Our current location dictates that visits to Bangalore have to be planned well in advance, and require a strong motive. Misu had been appearing in several conversations and the ratings hadn’t dropped after the initial fad fervour had died down, so there was motive enough – will travel for good food. One Sunday afternoon we were lucky enough to reach St.Marks Road from Whitefield in 45 minutes! Misu is in the same funny looking building as The Open Box. In fact, they exist side by side. Misu is actually tiny, though the mirror work suggests otherwise. In fact, the usage of space is really good, and the decor has a nice contemporary, grunge edge to it that gives the place character. Most seats (high stools) give you an excellent view.
The menu disappoints, but it’s not what you think. There are so many things we wanted to try that each time we had to make a choice, my stomach cried. No, not gastric juices! On a relative note, drinks were simpler to choose from – The Monkey for me, and a Sweet Iced Tea Sangria for D. We liked each others’ drinks! My drink had potent dark rum, but I felt it was hijacked by the pineapple and the sugar! D’s Sangria had all the goodness of iced tea in a sangria avatar. Excellent stuff.
There was Tom Kha and we didn’t have it because we wanted to try the Pho! I also wanted to try the Bakso Pork, but the Pho won. See what I mean by difficult choices? It all worked out though, because we loved the Pho – fantastic flavours with each ingredient playing its part really well. Drunken Beef was up next – stir fried beef with chilli, basil and and an oyster & wine sauce. Well cooked meat and moderately spicy, a perfect next dish after the Pho. The Misu Bao (pork) had to be tried, and provided an excellent texture contrast to the dishes before.
At this point, we had to make a difficult choice – mains. But that would mean we couldn’t try dumplings or sushi. With a heavy heart and a half-heavy stomach, we decided to skip mains. D took a fancy to the rainbow dumplings with a chicken and basil filling, complemented well by the spicy sauce. However, the one that stole the show was BLT Onigirazu. Sushi and BLT – what an amazing crossover, and how wonderfully it worked!
Another decision point – one more starter or not. D came up with an excellent idea of having 2 desserts, and we did just that! To be noted that even then we found it difficult to choose. The Japanese Soufflé Cheesecake had great flavours and excellent texture variations. The Imitation of Coconut with Cranberry Cryo Foam was quite an excellent imitation of a coconut in terms of looks, and the cranberry -coconut combination worked really well in the mousse.
The bill came to a little less than Rs.3500, but it was money very well spent! At some point, we definitely have to go back. With friends, so we can try more things!
MISU, 4th floor, Halcyon Complex, St.Marks Road Ph: 49652513