Koramangala Social, bangalore

It was a place like no other I have been to. I rode the elevator to the 3rd floor, and entered the place and was instantly greeted by nothing but plush greenery and plenty of sunlight streaming in through the glass panel windows above. It was such a breath of fresh air, especially for someone who has been to pubs across the country where most of them are dark and dingy. Infact, you don't know where you are stepping in most places.

I found my friend seated in a table with a mix of chairs, I chose the sofa and it was damn comfortable. I got a view of the place and the one thing that hit me was the wide open spaces, the funky kitsch furniture, the overhead hanging plug points [you can pull em down if you wish to charge any device] and ofcourse the cool gear worn by the staff, very military style. 

There was a small aluminium bucket of sorts on the table that held the different menus [ they resemble the newspaper], a tissue roll with funky quirky words on it and cutlery alongside the same. I was in love with the place. Not to forget the girls whose company I always enjoy. We must have spent about 4 hrs there, and could have gone on for few more.. When I walked in, friend was drinking chai, there was a tall glass with tea, a small cutting glass with milk that said "cutting" [in hindi]. I instantly ordered one for myself. Similarly, I noticed that most glasses had a hindi word on them [paani=water, and so on]

Now coming to the food and drinks, I loved all that we ordered. I enjoyed my tall glass of Long Island Iced tea [ 500ml that came in a tall narrow glass with a long straw- it was made well] .. As for the food, the presentation is a big part of the experience- the plates, bowls they were served in and the flavours as well [except for the Laksa which I felt was different from what we expected and was tad spicy as well] 

We ordered pretty much everything on the menu, starters to desserts and were happy campers at the end of the meal. We tried the Khao Suey  [which was good,but the sauce felt a lot like what was served in the Laksa], the Paneer in a box [ it was served in a Chinese box with chopsticks], the Bhel puri and ofcourse the trio of desserts - Ramesh Suresh [ deep fried 5 Star chocolate served with vanilla ice cream in a metal box], the date sticky toffee pudding and chocolate explosion of sorts [ forgot the name, it was just an overdose of chocolate]

The damage [the box that contained the bill had this word printed on it..lol] was around 3k, but well worth the price...  The place has options for working, bring your laptop sit and work away; plenty of greenery which adds to the whole charm [apparently the other Social outlets are different and this is the largest of them all- 13000 sq ft]. Spotted quite a few groups with kids and babies as well. 

Address:
118, Koramangala Industrial Area, Koramangala 7th Block,
Bangalore
Ph- 080 40515253

Karavalli Celebrations at Clubhouse, Taj Club House

Taj Clubhouse is celebrating 25 years of Karavalli, the award-winning iconic restaurant at The Gateway Hotel Residency Road Bangalore with a special menu from the coastal regions of South West India.  Chef Ganesh Sheregar from Karavalli had been flown down for the festival and we got the opportunity to meet him as well.

[Image courtesy: Taj]

The menu is quite large and is served Buffet & A la carte style.  Some interesting dishes on the menu include the Oggaraneda Aritha Pundi (Steamed rice dumplings, flavored with coconut and cumin); Koli Barthad (Succulent pieces of chicken, pan- fried in a blend of roasted spices and the tart flavours of Coorg vinegar); Allapuzha Meen Curry (Cubes of Seer Fish, simmered in a moderately spiced gravy of freshly ground coconut, ginger and raw mangoes); Kori Dosa that is ideally eaten with Kori Gassi (Tender pieces of chicken, cooked with finely ground fresh coconut, byadgi chillies, coriander and tamarind) or Kadala Curry [Kerala style black channa cooked in a gravy format] and/or Pachakkari Stew (Seasonal vegetables gently simmered in creamy coconut milk).

The evening opened with the in house Chef Siddique telling us a bit about the dishes in store, and how there was bound to be a lot of similarities with Kerala & Goan cuisine- coconut, curry leaves, mild spices and so on. We were then served the starters on the table- veggies got Coconut coriander pakoras of sort while the non veggies got Crab & Fish. It was served with a range of chutneys and dips, that included Chammandis [red chilli and green chilli version], and all kinds of pachadis- carrot, tomato, cucumber and many others…

We also got a portion of Oggarraneda Aritha Pundi (Steamed rice dumplings, flavored with coconut and cumin) – loved it, it was almost like ammini kozhukattais.

