Onam @ Dakshin Costal, ITC

Rest : Dakshin, Coastal
Meal : Dinner
Loc : ITC, Grand Maratha, Sahar

I am not a religious guy nor much of a traditionalist but i always find a way to celebrate Onam by having a blowout meal. For the last few years i have been alternating between Mani's in Matunga and Dakshin Coastal at the ITC. This year was the turn of Dakshin Coastal. 

Onam, the harvest festival of the south is celebrated with the sadhya meal served typically on a banana leaf with a traditional selection. 

The menu was expansive and one of the advantages of dining with them is one can ask for accompaniments not strictly true to the festival. 

The Rasam was their regular concoction, tomato and lentil among other things. Tangy, peppery, damn near perfect. 

The tamarind chutney was simply terrific, the tempered yoghurt was delicious as well. The beetroot chutney was kind of weird  but then i am not a beetroot kinda guy. 

The buttermilk was not bad but not the typical sourish brew one gets at southie joints.

The Olam, a coconut stew was terrific, with bits of onion, the dish of the evening in my opinion. There was also dal and a pumpkin stew. The dal was nice, the stew felt very North Indianish to me, not that its a bad thing. The sambar was Keralite, good but not nearly as good as the onion sambar that Chef Padamja cooked up on my previous Onam visit. 

Both the Thoran & The Avial were brilliantly done, as always its a problem of too many, which is a decent problem to have i suppose. 

A lot of Onam meals now are served with red rice as is traditional. However nowhere have i seen folks do appams, if your lucky its a chapati or puri otherwise its just rice. On my last Onam meal here, i lamented that i didn't want to cheat by getting one but this time, they offered right away and the Olam was just too good. I couldn't quite resist. 

We even asked for their regular podi, gunpowder stand which was served with a spoonful of Ghee on the side. Happiness. 

The paysam was brilliant, light and delicious while the Pala was much like a regular fruit salad you would make at home. 

Topped off with an okayish filter coffee to stay awake during the drive home. 

Overall, Dakshin Coastal continues to be the leading fine dine, South Indian specialty restaurant although its frightfully expensive. In this case, the meal is price at 2250 + taxes which is actually nearly 40% lower than their regular thali, so its a steal.

Service was quick, friendly and eager to please as expected.

Food : 8/10

Service : 8/10

Tanjore, New South Indian Joint In Colaba

Rest : Tanjore by Angie 

Loc : Near the Colaba Fire Station

Meal : Dinner

Most people know what a sucker i am for a good south indian meal, especially one that goes beyond the idli-vada-dosa trinity. A long time ago there used to be a Tanjore at the Taj and i have only faint memories of the place, mostly about some sort of jali screen or pillars, i cant be sure. Anyway, this Tanjore by Angie, has been open for a while and i have been meaning to make it there but didn't quite make it until now.

The space is small and the vibe was what you would get at an East London joint, very quaint, functional with limited seating. The menu has a few different types of Idli, Vada, Dosa, Uttapam& Upma. They also serve a Thanjavur tiffin which is like an udipi platter with a helping of the above and a meal which i ordered. 

The filter coffee was nice, not to sweet, not too strong either though. Id say it was decent but not nearly as good as say a idli house but then again, little else is. 

The Molgapudi Idli in Til oil were fabulous. Three largish idlis coated with podi just how you would want it. Just brilliant. Served with some ordinary chutneys but a brilliant, sourish sambar , surprisingly like they make at my parents. 

The chaas is a must get, not too sourt but served super chilled. All ive ever wanted with all my restaurant meals at a Ramanayak or a Mani's has been chilled chaas but its never possible. 

So the other meal they do is the thali, which is a platter for one person and consists of a Rasam, Sambar, Pickle, Cured, Sweet, Parotta, Rice, Kadi, a dry potato vegetable and a gravy. Overall this was not too bad, the potato was like the dosa stuffing, the kadi was okay. Rasam was decent but served lukewarm. The sambar as i mentioned already was great. Ideally, they need to take this up a few notches to make it noteworthy. 

Overall, the menu is very interesting looking, there is even an appam id like to try at some point. So if you go there, avoid the thali, it promises a lot and delivers little, however going by the idli and the coffee, their strengths lie perhaps in the more familiar dishes, some of it which look delectable.

Since its mostly a no-frills joint, the prices arent terribly high but certainly not udipi grade.The service is quick and friendly and i would like to give them a go for the rest of the menu. Folks who have been to Dakshinayan wouldn't find this to be below par. 

Food : 7/10
Service : 8/10
Damage 600 for 2. 

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. 

A Tale Of Two Thalis

As mentioned before, i was parked at the Saifee Hospital for a bit and took an outstation guest for lunch to Golden Star which is just around the corner. For some reason Golden Star has never really been high on our radar, perhaps because my dad never favoured it and also because it has no parking available.

Great food, not so great service but that's okay.

