Tag: Indian

  • Barbeque Factory

    Remember El Tablao, the Spanish restaurant on 80 ft Road? Well, in case you have second thoughts about a new cuisine when you get to the building, climb to the next floor, and you reach Barbeque Factory, which serves Indian cuisine. Here’s the map, if you aren’t familiar with Koramangala. There’s basement parking, so you aren’t troubled much on that account.

    The ‘factory’ makes an appearance only in the name, and there is no specific theme to the restaurant. The kid area, not always found in Bangalore restaurants, is worth a mention. The interiors manage to exude warmth though, and  you could enjoy a view of the busy 80 feet Road below. There’s Buddha painting too, in case you need to feel even more elevated. 🙂

    The menu begins with a veg shorba and fresh fruits, and quickly moves into a collection of kababs – five each in veg and non veg. We began well with the Cream of Tomato soup, mildly spicy and flavourful. The boneless Fish Tikka, though not Zaffrani as indicated in the menu, was cooked to perfection, and the group’s favourite starter. The Mutton Seekh, again not part of the day’s menu, but seemingly a replacement for the Boti Kabab, was a close second. The Shikampuri kababs lacked the slightly crispy exterior, though the mutton version was slightly better than its veg counterpart. The Murg Tikkas were also not the best we’ve had. The obvious indicator of the kababs’ quality was that, despite the unlimited offering, only the fish tikka and the mutton seekh made it to the second round of kabab consumption. Chaas is served throughout the meal and before we enter the main course, there is a Honey Paratha interlude. The Honey Paratha was appreciated for a well managed sweet-salt combination.

    The main course consists of rotis, a selection of veg curries and a non veg curry and a choice of veg/chicken biriyani. Neither the Aloo Mutter nor the Dal Tadka showed any inclination to enliven the meal. The Biriyani was totally ignored as it was quite dry and lacking in masala too. The finale was a collection of three desserts and Badam Milk. Thankfully, though commonly found fare, the Gulab Jamun, Semiya Kheer and even the Badam Milk ensured that the desserts section was well represented. The meal ended well with slices of mango presented, for a change, in a cocktail glass and an excellent maghai paan.

    Friendly staff, but they were quite clueless about what they were serving. They also needed a couple of reminders for getting us a kabab refill. The owner was around though, and he could be seen going to every table and courteously soliciting feedback.

    The prix fixe (set menu) has the vegetarian version priced at Rs. 399 and the non vegetarian at Rs. 499, both inclusive of tax, and introductory. Alcohol is available only in the form of wine. The selection of kababs varies on a daily basis. While this might seem value-for-money and Barbeque Factory does have a few things going for it, the location has no dearth of gastronomic choices. The restaurant should probably focus a bit more on the food if they want to ensure that people baar baar barbeque.

    Barbeque Factory, Lotus 612/1, 80 feet Road, 4th Block, Koramangala, Bangalore 560034, 41505325

  • O! Ustaad

    This review was first published in Bangalore Mirror. This is a much modified account.

    Thanks to the Gateway Hotel, you could end your gastronomic journey on Residency Road with ‘Arre huzoor, wah Taj boliye’. But in case you were wondering how to begin, you now have hope, in the form of O! Ustaad, at the other end. This is right after the St.Marks Road/Residency Road junction and placed under a certain Purple Haze, literally. Here’s a map. (the arrow mark is the right location) Parking should not be too difficult, since you have Hayes Road/ Convent Road also nearby.

    O! Ustaad claims to be an ‘asli Indian restaurant’, serving you the best fare from Lucknow to Mumbai and Delhi to Konkan with nazakat and nafasat, but we journeyed from the delight of Wah! Ustaad to the despair of Waah! Ustaad.

    This is one of the places where you shouldn’t go by outside appearances, because though the frontage might seem a tad dingy, the interior is bright and peppy. O! Ustaad definitely serves up an attitude and has a penchant for wordplay, judging from ‘Facebhook’ and ‘LaLoo’. The photographs of street food, and an eclectic mix of music from Junoon to classic rock, all add up to a unique character. So much for the mahaaul, now for the real haul.

    The menu may not be spread over a lot of pages, but it covers much ground in terms of geography. Kebabs from Lucknow, fish dishes from Goa and Bengal, vegetarian fare from Himachal and Punjab, and Old Delhi specialities, together ensure that both vegetarians and meat eaters are kept happy. Add to this the uniqueness of many of the items and the day’s special dishes and you’ll find that there’s no dearth of choice. Take a look. (click for larger image)

    From the 3 starters we tried, the Mutton Kulfi (one of the Day’s specials) was easily the best. The combination of melt-in-the-mouth mutton and a green chilly laden coating made it a unanimous favourite. The two starters we ordered from the regular menu were disappointing. The Pondicherry Bullet Paneer had no proof about the bullet or Pondicherry, and one of my friends had to be pacified as she felt she’d been conned into buying a Paneer Pakoda! The accompanying honey-lime dip didn’t make a good combination either. The ‘famous’ Chicken Salli Kebab was more potato than chicken.

