Tag: favourite

  • Bak Bak Bar

    the bak bak appeared on Bangalore Mirror first

    The place has a bakstory – the Manchester United Restaurant and Bar. But after its game ended, the buck was passed on to Bak Bak Bar on Children’s Day in 2011. (map and menu at Zomato) It belongs to the same group as Bakasur, and even if you miss the mention at the door, you might find an odd stirrer or two that have the Bakasur motif. But there ends the connection. The theme stays true to the name, sometimes in the form of good advice – “Don’t walk into a bar. Use the door instead” (though the poster is inside) – and sometimes as great conversation starters – “Avoid nuts. You are what you eat.” Coasters, posters, plates, bak bak is all over the place. A special mention needs to be made of the music – from Modern Talking to Peter Andre to Coldplay, it seemed to be a soundtrack of an average 30 year old’s life! The volume level is generally toned down to allow bak bak, but Saturdays are a loud exception! But enough bak bak, and on to the bar and the rest.

    It’s difficult to slot the menu into the regular starters, main course silos, so we’ll just proceed in the order of consumption and move to the next section at half time! The drinks have amazing names – mostly popular culture characters! It was difficult to believe that Captain Jack Sparrow was a mocktail, but even then it was more entertaining than Mary Poppins. We also tried Princess Leia. Yes, that does sound wrong given that she’s an (ahem) icon among males, and unfortunately, we found her lack of taste disturbing! Since the idea was to pig out, we began with ‘Porkalicious. Though the meat was well cooked, it was a bit bland given that it was supposed to have a green chilli presence. The Beef Kheema Pav made up for it though and was probably the best of the starters. In close contention was the Prawn Pesto cutlet, though we felt that the signature gunpowder mayonnaise that came with it did not live up to gunpowder standards. We’d also tried the Spiced Beef Baklet earlier, and it wasn’t bad either. The PCP (Perfect Citrus Potatoes) had an excellent masala coating, but (thankfully) was not as addictive as its more famous acronym. The Lemongrass Fish steamed riceballs were really strong on flavours, and if you find that too overpowering, its dip is a real help. The Chicken Sausage Kalimirch is usually a safe bet, but during this visit, was lacking in spice.

    The Monk-Flamed Chicken provided some flambé entertainment, but was more or less a flame out. The Mushroom Tikki ‘bakwich’ was also very mediocre and it was only the Beef Burger (with the bacon contributing generously) which brought some respite. The patty scored well on texture and flavour, though it was a task to ignore the over-excited lettuce leaves which was forever trying to get in the way! The Lamb Seekh ‘Bak Wrap’ failed to evoke any extreme reaction and played a decent supporting role. The star though was the Chicken Roulade with Makhni sauce. The cheese filling was subtle and allowed the Makhni sauce to shine. The only tiny chink was the strong mustard flavour in the mashed potato. We had tried the Butter Chicken pizza (yes, you heard that right!) the first time we dropped in, and it was awesome, but the second time, it was a huge disappointment thanks to its unavailability!

    The writing was on the wall (actually a plate, but you get the message) “Exercise is good, but desserts taste better” So we tried everything that was available. The chocolate easily won – Ganache Tart with Badam Milk sauce, though the latter was ignored. The second half of Apple Pie with Pista Kulfi was a favourite as well, and if they had been less stingy with the Caramel Rum Sauce, the vanilla ice cream would have left us in high spirits as well! The Apricot Meetha Pastry couldn’t really match up to the other performances.

    In terms of price, for about Rs.2000, you could share a cocktail, a couple of non veg starters and main course dishes each dishes and a dessert. (Inclusive of taxes and service charge) But beyond that, Bak Bak Bar serves oodles of character – from the liberally strewn fun messages to the yellow cycle. The food they served was not stellar, but it doesn’t make you go ‘What the bak’ either. There’s a definite buzz about the place, and courtesy that, and the Bak Bak meter (a bill holder) that thankfully doesn’t do a one-and-a-half, an extra point.

