Category: Restaurant Reviews

  • Sultans of Spice

    Somewhere out there is a hotelier influenced into Dire Straits. 🙂 SoS (no, don’t go by that acronym, I’m just using it because its easier 🙂 ) is a restaurant in Koramangala, part of the BluPetal business hotel. The hotel also has Zheng (Chinese) and Latte-Tude (Euro Indian cafe). Its located on the Jyoti Nivas College Road, here’s the map. SoS is on the fourth floor.

    The restaurant has a mix of 3 cuisines – Dilli, Punjabi and Afghani. The ambiance is very pleasant, the lighting accentuates the paintings and the flagons, the seating is comfortable, and Jagjit Singh in the background adds to a relaxed feel.

    On to the menu. Each section has a selection from each of the 3 cuisines. Karthik had recommended that I skip Punjabi and concentrate on the other two. After a look at the menu, i’d agree, only a couple of items are tempting enough to hold their own against the Afghan/Dilli onslaught. The menu starts with the Thandai, and you can choose from ‘Annanas ka panna’, ‘Pudina Shikanji’, ‘Boondi Jaljeera’, ‘Dilliwali Masala Chaas’, ‘Kale Gajar ki Kanji’, and so on (Rs.60-80). We chose a safe Amritsari malai lassi, only because I’d already troubled my stomach quite a bit in the afternoon with all sorts of stuff i hadn’t had in a while – liver, brain kind. (Chandu’s Military Hotel with a couple of tweeps, but that’s another story. 🙂 ) The lassi was described as ‘A thick sweet yoghurt drink, with a flavor of rose water, generously dunked with fresh cream and dry fruits’. It proved to be quite good, and they were generous with the cream, but you could try out some of the other stuff, mostly because you don’t come across them regularly.

    You could also choose from the Shorba-e-Bahaar (soups) – Tamatar Dhaniya, Khumb Malai, Kalimirch Paya, Gosht Nehari, lasooni Murgh and so on.  The starters section also allows you to choose from the three different cuisines. For vegetarians – Bulani Kuchaloo, Tikka Rasmonak etc from Kabul, Keshav Bharwan Aloo..from Punjab, Dwarka Nath Papdi Chaat, Alu Mukki etc from Dilli. There are about 10 options in the Rs.110-180 range. My kind get to choose from Kebab-e-Mauhi, Jheenga Pashtooni etc from Kabul, Tandoori Kukkad, Boti Shoti, Kaleji Keema Lasooni, Rum waali Masaledar Chaampen (Old Monk flavored :D)  from Punjab, and Sultani Seekh Kabab, Dil Dilli Machli Tikka, Tunde ke Galawat (a hat tip right there, nice), Matiya Road Bharwan Tange etc from Dilli. In all, over 20 options ranging from Rs.240-450.

    For the main course, vegetarian – Guncho Keema, Dal Sultani etc from Kabul, the Sarson da Saag gang from Punjab, or the Paneer Gulle ka Qorma etc from Dilli, about 15 options in the Rs.180-225 range. The non vegetarians will be quite overwhelmed by the choices.. and their descriptions. Afghani Gosht ka Stew, Burrah Kaliyan etc from Kabul, Butter Chicken Makhan Singh da, Palak naal Macchi curry etc from Punjab, Karim’s Keema Matar fry  (another hat tip), Macchli Musallam etc from Dilli. Just over a dozen choices in the Rs.280-450 range. To go along with that, you could either choose from about 4 rice items (including a Karim’s Zaffrani Mutton Biriyani, a couple of veg options too) or the regular rotis (the Kabuli Naan is a relative exception perhaps) at Rs.160-230 and Rs.45-80 respectively.

