Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Yummy in my tummy

Been catching up on my reading and todays' been the day for this.

Quite an interesting blog about various restaurants and food from around..

So, after about a few posts, it got me thinking of restaurants in bangalore that are my all time favourites.. See, the thing also about bangalore is that theres always something new and interesting coming up and given the fact that I am out of the country currently, i really miss all that "hey theres a new place in town, lets check it out!"

So, the list is a little outdated but these places are where I would go to everytime I go back...without further ado and not in any particular order:

a. Desmonds' - I found this place courtesy Prash (Dude man!). A small place on lavelle road near the maruthi show room (or service station). The food is soo good there, I have eaten there quite a few times and there has been nothing that has disappointed me. The food is multicuisine and they have 2 things a week day quick lunch eater may like- a salad bar and an executive lunch thali.. And not to forget the yummy deserts that are simply well.. yummy.. One of the few places where I have tried a cheesecake and liked it immensely. And yes, they do server liquor.:)

b. Rice bowl - This place has been the venue for like a numerous team dinners and lunches back when I was working in MG Rd. This place is a standard fixture for chinese food in bangalore i tell ya.. They have a good vegetarian selection as well. The ambience is nothing spectacular and there is always a 15-20 mins wait no matter what time you land here. But the food makes up for it.. Damn , I miss the hot an sour soup! The place is dimly lit and is quite noisy with like about a zillion tables.. But the food makes up for all that..

c. Aangan - This punjabi restaurant has dhabas at 2 locations, one on lady curzon road and another on race course road. (Unless they have another one now). I have always enjoyed the food here, smells and tastes authentically punjabi.. The kababs and the dal makhhani is to die for ! This place used to be really small and there were 2 uncles who would run this place and who would always stop by our table to ask how things are.. I miss that familiarity in the restaurants now a days.. Its almost impersonal.. When i was with my ex BF, we also used to order for home delivery ever so often from here...

d. Nandini - I had never really been a fan of andhra food, which is why I am probably one of the few who have just been to 1 or 2 andhra chains that are present in banaglore..I just thought it was spicy and would always put me to sleep after eating all that rice. But I should really thank an old BF for getting me hooked to this one. This was our usual weekend lunch place where guys could hog as much as they wanted and gals (well, it was just me..) could taste all the spicy stuff on the thali :) Not very authentically andhra (as in its a mix or improvised), as I found out later when I married into an andhra family :P But the food is good no matter what. You should not miss out on the dried chillies and that gun powder !! (God bless u )

e. Shiok - I actually got to know the chef and the owner of this place online :) And its been a pleasure to visit him and his restaurant.. I think he has done a good job with the place. The lounge is really nice and cozy and the food is quite commendable. Its not often that you get to eat good thai or other oriental cuisines in Bangalore, but this one is really worth a visit :)

f. Jukebox - Man, this one only brings back memories, ol ol college memories.. Jukebox is another standard fixture in koromangala. Famous for a little parsi food and lot for its steaks.. Now that I have travelled here n there, I know steaks are not really how they are supposed to be. But I have reasons to believe that the steaks at jukebox are yummy nevertheless. Its just a small place and sometimes crowded, but its a place that reeks of familiarity and ol memories.. The only problem I have with this place is that they serve only beer and nothing else !

g. Casa P - On the similiar note as above, Casa P as we call Casa Piccola.. Its a chain of restaurants scattered across banaglore and the food is well.. western (or maybe intercontinental).. Its difficult to call it anything else.. lots of italian thrown in.. but they also have sandwiches and good soups.. Another college time fixture and has been a venue for soooooo many lunches I have lost count of..

h. Lalitha's paratha point - This one again has 2 branches, one near commercial and one in domlur (near indira nagar). I cannot forgive or forget the latter as the owner also ran sweet chariot franchise next door and she screwed up my budday cake! (Hmmpppff). But the one near commercial have provided respite from afternoon sun and sheer exhaustion for the enthu shoppers of commerical street. About 3-4 years ago, except for Woody's there was no other restaurants on commerical street. So in case you are famished from all that excercise, you had very limited options. One of my favourite options was Lalitha's.. This place is famous for its paratha's , they have all kinds. But careful, they are heavy on ur tummy and if you are wtahcing your weight, this may not really be a paradise for u ! But the parathas are simply outstanding.. I also like to mix it up a bit at times and order the sarson ka saag, another fav of mine ! Yummm....

i. Samarkhand - There are certain specific reasons you should go to this place. First being the ambience (which is like an afghan cave), second being the mirchi ka salan and the thrid being dehydration from partying in Hypnos.. Out of the 3, I prefer the mirchi ka salan :)

j. Food Street , VV puram - See, this one is not one restaurants, but a foodie paradise spread across a whole street! Can you believe that, a whole street! Its difficult to describe this, you have to see it and eat here to believe it..

k. Noodle Bar - Bombay central is where you will find this one, now merged with the bombay something. I really like the food here, its the quintessential oriental place with a variety of food choices.. I havent tried Jap food anywhere but the yakisoba here is definitely worth a mention.. Its yummm.. Its another respite for the shoppers if you must... I especially like the outdoor seating and they have a good selection of veggie food.

l. Olive bar - Ok, this one's not being mentioned as a restaurant.. I found exactly 1 veggy dish that I could order here which was a pizza :p. But this place is pretty according to me and has a nice medditeranian theme goin on.. I like the wine selection they have and its been fun to just sit there with friends, a big bottle of wine and just chill :)

I can go on and on.. Bangalore is such a foodie paradise, i really miss being there... But here are a few for the uninitiated in case anybody's interested :)

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

thanks for the link :)

Anonymous said...

btw, your flickr badge doesn't appear to be working right

Kaunquest said...

just wandered here..

Your reviews brought back many memories of my Bangalore days. Especially, Jukebox in Koramangala. The place had a great ambience. There were few other places I remember around that area, Friends, Ravi's kitchen and Chung Wa! Its almost 6 years since I left Bangalore, the place has changed soo much now!