Wednesday, October 5, 2011

A Korean BBQ at Soo Ra Sang

Soo Ra Sang is a Korean restaurant located on the terrace of a four-storied building on Wind Tunnel Road. The name Soo Ra Sang literally means "from the King's dining table" and the food does make you feel like a king.
Though this place is just about 250 meters from my flat, it still took me almost an year to try out this place. But, after eleven months of procrastination, finally one rainy evening three of my friends mine and me decided to try out the some Korean Barbecue.
As soon as we entered the restaurant we were amazed by the ambiance, the place is on the terrace of a four-storied building and it overlooks the Old Airport Runway. The seating arrangement consists of short folding tables called "sang". The barbecue was cooked fresh at our tables with thin slices of marinated meat. Also, the food is served with a very wide variety of dishes (banchan) which includes an authentic kimchi (which is very unlike what you get at most of the Chinese places).
We had ordered four different dishes (unfortunately I don't remember the names of the dishes), the one I loved the most consisted of a bowl of rice with veggies, meat and a pouched egg on top. All these ingredients are mashed at your table with a spicy paste and is, like all the other dishes, served steaming hot.
The dinner is served with Okusu cha, which is a traditional Korean tea made with roasted corn is boiled water, which goes very well with the Korean dishes. And the dinner ends with Sujeonggwa, which is a traditional fruit punch made with Cinnamon in cold water.
Soo Ra Sang is a wonderful place for a quiet, long dinner where you can chat with friends along with delicious food. This place is certainly on the expensive side with a meal for two costing about Rs1200.

Warning: Ensure that you get a window-side table at this place even if you have to wait a while. Also, the BBQs are served only if you order more than two dishes, so ensure that if you go to this place, you are in a group of four+ members. 

Soo Ra Sang:
35, RK Arcade
Wind Tunnel Road, Murugeshpalaya
080-41303435

Miller's 46 - A cowboy's dream


Miller's 46 is a Steak house with a Wild-west decor, the waiters are in Cowboy gear and the portions are big enough for a real cowboy. Miller's 46 is probably the best Steak house in Bangalore and it is located on Miller's road (obviously) near Sigma Mall on Cunningham road.
I had heard a lot about the place, but had not been to the place since I have always been a die-hard fan of Jukebox. But, after four long years of wolfing steaks at Jukebox I decided to give Miller's 46 a chance. And I wasn't disappointed. We ordered a plate of spicy chicken wings, which turned out to be the best I ever had. And then we followed it up with a T-bone steak. The Steaks are brilliant and the quantity is enough to last me for two meals (and that is quite something). Ensure that you order a beer or a Dr.Peppers along with your steak as you need something to wash down the huge portions of meat which you would end up consuming at the Miller's 46.
To sum up I found that Miller's 46 is certainly the best Steak house of Bangalore and the quantity of food would leave you feeling more than satisfied. Ensure that you reach the place with an empty stomach otherwise you might end up wasting a lot of food. Miller's 46 is moderately priced for the kind and quantity of food it offers and a meal for two for cost you about Rs800.


Miller's 46:
46, Miller's Road, Vasanth Nagar, Bangalore
080-41148022, 08041131746


Wednesday, June 8, 2011

The Phobidden Fruit of Vietnam



Phobidden Fruit is a nice, warm and cozy little place which serves Vietnamese food. The restaurant is right across Rahul Dravid's house in HAL 2nd Stage, Indiranagar. It has a nice soothing atmosphere with it's cozy decor and nice soft oldies playing in the background.
I had never had the pleasure of relishing Vietnamese food and since I had read about this place on the net (and wasn't in the mood to cook on a Saturday night), I decided to explore.
I reached the place around 8:30PM with an empty stomach and a curious tongue, and started with Banh Cuon. Banh Cuon is a crepe like roll made from a thin sheet of rice flour and mixed with chicken and mushroom, and I loved it. For the main course, we ordered Crab Green Pepper and Pho. The Crab was delicious and the gravy brilliant. The Pho is a Vietnamese noodle-soup served with chicken or beef. The soup is made of noodles made of rice and was served with basil, sprouts, onion, chilli, lime and a couple of sauces. This is the most popular dish of Phobidden Fruit and it lives up to the expectations. One bowl of this noodle-soup is more than enough for even a hungry man like me.
My first tryst with Vietnamese food was a delightful experience and though the dinner filled up my stomach, it left my heart craving for more.
Phobidden Fruit is a bit heavy on the pocket and dinner for two would cost around Rs.1000.

Phobidden Fruit:
965, 12th Main, HAL 2nd Stage, Indiranagar, Bangalore
Phone: 41255175

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Nagarjuna


I wanted to write about Nagarjuna for a long time, but I never believed that I could do justice to the restaurant with my blog (and still don't). However, I couldn't have a blog about restaurants in Bangalore and not have Nagarjuna in it.