    Bak Bak Bar & Restaurant, #1, Kira Layout, Hosur Main Road, Ph: 8792000390/1

  • Bangalore Bistro

    We’ve been fans of the Bangalore Bistro on Brigade Road since the first time we had a meal there. Back then, we’d heard that it used to be originally on Cunningham Road. And that’s where we found it this time – in a building opp Fortis/Fun Cinemas, on the top floor. You can find the menu and map on Zomato. There are parking spaces on and off Cunningham Road, so it shouldn’t be very difficult to find a spot.

    The restaurant has indoor and alfresco options, and we chose the latter. A table that gave us a good view of Cunningham Road, so we didn’t miss the earlier Bistro. 🙂 There is a sense of old world charm that the place used to exude and that has been kept intact. We decided on a ‘Chicken Vol en Vents’ for starters, and then learned that there were soups available, though they weren’t on the menu. We also asked for a Kit Kat Shake, which arrived first. This one was a little disappointing – lots of milk, and only some Kit Kat. Compared to the versions at The Chocolate Room or even Boca Grande, this was a really poor country cousin.

    Thankfully, the Cream of Chicken soup made up for the disappointment – not very thick or creamy, but tasty nevertheless. The chicken starter – with smoked and creamy chicken on a crusty pastry – was also quite decent, though a tad bland.

    For the main course, we asked for a Smokin’ Guns and a Honey Chilli Roast Chicken sizzler. The former was a baked dish and had chicken sausages and (pieces of ) a breast of chicken and a faint egg-like flavour. Quite liked it. The sizzler was hot, and it wasn’t just the temperature! The chilli was strong in this one, and though the honey put up a brave fight, it was no match, and even the flavoured rice with its mild tang could only do so much! Highly recommended if you can handle spice.

      

    We really would’ve liked to try out the desserts, but were completely stuffed. The service was friendly and jovial, and quite prompt as well, despite a T20 match in progress. We gained a few pounds and felt lighter by just over Rs.1650, including a service charge. The new version managed to keep Bistro in our favourites list and was worth the journey across town. 🙂

  • The Algebra of Infinite Justice

    Arundhati Roy

    For a few years now, I have heard everyone – from sections of media to people in my social stream call Arundhati Roy everything from a Naxalite lover to a development hater to a deranged person, the last instance during the happenings in Kashmir. In fact, these days whenever there’s an issue of national interest with a scope for polarised opinions, I find many people asking about her take, just so they can heap more ridicule. And though I have never really been a fan of her award winning work of fiction, I have admitted to myself, and to a few of my friends, that I have found it difficult to objectively fault her arguments. After reading this book, I have realised why it is easy to hate her – she holds up a mirror in front of us, the kind of mirror that tells us how our apathy and desire to follow the path of least resistance is responsible for the larger problems we see around us.

    And she does that not just in some moral high ground, philosophising sort of way. She does so with historical perspectives and economical contexts and most importantly, hard data. And therefore, it is not easy to ignore her when she talks about the Narmada Bachao Andolan, the costs of what we call progress and the greater common good, the background games played behind the ‘developmental’ activities we see around us, America’s war against terror, the beginnings of fascism in India and how all of these are linked. The writer in her is in full flow, using sarcasm and wit to telling effect, to (ironically) show the seriousness of the issue. There is something very vulnerable about her when she talks about her dislike for the ‘writer-activist’ label.

    So the next time, I hear something said against her, I am going to ask the person if he/she has read this book. They may not agree with her, but at least this will give them perspective and basis their interest, they can look for counter arguments. What I seek from them is exactly what I seek from myself – an acknowledgment of one’s own role in the issues of today and developing the strength to not look away.

