Category: Restaurant Reviews

  • Yana Sizzlers

    The post title is going to get me a lot of traffic! If you’re among those who are hoping to see the “actress’” videos, really sorry. This is about a restaurant in Koramangala. Hot stuff, but of the food kind, though my tee was a hat tip to the actress. 😀 For those who are here for other drooling reasons, Yana Sizzlers is a chain based in Pune. Yana means ‘come again’ and you can stop sniggering! The Bangalore version is on 60 ft Road Koramangala, just after G K Vale – the same road as ‘Flambe‘, China Pearl, Vicky’s Tava Lounge, Oye Amritsar, The Esplanade etc. Parking for 4 wheelers may not be very easy, but there are a few side lanes around. (map)

    The restaurant has seating on two floors. The upper level seemed a little less crowded in terms of space and people, so we chose that. The seating is comfortable and they have puzzle tablemats that will help you while away time in case you are tongue tied.

    You can take a look at the menu on Zomato, though the Continental cuisine was completely missing in the menu we were given. We decided to start with the Scotch Broth. The guy who took the order seemed confused about it, and brought back another person who seemed to easily know more about the menu. We were told it would be creamy. It turned out thick but not creamy with barley, potato, pieces of mutton, and garnished with fried bread crumbs. Quite tasty if you add a dash of pepper to it.

    For the main course, I chose the Spicy Chicken Square and D opted for the Chicken Kebab Masala. You might want to try out the Barbeque sizzlers, which are a specialty of theirs. I somehow missed the ‘spicy’ in my dish and asked for the hot chilly sauce. The second guy (from earlier) then turned up to point it out and I shifted to the BBQ sauce. D chose the Garlic Pepper Sauce. The Spicy Chicken Square indeed lived up to its name, with prominent pepper flavour, and juicy boneless chicken. An excellent dish if you can be patient and wait for it to cool a bit. D’s kebabs turned out to be more like manchurian though. Not a bad dish, but just wasn’t what we expected. But it wasn’t very spicy, and D was sober, so she didn’t complain and therefore escaped unhurt. This is a good time to mention that the usual cabbage leaf base is missing. I’m not sure if that somehow contributes to the increased cooling time. However, despite that absence, there wasn’t much of burnt food thankfully.

    The service is quite prompt, though some of them do seem a little out of sorts. The meal cost was just less than Rs.900. Our favorite remains Tangerine in Indiranagar, and Kobe is around on a parallel road in Koramangala, but this is worth a visit too.

    Yana Sizzlers, #145, 60ft. Road, 5th Block, Koramangala Ph: 25505538

  • Turquoise – The Indian

    It does sound a little like a movie dubbed into Bollywood, but hey, it’s a restaurant and the name matters only so much. The review first appeared in Bangalore Mirror, and I’ve had enough of ‘blue’ wordplay. 😀

    This is located above Mom&Me on the road leading from Intermediate Ring Road to JNC (map) and is one of the twin Turquoise restaurants. The European is on the floor below, and you can find my micro review on 4sq. 🙂 Valet parking is available.

    The turquoise theme is prominent in the decor and the chandeliers creating the shape of a musical note makes for an elegant picture. For seating, you could lounge on the comfortable sofas or choose the more functional, yet tastefully done regular furniture. The gigantic dragonfly near the bar is an attention grabber. Bollywood remixes playing in the background and a TV screen offer ‘entertainment’.

    The menu begins with a few standard shorba options, and then offers a decent range of kababs. Thereafter, in addition to some standard and some not-so-standard main course Indian fare, there is also a page devoted to Parsi favourites. For once, there seems to be a balance between vegetarian and non-vegetarian options. The rotis section manages to offer a few unique options, but the desserts section is limited and sticks to the regular favourites. The Indian is a resto-lounge, and seems to have a well stocked bar and a collection of mocktails. The Turquoise Smoothie we tried turned out just fine.

    The Galawati Kabab, a patty of tava fried lamb mince marinated in spices and served on a mini paratha, didn’t quite get to the ‘melt in your mouth’ level but managed to live up to its billing of a signature dish. But the Baida Roti with kheema and eggs stuffed in a pancake and tava fried proved to be the unanimous favourite.You really must try this. The Aatish e Aloo – stuffed potatoes – managed to start a spicy Bollywood conversation, but the dish itself was quite bland. The Mahi Afghani Tikka, Calcutta Betki chunks with coriander, yoghurt and cream, too went into the same category.

