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...!!!!

Malgudi - taste of South

 Last week involved a bit of travel and which ended up in me eating out quite often. I took that as a good opportunity to try out some new places and some old favorites. My friend had been asking me about traditional South Indian cuisine and he is a meat eater to boot. So, we decided to go to Malgudi restaurant. It has got multiple outlets (2 that I know of in Bangalore - Outer Ring Road near Marthahalli and HSR Layout near Silk Board; 2 in Chennai - one in Hotel Savera in heart of city and other on OMR road near Sholinganallur). I do know a lot of folks who have been here and come away unimpressed. My only tip to them is that - you need to know what to order, with what as an accompaniment else the food won't speak volumes.
We landed in this place at around 8 pm and of course it goes without saying that I was starving. So, we quickly started off with Chicken and Nand (crab) rasam (soups..!!). To go with that, we ordered a couple of starters - Vazhapoo (Plantain or Banana Flower) Vada and Mutton Pepper Chops.

First the Rasam - was piping hot, fragrant and spicy; just the way it should be. The meat (crab / chicken) was so soft and well cooked that it was just falling off the bone. A brillaint start to the evening accompanied by two stars of Chettinadu cuisine - the vazhapoo vada and mutton pepper chops. The vada was crisp, fresh and the flavor of the vazhapoo could be absorbed over the fried snack and the spicy coconut chutney provided as an accompaniment. Mutton pepper chops was art form. Lots of folks go wrong in cooking mutton (since it is relatively tougher meat than chicken) but it has bags of flavor that chicken cannot even begin comparing to. This dish had the mutton cooked to a tender perfection and spiced just right with black pepper (it did not over power the natural taste of mutton), garnished with fried curry leaves lending a fragrant touch.
My friend and I are both healthy eaters and hence we decided to go for broke in the main course - Appam, Malabar Paratha with Chettinadu Chicken Stew and to wrap up - the legendary Chettinadu dish, Egg Kothu Paratha.

The appam was fluffy and the flour was neither sour nor salty. It was served with a cup of sweet coconut milk which acted as a perfect foil to the chicken stew. The stew was typical Chettinad style- spicy fragrant and filled with an abundance of tender meat. Picking up a piece of the appam, I folded it into a cone and scooped in liberal amount of chicken stew. As I popped it into my mouth and the spices kicked in, I would then spoon down a measure of sweetened coconut milk as an after taste. The malabar paratha was crisp, buttery and perfectly layered and went great with the chicken stew again. If you thuoght this would be heavy, think again.. the lightness of preparation in these dishes make us actually look forward to the last but not least dish of the day - the egg kothu paratha. I had this dish all over India at different places and I do respect the variations that crop up as individual innovations.. but there is nothing that would compare to the original. The dish was so finely chopped up, well cooked and mildly spiced that it was extremely light to tuck into. The masala, chopped onions and green chillies, curry leaves all add to the mystique. Definitely a dish to die for..
This kinda concluded our dinner since we were too full to try the dessert section. Food was excellent, the preparation perfect and the wallet factor - extremely affordable. The menu described above costs us around 900 Rs for two of us.

Location: In Bangalore and Chennai
Cost: Very affordable

Boys Day out..!!!

A weekend back, my wife happened to go out of town on work leaving me scratching my head as to what can be done to spend the weekend effectively. A set of quick calls to my gang followed ensuring an entertaining Saturday evening. Most of us are localites and have been to every watering hole possible in this beautiful city of Mallya's. Our plan was simple - meet up in a pub for the first few hours.. catch up on all happenings (with of course drinks and snacks) and then head away later to a proper dinner (filling , high on quantity and quality but cheap on the wallet) - coz who would appreciate fine dining and small portions once you are floating on cloud 9.
Quick discussions and decision making found us on the way to Noon Wines (also known as Scottish Pub) one of Bangalore's favorites and old haunts. It is rightfully a heritage location now for the city and can be found on St. Marks Road, opposite SBI campus.
For folks who do not know about Noons, there are one of the old establishments where the food and drinks menu rarely changes, place has not expanded (like in forever), quality still tops and of course the mystical legendary sweet home made wine (whose mystery ingredients could put Coca Cola's 7X to shame).
We reached by around 6 30 pm and immediately ordered the standard - 2 rounds of large wine and fries, onion rings, chilly chicken.

First things first... the wine is a modern wonder.. sweet (but not cloyingly sweet), goes down smoothly and then the magic starts.. it is by far one of the most potent drinks that I have consumed but the taste does not let you feel that.. it is the pleasant buzz that you get half way through your first glass (yes.. first glass itself) that has made stories about this place and the drink - stuff of legends (and of course many a brawl..) :-)
The starters ("snakes" as we call them) are equally good - the fries are thick and well seasoned (not the crispy emaciated variety you get in the branded fast food joints), the onion rings are essentially onion bhajjis.. crispy batter coating and thin rings of onions spiced perfectly just explode in your mouth. My experience here is that their chicken is one of their specialties - chilly chicken or chicken manchurian or chicken 65.. perfectly cooked,, tender.. well greased and spiced to an Andhra-ites acceptable levels. Accompanying the snacks is a green looking sauce which is a better companion than the trusted old ketchup... this is made out of fresh mint and coriander and mustard - brilliant flavors that just explode onto your palate.Try the French fries with this sauce rather than the tomato ketchup and you will be shocked. A large glass of wine is around 130 Rs and the snacks average around 60-100 Rs making it an affordable place, with awesome food and a mystical home brew to boot. The place is filled with regulars that give it a nostalgic feeling - so quickly disappearing from rest of Bangalore with the advent of malls, multiplexes and lounge bars.
Once our watering hole session concluded we walked across to Brigade Road (another old haunt) and stopped at Queens on Church Street. For the uninitiated, this place is one of the best North Indian cuisine restaurant in the city. It does look more like a Dhaba but do not let looks fool you..
We were starving and hence the orders flew off our tongue rapidly -  Jal Jeera (a local favorite) to quench, a roti basket (butter nans, lasooni kulchas and tandoori rotis), Bhindi (Okra) Masala Fry, Mushroom masala and of course the eternal favorite - Butter Chicken.

The Jal Jeera is a perfect blend of the right spices, iced and refreshing to drink with the crisp Bhoondi floating on the top. All the side dishes were brilliant with the butter chicken being exceptional and the bhindi being crisp and fried to perfection. If at all, I could crib - it would be about the lack of salt in the mushroom masala. The rotis, naans and kulchas were all so soft, warm and could easily be torn with just your thumb and forefinger of one hand. All in All - a massive hog fest with amazing appetizing food and extremely affordable rates. The bill for the above order came to around 800 Rs only and thus ended a good day's hard honest work.

Noon Wines ( Scottish Pub)
Location: 17/12, Vasavi Complex; St Marks Road
Phone: 080-22215002
Wallet Factor: Extremely affordable

Queens
Location: 7, Shringar Shopping Center, Church Street, off Brigade Road

Phone: 080-25596361

Wallet Facotr: Affordable, Medium expensive