Category: Koramangala

  • Magnolia

    One of the biggest contributors to Koramangala’s food-and-mouth epidemic is the 80 ft Road, which has more than a dozen (underdone estimate) outlets that cater to all sorts of tastes and wallet sizes. This week, we decided to drop in at Magnolia, whose earlier version existed in a quaint house very near to its current location. When coming from Sony World junction towards Sarjapur Road, cross Wipro Park, and you’ll find Reliance Fresh on your right. Magnolia is on the top floor of the same building. Here’s a map. Parking shouldn’t be a problem at all. We reached by about 7.30 and in half an hour the place was almost full.

    Magnolia has indoor as well as terrace/semi outdoor seating options. The latter is rather dim, but with the kind of weather Bangalore’s been having, its an awesome place to be. The only snag was that the photos turned out to be quite like those ‘paranormal activity’ photos. See. (that’s the soup!!) 🙁 We could’ve maybe got it right with some tinkering, but since the focus was on eating and the required material was right in front of us, being photo-foppish wasn’t a priority. Magnolia serves Thai and Chinese cuisine, (menu 1, 2 – this is the last printed one, the prices are higher by about Rs.10-20 now)  These days, we devoutly devour the former cuisine, thanks to Aroy for the Thai-in.

    We started with the ‘Thai Chicken & Lemon Grass Coconut soup’. Even considering the Mallu bias towards anything remotely coconut, this is a great soup. Its almost the Tom Kha soup, but slightly thinner and without the Galangal. The lemon grass flavour was just right, and not overpowering, and except for the rare chilli, not very spicy either. Definitely recommended.

    Next, we resisted the dim sum call and moved on to “Leg Mai Kai”. Even Google didn’t help me figure the name out completely. The closest is Loh Mai Kai. I thought it must be the iron-rich version of our dish but it turned out to be rice based. The ‘leg mai kai’ is roasted chicken with red and green pepper and turned out to be a reasonably good choice. The red and green pepper actually complemented the tending-towards-bland chicken instead of performing their regular role as space fillers. Maybe you could try the Crispy Chicken Chilly Honey, it does sound good. 🙂

    For the main course, Chicken Pad Thai with cashew nuts and as per their suggestion, Thai Chicken and Bamboo Shoot Red curry. The Pad Thai was quite good, though the cashews were conspicuous by their absence and the tamarind flavour was really subdued. The Red curry was awesome, mostly because the coconut overruled every other flavour that might have been there, except for the spiciness. The quantity of lemon grass was slightly overwhelming though. While it goes best with rice, this is a reasonably good combination too.

    The dessert options aren’t much. The service is great, and very prompt. All of the above cost us just over Rs.700. Definitely worth a visit when you need to go beyond the regular Chinese options around Koramangala.

    Magnolia, #37, above Reliance Fresh, near Wipro Park, 80 ft Road, 3rd Block Koramangala. Ph: 41102222

    This review happens to be the 50th one in Koramangala. It is also the 100th restaurant review on the blog. There is a reason why we chose Magnolia. More than 7 years back, when a newly married couple made Koramangala their home, and relied on Mars Chicken Delight, Lazeez and some others like Szechuan Garden, which don’t exist anymore, for their gastro-adventures, they saw Magnolia, the big cars parked outside, and wondered how many of their dine outs would have to be sacrificed to afford a visit.

    They picked up enough courage one day in June, and though were quite intimidated by the place, and the chopsticks presented to them, managed to have a good meal for about Rs.350, which they still considered costly. A lot of things have changed since then – they now have a blog that has a hundred restaurant reviews, for starters. They have changed too, as has the locality they once lived in. But its heartening to note that some things haven’t – despite many halfhearted attempts, chopsticks remain a strict no-no. 😀 The post is for that couple, and for the life and times then. Thanks for reading. 🙂

    PS. A new design. Much thanks to Arun and especially Mayank for the help against cruel Microsoft 😉

  • 13 Spices

    I really would find it difficult to name that many, but hey, its the name of a new restaurant in Koramangala that serves Indian, Chinese and a bit of Continental. Its located right next to erm, Chandni Chowk – yup, that’s in Koramangala too, before Sony World, when coming from the NGV/Forum side. 😀 (map) Parking is not much of a problem, mostly because of Chandni Chowk’s ample resources.

    We reached there by around 7.45, and in about half an hour, the place was full. The ambiance is quite interesting, because its as though they had lounge/fine dining in mind – colours, furniture, decor, and then realised that it’d be a more regular restaurant. So its now brightly lit, with a red/white/black decor and decent use of the available small space, though the wall to wall cushioned seating means that the space between tables is minimal.

