Category: Indiranagar

  • Soo Ra Sang

    No, its not about someone singing, this is a wonderful Korean restaurant in Bangalore. We reserved in advance, and that turned out to be a good thing. Its not exactly in a location where you might chance upon it. When coming from the Koramangala/MG Road/Indiranagar direction get on to Airport Road, and at the first signal after Manipal Hospital, take a right turn (that’s Wind Tunnel Road). You won’t see it for quite a while, so disregard the voice within you (and behind you or by your side) that says you’re lost. After a while, you’ll have Omega Healthcare on the left, Soo Ra Sang is about 3 plots after that. Parking is not too much of a problem.

    The restaurant is on the fourth floor, with the first 3 floors occupied by the hotel. There’s this note stuck inside the lift which warns you of dire consequences if you don’t follow the instructions on it, but they were simple enough, and we survived. The roof top location gives  a wonderful view of Bangalore. There are about seven tables, some of which have a floor mat seating, but they were occupied, so we had to make do with regular seating, but it offered us a great view. The ambience is very cosy, makes you feel completely at home. There was also some nice Korean music in the background. Perfect setting. 🙂

    The menu has five sections – Chicken, Seafood, Pork, Beef and Veg. From a few reviews I’d read, i’d decided I’d either have beef or pork, but I chickened out in the end. We got a lot of help from the person in charge of our table, and it was a good coincidence that he suggested the same dishes we’d considered. So D ordered a Dol Soth Bee Bim Bob (no we didn’t say it, we mumbled the number associated with it on the menu). That’s stone pot rice with vegetables and chicken mince. I got the An Dong Cim Dak, which is chicken and soya sauce with green chillies, noodles and vegetables.

    We were given a bottle with some flavored water, and were told that it was sweet corn based. Its served chilled, and is quite refreshing once you get used to the taste. We then got a starter with some nice chilly sauce . Its a pancake (Maida based with vegetables, I think the generic name is ‘Jeon’). And then came the main course. In what can be compared to a Kerala sadya experience, we had about 10 plates placed in front of us with small portions of some vegetables, some plain bolied, and some with unique flavors. radish, potato, beans, brinjal, zucchini, Chinese Cabbage, among other things. These serve as accompaniments, we were told, and if we liked, we could get more. 🙂

    D’s dish was served in a stone pot, and was expertly mixed for her by the person who served it. Mine looked less fashionable, but I got a small bowl of rice, so there! while the former did remind us a bit of of Chinese food, the latter was completely different from anything I’ve tasted, and awesomely spicy. I guess that was the reason for the bowl of rice, it helps 🙂

    The meal ended with a Korean version of dessert. Its served in little cups and is cinnamon based. It’s served cool, but ends up cooling your insides much more. It seems to be a version of Su Jung Gwa. Not exactly the chocolate stuff I’m an addict of, but delicious.

    Meanwhile, all of the above cost us Rs.750. The 2 dishes are charged at Rs.375 each, so the starter and the dessert are part of the deal. Each dish on the menu is a meal by itself. The portions are quite sufficient, though i was tempted to ask for a refill of the dessert. Should have.I think the food is authentic, because all the other tables were occupied by Koreans, and they all looked very happy with the food. The service is extremely good. There’s hardly any time between the ordering and the serving. I think they serve some alcohol, since I saw a few KFs, and what looked like some bottled Korean liquor.

    Overall, a great experience, though next time, I’d like to try the floor mat, and one of them barbecues on the table. They looked delicious. You really must try it out.

    Su Kh Gua Ran Teed. 😀

    Soo Ra Sang, 35, RK Arcade, NAL Wind Tunnel Road, Murugeshpalya, Bangalore Ph: 080 41303435

    Photos at Zomato

    PS. In the bike parking space, there was an old signage, which reminded us that Soo Ra Sang used to be in Koramangala, when we had moved to Bangalore. 🙂

  • Bombay Post

    No, its not a post on Bombay. Bombay Post is a restaurant from the BJN group on (the old) Airport Road. Its housed in the same building as TGIF and Indijoe, has valet parking and sufficient parking for two wheelers (behind the building). We reserved a table at 7.45, but called up later to check if they could hold it till 8, since we were delayed. We were told that’d not be possible, and we would have to walk in and depend on our luck. Our luck seemed intact since there were only 4 other tables occupied when we walked in. It started filling up around 8.30 though. They seemed to have changed the wall decor a bit, since the huge posters of the earlier era’s Bollywood icons were conspicuously missing. But the guard with the huge moustache (himself an icon of sorts by now) is still there. 🙂

