Tag: 12th Main

  • I & Monkey

    D wanted to write this post owing to the title, but my super power is admin rights for this blog. Ha! A rainy, slushy Bangalore night tried to make a monkey out of us, but we stuck to our plan, though it did mean that we  looked like wet monkeys when we arrived at the restaurant on 12th Main Indiranagar. (on the left, when coming from the Sony Center signal on 100 feet Road) Parking – 12th main and those side lanes, you should be fine. If I’m not mistaken, this building used to be the former cricketer Prasanna’s house! Not surprising, the owners would want this to be a money spinner too, like their other venture – Windsor Pub. 😉 We had a reservation, and I didn’t say this aloud so we managed not be thrown out, wet shorts and all. 🙂 Classy lighting, well placed tables and foot tapping music makes for a great ambiance in spite of the mandatory LCD screens.

    Thanks to the reviews we read online, we had a rough idea of what we wanted, though we couldn’t find a menu online. I managed to take a few snaps of the menu, something I’d promised myself I wouldn’t (and rely on Zomato) But there seems to be some perception that the menu is limited. The snaps would prove otherwise. (click for larger image) They also have a well stocked bar and an extensive wine list.

      

      

      

    Though we were drowning under the choices, we asked for a special (not on the regular menu, seems to be a week’s special) – Momo Pork Wopper and very uncharacteristically, and greedily added a second starter – Chargrilled Chicken Fillets. The latter was only because the one we really wanted – the Shikari Style Veddi Erachi was not available. They offered us a close equivalent but that was a more regular dish, so we passed. The pork momos were quite tasty and steamed well, though we’d have liked the sauce to be a bit more spicy. The chicken fillet also had a ‘gunpowder’ filling, which actually ended up adding more texture than spice to the mix. But it’s worth a shot. 🙂

      

    For the main course too, we were spoilt for choice, and it was quite fun to read some of the dish names too – goes well with the quirky name of the restaurant. After much deliberation, we decided to order the Calangute Chicken Bafath. It comes with appams/sannas and as you can see, we chose the latter. The sannas turned out to be quite good, and the gravy, mildly spicy, turned out to be one of the coconut milk based ones that we have a strong liking for. There are many many more dishes which, at least on paper, sound really good, so while this one was quite good, I’d urge you to be adventurous. 🙂 We debated desserts, but there was nothing that really made us sit up and take notice.

    The service is helpful, but does tend to go a bit overboard. For instance, in our feedback form, we said more dessert options would be great. The person who took the order immediately came back and started an extensive survey on what we’d like!

    The meal cost us just over Rs.950, inclusive of service charge and tax. Slightly on the higher side, but worth the occasional visit.

    I & Monkey, 968, 12th Main, HAL 2nd Stage, Indiranagar, Ph: 40923656

  • Phobidden Fruit

    This review was originally published in Bangalore Mirror. Have made  Vietnaam ke vaaste changes to this edition of the Phobidden Fruit review. 🙂

    Phobidden Fruit is on 12th Main Indiranagar and is less than 50m from the Sony junction (with 100 ft Road), going towards Daddy’s Deli. Parking shouldn’t be too much of a problem, there is 12th Main itself and enough smaller side lanes.

    Since the cuisine was specialist, I had the Pho sight to go prepared, and was accompanied by a few Nam ‘veterans’ – Madman, and Prateek and Nithya Dayal. 🙂

    The place is a sort of glorified garage space. But though the ground floor is relatively uninspiring, negotiate the spiral staircase and you’re transported to a cheerful casual dining ambiance with wooden seating and pretty cushions. We got to hear some 80s pop and with the occasional creaking of the dumb waiter, this seemed just the right setting for a relaxed meal.

    The menu offers a bunch of appetisers, and has quite a few options for vegetarians and non vegetarians. In fact, the latter would be spoilt for choice – chicken, beef, clams, pork, prawn, fish, squid, lamb…see? You can take a look at the menu below

    We started quite well. The Banh Xeo, crispy rice crepes with a filling of button mushrooms, onion and sprouts accompanied by a spicy sauce ended up  the favourite, as did the Fresh Spring Roll (Chicken), though Madhu did mention that it might have worked better with rice noodles inside instead of rice, and could have done with some more herb flavour. The Viet Spare Ribs were fairly good too, despite the ribs being stingy on meat.