Apart from this, the buffet also held in store a variety of vadams [ bitter guard, mor milagai, nendram pazham, and few others] along with some pickles as well [ loved the garlic pickle and gonghura chutney among the lot]

Ok, enough digressing. After the starters, we wandered about the buffet and sampled quite a few dishes. There was neer dosa that went well with kadala curry. And then there was tamarind rice, red unpolished rice along with sambar, not to forget the veggie sides- Cauliflower Therattal (cauliflower cooked with onion tomato masala), Bhende Bardez (Goan specialty okra cooked tempered with coconut), Matti Gulla Gujju (udipi brinjal cooked with onion tomato and fresh coconut), Mirapakkai Pacha Pattani Igguru (Chili & green peas cooked with coconut & aromatic spices) to name a few.   Oh and special mention to the Pineapple Rasam that was sweet yet spicy and added a zing to the evening…

And for the grand finale there was the trio of desserts- Tender coconut ice cream, Dodol and Bibinca.. These were quite different from what we had earlier at another restaurant. The Dodol was warm, different texture and I loved this one. Similarly, the Bibinca too was close to what I had in Goa…

This festival is on till the 27^th.. So for those of you who love coastal flavours, make a plan!

Where: Clubhouse restaurant at Taj Club House off Anna Salai, Chennai.

When: Till Sep 27.
Lunch: A la carte average rate for a couple around Rs.2,200 tax included
Dinner: Buffet Rs.1,700 per person tax included

Disclaimer: The reviews posted on this blog are based on my personal experience. Also remember these were just my views!! Remember, no two palates are the same. Bon Appétit :-)

I & Monkey, Bangalore

I was in Bangalore for the weekend, chilling out with a friend who has recently moved there.. Hadn't told a lot of people I was there [becomes tough to meet and I am exhausted by the end of the trip]. I called another friend to check where she was and if we could meet. So, that Sunday we decided to meet for lunch. The topic of where then came up, and after a bit of debate we settled for I & Money on 12th main road, Indira Nagar.  I knew I had seen the place but couldn't place it and it was only when we drove down the road did I realise I had walked past it during the earlier trip.. 

The walls were white, light fittings were black and quite clean decor. The walls near the bar had a whole lot of jazz players sculptures and the walls had photographs of famous jazz musicians. But the music played in the restaurant was random english pop... We chose to sit in a table outside and started glancing through the menu card while waiting for the friend to arrive. They don't have an extensive menu, but do offer a range of food & drinks [ alcohol included]. I ordered a Fresh lime soda salt along with which we ordered 2 veg starters - one was potato pancakes of sorts and the other was stuffed mushrooms. Friend arrived, and she proceeded to order  non veg starter and we started yapping, while waiting for food.

The Potato pancake was delicious and so was the stuffed mushroom. The sauce that came with friend's prawns were yumm- spicy but one of those that makes us want more.. :-) 

Two other tables were occupied, one with child that was happily jumping about and the other with a couple who were fairly quiet. We then got down to ordering mains. I opted for a dish that had herbed rice and mushroom side- both go which was good and the portion was quite huge. Friend ordered pasta and the other one went for prawns again... 

The food was good, but portion size as I mentioned was quite large. We were full and decided to skip dessert, asking for the check. 

The bill worked out to Rs1400 per pax... Not really my kind of place, but was a good experience nonetheless... 

I & Monkey

968, 12th Main, HAL, Indira Nagar 2nd Stage, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560038

Phone:080 4092 3656

Disclaimer: The reviews posted on this blog are based on my personal experience. Also remember these were just my views!! Remember, no two palates are the same. Bon Appétit :-)

Pind Balluchi, Bangalore

After a day of walking, sleeping and work, come evening we decided to head out for a walk. Two of us had been toying with the idea of catching a movie, and then the other two also joined in. We wandered out and after a few minutes decided to head down to Garuda Mall. It was a good 15-20 mins walk, and once there we headed straight upstairs to INOX. While the idea of a movie was exciting, we weren't looking forward to paying hideous sums of money[ we all knew Blore cinemas was expensive] .. After a bit of deliberation, we decided on a movie and imaging our surprise when the ticket was priced at Rs120 each.. Apparently weekday night shows are cheaper than rest of the shows. :O 

