Queens : Good food comes in small restaurants!

 Church Street is the Mecca for all foodies in Bangalore. I thought I knew Church Street almost as well as a Google map .However; I was in for a pleasant surprise when I was told about Queens, a North Indian restaurant. I had never heard of it before, let alone seeing it. Situated inconspicuously on Church Street, next to Hysteria- the music shop, Queens is easy to miss. Lin, Pri and I dropped in here one sunny afternoon for lunch and found the place teeming with people. It was peak hour and we even spotted a small queue outside the restaurant. How could I have missed this place?

We ordered Paneer Tikka and Chicken Tikka for starters and fresh lassi  as a quick - fix to quench our thirst. The lassi was a big dissapointment. It was served with ice and just didn't work for me.The paneer was fresh and spiced to perfection. The chicken was juicy and served in just the right portion size. The starters had set a good standard for the meal and we couldn’t wait to dig into the main course.

Lassi

Chicken Tikka

Being a chicken lover, I absolutely relished the Chicken Palak served with Butter Naan. I had never before had chicken with paalak, and this dish is a perfect blend of vegetarian and non- vegetarian ingredients. Pri ordered the Paneer Pasanda, her lifelong favourite and needless to say, loved it. To give the main course a sense of completeness, we ordered a rice item – Jeera rice. Served steaming hot,  this homely dish could easily serve three people.

Chicken Palak

Jeera rice

Queen’s is a really tiny place but clean and well maintained. It has a dhaba like feel to it – dim lighting, old Hindi music and a rustic décor. The dishes are priced reasonably and the bill came upto just 1200 rupees for three people.

I have had enough of North Indian cuisine before and what saddens me is that most such restaurants in the city do not offer any variations in the menu. The dishes are the same, the ingredients are also the same. A city like  Bangalore , given its metropolitan nature, could definitely do with more fusion restaurants- an Indo – Mexican restaurant maybe. Its high time we open up to some kind of experimentation with North Indian food. 

Sunny's : My Birthday meal

I turned  a year older  today and as customary as it is, I went out with my family for lunch to Sunny’s. Sunny’s is counted as one of the oldest restaurants in Bangalore. Last Year, I had been to  Sunny’s on 100 feet road Indiranagar. I had one of my most memorable meals there and promised myself that I would visit it second time around.

Sunny’s on Lavelle Road is posh, classy and extremely sophisticated. This doesn’t come as a surprise considering its location. The ambience is simple and clean. One has the option to dine outdoors, or inside the two floor interior. The first floor seemed to crowded and too noisy which we later realised was because some other folks like me, were celebrating their birthdays too! We found ourselves a table on the second floor instead, which apart from having tables had low, comfortable sofas and a bar. We started ordering within no time.

Starters: We ordered the Mozzarella Fritters and Salmon Maki.

 Both the starters simply blew my mind. The fritters had a crispy exterior and a chewy, bubble-gumy kind of interior. The mozzarella was fresh and melt-in-your mouth. The Salmon Maki will be remembered as the  first sushi-eating experience of my life. Four rolls of sushi were served. Interestingly, they are very filling and I had to forcefully wolf down the last one. The taste is more or less bland but then again, I have a queer liking for bland food.

Mozzarella Fritters

Salmon Maki

Main course: We ordered the Vegetarian Diane and Fettuccini with chicken breast.
The diane is loaded with fresh veggies and is slightly on the spicy side. If you are someone who keeps a regular tab on your weight, then then is THE dish for you. The fettucini was loaded with creamy sauce and chicken pieces. It turned out to be too heavy for my appetite and I with a very heavy heart I had to leave almost one-fourth of it unfinished.

Vegetarian Diane

Fettuccini with chicken breast

Desserts: Now this is my favourite part. The show stopper of the meal was Barbara’s Ganache Tart. God bless the chef or Barbara for coming with this sinful and unforgettable dessert. The ganache was rich in cream and dark chocolate. The base was just right. It was neither brittle enough to crumble under the pressure of the cream, nor was it too hard so as to not be able to cut through.