  • The Pregnant King

    Devdutt Pattanaik

    ‘The Pregnant King’ is Devdutt Pattanaik’s first work of fiction, in which he takes the story of Yuvanashva and distorts the timeframes to juxtapose it with characters in the Mahabharata, whereas in reality, the tale of Yuvanashva is recounted twice in the epic, as one predating it by many generations.

    Yuvanashva’s tale is special in at least two ways – it involves his mother Shilavati who possesses all the qualities to be a king, but cannot, only because she is a woman and Yuvanashva himself, king of Vallabhi, who accidentally drinks a potion meant for his queens (for them to become pregnant) and gives birth to a son. Is he the child’s father or mother, that is the answer Yuvanshva seeks. By bringing in various characters like Shikhandi, born a girl, but who uses a Yaksha’s masculinity to become a man, Somvat, who becomes Somvati during the course of a night by exchanging his gender with the yaksha, Arjuna, who lives for a year as a woman courtesy Urvashi’s curse, Ileshwara/i whose gender changes with the moon’s cycles and Adi-natha himself, seen as a hermit and a nymph, the author manages to not just show the nature of gender roles but also gives profound perspectives on dharma – its rigidity and fluidity, the dynamic nature of matter and the static nature of the soul, its various symbolism, and ‘the imperfection of the human condition’.

    This is an amazing read, and that’s not just because I am really interested in mythology. Ancient in origin, and contemporary in narration, the questions it raises belong to a different era and yet manifest themselves now in another form.

  • The Egg Factory – JP Nagar

    It’d been a while since we went the eggstra mile for a meal. Since we had liked the St.Marks Road version quite a bit, it was an easy decision to make. The landmark, when you’re on Outer Ring Road (from Bannerghatta Road towards Kanakpura Road) is Mast Kalandar on your side of the road. Opposite that is an HPCL Petrol Pump. The Egg Factory is right next to Mast Kalandar. Sounds easy, we missed it! Had to call for directions, oh the shame for a guy! 😐 There is a parking lot adjacent to it too.

    We took one of the seats outside, not really facing the road – those were taken – but good enough for us. There was a notice on the door that said that they were short of staff and we should be patient in case there were minor delays. The menu continues to be the awesome instruction-manual style, though many items seem to have been added. Zomato has a menu, but it seems incomplete. We started with a Morning Burst, though it was just past noon. Being Sunday, I’m sure timings can be relaxed. 😀 Though there was a promise of orange, it was all Banana, but we didn’t really mind. The range of dishes on the menu ensured that there was a lot of debate before ordering.

    In the end, we asked for 3 items and had a fourth in mind in case we had any appetite left, after allocating space for a chocolate dessert we had spied. The Akoorie (Classic Parsi Scramble) arrived first, and was a pretty picture with Amul butter and Kissan packaging adding more colour. It was the right amount of ‘gooey’ for me, and just the exact amount of spice too! We accepted the Amul help, but didn’t need Kissan at all! The Huevos Supremo arrived even before we could finish this. This stuffed omelette with garlic bread combination had a superb tang to it and some chilies, and the brown sauce (baked beans in it too?) complemented it very well. The last to arrive was the Eggs & Mushroom Ragout Penne – the sauce was thick and creamy, a bit thicker than I’d have liked it, and quite bland. A dash of pepper helped. The 4 Chilli Omelette was what we had in mind, but we were too stuffed and the Choco-sin had to be consumed! That cylindrical awesomeness of mousse, cream and a crunchy, biscuit-y base turned out to be a great finish to a splendid meal.

     

     

    The bill came to just less than Rs.600 and was totally worth it! That delay they were talking about in the notice never really happened. The dishes arrived really fast! There are so many things to try here that we’ll definitely be back. I liked this outlet more than the St.Marks Road one mostly because the outdoor seating gave it an extra relaxed feel that specially works a charm on lazy Sundays.

    The Egg Factory, 288, Ground Floor, 15th Cross, 18th Main, Opposite HP Petrol Pump, 5th Phase, JP Nagar. Ph: 40124848