Category: Koramangala

  • China Pearl

    When in Koramangala, and in the mood for Chinese food that doesnt land you in a financial crisis, think China Pearl. For the third week in a row, a restaurant refused to take reservations. The times, they really are a changin’ 😐

    To get there, when coming from the MG road side, take a left at Forum, keep going straight, and take a right turn after you see a park on the right side. No, not a software park, just a normal old fashioned park. Geez!! Its a one way, the same road that has GK Vale among other things, that also include a truckload of restaurants – Chung Wah, Filling Station and so on….. Here’s a map.

    We reached there around 9, and had to wait for about ten minutes. Since Bangalore ain’t so cool anymore, we skipped the soup and had fried chicken momos for starters. That, along with the spicy sauce meant we started well. 🙂

    We ordered a Teriyaki Chicken. thought it sounds a bit like what Harbhajan said a while back, its actually only fillets of chicken in teriyaki sauce. It also has mushrooms. Its a dry dish, and is quite well made. The only snag was that we got it at least 10 minutes before the rest of the main course. Thankfully, it didn’t get too cold. The rest of the main course was made up of a Drunken Chicken and Chicken Malaysian Noodles. Although the former led to a discussion between us on how exactly they got the chicken into such a condition, it’s chicken in rice wine, and is extremely tasty. Its a unique flavour, and definitely worth a try. If you are fine with thin noodles, the place has a lot of options. I’d have taken a Chow Mein, but we already had a gravy dish. The Malaysian Noodles is something we’ve had before and didn’t disappoint.

    The quantity is more than ample for two people, and reasonably priced. All the above cost us less than Rs.600. The service is usually good, but somehow the waiter this time didn’t quite fancy us, I guess. But China Pearl is a regular haunt and we’ll be back.

    China Pearl, 5th Cross, 6th Block, Koramangala. Ph-25501735, 41105060

    Menu and photos at Zomato

    Update September 2011: From the time we’ve been in Bangalore, this is one place where there is always a crowd waiting outside on weekend nights. We’ve visited several time since this review, and it has always delivered. Koramangala is famous for restaurants that disappear by the time you take a U-turn and come back. China Pearl continues to thrive, and that’s why being here is a very happy feeling. The exalted company adds to the pleasure. 🙂

  • Serengeti

    A little googling tells me that its the name of a wildlife national park and ecosystem in Tanzania. Since I’m not particularly adventurous by nature, I restricted myself to visiting the dining ecosystem in Madivala. After all, it was supposed to have an African rainforests theme.

    A call for reservation was answered, the second time, and we were politely told that since it was Saturday night, reservations could be made only in specific timeframes – 7.30 to 8.15 pm and 9.45 – 10.30 pm. We chose the latter.

    Its on the 3rd floor in Total Mall alongwith Zanzibar, Silver Metro and a food court. The mall is quite easy to reach. When coming from the MG Road side, turn left onto the road that goes to St.Johns (you don’t have an option anyway after you cross Forum 🙂 ), then take a U turn onto the road that leads to the Madivala market. You can see Total on the left but the entrance is on Hosur Road.

    There was a crowd waiting to get in, when we reached, and even with reservations, and landing up exactly on time, we were made to wait about 10 minutes. Once we were inside, the undergrowth was not quite thick, so we got to see people dining among alligators, vines, elephants, waterfalls and so on :). For those who don’t mind the gurgling water sound, the outside seating would be fine. I dont, and thankfully, we were taken inside the ‘Guffa’. Its a closed structure within the restaurant and is slightly better lit than the outside. We can also see animal-skull trophies on the walls, that add to the effect – what they have called ‘the wild side of dining’. In fact, they have tried to do that in everything, including the waiters who are attired like shikaris. No, don’t expect the hostesses in grass skirts!!!

    Meanwhile, the cuisine is Lucknowi and Peshawari, which made me wonder about the connection with the setting. We went straight for the main course, though there were a couple of ‘not quite common’ options in the shorba and starters categories. We ordered a Murgh patiala kadai se and a Machi Mazedar, along with a bran roti, an onion kulcha and a plain naan. The quantity was quite sufficient, though i would recommend the fish dish to be eaten with rice. The food was good enough to warrant another visit. We also had a Sariska Panna, which is made of pineapple pulp. It was chilled and had quite a unique flavour. Though this was supposed to be an apertiff, we got it in the middle of the meal 😐

    That notwithstanding, the service was quite good. We were also given a potato chips based snack before the meal started, turned out to be quite good, with chat flavors. We opted out of desserts because there were only the usual suspects, inclusing a chocolate brownie. But then, dessert doesn’t need context, does it? 😉

    The above meal cost us about Rs.650, and we’ll definitely make one more visit, if only for the unusual setting. Reservations can be made at 9731558301/7.

    Photos at Serengeti

  • Imperial + Cream & Fudge Factory

    It’d been a while since i paid a visit to the friendly neighbour joint thats imperial, and someone had to pay for the dessert fetish, that turned out to be keeping dinner to a vfm joint :D. I doubt if Imperial would be the place to test out soups, though starters are a different matter altogether.