    So, from all of that, we chose a Murgh Taftaan to start with. Its described as ‘the best seller in all of Damiyan market, boneless chunks of spring chicken in a green chilli, lemon and corriander masala’. It was quite the ‘melting in the mouth’ kind, though the lemon and corriander masala were subdued. The chutney provided could’ve been better too. For the main course, we had a Murgh Qorma Kabuli, “whole chicken cooked in tandoor simmered with a robust brown onion and curd qorma”, and to go along with it, a couple of kulchas. The chicken dish I’d recommend highly, thick gravy and well cooked chicken (not boneless, by the way), goes well with the kulchas. For dessert, you could choose from a few unusual options – Sitaphal ki Kulfi, Sultanat e Jamun, Amritsari Chikoo Phirni, Khar Yeku etc. (Rs.110)

    The meal cost us just below Rs.800, including a 5% service charge. The service is prompt and helpful, and they have a good feedback form that gets into specifics. I’d recommend you drop in at least once – for a range of items you don’t usually get to see on a menu, good service and a pleasant ambiance that really helps you relax. I’d also recommend that you go in a herd – that will help you take full advantage of the options available.

    Sultans of Spice, #60, Jyoti Nivas College Road, 5th Block Koramangala. Ph: 43431800/18

    Menu and Photos at Zomato

  • Arsalan

    That sounds straight out of LoTR or Narnia, but its actually a restaurant chain based in Kolkata, but with a branch closer home – Koramangala. Its right next to Ammi’s Biriyani, and almost opposite ‘Jukebox’. (map) The Bosch parking is nearby, so you could try your luck there.

    They have a rolls counter downstairs, and the restaurant is on the mezzanine and upper floors. We chose the first floor, it gave us a good view of the road.. and some half a dozen new restaurants that seem to have sprung up!! The menu is heavily skewed towards the meat eaters, though it does have more than 20 veg dishes listed. There really is a case for Murgh Sagar!! (or fish/beef/mutton)

    Between chicken, mutton and seafood, there are more than 30 kabab options. The average prices are Rs.115, Rs.140, Rs.150 respectively, but we got to know that the fish items weren’t available that day. They even have the number of pieces listed alongside, and the tables are skewer friendly, though they didn’t seem to be using the option. We started with a Chicken Arsalan Kabab, which was very unique, and cheesy. Ok, sorry, it just had lots of cheese, which sometimes overshadowed the kabab’s taste. But still, highly recommended, it works.

    For the main course, again there are some 40+ options between chicken and mutton gravies. Here too, the number of pieces are mentioned. To go along with that, you could choose from biriyani/pulao/rice or roti/naan/paratha. We ordered a Chicken Rezala and a Chicken Arsalan Masala, both ‘1 piece’ items. To go along with that, a masala kulcha and continuing with the theme, an Arsalan Special Naan. The Rezala has a white gravy and is a dish that the US might consider invading for the amount of oil. (though Nikhil might claim other restaurants in koramangala deserve that first) In spite of that, it was a bit bland. The Arsalan masala is a brown gravy, with carrot, pineapple and cashew nuts, that lends it a sweetness. It might sound weird, but is actually quite good. The Masala Kulcha was made well, and the Arsalan Special Naan was unique too, with groundnuts, and bordering on sweet. We figured that we needed reinforcements, but were too stuffed to go for the yummy sounding chicken biriyanis listed. We ordered a veg biriyani instead, and judging from that, the biriyani offering is pretty good – not too oily, and a hint of the saffron flavor. The portion was XL sized, and we found it difficult to complete.

    The service is fast, and we recognised the guy who took our order, from Tunday Kababi. The ambiance, while not really fine dining, is pleasant and comfortable. The meal cost us just less than Rs.500, and works well on the value-for-money front. Worth paying a visit, when you’re in the neighbourhood.

    Arsalan, 158, 1st Main Road, 7th Block, Koramangala. Ph: 25703366

    Menu at Zomato

  • Sufi

    We first visited Sufi in its earlier location on Wind Tunnel road. That was a while back. I remember it shifted to Residency Road for a short while, and then disappeared, until resurfacing in what is rapidly becoming the mecca of restaurants in Bangalore – our very own Koramangala. As the name might suggest, Sufi serves Persian cuisine, and also sells Persian art and craft. Its quite easy to find, since it is housed in the same building as Empire, on the 5th floor. Here’s a map. You’ll need to go to the Empire Hotel (ground floor, not the restaurant entrance) reception and take the elevator.

