Kattumaram, St.Mary's Road, Chennai

I'd been here to parcel something for supper.  It was supposed to be a new specialty seafood restaurant and had been reviewed highly in the local papers.  There is an air-conditioned area which can seat around 30 pax and a roof top area which can also seat around 30 pax.  I noticed that there was only one waiter for each of these areas - probably the service would be a bit slow.

I ordered for some hoppers (aapam - pancake made with fermented rice flour batter), fish kothu paratha - supposed to be paratha (fried Indian bread made with refined wheat flour) that is mixed with fried fish and onions and some green chillies and is minced on the pan. A plain paratha and a dish called 'yeral thoku masala' - Prawns in a gravy of mashed pickle.

The appam was nice - although I always prefer to have aapam served fresh on my plate rather than having it packed.  The paratha was quite large (around 8 inch diameter) - nothing to complain about.  The fish kothu paratha was a disappointment.  It had a 3 cubes of fried fish mixed with plain kothu paratha.  The fish itself was not minced with the paratha and this is just not the way it has to be made and served.

The gravy of the yeral thoku masala was good.  It was a fresh tomato thoku (mashed tomato pickle).  However, there were only 6 pieces of very small prawns.  @ INR 150, it certainly was not worth it.

The bill came to INR 365/-.  I may not be keen to visit this place again.

Reco - Nothing special about it - go without any expectations & you may come back a bit satisfied.

Olive Beach, Ashok Nagar, Bangalore

This place was highly recommended.  Located in a converted house on Wood Street, off Richmond road - it is in a blink and you miss kind of place. Seating is available indoors - air-conditioned) and outside in the garden.  I chose to sit in the garden as the weather was pleasant.

The bar which is indoors looks out into the garden too.  Nothing great about the ambiance but it is pleasing.

The wild mushroom soup was a creamy soup and was good.  A bread basket with various varieties of bread is served 'on the house' along with a cream dip - nothing special about either the bread or the dip - you do not even get the aroma of fresh bake when this is served.

The sea food salad was awesome.  Had quite a few pieces of salmon, jumbo prawns, fish and some crab meat tossed with a light vinaigrette dressing and with some lettuce thrown in.  The 8 hour lamb is something that should not be missed if you happen to eat here.  The meat was just falling off from the bones, waiting to be eaten and was served with mashed potato.

The smoked chicken and pesto pizza, while being flavourful was a disappointment.  The crust was thin - no issues with that, however it was not soft as a pizza crust ought to be.  It was crisp and biscuity.  And the 'Lavazza' espresso was more of an Americano - very light.

Service was not bad - nothing special.

The bill for the above amounted to INR 2100.  They charge service charges @ 10% on top of this.  A pint of beer would cost around INR 160/- and a small of domestic whiskey would cost as much too.

And there is a mandatory donation of INR10 towards some Charity - I did not bother to ask about it as it was getting late by the time we were done with the food - but they ought to inform guests that such collections are being billed and what they are for. 

I went with very high expectations.  While some of the dishes lived upto the expectations, I was not fully satisfied.

Reco - give it a shot - not a must visit type of a place

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.

Grameen, Koramangala, Bangalore

Dishes out North Indian vegetarian fare, with the option of Jain food if requested. The aloo paratha was quite good, but the other parathas had a bit too much of masala, thereby masking the taste of the vegetable(s) filling.

The side dishes, especially the veg koftha was very tasty. The grameen biriyani predominantly tasted of the curry leaf masala used. The curd rice was sour and probably, they had used the left over rice from morning. Among the beverages, the sweet lassi was nice and so was the 'kokum' soda. They served only gulab jamuns for dessert and this was a let down.

Interiors are designed to reflect a villiage atmosphere, but is quite cramped for space. Service is not too fast, considering they take the order even as you wait outside to be seated.

Meal for three comes to around INR 360/-. 

