Tag: Chinese

  • 13 Spices

    I really would find it difficult to name that many, but hey, its the name of a new restaurant in Koramangala that serves Indian, Chinese and a bit of Continental. Its located right next to erm, Chandni Chowk – yup, that’s in Koramangala too, before Sony World, when coming from the NGV/Forum side. 😀 (map) Parking is not much of a problem, mostly because of Chandni Chowk’s ample resources.

    We reached there by around 7.45, and in about half an hour, the place was full. The ambiance is quite interesting, because its as though they had lounge/fine dining in mind – colours, furniture, decor, and then realised that it’d be a more regular restaurant. So its now brightly lit, with a red/white/black decor and decent use of the available small space, though the wall to wall cushioned seating means that the space between tables is minimal.

    Though the menu has three cuisine options, its not really exhaustive on any front, but having said that, it does offer a lot of options in the Indian and Chinese portions. The former has half a dozen veg starters, more than double that in the non veg section (chicken, mutton, fish and prawns), plenty of gravy options in veg and non-veg and biriyani/roti/naan/kulcha to go with it. The Chinese section has soups, starters and about half a dozen options each in veg and non veg dishes, and rice/noodles. The Continental part consists of a few salad and pasta options. Its closer to ‘also there’ than a specialty, at least in terms of number options. We decided to go with the Indian part, the soup being the only exception – to keep the Chinese happy.

    The Lemon Coriander soup was delicious, but I think they should have one of those ‘red-colour-chilli warnings’ for unsuspecting folk. Actually for the suspecting folk too – I, for example,  have this very silly habit of adding pepper before I have even tasted it. You’ll like this one if you like your soups really spicy. The coriander part was slightly subdued though, and a chilli flavour somehow dominated, I thought. But I’d still recommend it, just don’t take the name seriously.

    Next, we tried the Malai Machili tikka. This one gets very high marks for presentation. The fish is Hamoor (Arabian Fish – Hamour says the web) and it did seem marginally different from my other fishy acquaintances. The cream marinade was really good, and the only suggestion I’d make is to have a stronger mint chutney to go with it, so that it can complement the dish better.

    We started the main course with a Murg Khandari, an onion and chilli kulcha, and a masala kulcha. We chose the chicken dish because its description claimed a unique mix- pomegranate juice, curd, brown onion paste, and tomato puree. It proved to be unique in taste too – tangy with a sweet kick in the end, thanks to the pomegranate seed, I think. The masala kulcha was decent, but the other one barely had any chillies, so wasn’t much fun.

    Though the portion sizes were quite decent, we were still hungry, and decided to try the second chicken dish we had noted earlier – Murg Badam Pasanda, with a cheese kulcha. Calories be damned. The Badam pasand was creamy and finger-licking good in that slightly sweet way that white gravies have (though this one is more yellow). The kulcha was only just about okay though. In between we also had a regular lassi because though there was  a mango lassi listed, we were told that it was (canned) juice based, not fresh. The lassi was topped with badam and had what we thought was a vanilla essence flavour. Slightly thin for our liking, but reasonable enough. We skipped desserts since the options were the usual ice cream based suspects.

    The service is very prompt, and though we thought our second chicken dish would take time (since we placed the order much later), they actually got it soon enough for the meal to be seamless – surprising because the crowd had picked up by then. The place is quite small – enough for you to see what people at most of the other tables are eating, but despite that constraint, they have done a decent job. All of the above cost us less than Rs.700. So its definitely worth a visit, for good food and excellent service.

    13 Spices, #898, 80ft Main Road, 6th Block, Koramangala. Ph: 40953881

    Menu and Photos at Zomato

  • Delicacy

    There’s no dearth of tiny value-for-money Chinese joints in Koramangala. But we read quite some good things about Delicacy and decided to have Chinese for Diwali, though I’m still bugged about Arunachal Pradesh. And that’s how we landed up at Delicacy. Its right opposite Kolkata, and for the lazy ones, from the Sony world on Koramangala 100 ft Road, head towards 1st Block (i.e turn left when coming from Indiranagar) At the next junction, where you have a Liberty showroom (on your left) and Tanishq /Silsila on your right, take a left, and then the first left. You’ll find Delicacy on your, yep, you guessed erm right, on your left. Chinese, remember? 😀

    As all the reviews said, this is not exactly the place you’d go for fine dining. Its a place so tiny, you wouldn’t believe it if you saw it. But having said that, its probably the best space utilisation I’ve seen, they’ve managed to fit in half a dozen tables without making it seem congested. Quite comfortable too, actually. But its the food we came for. And they welcomed us with some fried wontons, with a sweet sauce.