    Though the menu has three cuisine options, its not really exhaustive on any front, but having said that, it does offer a lot of options in the Indian and Chinese portions. The former has half a dozen veg starters, more than double that in the non veg section (chicken, mutton, fish and prawns), plenty of gravy options in veg and non-veg and biriyani/roti/naan/kulcha to go with it. The Chinese section has soups, starters and about half a dozen options each in veg and non veg dishes, and rice/noodles. The Continental part consists of a few salad and pasta options. Its closer to ‘also there’ than a specialty, at least in terms of number options. We decided to go with the Indian part, the soup being the only exception – to keep the Chinese happy.

    The Lemon Coriander soup was delicious, but I think they should have one of those ‘red-colour-chilli warnings’ for unsuspecting folk. Actually for the suspecting folk too – I, for example,  have this very silly habit of adding pepper before I have even tasted it. You’ll like this one if you like your soups really spicy. The coriander part was slightly subdued though, and a chilli flavour somehow dominated, I thought. But I’d still recommend it, just don’t take the name seriously.

    Next, we tried the Malai Machili tikka. This one gets very high marks for presentation. The fish is Hamoor (Arabian Fish – Hamour says the web) and it did seem marginally different from my other fishy acquaintances. The cream marinade was really good, and the only suggestion I’d make is to have a stronger mint chutney to go with it, so that it can complement the dish better.

    We started the main course with a Murg Khandari, an onion and chilli kulcha, and a masala kulcha. We chose the chicken dish because its description claimed a unique mix- pomegranate juice, curd, brown onion paste, and tomato puree. It proved to be unique in taste too – tangy with a sweet kick in the end, thanks to the pomegranate seed, I think. The masala kulcha was decent, but the other one barely had any chillies, so wasn’t much fun.

    Though the portion sizes were quite decent, we were still hungry, and decided to try the second chicken dish we had noted earlier – Murg Badam Pasanda, with a cheese kulcha. Calories be damned. The Badam pasand was creamy and finger-licking good in that slightly sweet way that white gravies have (though this one is more yellow). The kulcha was only just about okay though. In between we also had a regular lassi because though there was  a mango lassi listed, we were told that it was (canned) juice based, not fresh. The lassi was topped with badam and had what we thought was a vanilla essence flavour. Slightly thin for our liking, but reasonable enough. We skipped desserts since the options were the usual ice cream based suspects.

    The service is very prompt, and though we thought our second chicken dish would take time (since we placed the order much later), they actually got it soon enough for the meal to be seamless – surprising because the crowd had picked up by then. The place is quite small – enough for you to see what people at most of the other tables are eating, but despite that constraint, they have done a decent job. All of the above cost us less than Rs.700. So its definitely worth a visit, for good food and excellent service.

    13 Spices, #898, 80ft Main Road, 6th Block, Koramangala. Ph: 40953881

    Menu and Photos at Zomato

  • Naati Manae

    Last weekend, we happened to go to Anjappar, and the food left us disappointed. From experience, I’ve learned that the only way to purge the memories of such occurrences is to overlay it with better ones. And that’s how we ended up at Naati Manae, which promises to “Tingle your taste buds of our Native cuisine”. The non-vegetarian wins over the grammarian easily. The good news is that we didn’t have to go to Gandhinagar/Rajajinagar or any of the Pet places that house eateries which serve this cuisine, Koramangala scores again!! Naati Manae is off the one way that goes from the Intermediate Ring Road to Jyoti Nivas College. Take the right immediately after Coconut Grove/William Penn, and then take the first left. You’ll see Naati Manae on your right. If you’re familiar with Koramangala, you could approach it from the other one way too – the one that has Oye Amritsar, China Pearl etc. Here’s a map of the area. Parking isn’t too much of a problem.

    CIMG1228We arrived at 7.30 and easily found a table. But from the experience later, perhaps we were early. The decor remains true to the ‘Naati’ theme, lots of paintings and a matching version of the spices glass topped table decor. There’s a general area which is non-AC and a ‘family room’ with AC, that’ll cost you 10% extra! The idea, I think, is to replicate the general feel of the restaurants of this genre and add to it a little bit of refinement so it appeals to the different audience. In that sense, it works. Its clean, has a no-frills ambiance, the seating is comfortable, and there’s a uniqueness that sets it apart.

