Hong Kong Hustle, Church Street

We went to Church Street to try out any new restaurant that had come up. We found the name board of Saigon (sandwiched between Ruby Tuesday and Oye Amritsar) lit up and found a few customers seated inside. We had liked the food @ Saigon before they were closed for renovation. Having ventured to Saigon, we did not find the name reflecting in the lift – of course there was this Asian restaurant named Hong Kong Hustle and we ventured to that place.
Place is air conditioned and can seat around 50 pax. There are a number of seats overlooking Church Street. Place serves Hong Kong street food as they call it and serves liquor too.
Going for
+ New and different concept – It is a combination of a buffet and a set menu. There are 5 veg (veg dimsum, grilled mixed veggies, cauliflower pan fried, potato pan fried and a fried veg wanton) and 5 non veg starters (fried prawn triangles, chicken dimsum, fish skewers, mutton skewers and chicken wings). The starters are served at the table. This is followed by a main course of rice or noodles, the varieties are plain, chicken, vegetable or egg. This is served in a gravy for which you decide the ingredients. There is a choice of around a dozen vegetables including bamboo shoots, button mushrooms, sweet corn and baby corn. After choosing the vegetables, you can choose your meat from chicken, prawns or fish. There is a choice of three sauces to choose from ranging from bland to very spicy. The rice or noodles and the gravy made with ingredients of your choice is served at the table. This is followed by 5 desserts + ice cream being served at the table.
+ Very good Indianized Chinese food – the chicken wings, the gravy that came with the main course, the fish and mutton skewers and the fried potatoes and the grilled mixed vegetables stood out. So too did the dry fruit fried wanton served with the desserts.
+ Courteous and prompt service.
+ Price - @ INR 375/- per person it was worth it,even if not cheap. You can have as many helpings as required.
Not Going For
- The dimsums were very bland.
- The mango jelly was not the best of desserts.
Per person the cost is around INR 375/-. Carlsberg – 650 ml beer comes at INR 190/- and is the costliest beer on the menu.
Reco – Definitely deserves a visit.

Daily Brew, Forum Value Mall

As is suggestive of the name, this is a coffee shop. Located at one corner of the atrium of the mall. The area is open and can seat around 20 pax - there are a couple of couches thrown in along with the chairs and tables. On display are a number of bakes including pastries, puffs, muffins and bread varieties. It is part of the 'Daily Bread' chain. The different varieties of bread baked by Daily Bread is also available at the counter.

Going for

+ Nice place to sit and sip coffee with a muffin - with the mall bustling all around.

+ Nice variety of bakes.

Not going for

- The coffee is not served hot! That too an espresso.

- Understaffed - typical of many coffee shops, only 2 staff man the counter and hence when more than a handful of items are to be served, there is a delay.

A pastry comes at around INR 50/- and a shot of espresso costs around INR 30/-.

Reco - If you have time and don't want hot beverages, it might be worth a visit. If you want hot coffee - avoid, unless its empty.

Namma Sagar, Food Court, Forum Value Mall

Namma Sagar specializes in South Indian tiffin items, while also serving North Indian tiffin items and juices - all vegetarian. Namma Sagar has two outlets adjoining each other and is (in line with most other food courts in Bangalore that have veg-South Indian tiffin outlets) the most popular counter in the food court. It is a typical outlet at a food court - with moderate to poor service and slow to deliver the food.

Going for

+ Variety of dosais (thin crusted rice flour batter pancakes) and other tiffin items.

Not Going for

- Nothing exceptional about the food. At times the sambar (Souht Indian lentil and vegetable based light gravy) is not served hot.

- North Indain items, especially parathas (milled wheat Indian flat bread) need to be improved.

A Masala Dosai costs around INR 45/-. Onion dosai costs around INR 40/- and a plain dosai comes to around INR 35/-. Parathas come for INR 50+.

Reco - Not bad. Stick to the traditional South Indian fare.

