Author: manuscrypts

  • Curry Meen

    Curry Meen has been on our radar for quite a while, but considering that we live in Keramangala, with multiple Mallu food options, we had been ignoring it. Thanks to a sale at Bangalore Central and my excitement towards checking out the Bangalore Metro, we zoomed in on Curry Meen, which is close to the Indiranagar Metro stop. The restaurant is located on the Double Road between CMH Road and BDA complex, Indiranagar. A not-so-accurate map here. It’s actually after that 5th Main junction when going from CMH Road.

    Parking wouldn’t be very difficult. There’s space inside the compound, as well as options on the road outside. We saw an inactive Dosa Counter downstairs and some minimal seating on the ground floor, and proceeded to the first floor, which offered a decent view of the relatively uncrowded Double Road. On the way back, we also noticed that they had another room upstairs, where seating was available, but whose lights were switched off. 🙂 They’d probably open it only if required.

    The menu can be found here, and is a bit of a Malabar-Chinese collaboration. We were here for the Kerala food, so we focused solely on that. The Mussels were not available, so we marked our protest by ordering a Hot & Sour Chicken soup and then started the actual meal with a Jinsi Chicken Kebab (half) and a Malabar Fish Fry. The soup was a homage to the pepper trade from Malabar, and our eyes watered at this historical hat tip, and for other reasons. The Jinsi Chicken was an attempt at Pakodas, it seemed, and a failed one at that. Avoid! The (seer) fish was quite good with a spicy masala coating.

    For the main course, we asked for a plate of appam, a Malabar Paratha, a Fish Moilee and a Kozhi (chicken) curry. I’ve tasted several poor versions of the Fish Moilee, but this one was an outright disaster. The appams didn’t help either. The chicken curry was thankfully quite tasty, spicy and seemed like a relative of the varutharacha curry, but without the coconut. Figure that. The Chicken Biriyani was served with an egg (extra points for that) and was reasonably good.

    The staff didn’t seem to be from Kerala, but that didn’t hamper the experience much. They were quite prompt. All of the above cost us just over Rs.850. I think I’ll stick to our Koramangala favourites.

    CurryMeen, No:218, Double Road, 1st Stage, Indiranagar,  Ph:42283999

  • Now Running

    Already running late, and three minutes into the ride, she realised she had forgotten her purse…and the tickets in it. Cursing, he paid the auto driver, asked her to wait, and started running. Easier than getting the auto to go back. As he ran, the coincidence was unmistakeable. The tickets were for Paan Singh Tomar.

    (Based on a true story. No really!)

  • Once Upon a Timezone

    Neelesh Misra

    Bollywood style romance with a Hollywood heroine, that’s probably how I’d describe the book, not just because of the story and the characters, who seem perfect for a movie version, but also because of the pace of the book and the turns within.

    Neel Pandey, obsessed with America, but whose visa application gets rejected, settles for a vicarious experience – at a call centre, where he gets transformed into Neil Patterson, and falls in love with a customer, in far away America, even as his father tries to get him married to a girl of the right caste, and his mother, whose own dreams have been stifled thanks to her husband, looks on helplessly.

    Angela Cruz, fresh out of college and building a new life as a journalist, away from her race-obsessed father, is smitten by Neil Patterson, thanks to a phone call she makes to fix her computer. She is led to believe that he’s American, while she herself cooks up a story of her being a model.

    Their turbulent love life is what makes up the remainder of the book. In addition to the parents, there are also a couple of characters who play important roles – Neel’s friend Meenal, whom his dad wants him to marry, and Rocky Randhawa, a con artist who runs a business of supplying fake visas.

    The story itself is quite predictable, but is breezy enough to make for a non-boring read. The author does have a sense of humour, though cliches have been employed at regular intervals, mostly as devices to portray a stereotypical Indian middle class family. In essence, reading it won’t do you any irreparable damage.

  • Why knots

    I was watching Priyadarshan speak at an award ceremony (on TV) about his new Malayalam movie starring Mohanlal and Mukesh. This ‘combination’ was hitting the silverscreen after a span of 10 years, and thanks to their history (early history I’d say) it was a special occasion. I had planned to catch the movie in the theatre but after reading (and listening to) the reviews, gave up the thought.

    On another channel, Mukesh was claiming that though Priyadarshan kept saying he would not do a comedy again during the shooting, its ‘acceptance by the masses’ would make him rethink. (Oh noes) But there was one interesting thing he said – that when one discovered one’s purpose in life (Priyan and film making) he/she feels constantly compelled to keep at it.

    D and I discussed whether Priyadarshan (and Mohanlal), who by now have their coterie, can be objective about their films. The box office collections, which is probably as objective as it gets, would be high anyway thanks to fan clubs across the state. There would be bouquets and brickbats anyway too. How can one be objective about those? In our own cases, how many of us can actually objectively take what’s usually called ‘constructive criticism’ for presentations/concepts/ideas? Or even praise for that matter? Now scale that to an effort that costs crores and months and imagine.

