La Casa - Continental fare in Bangalore

   Sunday afternoons are usually the normal time when all of us feel lazy to cook at home (we are no exception) and so today found us heading out in search of another restaurant to satisfy our cravings. Against all my inner voices, wildly protesting, I drove in the same direction that I do everyday to work, to a restaurant called La Casa. Now this restaurant has multiple outlets, the most famous being in Jayanagar but this one has a better ambience, being a old bungalow converted into a spacious restaurant with hanging gardens. We went to the one on Jail Road, near Sarjapura, the address being Amruta Engg. College road, Kasavanhalli, Bangalore - 560035. You can reach them on +91-80- 64535930.

The fare out here is claimed to be simple but has food from all major cuisines worldwide and then some unusual ones like Peruvian, Korean, Bhutanese :-) The way I look at it, its decent continental fare to be had as you have a few drinks - yes, they do have a well-stocked bar. Having sat down, we quickly ordered the starters. We were a group of four and 3 of them being vegetarians, making me a rare minority species. First up were the classic French fries, Chilly cheese toast and Mexican Bisque veg. soup.

The fries are good - thick, crisp and not too much oil on them and the mayo dip provided is a perfect foil. Chilly cheese toast passes muster - its just plain bread toasted in oven with string cheese on top and chopped green chillies. No great shakes considering you are paying 200 Rs. per plate. The soup was really good - a thick creamy tomato base with a salty touch and lotsa veggies boiled in it.
These were polished off in minutes while we placed the order for the main course - Indonesian Mee Goreng (chicken noodles) and Russell Market vegetable steak. Orders usually take their time here, at least a 20 min wait but the place is nice and cozy that you don't mind the relaxing wait. A word of caution... the portions are huge and if you fill your stomach with starters, better start reaching for the doggy bag early on.

First up, the Mee Goreng... its a spicy noodles preparation, very greasy with a well done egg on top. The chicken was dry and shredded in the noodles while the chicken on skewers were a little too big in size and harder than what I would have expected. Presentation is pretty good and it makes an appetizing picture. The dish is served with crisp rice wafers and kimchi salad. Overall, decent fare and quality. Same goes for the vegetable steak. The creamy sauce was a little too much and masked the taste of the steak completely while the veggies / fries were soggy due to prolonged exposure to the steak. Taste wise, it was ok and decent fare. As I said before, great place to drink.. have nice starters and huge volume of food at decent quality and price.

Quickly polishing it off (was a revelation that we were really starving:-) we skipped the dessert since we were just too full but have had the chocolate mousse on earlier occasions and its good. All the above came to around 1300 Rs. for the four of us. Not too shabby but not inexpensive either. All in all, you are in the mood for a few drinks, a relaxing atmosphere to sit and chat with friends with a wide range of decent continental fare, head to La Casa. You won't be disappointed...!!!

Ramadan Feast - on streets of Bangalore

 After a long, unintentional break, here's back to writing and salivating about food. Not that I took a break from that - intentional or otherwise. The holy month of Ramadan is always accompanied by the brilliant feasting options after a long day's fasting. In the small by-lanes of Bengaluru, await innumerable stalls that make delicious food, hot and unbelievably tasty. It was Friday evening, and a bunch of us decided to head to Mosque Road, Frazer town. Guided impeccably by a localite (thanks Praveen) we managed to beat traffic and land up there bang on time for the feast to begin.
Lights on every corner, bright burning fires, huge vessels cooking meat and of course the wafting aroma of delectable food assaulted us. We stopped by the first shop we see on entering the road. Quickly we end up ordering Haleem, Chicken rolls, plates of mutton and beef and keema samosas. The chicken rolls were cold but had flavor. Mutton and Beef were cooked to perfection with the juices dripping off them and extravagantly coated in a multitude of spices. The keema samosa were a let-down since they did not have too much keema in them and were a little plain.

Apologies for the bad photos but I was busy licking my fingers clean and juggling multiple plates of food to bother about perfection in photo taking :-)
Let me give you some of the best items on menu there - beef kebabs, mutton liver and rolls.
And yeah.. there are dessert options and we dug into those too happily. It ranges from phirni, fruit pudding, caramel custard, gajar ka halwa to an exotic souffle made of tender coconut shavings. The pudding and the coconut souffle were exceptional while the rest were no mean slouches either.
All in all.. an amazing experience .. brilliant food and decent prices and a fantastic experience to savor. Just make sure you pick a dry day with no rains :-) then let loose and indulge to your heart's content.