La Boulangerie - The French Bakery, Kotturpuram

Tucked beside a Citibank ATM it is a small blink and you miss sort of an outlet. It is air conditioned and sells a variety of baked items.
Going for
+ Good range of bakes – you get a variety of breads including the French loaf, puffs, pastries, mud cakes, banana cakes, muffins and quiches. Both vegetarian and non vegetarian varieties are available.
+ Fresh and tasty bakes – the white cut sandwich bread and the brown cut sandwich bread were good. So was the French loaf, the banana cake and the chicken puff.
+ Pleasant service – there are 2-3 persons at the counter, and they always serve with a smile.
No Going for
- The mushroom quiche – had a distinct raw egg taste and was disappointing.
- Breads are expensive – especially the white and brown sandwich bread portions that have only a handful of slices.
A portion of bread (10-12 slices) costs around INR 35/-. Puffs are around INR 40/-. Cakes and pastries start at around INR 40/-.
Reco – Nice place to pick up cakes, pastries and other bakes including French loaf. Avoid the mushroom quiche.

Rakabdar, opposite Forum Mall-dairy circle exit

This place opposite Forum Mall boasts of Awadhi or Lucknowi cuisine.
The interiors are dimly lit and the place can seat around 70 pax. The interiors seem to be confusing in that there is an attempt at being ‘flashy and royal’ while at the same time attempting to be ‘modern and simple’. The place is air-conditioned and serves liquor.
The restaurant is on the first floor of the building, while the second floor houses a lounge bar and there is a roof top bar on top of that.
Going for
+ Soups. I tasted two of the 3 or 4 soups on the menu and they were awesome. One was the Shorba Yakhani Badami – a chicken soup with minced chicken balls and flavoured with almonds. The other, the Shorba Imtiazi, was spiced with lemon leaves, celery and coriander and had a few pieces of Indian salmon, a few rings of squid and a tiger prawn. The latter was a bit sweet and the presentation of the dish was good too. Both the soups were light, clear and flavourful. The latter was a recommended dish on the menu.
+ Service. Service is with a smile. You are recommended the right quantity to order – we were told a couple of soups and a biriyani would be sufficient for the two of us if we were not very hungry and the recommendation was spot on.
Not going for
- Very bad biriyani (aromatic rice dish made with ghee, basmati rice, mutton, garlic, onions and a host of Indian spices. The dum biriyani is slow cooked in a sealed vessel to preserve the aroma and the flavour of the spices). The Dum Gosht Lucknowi Biriyani, another recommended dish on the menu was not good. The rice was under cooked. The meat was not well done. The meat was hard and had an odd flavour. I doubt it was mutton at all. Maybe the meat used was lamb (sheep). There was hardly any flavour and absolutely no aroma.
The biriyani + the 2 soups cost around INR 700/-
Reco – Not recommended. The soups were great. Maybe some of the other items are good. Don’t go anywhere near the biriyani.

Saravana Bhavan, Mylapore Tank

Another one on Saravana Bhavan. Saravana Bhavan is a popular chain, spread across the globe with a majority of their restaurants in and around Chennai. They are best known for their South Indian tiffin items, although they serve Chinese and North Indian fare too.