    But if one thinks of it in a simple questions framework, (for now, I’m ignoring when and where) once the purpose or objective (why) has been determined, the what and how is determined by asking who is it for. And if the answer to ‘who’ happens to be the self, then everything else is probably superfluous -dependencies, costs, and even feedback. It stops being the creator’s problem, and becomes the consumer’s. However, when there is no clarity on the purpose, the superfluous becomes the driver. And that’s the trap most of us are probably in.

    until next time, trappings 🙂

  • Huckleberry

    First published in Bangalore Mirror.

    The original Adventures of Huckleberry Finn begins after Tom Sawyer and Huck come into a fortune. In the modern day Bangalore retelling, an investment banker couple build a brick oven on the terrace of their parents’ house; the pizzas become a rage, the idea of a wood fired pizzeria is born; their friends get involved in the décor – painting all the chairs- and the rest, is a restaurant! Located on 100 feet Road, Indiranagar, after the CMH road junction when coming from Koramangala, and right next to TOIT, on the first floor. (map) Yes, valet parking is available, and two wheelers can encroach upon the wide pavement!

    In addition to the Tom Sawyer-ish paint job above, the place also owes its name to a berry that has a second degree connection to the kind of cheesecakes it specialises in, and managed to fit in well as the fun, whimsy name the owners wanted.

    The best tribute that one can give to any original work is to ensure that the character remains alive. And character is something Huckleberry has oodles of. From the tree that nonchalantly makes its way up through the restaurant, to the painted chairs, the funky graphics and the wooden fireplace, the place somehow manages to mix a lively, vibrant ambiance with a warm, laidback feel. Peppy music at just the right volume adds to this. Tom Petty seems to be a favourite. But that’s enough about the place, and on to the menu before you start yawning! The printed menu only has a few pages and focuses on pizzas, drinks and desserts, but they augment it with a weekly special menu on the blackboard.

    When pizza’s on the mind, starters might seem a bit of a distraction, but a few things on the menu looked interesting. The Herbed Lemonade, in which basil, lemongrass and green apple vied for attention, had basil emerging as the clear winner and also did a good job of whetting the appetite. The Berry Happy was a mix of cranberry, strawberry, grape and lemon juice, but what it really did was to take us back a few years – to the time we consumed Poppins by the dozen! The only drink that disappointed was the Virgin Mojito. In case you’d like to experiment with wines, or wine based cocktails, there are a few options available too.

    The Chicken Consommé soup came with its own dumpling but the mild chicken and caramelised onion flavours didn’t really impress. The Chicken and Prawn Bruschetta was a much better dish – crispy bread with the chicken version being helped by a creamy cheese presence and the prawns aided by herbs. The pick of the starters was the colourful Spicy Chicken Salad, which actually lived up to its name and didn’t take advantage of the ‘salad’ – the chicken wasn’t just a token presence.

    The Smoked Turkey pizza was an automatic choice and Rithika (the co-owner, who helps out at the restaurant after her day job!) suggested that we add a jalapeno topping. It worked brilliantly with the cold cuts and the herbs and made it our favourite main course dish. The Meat Feast had a stellar cast including lamb and pepperoni but lost its pizzazz a bit with a slightly burnt thin crust and its disproportionately high contribution to the bill.

    The Baked Pesto Chicken was the most photogenic of the dishes and the creamy pesto sauce was ample proof that it wasn’t just a pretty face. But the Pan Seared Sea Bass with Lemongrass and Coriander was unfortunately just that. Though the fish seemed fresh, it was also quite bland and the rest of the ingredients were just titular. The Chicken Tortellini was reasonably good, but could’ve been made better with a thicker, creamier sauce.

    There is a significant chance that when I visit this place next, I’d start with the desserts. I’m usually quite racist when it comes to chocolate and prefer dark over white, but the White Chocolate Mousse (with lime) easily won the desserts crown. The Dark Chocolate Mousse tried valiantly, but though it kept its status as a reliable favourite, it was an unfair fight from the time we tasted the other. If you don’t mind a strong cinnamon flavour, the Huckleberry Special is something you might want to try. The Blueberry Cheesecake got the texture right, but I missed the tart flavour and the cheese presence was underwhelming.

    A meal for two here would cost about about Rs.800, with which you could share a non alcoholic drink, a non veg starter, a non veg pizza and a dessert. You’ll get that bill in a folder that has an image of the first edition book cover of the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. With a unique identity based on its food and ambiance, Huckleberry is probably a place that you’d like to visit more than once, for its homely charm and lively atmosphere. Mark Twain’s has said “Part of the secret of success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside.”  So don’t be afraid to try out the pastas, pizzas, wine and desserts all at one go. 🙂

    Huckleberry, No: 298, 100 feet Road, Indiranagar, Ph: 8040917416

    PS: Huckleberry takes an off on Monday.