    CIMG1220The menu is kept pretty simple too (click to enlarge), with specials during the weekend. Vegetarians, as you can note, the rest of the post might be a waste of time for you. Sorry about the ‘flashy’ mutton, still getting used to menu photography 😉 (After pepper fry, there’s fry, liver fry, kheema fry, thale mamsa, chops, saru and masala) We wanted to try the day’s special ‘Mutton Shukka’ but were told it’d take at least 20 minutes. So we asked for a Mutton Pepper Dry and were given the same answer. So finally, we asked for a Thale Mamsa which we’d wanted for the main course. Its Thale, and not ‘pure’ brain, so in addition to the meat, there’s a lot of bone and hair too. A combination of thick-headedness and hunger meant that I missed taking a snap! The dish is definitely unique, with a slightly spicy flavor, and worth a try, but at Rs.75, I’d vote for Imperial/Chandu’s version of brain.

    CIMG1221Next up, we asked for a plate of coin parathas and a Guntur Chicken. Oh yes, a ragi ball too. The ragi was quite good, and exorcised previous demons of chewing gum like consistency!  The gravy that came along helped. Now, we’d read the Bangalore Mirror review and the description definitely didn’t match the dish that came to us. We checked, and it wasn’t! Christobelle Joseph, I owe you one. So we waited, with rapidly cooling parathas while the impersonator was replaced.

    CIMG1224Thankfully, the Guntur Chicken was worth the wait. Very spicy, especially if you also happen to consume the red chillies in the masala, and goes extremely well with the coin parathas. It’d been more than half an hour since we’d asked for the Mutton dishes, and judging by the 20 minute explanation, we thought we could try a Shukka with the Donne Chicken Biriyani.

    CIMG1225But unfortunately, it wasn’t. I really couldn’t understand the logic of having a special for the day, advertising dinner from 7 pm on, and then not having the dish ready by 8pm. Nattitude sucks! 🙁  Anyway we were told the Mutton Pepper Fry was a good option. A few minutes later, the biriyani arrived along with the explanation that the Mutton Pepper Fry was over. I stopped trying to seek explanations. The mutton fry was rumoured to be available. Once again, we waited, this time with a cooling biriyani. Thankfully, it didn’t take long.

    CIMG1226The donne biriyani was easily the best among the dishes, and truly value for money. The leaf bowl really does add to the taste, exactly like I’ve heard. Highly recommended. The mutton fry was quite ordinary, and the meat seemed to exist in a confused state – cooked or uncooked.

    The service was quite pathetic. Whenever we asked for the day’s special, we were told to go for the Mutton Fry! Serving wrong dishes and recommending something not available made me wonder if I had unknowingly made Naati etiquette mistakes. Wearing shorts are not okay? 😐

    What is surprising is that though the total cost came to only Rs.395 and we were quite stuffed, I’d hardly call it value for money if I took each of the dish separately. Maybe it was the profusion of bones or the general irritation brought about by the service. But despite all that, it’s still worth a visit for a unique menu (in these parts) and the biriyani. Oh, for the record Natti Manae, you aren’t by any means the first place that serves the Donne Biriyani in Koramangala. 1st Main Road, 1st Block Koramangala, opposite Rolls United, check it out!

    Naati Manae, #334, 17th C Main, KHB Colony, 5th Block, Koramangala Ph: 40986160/1

    Menu at Zomato

  • Kobe Sizzlers – Koramangala

    And just as the summer ended its job for the year in Bangalore, and the monsoons set in, Koramangala found another way to sizzle. Kobe Sizzlers, which already has an outlet in Garuda Mall, has now opened shop in Koramangala. Its the building almost immediately after Java City. (map) Parking isn’t much of a problem. Maybe it was the weather, or the newness, or the brand name, but guessing from the crowd yesterday, you should either land early (like we did, at 7.30 pm) or reserve in advance. The other good part about being early was that we got the road facing seating option.

    Very comfortable seating and a pleasant ambiance. You can take a look at the entire menu here. Unlike my previous Kobe visit, I was well prepared this time (no heavy lunch). We also remembered we had brought the camera. We thought we’d start with a Scotch Broth, but were told it was mutton based, so settled for a Chicken Corn soup.

    CIMG1210

    It isn’t as brown as it looks in the image, but after I added the pepper and the tomato chilly sauce, this color would’ve been justified. By itself, the corn flavour is dominant, hence the additions. A decent start.