Saravana Bhavan serves only vegetarian cuisine and do not serve alcohol in any of their outlets.
There are many restaurants that go by this name, although the original ones have a red HSB logo and go by the name Hotel Saravana Bhavan.
This place in Mylapore has an air conditioned section that can seat around 100 pax and a non air conditioned section that can seat a similar number. The car park can accommodate around 20 cars.
Pricing varies (even within a city) based on the location of the restaurant and with the air conditioned portion charging almost twice that charged in the non air conditioned portion.
I always stick to the South Indian items which is their specialty.
Going for
+ Awesome food. The idli (steamed rice flour batter) is as soft as it gets. The dosai (thin pancake made with rice flour batter) was perfectly done – just a bit crunchy while still being soft. The aapam (pancake made with fermented rice flour batter) was light and served fresh with its shape (‘U’) intact and was served with fresh coconut milk (a bit sweetened). The aapam also comes with a veg gravy if required. The adai (a thick pancake made with a batter of mixed pulses) served with avial (a thick mixed vegetable gravy infused with coconut – popular in Tamil Nadu and Kerala). The rava dosai (a very thin pancake made with a batter based in broken wheat semolina) was also done to perfection – more crunchy than soft. The idli and dosais are served with multiple chutneys (sauces) – coconut, coconut and coriander and tomato and onion, chili powder (chili ground with various roasted pulses and salt and served with sesame oil) and shallots sambar (a light South Indian gravy made with shallots and pulses infused with tamarind and seasoned with mustard and curry leaves).
+ Cleanliness – is nothing less than what you get in a 5 star restaurant in India.
+ Consistency – there is absolutely no deterioration in quality and taste of the food served.
+ Presentation – the presentation of the food is as best can be for the South Indian tiffin items.
Not going for
- Service – very laid back. This is true of their other outlets and also of their air-conditioned section.
- Lack of parking – If the parking is full, it is not easy to find a spot near the Mylapore tank.
Non air conditioned - 2 plates of idli + 1 dosai + 1 rava dosai + 2 aapam + 1 adai avial + 2 cups of coffee came to around INR 230/-. (The pricing in this outlet is a bit on the higher side for the non-air conditioned section)
Reco – Must go. If you visiting Chennai or any other place where there is a ‘HSB’ do drop in to taste some idlis and dosais.

Kahwa, The Zuri Whitefield

Kahwa is a 24 hour coffee shop serving multi cuisine food and boasting of a live pizza oven. I had infact wanted to go to the Pan Asian restaurant in the hotel but was told that the same was open only for dinner / supper. The place is quite large, spacious and well lit and can easily seat over 100 pax. It is located just beyond the lobby of the hotel.

The restaurant serves both ala carte and buffet and they have separate menus for lunch and dinner. I thought I would go in for the buffet so that I taste a wider variety of dishes. The multi cuisine buffet had North and South Indian dishes, Chinese and Continental dishes.

Typical of a business hotel in a business district, the restaurant was quite empty on the Saturday afternoon.

Going for

+ Fairly large spread with 5 non veg dishes, 5 veg side dishes a few rice and noodle varieties and a few salads and desserts. Indian bread is served fresh on the table and so are a few starters.

+ Pleasantly welcomed and seated.

+ The veg Hakka noodles, the fried brinjal in soya sauce and the fresh veg and chicken dimsums served as starters. The cream of pumpkin soup was also very tasty.

+ Fresh hot tandoori (char grilled) Indian bread (this is standard in India in any multi cuisine buffet)

+ Karamani Thoran - A Kerala dry fry made with spices, long beans and grated coconut with coconut oil.

+ Indian desserts. The gulab jamun (fried flour balls in syrup) was fresh, tasty, soft and not too sweet and so were the gajar ka halwa (sweet made with grated carrots) and the rosogolla (a Bengali sweet made with paneer or Indian cottage cheese and syrup).

No going for

- The North Indian mutton gravy dish was as bland as could have been, although the mutton was juicy and well cooked.

- The salad section was nothing special and although there were half a dozen vegetarian and non vegetarian salads on offer, it was not appealing.

- The vegetables with mixed mushrooms was boiled vegetables and the mushrooms were nothing but soggy water filled mushrooms. Not that the mushroom flavour had permeated or complimented the vegetables either.

- Only one vegetarian and one non vegetarian starter is served on the table - the vegetarian one was a kind of fried cheese and was not bad. However, the chicken tikka was disappointing in that one expects it to be boneless.

- The vendakai kara kozhumbu - meant to be a Tamil Nadu dish - a spicy light gravy with okra - was bland and tasteless.

