Tag: UB City

  • Farzi Cafe

    Such was the hype around the opening of the place, that it seemed like our farz to drop in. Given that it meant going to Bangalore, we delayed it a bit though! meanwhile, bad wordplay aside, somehow, the word farzi had come to denote ‘fake’ in my mind, but in this context, I had connected it to Persian. However, as per their website, the connotation here is “creating an illusion”. Gotta say that with it being perched on the top floor of the UB City mall, the connect (illusion – UB – Mallya) was rather funny.

    We tried to reserve for Saturday night a day before, but apparently the tables were all reserved, so we shifted the plan to Sunday. The place was packed by the time we got there, and folks were being turned away. Lesson – make a reservation. Most of the tables are around the large bar, and that’s where  we got ours. High tables, with bar stools. If you don’t like those, it might be a good idea to specify that when you reserve. They have more standard seating too, but these are mostly with a higher seating capacity. Speaking of illusions, there is quite a lot of mirror play, giving the illusion of size, and with those lights, it must make a pretty picture at night.

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  • Toscano

    Between the Diesel 50% sale and the fact that I’ve heard so many diverse comments about Toscano, the decision was swung in favour of a UB City visit. (as opposed to a special event at Benjarong) Toscano is at one end of the food court on the 2nd floor, and opposite Soul City. As almost all the eateries here go, the seating includes an al fresco option too, an excellent choice on a windy Bangalore night.

    8.30 pm on Saturday is around the time that Bangalore behaves as though it hasn’t eaten all week. So we did reserve, but still had to wait for 10 minutes for a table. It might have been more if I hadn’t pointed out a free table. :\ There’s no real waiting area, so it wasn’t  the greatest of beginnings.

    But thanks to the wait, we had the time to decide what we wanted to eat. Yes, I’d have preferred doing that sitting down, but let me not nag now. 🙂 You can take a look at the menu here. Also take a look at the wine list and watch out for the day’s specials! A complimentary bread basket arrived before the Minestrone (chicken) soup we ordered. Two dips, one seemed to be herbed butter with olives, and the other had a chilli flavour. The soup was thick, with a tasty, mildly spicy broth base, and yes, chicken pieces were spotted along with pasta and cheese! (the photos were taken using the  phone camera, that would explain the worse-than-the-usual-bad visuals) 😉

    For the main course, D ordered a Linguine Chicken Aglio e olio Peperoncino and I asked for a Fettuccine e Salsiccia Piccante. (yes, just point to them on the menu card!) The former was a tad bland (for our palate, of course) despite the promise of chili in the description. But a huge dose of chicken cubes slightly made up for it. I quite liked the fettuccine though, lots of spicy sausages and a mild tang to it.

     

    Despite appearances, the dishes were quite filling, and we didn’t have space for desserts. The service was quite prompt and all the above cost us just over Rs.1300.

    Toscano, UB City, The Collection, 2nd Floor, Vittal Mallya Road, Ph: 4173 8800

  • Soul City

    The last Thai dine out didn’t really work for us, though it was at a (now former) favourite. The cuisine is a preferred one, and thus was seeded the idea to Thai up the loose ends. And that took us to the city within the city. Soul City in UB City (map), located within the Oakwood Service Apartments, right next to Shiro.

    Tastefully done interiors, and since we were early, we got the choice of seats. There are TVs too, in case you really run out of conversation topics. The windows are curtained, though I’d have loved to watch the skyline! In addition to this menu, (courtesy Zomato) they also have a well stocked bar. From the menu, the idea is all about good food without categorising it into specific cuisines or dining experiences. Not a bad thought at all, and it meant that we got representation from Thai, Vietnamese, Chettinad, Moroccan and many more cuisines in the menu.

    Not the regular modus operandi, but we started with a vegetarian soup – a case of coconut milk scoring over chicken. The Tom Kha Taohu was a spicy soup, and the tofu and mushrooms ensured that we didn’t miss the fowl play. I’d have liked it to be a tad thicker but that is probably just greed. The coconut milk theme continued in the main course too. We ordered the Penne with Red Curry Coconut Sauce and Gang Kua Subparod. (Chicken) The Penne dish was actually a veg dish. but they were nice enough to add chicken on request. The red curry coconut sauce was extra good thanks to the cheese and the mild spice made it a fantastic dish! The Gang Kua Subparod was very good too, again coconut based curry served with rice, but the fruity flavour (pineapple) that it is supposed to have was completely missing.

    We would’ve liked to order a starter too, but the reason we skipped that was the desserts section. I wouldn’t say it was a really tough call, but the Banana and Chocolate Pancakes were quite tempting too. However, in the presence of a higher chocolate power, it had to lose. The Chili Chocolate Mousse did look quite good, but turned out to be a bit of a disappointment, since the chili was totally missing. What replaced it was a vague tart flavour that also took away from the chocolate. 🙁

    All of the above cost us about Rs.1250. Despite the anti-climax, the service was quite helpful and prompt. The overall experience was quite positive, and we’ll definitely drop in again to listen to music that reminded me of mixtapes –  R Kelly, Cyndi Lauper, Dido….

    Soul City, Oakwood Premier Prestige, UB City, Vittal Malya Road Ph: 22348888