Adyar Ananda Bhavan, Bangalore

A Sunday morning in Bengaluru means breakfast at one of the 'Sagar's or at any of those udipi joints for me. But this time, my friends suggested A2B or Adyar Ananda Bhavan to try out the Tamil flavors in breakfast. We all met at the A2B in BDA Complex, HSR Layout at around 9:00 AM in the morning, and believe me the place was brimming with hungry people! We chose to dine in at the service section which was relatively less crowded.

The staff brought us the menu the moment we were seated, and the first thing that was suggested to us was pongal. We went ahead and asked for a ghee dosa and a paper masala dosa as well. The pongal came first and it definitely had a nice taste to it. The ghee lent a good amount of flavor and it wasn't a slurry, rather it was drier than what I have had at a few places in Hyderabad. Apart from ghee, peppercorn was noticeable in it. I still wouldn't say it was a great one, just a decent one. It really didn't wow me to that extent.

The ghee dosa was quite average. Thankfully I did not have much expectations from it. The more prominent things on the plate were the three types of chutney and typical Madras sambhar(well, it wasn't quite Madras as I had expected, but okay). The chana dal-peanut chutney was the somehow below average, not really having any taste as such. The mint flavored coconut chutney had a good flavor but the other chutney(which I presume to be tomato chutney) was average again. The sambhar, though spicy, lacked the typcial Madrasi taste it ought to have had.

The paper masala dosa, was kind of better. The dosa was a really thin layer of crispy crepe, but the aloo masala had almost no taste apart from salt and turmeric. The crispiness of the dosa actually helped me along with the chutneys rather than the aloo masala. I still would say this item as a whole was better than the ghee dosa.

Filter coffee was undoubtedly better than the breakfast we had. Served in typical south Indian style in steel glasses over steel bowls, we spent a long time sipping our coffee!

Since this was a single visit to any A2B place in Bengaluru, it would be tough to say if this particular one was the best of all, or there are better places than this.

One thing which I couldn't taste was the pure ghee sweets they have on display. The sweets section was one of the fast moving sections and I did realize that they have their own brand of sambhar powder, ready to make pongal etc, nicely packed and on sale.

Ambiance - 3/5

Service - 3/5

Food - 3/5

VFM - 3/5

Fatty Bao- Bangalore

Had been to Bengaluru on a business trip and people whom I knew had told me that Fatty Bao was one place that was not to be missed if you have a penchant for Asian cuisines. There are very few places in Hyderabad which dish out some real Asian delicacies, and so I was a bit apprehensive on how such a fare in Bengaluru would turn out for me.

I actually reached the place along with a friend without any reservation. Lucky me, the lady at the reception counter allowed us a table after a good 10 mins of wait! (being a weekend there was heavy rush). The interiors obviously had an Asian theme with some catchy paintings adorning the walls. But with the lighting a couple of notches below, it gave me a more bar like feeling. Would have preferred a little bit more of light. 

The menu was laid out in front of us the moment we were seated. I was quite clear on what I had planned to eat, and so we made no delay in placing our order for Salmon and Dill Roll(sushi), Spicy Chicken & Celery Gyoza, Grilled Lamb Chops, Chicken Katsu Ramen, red wine Sangria, Sangria Senorita and virgin Mojito.

The mojito arrived first and it went to my friend. No worries, my Sangria would follow soon!

Virgin Mojito

But what followed next was the Salmon and Dill sushi rolls served with wasabi, sushi ginger and sushi sauce(soy). the sushi was perfectly made and the salmon tasted quite fresh and absolutely yum! The soy sauce was quite standard, but what stood out were the wasabi and ginger. The punch that tiny piece of wasabi packed! I would remember it for a quite long time. Its almost comparable to wasabi that I have always liked at The Westin (Hyderabad). sweetened ginger had a bit stronger taste of vinegar, but it was quite tender and definitely worked out well with the sushi rolls and wasabi.

Salmon and dill sushi rolls

Next to arrive at our table was the chicken & celery gyoza, and I was growing impatient as to why they were not bringing all the dishes at once! A gyoza is a sort of fried dumpling. Identified as a Japanese dish, it has orgins in China and hence is quite similar to dumplings. I couldn't trace the celery(or may be my taste buds were blind towards it) but the chicken filling was a wee little bit spicy and quite tender. Accompanied with 3 sauces, the names of which I am forgotten, the dumplings were relished by all of us. Would surely recommend this to whoever is visiting Fatty Bao!

Chicken and celery gyoza

Aah! The Sangria arrives! But what is this? Instead of cubes or slices, they had the fruit julienned and I didn't like that. The wine did not really carry any of the fruity flavors(the juices), and I doubted if they had been mixed for long enough. Okayish....and this led me to think about the wonderful Sangria I have tasted in Olive Bistro(Hyderabad). Would give this a miss if I ever visit again.

