On a Saturday, when we wanted to do more than just monkeying around, we climbed a few more floors to get to The Fatty Bao (map) We had reserved a table for two, and even though most of the tables were empty, we were rather firmly asked to take a specific one, just like we were told not to go upstairs because it was full. One of the tables we asked for remained empty until about five minutes before we left. Oh, well. Despite all that, I quite liked the ambiance – fun and relaxed with a dash of quirky.
While the decor has a panda domination, the ‘Monkey’ flavour is evident in the menu. There are quite a few interesting cocktails to choose from – I asked for the Mandalay Bay, and D wanted a Bora Bora. The jasmine tea in my drink was refreshing and worked really well with the vodka and ginger beer. The other drink was quite a melange – gin, coconut water, vodka and passion fruit – and it was difficult to get one dominant flavour. But that also made it quite a lively drink!
From the ‘small plates’, we ordered the Kam Heong Calamari and also asked for the Char Siu Bao. The squids were less flavourful than what appeared on paper, and though crunchy and well cooked, the coconut milk, chilli and curry flavours were rather subdued. The Bao was way better with superb pork belly, splendid green apple kimchi and Hoisin sauce which was sweet and tangy, all at the same time!
For the main course, we decided on a Green Curry Chicken Katsu Ramen and a Malaysian Chicken Kapitan curry with steamed rice. The Ramen had a rich broth and the coconut milk ensure that I would enjoy this one. That wasn’t the only flavour though – red chillies, Kafir lime leaves and the crusted chicken itself all worked to make this a super dish. The curry dish was served with sambal, crackers etc and the curry itself was again a thick coconut based one. No, we can’t get enough of coconuts! 🙂
We just about had enough space for desserts – it was a chocolate caramel fondant served with tiramisu ice cream, and though D refused her share of the latter, I thoroughly enjoyed the mix!
All of that came to a little above Rs.2800, which is now seemingly an acceptable figure when used in conjunction with gastro bar/pub. The food was awesome, and everything would have been perfect if not for the initial nitpicking on table options and one other incident. Towards the end of the main course, D was asked to shift her seat. (we had shifted the chair to a side because the distance proved to be a bit much) Arguable, but I thought that was uncalled for, especially since they could have managed without that, and we were anyway nearing the end of our meal.
The Fatty Bao, #610, 12th Main Road, HAL 2nd Stage, Indiranagar Ph: 44114499