Barbara's Ganache tart

All in all, Sunny’s is definitely worth a visit, despite the steep pricing of the dishes. Our meal came up to 3K. I have a few suggestions though: it would be very helpful if a small description be given alongside each of the dishes in the menu and the waiters could definitely be more courteous and pleasant.

Indian Coffee House

It is not time that's passing my friend, its you and I..Anon.

                The passage of time is the most efficient barometer to measure how much a city has progressed. 

Time indeed changes a lot of things. Bangalore has come a long way in the past 23 years that I have resided here. It has got less greener, more crowded. Old restaurants have made way for new ones.  Yet, some like the India Coffee House have remained rock solid and stood the test of time. It belongs to those handful places that have undergone minimal changes ever since their establishment.

Veg Cutlet

                Indian Coffee House has a history of its own. Started by the Coffee Board in the early 1940’s, under the British rule, the then India Coffee House was soon forced to shut down due to policy changes. The workers however re-established it and re-christened it as Indian Coffee House(ICH). In Bangalore, ICH was earlier situated on MG Road and has now been moved to Church Street.

                

                The moment I stepped into ICH I was transported to the Gandhian era. Nothing, absolutely nothing about this place can be termed as modern. Paint was peeling off the walls, fans were spinning around sluggishly, the waiters wore turbans and the kitchen looked ancient enough to be placed in a museum. The menu is as basic as it can get. Dosas, cutlets, samosas, tea, coffee, sandwiches… We placed an order for the very famous ICH coffee, a plate of cutlet and another ICH trademark dish – scrambled eggs.

Scrambled egg

              The coffee was steaming hot and homely. The cutlet was crisp and surprisingly not too oily. The scrambled egg was cooked to perfection and melted in our mouths. All in all, the meal was perfect for a rainy Sunday afternoon.

                ICH is not about about fine dining and gourmet cuisine. It is about enjoying a meal in probably one of the oldest restaurants in Bangalore, in exactly the same way that it should be enjoyed- without any added frills of modernity. I strongly recommend this place.

                

Toscanos

"Life is a combination of magic and pasta." - Federico Fellini

I’m an ultra-lazy person on Saturdays. After working for 5 days a week and travelling close to 100 kilometres on road, all I want to do on a Saturday is just laze around at home and do nothing productive at all. This Saturday, however, I realised that it had been long since I had reinvigorated my taste buds with some authentic Italian food. I had heard a lot of good reviews about Toscanos and given the fact that its just a stone’s throw away from where I live, I decided to give it a shot.

Toscanos is your typical Italian restaurant with a typical Italian ambience- simple, classy and spick and span. We decided to go for a full-fledged three course meal.

Toscano Signature Salad

Starters: We ordered the Toscano Signature Salad and boy what a salad it was. It contained apricots, fresh figs, roasted peppers, haricots, tomatoes, tossed in red wine olive oil and served with goat cheese and mixed with greens drizzled with Balsamic. Phew! Of all the exotic ingredients in this salad, the one that caught my attention was the goat cheese. It was as fresh as ever and took the overall taste of the salad to a different level altogether. Who ever thought that just a cube of cheese could do a world of a difference to a salad? Besides, I have never eaten a salad with apricots in it before. Trust the Italians to come with such innovative ideas for their salad.

Risotto ai Porcini

Main Course: Dad is a vegetarian who is not too fond of pasta and pizza. Hence he ordered the Risotto ai Porcini – which is nothing but Italian rice with stewed Porcini Mushrooms, Parmesan cheese and cooked in extra virgin olive oil. I strongly feel that the dish didn’t go down too well with my Dad and the fact that Dad left almost one fourth of the dish untouched speaks for itself.



Linguine Aglio e olio fruiti di Marie

I am a sea-food lover and hence ordered the Linguine Aglio e olio fruiti di Marie- a long complicated name for a rather simple pasta. In plain words, its pasta with prawns, mussels nd fish cooked in “extra virgin olive oil” of course. The fish was very delicately cooked and by far the best component of the pasta. I couldn’t particularly enjoy the pasta because I still haven’t learnt to eat it without making a mess out of it.

