A while ago, on a brewery darshan tour in South Bangalore, we had visited The Pump House in JP Nagar, and instantly loved the vibe, and the beer. We were thrilled therefore, when sometime last year, we saw their signage in Whitefield while on our way to er, another brewery! A few days later, we dropped in, though they hadn’t started brewing then. Raining on the parade literally happened, and thanks to their teething issues being exacerbated by the rain, our experience was less than meh. But when there’s craft beer involved, there’s always a second chance. And this time we took friends along. Why suffer alone!
Thanks to the traffic nightmare that Bangalore is, it is becoming increasingly difficult to dine out unless you set out from home immediately after lunch. On a relative note, Sunday noon is a safe enough time to venture out. We had seen Ishaara on a recent visit to Phoenix Marketcity, and chose a gloomy, overcast Sunday when we hoped few others would want to get out of the house.
If you’re here for the wooden bridge located in Srinagar that crosses the Jhelum river, sorry! Perhaps my search optimisation is finally working. This is about Habba Kadal, the Kashmiri restaurant in Whitefield, Bangalore. Though it has been around for at least a year, we chanced upon it only very recently, thanks to a conversation with neighbours. We reflected that our gluttonous days, when we used to actively seek out nearby, and even far-off restaurants, are probably over. But that’s a different subject.
It’s been a while since we did this – both going to a new place, and writing about it. It’s probably the 40s effect – we prefer, and are more comfortable, with known places. And our balcony. Also, the appetite is not what it used to be. Be that as it may, we finally crawled out of our shells and decided to drop in at Sashay, which seems to be part of the The Sulit Whitefield.
The place is fairly large with some outdoor seating, and a few smoking sections. Nothing really extravagant, just understated elegance. Since we are usually early birds, we had the pick of tables, and chose one where we could have a view outside. There weren’t enough smokers around to bother us. The place did get crowded by the time we left, at about 8.
We decided to drop in because the menu on Zomato showed quite some variety, but the restaurant menu was different, with many of the dishes being unavailable. We still enough of choice though. D ordered the gin-based Dream Shine which had orange tart and carrom puree. Since I really couldn’t find any whisky-based drink, I asked if I could get an Old Fashioned. Sanjeev, who took our order, was kind enough to get me one, but they ran out of bitters and the whisky I wanted. So it turned out to be a very compromised drink.
The Cheese Chicken Tikka was everything it promised to be – creamy, with a three cheese sauce that we really liked. The nano parathas provided texture and a bit of spice, so the dish was perfect.
The overall reduction in items does not seem to have affected the Dim Sum section. There were a ton of options to choose from. We finally agreed on the Roasted Pork Pâté. The filling was excellent, but I thought the wrapper could have been a bit thinner.
For mains, the only dish that really appealed to us was something we normally wouldn’t have ordered at a taproom. But the neer dosa – nattu koli saar, which I didn’t remember seeing on the Zomato version of the menu. We really loved the spicy curry, but as D pointed out, you should be fine with coconut milk for you to share that opinion. Around this time, the service staff seemed to change, and Sanjeev disappeared for a bit.
This led to a drop in the overall service quality as well. When we asked for a couple of neer dosas, they gave us six – 2 plates, and when we pointed that out, we were told we could parcel it. Given it was a gravy, we asked whether we could get a finger bowl. Nope. Maybe it had something to do with being called a taproom. Ok, sorry. I then reverted to my 20s attitude, asked for an extra glass, and made my own finger bowl. Not sorry. Sigh.
The bill came to a little over Rs.3300. My whisky was the chief contributor, and I am now even more clear that barring craft beer, I have no business drinking alcohol outside the house! The place has a decent ambience, but the service was patchy. We’re unlikely to drop in again.
P.S. It has been so long that I was impressed by the Inresto software that also told us what people at other tables were having!
We have almost stopped travelling to Bangalore for food, but since my first visit with the office crowd went reasonably well, and we had to find a meeting point half way, the Irish-themed Gawky Goose on Wind Tunnel Road seemed like a good option. It’s a fairly large space with three distinct sections. While the central section has predominantly plush settings with sofas and wing chairs, the two others are outdoor and al-fresco and more like a regular bar. The good part is that none of them really feel congested. And on weekend afternoons, there is a pleasant vibe.
We began with my regular Old Fashioned and a Brandy Sour for D. The only gripe with this was the pricing – quite high for a 30ml. However, since they had an offer running, we hardly paid anything for it!
The food menu is pretty expansive and has a whole lot of cuisines. We began with the Coorgi (sic) Pork that was superbly cooked and had just the right amount of spice. It came with soft Kadambuttu that complemented the taste very well. Up next was the Dan Dan Chicken and Water Chestnut Dim Sum, which had excellent spicy sauce and dim sums with great texture.
Since the first round of dim sum worked, we ordered Chicken & Basil for the kids, and that was a success too. The Kung Pao Chicken was sweet and spicy with Hoisin sauce and Shaoxing sauce, a good break from the flavours thus far. And finally, we tried the Ghee Roast Chicken-stuffed Paddu. I am not a Paddu fan but this I was happy with. I did wonder whether they could have been more experimental than the standard chutney.
We were reasonably stuffed, and tried only a couple of mains. The Spicy Chicken Diavola lived up to its name and the devil-style sauce, though the usual jalapeños were ditched in favour of peri peri sauce, pepper confit, chilli flakes and a topping of arugula. And finally, to calm everything down, we ended with a Grilled Chicken Breast, with red wine jus, Bok Choy and what someone called man-made-cauliflower – broccoli!
A meal for two would be in the Rs.2000-2500 range. The service is prompt, and it’s worth mentioning that they employ at least two visually-impaired folks. That’s worth a clap. The food was quite good, and if it weren’t for the distance, we’d probably drop in again. If you’re looking for something a little different from the vanilla Indiranagar watering holes, this one is it.