    We got a decent table, and were given the usual heavy menu card (i always wonder if its anything to do with the prices 😉 ). Anyway, we decided to skip the shorba and starters, and went for the main course. Departing from the regular 2 non-veg custom, we ordered a Khatta Meethe Aloo (“sauteed potato in an earthy jaggery and tamarind gravy”), a Kadai Murgh Patiala (“boneless pieces of chicken sauteed and simmered in its own juices, then tossed in kadai masala. From the royal house of Patiala”) and to go with it, an onion kulcha and a plain roti. We also ordered a mixed raita.

    The aloo dish was made with baby potatoes, tilted towards the sweet side, and had a very thick gravy, but it was good nevertheless. The chicken was very well made, with an excellent gravy and though I’ve always had an egg involved wherever else I’ve had this dish, I would still recommend it highly. No complaints on the bread. The raita, though wasn’t great. It was diluted a bit too much, and hey, I just realised, you didn’t give me boondi!!!

    A few things you should check out. Bombay Post has a huge choice of kababs,  their Dal makhani is one of the best I’ve had, and i’d have liked to check out the lal/hari mirch ki roti. They also have an assortment of north indian desserts, but hey, there’s a Corner House in the same building. 😉

    The service was excellent, and all of the above cost us Rs.838, including the service charge. I suspect the Rs.70 mineral water (for 1 litre!!) made a significant contribution. 😐

    Bombay Post, Carlton Towers, Airport Road, Bangalore, Karnataka 560008, 080 41113939

  • Herbs and Spice

    We’d already been to the first version, a couple of streets off CMH Road, and while it had a Euro cafe setting complete with a blackboard menu, we weren’t convinced enough to visit again. But when we heard there was a revamped version elsewhere in Indiranagar, we thought we should drop in.

    The new version is on 80ft Road, right at the junction of 12th Main and 100 ft Road, above Planet M. The ambience is definitely better here, and there are comfortable seating options for large and small groups. The menu is considerably more than the old version, and offers a more complete spread, including a variety of salads, main course, and desserts. There’s beer too!! If you’re going later than 8 pm, you might like to reserve, since it was quite crowded.

    We were however, disappointed, with the absence of a non-veg soup. So we started with a cream of broccoli soup, which after a by-two division turned out to be only a very small quantity. This was to be a recurring theme. To be fair, they did give us some breads, on the house.

    For the main course, we ordered a ‘Fusilli with chicken, bell peppers, mushroom and basil pesto’ and a ‘Grilled whole Indian salmon with a cherry tomato sauce’. I don’t know if it had anything to with the fish or the Indian part of it, but it took them 40 minutes to serve us. And unfortunately, it really wasn’t worth the wait. The fusilli with chicken was quite okay, and flavoured well, but the fish was a disaster!! A sacrifice both the fish as well as us could’ve done without. The quantity was meagre, and in a long time, I actually left a restaurant with a ‘nowhere near full’ stomach. Well, I did sulk and avoid dessert, but the quantity, or rather, the lack of it, had really put me off.

    They made us wait quite a bit for the bill. Pretty dumb, since there were at least two groups waiting for a table. All of the above cost us over Rs.800, which was just way too much for what we got.

    Photos at Zomato

  • Mugen

    Mugen is located on 100 ft road, Indiranagar, on the 3rd floor of the building that houses Indigo Nation and Urban Yoga. It serves Thai, Indonesian and Chinese cuisine. Parking for two wheelers is quite easy, 4 wheelers would require a bit of luck factor too, me thinks.

    We called for reservations, and after a long time, got a courteous and efficient response, and a table. I was getting sick of the ‘we don’t reserve after 7.30’ spiel. You might want to reserve, if you’re planning to go after 8 during weekends, going by the crowd we saw yesterday.

    The menu has Thai, Indonesian and Chinese, in that order. They also serve liquor, and from my limited knowledge, the bar looked fairly well stocked. The Thai part is quite a few pages, the Indonesian, only a couple of pages, and the Chinese part, somewhere in between the two. The choice of dishes in Thai made us choose that, though (even with very good descriptions) we’d require some assistance.