Red wine sangria

The service staff, although very courteous, had decided to make our table a course-wise dinner table. Every time I would get impatient for the food not arriving on our table(I was quite tired due to my travel and wanted to finish off my dinner early) the service staff would bring in a plate, and this time a very tangy spicy flavored wafted off from it. The grilled lamb chops are an absolute delight here. No meaty smell and the the chops marinated in tamerind and chilli were just fabulous with a great balance of sour-sweet(a tinge of sweetness) and chilli. I so wanted to order more and gorge on them! Definitely recommended to anybody who visits!

Grilled Lamb Chops

And finally the last course on our table was the main course. The bowl of chicken katsu ramen is actually quite a meal in itself. It would be almost enough for two moderate eaters and since we were quite full, we shared a bowl among ourselves (The picture of my bowl after sharing between two). Somewhere in between clear and fuzy, the ramen(soup and noodles that is) had Japanese style fried chicken(Katsu) and a half boiled egg apart from veggies. Not quite sure if a half boiled egg added up to the ramen, but the soup was delectable and with a softer tone on flavors!A very good combination and I started comparing it with Pho(vietnamese) and Khow suey(Burmese). The base of noodles soup in same for all the cuisines but many other ingredients and taste varies from country to country. Quite satisfied with this bowl of ramen. It defintely is a tummy filler.

A very satisfying and full dinner. Pricey definitely, but I felt the dishes were upto mark(if I ignore the drinks) A very courteous staff made my dining experience pleasurable. Definitely recommended for a dinner experience!

Ambiance - 3.5/5
Food - 4.5/5
Service - 4/5
VFM - 4/5(ignoring the drinks)

TinyOwl - App User testing

Had the opportunity to be a part of users group to test the TinyOwl app for food ordering in Hyderabad. There was only one logistics problem - where do we get together to do this? Sampath Srinivas Tummala of Spicy Venue came forward and offered a private dining room at Spicy Venue for us to use. Thank you for that! We also had two representatives from TinyOwl who had come down from Mumbai to be with us while we were testing the app.

To give a brief overview of TinyOwl, it helps us in ordering food from a restaurant/establishment without us having to go through bulky and outdated menu cards. The latest menu or dish is available to the user and the user can select them to order. The user also has an option of selecting a restaurant and then briskly going through their menu to order a dish.

TinyOwl offers online as well as COD as mode of payment. Since the app is limited to food ordering only, the delivery logistics is entirely on the restaurant from which the user orders food. Since they have started very recently, they are offering occasional coupons to entice users to order food via their app, which is a usual marketing/advertising practice.

While we, around 15-16 of us, ordered food from various restaurants, we gave our feedback to the TinyOwl representatives present with us. Most of the orders were well managed by the restaurants except for a few, where in one instance the order was cancelled by one of the users. A thing we noted while ordering - the price shown on the screen wasn't clear whether it was inclusive or exclusive of taxes and we shared the same with the team.

Overall experience of using the app was pretty good and smooth, with confirmation calls coming back in a timely manner. They are yet to implement real time tracking, so the time it displays is something which is kind of fed by the restaurant based on the time they need to prepare and deliver. Again, this is not bad, considering most of the dishes ordered from various places reached us within 45 mins to 1 hour of time frame.

Wishing the TinyOwl team good luck in their endeavor!

#TinyOwlHyd

Lasgna from Urban Asia

burnt garlic fried rice - Urban Asia

Burnt garlic fried rice and a chicken dish - Urban Asia

Appams - Nalas Appakadhai

chicken fry cury - Nalas Appakadhai

appam and chicken fry curry - Nalas Appakadhai

paneer dish - Nalas Appakadhai

Add caption

veg nargisi kofta masala - Basil Epress

Basil Express

Veg wings on a bed of rice and mac n cheese - Wingster

- by invitation

House of Dosas

If you thought a dosa has to be served only with sambhar and chutney, think again! Dosas from Kadapa district in Rayalseema region are a different ball game altogether. I realized this when I got an opportunity to taste some at the newly opened House of Dosas in Banjara Hills.

House of Dosas is a quaint little place tucked away in the bylane opposite to LV Prasad eye hospital. The place is small but neatly decorated in the most simplest possible manner. The kitchen/serving counter is at the far end.What was new for me here, was the erra karam(red chilli and onion paste), pachi karam(green chilli and onion paste) and the podi dosas.

The karam dosas very prominently displayed flavors very very typical to red or green chilli with a hint of tangy flavor and you still had an option to raise or reduce the spice level to suit your palate. The first serving of the karam dosas was not really enough for me and I requested them to double up the spice level. Boy! that spicy paste did really enhance my experience! We were offered a dollop of bombay chutney(a typical chutney made out of besan) and that really complemented the karam dosas.

pachi karam dosa

erra karam dosa

We also tried the idli and I felt it was same like what we get at many other breakfast/South Indian places with nothing different to write home about.

