Category: Restaurant Reviews

  • Tattv

    The review was first published in Bangalore Mirror. Though the tattv remains the same, the presentation has been changed 😉

    For those familiar with Umerkot in Koramangala, this one belongs to the same family – AST foods. Gautam had mentioned this earlier to me, and given me enough of a glowing recommendation to warrant a visit before the official review. So I dropped in on a Sunday that also saw me ogling at Harley Davidson bikes and merchandise and then dragging the vehicle to fix a puncture. No, not the Harley, my Activa. 😀

    Tattv is on Lavelle Road, just before Mocha, Java City and above Barista Lavazza. That’s one crossroad to be at when coming down Lavelle Road. If you go back, Shezan and 3 Storys, turn left and there’s Spiga, The Egg Factory, (one way notwithstanding) turn right for Khansama and other UB City splendours, and go straight for coffee floods and Tattv. What we chose, is elementary.

    If you, like my guests for the day, agree that valet parking on Lavelle Road is a boon in itself, then consider yourself blessed. A stylised yet understated ambiance, using red, gold and black to good effect. The stone jaalis, the jharokhas and the menu with the golden tinge, all lend a touch of class to the place and ensure a setting that matches the richness of the food. Vegetarians would specially appreciate the different colored drinking glasses. And if you get the seats that face the road, you also get a view of the Harley Davidson store. 🙂

    According to various Indian schools of philosophy, a “Tattv” is an element or aspect of reality conceived as an aspect of deity. Wikipedia agrees, but when a menu says that on the front page, you wonder if the heavy, deity food for thought will overshadow the real reason for visiting the restaurant – the dietary aspect. Thankfully that elementary part of a good dining experience– great food, is completely taken care of at this new restaurant on Lavelle Road.

    The idea here is to present cuisine samplings from across the sub continent and Central Asia, using five culinary elements. So you find Goa mixing with Rajasthan and Kerala with Lebanon in the same menu section. Intrigued? Here’s the menu (click to enlarge)

    As you can see, it consists principally of five culinary elements – Tandoor, Sigri, Tawa, Kadhai and Curries. Though there are enough choices that tempt you to consider a kebab-only meal, there are many main course dishes that will vie for your attention too. The Bhutte ke kebab with its tender corn is a great start for the vegetarians. The Tandoori Tamatar Shorba, though, was particularly bland and conspicuously absent was the tomato flavour. For the non vegetarians, the mutton seekh kebab, with pomegranate as the surprise element, is quite a good choice, as is the Murgh ki Chaanpan, with its dash of paprika.

    Among the main course dishes, the Dal Makhni, was a favourite. But the Dum Olav, though promised as a spicy curry, turned out sweetish.  The Machli Dum Pukht, seer fish stuffed with salmon, and the Laal Maas with an obvious red chilli base, are must-have items. The Murgh Dhaniwal paled in comparison to the non veg titans! The light-as-a-cloud Gilafi Kulcha, and the ghee laden heavy Warqi Paratha are both good, but the Ulta Tawa Paratha steals the show.

    And if all that’s not enough, some unique desserts seriously compound your worries on what to focus on while ordering. there’s no pardon if you haven’t left space for the sinful Chocolate Gujia, and if you’re not really a chocoholic, you could try the Gulab Jamun stuffed with Gulkand.

    On the cost front, for Rs.1500, you could share a non veg starter, a couple of non veg main course dishes accompanied by a few rotis, and a dessert. When you consider the quality of food and the ambiance, the cost does seem justified.

    Tattv gets a high five and is definitely worth a visit on all counts. Great food, classy ambiance, courteous staff and some splendid music together ensure that all the elements are in place for a great experience.

    Tattv, 1st Floor, 25/4, Lavelle Road, Bangalore – 1. Tel: 41552225

  • Kinara

    North Indian cuisine that’s apparently part of a famous chain in Singapore. Thanks to globalisation, we only have to travel down the Intermediate Ring Road to check it out. Loved the irony 🙂 It’s located right next to Tangerine, our favourite sizzler joint, and opposite South Indies. Here’s a map. Parking for 2 wheelers is easy, and I think they offer valet services for the additional wheels.