The set-meal lunch is recommended. As regards other items, some are really good, while others are less than ordinary - give it a shot!

The Tasty Tangles, UB City, Bangalore

Having walked out of Toscano as they do not serve alcohol, I went to a restaurant on the other side of the terrace.  It looked quite appealing from outside with a fairly large area with tables both outside on the terrace (covered) and an airconditioned area.  The name was also quite intriguing - Tasty Tangles.

I was ushered in bu a courteous lady and seated.  I ordered for two starters - one veg - Chayote salad - it was plain cut vegetables in a sauce that had no taste - an absolutely bland dish and one non-veg - Fried Calamari Rings - It was batter fried calamari rings and was not bad.  Does not deserve any special mention though.

The Tom yum soup did not have any lemon grass - had a few pieces of jumbo prawns that were nice and juicy - but tom yum without lemon grass is unpardonable.  The 'small' portion of this soup that we had ordered was in itself a bit of a large serving.

Having tanked up in so many starters, we went for just one main course and a side dish to accompany.  We ordered some Singapore noodles - vegetarian - it was glass noodles with veggies in a soya sauce and was not bad.  The side dish was a kong pong prawns - The serving size was good.  There were quite a few pieces of jumbo prawns.  But it was not very flavourful.  It was a semi gravy with soya sauce overpowering the taste of the other spices and the bell pepper that the dish had.

The service - less said of this the better.  When we asked the waiter to serve the main course and the gravy - pat  came the reply that as a policy they do not serve.  The dishes are just left on the table and the patrons are expected to serve themselves.  Considering there is a 10% service charge on the total bill this is atrocious.

The bill for the aforementioned dishes came to around 1400 + service charge + taxes - around INR 1800. ( I had a couple of drinks -RC Whiskey- too and with the drinks the bill came to around INR 2300.)

When I saw the charge slip later, I realized that the amount was charged to 'Noodle House' - a place that I do not dig much.  Had I known this earlier, I might have thought twice about going to this joint.

Ordinary food and poor service - I would certainly not go there again.

Dahlia - Church Street - Bangalore

This was a Thursday evening. My friend and I thought we should try some new cuisine and after a pint of draught each at Coco Grove, decided to go for Japanese cuisine.

The place was not crowded (around 9pm), with a couple of tables occupied. The ambience was clean and nice (as any far east restaurant would be), I did not notice any sushi bar. However, there were a few low tables to sit with folded legs and eat like one does in Japan. We sat down at one such table to enjoy the fare and the menu was offered to us. The menu had the photographs of some of the dishes, but not for all of them. The dishes had Japanese names and the menu did not specify whether a dish is a rice based or noodle based one or whether it is spicy or less spicy and so on (in most cases).

We decided to take the services of the captain who was taking the meal order. He tried to explain for one query from us and then told us (in a pretty rude tone)that he is not paid to explain what is in the menu. By Jove! Were we surprised by this! On asking him as to how were we to order without knowing what we are ordering, he went on to say that it was upto us to figure out.

The poor service prompted us to walk out without tasting the food.

Reco - Avoid if you want good service 

Toscano, UB City, Bangalore

I have reviewd this restaurant on 2nd Nov.  This blog is only an update.  I went to UB City to enjoy some Italian cuisine @ Toscano with some whiskey by the side.  However, they still do not serve alcohol...probably why it had any customers compared to the other restaurants around it!

Bon South, 80 Ft Road, Koramangala, Bangalore

This is a fairly new joint that has cropped up in one of the 'Food' streets of Koramangala - 80 Ft Road.

From the outside it looked upmarket and as the name suggested was to serve South Indian Cuisine.

They have both an ala carte and a buffet.  The buffet is billed as - lunch buffet (does not include unlimited alcohol) for INR 350/- and brunch buffet (includes unlimited tiger beer / bacardi / eristoff vodka and cocktails based on the aforemnetioned drinks).