    We managed to order the soup by ourselves :), and then gave our requirements to the person who took our orders. He was extremely helpful, and gave us detailed explanations of what we could expect. So, we ordered a Tom Kha soup, which was described in the menu as a “refreshing coconut milk soup, with lemon grass and galangal served with chicken”, which reminds me, most of the items in the menu have a common gravy/paste/rice/noodles which lends itself to chicken, veg, seafood etc. So, for example, you can also have a Tom Kha veg soup. The soup was delicious, with so many different flavours, and for once, none of the usual stuff –  pepper, sauce, vinegar etc was needed. It was refreshing indeed.

    For the main course, we ordered a Kai Phad Bai Gapraow, which is ‘succulent chicken, marinated with thai herbs, and fresh basil leaves served with special spicy thai sauce’, a Basket Chilly Chicken, “a traditional dish from the chef, served in a crispy basket”. The latter was the only chinese dish we ordered. We also ordered a Bamee Pahd “soft noodles with bean sprout, spring onions, and crushed peanut served with chicken”. The first dish has got a bit of gravy, in fact just the right amount as far as our needs went. The Basket Chilly Chicken is dry and quite spicy, and the crispy basket was quite yummy. When we saw the noodles dish, we thought we’d have to order one more. Talk about deceiving appearances!! The quantity was more than enough for two people, especially the side dishes. All the dishes were simply awesome, and that’s an understatement. The only warning I’d like to give is to have the food before it gets cold, since a salty taste starts creeping in towards the end.

    The ambience deserves a special mention, with separate seating for smokers and non smokers, there’s even an option of being seated such that you can watch while your dishes get cooked. The seating is extremely comfortable. I think this would also be a great place for large groups, not just because of the seating options, but also because it’d give you an opportunity to sample multiple dishes, which we couldn’t because we’d only two tummies at our disposal. Another special mention for the service. No snobbish ‘Oh, you don’t know this cuisine’ smirks’, an extremely helpful attitude, and someone always discreetly giving the table attention. This place exudes confidence and efficiency. Yes,  we were floored, and that’s no mean task, as you guys would have realised:D

    All of the above cost us Rs.800. I’d loved to have tried the desserts, but we were stuffed 🙁 . This one demands a repeat visit, so there’s definitely going to be a next time here.

    Ph: 41481414, 9945300004

    Menu and photos at Zomato

  • Stones

    We really shouldn’t be seen there, because it’s a pub, and we don’t drink. But then, its more than a pub, and I get to listen to some of the best rock that’s played at any food joint, in Bangalore and a bit of jazz sometimes, so that’s how we are seen there.

    On the Indiranagar 100 ft road, you’ll find it (when coming from Koramangala) on your left after the CMH Road junction (the building after Domino’s). Two wheeler parking is easily available, but since the metro construction is going on, you’d be advised to park your four wheeler in one of the bylanes nearby.

    Stones belongs to the same species as Pecos and Mojo. Like I mentioned, we go there for the ambience and the music. The place is dimly lit and the walls are adorned with some good graphics of rock legends. There are some good seating options, and they really play the music loud. So don’t go there when you’re in the mood for mouthing sweet nothings, shouting matches, game on 😉

    Stones would be an idea place if you’re the drinking kind. I’m not sure of the costs of beer, but KF costs Rs.45 for a mug and Rs.225 for a pitcher, hope you can adjudge the price factor from that. But the food is what drags teetotallers  like us here, and you won’t feel too left out, since they serve water chilled in beer mugs. 😀

    You can take your pick from various preparations of chicken, pork, beef, bacon, sausage, prawns, mussels, fish and don’t worry there’s enough stuff for the veggies too. And to go with that, you can have the regular paratha, naan, rice stuff and in addition Kerala Porotta, Dosa and Appam. There are a lot of relatively difficult to get Mangalore, Goan and Kerala preparations here, and you even get a Pork/Beef fried rice.

    Our regular fare here is the dosa chicken curry combo and a chilly beef. The beef will give the Kerala preparations a run for their money, and boy these guys take the chilly very seriously. The chicken curry is boneless and I haven’t come across that taste anywhere else. The closest thing perhaps would be the Mangalore chicken curry we get in the coastal cuisine restaurants. The dosa too has a very special taste, the wife says its because they add butter. It really doesn’t matter but it tastes great!!

    The cost for our regular fare comes to just over Rs.300. Yes, it’s a bit above the general parameter of value for money, but we’ll still keep dropping in regularly, because the value is above the regular parameter of only food, it’s the place.

    Ph: 41481572/3/4