    The decor is quite good, a haveli style door, a chandelier, knickknacks including a silver color Buddha smiling away peacefully. They have a buffet for lunch, I think for Rs.250, so one section is almost devoted to it. There are comfortable, tucked-away tables, but they are for 4-6 people.

    The menu is seemingly expansive. You can take a look below. (click to enlarge) Enough choices for the vegetarians, and options of chicken, mutton and seafood for the non vegetarians.

    From all of that, we chose to start with the Tandoori Murgh Chaat. Although it had its fair share of vegetables – cucumber, tomato and potato, there was still enough meat in it for us to like it. The mint chutney that came along with the complimentary papads was phenomenal and served as good company for the chaat’s excellent masala too. So, this one is worth a try.

    For the main course, we asked for a Kinara Khaas Murgh and a Dum Shikampuri Kofta. The latter was not available, so we shifted to a Bhuna Ghosht. To go along with that, a Warqi Paratha and a Kashmiri Naan.

    Of all the dishes, only the chicken was worth a shout out, despite it being very similar to the regular Kadai Chicken. The mutton was more bones and pickled onions than anything else, and the ginger juliennes were missing, much like their more famous namesake. The Warqi paratha was a hardly disguised Lachcha Paratha and the Kashmiri Naan disappointed too. The quantities were sufficient for 2 people, so no complaints on that score. The service took an exceptionally long time and the food really wasn’t worth the wait.

    All of the above cost us just over Rs.900. Meanwhile, there’s something quite calming at this place. You’d have guessed by now that its not really the food. It was probably the music – old ghazals, or the lighting, but it was only the ambiance that made the wait for the food less painful. If the quality of food could match it, the place would really be worth a visit.

    Kinara, #305, 100 ft road, Indiranagar Ph: 43494349, 43494359

    Menu and Photos at Zomato

  • Truffles Ice & Spice – Koramangala

    D was inclined to have a steak, I wasn’t quite sure if I wanted pasta, chocolate is always interesting for both, I didn’t want to ride far, and we didn’t want to pay more on account of a fine dining tag. Usually, Boca Grande is where all these coincide, but we’d been there only a few weeks back, and that’s when we figured there’s an Ice & Spice in Koramangala!

    Its unfortunately not the easiest place to find. If you know Taste of Rampur, go down that road further, and you’ll find Ice & Spice on the right. This is the road that joins 1st A Cross Road (which has everything from Ping to Golmaal Paratha to Tunday Kababi, Empire, Sufi etc) and the service road diagonally opposite Forum (by the side of Monday to Sunday after Raheja Arcade). If you’re on 1st A Cross, take the left at Desmonds. (the one after Jyoti Nivas) Hope that makes it easier. Parking shouldn’t be too difficult, especially for 2 wheelers. Besides there’s a huge parking lot just nearby.

    Its an absolute hangout ambiance and the sight of chocolate (lots of it) is welcoming! The stone seats are quite okay once you get used to them. Of course, for the kids who regularly frequent this place, it wouldn’t be a discomfort at all! Yesterday they were playing Xmas carols. 🙂

    On to the menu. In addition to the regular menu, (below, click to enlarge) they also have an additional menu now. That one has a couple of soups, salads and starters and more than a dozen main course dishes including more pasta, steaks and even some Oriental dishes.

    Just as I’d feared, all previous half decisions went for a toss and we set about ordering random things. A soup to start with – Asparagus & Cheese soup, from the additional menu. D ordered a Chicken Merango, I asked for an oriental item from the additional menu – Chicken Tom Kha Pha (sic). Greedy that we were, we also ordered coffee so that we wouldn’t convince ourselves to drop it later. D ordered a Hazelnut Coffee and I asked for a Turkish coffee (with English Toffee and whipped cream). That last addition did backfire as they brought the coffee first! Partly our fault, we should have ordered it only after the meal. To get over the ‘gloom’, we asked for a ‘Tons of Fun Burger’.