    After the starters, it was time for the Pho play. The Pho (we tried Beef and Chicken) shared a common broth and the meat was added later, but it’s still a Saigon pick, as is the Viet Red Prawn Curry.

    The Saigon kick was delivered in the form of the Kho that I ordered, salmon cooked in a rich, sweet and spicy caramel sauce. There was notthing to counter the overly sugary sauce. The desserts were also bit of a disappointment. The Coconut Sorbet, while not lacking in flavour, missed out on the texture of a sorbet. The Lemongrass Ice Cream again got the flavour right, but was more like a custard. The Che too seemed to stray from its original version. We tried a Vietnamese Iced Coffee, but instead of the condensed milk and strong coffee that was expected, this turned out to be a much diluted version.

    The service is quite prompt and despite all the tables being full, managed to do a good job without any major trouble.

    All things considered – a catchy name, a relaxed setting, and the possibilities of a unique cuisine, this place deserves a visit. So, if you’re feeling blue, and would like to ginger up your appetite with a new cuisine, but without an astronomic bill, you could try out this Vietnamese gastronomic experience.

    Phobidden Fruit, #965, 12th Main, HAL II Stage, Indiranagar.  Ph: 41255175

    PS: If you’d also like an advanced user review, do read this. (HT: Madman) 🙂

  • Daddy’s Deli

    This rendezvous with Parsi food has been long pending. Daddy’s Deli is a restaurant in Indiranagar that serves Parsi cuisine, and is open only 3 days a week-  lunch and dinner on Friday and Saturday and only lunch on Sunday. Its on 12 th Main Indiranagar, when coming from the Koramangala side, take a left at the 12th Main – 100ft Road junction and go straight till you see the Executive Inn on the left. Its in the same building on the first floor.

    We reserved in advance and though a couple of tables were occupied by 8pm, we could still find a good place. The ambience is excellent, with comfortable seating and cosy corners. Book shelves lined with old Readers Digest issues, and the ancient green soda bottle lend a nice touch.

    Since the place serves (almost) exclusively Parsi food, the menu is quite small, but there are still enough choices for all sorts of -vores. Munching on the complimentary sarias (Parsi rice chips), we decided to start with a plate of brain cutlets, and also wanted a Chicken Liver on Toast, but the latter wasn’t available. So we had to live with that lack of cholesterol, but the crispy on the outside, smooth inside brain cutlet made up for the disappointment. There’s no need to brainstorm on this one, have it!! There are also other starter options like cocktail kababs and Farcha (fried chicken) for the non vegetarians and at least half a dozen veg options.

    For the main course, you could either have dishes like Sali Murghi/Boti/Kheema accompanied with rotli (4 for Rs.30) or go for rice dishes. Thanks to our greed, we ended up ordering a Patra ni Machhi, “fish coated with green chutney and steamed in a banana leaf” and Sali Murghi, “chicken in brown gravy topped with potato crisps” from this set, but decided to skip the rotlis. Instead we ordered a Dhansak, “the all time favourite. A parsi speciality – masala dal with mutton, served with brown rice”. The descriptions were quite disappointing, they really don’t do justice to the food. 😀

    The fish was soft, almost boneless and served with a mint-coconut based chutney. D had to be stopped from finishing the banana leaf too for the chutney particles that stuck on. I loved the chicken dish, and thankfully, it went quite well with the dhan. The mutton-dal combination of the saak was new to us and so we took some time warming up to each other, but we parted as friends. Now before the vegetarians close the page, there were at least 4 options I counted in the rice dishes.

    And thus we come to what we call the main course, and the more ignorant ones call desserts. After much deliberation, we chose a lagan nu custard, ” a Parsi favourite, steamed and baked brown”. Soft, and topped with crisp nuts, this just melted in the mouth and was over very very soon. And then we realised what marital understanding was all about. With no words spoken, except of course, for placing the order,  a Chocolate mousse made its way to the table. Daddy’s Deli – Double Dessert – Parsi for the course!! 🙂

    All of the above cost us Rs.950. Drop in for a homely ambience, very helpful service, and some great food, don’t be parsimonious for once. 😀

    Daddy’s Deli, The Executive Inn, #3289, 12th Main, HAL 2nd Stage, Indiranagar. Ph: 41154372-75