Egglicious.. The Egg Factory..!!

Last month, during one of the sedentary weekends, as is my want, I was wandering down Bangalore roads trying to find new places to eat and try out new cuisines. Close to my home, I did find a novelty - The Egg factory in JP Nagar. They also have another location centrally placed in the city on St Marks Road (for interested folks). A quick check with the folks runnnig it threw up some interesting facts - they came into existence around 2008 desiring to cater to the veggies who are also eggaterians. A place that is easily accessible, pays homage to eggs in all their dishes and has a global outlook in terms of dishes served. The one that I visited was in JP Nagar, opposite HP Petrol Pumps on the the main ring road. A nice airy place, with seating both inside and outside, an open kitchen and warm friendly rustic atmosphere.  A quick glance at the menu showed me, unlike the roadside dhabas that we used to visit during college days which were the biggest and best source of egg dishes, the number of dishe out here are pretty high catering to varied tastes, both local and international. From Texan fajitas, to Egg Burjees and the local Kothu Paratha, you get to choose across the board.
I quickly chosethe Fajitas while my wife chose the Eggs Florentine and I added a side order of original French toast to round it off. To drink, I ordered a What's up Doc while my wife ordered the Pink Lady.

First the Fajitas - 2 tortillas, sauteed veggies, sour cream, pico de gallo and a choice of scrambled eggs. I chose my scrambled eggs with jalapenos, tomatoes and onions. The tortiallas were fresh, warm and light and the veggies were perfectly steamed. The cream was fresh and the scrambled eggs were perfection indeed with more than a generous smattering of jalapenos, tomatoes and onions. The dish was not too spicy and definitely not bland - with a touch of pepper, salt and tabasco sauce the taste depths perk up quite a bit.A perfect breakfast dish to start off with, in spite of being light fills you up nice. Reminded me of the dhaba outside our college which used to be our breakfast joint on most weekends.

Next the Eggs Florentine - a traditonal dish from the West and innovatively captured, I should say. Soft boiled eggs with spinach dressing and a creamy white sauce (traditionally Hollandiase) topped with Parmesan cheese. The eggs were perfectly done and the sauce was silky smooth. The dish is a little bland according to our Indian spice tastes but garnished right with salt and pepper, it acquires a fine taste indeed. The bread was done right, crisp and freshly baked - all in all a neatly done breakfast starter. I would have loved a little bit more of spinach considering Florentine means a bed of spinach but a small oversight which does not detract too much from this dish on its own.

Hmm French toasts.. they are an eternal favorite of mine and I am pretty particular how I want them. I must confess that I was a little disappointed with this dish here. They served 4 slices with maple syrup - traidtional style. First of all, the bread was a little dense, ideally it should have been light fluffy and probably a little thinner too. The thickness of the slices put me off a bit. Then no cinnamon or sugar frosting on top of the slices which for me, is a big no-no :-) The maple syrup was good, no doubt and the dish was ok but it could have been great if they had worked on it a little bit more.

To drink we had the What's up Doc (a carrot juice with hint of lime) and the Pink Lady (cherries, almonds, banana with yoghurt and milk). The drinks were both refreshing coolers and fresh - i would recommend both anyday. The dessert being a strawberry cheesecake was delicious to say the least. It was soft, perfect consistency and really well done. It was more like a mousse and a perfect crumby base which gave it the crunchy texture to go against the sliky smoothness of the mousse with a tart strawberry coulis (sauce) on top. A light filling and delicious dessert to top it off - my brunch was done and dusted and I was happy and satisfied.
The bottomline - was I happy... definitely YEAH... would I go back.. YUP.. best part.. very easy on the wallet (this entire meal costs us only approx. Rs.600/- ) and fantastic choices for folks who don't do meat but love eggs...

Location: 288, 15th Cross, 18th Main, 5th Phase, opposite HP Petrol Pumps and Wine Baron, JP Nagar
Phone: 080-40124848
Wallet Factor: Medium
Ambience: Airy, open and rustic
 

Au Bon Pain - Don't we all love Bread..??

