Stuffing Myself for Lunch at Thulp

It has been a while since my last post and various reasons including travel contributed to the same. But that still did not stop me from going out and discovering more new places to hog. Last Sunday we set off to a new place in Koramangala, Bangalore called Thulp. I was reassured by my wife that food there was good and extremely filling.. yay.. good for me, I thought. Though I did give her a word of caution, I was starving and if I don't get my fill, I get very grumpy.
As we approached the place (quick pointers - its close to the Maharaja signal in Koramangala 1st block, if you are coming from Sony World Junction, take a left at the signal before Maharaja's), I noticed that it was a typical cafe on Bangalore streets. A single room, adjoining kitchen decorated with alternate and post modern knick-knacks. Quaint, tucked away in a corner - just the way I like it. What shocked me was the crowd- it was a positively bustling place with folks pouring through the doors. That, too me always says a lot about the place. One of the waiters informed us of a 15 minute wait which we used judiciously in scanning their menu and deciding what to try. You could see all sorts of people there - from the typical teenager, to the middle aged professionals with their families and of course the old-timers / regulars. The menu was simple but had a lot of options - burgers, steaks, sandwiches, pasta etc. For starters, we quickly ordered traditional favorites - garlic cheesy fries and buffalo wings.Two yogurt smoothies to accompany them - strawberry shortcake and banana with peanut butter, peanut brittle.

First the fries - they were good, crispy and thick. There was a balance to the seasoning and salt but the clincher was the over-dosage of molten cheese that swept across the plate completely covering the fries... yummy. The garlic were solid slivers and burnt to provide that exquisite taste which did not overpower the fries but complemented it perfectly. The buffalo wings were perfection - finger lickin' good if I may say so. Having stayed for a few years myself in upstate NY especially in and around Buffalo, NY I can safely say I have tasted enough of the original authentic Buffalo sauce meant for the chicken wings. It has to be tangy, fiery and sweet - all rolled into a dish where the wings should be positively dripping with the sauce giving you no option but to lick your fingers.All that and more - check. The cream provided along with this dish serves as a natural balance to the explosiveness of the dish and it was fresh. The smoothies were fresh and delightful - fresh with the saltiness and tanginess of yogurt and the fruit flavoring which did not overpower the entire drink.
With the starters being a major hit, we moved on to the main course - a tender grilled chicken fillet burger with bacon and cheese called the 'Impostor' and a grilled 2-egg omelette sandwich with cheese, grilled onions, tomatoes and pickled chillies called the Gonzo's Anda Pav.

The burger of course comes with fries and it was massive. Folks, the picture does not tell the true story. It was a huge burger and it rocked. The chicken fillet was done to perfection and I had asked for crispy bacon - which they delivered but the slices were a tad thick (probably the only flaw I could find apart from the flimsy bun material). Most people discount the bun when they talk about the burger - if it does not hold up it becomes messy to eat with half the bread breaking away and becomes a big distraction. The bun here was thankfully not that bad but definitely on the flimsy side.Everything else about the burger was A-Grade. I was stuffed by the time I finished half of that monster. The Anda Pav on the other hand compared to the burger was a dainty little creature but in all fairness a meal by itself. The bread was fresh and baked well. the eggs were perfect and an overdose of grilled onions, tomatoes and pickled chillies made it a perfect meal for folks who want an alternate to THULP :-) Well balanced and seasoned not in excess, it was light yet filling. I must say, in all this, we used up the entire bottle of mustard and mayo sauces kept at our table which only added to the brilliant flavor (point - mayo not close to Indianas but close enough).
This concluded our meal since we had no place in our stomachs for dessert. I did take a quick look but the choice and varieties were not many... so, no harm no foul done.
All in All the final verdict - a resounding YES... bags of flavor, fantastic concoctions, massive portions and moderate on the wallet. What's not to like ? If you like fast food and continental food, DO VISIT Cafe Thulp...

Location: 998, 1st main, 1st block, Koramangala, Bangalore
Phone: 40933344, 40933355
Cost factor: Moderate (the above meal cost around 800 Rs. only)

Suggi - a taste of Malnad in South Bangalore

    A couple of weekends back, my wife and I woke up late as usual on a Sunday and decided to have lunch outside. The only difference being, we wanted some homely traditional food instead of foreign cuisines. Having heard about Suggi from a colleague at work I decided to give it a try. Malnad regions broadly refers to the Western Ghat regions - but in essence covering places like Coorg, Chikmagalur. Hence the cuisine is steeped in items that are grown in abundance in these mountainous regions. Even though their specialty items might be meat based, they do have an abundance of veg dishes for the not-so meat minded population. Having made up our mind quickly, we landed up at Suggi at sharp noon. You are welcomed at the doors by staff in traditional attire with pleasant music playing in the background. A very quick noticeable observation was that all the staff had a genuine smile on their face as they moved across the tables. We were informed that a-la-carte exists and so does the buffet which prompted me to do the walk-around. Around 28 dishes adorned the buffet with enough on the veg option too, making me decide on the buffet.
The first course - soup was brought to our table with the simple choice being tomato for veggies and chicken broth for non-veggies. The soup itself was light, fragrant and had bags of flavor - a perfect starter to the meal.

With that out of the way, we decided to attack the main course. I made essentially two trips to the main course table and I shall explain it pictorially :-)

The number of meat dishes blew my socks off - mutton roast, chicken sukka, fish fry (anjal), chicken pepper. I scooped portions of all these dishes onto my plate and  went over to the bread/rotis section - neer dose, akki rotis, kori rotis and maiige idlys. The neer dose and the idlys were out of this world, extremely fluffy and light - perfect for wolfing down half a dozen.The chicken pepper stew and sukka were both good, spicy and flavorsome. The mutton preparation was a little off for me as I felt that the mutton had to be cooked a little bit more - it had a slightly tough taste and texture to it. The fish fry was perfectly done - meat fresh and a spicy red chilly masala paste set off the dish in your mouth. For the traditional, you also had access to raggi mudde (ragi balls) and sambar. Apart from this, you had the standard fare of palak rice, plain steamed rice, rasam and chicken biryani with raita. The biryani was not too shabby but I preferred the palak rice for the variety. The veggies had access to aaloo-gobi roast, mix veg gravy and mushroom pepper dry in the side dishes and veg biryani in the rice section apart from the above mentioned palak rice, steamed rice, rasam and sambar. The aaloo-gobi roast was done well with the crispness of the batter and spices mixing in harmony. Overall, a sense of home cooked meal was what I gto from the place. Desserts were minimal - payasam (kheer) and a sweet kesari made out of ragi. The payasam was ok, not upto the standards expected in southern regions of India but the ragi dessert was novel and intense. It was cold and not too sugary and perfect to down after a spiced up meal.

My final opinion is that - its a fantastic place to get home cooked meals of Malnad cuisine. Meat lovers would rejoice at the sheer range and variety of dishes available to them but veggies need not despair (in our group 4 I was the only non-veggie) and the remaining 3 did not complain :-)

Location: 683/A 3rd Floor, 2nd Phase, JP Nagar, near Dalmiya Circle, Bangalore-76
Phone: 080-42083291
Cost: very affordable (meals cost around 250-300 per person)