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. 

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.

The Bombay Canteen

Rest : The Bombay Canteen 

Meal : Dinner

Loc : Kamala Mills

The Bombay Canteen is possibly the hottest dining ticket in the city right now, tables are extremely hard to get and are much sought after. It is Floyd Cardoz's India debut and is high on concept, of all the recent openings thus far, it is definetely the most innovative. From the register like menu, to the Rooh Afza bottles for water and of course the food.

The menu is rather limited and can best be descibed as India inspired, most dishes spin out of familar things but go their own way pretty quickly. They have a chotta and bada concept (some of it is pretty large) and they also have the chintu which float around and should be grabbed everytime they pass by. 

the boiled egg was a chintu with a filling of egg bhurji i reckon, delicious.

Fried lotus stems are so much better than regular chips, SO MUCH BETTER. Lotus stems should be on more menus i reckon.

cheese sticks. what is not to like ? 

the moong dal fritters, very good, tasty chutney but the chana kachumbar mix was diabolical. they need to put it on the menu as a separate listing all together. this was gone very very quickly. 

they do a selection of toasts, this was the spicy tomato bit with peanut salsa and home made paneer. Tad spicy and a little underwhelming but by no means bad. 

the eggs kejriwal were unlike any i have had but were terrific. easily one of the starts of the menu. def get them whilst there. 

the masala coke, was smaller than id like and had more masala than id like. could be improved. 

so the indian tacos were dissapointing, didnt go anywhere, too gimmicky. although i am told the non-veg taco was terrific. 

so this was my main, the baked cabbage and paneer kofta, the first serving was over salted so we sent it back. it came back somewhat fixed but not quite. i had it with a steamed garlic bun which was terrific and must be had. 

the old monk rum laden gulab jamun was terrific. a combination that works extremely well together. 

the guava pastry with mirchi ice cream was okay, i didnt find it to be that great but everyone else loved it. 

the falooda sundae with some skim milk. terrific. a falooda SUNDAE so simple yet so amazing. 

the ice cream sandwich was dissapointing all around. the bon bon and jim jam are great but need to perhaps switch the ice cream filling. 

the masala chai popsicles were exactly as weird as they sound. look like kulfi but taste just like frozen chai (not as bad as it sounds) my companions liked this more than i did. 

Overall, the space is pretty cool, the vibe is great and its heaving with people. So for now, its def going to be the place to go.

I was the sole vegetarian of the crew and i found the food to be okay, the menu is kinda eclectic and fairly limited. Its not traditional in any sense. I am told they will take another two months or so to add more veg options. So the place def does have potential, hope to check them out in a month or two.

Also, as @anaggh rightly pointed out, the menu is kinda limited therefore will have to change frequently otherwise one could go through it all in two visits and then it gets kinda boring.  the word is that the menu will change every couple of months.

The non-veg was voted to be amazing, so i guess meat eaters should not feel shy about ordering.

The desserts range from terrific to good to weird good. So no chance of making a mistake there.

Service was quick, prompt and friendly. Id say go for it.

Special thanks to @dharmeshg @qtfan and @anaggh for a great evening out, sorting out the table and eveything else.

Food : 7/10
Service : 8/10
Damage : 12000 for 4 w cocktails