I opted for the brunch buffet.  

There were only two starters (there was a tomato rasam and a chicken soup also) - a dry baby corn fry and a really dry chicken 'bones' fry - the less said about them the better.

Aapams and Kerala Parotta are served hot on the table.  The Fish gravy and the mutton gravy were good and went well with the Aapam and parotta.

There were a few rice items, sambar, rasam, and a few veg curries and salads - not bad but not good either.

The desserts included vermicili payasam (sweetened condensed milk), a rice Halwa, ice creams and cut fruits.  The latter two were good while the former two were very sweet.

The service was quite good and certainly is worthy of mention.

Reco - Maybe once in a while when you want to tank up on the drinks!  otherwise avoid!

Maharaja - 80 ft Rd, Koramangala, Bangalore

The ambience is similar to any of the Andhra restaurants such as Bheemas, Sridevi, Navayuga and so on. The menu was multi cuisine, but I stuck to the traditional thali meals.

While the food was tasty, the service was slow, considering the fact that some of the tables were not occupied.

The powders used for mixing with rice in any Andhra restaurant was not available on the table and had to be requested for. Ghee also was not served with the rice. The rice served was not hot and one had to request for hot rice.

For a change there were hot pooris served with the meals unlike chapathis that are normally on offer.

The special boneless pepper chicken was tasty as were all the accompaniments with the meals, especially the dal and rasam. Meals for 3 with a couple of side dishes costs between INR450 to INR 500.

If you can forgive tardy service and can wait for hot rice, you can try out the meals here.

(The restaurant has since shifted to a place on the other side of the road.  I have not been here yet)

Crocodile Meat

Happened to taste Croc Meat Down Under.

Was prepared like an Indian Curry though.  It was the Croc Tail that was cooked.

Tasted quite like chicken, looked quite pale (white) and a little less rubbery than chicken.  

My Verdict - As good as chicken!

Australia..land of the flies

Had a wonderful time vactioning in Australia.  Covered Sydney and Melbourne.  Would have loved to go to the Great Barrier Reef...but time was a constraint.

You only need the sun to shine nice and bright on a day with tempratures around 25 degrees C and you would be attacked by houseflies.  It is as though you are walking in a really dirty slum in Mumabi sans the dirt and stink.

Some of the interesting things I saw covered were...

- The Boxing Day Test Match on Boxing Day

- Kangaroos jumping / grazing along the roads - even one that was run over

- The Kookuburra @ close range

- Ate croc meat

- Dandenong Ranges

- Sydney Harbour Area

- Boarded a fighter ship and submarine @ the museum

- Great Ocean Drive

- 12 Apostles

- Yarra Valley wine tasting

- Jenola Caves

- Blue Mountain - 3 Sisters

- Melbourne Casino and Pokies joints

Vacation

I would be on vacation between 24th Dec and 5th Jan....so till then...Seasons Greetings!!

10 Downing Street, T Nagar, Chennai

This is supposed to be 'the' watering hole in Chennai. The music was supposed to be great and the experience was supposed to be something that could be remembered.

However, this is one of the most over hyped places to which I have been. To start with there is a fee of INR 700 of which INR 500 is cover charges and the balance entry fee.

Music on a Saturday night was primarily, relatively old, hip hop numbers and was quite bland.

The food - nothing much to say about the limited menu. I had to place the order with more than one waiter - as the initial waiter was pretty 'duh'! On the same note, the service was quite pathetic - a waiter spilt some drinks on a lady guest seated at a table beside mine. He was initially apolegetic as he should be, but when a couple of drunk male members at her table started to make fun of her, the waiter too joined the party and started laughing. Phew! I've never seen this before.

Continuing with the food - garlic chicken was nothing but the ready to fry chicken available off the shelf, fried and doused in garlic sauce. Boiled vegetables and boiled peanuts - as the name suggests are just that - so much so that not even salt is added to it.