    In the main course, the Zardari Kofta in a nut-based gravy was the pick, followed by the Murgh Makhani. The Hyderabadi Lagan ka Murgh with the cashew nut gravy had sounded right, but fell short of expectations. The efforts of the Dum Pukht Aloo’s gravy, to salvage the dish’s reputation proved futile.The Naan Baluchistan with a minced meat stuffing, and the Khameeri Roti were both excellent, the Gosht ki Dum Biriyani was reasonably good, and the flavourful Jeera Rice was appreciated too. The Qubani ka Meetha didn’t do much to sweeten the dessert deal though. The biggest disappointment was when we were told that most Parsi dishes required advance notice. Even in the other sections, we missed out the ones we really wanted to try – the Naan Changeezi, the Turkish Baklava, to name a few.

    The service was courteous to begin with, but began to display an overboard version of ‘maa ka pyar’ while the food was being served. They insisted on disproportionately filling up our plates. The billing took us almost half an hour. On the cost front, a non-veg starter, a main course with a veg and non-veg dish along with a few rotis, and a dessert would set you back by `1,200. Considering the options available in the vicinity, this is on the higher side.

    Turquoise’s Indian version has its share of tasty fare, but given its location –  where a stone thrown would most likely land on a restaurant – they need to better their act. The non availability of dishes and a torturous wait for the bill left us blue, like that Akshay Kumar movie.

    Turquoise, 2nd & 3rd Floor, (Above Mom & Me), Shop #9, 5th Block Koramangala, Bangalore 560095, Ph: 65776588

  • The Great Kabab Factory

    The last time I was in the vicinity of Mantri Mall, I had some awesome food thanks to Partha Jha. The place we visited – Chandu’s Military hotel also sends lots of traffic to the other blog, thanks to a totally (food) unrelated post I wrote then. 🙂

    This time, the visit was to an eatery inside the mall, for a Bangalore Mirror review. Parking at the mall is much better than in the initial days! Our destination – The Great Kabab Factory was a franchise that has operations in many parts of India and the Middle East, including the third floor of Mantri Mall.

    The space has been utilised well, though the decor is pretty functional. The cutlery tries to lend a grand touch. The colours are also restrained except for the bright blue shades in the form of lighting, but these don’t help remove a general dimness. Interestingly, though the staff wear overalls to go with the factory idea, the theme ends there.

    On to the menu. The dinner and weekend menu offers a selection of six kababs, followed by a biriyani main course and four desserts. The weekday menu is priced lower because a couple of kababs and desserts are taken out. The combination of kababs change  daily, and you stand a chance of getting the same combination only once a fortnight. But the signature dishes are available daily and after a round of all the kababs, you get to repeat your favourites. Ditto for the desserts. They also have a a well stocked bar, and given the price of the Fresh Lime Soda, you’re definitely better off guzzling beer. The prix fixe (set menu) weekday lunch is priced at Rs 449 plus taxes and weekends and dinners are at Rs 599 plus taxes. The price is the same for veg and non veg versions. Considering the options available, this is rather steep. (check comments for update)

    Among the non vegetarian fare, the Galouti Kabab was the winner with its finely minced meat that puts it in the ‘melt in the mouth’ category. Roll it up in an ulta tawa paratha and you’re sure to ask for a repeat. The Taj Kabab with bell pepper and coriander was excellent too. The Shoolay Murgh Tikka, a mildly spicy kabab,  and the Shammi Kabab were also favourites. However, the signature Barrah Kabab was missing, and the Machhi Amritsari and the Lasooni Chooza were disappointing. The Phaldhari Chaat, roasted apple with chaat masala, was the redeeming dish in the veg menu. But charging the same rate for the veg fare seemed unfair. Especially since they were not great. The Paneer Tikka Kalimirch was bland and the Peshawari Aloo did nothing to impress either.

    The Murgh Dum Biriyani was greasy and the Murgh Qurma accompanying it couldn’t do much to salvage it. Its veg counterpart, Vadi Pulao, wasn’t great either. The Shahi Tukda was the pick among the desserts though the Gulab Jamun had some competition to offer.  The Doodhi ka Halwa, made from bottle gourd, sounded promising, but didn’t actually work out.

    The staff is well-trained and as each dish is brought to the table, give you a rapidfire tutorial on how it is to be consumed. The service is prompt and ensure you don’t feel too bad about the 10 per cent service charge.

    The Great Kabab Factory does live up to its name and manages to produce quite a few delectable kababs but unfortunately, they don’t really come at Factory Outlet prices. So, unless you have just completed a bhook hartal or are gifted with phenomenal maas consumption abilities, the price of the kababs might make you go ‘Sheesh’!

    The Great Kabab Factory, T-40, 3rd Floor, Mantri Square, #1 Sampige Road, Malleswaram, Bangalore 560003, Ph: 22667360

  • Sichuan

    The idea was to go to this new place called ‘Pot Puree‘, but they were just so ‘helpful’ with the directions that we sulked and decided not to visit even though we finally found the place. Since I don’t need to be particularly persuaded for Chinese food, we decided to drop in at Sichuan, after we found it quite appealing from the outside.