    The place serves a bit of Thai too, in addition to the regular Chinese. There are almost 20 soups, most of which have a veg (Rs.55)/non-veg (chicken Rs.60)/sea food option (Rs.65). In addition to the regular stuff, you can also find Pepper Lemon Soup, Laksa Kai soup, and the one we ordered – Delicacy Special Soup. We checked if it was a thick soup before ordering, and were told it was, but when it did land up, it turned out to be a thin soup. The person who’d taken our order apologised and took it inside to change it. It came back in a few minutes, ever so slightly thicker. Heh. Since it was quite tasty, we didn’t feel it was necessary to complain. 😀

    We didn’t actually plan for Momos, but having seen them on the menu, it was difficult to ignore. So we ordered a plate of pan fried chicken momos, and since there were more than a dozen options each of veg (Rs.65/70), chicken(Rs.80-110), and sea food starters (fish, prawns and crab at Rs.110), we had to try at least one, and that turned out to be Spicy Fish with Red Chilly. There was a flood of momos, actually a dozen of them, and quite tasty ones, especially with the sauce given along with them. The fish was awesome, hot and sweet kind, and I’d highly recommend it. We were almost stuffed by then, and we still had the main course left.

    We’d ordered a Sliced Chicken ‘N’ Pickle Chilly sauce (from a huge list of veg, chicken and sea food options at Rs.70, 90, 110 respectively) and a Butter Noodles. There are about 25 options among rice/noodles/chopsuey with all of them having a veg/chicken/sea food option. (Rs.60-100) The Butter noodles was excellent, but we could’ve chosen a better chicken dish.

    All of the above cost us just over Rs.400. Great food, excellent service, and absolute value for money. Even if you don’t want to do a sit-down meal, you should at least try the take away/ home delivery.

    Delicacy, #971/C, Ground Floor, ST Bed, Koramangala, 4th Block. Ph: 41753636/7/25502233

    Menu at Zomato

  • Ping

    Closed down

    Ever since we turned the corner- just off the Intermediate Ring Road, that is, and saw the place a couple of weeks back, its been on the pending list. Ping serves chinese cuisine and the specialty of the place is the variety of Dim Sum. So if you’re the kind that demands Momo, then its worth checking out. Ping is on the one way leading from the Intermediate Ring Road (Koramangala) towards Empire, Paramount, William Penn etc. After you turn right from the Ring Road (at Sukh Sagar/Kotak Bank), you’ll see it on the right. Parking two wheelers won’t be a problem, and there’s valet parking for those with double those wheels.

    The name is “derived from the Chinese character ‘Ping’ which means the best, of the highest standard and applies to food, clothing, attitude, a person’s bearing or stature…It also refers to the stuffing inside a Dim sum.” Ping has a/c and non a/c seating, and an outdoor option for ‘The Dessert Bay’, which has stone seats. I quite liked the ambience – different sections even within the non a/c section, very comfortable seating, and table options which are non intrusive. Not too many bright colors, muted lighting, and overall makes one comfortable. We got there by around 7.30, without reservations, and got a good table, but by 8 the place was nearing full capacity. We saw quite a few groups with kids, it figures- they have a Kids menu.