    Himachali Dhingri Dhulma Lucknowi Gosht Korma Prawn Malai curry Bengali style Anda Paratha

    In the main course, the ones that impressed were the Murgh Khatte Pyaaz, with its unique gravy of vinegar soaked onions, pepper and yogurt, and the Himachali Dhingri Dhulma, with mushroom, capsicum and paneer in a slightly spicy gravy. The Lucknowi Gosht Korma, though decent, was lost in the bargain. The Anda Paratha is definitely worth a try too, and though the Gobi Paratha had an extra helping of chillies, it was still reasonably good, as was the Aloo Paratha. The Prawn Malai curry Bengali style had an excellent creamy gravy which was ruined by the overcooked, rubbery prawns. The Chicken Nasi biriyani, which was another Day’s special, was, as one of my friends put it, Tomato rice with chicken. Somewhere in the kitchen, a cooking oil well has been discovered, judging by the liberal usage. Though the menu lists 4 desserts, which we were eager to try, we were told that they weren’t available. The apple and chocolate pies we were offered instead were both quite avoidable.

    The service was quite prompt, and Jitesh, who looks after the Bangalore outlet, did a good job of helping us choose the dishes, especially since the day’s specials didn’t have explanations. O!Ustaad is worth a visit when you’re in that part of town.  A meal for two would cost about Rs.800. Though some of the dishes fell short of expectations, the uniqueness of the menu and a cheerful ambiance should make up for the shortfall. They also have lunch buffets which seemed reasonably priced.

    O! Ustaad, Below Purple Haze, 17/1, Residency Road, Bangalore – 560025 Ph: 080 41518147

  • 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

  • Rolls United

    No, its not a post on my stomach, and the consolidated er, six pack. Rolls United is a restaurant in Koramangala 1st block. You can find the map here. (its actually at the corner where the road takes a natural right, when coming from the 1st Block junction). Parking shouldn’t be too difficult since there are many side lanes nearby. Note that its on the same road as Cafe Thulp, so don’t look to the left. Distraction would be easy, as our friend Eveline would agree. 🙂

    The ambiance is pleasant and unpretentious, and somehow conveys a homely warmth. Of course, I am a bit biased because in the roll of honour (‘rolls united’ in various languages), there’s a separate panel added at the end for Malayalam. 😀 I must admit that I always thought the place was only about rolls, until I read a few Burrp reviews. It is a lot about rolls, but as the menu (below) would suggest, there are other things that play a role too. This is the home delivery menu (below – click for larger image), and in addition to this, they also have quite a collection of mocktails. (You can find that here  – page 7 onwards)

    1 2

    3 4

    Though the reviews at Burrp had mentioned large portions, the soups and starters were too tempting for us to ignore either. We started with a Cream of Chicken soup, which was so good that I think it worked on the soul too, as some book titles would suggest. It was very creamy, with a sweet tinge to it (coconut cream/milk?) and loads of chicken chunks and mushrooms. I think its the best we’ve had in a long time. Up next was the ‘Quesadilla con Pollo’, which is ‘baked cheese dish with chicken and bell pepper, served with sour cream and salsa’. Another good choice, though 1 slice (out of 4) had a goeey base. The sour cream complements the taste, though I felt it could’ve been more spicy. The salsa didn’t help on that front either, but the dish is good enough to still warrant a try.

    For the main course, we ordered a Siberian Pelmeni, “Russian favourite pasta poaches with the mixture of mutton and chicken that melts in your mouth together with the spicy paprika sauce and original Russian salad” and a Surf & Turf, “stir fried fish rolled in an egg sheet”. The former seemed to be the Russian version of momos, and while it did indeed melt in the mouth, it was a bit too bland for my taste. The sauce served was definitely not paprika. The fish dish was much better, mildly spicy, and was served with french fries and vegetables. The fries weren’t that great though. I have a feeling that we chose perhaps the wrong dishes. All of the above cost us a little less than Rs.500.

    I’d still ask you to give it a shot. The soup was excellent, the starter was good too, and there are enough choices in the menu for you to experiment with. The service is very good, maybe you could ask them for a bit of help in selecting the right stuff. They also have executive lunch combos, which, on paper, looked like great value for money.

    Rolls United, #15, 1st Main Road, 1st Block, Koramangala. Ph: 41314847

    Menu at Zomato