Since we had a good 2 hours before the movie, and were kinda hungry, we wandered around the mall till we came upon Pind Balluchi. The restaurant had the standard sardarji statues near the entrance and a giant tree just inside. We made a beeline for a table all the way at the other end of the restaurant, amidst all the flickering lights and dancing sardarji men on the wall .. While we were browsing through the menu, we heard quite a bit of thud thud, only to discover the restaurant was right next to the Bowling alley... :)

We placed our orders, 2 chaas, 2 jal jeera, 2 rumali roti, 2 naan, 1 missi roti, 1 portion Daal makhani and 1 of gatte ki sabzi. 

The food arrived within minutes and it was piping hot. The thing that stayed in my mind was that the staff brought out little katoris [cups] and served us the sides in the same. I loved my roti and the sides and looked like the others did too.. During the meal, we noticed the neighboring table had ordered rasamalai and were raving about it. That was it, we made up our mind and went ahead and ordered some for ourselves and it was sinfully yumm indeed.. 

With 10 mins to spare, we paid the bill and made our way back up the escalators. This was my 1st visit to Pind and I heard that all their outlets have a similar decor and food is good in all of them. The bill was close to Rs1400/-

Address: 4th Floor, Garuda Mall, Magrath Rd, Ashok Nagar, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560025
Phone: 080 4115 3753
Hours: 11:30 am – 11:30 pm

Website: http://www.pindballuchi.com/#

Dunkin Donuts, Bangalore

 

We were walking along Brigade Road after a good breakfast which was followed by an hour of meeting when we spotted Dunkin Donuts signboard outside Mota Royal Arcade [ yes, that mall at the end of Brigade road]. A colleague travelling along asked if we wanted to go have a donut and that is how we ended up at DD in Bangalore on a cool Tuesday morning. 

I chose a double berry donut [ if you know me, you would have known what I would pick], while the others went for chocolate and other flavours. They had quite a range, but what surprised me was the ambiance. There were funky furniture all around, royal red chairs, a long wooden table with orange chairs and few others as well, and then there were the pillars which were filled with quotes [giving it a black board look] and the quirky masks on the wall.  One colleague chose the Kesar pista which was a simple glaze donut with plenty of slivers of pista on top.

Another aspect I was surprised by was that the Donuts were quite reasonably priced, between Rs50 - Rs60. You get to pick from simple glazed donuts to those with toppings, filling and much more.. Apart from these, they also serve a range of hot & cold beverages, bites, burgers,and sandwiches.

We enjoyed our donuts, some oozing with filling while others had a thick glaze on them and made our way to the Hotel down the road. 

Even though the donuts were good, I still prefer the ones from Donut House!! Have tried Krispy Kreme and Mad over donuts as well. 

Thirsty Thursday... Long Island Iced Tea

Yet another drink I enjoy is the "Long Island Iced Tea" . Was introduced to this by a friend at TGIF, Bangalore.  It so happened that the time we landed there was Happy Hours, and so we each got 2 drinks for the price of 1. I quite enjoyed the Long Island Iced Tea but it was a huge glass, and we spent nearly 4-6 hours there-  talking, catching up,eating, drinking, trying to finish 1 drink before moving on to another.. I recall she ordered something different, equally big and heavy.. It was fun.. 

I've had this drink in many other places, and it tastes the same, but comes in glasses of different shapes and sizes. At 10Downing Street and Fusion 9, it comes in a regular glass, but somewhere else [I forgot where], it came in a beautiful tall glass [like the one Cream center uses for their Iced Tea and it is a tall glass indeed]

From the 1st sip, I was curious what the drink had. And i managed to dig out this image I have saved on my Hard drive on how the Long Island Iced tea is made.. ;o) There is another drink called Long Island Beach Tea, but the ingredient[s] are tad different and I dint really like the taste of it.

And for those of you who follow The Big Bang Theory, this is one howlarious episode...