A photo posted by Gaurav (@gauravgjain) on Dec 27, 2014 at 10:32pm PST

Thalis have become more and more about excess, cramming things in and offering vareity as well as more and more desserts.

While the food on the whole was pretty good, no complaints with quality or taste. I do think that adding Dal Bati which was strictly okay was excessive and its not quite Gujju. The Undhiyu too is always around in these months but is a specialist dish it should be done carefully. I am not a fan of puris either, a bhakri would have been kind of good.

In any case this was my guests first thali ever and he loved the experience. The service was pretty slack and i had to pretty much ask for everything i wanted which is the sign of a badly run crew. The dhokla showed up only twice.

Price wise, it was def not cheap, 400 bucks per person is hefty.

A photo posted by Gaurav (@gauravgjain) on Dec 27, 2014 at 10:32pm PST

#lunch

A photo posted by Gaurav (@gauravgjain) on Dec 20, 2014 at 12:34am PST

One of my fav meals, this one, i cant go more than a month without a visit. this one too was pretty spectacular, Luckliy enough on a weekday we were able to get our tables without too much of a wait.

Overall, nothing new except the awesome food but the beans which were very tasty but seemed kind of odd, i wouldnt have expected them in a meal like this. Will check up on this when i can but there is little to complain about here. Rasam & Sambar were terrific, the buttermilk was super spicy and yoghurt as it should be - tangy. The tamarind chutney was awesome too.

Bliss. at 150 bucks.

Mani's

Rest : Mani's
Meal : Lunch
Loc : Matunga

I love South Indian thali's just love em, unfortunately neither my wife, nor my brother are big fans, which means i dont end up going as often as i'd like. They are both Cafe Madras fans, which means i drop them there and then drive over to Ramanayak's mostly to have my thali by myself and pick them up on the way back.

In any case, i was meeting a my friend Happy for a working lunch of sorts and was quite excited to return there since my epic Onam lunch last september (here) also my first visit to Mani's is here

The full meal, is served on banana leaves and served in a separate room and is all you can eat. 

not a fan of puris and so glad they serve chapatis here, large enveloping chapatis and crunchy, crunchy papads. 

this is the exact same meal i had at Mani's at my first visit i think, the veggie were great, on their own none of them stand out but together they are a pretty harmonious bunch. immensely enjoyable. 

the pickle is pretty awesome too and i a rarely eat pickle away from home. 

There was Rasam, Sambar, Curd & Buttermilk. my complaint continues to be the same, chilled buttermilk would be awesome but other than that, it was a stupendous meal. nothing to complaint about except the waiter thought i was part of his family and insisted i have an extra chapati and extra pickle. He figured my penchant for buttermilk and got me a couple of glasses.

By the end of it all i was extremely stuffed and did not have dinner. All for a 150 bucks. Enough said.

Food : 9/10
Service : 8/10
Damage : 150pp

Malgudi Tiffin

Rest : Malgudi Tiffin
Meal : Dinner
Loc : Bangalore Airport 

Walking to the gate with an hour to kill, i happened to chance upon what i thought was a delightful looking place, Malgudi Tiffin, with a place like that i figured i had to give them a shot. So in we went for a meal.

I started with a dinner thali, while my companions chose a gassi. 

Started off with a spicy rasam, boy was it hot. Tasty stuff. 

The Gassi came in a tiffin which was so cool, loved the way this was done, i know Masala Kraft at the Taj does tiffin's too. That is NOT my Blackberry. 

The thali was a pretty complete affair, the yellow kadi i thought was an odd selection but it was tasty. The avial was excellent and the daal was simply terrific. The tangy dahi, was just like i love. The pyasysam too went quickly. 

In fact, other than the food being a tad hot there was no real issue with the meal. 

The filter  coffee was okay, no great shakes. 

Overall, i thought the food and presentation was top notch and the service team was pretty accommodating and eager to serve. 

All in all a surprisingly good airport restaurant and priced reasonably too. 

Food : 8/10

Service : 8/10

Damage : 750 for 2.

Ramanayak

Ramanayak Udipi has been around for near 75 years, serving simple, relatively inexpensive, authentic udipi meals. the place is crazy busy during week day Lunch. Higly recommend you don't bother if  you are going to show up at 1pm or in a large group.

For me Ramanayak is a once in a month affair and if i don't get my fix i get pretty antsy and unhappy to be around. My fav dining companion the wife is not a fan of the place and likes selective dishes from the cuisine. So my explorations of Ramanayak and its ilk are very quick and rather lonely affairs.

So this time i got my buddy Reema (@ScrollsNInk) and her husband Prasanna to tag along. It was something we had been talking for quite a while and Reema tried her hardest to be as late as possible but eventually she did make it.

the long wait was cut short since i had already picked up the little silver tokens for the full meals and off we went to chow.

Fermented dahi and buttermilk are pretty much my fav things in the world i believe. 

