Memories of China, Taj Residency, Bangalore

Before I comment about the restaurant, I should mention that the security @ the Taj has been beefed up.  Guests cars (even resident guests) are not parked in the complex.  You have to exit your car almost as soon as you enter the gate (not even @ the portico...I don't understand how they would manage it during the rains).  All baggage is scanned like in our airports and you enter through a metal detector.  I certainly hope they are able to manage their security well @ all their properties.

The restaurant seats a bit more than 100 pax.  Was brightly lit and when I entered @ around 8pm, only one other table was occupied by a couple.  But soon enough the place filled up, mostly with foreigners.  Quite good considering it was a Tuesday evening.

They took around 40 minutes to get the steamed pork dumplings (jiao zi pork).  Six tasty dumplings that disappeared in no time.

I ordered a beef semi gravy dish (Poached beef tenderloin in spicy sauce).  Was rather tasty.  However, it was not thinly sliced as it was meant to be.  The portion was also quite large.  I ordered a seafood noodles to go with the beef gravy.  The hakka noodles was again very tasty.   The noodles had quite a bit of crab meat and prawns, I should say.  The portion of noodles is certainly not enough for two hungry people.  One should order at least two items (rice or noodles) along with a gravy in order to be satiated.  I did not order more as the gravy was over by now and I did not want to wait for another 15 minutes for the food.   The main course items were served in less than 15 minutes, thankfully.

The food cost INR 1700/-.  One small RC whiskey costs INR 250/-.

Reco - Food's tasty.  Portions could have been better.  Worth a visit.

Now, a word on the parking.  The hotel has a parking lot adjacent to the hotel which can apparently accommodate upto 100 cars.  However, if you are lucky and this place is filled, your car could end up quite a distance away and you would have to wait for at least 15 minutes before you get yours back.  Of course if you have the time, you could spend it looking at the reactions of other impatient and nervous guests who had arrived before you to collect their vehicles.  I should say I was disappointed with this.

Silver Wok, Off Richmond Road, Bangalore

This restaurant serves Chinese fare.  The menu is quite extensive.  The restaurant is air conditioned and seats less than 100.  On a Saturday night I was among only a handful of guests who had unfortunately gone to this place.

Almost as soon as the whisky arrived, so did the flies.  It was really amazing as I found not only the common housefly but also a really small variety and the bigger variety that is normally present near animals.  As the waiters tried their best to rid the place of the flies, I put up with this inconvenience.  It was then that I realized that the interior walls looked rather patchy and stained.

The asparagus and chicken soup was very tasty.  The Prawn - Spinach fry was rather good..it was fried prawns served along with crispy fried chopped spinach...except for the spinach being a bit salty, it was rather tasty.

Fish with mushroom and bamboo shoots was a dish in thick gravy (primarily of tomato, garlic and vinegar).  It was not bad at all but contained probably 3 sliced button mushrooms and 5-6 pieces of bamboo shoots.

I also tried a mixed meat fried rice.  Nothing special about it, but the meat (pork and mutton) were rather hard - probably because it was frozen and not thawed enough or probably because it was re-heated a number of times and had hence become bereft of moisture.

These four items cost INR 760/- - pretty expensive for the experience.  1 large RC costs INR 230/-.

Reco - Certainly not worth it.

Daddy's Deli, 12th Main, Indiranagar, Bangalore

Daddy's Deli is a Parsi restaurant.  It is part of a lodging called 'Executive Inn'.  It can seat around 40-50 people at a time and is air conditioned.

Service is personalized with the owners acting as the hostess and host.  Not much of choice of beverages, although beer is available.  The menu too is limited and the restaurant is open only on Fridays (dinner), Saturday and Sunday (lunch).  There are specials of the day (1 item) that are available outside the menu.

The special of the day when I visited the place was 'Stuffed Brinjal', I was told.  Although not a brinjal fan, I decided to try this dish.  It was fried brinjal in a tomato based gravy with peas, served with phulka.  Although it was not stuffed brinjal, it was certainly a tasty dish.

I then ordered a prawn pulav.  This was one of the best pualv's I have ever had.  It was very flavourful with shallots, leek and coriander chopped finely along with the usual spices that make up a pulav.  The prawns were juicy and done to perfection.  This was served with some mashed black lentil (dal) gravy.

The veg dish + the pulav is sufficient for 2 who are not very hungry but is certainly too much for one person.  The bill for these two dishes came to INR375/-.

Reco - Must try - the only joint serving Parsi cuisine in Bangalore (Food's tasty too).