    The coffee looked on as we started with the soup, which turned out to be delicious. I didn’t even miss the chicken, (I prefer all soups with chicken, unless there’s chocolate in it) since those little cheese dollops  more than made up for it. This one is highly recommended. The ‘tons of fun’ burger came next. We had asked for the chicken patty option, and it also had chicken salami and egg. Yes, there were vegetables taking up precious real estate too. Sigh. This was really good too, though slightly pricey for its size (I’ve been spoiled by the Peppa Zzing guys)

    I’m only familiar with the white Tom Kha soup, so we sized each other up before getting fully acquainted. In addition to the red chillies base, it also had green chillies. The coconut milk flavour was almost lost amidst all this. It tended towards salty and was quite spicy, but the basil rice helped balance it. Loved the shiitake mushrooms. So, worth a shot if you’re in the mood for this kind of food. D always gets lucky with her selections and the Merango was no exception. Velvety smooth, and excellent herb rice too.

    The coffee was reasonably good, but the flipside was that there was absolutely no space for dessert. But we are not to be outdone! The Oreo cheesecake and the Ferrero Rocher cake wait in the fridge for the rendezvous tonight!

    ALL of that cost us Rs.825. This now becomes our go-t0 place in Koramangala when we don’t want to spend time on deciding where to go, but need to be assured of good food and lots of chocolate. Except for the minor coffee fiasco, the service is prompt and helpful.

    Truffles Ice & Spice, #28, 4th B Cross, 5th Block, Koramangala Ph: 41466565, 41536565

    Menu at Zomato

  • Vembanad

    The review first appeared in Bangalore Mirror. This is a retelling that appears here after much delay. I do have a reason for it – was traveling, but it also matches Vembanad’s generic theme of delaying everything.

    Vembanad, the kaayal, would conjure up a host of beautiful images for those who have been there – Mallus or otherwise. For the former, the streaming images might also have a soundtrack. I’m way under equipped to review it, so I was happy to review a restaurant named after this famous Kerala ‘watermark’. Vembanad is part of The Paul Hotel, a luxury five star hotel on the Intermediate Ring Road, near Mother Earth. Here’s a map. The signboards are pretty helpful. It’s a fine dining restaurant that claims to specialise in southern seafood cuisine, but though the coastal slant is evident in the menu, the focus is clearly on Kerala dishes.

    I usually don’t make a mention of the guests here, but making an exception this time for Bijoy Venugopal, whose humour  helped us tide over the long waiting time, and little Mythili, my other guests’ child, who semmed to have a love for pappadams that I completely identified with. 🙂

    Vembanad’s dĂ©cor is quite classy, and the furniture does lend a Kerala touch in an elegant manner. The walls are adorned with interesting curios. A comfortable setting, but I wonder if I missed anything because of the really dim lighting. A couple at another table was using their mobile flashlights to read the menu and later, the bill.

    If you’re the kind who unabashedly likes coastal food, you would appreciate the menu. The starters section makes this point quite clearly with its complete lack of fowl play. The vegetarians are reasonably well looked after and have no cause to complain. The Koondhal Varattiyathu (squid) had an awesome pepper masala that made it an excellent starter. The Meen Nirachathu – seared fish with a raw mango stuffing was just about okay. The crispy Parippu (dal) Vadas were good too, though you would find the price hard to digest.

    The main course section makes a show of ducking the sea of issues and providing some other relief in the form of beef and chicken.  The Kozhi (chicken) Mappas, a classic Syrian Christian preparation with coriander and a mild coconut flavour, and the Pachakari (vegetable) Kurma, saved the main course. The appams were fantastic, though the delays meant that we were forced to ask Eppam?! (when) Cold appams are never a good deal and thanks to delays, that was exactly what happened.  The Beef coconut fry, which is quite a holy cow in Kerala cuisine, proved really disappointing, and some portions were undercooked. We agreed with Bijoy when he said that it would require quite a meen chef to serve an underwhelming Fish Moilee, but the hardly-there coconut milk ensured just that. The desserts left a lot to be desired. The Ela Ada (coconut jaggery filling inside rice dough and cooked in banana leaves) wasn’t sweet enough and the Parippu Payasam failed to deliver too.

