Tag: Mangalorean

  • Anupam’s Coast II Coast

    The coast line of restaurants is far from receding in Koramangala, but since we’ve exhausted most of the coastal food options in Koramangala, and this one stuck out like a sore thumb, we decided to drop in here. Its on the same road as the Kormangala Club. Here’s the ‘how to get there‘ part. This road spoils you with options now with Imperial, Kubay, Hyderabad House, Bhojohori Manna, Heritage of Bengal and Chinese Cottage, all in the space of 100m. We’ll be making more trips here. Anyway, since we’d pre-decided that we would be dining here, we managed to resist the other temptations. The ambiance is decent, with comfortable seating.

    The menu has about 6 pages, with just about one page devoted to the ‘authentic coastal cuisine’. Hmm. The rest of the menu consists of the regular Chinese and North indian options. So, in addition to the few coastal cuisine starters (veg – Rs.75 -120, and non veg – Rs.90-300) , you also have Chinese options like drumsticks, Shanghai etc in veg (Rs.90-100)and non veg(Chicken Rs.120-130, Seafood – Rs.90-120). For the soup kind, again, there are veg  and non veg options (Chicken and seafood) with representation from multiple cuisines – Manchow, Cream of Chicken and even Shorba. (Rs. 65- 115). They also have thali options for lunch.

    For the main course, there are quite a few coastal cuisine options – very few in veg, but better in non veg – Sukka, Kundapuri, Ghee Roast in chicken and mutton (Rs.90-270) and seafood (prawns, crab, different kinds of fish – Rs.120 upwards, depending on the size of the fish). In addition to this, you have a few pages of Chinese and North indian options (Rs.110-140 range) with dry, gravy items and noodles/paratha etc.

    So, we started with a Cream of Chicken. Okay, before you snicker, it was raining outside, and we couldn’t find a coastal cuisine equivalent. The soup turned out to be quite decent, though more cornflour than cream, but then, from experience, they aren’t the only ones guilty of this. Next we had a Marvai Chilly. That’s shellfish and you have to fish a lot to get the little pieces of flesh, but it was done quite well. Mind your tongue, while eating, that is.

    For the main course, we ordered a half plate of chicken ghee roast, a fish curry (anjal – kingfish) and appams to go along with it. You could also try neer dosa or pundi (rice dumplings) though we didn’t read good reviews of the former for this place. The fish curry, though well made, obviously makes a better combination with the rice. The ghee roast was quite good, though the ghee only made a Bollywood like special appearance, but the masala made sure we didn’t miss it much. The appams were also very well made. In essence, can’t complain about the food.

    All of the above cost us just less than Rs.600. So its quite okay on the value-for-money, quantity and service parameters as well, though the last one is a very no-nonsense, matter-of-fact approach. The coast is clear, so check it out. Bwahaha. In my favor, I resisted so far. 😀

    Anupam’s Coast II Coast, 113, 6th Cross, 6th Block, Koramangala Club Road. Ph: 41460666, 41460555

  • Coastal Junction

    I was actually in the mood for a good steak, but plans had to be changed because of the recent cattle controversy – didn’t want anyone to have any beef with me. Ok, actually, the place that I had in mind  – Pizzeria Romano, turned out to be a veg only joint (according to Burrp). Bah. And that’s how we ended up at Coastal junction in Indiranagar. To get there, get on to 12th Main, towards 80 ft Road, and turn left at the end of the road. You’ll find Rosebys on your left. Coastal Junction is on the 4th and 5th floors.

    Since it was a nice breezy evening, we decided to try out the 5th floor terrace option. We reached there by around 7.45, and so were able to get a nice corner seat with an awesome view. If you’re planning to go after 8, it’d be safer to reserve. The seating is quite comfortable, and the tables decently spread out so that it isn’t claustrophobic, altogether it manages to justify the fine dining description, in terms of ambience, even if only just so.

