Tag: Koramangala

  • The Bier Library

    It’s not very often that we land up in Koramangala, but when we do, we manage to visit a microbrewery too! Every alternate building in Koramangala is anyway an eatery now, and microbreweries are now reaching the penetration level hitherto achieved only by CCDs, Goli Vada Pav and Cult. So, finding one we haven’t visited isn’t too difficult.

    The place is massive, spread across three floors. It even has that dirty green water body that has been institutionalised by the Brewsky folks. We got a table on the ground floor, only a little away from the DJ, who was trying his best to make sure that Indiranagar didn’t feel left out! Conversations are for losers, after all.

    We immediately got around to the business at hand – craft beer! D made a Very Weiss choice – German wheat that was very fresh. Fortunately, the Wittle-Wit I wanted wasn’t available. Fortunately, because the Further – Lager I ordered turned out to be very good. For a change, even better than D’s drink.

    The menu has generous sprinklings of gluten-free and artisanal, but avocado didn’t get the representation it deserves! In terms of actual food, the Pork Belly Chili Roast was excellent, though we thought the Bhut Jolokia description was probably an exaggeration. Jacob Uncle’s Chicken Cutlet is apparently a recipe that has “handed over by generations of chefs”, but it does seem like some Chinese whispers have happened – it was quite bland. The trend continued with the Balsamic Mixed Greens, which got the last two words right, but missed out on the first!

    The Pork Vindaloo & egg pizza was very tempting, but since we’d just had pork, we decided to go with a Mutton keema & Egg slice instead. It’s difficult to get mince, tomato sauce and egg wrong, and thankfully they didn’t. In fact, it was quite delicious. But it was topped by the Mushroom Risotto – arborio and truffle oil magic.

    Three of us voted for the Serra Dura, for dessert. Portuguese with a Macau origin, its literal translation is sawdust. The taste though, is far from that – the combination of whipped cream, crushed cookies and dulce de leche was fantastic! One Chhena Jalebi sneakily made its way to our table courtesy the fourth person, and was largely ignored. 😀

    The service was courteous and considering the packed premises, fairly prompt. The DJ, as I had mentioned earlier, was trying to beat some sound record. The bill came to a little under Rs.6000 for four people.

  • Ends & Beginnings

    A few weeks ago, I met the gentleman who was my first boss in Bangalore. We were meeting after a long time, and over a cup of coffee, he asked me for my visiting card. He looked at it for a while, and said, “I don’t know about you, but I feel very proud about this.” It was a humbling moment. He then smiled, and asked me if I remembered our interview conversation.

    Of course I did, because it was one of those occasions that changed my life’s trajectory. He reminded me that when asked why I wanted the job, I had answered “..because my future wife already has a job in Bangalore and I need to move here from Cochin to get married’. He had laughed. The year was 2003, and thus began my life in Bangalore.

    The conversation was a reason in itself for a bout of nostalgia, and as I made my way back home later in the evening, my mind was replaying the time I had spent in this city. But there was another reason too, and that’s what this post is about. (more…)

  • Tangerine – Koramangala

    Tangerine at Indiranagar had always been in my favourites list from the first time I dropped in there. But thanks to the column space hogged by Namma Metro construction and the resultant chaos on the road, and helped by competition ‘toitening’ its grip, my visits had tapered down to zero. So I was extremely happy when I saw a signboard late last year in Koramangala – one that was familiar in terms of font and colours – that announced the launch of the restaurant. I learned during my visit that the Indiranagar outlet had been shut down. A stone’s throw from the busy Sony World junction, (when coming from Indiranagar, it’s the first left after the Sony World Signal – it’s just off the road) and yet somehow retaining a sense of calmness, exists the new version of Tangerine that started operations in September. Yes, they do have valet parking and two wheelers can find easy parking in the lane.

    Some of the tables offer a wonderful view of the road. The trademark light-coloured wooden furniture has made it, but sadly, their companions, the ‘chimney’ lampshades haven’t. You can check out the menu at Burrp. They also plan to have wines soon.

    The Spicy Chicken and Coriander Soup had been a favourite, so we decided to begin with some nostalgia. Unfortunately, it hasn’t taken the location transition very well. It was thinner, stingier on the coconut cream, and the chillies hadn’t been informed about their role. The Fried Prawns that came next did nothing to salvage the situation. The prawns were leathery, and beer wasn’t the only thing that deserved to be battered. Mustard Chicken Sausage Flowers hooked us with its matter-of-fact, non-flowery description, but the actual dish, though not lacking in flavours, went a tad overboard on the saltiness. Hope took a long time coming, and it came from an unexpected quarter – Vegetables with Feta. But even that was too little, and too late, since we had to remind the service staff at least a couple of times that we had ordered a veg starter, as the vegetarians at the table cast mournful glances at the dishes that arrived much before theirs. In the end, they gloatingly offered to share their fried vegetables and tasty cheese dish with us meatheads!

    Despite unfortunate experiences with aquatic life earlier, we asked for a Fillet of Fish ‘Moutarde’. The last word sounds like a lot of things, but it’s only French for mustard, and that was indeed the prime player in the dish that also featured red chilli flakes and oregano, all of which complemented the grilled fish perfectly. But the Chicken ‘Desiree’ unfortunately left a lot to be desired. The chicken was rubbery, the jacket potatoes weren’t boiled well, and the sauce, despite featuring spiced honey and lemon (on paper) was rather insipid. The penne pasta, with a sauce that had minced chicken, red chilli flakes, tomatoes and herbs, thankfully brought some cheer. It wasn’t dry; the flavours were brought out really well, and it was just spicy enough to make an excellent dish. The vegetarians ran out of their beginners’ luck with the Stuffed Cottage Cheese Steaks, as the paprika and herb sauce proved to be extremely spicy. In case you want to experiment, there are some interesting Indian Sizzler options.