    This is one of those few nice places with their entire menu card online. Saves me so much work. You can check it out here. Though we had decided to try out at least two types of dim sum, we erm, chickened out, after we saw the soup options. The ‘Cilantro flavoured egg drop soup with chicken dimsum’ sounded too good to resist. We were told that the soup would take about 10 mins. Before we got the soup, we were served a complimentary Amuse Bouche. (fried wonton with a tangy-sweet lemon sauce) The soup came before scheduled time, and was thick and delicious. Highly recommended. And then there were dimsums and dimsums to choose from. After much thought, we finally settled on a “Lotus Leaf Sticky Parcels with Chicken and Shitake”. There are lots of options, for veggies, and for those who prefer consuming aquatic life. If its a large group, I think the veg/non veg platter would be a good option. The dim sum arrived quite a bit late, but thankfully the steamed combination of sticky rice, chicken and shitake wrapped in a lotus leaf was worth the wait. It was marginally spicy too, both of us liked it. The only minor problem was that one portion had 3 parcels, and splitting it evenly is quite cumbersome. 😐

    For the main course, we asked for a Seven Flavor Chicken, “Wok tossed chicken flavoured with lemon grass, roasted peanuts, chillies, hoisin sauce, basil, young ginger and bell pepper” and along with it Dragon Noodles, “Shanghai style noodles with mushrooms and spinach in spicy chilly sauce”. The chicken dish was indeed unique, but the noodles actually brought tears to D’s eyes. No, not sorrow/ecstasy etc, just the chilli dose, but we still thought it was fantastic. Highly recommended if you like spicy stuff.

    Dessert Bay is a bit of a disappointment. Though it sports a separate menu card, the choices are a few mocktails, iced teas, ice cream combinations (some good ones, though) and a few pastry mousse options. So we managed to keep desset temptations at bay.

    The meal cost us just over Rs.850, including a service charge of 7%. Its definitely worth a visit for a unique chinese cuisine, and pleasant and prompt service, except for that one delay.

    Ping restaurant & Dessert Bay, #130, 1st Cross, 5th Block, koramangala Ph: 41329357, 41521773

    Menu and Photos at Zomato

  • Popsies

    Popsies had been figuring a lot in conversations these days, so when we got in the mood for some Chinese food for lunch, we decided to ditch our incumbent favourite – China Pearl, and try out Popsies, which it seems, has been around in Koramangala, since forever. (hangs head down in shame, loss of face at not discovering joint in own backyard). Here’s a map that will tell you exactly how to get there. Its just off the one way leading from the Intermediate Ring Road towards Empire, JNC, William Penn etc. On that road, take a left after Empire (opp Chung Wah), and you’ll find Popsies on your right. Parking on that road is iffy, so you can use the parking lot right next to Empire.

    An inconspicuous door leads you into the lively place that, I think, would always be teeming with the college crowd. It was, when we went in, but thankfully, we just about managed to get a table. The seating is quite comfortable, though, on a neatness scale, the place would only be just above average. There’s a whole lot of bamboo in the decor, and the arrangements are such that each table is quite unobtrusive.

    The menu has quite a lot of options – appetizers (only chicken and fish though), soups (veg and chicken mostly), rolls and wanton, momos; veg, chicken and seafood (fish, crab, prawn) options for the main course and a flood of chopsuey, rice and noodles.

    A lazy, cool Sunday afternoon, so we had to start with a soup. We asked for a thick soup and the Manchow was suggested. It turned out to be piping hot and extremely good. The place is best known for the momos, so we asked for a  portion of Steamed Szechwan Chicken Momos. Once again, luckily, a good choice, though D liked it more than i did. One portion has 10 large pieces, so might want to finish this before you order the main course. 🙂

    For the main course, we ordered a Chilly fish (with gravy), Chicken butter garlic fried noodles, and influenced by the decor, a Chicken mixed veg mushroom and bamboo shoot gravy. Though the portions were really XL, the quality of food was not that great. The best of the lot was definitely the chilly fish. I wouldn’t recommend the chicken gravy, unless you’re a fan of blandness. The experiment I did with the chillies in vinegar worked moderately well, though. The fried noodles didn’t have that liberal dose of butter that we’re normally used to.

    All of the above cost us just less than Rs.400. In terms of quantity – value for money, its difficult to beat this place. The soup, the momos and the chilly fish were quite good, but the other two dishes didn’t really deliver.