    Sufi seems more like a palatial living room than a restaurant. The ambiance, with carpets, paintings, urns, lamps, tapestries, and cushioned divans and chairs, seems straight out of some vintage Bollywood haveli. That’s meant in a nice, charming way. 🙂 Its non-a/c, though I wonder if its a temporary arrangement keeping the rains in mind, and the power cuts. The seating is well spaced, but it didn’t matter much since we were the only visitors. Meanwhile, Iranian pop (guess) plays in the background. By the time we left (about an hour later) there were about 4-5 more groups, but that still left quite a few tables free.

    And now the menu. It is mostly Persian, but has an optimised Indian section too. The Persian part provides a large number of options, though I’m not expert enough to figure out if its comprehensive. There are a couple of soup choices in veg and non veg each. (Rs.85-120). The appetisers consist mostly of salads – veg and non.veg. (Rs.75-250) There’s also a Mazzeh (mini entree) section, mostly veg. (Rs.50-80). Now for the meatier portion of the menu. Kababs – beef (Rs.250-300), lamb (Rs.300-350), chicken (Rs.175-300) and kabab-e-daryayee – sea food (fish – Rs.400, prawn – Rs.550) and what must be a gigantic chef’s platter, with all of the above, at Rs.1200.

    The main course options start with the Chelo Kababs – rice and kababs combination, the rice prepared in several stages, while kababs are mixed with herbs and spices, and broiled till they are juicy and tender. They are available in beef (Rs.300-375), lamb (Rs.375-425), chicken (Rs.350) and Daryayee (sea food at Rs.475)

    There are also a couple of Khoresht (gravy) options in veg (Rs.200) and non veg (Rs.250), which are served with naan, and their combos with rice (Chelo Khoresht) – veg (Rs.250), and non veg (Rs.300-400). Finally there are the polo/chelo options – prepared in several stages, the rice is fluffy and tender, and saffron, xereshk, pistachio and badam are used for flavoring and decoration. Apparently, the chef sometimes uses assorted food items like yogurt, egg yolk, saffron, naan, potatoes, pumpkin and other vegetables to create a golden crust (tah deeg) at the bottom of the vessel. There are veg (Rs.200) and non veg (Rs.300-375) options. Like I mentioned, there is also an Indian section with quite a few veg and non veg options – including sea food, with the usual suspects in tandoori and gravies.

    We took inspiration from the quote at the bottom of one of the menu pages, attributed to an unnamed Sufi mystic – “I’ve been on a diet for 2 weeks, and all I’ve lost is 2 weeks”, and started with a Doogh – a unique Persian drink made of homemade yogurt and herbs mixed with sparkling soda. (Rs.55). It tastes mostly like buttermilk, but what makes the difference is the soda, which adds a nice fizz. This, coupled with a mint flavor makes it worth a try. One glass sufficient for two people actually.

    Since we planned on a Chelo Kabab for the main course, we decided to try a soup. The Soup-e-jo (non veg, reminded me of cup of woe..hmm) is a barley (jo in Persian) based soup with carrot, milk and boneless chicken pieces. At the risk of getting flogged, this actually tasted like sambar with chicken. 😐 You can safely give it a pass.

