Category: Restaurant Reviews

Prime Golf Brewing & Golfing

In the spirit of ‘Who has a bigger schtick?’ Prime Golf, in Whitefield, has apparently overtaken Ironhill as the largest brewpub in Asia. Who cares about the beer and food? For those wondering, I suspect the golf is mini golf.

It’s pretty vast, apparently a seating capacity of 1500. There are multiple seating options – indoor and al fresco and for various group sizes. Unfortunately, they have designed it in such a way that the outdoor view is pretty much dead on arrival. As is characteristic of such places, there is a gigantic TV screen so you can dine out and do the same thing that you do at home anyway. Yay.

One of the beers in the list was unavailable, and what they had instead was a Weizenbock. We tried out the samplers, and chose the least of all the evils – Whack Wit and Weizenbock. The first is a Belgian style wheat beer and the second is essentially a hybrid of the Weiss beer and the German Bock (close to a Dunkelweizen). That was the technical understanding, our friends have made their own interpretations.

The Chicken & Celery dumpling wasn’t too bad, and they got the Andhra Chilli Chicken fairly right, though I do still prefer their neighbour’s (Red Rhino) version.

Mapas Manok sounded interesting (Manok seemed Filipino – turns out it’s chicken, and Mapas reminded me of Kerala) This isn’t like the Kerala dish, but it definitely has coconut milk, so we didn’t mind. The only problem was the late realisation that we were still a little hungry and should have ordered something with it. We asked for what we thought would be simple to do – Wok Tossed Chili Garlic Noodles, but either chef was busy or didn’t anticipate people ordering Chinese. Whatever that might be, it took ages to come to the table. I suspect they plan for seating but don’t think of these people ordering!

Overall, as you might have noticed, I was mightily unimpressed. That could be the excitement of a new brewery in the neighbourhood having turned into a meh ambience and experience. But that crowd that likes Ironhill will like this one too. And that tribe is the dominant one. Sigh. The bill came to a little over Rs.3000 and I think that’s money I could have put to better use.

Prime Golf Brewing & Golfing, 5/206, SBR Central, Whitefield Ph: +917892512790

August 18, 2024
Klaa

This was how D surprised me for my birthday. I hadn’t heard about this, but given my love for Goan cuisine, she somehow dug this out. 🥰 And that’s how we landed up in Indiranagar on a Sunday afternoon.

I had this feeling that I have been to this building before, but housing another eatery. I think it was Cafe Terra, which I had visited in 2016 but I cannot be sure because Cafe Terra’s current version, located slightly away, also looks similar! Anyway, the decor is elegant, pretty and has that amazing set of radios! I really should have asked where they got it from. We chose a table on the balcony upstairs to watch the world go by.

We hadn’t seen this brand of Kombucha before, so we tried two flavours. I obviously loved my cola flavour, but D didn’t mind the salted lime either. We tried the chicken cutlets, and really liked it. Great texture. Mary’s Beef Fry that followed was quite good too, though as all good Keralese people do, we think our version is the gold standard.

The Garlic Poee was excellent but quite heavy! The Pav was not too bad so that is an option as well. I think the only disappointment was the Goan Pork Roast. For all the looks, the flavours were quite insipid.

Thankfully, the caramel custard made up for it to some extent.

In terms of Goan food, I still prefer the thalis at Carnival De Goa, but for some strange reason, it’s only available on weekdays now. Klaa is good in its own way, and definitely worth a visit if you’re around those parts.

The bill came to a little over Rs.2700. The service was prompt and courteous.

Klaa, #846, Ground and First Floor, 4th Main, Paramahamsa Yogananda Road (Double Road), Indiranagar Ph: 9561711497

July 21, 2024
Mannheim Craft Brewery Ecoworld

Turns out, if one uses a specific time window, ORR is not too bad to negotiate on a Saturday evening. That’s how I was tempted to Mannheim Craft Brewery at The Bay Food Court in RMZ Ecoworld. Craft beer obviously sweetened the deal. You’ll have to walk right till the end, but the good news is that it is closer to the loo!

Mannheim is quite elegant with multiple kinds of seating for different-sized groups. If you’re in early enough, you obviously get to pick seats. We choose high stools (with back support, yay!) that gave us a nice vantage point to observe modern humanity in one of their preferred ecosystems – food courts.

P.S. I think that mural belongs to Irish House but whatever.

Not all the beers were available, something I observed during a second visit as well, so do beyond the menu and ask what else they have. We tried the Mead, the Ambrosia and the Amber Ale (samplers are priced quite high) and finally went with the Helles Lager and the Hefeweizen. Both Bavarian, but the former is a light, crisp lager that is not too bitter, and the latter is fresh and fruity.