      

    All the knives that were out thus far for the place were replaced with spoons after the desserts arrived. In a heavily competed section, the Mud Pie emerged the winner, despite having a slightly tough base. The unique Death by Chocolate would have won if it had not been at room temperature, and had been less grainy. The Tiramisu was not bad either. But the actual winner was the chocolate sauce and they clearly knew it, judging by its active presence in any dish that offered a chance!

    For about Rs.1300, you could share a non veg starter, a couple of non veg main course dishes and a dessert. (Inclusive of taxes and service charge) The service delayed quite a few dishes and while they had their reasons, they weren’t really convincing.

    The desserts and an old times’ sake fondness might get me to visit again, but Tangerine needs some tangible improvement if it hopes to win the affections its Indiranagar version had earned. In the journey from one end of 100 feet Road to another, something seems to have been missed out. It isn’t as though the food was uniformly bad, but in Koramangala, where we’re approaching the state of one restaurant per family, things need to be perfect for a restaurant to thrive.

    Tangerine, 52, 100 feet Road, Koramangala, Ph: 080 41152678/9

  • Realty Check 3

    The location was right, and strangely, so was the price. In fact, almost everything was right and she told the current owner so. To make it perfect, she decided to ask him anyway. After all, they had done it before with soups at restaurants. “Excuse me, can you make it a three bedroom from two?”

    until next time, Part 1, Part 2

  • Over The Top

    (first appeared in Bangalore Mirror)

    A list of new restaurants/lounges in Koramangala would be bottomless, and Over The Top Terrace Lounge is the latest addition. (yes, there’s valet parking) Two flights of stairs from Enigma on 100 feet Road (map) will take you to a wonderful open space, with wooden furniture and if you stretch your hand outside, you can even touch a tree. Yes, a real one, a rarity in these parts now. And in case you can’t handle such proximity to nature, there’s a closed section with some superb caricatures of rock legends as part of the topography. If that doesn’t please you either, you can get the best of both worlds in a section upstairs that has a different kind of wood – Holly and Bolly in the form of posters. It was pointed out to us that they were still hunting for Stallone from 25 years back. (in the movie that’s the restaurant’s namesake) There’s a pool table and quite a buzz in this area. The music is fantastic, mostly classic and alternate rock, and I hope they don’t fiddle much with it. They were operating on a sample menu when we visited, but now have an expanded version – quite an eclectic mix with Indian, Italian, Thai….

     I wondered if it was a hat tip to the name of the place that the menu was so ‘top heavy’- appetisers being a section that boasted of a relatively high number of choices. It is a melange of sorts, with various cuisines, and we started with the Five Spice Chilly. (chicken version) This also happened to be our favourite – just the right amount of spiciness and discernible flavours. The Surkh Laal Tikka was next, and though I liked it for its fieriness, my companions seemed to be slightly put off by the spice and the mustard tinge.

    The Baida Roti (mutton) was quite a favourite but the mint sauce could’ve been better. The Steamed Bao, a Chinese bread, that looks a bit like a pinch-zoomed momo, was an interesting dish. The base reminded us of a bun – texture and taste, but the filling seemed a bit over fried.

    The Buffalo Wings were too tangy and completely dominated the other flavours, quite disappointing, as was the bland Beer battered prawns, whose only hint of beer was in the menu literature. On the green side, it was mostly bad. Paneer was the only ‘vegetable’ in ‘Orange’ barring some peppers, and the dish was just sweet! The Pita bread in the Mezze platter was soft and fresh, but the dips – Hummus, Baba Ghanoush and Tatziki were insipid.

    The sample menu has less than ten options for the main course, but that seems to have changed now. They have pasta, Thai curries too. Since we had gone berserk with the starters, we decided to sample one dish each from the Indian and Burgers sections. Representing Burgers was the Burger Over The Top. There was much reason to hope – its description mentioned that it had lamb AND chicken. (yes, written that way) That indicated a ‘meating’ of minds. The presentation was no-frills but plenty of fries. The burger itself was probably the best dish of the night, with an excellent patty and mushrooms and cheese for company. The Indian section, which offered glorified versions of Makhani, Do Pyaza and such, was represented by the Raan Over The Top, which, according to the person who took the order, was worth the 45 minutes you’d have to wait for it. I’d say it was worth about 35 minutes, 5 minutes each cut for the rice that was too dry, and portions of the meat that were too chewy.

    But alas! One section of the menu continues to be in a deserted state. During our visit, the chef sympathised with our collective pain and was sweet enough to offer us ice cream. Serious ‘desserters’ that we were, we declined.

    The amazing Bangalore weather, coupled with an excellent playlist, ensured that we had a perfect ambiance for a meal under the stars. The service was friendly, though we had to specifically ask for the main course menu. The drinks, (currently outsourced to Enigma downstairs) is an area that requires work. For about Rs.1500, you could have a couple of cocktails, a non veg starter,  and a couple of main course dishes. (Inclusive of service charge and tax) At this point, you’d go there for the ambiance and the starters, but the setting is close to perfect and if the current menu manages to do even half a decent job,  (will check it out soon) then the proverbial sky is the limit for Over the Top.

     Over The Top, 2nd Floor, #2, 100 Feet Road, 5th Block, Koramangala Ph: 080- 25633899