about all the northeastern joints we have been to is the king chilli and the really reasonable rates.

Address: #62, 2nd Floor, 1st Street, 1st A Main Road, 7th Block, Koramangala, Bangalore - 560095

Phone: 9611177543

Cards Accepted: Yes

Parking: Nothing specific and weekends can be a problem