Lemon Cheesecake

Dessert: The dessert can be easily dubbed as the Hero of the meal. The Lemon Cheesecake was served with the best vanilla ice cream and luscious red strawberries. Every bite of it was sheer bliss. Not to forget, it was served and decorated with excellent artistry skills.

Fine dining is an experience in itself. It goes beyond the food that is served at your table. The ambience, the service, the cutlery and even the most granular of the details of the restaurant, are all designed to make the diner feel important and special. It is self-indulgence at its max and does come with a large price tag. So when you are in a mood to pamper your gastronomical side, do not hesitate. I would give Toscanos a 4/5. A meal such as the one above can easily come up to 1500 Rupees.

The Chocolate Room

All we need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt- Charles Schulz

Well, I thought I was pretty much over with my two year long obsession with chocolates and anything even remotely associated with them. Nevertheless, the word ‘Chocolate’ still triggers the image of a brown, gooey, mouth-watering structure that is simply irresistible.

Strawberry Smoothie & Brownie Shake

 The Chocolate room is a café dedicated to chocolate fanatics. The Chocolate Room India Pvt Limited opened its flagship store in India in Ahmedabad, and since then have established their cafes across the country. In Bangalore, Chocolate Room is located in two areas- Koramangala and Brigade Road. I drooped in at the one on Brigade Road.

One look at the menu and you know you are in for a chocolate overdose. Chocolate Shots, Chocolate Pizza, Chocolate Fondues, Chocolate Crepes, Chocolate Pastries, ..you name it, they have it. Here’s a review of the stuff that I sampled at “ The Chocolate Room”. Honestly, I do not think I would be able to do justice to all that “The Chocolate Room “has to offer by deciding to review it after just  one visit. I 'll probably have to make a couple more trips to this place.

Strawberry Smoothie:  Served in a long sturdy cup that cheesily says “Drink Me”, this smoothie is just what you need on a hot Saturday afternoon. A combination of fresh strawberries and milk chocolate is enough to make your taste buds go into a frenzy.

Brownie Shake: More in quantity than the smoothie and much richer, the brownie shake is served with dollops of whipped cream and chocolate sauce. Nothing new in terms in flavour.

Chocolate Waffle

Chocolate Pastries: We sampled the Chocolate Chip pastry and the Chocolate Excess cake. They were served in a pool of warm, molten chocolate sauce. To describe them in one word – sinful!

Chocolate waffle: Ah, now this one was something I had never had the privilege of tasting before. The chocolate waffle is huge, sprinked with colourful marsh mellows and a mini mountain of vanilla ice cream on top. It is a meal by iself and one needs time to relish every bite of it. A truly must have when you visit this place.

Chocolate  Excess
Pastry

Now how much would I rate this place? I would give it a good 4.5/5. The extra half for the comfortable couches and clean ambience. If you are a die hard chocolate fan, then I strongly recommend  The Chocolate Room J

Harima:Onaka ga suita

And I’m back! Was I so busy that I couldn’t spend even a couple of hours updating my blog? Nope. I was just too lazy. With mammoth effort, I have somehow yanked myself out of this mental slumber to write todays post.

Last weekend, an old school friend and I decided to catch up over some good Japanese food. Well, I have never sampled Japanese food before and all that I have heard of it before is restricted to blunt complaints such as “it’s too bland”, “it’s too tasteless” etc. I was all set to put those opinions to test and let my taste buds open up to the novelty of Japanese cuisine. We dropped in at Harima – apparently a famous restaurant on Residency road.

Non-veg meal

The ambience is as close as it can get to Japanese. Diners are requested to leave their footwear in the shelf at the entrance. The tables are all very low set and one must sit on the floor on a cane mat to eat their meal. I liked the idea, especially because it is the best posture for eating.

The menu was rather plain and to-the-point. One can order an a-la-carte meal or opt for a Harima lunch. We choose the latter since it seemed more economical. I ordered Grilled Chicken in Japanese Teriyaki Sauce and Batter Fried Prawn in Sweet Mayonnaise Sauce . My friend ordered Vegetables Deep Fried in a Tempura Batter .The order took quite some time to land on our table. The entrees were served with rice and soup and some salad. The bland appearance of the food is a sharp contrast to its exotic naming. Not to forget, the portion size was exceptionally small (especially for an appetite like mine).

