When in Koramangala, and in the mood for Chinese food that doesnt land you in a financial crisis, think China Pearl. For the third week in a row, a restaurant refused to take reservations. The times, they really are a changin’ 😐
To get there, when coming from the MG road side, take a left at Forum, keep going straight, and take a right turn after you see a park on the right side. No, not a software park, just a normal old fashioned park. Geez!! Its a one way, the same road that has GK Vale among other things, that also include a truckload of restaurants – Chung Wah, Filling Station and so on….. Here’s a map.
We reached there around 9, and had to wait for about ten minutes. Since Bangalore ain’t so cool anymore, we skipped the soup and had fried chicken momos for starters. That, along with the spicy sauce meant we started well. 🙂
We ordered a Teriyaki Chicken. thought it sounds a bit like what Harbhajan said a while back, its actually only fillets of chicken in teriyaki sauce. It also has mushrooms. Its a dry dish, and is quite well made. The only snag was that we got it at least 10 minutes before the rest of the main course. Thankfully, it didn’t get too cold. The rest of the main course was made up of a Drunken Chicken and Chicken Malaysian Noodles. Although the former led to a discussion between us on how exactly they got the chicken into such a condition, it’s chicken in rice wine, and is extremely tasty. Its a unique flavour, and definitely worth a try. If you are fine with thin noodles, the place has a lot of options. I’d have taken a Chow Mein, but we already had a gravy dish. The Malaysian Noodles is something we’ve had before and didn’t disappoint.
The quantity is more than ample for two people, and reasonably priced. All the above cost us less than Rs.600. The service is usually good, but somehow the waiter this time didn’t quite fancy us, I guess. But China Pearl is a regular haunt and we’ll be back.
China Pearl, 5th Cross, 6th Block, Koramangala. Ph-25501735, 41105060
Update September 2011: From the time we’ve been in Bangalore, this is one place where there is always a crowd waiting outside on weekend nights. We’ve visited several time since this review, and it has always delivered. Koramangala is famous for restaurants that disappear by the time you take a U-turn and come back. China Pearl continues to thrive, and that’s why being here is a very happy feeling. The exalted company adds to the pleasure. 🙂
When Vodafone took over Hutch, many were concerned about the pug. But this put everyone’s concerns to rest. However, a lot of communication after that was dogged about its non – pugness. But suddenly, in the middle of perhaps the biggest media event in oh, okay a couple of months – IPL, the pug decided to make its return with what possibly might be regarded as a CSR initiative – to tackle Alzheimer’s? Of course, it could also be a CCR inititaive. Don’t worry, you’re not out of jargon touch, I just made that up – Customer Care Response :D. Now that’s really making the most out of now. No, the hatred is not so much for the ad as it is for the frequency. In fact, the music is extremely good.
My queries – even though the pug’s popularity reached dizzying heights (so much so that the only thing missing was a Bharat Ratna) how important is it in the Hutch communication plan? More importantly, is it okay to use it on and off? Would that kind of random usage amount to inconsistency in communication?
On a larger plane, if media in general keeps getting fragmented, how relevant would consistency be across platforms/media. Would it be better to have a core idea with different manifestations across media or would the idea be dictated by the medium? Like i wrote a while back, going by the current trend (in India) the former seems to be the strong favourite.
But if the audience differ across media, isn’t it better to communicate something that’s contextually more relevant, even if it means sacrificing consistency? Does the audience really have time to sit and analyse that the communication i saw on the net differs from the one on tv with respect to tone/ objective/ any other parameter. I really don’t think so, especially since the internet will force brands to give up control.
And that brings me back to Hutch – on the same media, targeting the same audience, with no contextual crutch, perhaps consistency is important.
until next time, a pugilist for the cause of giving up control 🙂
Notice, that its not a break from cricket. Mine is almost a contrarian stance from the cricket pundits as well as a section of the players and viewers who feel there’s too much of cricket on TV. To me, the latest form makes me feel as though I’m watching an NBA playoff (i don’t, still.. 😉 )- celebrities, entertainment, and a game that a lot of people are passionate about. Also, its a testament to the times we live in, similar to what’s happening on the web. Tests- Journals, ODI – Blogs, Twenty20 – Twitter… dwindling attention spans….
The campaigns did their job, maybe thanks to the media avalanche, and although there were concerns that the ‘karmayudh’ was a rip off from an old Fox TVC, it didn’t gather enough momentum to dislodge the creative+media strategy, nor did the internet ban (Internet Prohibited League, anyone?) Meanwhile, many teams created websites and TVCs. SRK created controversies and a music video. Airtel has created an Indian Fantasy League and a facebook app for it, although it does strange things to my facebook page layout. In addition to the Bollywood team owners, Akshay Kumar and Hrithik Roshan were seen endorsing teams. And, as a result of all this and many other things, which I’ve not been able to catalogue, like the names and phone numbers of the cheerleaders, the viewership just skyrocketed.
So, what’s the problem? The problem, I feel, is that I’m reminded of the way Bollywood functions now. The satellite rights, the mobile rights, the overseas rights are all sold before the script is heard, and the movie is declared a hit even before the audience decides whether its right for them. So, whether its a hit or a flop, its a hit anyway financially. In between all this left, right and centre hitting, the public is a mere spectator. Yes, that is their role, I agree, but being the end audience it feels very undemocratic. The connect is that HypePL, at least it seems, has gone so overboard in making sure its sponsors are pleased that it doesn’t spare a thought for the user who is viewing primarily for the cricket. So, by pushing that ad in, if the bowler so much as hesitates in his run up, you’re spoling the experience for the user. And brands which are doing it beware, you might be getting eyeballs, but each eyeball is a negative equity score. I already hate that irresponsible girl who can’t remember to get her damn tie, or keeps her socks in the right place. With lesser frequency, I might have loved it. More on that tomorrow. Hutch (yeah, no publicity for your new brand name), Hyundai (iRRITATING), go look up the word ‘overkill’
until next time, Let TVCs not kill the cricket star, sign up here