    Sichuan falls on your left when going from Sony World Junction, Koramangala towards 1st Block, just after Natural Ice Creams, (map) and after our favourite hole-in-the-wall Mallu joint – Little Home. If you’ve been around that area, you’ll know that parking is a pain and your only hope is one of the side lanes nearby.

    The take away counter is on the ground floor along with a few tables, but the main dining area is on the first floor. Not a large area, but the decor is handled well with the familiar dim red chinese lantern effect. There’s a nice cosy feel to the place, and if you get the right table, you can watch life pass by in Koramangala, as the serene Buddha in the corner seemed to be doing.

    Zomato has the menu, though this is the take away/delivery menu. The dining menu has a few mocktails and desserts too. Some of them are here. Our hunger made us uncharacteristically go for dim-sum and soup. The Hot Mushroom, Coriander and Chicken soup came first and was thick with a spicy undertone. Watch out for that red chilli specifically. Perfect start. The Cheung Fun took a while, but the rice paper rolls with chicken, mushroom and green onions also turned out great, though we missed the ginger flavour.

    For the main course, we ordered a Cantonese Fragrant Rice (chicken) and as per the advice, a Kunming Chilli Chicken, which was supposed to be medium spicy. The latter turns from medium to high as soon as the green chilli turns up in your mouth, but the rice complements it very well. We wanted to sample the Mango – Lemon Grass mousse, but it wasn’t available. Wonder if desserts would sell here, Natural is a strong force. 🙂 All of the above cost us just over Rs.500.

    Delicacy and China Pearl remain favourites in different contexts, but the next time I have a Chinese food craving, I might just land up here again.

    Sichuan, #1016, 80 ft Road, 1st Block, Koramangala. Ph: 41317636

  • Veekes & Thomas, Koramangala

    So there I was, walking up from Apollo Clinic in Koramangala, towards Forum, and what do I see? A standee with a Veekes and Thomas menu! Having heard so many good things about the JP Nagar outlet, and having been guilty of sheer laziness, I decided to redeem myself by dropping in there the very next weekend. To be noted that I ignored even the rain gods. Veekes and Thomas is on the same road as Oyster Bay, Sultans of Spice etc – the JNC Road, and is opposite Mani’s Biriyani on the first floor. Here’s the map. Two wheelers will find space near Lazeez Express and the more well wheeled ones can try the parking lot near Empire.

    A single flight of stairs and you’re transported to one of the coziest places you can find in Koramangala, spread across two floors and three rooms. It’s quite obviously a house converted into a restaurant, and a job well done. Music has a huge presence, not just frames adorning the wall, but Floyd, Dire Straits etc playing in the background.

    And now that you have leaned back in your chair and are relaxing to the music, we can finally get to the food. In addition to the regular menu, you might also find a couple of specials on the whiteboard. We decided to start with a couple of soups – French Onion and a Sauteed (?) Mushroom soup. They are served in chai glasses and that means we don’t need to do the by-two routine and can actually try out two soups! I liked the Mushroom soup but that’s because of a bias towards creamy soups. D liked the French Onion soup’s flavours too. We also tried a starter – Southern Fried Chicken Strips with a BBQ dip. The dip turned out to be spicy and excellent and complemented the chicken very well.

    For the main course, we had the Cilantro Chicken in White Sauce and a Lemon Butter Chicken Risotto. The former was easily the winner with the spicy chicken, chilli flakes and the creamy soya sauce coming together very well. The lemon flavour in the Risotto was quite underplayed and therefore a bit on the bland side. It also seemed to have some other flavour involved – dill? For dessert, I asked for a Chocolate Brownie and D got herself a Mango Cheese Cake. The brownie was good though I’d have liked some thicker chocolate sauce. The cheese cake was actually better.

    All of the above cost us just over Rs.550. Smaller soup and dessert portions means that we can try more dishes. The main course/starter dishes portions are standard but the prices more reasonable than what I’ve found elsewhere. They have nailed the consumer understanding – “Indians loving Armani at Rs.99” 🙂 We got around to talking with the manager and she wondered whether getting people in during evenings would be tough. I am sure that with the location, they’ll do well so long as they deliver good food, and told her as much. For now, they have an excellent ambiance, superb food and a very friendly service staff. There is somehow a simple elegance in the entire offering. Thanks to that and their stated philosophy, I am quite a fan and will be a repeat customer for sure. 🙂

    I later did a review for Bangalore Mirror and that can be seen here.

    Veekes and Thomas, 5th Block Jyoti Nivas College Road, (opposite Cuppa) Koramangala, Ph: 80959 85000