    Though I’d expected mostly sea food in the menu, it surprised me with a decent collection of veg options. For starters, vegetarians can choose from more than half a dozen options, including things not regularly seen – banana flower, yam, sannas masala, crispy fried raw banana. (Rs.90-125). The non veg starters have a huge selection of sea food – prawns and fish mostly, lobster, (Rs.260-325) as well as chicken (Rs.195) and mutton. (Rs.255)

    Again, for the main course, there are quite a few options for vegetarians, including an ullitheeyal, pachakari stew, kerala sambar among others. (Rs. 115-155, yes, we grimaced too, at the thought of a sambar at a three figure cost). For those who cast a wider net as far as consumption goes, there’s a goan crab curry, lots of prawn and fish options (the latter mostly Kerala dishes Rs.265-315), chicken dishes (Xacuti, kori gassi, malabar stew among others, Rs.235) and a couple of mutton dishes. (Rs.295). To go along with that, you could either have biriyani (prawn/chicken/fish/mutton Rs.265-365) or choose from kappa, appams, sannas, neer dosas, idiappam, kori roti, malabar paratha (Rs.45-65) or even plain rice.They also serve alcohol and seem to have a decently stocked bar.

    Complimentary rice papadoms with a sauce and a cut mango pickle, and a glass of  rasam are given before the meal.  Do try out the pickle. Excellent stuff. We started with a Kane Bazulle, “ladyfish marinated in Mangalore masala and deep fried”. This is quite different from the rava fry we tend to order. The coconut oil flavor is unmistakable, and though  it could’ve been fried a bit more, it was quite good. For the main course, we ordered a Kottayam fish curry, “seer fish cubes cooked in spicy red coconut gravy”, a Chicken Coondapur, “semi dry chicken cooked in freshly ground coconut, red chillies, jeera and garam masala”, and to go with it, Malabar Paratha,”kerala special layered bread” and egg appam, “soft centre, crispy lace edged rice pancake with egg” (yeah yeah, the fine dining version of porotta and mutta appam for all those sniggering mallus reading this :p ). The fish curry, though spicy and delicious was a mistake. D says she was deceived by the coconut in the description, she expected it to be a thick gravy, but it wasn’t. It’d actually be great with plain rice or kappa, but we managed with the paratha. The chicken dish had a thick gravy, excellent stuff, and highly recommended, but only if you’re okay with grated coconut. The paratha was for once, wasn’t flaky, and was made well. The appam’s shape was slightly off, as compared to the ones we usually see, but was very tasty.

    Though the dessert options were different from the regular stuff we see (except for the ice creams) – dhodol, pazaham pradhaman, elaneer payasam, ada pradhaman (Rs.110-135), we were completely stuffed by then. Another example of their consistency (with the theme) was the mouth freshener – a cashew+nutmeg+cardamom Mangalore supari mix. The service deserves mention because it was the best we’ve experienced in quite a long time. They offer help with the menu, point out the not-so-obvious stuff, and are extremely prompt – right from when they bring out different courses to refilling water, and billing.

    All of the above cost us a little less than Rs.1000. Though its not inexpensive, the place is worth a visit, especially if you’re in the mood for some good coastal food.

    Coastal Junction, No:623, 11th Main, 80 ft Road, Indiranagar. Ph: 41523470

    Menu and Photos at Zomato

  • Something Fishy

    Actually a lot of things. But before your imagination runs wild, its only the name of a restaurant in Langford Town. Its actually a 2.0 version, since they’d been closed for sometime, for renovation, and the new avatar looks markedly different from the older one – more spread out, some props, and a distinct increase in price, but thankfully, the food remains fabulous. When coming from the Koramangala side, take a left towards Langford Town, keep going until you see Divyasree Chambers, and soon after that, you’ll have Something Fishy on the right.

    The place offers coastal cuisine – Mangalorean, Goan, Kerala. It does have some Tandoor and Chinese stuff, but I’d say, ignore that. We also decided to ignore the soups, and go for an Anjal Masala Fry as a starter. Thats King Fish, with one of the tastiest masala you’ll ever find. One portion gives you a couple of pieces. You could also try the Pomfret version.