There are three Nagarjunas in Bangalore and I love all of them. But, if you have to visit any one of them I would suggest the CMH road one as it is neither too crowded like the Residency Road one or completely deserted like the Jayanagar one.

These restaurants are not famous for their ambiance or their fancy food, but are famous for their meals. At Nagarjuna, I always order a veg meal and a chicken starter to go with it. When you decide you are going to visit Nagarjuna ensure that you miss the previous meal as you have to stuff yourself to enjoy Nagarjuna. You would always start the meal with ghee soaked rice and dal powder. This dal powder with papad and the coconut based chutney they serve makes me return to Nagarjuna time and again. The vegetable curries which are served along with the Meal are also good, but the dal with spinach is the best dal that money can buy. They also serve sambhar, rasam and kadi with the meal, but I never had enough room in my stomach to savour those. One should always end the meal with curd as you need something to soothe your stomach after the spicy food.

Nagarjuna is easy on the pocket too where a veg thali costs about Rs.90 and the chicken starter which is enough for two, costs about Rs.150. So a meal for two would cost you about Rs 350 and trust me it is worth every rupee.

Contact:
Nagarjuna
195, Double Road, 2nd Stage
CMH Road, Indiranagar, Bangalore
Phone: 42800900, 42800901, 42800902, 42800903



Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Spiga - Romance with Food



Spiga serves European and Mexican cuisine and is located on St.Marks road. It is a classy roof-top restaurant, which makes you feel like you are in Greece. This is a perfect place to take your girlfriend (or boyfriend) out for a romantic dinner. Unfortunately I have never been to Spiga's for dinner, but have heard that the light up the entire place with candles.

Now coming to the important part - the Food. I have been there twice and have found that one should try the sea food there and steer clear of the Indianised dishes. One of the starters worth mentioning is the spicy hummus starter. Amongst the choice of main course dishes, I would recommend the Fish in Lemon butter sauce. The portions are pretty big and it requires a good appetite to finish off a main course on your own.

Spiga is a bit expensive for the food it serves and a meal for two without drinks would make you poorer by around Rs1000. But, if you are going out for a romantic dinner and want good food along with it, Spiga is one of the best places to go.

Spiga
9, Halycon, 4th Floor
St.Marks Road
Bengaluru
Phone: 080 42110469

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Annachi: My first Chettinad Experience


Annachi is a restaurant dedicated to chettinad cuisine located on the 100 feet road, Koramangala. Annachi is completely devoted to chettinad cuisine and this is reflected in their decor and as well as in the ambiance. The decor is tastefully done up with built-in courtyard seats and with traditional south cotton saris decorating the wall.
Chettinad (as I found out later is a region of the Sivaganga district of southern Tamil Nadu and is famous for it's spicy cuisine. Even after living in Bangalore for almost four years now, I had never tasted the famed Chettinad cuisine. So, I googled for a good place to enjoy Chettinad food near my home and came up with "Annachi".

Feeling adventurous I drove to the place and ordered Chettinad Meen Varuthathu (Seer fish fry), Eratchi Chops (Mutton gravy) and Annachi special Parota. Going through the menu while waiting for my order to come, I suddenly felt adventurous and ordered Moolai Melagu Varuval (Brain pepper fry) and a local drink (I forgot the name). The Fish fry was brilliant and the brain fry was well cooked, but according to me the brain is not the tastiest part of the goat. The combination of the mutton gravy with the parota was heavenly and should not be missed at any cost.

On the whole, my first tryst with Chettinad cuisine was totally worth the three and a half year wait and I am eagerly waiting for the huge list of undiscovered delicacies that this cuisine has for me in the near future.

Annachi is a tastefully decorated restaurant and is decently priced, where a dinner for two would cost you around Rs.600 (without drinks).

Annachi:
54, MSK Plaza
100 Ft. Road, Above Coffee Day
Indiranagar, Bangalore
Phone: 41261181, 41261182, 41272197

Monday, November 22, 2010

Fujiyama, A raw fishy affair

Fujiyama is a posh looking restaurant situated at 4th Block, Koramangala. It is one of the worst marketed restaurants of Bangalore. You might drive past the place dozens of times without even noticing the restaurant. The place is well decorated with it's wooden flooring and looks like what Titanic's dining room might have looked like.

I have been to this place twice, the first time was disappointing as no sushi was available. The second time however we got all the sushi we wanted. I ordered red snapper sushi for starters and crispy pork as the main course, I found both to be very tasty. We also ordered buck wheat noodle soup and that was delicious too. I would highly recommend this place for food-lovers wanting to indulge on japanese food.

Fujiyama is a bit expensive, and a dinner for two will leave you dearer by around Rs.1200.

Fujiyama

#423, 8th Main

4th Block, Koramangala

Bangalore-560034

Landmark: Ooty Chocolates


Phone: 9972572310