Category: Restaurant Reviews

  • Soul Kadhi

    First published in Bangalore Mirror.

    “A recipe has no soul. You, as the cook, must bring soul to the recipe.” Thus goes the quote, and it should apply to any dish. But with the advantage of hindsight, I think we should have started with the Murgh Hussaini Shorba or at least tried the Kadhi Pakora later – the former for chicken soup’s bestselling association with the soul, and the latter for the restaurant’s name. They probably contained the soul connection that we missed in our entire meal. In fact, such was the standard of the fare that, several times during the meal, an (almost) homonym flashed through my mind – kadi. It means ‘bite’ in Tamil and Malayalam and also has a genre of jokes named after it. The next few paragraphs should provide ample explanation of why this thought crossed my mind!

    Soul Kadhi is housed in the same building as ‘Under the Mango Tree‘. (link has a location map)  It’s a small lane but you should find a place to park without much difficulty. Valet parking exists too. The decor is friendly enough, and those winnows on the ceiling are a nice touch. The music was all 90s Bollywood evoking bouts of nostalgia. Just loud enough to be heard clearly, but subtle enough to allow conversation.

    Though there were soups in the menu, and some chaats as well, the starters sounded more promising and provided more options. So we began with the Banarasi Seekh Kabab. Soul – holy city – auspicious start, you know. Though presented well, they turned out to be like cutlets in taste, and some parts were burnt as well. The overall crumbliness didn’t help either. The Tangari Kabab had a marinade that wasn’t really bad, but its interiors hadn’t been introduced to the masala. In fact the interiors didn’t seem to have been introduced to cooking in general. The Murgh Gilafi Seekh was particularly bland and the mint chutney didn’t seem interested enough to save it either. By this time, we were ready for a fight, and the Pind Baluchi Tikka proved a worthy opponent. It put up a solid battle against our collective ravaging canines and proved to be a tough opponent! Despite its faults, the Mahi Tikka Ajvaini stayed true to its origins. The fish was salty enough for us to believe that sea water had actually seeped into its very soul. (more…)

  • Kakori Kababs & Curries

    The search for Talaash tickets (yes, we do have a massive backlog on the blog 😀 ) ended at Gopalan Cinemas. We thought this was a good enough excuse to check out the restaurant scene in JP Nagar. From the various options that Zomato gave us, we zeroed in on Kakori Kababs & Curries. You can find the map and menu at Zomato. The map was perfect and the place wasn’t difficult to find at all. They have valet parking for 4 wheelers and suficient space for 2 wheelers right in front of the restaurant.

    When we arrived, we were only the second group there. The place had a <insert dimming Instagram filter> effect to it, almost like a place that was taking its baby steps towards disrepair. But we found a comfortable table, I asked for a Breezer (they only had orange and cranberry) and D wanted to try a Blush. 😀 For starters, we wanted to check out the Kakori Kabab, but that was unavailable! So we decided to go for our second preference – Murg ka Soola. The Blush, it seems, had all the  promised ingredients – strawberry, guava, cranberry etc, and was quite good from the way D was slurping. The Soola was quite spicy thanks to the ground chillies, and though the cinnamon wasn’t really present, we really liked the dish.

    For the main course, we asked for a Murg Dil Bahar and a Meat Beliram, and to go with it, a Kakori Naan and a Chilli Olive Naan, and later, a Butter Tandoori Roti. The Murg Dil Bahar was a rich creamy gravy and the mutton dish was well cooked with a mildly spicy gravy. We enjoyed both and the breads were subtle enough to complement the dishes very well.

    By the time we left, all the tables were taken, and there were 2-3 groups waiting outside! Judging by the food we got, worth the wait in that part of town, I’d say. All of the above cost us just under Rs.1400. The service was prompt. But what I really really enjoyed was the instrumental music – 90s Bollywood – Sainik, Kabhi Haan Kabhi Na, Damini, Imtihaan. AWESOME. 🙂

    Kakori Kababs, 9A, 24th Main, 6th Phase, JP Nagar, Ph: 65705588

  • Habanero

    ..is a kind of chili pepper, which can now be found on 12th Main Indiranagar. In fact, they have named an entire restaurant after it! 😀 (they have also been around for a while now in Whitefield) It’s almost exactly opposite I & Monkey. Parking was a little bit of a mess, and it was surprising how there was basement but that was only for the gym upstairs! So you have to use one of the side lanes.

    We had reserved a table for 8.45, but we were warned that there could still be some waiting time. Fortunately there wasn’t, and also good that we did reserve, because there were several groups of people waiting outside for a table all through our meal. The restaurant is on two floors, and has a smoking section too. We got a table on the upper floor with an oblique view of the road.

    We had checked the menu on Zomato earlier, but had decided to select the dishes when we got there. The Breaded Chicken Tenders seemed like a good thing to start with and apparently, a Sangria pitcher was available for Rs.999, and that’s how we began. Even without the Sangria, there was quite a buzz about the place – music, conversations, and a general bustle. The starters arrived very fast, as did the Sangria. The slight blandness of the chicken was compensated for by the dip. Nothing spectacular, but did the job. The Sangria pitcher was about 4 glasses, but had more ice than we would have liked. The drink itself was quite good though.