- There were no fruits either as part of the desserts or as part of the salad counter.

- The bread varieties - except for the shape tasted just the same.

- The western desserts - nothing worth a mention.

- There was iced tea on display but we were told that it was not part of the buffet.

- Service - was very lax with respect to removing the plates from the table, attending to the table or in handling the billing.

- Not value for money.

Cost - @ INR 550/- per person and a pint of Bud costing INR 200/- certainly very expensive.

Reco - Avoid the buffet. The Chinese dishes showed promise, probably the Pan Asian restaurant is good?

Almustafa, Gelbe, Sydney

Located off Paramatta Road in Gelbe, the place seemed quite popular. Despite incessant rains on that Friday evening, the place was quite packed. We were quite lucky to get a table. Almustafa serves Lebanese cuisine and can seat around 50 pax, maybe a bit more. Liquor is not served, however, you can bring your own drinks.
Going For
+ Specialty cuisine - Specialty Lebanese restaurants are hard to come by.
+ Tasty food - The Samkeh Harra was recommended to us. The barramundi (fresh water fish) fillet was very tasty and the fish was perfectly done and was absolutely fresh. The portion was filling and the flavors of sesame (on account of the tahini sauce), chili and garlic complimented the fresh fish fillet. The Cousa - zucchini stuffed with spices, rice and minced lamb was also good.
+ Belly Dancers - They have belly dancers in the evenings on Fridays and Saturdays and the entertainment was worth it while we waited for the food to arrive.
+ Service - Though a bit slow, food was always served with a smile and there was always a waiter available to attend to your table.
+ Price - not too costly for a specialty restaurant.
+ Bring your own liquor policy.
Not going for
- Cold Pide' - the pide bread served was not warm, I prefer the fresh kind.
- Minimal desserts - There are only a few items in the desserts section of the menu.
- Missing items - Some items mentioned in the menu were not available (like the baby octopus dish - grilled pickled octopus)
- Interiors - while attempt has been made to make the place look Lebanese, the place is too congested. It is made of one very narrow hall with one row of tables and another perpendicular portion that has a few tables - an 'L' shaped seating area.
- Service time - Takes quite some time to serve the food - probably because it is freshly cooked!
- No liquor served.
The aforementioned two items, a scoop of ice cream and a cold drink came to around AUD 100/-.

Reco - If you like West Asian cuisine, head here. Friday and Saturday would be better with the belly dancers.

Oporto, Sydney City

Oporto is Australia's answer to KFC and Macs.

Items are all chicken based and they boast of their fresh / non frozen grilled chicken.

There are stand alone eateries and restaurants attached to food courts.

the menu includes breakfast items (beacon and egg variety), salads, wraps and burgers. Of course, there are the standard bottled drinks, water and sodas on offer. On both the occasions I had been there I had their burgers.

Going For

+ Healthy grilled chicken based menu.

+ Tasty burgers - the Bondi Burger - with grilled chicken fillet, cheese and lettuce and served with their signature chili sauce was fresh, different and tasty. The small Bondi burger was a lighter version of the bigger one.

+ Different option - to a KFC or a Macs.

Going Against

- A burger is a burger when it has a beef patty inside.

- Menu is limited to chicken based dishes.

The Bondi burger was a bit more than AUD 10/-. The mini burger was around AUD 5/-.

Reco - Must visit if you are a tourist on a budget or if you want something different.

Chen Fu Ji, Food Court, HK Airport

This eatery is part of the food court at the transit terminal in HK airport. Seating as in any food court is in the common area. You are given a token number when you place the order and pay which you display @ your table. The food, when ready, is served @ the table.

This restaurant is said to be part of a popular Singapore based chain of restaurants.

Going For

+ Freshly made noodles

+ Tasty noodles and noodle soups - the seafood in the laksa was quite fresh and the quantity was good too.

