Tag: JP Nagar

  • High Brew

    High Brew is quite far from our standard hunting grounds, and we landed here because of a whimsical ‘staycation’. We needed a Schengen Visa and didn’t want to endure the long distance journey from Whitefield to VFS, JP Nagar with the threat of being late for the appointment. So we decided to make the journey the evening before, stay overnight nearby and walk over in the morning. While searching for a place to dine at, we came across High Brew, and it won out because of one interesting thing.

    The place itself is pretty vast, with three floors of seating. If you reach early on weekend evenings, you might get a view with greenery. I was told we could even see peacocks sometimes, but I am not sure whether that is true, or simply a testament to the quality and/or quantity of beer consumed. We were too late to get those seats, but found ones with the road view that was good enough.

    High Brew

    The interesting thing that got the vote was the High Tide Palm toddy. It was decent, but we didn’t think we wanted 500 ml of it. We also tried the High Cool Cucumber Salt Lager, and made the same verdict. High Smoke (not what you think) was smoky German, and not our kind either. We finally settled for the High Cloud (Hefeweizen) and it was surprisingly good. I think the live music helped too!

    High Brew

    The food menu is pretty standard. The Chetti Omelette sounded intriguing and was tasty enough, but didn’t go far beyond a masala omelette. The Kurpalli chicken was described as fiery but didn’t really get to that level of spice. The Kalpasi pepper Fry also was just passable.

    High Brew

    The bill, thanks to a DineOut discount came to just under Rs.1600 and that’s probably the most I’d pay for the overall experience. Barring the Hef and the live music, High Brew was reasonably meh. Unless you stay in the ‘hood and this is your comfort hangout, I’d give this a pass.

    High Brew, 3rd Main Rd, Dollars Colony, Sahyadri Layout, J. P. Nagar

  • Khmer Kitchen

    While the current story is about Khmer Kitchen in JP Nagar, the backstory took place in 2011, when we visited Cambodia. That was when, at Temple Club Balcony, which lured me in with an Apsara show, D discovered her favourite dish – Fish Amok.

    Back to the present, when D decided that her birthday treat would be her favourite dish. That’s what took us on a road trip across Bangalore, during which I wondered whether going to Cambodia might have been easier! An hour and a half later, we finally landed up at (what was formerly) Girish Karnad’s residence. Since he never invited me, I can’t make a comparison, but now, the place is BEAUTIFUL! Trees, mini waterfalls, a koi pond, Khmer sculptures, all help in transporting you out of the mad rush that’s only a few feet away. Add to it a library, wicker furniture, and an exquisite terrace seating, and you’ll fall in Instalove with Khmer Kitchen.

    Khmer Kitchen

    It’s no wonder that the place starts getting full at 7PM. Thankfully, we had made a reservation. The current menu seems like an abridged version of the one on Zomato. And thus went out my Siem Sunset plans. I settled on a Thom Storm, which was essentially a version of Whiskey Sour, with the Souchong tea adding a bit of a variation to the standard. As is usually the case, D’s drink – Wat de Ampil was easily better! Tequila, tamarind, peppercorns and jaggery might sound like a curry recipe, but it looked and tasted great.

    The Chicken Tom Yum Xiao Long lived up to its artisanal categorisation by taking its own sweet time to arrive. I studied the little plate, tipped it to the side a bit and finally said that I felt cheated out of the promised soup. D (with an eye roll) pointed out that the soup was inside the dimsum. Subtle flavours in the filling, and a slightly chewy wrapper made this a just-so dish. The Cambodian Chicken skewers, on the other hand, arrived fast, and with the Sriracha mayonnaise, was bursting with flavours. And finally, what we had made the journey for – Fish Amok. tl;dr – Khmeh. While the presentation was fine, the coconut milk seemed a little off as did the colour, and the texture of the dish was different from what D remembered. Oh well, we had to try.

    Khmer Kitchen

    The food was a mixed bag. The service was friendly even if not exceptional. The wallet lost about Rs.2600 but for this ambience, happy to pay! The place looks fabulous, and probably warrants a visit only for that.

    Khmer Kitchen, 697, 15th Cross, 100 Feet Ring Road, 2nd Phase, JP Nagar, Ph: 7337808157

  • Brewsky

    First published in Bangalore Mirror quite a while back! I delayed posting it here because I thought I’d be able to taste the brew soon. Last I heard, they still hadn’t solved the brew problem, and it’s almost a year now!

    Usually when there’s talk of something brewing in south Bangalore, the reference is to coffee, and when names such as Giltasura or Kamacitra are brought up, you’d be pardoned for thinking that it’s about some new play at Rangashankara. That probably explains the open jaws, quickly followed by excitement, when I mentioned that a microbrewery had opened in JP Nagar. (map) Spread across two floors for now, it goes by the name of Brewsky, and though they ran out of brew samples by the time we visited – and that was a real pity, because they really sounded interesting on paper – there was no shortage of sky.

    On one side, the bar stools lining the wall on the lower floor offer a wonderful view of South Bangalore’s skyline – one of the best I’ve seen. On the other side one can view the brewery itself, glowing blue at night, with graphics of the brew characters. The upper floor is alfresco and would be perfect for a brunch. Another floor is planned below soon, with space for live performances – we got a preview and the Viking helmet lampshades and ‘chandeliers’ made of beer bottles all pointed to a hangout with character. Watch out for a few interesting elements of a biker theme too! They plan to serve the full-fledged beer menu in about a month, for now you’ll have to make do with a standard alcohol menu. (more…)

  • Kakori Kababs & Curries

    The search for Talaash tickets (yes, we do have a massive backlog on the blog 😀 ) ended at Gopalan Cinemas. We thought this was a good enough excuse to check out the restaurant scene in JP Nagar. From the various options that Zomato gave us, we zeroed in on Kakori Kababs & Curries. You can find the map and menu at Zomato. The map was perfect and the place wasn’t difficult to find at all. They have valet parking for 4 wheelers and suficient space for 2 wheelers right in front of the restaurant.

    When we arrived, we were only the second group there. The place had a <insert dimming Instagram filter> effect to it, almost like a place that was taking its baby steps towards disrepair. But we found a comfortable table, I asked for a Breezer (they only had orange and cranberry) and D wanted to try a Blush. 😀 For starters, we wanted to check out the Kakori Kabab, but that was unavailable! So we decided to go for our second preference – Murg ka Soola. The Blush, it seems, had all the  promised ingredients – strawberry, guava, cranberry etc, and was quite good from the way D was slurping. The Soola was quite spicy thanks to the ground chillies, and though the cinnamon wasn’t really present, we really liked the dish.

    For the main course, we asked for a Murg Dil Bahar and a Meat Beliram, and to go with it, a Kakori Naan and a Chilli Olive Naan, and later, a Butter Tandoori Roti. The Murg Dil Bahar was a rich creamy gravy and the mutton dish was well cooked with a mildly spicy gravy. We enjoyed both and the breads were subtle enough to complement the dishes very well.

    By the time we left, all the tables were taken, and there were 2-3 groups waiting outside! Judging by the food we got, worth the wait in that part of town, I’d say. All of the above cost us just under Rs.1400. The service was prompt. But what I really really enjoyed was the instrumental music – 90s Bollywood – Sainik, Kabhi Haan Kabhi Na, Damini, Imtihaan. AWESOME. 🙂

    Kakori Kababs, 9A, 24th Main, 6th Phase, JP Nagar, Ph: 65705588

  • 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