Last weekend was car hunting and I did manage to roam different parts of the city under the baking hot sun in Bangalore. Saturday afternoon around 2 pm found me near JP Nagar 3rd phase, starving since I did not have lunch yet. That's when I saw the Au Bon Pain outlet right on the main road - close to the Delmia signal on JP Nagar ring road heading towards Bannerghatta Road. For people who have not heard of them, Au Bon Pain is a chain of restaurants originating from Boston, USA catering a range of bakery products and also salads, sandwiches, ascribing to the concept of a wholesome but healthy meal. Starvation took over and my wife and I decided, why not..:-)

Walking in, we were struck by the warm well lit ambience and pleasing yellow colors and chairs and tables arranged neatly. The surroundings were clean and well maintained and you could see a bustling of activity behind the counter. Since hunger was a main issue, we decided to go the whole nine yards - soup, sandwich and dessert. Running through their options, they have a couple of veg and non-veg options (minestrone, cream of pumpkin, three bean chicken and chicken broth). The pumpkin soup looked ravishing and we quickly picked up a bowl each.

This soup, to me, was the dish of the day. Absolutely fantastic and spot on. The sweetness of the pumpkin was mated well with natural spices (giving it a hot spicy  but sweet flavor and an unbelievable aroma) and the soup itself was light yet creamy thick. All these conflicting descriptors turned that soup into a superstar for me. Although it was piping hot (a prerequisite for soups) I managed to down the cup in record time. The main course was for me a 'Create your Own Sandwich' option. Apart from a selection of standard sandwiches, you could put together your own one too - and I promptly went for it. Grilled chicken, turkey slices as protein options, ciabatta for the bread, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, cucumber slices, olives, jalapenos and corn as your choice of condiments (all of these are free) and for sauces, you had chipotle, mayonnaise, mint chutney and schezwan. Protein choice is 1 out of the various choices (extra meat options can be taken at an add-on cost) and two from the sauces list.

The bread was fresh, a little bit salty and the crust was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, excellently baked.The veggies were fresh and you could taste the crispness of the condiments while the meat was well prepared and seasoned. All in all, a great light sandwich which was undeniably fresh and full of health and nutrition. Finally, to top of the meal, dessert was the last destination. Their selections were kept tantalizingly in the open glass cases near the seating area and they do their job well - enticing poor hapless customers like me :-). A nice selection of muffins, cakes, donuts, danish, cinnamon buns beckons you - after a lot of deliberation, I picked the black currant danish and boy, I was not disappointed. The pastry crust was light and crispy and crumbled in your mouth while the black currants were fresh and gooey in the center exploding in your mouth with bags of flavor. Fantastic way to finish any meal.

Now to the important points - wallet factor. The above meal comes close to Rs. 300/- for one person which I think is definitely worth the taste and goodness factors. Wrapping up, a fantastic place not just to enjoy the bakery products but also to have a balanced full meal. As the French would say - to good bread.. enjoy it in all forms..

Location: 15th Cross, 6B main, JP Nagar 3rd Phase, opposite Barbecue Nation, Bangalore

Ambience: Neat, clean, friendly staff

Wallet Factor: Medium expensive

There are multiple other outlets all over Bangalore for convenience. 

Late night food cravings.. ?? Empire is the place to be..!!

Its been quite a while since my last post and work has been all around and some stuff going on too. So, in an attempt to redress that hiatus, let me try getting up a few long due posts - starting off with this classic eating joint of Bangalore which most locals (familiar with the night life) frequent. Hotel Empire is a chain of restaurants spaced all over Bangalore providing some delectable vegetarian and non-vegetarian fare at affordable prices. Well, before I get ahead of myself let us go through the entire evening's session at this restaurant. A group of us had gone to watch an IPL cricket match at the stadium on a Saturday evening. By the time the match got over, it was close to 11 pm and we were starving. There was only one place that came to our mind and that was Empire hotel. We headed to the nearest one on Church street and plonked ourselves on the first floor. First impressions, it was a bustling bee-hive of activity even at such late hours. Fresh aromatic fragrances of spiced meat wafted across the place welcoming one and all. The ambience is typical to any fast food chain of restaurants but it is clean and decent. A waiter walked over to our table the minute we sat down and plonked a bunch of menus and ran off to take the orders of another table. Did I say this place is bustling..?? :-)
There were four of us in our group and only one vegetarian in that ecosystem. We quickly ordered - Malabar (Kerala) parathas, Boneless Butter Chicken gravy, Mutton Kheema dosa, Appam with vegetable stew and a plate of their special ghee rice. There is a fresh fruit juice stall right outside attached to this restaurant which makes it worthwhile ordering seasonal fruit juices - we ordered watermelon and mango. Now to the fun part - tasting :-)
As always in any restaurant, I am lucky enough to get my dishes out first and so it happened here too. My Malabar parathas along with the butter chicken gravy popped out first and i dug into it with gusto.

