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.

California Burrito

Rest : California Burrito
Loc : Old Madras Road

My love for all things Mexican is well documented, i try and get my Mex fix as often as possible, although Bombay for some reason has been resistant to Tex-Mex cuisine done right. Trust me, ive eaten Burritos in a seedy Mexican town, i know what i am talking about.  

While being driven back from a meeting i spied this huge ass sign for California Burrito. I immediately had the car pulled into their little parking lot damn near causing a pile up. A burrito place six feet away from me, how could i not give it a go, road safety be damned. 

Now, to be honest, California Burrito is very inspired by Chipotle, there is not much of a spiritual difference between the two ideas although not that i am complaining.

In my excitement of getting a shot at a propah burrito i completely forgot to look at the deals on offer and ended up bypassing a shot at a bunch of the combos.

I chose a regular Burrito base which was stuffed with Fajita Veggies, Cilantro Rice, Spicy Beans, Pinto BEans, Pico De allo, Salsa, Onions, Lettuce, (weird) Jalapenos, Sour Cream and Guacamole. They also add cheese, unfortunately not Cheddar which i reckon should be easy to source and relatively cost effective. 

So in any case, i ended up with a 12" burrito which was freaking huge and i was able to devour nonetheless. It was certainly above average. I think the flavour profile needs a slight tweak, the beans need a little punch and Cilantro rice is not something i have been a fan of.

Something closer to a regular Tex-Mex rice would work way better. Cheese to, Monterrey Jack is a dream but Cheddar is def doable and better than i believe Mozzarella which is what i was told they were using.

I was told they are able to source avocados which means guacomole is not a gamble and the other ingredients too seemed of good quality. They serve a pink nimbu pani which is essentially your regular pink lemonade, delicious.

They have 5 outlets in Bangalore and i really hope they make it out to Bombay.

CaperBerry - Bangalore

Rest : Caperberry

Loc : Dickenson Road,

Caperberry is touted as one of Bangalore's more progressive restaurants. While they have the DNA and the menu is imaginatively planned, they certainly seem to have lost their consistency somewhere along the way. 

Located on the ground floor of an office building, the space is modernish decked out in green (appropriately) although nothing about the space stands out in particular. The wear and tear is pretty evident as well.  

started off with some bread, which was pretty good, with olives etc, i was not a fan of this olive oil dipping sauce mixture. it was a sweetish mess which did nothing for me. 

the new aged caprese was super intriguing and i had to try it. served with speherified mozzarella with balsamic and olive oil drizzle and a tomato  

the tapas platter was actually like any other regular appetizer platter. The fig and feta caviar promised so much, unfortunately yielded no taste. the spinach and parmesan roll, sat in a cheesy base and it was terrific, easily the best thing they served, the olive croquets were pretty uninteresting too. 

unfortunately, i was dining with others which meant i had to go along to get along and i could not order anything i wanted to. Considering my choices had already fallen flat i was in no position to force the issue. The aglio olio was pretty bland, which is a bit shocking for a dish which has garlic and chili 

the porcini risotto was served with a fried nugget stuffed with mushroom. both were kind of underwhelming. the dish just did not have any life in it, the taste was just not there and again rather blandish. 

overall, the menu is experimental but practical and has plenty of safe dishes for one to try.  i found the flavours to be lacking outright and can only wonder if its the case for the best staff not being in the house for a regular weekday lunch service. 

Food : 4/10
Service : 8/10

Damage : 2500 without drinks