    Though the number of sizzler options is high enough, the uniqueness quotient is lesser than our favourite sizzler joint in town – Tangerine, or even Yoko. But hey, so long as they serve it well. The vegetarians might have more options here, though. So D ordered a ‘Sizzling Chicken with pepper sauce’ and I opted for a Mixed Grill. D’s dish looked ‘prettier’, I thought.

    CIMG1214

    I also thought the mixed grill scored on functionality though, helped by the fried egg.

    CIMG1217

    The Mixed Grill has, in addition to the vegetable space wasters, lamb pieces, kidney, liver, mutton chop, sausages, and my tee served as excellent subtext, said D. 😐

    CIMG1218

    The chicken dish was done well, and the pepper sauce complemented it well. The Mixed Grill required some help from the Worcestershire sauce, and I felt the original sauce’ consistency (in terms of the flavour) could’ve been better. It came out strongly in some places (and that was good) and barely made an impact in other places. Kidney, liver, its difficult to go wrong with those 😀  The meat was tender in the case of mutton chops as well as lamb pieces, which was a relief – I hate fighting for it. The French Fries (in both) deserve a special mention, very good stuff.

    Dessert options are the usual suspects, though they range from kulfis to apple pie. 🙂

    The service is quite prompt. All of the above cost us about Rs.850. So, I’d say, its definitely worth a visit, especially if you’re in Koramangala, where there are hardly any sizzler options.

    Kobe Sizzlers, 1st Cross, 5th Block, Koramangala, Ph: 41705608

  • Golmaal Paratha

    No, I didn’t make that up. There is actually a restaurant in Koramangala by that name, a couple of buildings before Tunday Kababi, and almost immediately after Coconut Grove. (map) The bright green board is difficult to miss, parking isn’t too difficult. We got there by around 7.30 and were the first customers, but by the time we left, many more tables were filled up. The color theme inside the restaurant might make the non vegetarians and Martian paradnoids uneasy. If you are a super-heroes fan, you’d be pardoned for wondering if you’d stepped into the Green Lantern’s/ Riddler’s secret lair. People who’re fond of green might have to be restrained. Yep, it is that overwhelming! But non-green people, don’t worry, you can focus on the food.

    The menu has 99 items, and has been uploaded by the wonderful Roopashree, on Burrp. For once, the vegetarians have a clear advantage, while the non vegetarians have about a dozen choices. But to be honest, there are so many veg options that those with a less steely resolve might buckle. Greens, beans, chinese, cheese, pepper combinations, hot’n’spicy, ginger, corn, potato, green chutney – these are some of the few… sections! Yep, you read that right, you have choices within these!! Now, even with a dozen options, the non vegetarians might find it a little difficult to narrow down, and after a few rounds of discussion, we chose a Chicken Kadai Masala Paratha and a Mutton Pepper Masala Paratha. An entire page is devoted to drinks too – lassi, milk shake, butter milk, coolers, fresh juices, jaljeera.. So we also ended up ordering a Mango lassi and a Mint & Ginger Lime juice.

    The Mint & Ginger lime juice arrived first and was quite tasty though the mint overshadowed the ginger completely. The Mango lassi, we were quite sure was made of Slice (or some such) and not fresh mangoes, and that was quite a disappointment. We were told that the chicken paratha would take a while. There was heavy traffic, so it must’ve been difficult for it to cross the road. Ok, sorry 😀

    The parathas arrived a bit later, and no, they weren’t green :p . Each paratha comes in a thali-plate with curd, pickle, chana, onion and a couple of chutneys. The hot’n’sweet red chutney is quite good. I started with the mutton paratha, and it was quite spicy. It didn’t help that i decided to try out the chilly too. The pepper was a bit unevenly distributed and the salt was a shade above what was required. The chicken paratha was very good, though you should avoid it if you don’t like capsicum. Unlike the mutton, which was minced, this one even had tiny pieces of chicken, and was only moderately spicy. The parathas are much larger than the regular size, so unless you’ve been fasting all day or are especially aggressive with food, one should be adequate.

    The service is quite pleasant, they check if your paratha was good and also have a good feedback form. The first place where someone actually asked my opinion too. Usually they convey their opinion of me by giving  D the form and ignoring me. Here, they gave us two forms, and even ask about the music, which was quite decent. In my excitement, I forgot to add that one possible option they could add (they ask for that) was egg parathas.

    The meal cost us just below Rs.350. Drop in for a unique menu, and decent food at very reasonable prices.

    Golmaal Paratha, 1st A Cross Road, KHB Colony, 5th Block, Koramangala. Ph: 42085757

    PS. The place has WiFi, but requires a code.

    Menu at Zomato