The parathas are golden brown and absolutely crisp, making that pleasing crunchy sound as you bite into them. This is brilliant considering these are layered parathas and the smell of ghee emanating from them is truly intoxicating. The butter chicken was top of the class too - spicy like a traditionally prepared Kerala dish but with tender pieces of chicken well cooked in a thick gravy seasoned with curry leaves for that bags of flavor taste. Next came the Mutton Kheema dosa - and a sight it was to behold.

Finely minced Kheema paste of choice mutton meat - the meat was well cooked and very spicy to boot. The texture of kheema dishes are extremely critical - too fine its a bad paste in your mouth and not properly minced there are big lumps. This was perfect kheema where you could roll your tongue over the textured mutton pieces and also bite into it with gusto. The flavors were spot on and the most important part - the dosa was crisp and well made. This dish vanished off our plate without even troubling 5 minutes of our watches.

Finally up were the Appams and the Ghee rice. The appams came with coconut chutney, a masala spiced sambar type of gravy and the most important complementary side dish - the stew.  Crisp, light and fluffy were the appams and most importantly (a simple usual mistake that often happens is that the appam center tends to get lumpy with excess batter accumulating) perfectly built up at the center. The vegetable stew had the right essence of spices and sweetness in it - cloves, cinnamon for the biting spice and coconut milk for the sweetness and the vegetables were well boiled and soft to taste. The ghee rice is a specialty dish out here and must be ordered. It can be had either with the chicken gravy or the stew and it just goes brilliant with both.
Downing all of these with the fruit juices kinda hit the sweet spot and of course appeased our hunger. The best part is the cost - very affordable and inexpensive. The above meal set us back by around 600 Rs. only. A couple of other special noteworthy dishes to try here are the chicken kebabs, tandoori grilled chicken and the shawarma rolls.

Ambience: Decent, bustling and crowded
Quality: Excellent Kerala style food (especially non-vegetarian fare)
Cost: Economical, easy on the wallet
Location: All over Bangalore (Church Street, Castle Street (both around MG Road), Koramangala, Central street, Frazer town, Indiranagar and other locations. Check http://www.hotelempire.in/ for more details.

Seafood at Majestic, Bangalore

 Last weekend my friends and I headed towards Majestic, Bangalore for some basic time-pass shopping. It was Saturday morning and we landed up in the place at around 11 30 am. Wandering around the various bazaars and markets, we wound up our activities by around 1 pm. Starving and ready to eat anything put in front of me, I asked my friend for any suggestions. Fishland was mentioned - a coastal Mangalorean seafood joint (of course with a name like that, it should have been obvious..) This place is a little tricky to find but the best directions that I can provide is that, its right behind National Market and near Tribuvan theater. It is definitely one of the old-world places with a feel good atmosphere to it. Walking up to the first floor, you get two entrances - both to restaurants run by the same management. The one on the left is a proper dining mess hall where food is served traditionally (no air-conditioning but a bright airy hall) while the entrance on the right is an a/c room where a bar is also attached for those who want to have drinks with their food. Also, in the a/c bar area, the fish meals option does not exist. The warm hot day outside and all the roaming decided it for us and we walked through the right door entrance into the air-conditioning.  The ambience is like any typical a/c Bar restaurant in Bangalore (bright, dark colors with random lighting and closed spaces). Sitting down, we were approached immediately by a waiter who told us the specials. Ordering a chilled beer first, we also ordered chicken tikka and pomfret fry (Mangalore Rawa-fry style). The beer came in double quick time while both the starters were on our table in 5-10 minutes.

