Hard Rock Cafe, Bangalore

For one, I feel the smoking ban has reduced the number of patrons frequenting HRC.  Although it was a Wednesday evening, I've been there on weekdays too and the place used to be pretty well occupied, although one might not have require to wait for a table.

I feel the acoustics have been worked upon and have improved.  I was quite taken aback during my first few visits to HRC - the acousitcs were so bad that you almost did not hear the music.

I tasted a Belgian beer - Chimay Blue Label - priced @ INR350 for a pint - which was refreshingly different and unlike any other beer I'd had...probably close to a Guiness stout but without the same texture and less caramelly.

The Indian food offering of Chicken curry with rice was horrendous.  It was pieces of boiled chicken cut and mixed with a spicy tomato / garlic based gravy.  Unlike a typical dish where the chicken is cooked in the gravy itself.  The less said about this dish the better.

The Haystack Chicken salad on the other hand was tasty and light and went well with the drinks.  Lots of chicken, some tortilla strips and lotsa veggies.

I will certainly be visiting this place again but...stick to non-Indian main courses if you plan to eat.  

SaravanaBhavan, Pondy Bazaar, Chennai

Saravana Bhavan (SB) is a very popular chain of restaurants in TN...is quite world famous, really.  One of the best chains serving delctable South Indian veg cuisine.

Over the years they have branched into other popular Indian cuisines such as Indian Chinese, north Indian meals and tiffin items, sweets and savouries and so on (all veg).  However, in my opinion, if you step into a Saravana Bhavan, where ever it is, you have to eat either a plate of idly,  vadai, pongal or dosai (plenty of varieties of dosai).

I had a plate of idly vadai {idly was steaming hot and is always served with 3 chutneys - coconut, coriander and onion&tomato - (sauces), some chilli powder mixed with sesame oil and a cup of hot onion sambar (shallots and pulses); the vadai was nice and crisp and goes very well with the sambar}, followed by some aapam with coconut milk (aapam is a pancake made with fermented batter - allowed to steam on a pan, made without oil and can be eaten like dosai with similar accompaniments - but I feel the slightly sweetened coconut milk goes best with the slightly sour aapam).  This was followed by a plain dosai (thin rice pancakes - served again with 2 chutneys and sambar).  All this was washed down with some unsweetened fresh orange juice.

There is this clever pricing for juices - if you order a juice without ice, it is costlier than the one served with ice - this is because the volume of ice is replaced with more fresh juice.  There are a number of unique things about SB - but I shall leave that for a later blog.

While the food was excellent and the place neat and clean as was expected, the service (especially the people taking orders) was a bit lax (as is again to be expected in any SB).

This outlet (airconditioned) is one of the more expensive outlets of SB - with breakfast for 3 people coming to INR400/-.

If you like food eat South Indian food at an SB outlet in Tamil Nadu (i understand from some friends that the taste of food @ some of their international outlets is not as good as it is in Chennai).

kobe sizzlers, garuda mall, bangalore

This joint was meant to be 'the place' for sizzlers in bangalore and there was quite a crowd on the Saturday I went there for lunch.

I asked for a beef sizzler with bbq sauce made medium rear. I got one which was quite well done. Although it tasted fine, it was quite a let down as they ought to learn what is rear and what is medium rear and what is well done.  The accompanying vegetables contained mainly cabbage, a few peas and some soggy fries.  I noticed that when they have a sizzler with cheese ia slice of processed cheese that is dropped on the sizzler.

The service was not quite upto the mark and so too was the air conditioning.  I was sweating like a pig due to the heat from all the sizzling food around.

A sizzler would cost around INR250/- and they do not serve alcohol.

I would not go there again in a hurry!!

Lazeez, Koramangala, Bangalore

One is greeted by a foul smell (of drainage) even as you enter this restaurant situated @ the basement level of the building.  There is no A/C section and there are around 10 tables give or take a few.  There is nothing to mention about the interrriors or the service.

The tandoori rotis seem to be made of maida and not atta and were 'nanish'. The gravy of the mutton curry seemed very good, the pieces were quite 'bony' and small - so the experience of chewing the juicy mutton piece is lost. The butter chicken lacked butter and the gravy was not great either. Prices are reasonable @ INR 250 for a meal for 2.

I certainly would not step in there again.

Aromas of China, Richmond Circle, Bangalore

Well, I went here again as it is a convenient walk from my house.