We tried the Kozhi Vepudu – fried chicken in buttermilk sauce , which did offer some spice. But the Murgh Malai Kandhari (sic) Chicken despite the promise of bird’s eye chilli was rather bland. Or rather, inconsistently spicy, depending on whether your piece had a chilli in it or not.

When there is Korean cream cheese bun, one must have it. Unfortunately, our high bar on this is the one at Roxie. This one isn’t close. Mains was Spaghetti Mamma Rosa. Closer to browna than rosa, but not bad in terms of taste.

The thing about the menu at Mannheim is that though it seemingly provides options, it is pretty limited especially when it comes to mains. Probably because the beer-only crowd prefers only starters.

The service is quite pleasant and prompt, and we felt lighter by around Rs.3000. The beer isn’t bad, but you don’t have to travel for it. Only drop in if you’re in the vicinity.

Mannheim Craft Brewery, The Bay, Ecoworld Bellandur Ph: 096633 95482

June 23, 2024
Paragon

OMG, the hype! We’ve not been to the original, but we’ve been to the one in Kochi’s very own Mecca – Lulu Mall. On a Sunday afternoon, we thought it would be worth it. The crowd was such that they might as well start calling it Sobha Maul. There’s really no reservation, so you just go in there, and like good old bureaucratic systems, they note your name down, give you an (inaccurate) estimated waiting time, and then… you wait.

While you do that, you could congratulate yourself for deciding to come to a very ‘happening’ place, and maybe look at the day’s specials to build your appetite.

After finally managing to get a table, we started with a Beef Chilly that passed muster. The Pandan Chicken was surprisingly not bad though I have had better. The Kanthari fish, which by definition (bird’s eye chilli) should have been super spicy, was toned down, probably to appeal to a broader set of taste buds, I suppose. The Payyoli Kozhi Porichathu was special only because of those crumbs that brought back a childhood memory – ghee residue. 😍

Kerala Porotta, Mutton and Chicken Biryani, Kozhi Chuvannamulagu Curry, and Pathiris for the main course. We liked the mutton biryani more than the chicken version, and the porottas were perfect. The biggest con game was that chicken curry – which despite the fancy name turned out to be a reasonably bad version of a Butter Chicken!

That name hooked me – Chatta Mary pudding, but the pudding itself was meh. And while the Elaneer Pudding wasn’t bad, KCK‘s version is leagues above. And yes, I forgot to take a snap till we started drinking, and by the time I got it back, it was in this state. This is my pick of what to drink here – Pacha Manga juice, though I suspect that sharp tang is an acquired taste.

On the whole, this version is most definitely not worth the hype, especially if you’re Malayali. It’s a curiosity for those who cannot access the original. That’s about it. The service is prompt, and friendly, despite the crowds, that’s a plus.

Paragon, Sobha Mall, Church St, Shanthala Nagar, Ashok Nagar Ph: 9063251111

May 26, 2024
Dam’s Kitchen

I hope to see Kammanahalli (Kalyan Nagar) given an honorary status as a Korean suburb in my lifetime, for its contribution to popularising the cuisine in Bangalore. But then again, that would make the place a candidate for multiple citizenships! We were in the mood for Korean and this one came up when we did some Seoul searching. #oksorry

Dam’s Kitchen is off the main road, on two floors, is non pretentious, and manages to use the typical partitioning in Korean restaurants to create small cosy spaces, complete with your very own gas cylinder for the barbecues!

We ordered the Yukgaejang (right) and Dwaeji Meori Gukbab (middle) first. The first is described as the spiciest soup available, and is made with beef strips and vegetables stir fried and boiled in brothy soup. It wasn’t too spicy, and the rice anyway tempered it. We loved it, but on a relative note the Gukbab was the winner. It has pork, soy sauce, miso, rice wine, sesame oil, bone broth and all this made for a fantastic hearty soup. Really chicken soup for the soul (see, I resisted the urge). While the stomach was full, we wanted something to nibble on and ordered Chilli Chicken (without the rice and condiments) Deep fried, chilli sauce and chopped chillis. Great taste, and texture, just the way it should be. We ate half and packed the remaining for dinner. 😌

We felt lighter by just a little below Rs.2500, which included some kombucha. They only had Soju, not Makgeolli. The service is quite friendly and prompt, and the overall ambience is quite peaceful. Lovely place for a lazy Sunday lunch.

Dam’s Kitchen, 301, 5th D Main Road, HRBR Layout 2nd Block Kalyan Nagar Ph: 9148553661

April 21, 2024