    For the main course, we ordered a Chicken Ghee Roast ( Chicken cooked in fine ground masala and home made ghee), butter dosas, sannas and a fish biriyani. The Chicken Ghee Roast is just spectacular, but you should be tolerant to spicy food to enjoy it. Its a very thick gravy (actually a paste) and is of enough quantity to last through all the other items. They also give you some gravy, so you dont really have to order anything extra. The butter dosas are the kal dosa (thick) types, so if you prefer the thin version, go for neer dosas. The sannas were the only disappointment – quite flaky. In fact, we haven’t had good sannas in a while now – the last being at Kubay‘s first avatar. The fish biriyani was also quite good. The end result was that we were stuffed.

    Now, since we’d returned from our Kerala trip only a few days back, we didn’t try any of our Mallu dishes, but you should definitely try them. There are prawns, Chicken stew, squid and so on, though I thought the Malabar Porotta was a bit steeply priced at Rs.25. Meanwhile, our meal cost us just over Rs.600 – the best dinner we’ve had in quite a while. 🙂

    Something Fishy, #1, Cornwell Street, Langford Road, Langford Town. Ph: 41245505, 42114007

    Menu at Zomato.

  • Kubay

    Kubay has been around from the time that we’ve been in Bangalore. Earlier, i guess. There used to be a Mallu hangout in Koramangala called Ravi’s Kitchen. That unfortunately, no longer exists, but Kubay does, and now has a new management, though they have not changed the coastal cuisine menu. Kubay is on the same road as Imperial, (6th Cross, also called Koramangala Club Road), and is off the Intermediate Ring Road (Indiranagar-Koramangala) We missed out on a food festival that happened recently, so a visit was pending. 🙂

    Kubay now has a more ‘professional’ look about it. I used to love the clay masks they hung on the walls (from Mapusa market in Goa) and the very Goan yellow shade they used for the interiors. All of that have been replaced, and even the seating has undergone a change. But hey, we didn’t come to stay, we came for the food, so its okay 😀

    We reached there about 9.45, and got a table comfortably. We skipped the soup, and decided to start with a Kane (lady fish) Rava fry. It was done quite well, though I thought it could’ve been crunchier, since I’m usually able to polish off the bones too. We weren’t quite happy with the quantity either. Not very value for money, which is what we expect at Kubay.

    For the main course, we ordered a Chicken Stew, a pan grilled seer fish (you have other options like pomfret too) and a platter. The platter was supposed to have 2 each of Sannas, Panpole and Idiappam according to the menu, but we got 3 Sannas and Panpole each. We were too hungry to question. The stew, while different from the regular style we have, was quite delicious, and in sufficient quantity. But unfortunately, the fish failed on both counts. It was a bit burnt, though the masala was good. So we ordered a chicken pepper fry, and one more platter. The pepper fry was quite spicy, and made well. The sannas (a rice based dish that looks similar to Idli) though fluffy had hardened on the outside and so spoiled the taste to an extent. It didn’t have a coconut flavor either. The panpole (a very thin dosa, also called neer Dosa) was also not that great, again the problem was that it turned out hard instead of soft. There are not many dessert options, but you might want to taste the home made caramel custard, it used to be good.

    All of the above cost us just below Rs.500, and though that’s decent, our previous trysts with Kubay had given us higher expectations of taste and value-for-money. So we’ll wait a while before we visit again.

    Kubay, 110, 6th Cross, 6th Block, Koramangala Ph: 41105221

    Menu and Photos at Zomato

  • bon South

    We heard about it last weekend, when we were chided for not having visited it when it was in our own ‘backyard’ – Koramangala, and then again, when a friend suggested we meet up there. The latter didn’t happen, since my dinner on other days would’ve been adversely affected if I reviewed the place without the better half as my dinner companion. But yes, the universe did conspire to get us there, even though other reviews had convinced us that our wallets would be left significantly lighter.