Submitting this for the Thirsty Thursday theme from Chennai Bloggers Club

Veekes and Thomas, Chennai

There is a new eat out in Town, yes, one more, but this one seems promising. Why? It is pure Veg, a chain that has been quite successful in Bangalore, located in Nungambakkam, off Haddows Road and menu is simple, the icing on the cake- it is very reasonably priced!

And the decision was made. When a friend's friend- SR was in town and asked if we could meet up, after a few messages, i asked if we could do lunch at Veekes & Thomas ?!

We landed there at 1pm, and on opening the door to the restaurant found it hot and stuffy. One the staff apologized and told us they were facing power issues. We then decided to sit outside, and luckily it wasnt too hot. 

Since we were meeting for the first time, we spent nearly an hour catching up, swapping stories, sharing work experiences and of course talking about the mutual friend...

It was nearly 2pm when we thought we should get down to ordering Lunch... 

They had about 3 soups and it mentioned "served in Chai glass" which is what got me curious.. The Basil & Tomato soup was not available and so we settled for the French Onion soup [i'd recently watched the Masterchef Masterclass episode where Gary made the French Onion soup and my oh my, it looked divine] 

The other day when i had been here, few friends were just winding up. One of them in particular mentioned that the Brocolli Corn Cheese Starter was delightful. And well, yes, i had to try it. It was crisp with a nice bite to it and filled with flavour- served with a tangy sauce. 

For the main dishes, i chose the Ratatouille [for some reason, the dish always brings the movie to my mind and i wonder if the dish is going to resemble a rat or come with a toon picture... lol]. I enjoyed the Ratatouille, but the rice had a bit of a bite, i wonder if that is how it is supposed to be or if this is a different kind of rice....

While my friend chose the Penne with Vegetables [which was a bit bland so we added chilli flakes and herbs to it and then  it sang like a tweety bird... :-)]

             

The food was really good, simple. We were stuffed and so passed up on Desserts. But the most amazing part was when the bill arrived- this meal for 2 was Rs538/- .. What a steal.... 

We lingered on for another half hour yakking away before parting ways. It was one good happy lunch! Will i go back here? You Betcha!

Ambiance- 7/10 [inside is nice, with all the music posters on the wall and pictures of food etc]

Price- 9/10

Service- 8/10 [ Umm, there were times when we couldnt quite understand what the waiter was telling us. Guess its their accent]

Overall Rating -8.5/10 

Address:

#15/4 Haddows Lane

Haddows Rd  Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600034

Ph- 09710026669

It is in the lane right next to Fashion Folks on Haddows Road [ Adj to Shastri Bhavan], go right till the end and you will see it on your left next to an apartment complex. 

Kamat Swad, Bangalore

 Bangalore has so many eateries that sometimes i am overwhelmed, there are streets filled with eat out options, big and small, that i am amazed. I come back to Chennai and wonder why we dont have such a concept here, and quickly tell a Thanks to the Mystery man that my city is a little better.. Anyways, i digress!!  Kamat is a chain that you will find pretty  much in every area in Bangalore. I have been to a few of them- Kamat Bugle Rock is one i remember vividly. Had been there years, or was it months? ago with a friend and his son..

It was time to visit another outlet, "Kamat Swad in Koramangala" The thing about Kamat is - you see the place, check out the unassuming building, the simple structure, and the kaboom, the food hits you like a surprise!

I was in the auto, glued to the Google maps on my Blackberry, giving directions to the auto driver in my so called Kannada. I spotted the Canara Bank, but couldnt locate Kamat, and then the map sweetly showed that it was behind.. Looks like we had gone past it.. A U turn and there it was... Dang, how did i miss this huge sign board?

Got off, and just as i was to enter, i spotted Monika drive in.. We rode the elevator to the 3rd floor, and found a place. A waiter came over asked if we wanted Normal meals or special meals..

The Special meals is the Normal meals with
A Sweet
Ice cream/Fruit salad and
Bottle of water

We opted for the Normal meals and waited eagerly.

There came the Banana leaf, a glass of water, a glass of Buttermilk and a cup of curd.. The Buttermilk was divine, just perfectly seasoned.

And then came a good serving of salad- Fresh Methi leaves, Spring onions, and a big piece of Cucumber, and finally a papad. I was amazed- i have never seen fresh methi leaves served, especially not as a salad. I tried eating, but found it too bitter...