First the chicken tikka - tender well cooked meat and generously coated with masala - made this a brilliant starter dish to complement the chilled beer quenching our thirst. Then the pomfret - one word - magical.. perfectly fried, the rawa crumbs coating the fish exquisitely. Once you break through the crisp crust, you bite into the tender well cooked meat that is moist and fresh. The fish was stripped bare to the bone in less than 5 minutes. The rawa also had the right masala mixed in which gave a spicy touch to the dish.
Once this vanished from our plate (which was in a blink of the eye) we placed our main course order - kori roti with chicken stew. Now Kori roti is a typical Mangalorean dish best described as follows: crispy dry wafers made of boiled rice like a paper thin roast dosa. This is typically had with a spicy chicken stew filled with red chillies. Now, the best way to eat this dish is to pour the stew on top of the kori roti and wait for it to soak through. This makes the roti soft enough to be eaten and this also ensures the spices of the stew to be absorbed completely by the roti.

Absolute heaven and bang on the money in terms of flavors, taste and authenticity. The chicken was as before - well done, tender and spicy to boot , while complementing the kori roti to the hilt. Even before the plate was half empty we had run out of stew which the waiter was gracious enough to refill (at no extra cost) earning him and the establishment fantastic brownie points on customer service and satisfaction.
By the end of this, we were totally stuffed and decided to skip dessert subsequently. Wrapping up - quaint little old world place near Majestic, serving unbelievable authentic Mangalorean seafood. You can try the fish meals or the a-la-carte option and you won't be disappointed. The above meal (including the beer) cost approximately Rs.1000 for two making it a not too expensive place.

Location: Sujatha Complex, 1st Main, Gandhinagar
Phone: 080-22258080
Wallet Factor: Moderately Expensive

Kababs.. Kababs.. and More Kababs..

   Last Sunday afternoon while watching TV in the afternoon, laziness stole over me and I decided to order in. But at the same time, I did not want the standard fast food or pizza fare... I wanted a proper meal. A friend of mine had told me about Love Thy Kababi on Bannerghatta Road, at Arakere Signal (near Reliance mart). Boasting of a massive collection of kababs (both veg. and non-veg), it also had the essentials - biriyani, rotis, gravy side dishes etc. Having quickly made up my mind, I got their menu and contact numbers of the Just Dial web page and made the call. I decided to go with a starter kabab plate and a main dish of Biriyani - the malai nutty chicken tikka kabab and the chicken special kabab biriyani. 30 minutes later (yup.. it is as efficient as the pizza service) the food was on my table.

First the packaging - as a person who orders in quite often, I am very finicky about the packaging and its appearance and finally - is it still warm..?? Full points on all counts - I was really impressed. The packaging was really good and it looked appetizing, the seal was good, no spillage and of course the food was hot .
Now onto the most important part - the tasting. The starter kababs were good - the meat succulent, tender and juicy and cooked to perfection. The marination was spot on and you can taste the creaminess coating the kababs. As you bit into the kababs, you could hear and feel the crunch of the cashews stuffed inside which provides a heavenly rich feeling to the entire dish. If at all I had a complaint, I felt the dish overall did not have spiciness or the hotness factor which I love about my kababs but it was not bland either. When you have it with a really spicy mint chutney that will balance the dish perfectly.
Now the main course - the chicken special biriyani... one word - perfection...!! The rice was cooked well, fragrant and separated out neatly. The meat as I had described in my earlier dish was again perfect and well done. This dish was spiced properly and I really enjoyed it with the 'salan' (the green chilly gravy) which was the accompaniment provided. The thing about good biriyani is that the rice while well cooked must be separated enough and the masala paste around the meat should not stick together in clumps or become globules and stand out as separate spots in the dish. The mixing of the rice and meat has to be a perfect orchestra where all instruments meld together in the final crescendo. This dish hit the spot perfectly and I am now happy to say, Bannerghatta Road has a good biriyani place that you can go back.. again and again..
Now, the wallet factor - the above wholesome meal cost me Rs. 300/- in total (Rs. 150/- per dish) which I felt was brilliant.

End Result: Great Food.. good packaging.. easy on the wallet..

Location: 2nd Flor, #7, Krish Towers, at Arakere Signal, Bannerghatta Main Road, Bangalore - 76
Phone: 080-42165050

Enjoy Hoggin...!!!!