    Popsies, No: 11, Industrial Layout, Koramangala. Ph: 65659336

  • Cafe Y

    Yes, before you wise ones point it out, the name does elicit a feeling of connectedness with the blog. You can guess y. 🙂

    We’d heard about Cafe Y and ‘filed’ it for the future when we were returning from ‘Something Fishy‘, but we never managed to remember it when the dine out question arose, until D did this weekend. Cafe Y is on Langford Road, very close to the Hosur Road – Langford Road junction, but its a one way (no entry from Hosur Road until that morning when Bangalore’s traffic cops have their next mood swing), so you’ll need to take the right turn after that junction and loop back. Parking is available on the side road right next to it.

    We hadn’t reserved in advance since we planned to go early – and we turned out to be only the second group at 7.45. By about 8.30, there were several other groups though. There are a couple of seating options outside, very close to the road, but could work well on a breezy night. We chose to sit inside. The yellow-red decor is worth mentioning. Its pleasant and bright and yet somehow lends an amount of coziness to the functional design. In addition to the main Continental menu, they’re also now offering a Chinese one. The latter is not exactly exhaustive, but has decent options of soups, starters, and main course dishes in both veg and non veg, and yes, desserts too.

    Now, the continental menu, that’s what I’d call fairly exhaustive. There are no less than 14 soup options (and thats after counting ‘creams’-of which there are multiple options as a single option) and a lot of them are different from the usual suspects we see around – ranging from the regular minestrone, mulligatawny and consommes to Hungarian Goulash, Scotch Broth, seafood chowder, and some good options in veg too – for instance, I’ve never come across a Gazpacho before. We decided on a Fragrant Chicken soup, which is a “chicken flavoured cream soup with pasta seasoned with fresh lime, mild chilli and chicken”. It turned out to be an excellent thick soup with a unique flavour, actually flavours, though you wouldn’t call the chilli mild, but hey, I’m not complaining. Loved it!!

    There are salads too, and an option to make your own from choices of vegetables, meats and dressing. And what has been referred to in the menu as ‘Sidewalk’, which could serve as side munchies as well as starters – veg and non veg, priced at Rs.55 and Rs.80-125 respectively. The ‘stuffed tuna in pepper’ and ‘chicken liver pate’ have been duly noted for future consumption. 🙂

    For the main course, you could choose from a variety of sizzlers – you have the option of creating your own in this too. Choices of veg, and all sorts of animal life – lamb, beef, pork, chicken and a couple of seafood options too!! Sigh. And then there are the ‘Fusion Flare sizzlers’ – that come in veg and non veg. Ever seen a “Corriander and jeera rice served with chicken katti roll and Indian curry sauce”? There’s also a special ‘Kiddies menu’ and a whole assortment of bakes too – lasagna, sausage moussaka, and so on. And then the plethora of steaks which give you a high. This was the only part of the meal that left me disturbed – a couple of pork dishes, a few beef ones, and many chicken ones, I love all of the animals in question equally – okay, some more than others, but had to forsake dishes made of them when I made my final choice for the main course, after long and intense deliberation. I promise to return.

    I ordered a Chicken Olivia, “grilled chicken served on a bed of sphagetti and topped with tomato, basil sauces, olives and fried egg” and D chose a King Chicken Americano, “crumb fried breast of chicken with a stuffing of mushroom, olives and parsley served with BBQ sauce, french fries and assorted vegetables”. The dishes remained true to the fantasy that their descriptions had created. The sauces were excellent, the quanities were perfectly sufficient, and the flavours somehow retained their uniqueness even while complementing each other.

    Now, the blueberry cheesecake here has quite a reputation, but I’m quite a blinkered horse when I see a Chocolate Mousse on the menu. And as i type this, I close my eyes in fond memory of that awesome piece of work. It was rich, with that tiny hint of better that (for me) takes a choc mousse to another level.

    The nice part is that all of this leaves one full without that bloated feeling, and one’s wallet without that thin feeling. All of the above cost us just over Rs.600. The service, while efficient, could do with more smiles. They did give us a wide smile after we paid the bill though which left me wondering what was it about me that made them think that I might not. Still, Cafe Y moves quite easily into our list of favourites on all fronts – ambience, food, value for money, and yes, skills with chocolate. 😀

    Cafe Y, 2/2, Langford Town. Ph: 41144561

    Menu at Zomato