The gunta ponganalu was absolutely yum. Cooked to the right consistency, i.e., crispy outside and soft and fluffy inside. Fresh off the pans this was one thing which all of savoured and asked for another serving. The chef really knows how to achieve the right level while cooking this.

gunta pnganalu

Tapilentalu - a savory snack made in the similar fashion as vadas, but out of a combination of rice flour and moong dal with onions and chillie was another dish which came to our table. In my opinion this would be an ideal evening snacks considering that its fried and its crispy. Want to watch the rains while munching on a tapilentalu and hot cup of tea? Definitely a good idea!

tapilentalu

Kunda lassi, or lassi served in a minature pot was what we were impressed at. It is served topped with cashenuts and we were told that they prepare the lassi themselves and store then in the miniature pots, ready to serve. I still felt it was a bit sweeter that it ought to be. But considering the fact that we were having it along with the karam dosas, it nicely served its purpose - cut out the spice level!

kunda lassi

I would say, if you want to try out something different in your breakfast/snacks this can figure in your list if you are open to variations in dosas and other snack items. Have a dosa laced with chillies and other spices!


~By invite

Mainland china - for siu mai and wontons!

When you crave for authentic Chinese cuisine, there are very few establishments that have the ability to cater to your need. Mainland China is a place that wouldn't disappoint you! The condition is - you need to go for their la carte menu.

I had been to their lunch buffet many times and I feel that its most of the times average than good. An opportunity came my way to try out dishes from their menu when wife wanted to go to a Chinese place for dinner, and this being the nearest to my home was the obvious choice.

We went in quite early for dinner, the place was literally empty and so we were seated promptly and at a table of our choice(great thing! with so many "reserved" boards dotting tables in restaurants these days). The ambiance is quite ethnic with dragons and all the embellishments around.

Jasmine tea is a way of greeting your guests, and while we were being served a hot cup of tea, I quickly ran through the menu selecting dishes. The steward was capable enough to understand my palate through a few quick questions and aptly guided me through the menu. A dimsum platter, Keong's Chicken, sweet and spicy crispy chicken, roast lamb in black pepper sauce and prawn soft noodles(forgot the exact name).

The jasmine tea has a very soothing effect. Its flavor or rather taste, is very faint yet distinct. For me it kind of acts as a palate cleanser between courses. The tea served to us perfectly complimented our meal.

The kimchi served as a side on the table was the only disappointment that evening. I really didn't feel any typical flavors associated with Kimchi apart from the fact that it was quite spicy due to an overdose of red chilli. I did leave a feedback about not being satisfied with it.

The staff is courteous indeed. My toddler was was served a glass of juice even before I asked for it!

Moving on, the dimsum platter was a superb thing to start our meal with. The platter had two pieces each of crab cake, siu mai(prawn) and chicken wontons. The crab cake was the star on this plate, with a spicy flavor and hints of garlic aftertaste. The prawn siu mai had a good balance between the faint flavor of prawn and ginger and scallion. The chicken wonton(or rather a siu mai) was quite good, slightly more ginger to taste and tender minced chicken meat. but if I would compare it with the prawn siu mai and crab cake, it lacked that punch to equal or overpower others in taste. Nevertheless, it was a very satisfying dimsum platter that I have had in a long time!

I wanted to order something devoid of heat(spicy) for my daughter and I was suggested Keong's chicken with green chillies and spring onions, sans the green chillies. I must say, even without chillies, it tasted quite good. I am at a loss to explain the exact taste, but it definitely was not bland. I can call the flavor to be "soft" on all spices, or rather delicate. There was a hint of garlic aftertaste which lingered for a while. I felt, if I were to add sauces or have it with something else, the taste would get overpowered easily. A good dish, and would definitely taste great with the usual amount of green chillies the chef garnishes it with.

The crispy sweet and spicy chicken was  kind of sinful. You actually have to be receptive and open to ideas that are not conventional(read - not present in our cuisine generally). The bold honey-sweet taste was in contrast with the sharp spicy flavor and their fight made the chicken merrier(literally!) We loved it! For me, it would be an ideal dish to enjoy sitting out near the window watching rain!

As mentioned earlier, we had ordered prawn noodles and roasted lamb in black pepper sauce. The noodle was indeed a whole meal in itself taste-wise. It really didn't need any main dish to go with. The meat(prawns) portions were generous and again, the chef had done a good job in properly balancing taste of individual ingredients like prawn with the overall dish. The roasted lamb in black pepper sauce was a little beyond good in my opinion. The lamb was perfectly cooked and tender and carried the flavor of the sauce well. To taste, it starts off with a kick of the black pepper flavor, but settles down quickly and you get to feel the meat finally. The veggies added a crunch to the whole dish. It indeed gives you an option to exercise your control over the spiciness. You probably can request the chef the level you want it at and he would do it that way.

At around Rs 2600(incl of taxes) it is a premium priced dinner for two, but definitely worth the money. I would definitely recommend this place for those who venture out in search of some good authentic chinese.

Ambiance - 4/5

Food - 4.5/5

Service - 4.5/5

VFM - 4/5

Strength - they know their dishes pretty well!