    While coastal cuisine is arguably a good hook, what sinks it is the inordinate amount of time taken to serve the food! “Oh fish” would be an apt expression for our experience. Mythili practically slept off on a hungry stomach. The starters were taking a really long time and when I enquired, I was told that they had forgotten to pass the order on, but If i was okay, they could serve the main course dishes! Bijoy aptly described the service time as ‘meenwhile’, a fishy unit that included the time taken to bring the catch from the Vembanad lake. The waiter was definitely helpful and even suggested dishes, but that hardly solved the other weighty service issues.

    In terms of cost, we Malayalis would pronounce it ‘coastly’, and deservedly so. A seafood starter, two non veg main course dishes with appams/ Kerala Parathas and a dessert would set you back by Rs.1500.

    For some reason, if you happen to have a (mostly) Kerala coastal cuisine craving and want it delivered in a star hotel setting, you might consider the place. Otherwise, the city provides enough options to have equally (if not more) tasty food at a fraction of the price. Hardly anything can be worth the wait we endured!

    Vembanad, The Paul, 139/28, Domlur Layout, Off Intermediate Ring Road, Bangalore – 71. Tel: 40477777

    Menu at Zomato

  • Peppa Zzing

    This review was first published in Bangalore Mirror, and though the title I had given was ‘Zzing is King’, someone obviously loves playing with articles, so it was edited to ‘Zzing is the King’ :|. Anyway, this is a revised version.

    So, Peppa Zzing opened shop on October 4th, and is run by popular MC Mark Rego and his wife Rini. It owes its name to their daughter who thought ‘zing’ best denoted the food, happiness and colours of the outlet. The ‘Peppa’ just adds to the spice. And thus food soldiers on Infantry Road now have a new place to focus their attack on. Parking shouldn’t be difficult. There’s all of Infantry Road and even the Safina Plaza area. Walk a bit, trust me, it’ll help.

    Pleazing, that’s how the ambiance can be described. Peppa Zzing has a typical fast food place feel to it, with functional furniture, and a prominently displayed menu. But the bright red hues and the pictures add a zing to what otherwise might have been a predictable setting.

    Guests for the evening were Umesh and Ranjani. Many thanks to Umesh for not chickening out despite a minor accident on the way. The third person I’d invited called me just as I entered the place to give me a flimsy excuse after confirming just half an hour back. I’m just barely resisting the urge to link his twitter account here. Thankfully, good friend (of mine and all things edible) Gautam John was around to beef up the efforts.

    The menu is not really big, but after my encounter with the Whammy, that’s not something I’d accuse the burgers of. They also have plans to add some steaks soon. Gautam, Umesh and I focused on the meatier portions of the menu, even as Ranjani volunteered to test the greener side.

    (click for larger image)

    The menu has burgers for three player levels – the regular Burger for the beginner, the Monster Burger for the advanced and the Whammy is quite obviously a multi-player option, except for those six brave people (including a woman) who have managed to finish it so far. If you can get there by 1 pm today, you can perhaps be part of the Whammy challenge and win a trip to Goa.

    We started with a Bar-be-cued Chicken wings, which suffered thanks to a domineering sauce, and the Cheesed Fries were a bit too hard for our liking. But the Potato Wedges were done well, though tending towards bland. The lamb and beef burgers were fantastic. The patty was crisp on the outside, tender on the inside and the toppings we tried – mushroom, fried egg and cheese complemented it well. The Whammy Burger is a planet in itself and I just managed to explore half of it.  The Pasta with Tomato sauce also did not disappoint. A few more dessert options would help, as the Hot chocolate fudge we tried was only average.

    The service was quick, helpful and there were hardly any delays. Though the place was definitely value-for-money, they don’t mean plastic money, but we were told that they’d start accepting credit cards in a couple of days. If you have any sort of inclination for fast food, this is definitely the place to drop in. You need solid guts to vanquish the Whammy burger, and from experience, it’s a battle you need to win in your mind first!

    Peppa Zzing, G-18, Kedia Arcade, 92 Infantry Road Ph: 41232843

    Menu at Zomato