Malgudi Tiffin

Rest : Malgudi Tiffin
Meal : Dinner
Loc : Bangalore Airport

Malgudi Tiffin has been the best dining option at Bangalore Airport and i always have a meal there before heading out. I love the cuisine and it makes for a nice goodbye to have one more meal before heading back. As always i opt for their terrifically value for money Thali. 

Started of with a Rasam & some poppadums. brilliant, peppery red rasam. what is not to like. 

the thali was practically the same as my last meal there so not much to say other than it was good. still dont get the yellow kadi business but the onion sambar was fantastic as was the gravy . the paratha was different from the ones i have had there before. the dahi wasnt tangy this time and neither was the chass. a little disappointed with that. 

Overall, the meal was great, no complaints. if you are there and in mood for a lunch walk in here and you wont regret it. they also have a express counter but ive never even looked at it. 

The service was kinda aloof and surly, i was 10 mins early for lunch service and they werent too enthusiastic about me hanging around until lunch began. i sat down and ordered a chaas anyway until their schedule allowed for service. 

food : 8/10

service : 4/10

damage : 550 

Terrific Food, Fantastic Service at Karavalli, Bangalore.

Rest : Karavalli

Loc : Gateway Hotel, Residency Road,
Meal : Lunch

Yet another Bangalore trip, this time for a wedding which meant most time would be spent in the hotel and with family rather than roaming Bangalore. One of my other trips my SIL took me every landmark in Bangalore in one day (here and here) but since it was her wedding, i was on my own.

Having been to most of the locally famed eateries i thought i would give the cuisine a try in a finer setting. Karavalli, came highly recommended from almost everyone i spoke to and it wasn't a difficult choice. 

Its nestled in a very green spot within the Gateway Hotel, which happens to be in the middle of the city but you wouldnt know it if you walked out back. This much greenery takes getting used to for a Bombay Boy. 

The space itself is very refined yet reflects the local touch. Understated elegance, gives you a  feel for how the patricians of the south must have lived during the Raj. 

The menu was akin to Konkan Cafe, in that it covered a particular region rather than say a Dakshin which has a comprehensive and exhaustive menu covering a great many regional cuisines.

i was determined to get the thali and the thali is what i ordered. Why choose when you can have it all ?

we started off with a little bowl of papads which i quite enjoyed. there was a terrific garlic pickel along which i might have finished half way. 

red chutney was terrific. i think i got em to refill it a bunch more times. 

the rasam was all pepper and fire, just brilliant. Got the appetite going 

So this was the thali, there was yam, potato, lemon rice, yogurt, onion sambar, a veggie curry and a stew.

these were served up with appams or parottas made to order. i had the appams exclusively, and loved em. 

they offer regular or red rice and i chose red of course. 

the dessert was brought out separately, the payasam, i am a big fan of these but i like em cold, but that's a personal preference.

a slew of paans to end the meal. 

Overall, my meal was terrific. a good thali in my opinion has no real standout dishes but works in tandem which was the case here, the dishes were in harmony and it wasn't too rich or complicated. Simple fare is hardest to do right anyway.

The pricing for what you get is terrific value for money. Its almost the third of the price of a Dakshin and nowhere is it weaker in what it offers which is saying something.

I must also say that the service was terrific, from the moment we entered till we got the check, they were extremely hospitable. They insisted we have something to drink, when i refused, they got me buttermilk anyway and then refused to let us pay for it saying it was on the house as we were their guests.

They ensured we knew the meal was not limited and we could more of anything we wanted. Explained all the dishes in detail and like at a family meal, they were nudging us to try this and that and warned us at the outset not to ruin our appetite with too much papad.

A great many restaurants and restaurateurs could perhaps dine at Karavalli if not for the great food, terrific ambiance then just possibly just to learn why they run one of the best service teams anywhere in India

Food : 8/10

Service :10/10

Damage : 2500 for two without drinks. 

Masala Library w my Pops

Rest : Masala Library

Meal : Lunch
Loc : BKC

While i have been to Masala Library a few times now, this time i was able to take my dad along as we were both heading to a meeting in Andheri post lunch. Being a Saturday i was not sure if we would get a table and tweeted ML the night before and they got in touch. After a brief time on the waitlist i was assured a table for 1.30.

Annoyed that they claimed to be full, i wanted to make sure they weren't just pulling the old trick, (they weren't. when we got there, ours was the only empty table)It was very kind of them to accommodate us.

We started out with the pappad platter, which is still pretty kick ass and like all papad platters a bad idea when on a table for two. we kinda filled up on this but it was still worth it. 

the pesto kebabs, dryish, hint of pesto with a little sweetness, not your regular old kebab this one. The Paneer had a grainy texture and a very familiar taste, it was served with bits of asparagus which was interesting but didn't add to the dish at all. 

the mushroom chai brought out like tea service for two, with dried mushrooms representing tea leaves, truffle powder representing sugar and a mushroom broth representing water. still a hit.

the mishti doi palate cleanser is a so good. they should bring em out in stacks.

this was the malabari parotta served as a quesadilla , i recall it being on the money and pretty different

This was the aloo tikki i think, served with a little bit of corn and chana, again, dry but on the money. 

the dessert was this pista burfi thing paan style with coconut foam on the side. too rich, should have gone for something else. It was not bad, just not my thing. 

Overall, the food continues to be pretty good, it was a pity we missed the tasting menu time slots, i would have really liked my dad to have experienced the wider menu but perhaps another time. I do wish they expand the menu somewhat, having been there four times now, it seems like the same stuff each time.

We didnt get to the mains at all because we stuffed ourselves on the appetizers and the papad platter did most of the damage.

Still a great place to go once or twice a year.

Food : 8/10
Service : 8/10
Damage : 4500 without drinks (pretty expensive for just appetizers. word to the wise, the tasting menu is way WAY better value for money) and most importantly, dont let your dad see the check.

Indigo Deli Colaba

Having struck out at getting a walk in Table at The Table (Not funny) we walked into Indigo Deli w Baby Jain for a quick dinner. 

Their famed pizzas are still awesome, especially this one, the pesto. just awesome. 

its one of the dishes that's been on the menu forever and one knows what is coming. however 

the risotto was not the freshest thing, having been made and perhaps flash warmed.. its not hard to tell. 

unfortunately the baked mac and cheese was completely runny. we tried to get them to fix it but the same problem came back. runny cheese. usually its not as runny and the crust is burnt. so clearly this was not cooked properly. also the chowderish sauce, is dangerous if made early and left sitting. i got violently sick after a similar dish at Ellipsis. 

overall, the standards and the occupancy both seem to have fallen at Indigo Deli and the place really needs to re invent itself, not so much from the menu standpoint but from the quality standpoint. There has been lots of drama on the management side but they shouldn't let the food and customers suffer.

Have been a long term patron and its sad to see things in this state, the service was good, they didnt charge us for the risotto but its getting harder and harder to defend them (i was able to pull out a picture on my phone from another meal a few months ago so they couldn't argue much)

I think Phoenix is their best outlet.