The rest of the meal pictured here was stellar as always. The two gravies,  the red potato was fab, the dry was cabbage and something which was pretty good too. The white gravies are usually rather flat, blandish to taste but not bad per se. The rasam was nice but not their best one, he sambar was on the money as was the pyayasam.  

Overall, the wait was long, the company good and the food stellar. What is not to like?

All for a 150 Rs.must go back soon. 

A Tale of Two Onam's - Mani's

'It was the best of times and it was the worst of times'

So begins a book with one of the most famous opening lines ever. 

Onam is my fav festival of the year, after Rakhi (only because i get gifts on Rakhi instead of giving em) I look forward to the Sadhya every year. This year I was very excited about Onam and in my enthusiasm and with my talent for making things hard for myself, i decided on doing two full fledged Onam meals on the day.

After what was possibly one of the worst mornings i have had in a long, long time, i headed to Matunga for the first one.

Mani's is an old Mallu institution in the once Southie strong hold of Matunga. The original Mani's outlet shuts down on this day and they take over a large dining hall where tables are laid. Since i was in the area already, i was able to make it in by 11.30 and was one of the first ones in, duly photographed and videotaped while eating.. (i pity whoever has to edit that footage) 

My banana leaf was not quite the right color i thought, the ones on either side of me were the right shade. 

the tamarind chutney and the pickle were a little disappointing. 

now, i dont recall all the dishes that were on play but there was banana chips and a sweet banana 

the red gravy was the best. 

the sambar and white rice was pretty good.

overall, the meal was alright. I was a little disappointed as they were not quite ready for the first few diners. The rasam took a while to come and we got only a spoonful of what was very delicious dahi. There was no chaas on offer either. The pyasam was terrific. 

At 250 bucks, the meal is also a touch expensive, compared to whats served by them regularly at half the cost. (chaas, dahi, sambar, rasam) So although not bad it was disappointing in the way it played out. Previous year i was late, this year i was early, perhaps i must try to make it there by 1 pm next year.

Also, for the first time i didnt go bull in a china shop and overdo the meal keeping in mind that i was to do another one later in the day.

Rasovar by Radjhani

Rest: Rasovara by Rajdhani
Meal: Lunch
Loc: Phoenix Mills

A few weeks ago i attended a bloggers luncheon at Rajdhani and did the same a few days ago as well. The bloggers are a merry bunch and its good to catch up with them every once in  while. Rasovara is an interesting attempt to alter what is a tried and tested format in the Indian dining scene.. the Thali.

Rajdhani was already one of my fav joints for a thali in the upper end (my all time fav is Friends Union which is much more basic) especially because they make attempts to differentiate themselves with their offering. Their use of makkhan (churned white butter) adds tremendous value to the food and is a throwback to what Indian food tasted like back in the day.

While Rajdhani has multiple outlets country wide and the thali is their mainstay, its brave of them to try and change what works. They have tweaked the concept of a regular thali to make it a more royal experience, from the decor which is upmarket to the plate setting to the number of dishes.

The handmade plates with all the bowls and silverware weigh in at 2.5-2.6 kgs (6lbs) and have a golden sheen to reflect the royal moniker.  Another unique introduction is a set captain to co-ordinate your dinner, he will call for anything the people on the table desire.

We were welcomed with a pretty delicious, albeit heavy glass of thandai (almond based cooler)

There is now a set appetizer course which is served at the opening of the meal and once you are through the dish is taken away. The Dahi Vada was okay but the dhokla was just incredibly good.

The Dal-Batti-Churma which used to be offered as a once in a while special is now a staple. Not bad.

Overall, there were 2 types of kadhis, 2 dals, 4 veggies, 4 types of bread, two type of rice etc. The food was good, no real complaints.

The price for the thali is usually 350 which i have always found on the higher side, (A friends union does a basic version with a few less entrees and appetizers for 150) but the Rasovar experience comes to you at between 549 and 649 depending (weekday lunch & dinner. 649 on weekends throughout the day)

What i liked about the experience was that there was an attempt to try something different, bringing on a custom captain to co-ordinate the meal is a good idea and when you have a high number of dishes it actually works out for the better. I also like the relaxed pace and even though there were 50+ people dining then it felt like we had our own personal space.We were also told that the higher price of the thali allows them to use even better and more expensive ingredients and offer dishes they could not before. Which explains the ghee laden badam ka khalwa (almond halwa)

What i did not like.. First off, the thali experience is about having all the things together at once. I did not like having my appetizers up front and then not having them later.. i think the courses concept leads to a less than fulfilled meal and must revert to its earlier state.

I also think that there are simply too many things on offer, sweets could easily be reduced, the dal bati could be removed as well. They could add a few more kinds of bread (light ones a stuffed paratha is a bad idea) some more veggies because we end up with ones we dont like far too often.The offering needs a little tweaking but thats just my opinion.


The service was a tad off, with waits for things i wanted but i think they will be get that sorted out.