    For the main course, we were pulled in two directions – burger vs pasta – after we decided we would try the pizza anyway – Chipotle Chicken. The pizza looked small, but that turned out to be quite deceiving once we started eating it. Spicy, grilled chicken it was, and the sauce added an extra bite. The burger won finally, mostly thanks to the green chilli presence. This one turned out hot in more ways than one – pretty to look at, and with a solid chilli and pepper presence.

       

    The only problem was that we were stuffed and had no space for that Mud Pie I so wanted to try. All of the above came up to Rs.2200, which was not really bad at all, considering the cuisine, location and quantity. I would definitely visit again, especially because there are quite a few things I want to try out – the Turkey & Bacon burger for one. The service was prompt, helpful and cheery

    Habanero, 948, 12th Main, Next to ICICI Bank, Indiranagar, Ph: 41692109

  • The Oriental Kitchen

    When we read about The Oriental Kitchen on the web, and saw the address, we thought it would make it the fifth restaurant in that building – the one that houses The Great Indian Thali, Barbeque Factory and An Elegant Elephant. But turned out that El Tablao had shut down and Spain had been replaced by Chinese-Thai. Ah well, the Buddha has always been clear about the transient nature of it all, so he wouldn’t have had any qualms about replacing the Spanish paraphernalia that made up the earlier ambiance. The chandeliers remain though, and thankfully so does the view. We were the only group when we reached, and were asked if we had a reservation. After an awkward silence during which we scanned the rows of empty tables and chairs, we got exactly the table we wanted. 🙂

    Since Zomato had the menu, we roughly knew what we wanted, and asked for a Tom Kha Chicken soup. Before that arrived, we got a little complimentary amuse-bouche made of darsaan and peanuts. Sweet and spicy it was, and did its job very well. The soup arrived soon after and though we would have liked it to be thicker and wished for the coconut milk to have a stronger presence, its flavours were quite good. Not the best we’ve had, but passable. We had also asked for a Banana Leaf Wrapped Grilled Chicken. That turned out to be really good – spicy with a hint of sweetness and a sauce that complemented it very well! Great presentation too.

     

    For the main course, we asked for a Thai Chilli Garlic Noodle with Chicken and though we wanted a Tsinghoi Chicken, the person who took the order recommended a “Slice Chicken with Corriander and Fresh Red Chilli.” (sic) Both the dishes were good (and spicy) though the red chilli was replaced by a green version.

     

    The service was friendly and helpful. All of the above cost us just over Rs.1230. I’m guessing Oriental cuisine will definitely have takers in this part of town despite competition around.

    The Oriental Kitchen, 612/1 Lotus Building, 4th Block , 80 Feet Road, Near Sony World Signal, 4th Block, Koramangala. Ph: 40906789

  • Terrazzo

    There’ve been so many name and location changes in the last year that I can’t be sure which Italy has been replaced by Terrazzo – Italia or Little Italy. I think it’s the former. In any case, this is on 100 feet Road just before the 12th Main junction when you’re coming from the Koramangala direction. (on your right – so take a right before 12th main, loop around to 12th Main and then turn left on 100 feet Road) There’s valet parking for the bigger machines and just enough space for the smaller ones. The map can be found at Zomato, and the menu as well. There’s another restaurant Esplanade housed in the same building, and is related to the one in Koramangala.

    One thing they should probably change is piling the garbage right in front of the restaurant! Why would anyone want to see this when they walk into the restaurant? And the stink stays with you for quite a while. :\

    There are three seating options – 2 downstairs (one closed, one semi open with a glass ceiling) and 1 upstairs. We sat upstairs and had a nice view of the road. The menu is a mix of (wait for it) Italian and Indian, so we decided to do the same with our order too! From the bar menu, we asked for a Tequila Steeler and a Classic Sangria, and for starters, a Lal Surkh Tangdi Kabab. We could have done with lesser chopped fruits in the Sangria but the Steeler was not a bad drink. The Kabab didn’t have much of the mince it was supposed to have, and the chilli paste was not really present in all the 3 pieces we got, but it was not a bad dish really.

    For the main course, we decided to try the Sicilian al Pollo with a thin crust (that you have to ask for) and a Carbonara with Fusilli. The pizza turned out to be quite good with lots of cheese, mushrooms and chicken and a slight tang and spiciness thanks to the sauce. We’d have liked the pasta sauce to be a little less dry but there was no questioning the fresh cream, cheese and bacon presence.

        

    We were quite stuffed but the person who took the order insisted on a complimentary dessert when he learned that we had booked through Poshvine. (and that the booking for some reason had not gone through!) That happened to be a caramel custard with some amazing custard and a caramel sauce that could have been a bit less bitter.

    All of the above came to just under Rs.1850 (that’s after a Citi discount and taxes and service charge) The service was really really good and that’s not just because he bribed me with the dessert. 🙂 The food is reasonably good too and the ambiance is quite nice. All things considered, you could probably drop in if you’re around those parts.

    Terrazzo, No:1135, 100 feet Road, HAL 2nd Stage, Indiranagar Ph: 25289126/97482