Teriyaki sauce is a combo of soy sauce, mirin(rice wine, something like sake) and sugar. This is probably the first non veg dish that I have sampled in my life that is sweet. Tempura batter essentially consists of wheat flour, baking soda, starch and some spices. Japanese rice grains stick to each other and hence, the dish appears smaller in terms of the portion size than it actually is. And of course, there is the usual collection of sauces on the table that you can choose from. Surprisingly, Japanese  meal does NOT include desserts! I could almost feel my sweet tooth seething with anger.

Veg meal

          All in all, Japanese food didn’t quite match upto my expectations. I can think of two reasons for this. One, I haven’t yet acquired a taste for it. Two, I’m simply not experienced enough to actually comment on it. All said and done, I can safely say that I would definitely like to give Japanese food another shot. Till then I would rather not rate Harima J

Ebony

Ask not what you can do for your country, just ask what's for lunch!

Well, I have never really been a big fan of buffet meals. The reason being I believe ( from experience) that the quality and freshness of food served at a buffet are many notches lower than that  served on an a la carte menu. And understandably so: when you get to eat around 10 dishes at the price of one or two, one must not complain. And the general observation about people going berserk at buffet meals, whether at a wedding or a restaurant, only goes to show that buffet meals are here to stay!

Last weekend I dropped in at Ebony. Yes, the same old restaurant located on the 13^th floor of Barton Centre on M.G road. Almost every Bangalorean who is fond of eating out would have heard of this place and hence, it needs no introduction. For those of you who have not yet been to Ebony, let me tell you, this place gives you an amazing view of the city, particularly at night.

 It was my second visit to Ebony and just like my previous visit; it left me satisfied but not ecstatic! As an answer to my grumbling stomach, I hastily picked up the dishes from the buffet and sat down with an eclectic collaboration of food on my plate.

Starters:

          Sunheri Kasta: Call it the Indian Spring Roll sprinkled with Alu Bhujia. The waiter claimed that the cooks freshly cooked the starters for each table. Oh common my boy! I’m not that dumb. It was so evident that the cook had just re- heated it.

          Sichuan Potato: Cold and stale, it didn’t leave a good impression either.

Main course:

          Paneer Pasanda: This was just about average. The panner wasn’t juicy but if you’re a paneer fan like me, you could still enjoy it.

Lahore Rasili Sabzi: it’s a mixed vegetable side dish. I liked this one and actually went for a second serving.

Bhindi Nazakath: I’m probably the most ardent lover of Bhindi in this world. You can give me any dish that has Bhindi in it and I will gobble it up in no time. As a token of my loyalty to this vegetable, I shall say that I loved it.

Stir fried Cantonese noodles: You would probably have tasted this a million times before, at a different restaurant and with a more exotic name of course.

Five island vegetable in yellow bean sauce: the dish is as interesting as its name. If my memory is not that bad, then it had baby corn, broccoli, tomato, capsicum, and beans in it. It can safely be called a vegetarians delight.

Tomato and Dal: I simply couldn’t stop myself from stacking up my plate with this dish. Eat it with the basmati rice ( also on the menu) and you are sure to fall in love with Dal- Chaawal all over again.

          Desserts:

                   Pyramid chocolate cake: Beautifully made and served, I bet you can’t have just one.

                   Khus ka Falooda: I tasted just one fourth of a teaspoon of it and realised, I just couldn’t take it anymore. It’s not a bad tasting dessert at all, but my taste buds seemed baffled when I tasted it.

                   Apple Crumble with Cream: Wow! This was the hero among the desserts. The outer crust had the perfect degree of crispness, sharply contrasted by the inner stuffing consisting of raisins, baked apple and cinnamon.

Time for my verdict- I would give ebony a 3.5/5. The ambience of Ebony is very basic, wooden tables and chairs on the inside and outside. However, Ebony exudes an old world charm that you just cannot miss. The buffet is priced at 375 rupees per plate. I suggest you go here on one of those lazy Sunday afternoons without too many expectations of course.