Category: Restaurant Reviews

  • HQ

    When we first came to Whitefield, Inorbit was a mall in name only. The lack of a multiplex didn’t help either. That particular issue remains unresolved, but in the last few months, we have seen an uptick in both the number of outlets opened, and the crowd. Most of the new restaurants have been of the family-friendly (read “no alcohol) kind, so the launch of a casual dining place with a bar was very welcome.

    We completely missed the entry on the ground floor, mostly because we were quite focused on getting to Shoppers Stop. That entrance did seem fairly conspicuous on hindsight. The other entrance is in a corner on the next floor, and we chose a cosy little table from the limited 2 seater options. For larger groups, there are quite a few plush sofa options though. If I had to do a word association for the place, I’d say green! There is lots of it, and that does a good job of creating a different atmosphere within the concrete mall structure.

    The alcohol menu is not elaborate, and from the few cocktail options available, I chose the Dark n Stormy Cocktail (that was the only one with Dark Rum) and D chose a Watermelon Mojito. My drink was dark rum and lime juice, though the actual recipe has ginger beer in it. A decent drink, just like D’s Mojito, which did have a distinct fresh watermelon touch.

    Our original starter choice was an Assamese Pork Khorika, but apparently that wasn’t available, so we went for a Hakka style pork. Crisp pork with soy and chili sauce, sliced chilies and shredded vegetables which they called pok choi (sic). But hey, the dish didn’t suffer on account on that. We also tried a Butter Garlic Calamari, which had way more salad than I expected. Thankfully, it was cooked well enough.

    For mains, we wanted to try a Cheese Chicken Fungi, which seemed interesting, but first ordered a “The Lot” pizza – chicken ham, chicken salami, mushroom, pineapple and a sunny side egg. There was indeed a lot happening, and yet, the overall flavour was bland. In addition, someone forgot the description of the egg, so we got yolk pieces too! The medium pizza was enough to abandon another dish. The dessert options weren’t exciting, and when there are specialist options around, why bother?

    The meal made us lighter by a little under Rs.1800. The service was friendly enough, and they had a good playlist going. Only the ambiance would warrant a revisit, so it’s gonna take a while.

    HQ, Inorbit Mall, 75, EPIP Area, Whitefield Ph: 49652626

  • Biere Societee

    I had seen the signboard opposite Prestige Shantiniketan on the way to Arirang. We had planned to go to one of the trusted local hangouts, but this was just 10 minutes from home, and the photos of the place promised a rooftop with a view. That’s something we have historically been suckers for! We got there early in the evening, and early in general, it seemed. They were still putting some finishing touches, but the place was pretty and the view was quite good too. Most of the seating area is alfresco, but they have a few tables in a covered section as well. I think the entire 4th floor is available as well, though it wasn’t open when we got there.

    We perched on the bar stools along the edge with a view of the Sheraton, Shantiniketan and beyond. When we began ordering cocktails, we were told that it might be delayed because they were getting ice from outside (first few days’ teething troubles).  But we got them soon enough – no delays – an Old Fashioned for me and The Brandy Crusta for D. They look liked twins in different glasses, but thankfully didn’t taste the same. My drink was not the best I have had, but not bad, and certainly better than many other places which massacre the drink! D’s drink had jalapeños and caramel syrup which got her a nice blend of flavours. We also got to know that there was a microbrewery happening in a couple of months! (we visited in mid August)

    collage 1 (more…)

  • Arirang

    Korean has been a favourite cuisine for a while now, especially after the Apgujeong experience in Hong Kong. Kammanahalli’s cuisine range has been proven to us these last few months thanks to a couple of visits, which include a lot of “Oh, we should try this one” on our way to our destination! Therefore Korean in Kammanahalli was only a matter of time. Arirang won over Thran this time, and off we went on a balmy Saturday evening. We reached there by 6, but it was already nearly full. We could only get the normal tables and not the floor seating. 🙁

    Banchan arrived even before we placed the order, and we munched on those. We asked whether they had makgeolli but they didn’t, so Soju it was. (does anyone know where one can get the former in Bangalore?)