    We skipped both (remember dessert?) and chose to have a brain onion fry (half plate) and a tandoori chicken masala, along with Kerala Paratha. For once, I was disappointed with the brain onion fry, it was too salty, and the roles of onions and chillies were interchanged. The quantity has also been reduced drastically.The tandoori chicken masala was also only passable, though the quantity was sufficient. But since the place has been an old favourite, it merits one more chance, especially since Empire’s brain fry doesnt hold a candle to Imperial’s.

    The Cream and Fudge Factory is quite a place for the sweet toothed Bangalorean. I refuse to allow flavors other than chocolate to enter my dessert horizon, and despite this being the second visit, I’ve to make at least 4 more visits to complete the chocolate based stuff there, so you can imagine. This time we had the Cookie dream which had chocolate chips, chocolate cookies, and chocolate fudge with a vanilla base. While there are so many flavours to choose from, thats not all. You can make your own ice cream with your chosen flavor, and an army of toppings ranging from Ferrero Rocher, Snickers, M&M etc to hazelnuts, almonds and sooo many things in between. Yes, it just might be the closest you’d get to the mythical chocolate paradise, and as for price, while it’s not peanuts, it doesnt make you ask for a personal loan either 😀

    The Cream & Fudge Factory, Opposite HDFC Bank, 7th Block, 80 Feet Road, Koramangala. Tel: 41726222.

  • Mocha

    The Koramangala version, since the Lavelle road version was highly recommended, but a bit too far from the current residence. To get there, just turn left from Forum on Hosur Road (when coming from MG Road) and you’ll find it on the left. Alterantively, turn right on the intermediate ring road (from Indiranagar) at Sony World and then take a left before the Games village. You’ll then find it on the right.

    We got there by around 7.45 and it was a bit crowded. We found a place upstairs (its not covered, so it might be a problem during the rains, but at this time of the year, is absolutely the perfect place to be). We went prepared for a very ‘snacks’ sort of dinner, so the place didnt disappoint. We ordered a Crepes Monte Cristo (I loved the character) which is chicken based, and the Non Veg Club Wrap (its everything thats ‘animal and eatable’ based :)). Aaaand we ordered a Black Forrest shake. Its the stuff fantasies are made off. And it was a difficult choice given the range of stuff they’ve got in that category. The food was quite good, bot don’t have the wrap if you don’t like gherkins.  The quantity is sufficient so long as you have a drink like the one above to fill the extra space 🙂

    Lets not forget the plethora of shishas that you can puff away if you’re the kind who like hookahs. (pun slightly intended) No, there’s nothing such as a free hookah, but hey, its an experience you know. And now, we come to the finale. We were so stuffed that we just couldn’t find it in our stomach (in our hearts, yes) to have dessert. So we did the next best thing, packed a Chocolate Avalanche Sr. Now this, you must understand, was arrived at after some three gruelling rounds of elimination, each one rivalling those reality shows in terms of grief and heartburn caused when a contestant bows out. If you’re on a diet, you really don’t belong here.

    Mocha’s ambience is more of a philosophy than decor. Its soothing, refreshing and very laid back. And I’m not punning on the lounge chairs they have. I heard a couple of people expressing discomfort at those, but i was a happy man. All the furniture has been apparently picked up from flea markets, though i saw something that i thought i ogled at once in Westside. I think i also saw a Sintex tank used as a table, but hell, its a really groovy place. Also, they say if you particularly like a piece, you can buy it.

    All of the above cost us a bit over Rs.700. So, will I be back? Most definitely, because its an experience, and as the Mocha philosophy goes, ‘Life can wait’. But hey, i can’t, not for those chocolates.

    577, 80 Feet Road , Koramangala 8th Block. 9886750549

    http://www.mocha.co.in/

    Menu and photos at Zomato

  • A Taste of Rampur

    is obviously quite good, because we’ve been repeat vistors, although this time we fell for a marketing gimmick – them calling up D and wishing her a happy birthday. 🙂

    The restaurant is in the service road (on Hosur Road) opposite Globus in Koramangala. There’s parking available and the best way to reach would be from the ‘National Games Village to Forum’ road and turning left just before the Forum junction.

    We don’t book in advance, but it would be better to do so on Saturday nights, especially after 8, since we had to wait once for around 15 minutes. The decor is very Awadh, and the background music is usually very Hindustani, although the TV in the corner does show EPL 😉

    The ambience is quite soothing, with soft lighting and comfortable seating. Although I’ve never tried it, the liquor menu does look well stocked. They have a good selection of kebabs. We usually ditch the shorba for starters, though the chicken shorba we had once was quite good. (but no 1/2 ok?!) This time we had the Murg Potli Kabab, which has chicken mince filling. Quite tasty.

    For the main course, we wanted to have a Murg Kali Mirch, but they recommended Murg Raseela since we wanted something spicy. Spicy it was, but i liked the Kali Mirch better (from previous visits). They also have a stew which we’ll try sometime. There’s a good selection of rotis, chicken and mutton. Though the dessert spread is good on paper, we have never managed to get the stuff we wanted. This time was no exception.

    A meal for two would cost about Rs.700-800 for a starter, 2 main course dishes and dessert. Overall the place is good, and we’ll definitely repeat the visits.

    Menu and map at Zomato