Bike&Barrel, Residency Towers, Chennai

B&B is the pub @ Residency Towers.  I used to frequent this place as it played out some of the best music (rock and retro pop) on week days in Chennai.  I had been to this place recently (end-Feb 09).

They have re-hashed the menu a bit.  You are served some boiled channa dal, peanuts, salads and potato wafers on the house.  There are a couple of LCD TVs displaying one sports channel or the other.  The service is not top notch, but certainly is not bad.  The cocktails served are plenty and quite good too. 

There are two levels, the first level where you need to be accompanied by a lady and the upper level - purely for the stags.

However, the music was so bad that I almost became depressed.  Till around 9pm on a Friday there was no crowd at all and there was no DJ either, just some old record that was being played in the background.  Just a few foriegners (on account of some tie up with British Council - hearsay) scattered around.  B&B used to be choc-a-bloc full of people even on weekdays, at times one would find it difficult to find a place even on the upper level.  B&B, I guess, has lost its charm.

A 60 ml whiskey would cost around INR 170/- and a beer around INR 150/-.  

Reco - better stay away if you want good music to go with your drink.

Roadside@Veilankanni

Veilankanni, a coastal town in Tamil Nadu is a popular pilgrimage center.  It is famous for the Church of Mother Mary - Veilankanni.

As early as 6am in the morning for around 3 hours and again in the evening from around 6 pm, the road that lines the sea facing entrance to the main Church is lined with women serving delectable delights (OK...do not get carried away...i was referring only to food).  These roadside eateries spread into the road that leads to the beach.

You get nice hot idlis (steamed rice and lentil (urad dal) flour) served with coconut chutney and fish curry.  Mouth watering stuff.  You also get steaming hot puttu (dry rice flour and fresh grated coconut mixed and steamed) with coconut and sugar - one may choose from either the one made with white rice or the one made with red rice.  The stuff is simply mouth watering.  You could catch a couple of puttus (combo) for around INR10/- or a couple of idlis combined with fish curry for around INR 15/-.  You also get steamed tapioca and fried fish, but I did not try these.

I must mention that the place is not the cleanest and you would have a few four legged creatures accompanying the cooks - but it is certainly a must try if you visit Veilankanni.

China Pearl, Koramangala, Bangalore

For those who are familiar with Bangalore, this place is no different from a Chungs or a Chung Wa except for the price which is at least 20% more than these places.

I had a Pepper Lemon Sea Food Soup - not a bad concoction. Had 4 pieces of prawns and a bit of fish.  Was not too spicy but was certainly lemony with both lemon and lemon grass adding to the taste and aromas.

The Veg Fried Rice was very ordinary and probably like what would be available @ a road side joint.

The Fish in Schezwan sauce was not bad but it certainly hurt the pocket @ INR195.

The cost of the experience was around INR 450/-.  The above items are enough to serve 2 people who are not very hungry.

The interiors are very basic and air conditioned.  Service was a bit tardy.  However, the place seemed quite popular as the 25 odd table restaurant was almost full.

Reco - Maybe a Chungs is more VFM (Value for Money).

Zara Tapas Bar, Chennai Airport

I had landed in the Chennai Airport and had to wait there as I had gone to Chennai to see off a relative of mine who was flying to Australia.

What better way to spend time than have a few rounds in a bar.

The bar is not stacked with the best foreign liquor.  The interiors are dark and the service was not the best I have seen.  However, I must admit that the service was way better than what one would get in the lounges in Chennai Airport.

The bar, as the name suggests, serves Tapas - Spanish snacks.  The main courses vary between Indian and Spanish and I did not have the time for these.

I had a few rounds of RC Whiskey and a few snacks to go with it.

You are welcomed with some warm bread topped with a variation of Salsa sauce - not bad as it was complementary.  (Unlike most bars in India, the complementary snacks stop with this)

The 'Gambas Al Ajilo' - stir fried prawns (deviened with tail intact) was tasty.  The prawns were nice and juicy and had a lot of garlic flavour.  Was indeed a good cocktail snack.

'Spicy Squid' was rings of squid cooked in a very thick gravy of tomato, garlic and chilli - also made for a good cocktail snack.

Finally, the 'Berenjinas Gartinadas' - Chopped brinjal baked with cheese was a disappointment.  Although they tried to throw in 'one' leaf of basil, and baked it with a tomato gravy and cheese, it was flavourless.  Probably if it had been layered with more basil, it might have tasted better.

These food items cost a bit more than INR 500/-

The cost of 1 large RC was (I think) INR 160/-

Certainly a place to visit @ the airport when you have nothing else to do.