Mushoroom Pepper Salt for starters was nice, but I would suggest, instead of cutting the mushrooms, one could just stir fry them whole and then serve it.  This way while the outside gets a bit crispy, the inside juiciness of the mushroom is intact.

Chicken Hakka noodles was good and so was the Ginger and Capsicum Fried rice.  However, there was very less of capsicum in the rice (INFLATION???).

Sapo Chicken was very aromatic and tasty.  However, I wonder if it were really cooked in the clay pot?  Or do they cook it as usual in a metal vessel and transfer it to the sapo before serving?  I would tend to believe the latter is true.

All in all it was a good eating experience.  Unless you are really hungry, just order one starter, one main course and one side dish, probably share one dessert as the main course and starters portions are plentiful. 

Meal for 2 comes to around INR 1200.

Certainly one of the better Chinese restaurants in Bangalore.

Adyar Ananda Bhavan, Koramangala, Bangalore

Adyar Ananda Bhavan (A2B) as they would like to call it has a small restaurant (non A/c) above their sweet shop that serves South Indian vegetarian fare - South Indian Tiffin items

It is one of the few places in Bangalore where one can get ven-pongal. The food is quite tasty but there are very few waiters scampering around to serve the customers and hence the service is not fast.

The interiors are also not very clean, are vary basic and quite cramped. While most of the food is tasty (dosa varieties and pongal, the vadai (medhu vadai) may not be served hot as it is kept in a hot pack and is not fresh...for that matter so is the case with idly and pongal but since these items move faster the hot case is replinished with 'hot stuff' ).

Although they have a hoarding outside saying that they serve hot poli, we were told that it would be available only after 6pm. 

Food for 2 would come to around INR 100-150.

Definitely worth a try!!

Hotel Aryas, Vellore

This 'pure veg' restaurant is located on the service lane of NH 45 in the junction leading to Katpadi.  One is welcomed by a number of people, seemingly part of the management's family, and are directed to your table.

Service is a bit slow in terms of cleaning tables that have been vacated.  As in any such highway restaurant, one can find a few waiters who cough or sneeze as they go around with the dishes.  (Thank God for small mercies - the one attending to me did not cough / sneeze).  

Both a/c and non a/c sections are available.  And both meals and Indian (predominanatly South Indian) tiffin items and juices are available.

I had a veg meals for lunch on my way to Chennai from Bangalore.  It was simple and good.Not very spicy with an assortment of dishes.  There was sambar, rasam, mor kozumbu and a lentils gravy to mix the rice with.  There was kootu, a dry vegetable preperation, papad (appalam), lime pickle and a semi gravy onion preperation as side dishes.  

A veg meals in the non A/c section comes to INR 34, including a cup of curds made available on payment of INR 5 extra.

Not bad to catch a quick bite - may even improve your immunity!!

Castle @ Sandesh The Prince, Mysore

Whew!  What a funny name for a hotel.  We'd been here on our way back from Madikeri.  

The soups - Sweet corn veg and Talumein veg soup were as good as you get them in any decent Indian restaurant.

The biriyani - both Mutton and Chicken were not very flavourful.  The meat was not bad but one did not have the satisfaction of eating a good biriyani.

Sweet lassi was a bit sour.

The best item I had was the South Indian Rasam - was very aromatic and tasted just right.  As an afterthought..we should have just had the Rasam instead of the soup.

Sukhi Sabzi..ordered by some of my vegetarian friends to accompany the rasam rice was a mixed vegetable in garam masala - nothing special.

Meal for 6 adults comes to around 2000/-

About the ambience - very loud and hits one in the face type of interriors - as could be expected in "the prince".

They do serve liquour to wash down the food.  The cost of beer is as in any restaurant in Bangalore @ INR 100 for a pint and INR 150 for a full bottle.

Stick to Rasam, rice, some dry veg dish and beer!!

toscano, ub city, bangalore

As the name suggests is an Italian restaurant. I had a soup - mushroom, some pan fried norwegian salmon and a pasta. It was quite good and a meal for 2 without drinks comes to around INR 1500/-

The soup was superb and the other two dishes were nice. I should say, I have had better salmon in bangalore, probably it was a bit over fried killing the original taste of the salmon.
I should mention that they also serve bread (foccacia) with some dips on the house and this was truly lip smacking. 

When I went in August, they had not started servin liqour...hope they have started a the bar seems all set.
I would rate this restaurant above fiorano (way above) but below graze. 

just go and try it