Going Against

- Limited menu like most restaurants in food courts

- Typical of express quick Chinese food, most meat / vegetables are pre-boiled / pre-cooked and mixed and matched depending on the order.

- The iced tea was very ordinary - but iced teas are never 'special'.

- Certainly not value for money.

1 seafood laksa (coconut infused spicy clear noodle soup) + 1 Chinese pepper chicken bun + 1 iced tea came to around HKD 130/-.

Reco - Limited choice in this terminal, hence either you go here for South East Asian fare or go to one of the lounges!

ID idli&dosa, Sathyam Theatre

Vegetarian restaurant serving predominantly South Indian tiffin items. It is located inside the theatre premises. Is open between 11 am and 11 pm on all days.

Going for

+ Good food - the idli (steamed rice flour), aapam (pancake made with fermented rice flour), the aapam was served with fresh coconut milk, pesarattu (thin pancake made with flour of pulses that is spiced with fenugreek, green chili and other Indian spices) - the pesarattu was served with upma (broken wheat steamed with various spices - literally translated means salt and flour) and adai (another variety of thin pancake made with pulses flour) were all good.

+ Number of chutneys (sauces) were served on the table - coconut, tomato and onion, coriander and green chili were the varieties served.

+ Presentation of the food is quite good, including the serving plates.

+ Conveniently located.

+ Value for money.

Going against

- Some food items were not good - for example the avial (a South Indian dish made with a number of vegetables stewed with a generous helping of coconut cream) was too sour and was not served hot.

- Service - quite slow - too many pax catered to by each waiter.

- Ambiance - The place is quite cramped. A place that can ideally seat around 40 pax seats around 70 pax.

- Not open for breakfast.

2 pcs of idli + 1 appam + 1 pesarattu + 1 adai came to around INR 150/-.

Reco - must visit if you go to the theatre after 11 am

Eating @ HongKong Airport

There are two airports in HK.
One is the main airport where one checks in and disembarks if one is going into HK. The other is the transit airport where one gets off the plane and waits if one is transiting.

The main airport is huge and has a number of eateries. If you are going via HK and have more than a few hours at hand, just go to the main airport, finish immigration and just wait out there. You might get lost in the huge airport but would certainly not get bored and you would have more than enough options to choose from when it comes to pleasing your taste buds. Note that visa is mostly on arrival in HK and you may not need a prior visa to clear immigration and wait out in this airport.

The transit airport is relatively small. Has but one food court with a handful of eateries and is not the best place to wait - especially when you are transiting.

Chili's, HAL Airport Road

More of a lounge bar serving Tex Mex cuisine. Located near Total mall in a very congested portion of HAL Airport road.

Going for

+ Ambience - has a couple of large LCDs if you land there on match days. Music being played is not too loud and retro and current pop + rock. Not too brightly lit and can seat around 100 pax, maybe a bit more.
+ Presidente’ Margarita - it is their signature drink
+ Mushroom Fajitas - tastes better when ordered with extra mushrooms
+ Other Margaritas - El Nino Margarita and the Classic Margarita (Have purposely left out the composition of the drinks. Just try them out, all margaritas are tequila based as they should be.)
+ Buy one get one free on drinks till 8pm on all days
+ Other food items such as chips with spinach mushroom dip, veg quesadilla and veg pasta
+ Valet Parking
Going against

- Service - pretty slow, on match days concentrate on the TV rather than on guests, take orders wrongly and bill wrongly too (all in the same day!)
- Service Charges @ 12% on your bill!
- The crowd or rather the lack of it.

2 Presidente', 2 Kingfisher Pint, 1 classic martini, 1 el nino margarita, 1 classic margarita, 1 30ml Bacardi, 2 30ml shots of silver tequila (all the above were during happy hours = +1), 2 Budweiser pints + 2 pints of draught beer came close to INR7000/-

Reco - go with a large group and enjoy the drinks during happy hours. Don’t mind the poor service.