The last time we tried to get into Burma Burma on a Saturday night, we ended up going to Lucky Chan because of the wait time. They don’t take reservations on Saturday night. This time, we were prepared, and lurking around when they opened for dinner. That meant very few tables were occupied, and we got one that we liked. I have to confess, despite my disdain for vegetarian fare, I have been to this (Indiranagar) outlet multiple times, enjoyed the food, and also been to the Church Street one. I had no moral grounds really when D expressed her desire to have dinner here.
I have to admit, the original choice was Burma Burma, who wouldn’t take a reservation on Saturday. We weren’t lucky enough to get a table without a 1 hour waiting time, so we walked to Lucky Chan, which we had anyway considered. Since it was still early in the evening, we managed to find a table easily.
Lucky Chan manages to mix a certain zest with the comfort and cosiness of a local diner. Overall it was a perfect ambience for us. We didn’t catch a glimpse of the conveyer belt sushi, but that is anyway quite a ‘dangerous’ thing as we discovered in Kyoto.
This is far from our village, but thanks to the metro, if we get out early, it is quite a breeze getting to Indiranagar. And that is how, one Saturday evening, we broke our rustic idyll to visit Idyll, about whose fusion fare we had heard good things.
Idyll has two floors. The top floor is the one with the pounding music and cool bar. Relatively, the ground floor is the more ‘boring’ one, almost like the family room, and that’s where we chose to sit. That ‘maze’ symbol on the lamp (that we loved) is everywhere and kept reminding me of the Westworld maze. See that ceiling again?
The Kashmiri Old Fashioned was what I came for. Roasted raisin infused bourbon, spiced Demerara almond syrup, and in-house Kashmiri bitters was how it differentiated itself from the standard version. I enjoyed it because it didn’t go overboard on the sweetness and they didn’t scrimp on the alcohol.
D tried the Kerala Mango Pachadi – tequila based, with strained mango pachadi and a few other ingredients, which turned out to quite good. As always, looked prettier than my drink too!
We started with a Pandi Pork Bao – slow cooked pork belly in Kachampuli vinegar with fermented Thai chilli. We loved the spice level, the well cooked meat, and the superb flavouring.
Meen Moilee Dimsum made us very curious. River sole, coconut milk and fermented chili oil. I think, once you get used to the idea of the weird combo, it is tasty enough. 🙂
The last dish we tried was the Chorizo Kachori Chaat, which is your typical chaat with Goan chorizo. It wasn’t bad, but this, I thought, was the one that did the fusion the least justice.
The bill came to a little over Rs.3700. Indiranagar pricing, but hey. Excellent food and drinks, prompt and helpful service, and a peaceful ambiance if you get there early.
If you like a little bit of experimentation, try Idyll when you’re around next.
Idyll, 608, 12th Main Road, HAL 2nd Stage, Indiranagar, Ph 6364315734
Just as the restaurant itself is hidden in Indiranagar, Korean too is hidden in the menu. Actually, it doesn’t exist. There’s only Japanese. Now that I got that off my chest, we got there on a Sunday afternoon and had the place all to ourselves. It’s functional in terms of seating but made quite lively with the use of lighting and the art.
D, I have realised will have Miso if there is Miso, so we ended up with a delicious Miso Shiru that set the appetite well for the Stir Fried Beef, which had great texture and just the right amount of spice for us.
We first met Tamagoyaki at the Tsukiji Outer Market in Tokyo and I have been a fan since. This one didn’t really reach that level, but was definitely not bad.
We debated mains a lot and finally agreed on Gyu Niku Udon – udon topped with beef (again). On hindsight, we should have chosen something else because it was a bit similar to the soup. But we enjoyed it nevertheless.
We were a bit disappointed since we wanted Korean, but Japanese is a good second. The service is prompt and very helpful. We were left lighter by about Rs.1800. Overall, not a bad outing if you’re craving Japanese.
Hokkaido Japanese & Korean Restaurant, 10/1-1, 1st Floor, 7th Main, 1st Cross, Appareddypalya, Indiranagar
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