    Its relatively easy to find, on the 80ft road in Koramangala. At the Sony World Junction on the Indiranagar – Koramangala ring road, take a left turn when coming from Indiranagar, and you’ll find this on the right after the Levis outlet and Barista. There’s valet parking, but not for two wheelers. Damn!! 😉

    We’d reserved in advance, which would be a good thing to do, since there was a crowd, and we saw people having to wait. The place practically screams snob value, from the word go. That’s not intended as a put-down, its just smart positioning. We had to wait for a few minutes, while our table was being cleaned, and they did a smart thing by showing us around the place, to keep us from fidgeting around. Though the space is very optimally used, it manages to retain a cosy feel, largely due to the comfortable seating and dimly lit ambience. I had a brief ‘flight’ moment, when they offered us a cold wet towel. Hmm, was that a bon connection (voyage, and south). Okay, got it, we’ll just talk about the food.

    The menu features cuisine from the four South Indian states, complete with soups, starters, main course and desserts. The place also serves alcohol, no, not necessarily from these states!!! We decided to skip the soup, since they were mostly the thin type, and instead ordered a starter, Kori Kempu Bezule, which is ‘tender pieces of boneless chicken marinated in a mangalorean home style masala, and deep fried’. Now, I have not been to mangalorean homes, but it tasted good – the chicken was actually tender, and the masala had a distinct flavor without being excessively spicy.

    For the main course, we tried to give representation to all states, but TN got left out. We ordered a Kozhi Varutharacha Curry, which is ‘boneless chicken with roasted coconut and spices’, an excellent Kerala dish, if done well; a Chappala Pulusu, a tangy and spicy Andhra fish curry, and to go alongwith that, podi masla appams, and Sajjige Roti (a thick bread made with semolina, coconut, green chillies and curry leaves). Once the food was served, we realised that it may not be sufficient, and ordered egg appams too. Now, I knew that appams and the chicken would go well together, but I’m sure it would help if there was some advice offered on the correct combinations. In this case, the fish curry was not exactly a great match.

    The chicken dish, though it differed marginally from the taste we were familiar with, was very well made. The fish was a bit too tangy and not spicy enough for our liking. The gravy portions are just sufficient for two people. The appams are not miniscule, thankfully, and are the regular size we make at home. The podi masala appam has podi and masala onion laden onto the regular appams. The egg appam is well, like the name suggests and both were made well. But since, appamd are fluffy by nature, even two per person won’t be sufficient. The Sajjige roti was quite unlike anything else we’ve tasted, and deserves a try. You get four rotis per plate, and its not too heavy. There were dessert options, but we passed, though if you’re not very familiar with South indian desserts, you should give it a try.

    So, the meal went quite well, but they delayed in clearing the table, giving us finger bowls and presenting the bill. I find it very strange when restaurants do this, especially while people are kept waiting outside. Isn’t it in their interest to get us out of there after we conclude our business? Anyway, they first presented us a bill upwards of Rs.2300. Thankfully, before my heart reacted violently, i realised it wasn’t ours, but even the correct one came upto just less than Rs.1300. So there was a tiny lurch, though I was prepared for it. I wonder if they had this in mind when they said that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.

    So, if the idea is just to taste some South Indian food, I’d say, try out Malgudi (though we weren’t very impressed with the service the last time we visited), Annachi (though I have a problem with their small portions) or even 3 Storys, (no complaints, and though it is not an all South cuisine, it offers some great Coorgi stuff to compensate). But if you’re in the mood to splurge, and want an upmarket experience, with decent food and a liberal splattering of snob appeal, you should try bon South.

    And we’ll end with a thanks to the young lady in a party dress at the adjacent table, whose expression on seeing a couple in ragged tees and cargo trousers walk out as she walked in, made up for the exorbitant bill. 😉

    bon South, 749, 10th Main, 80 ft road, Koramangala. Ph: 080 40543434.

    Update: Shifted to Malleswaram