    collage 1 (more…)

  • Punjabi By Nature 2.0

    Half a dozen years ago, we had visited Punjabi by Nature in Koramangala and really liked it. When we moved to Whitefield, we were happy to find one here as well, but that was such a bad experience that I don’t think I even wrote about it. That was why a visit to the new outlet named Punjabi By Nature 2.0 was warranted. This is on the 4th floor of the Park Square Mall, next to the food court. The decor elements are definitely of a different style from the original – more modern, vibrant and colourful. But the terrace section was what we loved the most, especially the bar stool seating along the edges that offered us a fantastic view! One of the factors that guarantees a repeat visit from us.

    We decided to try the Hefeweizen and the Blonde Ale. The first was the standard german wheat and fairly decent, though it didn’t really have the banana and clove flavour it promised. I really liked the Blonde Ale – balanced the malt very well and went down smoothly. We wanted to try the Marzen too but that wasn’t available. Only 3 out of the 5 craft beers were.

    collage 1 (more…)

  • Byg Brewski Brewing Company

    The first Brewsky that happened to me was the one in JP Nagar, a long while ago. That was a review for Bangalore Mirror and I never really managed to taste the brew. The second was on Sarjapur Road where I did manage to taste the brew(s) but left with a what’s-this-place feeling. Mostly because I couldn’t accommodate grandparents, kids running around, and a dirty pool with fishes – all within a microbrewery – in my mind! I also remember them claiming the place was full only to find entire sections being empty once I got inside! I am happy to report that in the world of Brewsky, there is some consistency. Oh wait, the spelling! Numerology apart, I remember one of the owners correcting my pronunciation to brew + sky during the first visit. Going by that logic, this one could be about water skiing – the waterbody is fairly large. I didn’t see snow, but the place is huge enough for me to have missed it.

    In fact, it reminded me of Hoot and MTV Grind. But much, much larger. I would have said much, much lager but the brewery isn’t running yet. But since we had traveled to Hennur, we decided to endure. The standard procedure was followed – we were told that the place was full (at 5.45 PM on a Saturday) and asked to wait at the bar. The place was crowded but we could see entire sections empty. In less than half an hour we were told that a table was available but we were fairly comfortable where we were, and didn’t want to risk getting wet in case it rained. It was also a great place to watch the crowd – mostly posh locals, no kids. Other than the ones who are probably still in college, of that kind there were many.

    To be fair, the place is overall quite pretty, especially so when sunlight is out of the scene.

    collage 1

    Most of the fancy drinks weren’t available, so we finally settled on an Old Fashioned and a Binky Burrow. A good time to mention that it took a long frustrating while to get the initial attention from the service staff, but once we got going, it was much better! The Old Fashioned was stronger than my usual, and the sweetness was between subtle and nothing, but I enjoyed it. D’s drink had strawberry and carrot flavours added to a Bacardi Carta Blanca and “topped with bubbles”. That last part wasn’t visible but did come out in terms of taste. D didn’t much care for the flavours though I thought they weren’t bad.

    The Calcutta Club Chicken Cutlets managed the textures well and had really soft chicken. The kasundi mustard sauce was the perfect complement. Cheap wafers could have been better though! The stir-fried beef chili lived up to the spice promise, and would be a perfect beef companion.

    collage 2

    In contrast, the Naga Pork Baos were absolutely mild. The pork itself was fine, but the Naga chili zing was completely missing. Not to be outdone, we decided to try a Pigs in a Blanket pizza, which promised more pork with onions and quail eggs. It would have been a good dish if only they had managed the salt consistency better. And finally, the most interesting dessert we found was the Kaveri Mud Cake – mud cake, mousse and a custard topping. This was really delicious.

    collage 3

    The card was damaged to the extent of around Rs.2750. We aren’t going back, not even for the brew. But that’s mostly because of the distance. This is probably worth at least one trip if only to see how large the place is!

    Byg Brewski Brewing Company, 22/123, Byrathi Village, Bidarahalli Hobli, Hennur, Ph: 080 39514766