    Our main course consisted of the ‘Chalo Kabab e Negindar’ – grilled mince meat of beef and lamb, topped with chicken pieces, garnished with vegetables and served with basmati saffron rice, and a ‘Khoresht e ghayne’, lamb pieces and lentil cooked in a special tomato gravy and topped with fried potato strips. We started with the latter, served with a naan. It had a very strong lemon flavor. I wondered why, until D pointed out that what I had figured as meat, was actually a lemon. As the description indicates, its meat in dal. I’d say you’re better off choosing the palak based gravy. The pieces were juicy and tender though, and made a reasonably good combination with the naan. The kababs were very good. D felt that the rice could’ve been flavoured better, especially since rice and kababs make a very dry combination. I survived using the butter provided with the rice, and chillies, onion and the remnants of the Doogh. 😀

    To complete the meal, you could try the Persian tea (Rs.30). Its apparently served in small cups, without milk and sugar. Sugar cubes are provided though. You’re supposed to keep it behind your teeth, while sipping your tea, so that the sugar dissolves slowly and sweetens the tea. If you don’t find that weet enough, you could choose from a couple of dessert (shirini) options – sholezard, made of saffron, sugar and rice, or the ranginak, made of flour, dates, cinnamon, walnut etc. We were too stuffed to try either. And oh yes, can’t forget the hookahs, available in coffee (Rs.350) and fruit (Rs.325) flavors.

    The service is decent, fast, and helps you in choosing too. All of the above cost us just over Rs.1000, including a 10% service charge and taxes. Visit once for a truly different menu and ambiance.

    Sufi, 103, 5th floor, Empire Building, 5th block, Koramangala. Ph: 65901177

    PS. Anniversary dinner, and also opened for me, the ‘Superstar’ badge on Foursquare 😀

  • Rolls United

    No, its not a post on my stomach, and the consolidated er, six pack. Rolls United is a restaurant in Koramangala 1st block. You can find the map here. (its actually at the corner where the road takes a natural right, when coming from the 1st Block junction). Parking shouldn’t be too difficult since there are many side lanes nearby. Note that its on the same road as Cafe Thulp, so don’t look to the left. Distraction would be easy, as our friend Eveline would agree. 🙂

    The ambiance is pleasant and unpretentious, and somehow conveys a homely warmth. Of course, I am a bit biased because in the roll of honour (‘rolls united’ in various languages), there’s a separate panel added at the end for Malayalam. 😀 I must admit that I always thought the place was only about rolls, until I read a few Burrp reviews. It is a lot about rolls, but as the menu (below) would suggest, there are other things that play a role too. This is the home delivery menu (below – click for larger image), and in addition to this, they also have quite a collection of mocktails. (You can find that here  – page 7 onwards)

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    Though the reviews at Burrp had mentioned large portions, the soups and starters were too tempting for us to ignore either. We started with a Cream of Chicken soup, which was so good that I think it worked on the soul too, as some book titles would suggest. It was very creamy, with a sweet tinge to it (coconut cream/milk?) and loads of chicken chunks and mushrooms. I think its the best we’ve had in a long time. Up next was the ‘Quesadilla con Pollo’, which is ‘baked cheese dish with chicken and bell pepper, served with sour cream and salsa’. Another good choice, though 1 slice (out of 4) had a goeey base. The sour cream complements the taste, though I felt it could’ve been more spicy. The salsa didn’t help on that front either, but the dish is good enough to still warrant a try.

    For the main course, we ordered a Siberian Pelmeni, “Russian favourite pasta poaches with the mixture of mutton and chicken that melts in your mouth together with the spicy paprika sauce and original Russian salad” and a Surf & Turf, “stir fried fish rolled in an egg sheet”. The former seemed to be the Russian version of momos, and while it did indeed melt in the mouth, it was a bit too bland for my taste. The sauce served was definitely not paprika. The fish dish was much better, mildly spicy, and was served with french fries and vegetables. The fries weren’t that great though. I have a feeling that we chose perhaps the wrong dishes. All of the above cost us a little less than Rs.500.

    I’d still ask you to give it a shot. The soup was excellent, the starter was good too, and there are enough choices in the menu for you to experiment with. The service is very good, maybe you could ask them for a bit of help in selecting the right stuff. They also have executive lunch combos, which, on paper, looked like great value for money.

