First published in Bangalore Mirror
Remember High on Thai? And then White Elephant? In a couple of years, this floor has seen three iterations. Given that the last version seemed to have lived up to its name – White Elephant – it will be interesting to see what the name Maya could do for the future of this establishment. The logo design is a bit of an illusion, one would have to know the place to find it. Once inside, there are two sections – one that houses the bar and is a closed seating space, and the other with an open kitchen and semi open seating. On a sultry Bangalore night, the latter is easily the better pick. The high seats offer a good view of the 100 feet Road, and together with contemporary pop remixes, set up a good mood very well, at least in the beginning. There was some unintentional entertainment thanks to a giant television screen that was playing Bollywood song sequences on mute. The steps for some reason matched the music perfectly! As the night progressed, so did the sound levels, until WhatsApp seemed a more viable conversation channel than speaking to each other! There was quite a college crowd in attendance, the DJ night might have had a lot to do with it.
Maya, meanwhile, has a suffix too – Firangi Indian Lounge. I brought that up during dinner and we tried to find the logic. Largely, the menu offers the answer. Though it starts off with an Indian and Oriental mix, the firangi representation happens in the form of pasta, pizza and sliders. There are also at least a few dishes on the menu that could be tagged as fusion.
Salads, soups and small bites, with quite a large representation of vegetarian dishes, that’s where we started. We began with the Crispy Hung Curd Rolls, quite a unique tasting dish. The hung curd had just the right amount of tart, and the mild spice in the mix made the dish quite flavourful overall. The Vegetable Firecracker was standard crispy batter fried vegetables, but made well. The Chicken Gangnam Style – fried chicken with red chillies, seasoning and crushed peanuts – had some tough meat that we didn’t find very appetising, and the Peeli Mirch Nimbu ki Macchi had fish that still clung to its origins – way too salty!
We tried a few drinks as well. The White Zombie would have worked well if the coco syrup hadn’t eclipsed everything but the gold rum. The pineapple, orange and pina mix were completely lost. The same scenario was repeated in the Bahamamama, in which the grenadine syrup took over the proceedings, right from the colour of the drink – the pineapple, banana and orange flavours were totally overshadowed. The Dirty L.B and the Mojito were both generous in alcohol content, and mixed well.
Given our starter experience, we decided to begin with a veg pizza, for mains. The Oriental Twist by Taste didn’t disappoint. The thin crust pizza had a bunch of ingredients – mushroom, spring onion, tofu, celery, babycorn and green chilli – which worked splendidly together. Just the right amount of spice and cheese as well. The Chicken Sliders had classic patty, shredded pesto cream and chilli oyster glazed. I liked only the last one, the others were quite insipid. The Smoked Chicken Risotto and the Pan Roasted Prawns with Spaghetti Aglio Olio both took their time arriving, but were worth the wait. The Risotto was well cooked, and though I’d have liked it a little thicker, that wasn’t the general opinion, and the subtle flavours were fantastic anyway. The Prawns were roasted just fine, and the spaghetti was what you’d call al dente.
On paper, at least three of the four desserts sounded interesting enough to try, unfortunately only one was available. The Baked Gulab Jamun Cheesecake would have been better off if it had not been billed as a cheesecake. While the Jamun itself was not bad, there was nothing cheesecake-y about it except the form.
A couple of cocktails, a non veg starter, a couple of main course dishes and a dessert comes up to around Rs.1800. Most of the dishes we tried were quite good, especially the vegetarian ones. The service, despite many people checking regularly how the food was, was rather tardy. The ambiance, especially the outside space, is quite appealing. In summation, the ingredients seem to be there, but if I had to juxtapose the menu, the music and the crowd I saw, I’d say Maya needs to be a lot clearer about its identity and whom it is catering to. It cannot afford to be its current illusory self.
Maya – Firangi Indian Lounge, #276, 2nd Floor, 100 Feet Road, 6th Main Junction, Above Girias, Indiranagar 2nd Stage, Ph: 080 41493333