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.
Old Mill Brewing Co. popped up when we were looking for new places around our hometown – Whitefield. But we were thwarted two weeks in a row, courtesy rains! The third time wasn’t really the charm, as the 6km drive took 45 minutes! But things turned around when we finally reached there.
Since we got there relatively early in the evening, it was near empty, and we were glad to see a brewery without dirty waterbodies, loud music, and underaged kids shooting for reels! Refreshing change of scene. The place is quite huge with seating options across multiple floors.
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.
We fell in love with home-delivered food to the extent that we had to visit the Whitefield version of Bologna. The good news is that for a change, meeting one’s heroes was not a disappointment. And therefore no more home deliveries, dine-in is the way to go when it comes to Bologna. The first time we visited, we chose the balcony seating with a view of the road. Perfect lunch spot for the December weather. The second visit was more recent, introducing the place to friends, and the cosy indoor seating was perfect.
We began with a White wine sangria pitcher which made its way into glasses before I could take out the phone for a pic! I missed the Zuppa di Bologna as well because I was famished. 🤦 But for want of a better word, the Italian herb-infused chicken broth with Mascarpone & Parmesan cheese was soothing. A great start.
Speaking of start, we tried a couple of starters – Pollo Ripieno di Formaggio in fillo and the Crostini di Bologna. The first is a filo roll stuffed with herb and pesto-infused chicken, and had a mix of great textures. The Crostini tastes just as it looks – a burst of flavours from the chicken, bacon, mushrooms and Mozzarella complemented by that excellent bread.
We loved both the pizzas we tried. The Pepperoni with a delicious tomato sauce, and the Ai Funghi e Salsicce which had a bunch of ingredients – chicken sausage, bacon, olives, mushroom and mozzarella, all of which worked together beautifully.
The Spaghetti Aglio Olio would never be my first choice anywhere, but this one was flavourful enough for me to not complain. The Cappellacci (means ‘little hats’, and named after the hats from where it originated) Di Bologna, I’d gladly recommend any time. Great sauce.
There were four and a half people sharing all this, which meant that we had space for desserts! The Bomba di Cioccolato is just a fancy name for the humble lava cake, which is great for kids. But you should go for probably the best Tiramisu in Bangalore.
A meal for two with a couple of glasses of wine, a starter and a couple of main course dishes would land you in the Rs.3000 range, but it is easily worth the money and the ambience. The staff is pleasant, prompt and helpful. We’ll be regular visitors for sure.
We came across Kampot when we visited Mannheim. The name itself was alluring, since Cambodia is one of our earliest and most cherished travels, and home to one of D’s all-time favourite dishes – Fish Amok. Given the constraints on the things you can do inside Ecoworld, they have done a fair job with the ambience. The menu turned out to be a lot more Asian, which I am guessing is a smarter choice if the idea is to get a crowd.
We started with a Tom Kha Head Soup. The flavours and texture were totally off with this one, which we might have guessed anyway given the colour. Closer to the other Tom – yum that is, than what we expected. Next up was the Holy Basil Sambal Chicken, and again, the memories of sambal in Indonesia are strong enough for me to recognise non-sambal. That fiery bite was completely missing in the dish. The soup actually was spicier!
For mains, D went with the Miso Ramen with Soba Noodles and Chicken, and I thought going Vietnamese might be a good idea after Thailand and Indonesia had failed. Of the two, D’s Miso was easily better in terms of flavour but definitely not the best we have had. The Pho was a disaster, and I didn’t even bother to finish it.
On hindsight, this was stupid given everything that had transpired, but we decided to try a Kampot Coffee. Since this is their own concoction, I don’t really have a benchmark to compare against. So all I’ll say is that I regretted it soon as I took the first sip.
We paid close to Rs.2700 for this mistake. The service was pleasant but tardy. After having sampled multiple eateries in The Bay, Ecoworld, I think the building has found a way to decrease the quality of dining experience. For instance, Irish House and Punjab Grill. I’ll soon be able to update with Mannheim too. For now, I’d avoid.