As we caught up on our lives, trips and work, we were served hot jowar rotis. We passed on the dollop of butter and eagerly looked on as we were served the side dishes. There were 3 gravies- one with black eyed peas, a greens with daal, and brinjal curry[the gravy was delicious and i quitely kept the brinjal aside]. There was also a raida with cucumber, onion and tomato that was yumm. And ofcourse, how can a Karnataka meal be complete without the traditional Kosmalli [a raw lentil salad of sorts].

The rotis kept coming, till we finally said enough. There is also the option of Rice, which is eaten along with Sambar, Rasam or with one of the podi [powder] kept on the table.. I did try them, one seemed like it had curry leaves, the other felt like the one we eat with idli, dosa and the 3rd was made of daal, but could not really decipher the flavours. I skipped the sambar [ i dont like the funny sweetness found in karnataka Sambar] but instead had a few spoonfuls of rasam [which i quite like].

It was quite a filling meal, and yet so light on the stomach. The bill came after we asked for it [unlike it being placed on the table the minute we were done eating] along with 2 bananas.

All this for Rs130/-[per meal] Quite a steal i would say!! 

Was quite a change from the usual eating out i do- and i quite liked it. Not heavy, not greasy, not oily, not filled with masalas and coriander.  I noticed the place was quite full, probably people from offices nearby.


Ambiance: 8/10
Price: 9/10 [the special meal is Rs160- 170/-]
Service: 8.5/10
Overall rating: 8/10

Address:

100 Feet Road, 6th Block, Near Canara Bank/Opp Naturals salon,

Koramangala,

Bangalore

Phone: 080 22736419

Peacock, Bangalore

Hey, do you want to catch up for dinner?

Sure,  suggest a place and tell me when, shall land...

ok, there is this restaurant called "Peacock" on 100ft road, just come over there around 8, i should reach then.

And within seconds, a plan was made...

It took me a little longer than 5mins to find the place and then to spot my friend V, who was err enjoying some retail therapy at Pavers on the ground floor. I vaguely remember there being a Reliance Footprint at that exact place and a Gloria jeans coffee nearby. That night i noticed a transformation had happened in the year or so..  Pavers and another outlet had taken the place of Reliance, while Gloria Jeans had become a small bistro of sorts. We had walk through the place to find a stone staircase leading to Peacock on the 1st floor.

There was an interesting waterfall structure near the path, with an elevator alongside. The entrance into the restaurant  was quite extravagant, dark lighting and swanky furniture, fittings and art. We were shown to a table along a wall, where a plush sofa ran along the length of the wall. The ambiance seemed quite posh...

The waiter {forgot his name, such a darling he was, serving us, making sure we were taken care of} came over and announced there was a Happy Hour deal on Wine. Well, we wasted no time in ordered a glass of Sula white wine.. Umm, the only faux pas of the evening was that my glass of wine had an ice cube floating in it. We squealed on seeing it, and the waiter was quick to replace with another full glass of wine ;)

After catching up on our lives, work and what not, we got down to ordering food. A starter that was paneer tikka that was so soft and filled with flavour. For the main courses-- mine was Lettuce wrapped around stir fried veggies [it was in the salad section, but i decided to try it out] and my friend ordered a Fish sizzler [though she wanted it on an ordinary plate passing up on the smoke filled hot sizzling plate option]

The dishes were divine, starting with the starter to the main dishes..... We did pass up on the dessert as we were fairly stuffed. I did chat with the waiter on the restaurant's background, and if they had presence elsewhere. Apparently its fairly new, and only in Bangalore, but the brand had 2 more eateries in Bangalore- one on the ground floor of the same building- Cream & Crust and the other one was Woodstock [Thanks @Deepakao for this updated information]

We walked out grinning- good food, good company and lovely weather.... Was good meeting my friend who'd recently moved to Bangalore [yes, new job] Here's to exploring new places on every visit to this familiar town...

Ambiance: 8/10
Price: 7/10 [ the meal we had cost Rs1780 incl wine]
Service: 8/10

Address:
Peacock
+91 9686377553, +91 9686377667
57, 100 Feet Road, Indiranagar, Bangalore