    Rolls United, #15, 1st Main Road, 1st Block, Koramangala. Ph: 41314847

    Menu at Zomato

  • Hae Kum Gang

    No, I’m not announcing my Chinese triad, Hae Kum Gang is a Korean restaurant on Castle Street, which came highly recommended. My experience of Korea is limited to our Samsung TV, the neighbour’s Hyundai, and reading Pico Iyer. We don’t own any LG products, but we have been to Soo Ra Sang. Here’s a map that’ll tell you how to get there. Just remember that Castle Street is a one way and you have to access it from Richmond Road. (first right after the Lifestyle junction, okay, second if you include the road that goes to Garuda). The restaurant is on the second floor of a building that’s close to the Brigade Road end of Castle Street. There’s enough parking space available.

    The ambiance is quite homely (and not just the ‘experienced’ table napkins), subtle, not garish, and remains in the background, with paintings, vases, and Korean music. The Korean crowd comes free with the ambiance!! At 7.30, the place was almost full with perhaps one table occupied by non-Koreans. A good indicator of the authenticity and popularity of the place.

    Now, on to the food. The best part about the menu is that its like kiddie books, with lots of pictures, so you know what you’re getting into. For starters, there are fritters – chicken, veg, squid, shrimp at Rs.100-130. Soups at Rs50-100 and you can choose from kimchi, veg, beef, haemul and cream of mushroom. The last one is something we wanted to try but it was voted down in favor of the subliminally effective beef.wan.ja. There are also salads in veg and chicken.

    Quickly through the menu before we get to what we ate. There’s Tteokbokki, rice cakes in hot sauce with veg or seafood. There’s Tang su yuk, veg/beef/pork in fruit sauce. Sweet and sour, I was told. The Chulpan Gui set, which consists of the ‘main ingredients’ in Korean spicy sauce, and is served in a hot steel plate. Its available in chicken, beef and squid at Rs.380, and at Rs.300 without the set (side dishes). There’s the Ttuk Bok Gi set, rice cakes topped with fried veg, followed by chilly sauce, served  in hot ceramic pots, at Rs.280. Dup.bap has nothing to do with alternate parentage and is just stir fried sea food/pork/chicken/squid/mushroom and vegetables in sauce, served with rice. (Rs.250). And then there’s ‘Healthy Food’, which is steamed shrimp, squid and mushroom with chilly/soy/mustard sauce at Rs.550. This is why I hate healthy food. There’s Om Rice, fried rice wrapped in egg crepe. The Jeon Gol set, which is a stew served in ceramic pots. There are various noodles available at Rs.300, steamed pork ribs in soy bean/chilly sauce at Rs.450, special spicy chicken/shrimp at Rs.250/280, and Kim.bap.

    The beef wan.ja was an extremely good starter, the ‘melt in your mouth’ variety, made of ground beef. For the main course, D ordered a Chulpan Gui set – Chicken and I asked for a Kimchi Cchi ge- pork soup. The ‘set’ consists of side dishes – radish, baby potato in a honey-sesame sauce, spinach, cabbage, kimchi and fried brinjal. The brinjal and baby potato are very good. D was reasonably satisfied with her chicken dish. For some reason I sensed a seafood smell in the dish, probably the sauce or the same vessel used for a shrimp/squid dish. The pork soup I had was extremely good, also had tofu and an assortment of vegetables, and went very well with the rice that comes with both the dishes. D actually enjoyed it more than her dish. The meal ended with a fruit salad in orange juice syrup, quite delicious and part of the set. You could also order ginseng tea, su.jeong.gwa (cold and cinnamon flavored) , both at Rs.50 or pitchers of jasmine/chrysanthemum flavored tea at Rs.250. There are also ice cream/juice options to choose from.

    All of the above cost us just less than Rs.900. The service is pretty decent and we did get some help in the choice of dishes. The ambiance is pleasant enough though its no comparison to the skyline view offered by Soo Ra Sang. I have a feeling that they hiked the prices recently, or maybe I just read ‘value for money’ differently. In closing, worth a try for a very different cuisine.

    Hae Kum Gang, 2nd Floor, Paul Castle, #20, Castle Street, Ashok Nagar, Bangalore. Ph: 41127730/2