Vegetarian items are priced (on an average) at around INR 150 and non vegetarian items at around 200. 

A large of whiskey comes at INR 190 - and you do not get smalls (you can buy a bottle if you so desire)

If you want to catch a quick bite before you leave, you are left to choose between sandwiches and rolls.

AVOID!!

French Loaf - TTK Road - Chennai

This is a place where you get some baked desserts, (cakes, pies, soufles) and breads. French Loaf offers only takeaways and there is no place to sit and enjoy your dessert there leisurely if you so desire.

For an upmarket bakery, I should say I was not too pleased with the quality of the food. A couple of pastries that I took home were stale, probably why they do not have a place to eat at the outlet!

Avoid

The Lounge Bar at Muthoot Plaza, Trivandrum

Muthoot Plaza is one of the most upmarket hotels in Trivandrum. 

The setting is very pleasant and the sound of the waterfall in the middle adds to the pleasantness of the lounge.

The food menu is very limited but the food is tasty. There is also a wide screen TV showing either sports or news.

The drinks mentioned in the menu, especially the scotch, are not always available. The cocktails are good at times and not so good at other times - it is just not consistent. 

And to top it all the service is certainly not what is expected of a Sarovar group hotel.

For want of a better setting to relax and enjoy a couple of drinks, one can venture into this place. One has to put up with the poor service and the limited drinks menu.

Apoorva Sangeetha, RA Puram, Chennai

The food here sucks!!

I thought being part of a reasonably large chain of restaurants, the food here would be palatable.  I had gone to order some food for taking away.  As they are a veg restaurant specializing in South Indian tiffin items, I ordered a few varieties of dosais and vadais.  Although the dosai and vadai were freshly made, the accompanying chutneys (sauces) were spoilt - both the coconut chutney and the onion based one were spoilt.

Unfortunately, being a takeaway, I realized it only @ home.  I pity the customers who are served the same stuff in the restaurant.

AVOID THIS PLACE

Cafe Mozaic, Taj Residency, Bangalore

Cafe Mozaic(CM) is the coffee shop of Taj Residency.  It has got an indoor air conditioned area and a few tables beside the swimming pool.  The climate being pleasant in the evenings in BLR, I ventured to take a table by the swimming pool.

I had had a couple of rounds of Balvenie @ home before setting off to the restaurant and had to continue with some single malt only.  I had 10 yr Laphroaig (small - 30 ml comes to INR 375), but it complimented to cool climate.

The Pan seared shrimp mesclun salad was good.  The shrimp was done just right, warm on account of the pan fry, but juicy and complemented by the mesclun salad.  However, the mesclun had mostly lettuce and not many other leaves as was to be expected in a mesclun salad.

The Lamb Gutti Kolambu, a south Indian mutton gravy was served with plain rice and was excellent.  The mutton was cooked to perfection and only the best pieces of boness mutton served.

The payasam of the day (sweetened milk dish) was a vermicilli payasam and this too was excellent.  It was not too sweet, with hints of cardamom and saffron and garnished with nuts.  

The starters + main course + dessert that I had came to around INR 1500/-

The service was good and the seating beside the pool quite serene.  The restaurant was quite well occupied for a Saturday evening.

If you want to indulge in good food....GO!

I bow my head for my nations shame...

One shooter who shot for India and got us gold (made us proud and happy) gets INR 3,00,00,000/- from the government  (it may be noted that this guy is very rich and his father is  a very big defaulter)

So many other shooters who shot for the same India, but in a much more important context (made us proud and sad) get a paltry INR 5,00,000/- from the same government.

Where are we headed?  People stand up!  Spread this message around!  Let it reach those who can do more!!!!!!!!!

condolences

My heartfelt condolences to the people who fought against terror and laid their lives for the sake of others.....and to the others who lost their lives to terror.

What is apparent is total lack of political will and blame game by the politicians....when will this ever stop??????