Thanks to Gauri and Ganesha, this is promising to be a busy weekend.
What with the relentless rains, the city has turned into one large dirty water-pool. Jokes are floating around about "Silkboard Swimming Pool" and so on. Pictures too..taken with mobilephones.
It will be tough getting shopping done for the festival this time. Well, mum and others are waiting for me to make "Karjikaayi" or "Kari-gadabu"... a fried variation of modak. I hope it comes ok and I am eager to get Y's opinion on them. :)
Friday 14 September, 2007
Tuesday 11 September, 2007
A Trip Down Memory Lane.
Recently I was at Mount Carmel College for campus recruitment. It was a post lunch half a day activity that I had completely forgotten about. When I got to work that day and the recruitment team coordinator called, I rushed through my work and started at 2pm.
The drive to the college took a good 45 minutes and was largely uneventful. When we got there, the day was just ending for the college and the girls were spilling out..sitting on the drive, heading home.
I became unabashedly nostalgic. I lived on Cunningham road and had attended class for 11th and 12th std in MCC.
Nothing much had changed at first glance. I caught snatches of conversation. "Most famous model in Europe..", "...lousy movie...", "...Classes...", "...missed lunch?..?", "..grab something...", "...I am going by auto, you?"... and so on. The drive was the same. The main office was still there. The home science building was still there... There were a fleet of "women's special" BMTC pushpak buses waiting to take the ladies home.
Then I looked closer and saw Fatima hall had been rebuilt. The main audi was demolished - apparently a huge auditorium with state of the art facilities, AC et al, will open. A new hall - 3 floor tall - called Jubilee hall had been built. The hostel was demolished. A new hostel building was being constructed in its place. I also heard that the home science department will be demolished and rebuilt.
Mobile phones are apparently banned on the campus. Carmelites have to adhere to a dress code now. The college is autonomous and is seeing a huge inflow of UGC grants that explains the construction frenzy.
I spoke to a teacher who was incharge of coordinating with us and she said UGC grants also meant that the teachers are earning much better now. At the same time, the annual scheme is replaced with a semester scheme and each department has to come up with extra credit courses. Teachers now have to teach upto 120 students at a time in popular courses, in addition to crafting these credit courses.
There are many new courses now - computer application related, travel management, business management and so on. The pressure is telling on the older lecturers quite a few of whom have opted for voluntary retirement with a decent pension under the UGC scheme.
The college was as clean as it was when I was studying there. The canteen is still there - serving the same burgers, pizzas and pastry puffs with diluted sauces. All departments have a noticeboard. Many chartpaper based posters adorn the walls - talking about successful young folks world over, about debit cards, about some business achievements, about some competitions, cultural festivals around the city. There was also a "radioactive campaign" on called "Toilet Bachao". :)
The new buildings are big and spaciously built. May be nostalgia, but I did think the spirit of the college was intact. The girls seemed the same - young, beautiful, full of hope and spirit.
I am so happy I visited college. I wish I can do that sometime again with my Mount Carmel gang - A, B, P and Y.
The drive to the college took a good 45 minutes and was largely uneventful. When we got there, the day was just ending for the college and the girls were spilling out..sitting on the drive, heading home.
I became unabashedly nostalgic. I lived on Cunningham road and had attended class for 11th and 12th std in MCC.
Nothing much had changed at first glance. I caught snatches of conversation. "Most famous model in Europe..", "...lousy movie...", "...Classes...", "...missed lunch?..?", "..grab something...", "...I am going by auto, you?"... and so on. The drive was the same. The main office was still there. The home science building was still there... There were a fleet of "women's special" BMTC pushpak buses waiting to take the ladies home.
Then I looked closer and saw Fatima hall had been rebuilt. The main audi was demolished - apparently a huge auditorium with state of the art facilities, AC et al, will open. A new hall - 3 floor tall - called Jubilee hall had been built. The hostel was demolished. A new hostel building was being constructed in its place. I also heard that the home science department will be demolished and rebuilt.
Mobile phones are apparently banned on the campus. Carmelites have to adhere to a dress code now. The college is autonomous and is seeing a huge inflow of UGC grants that explains the construction frenzy.
I spoke to a teacher who was incharge of coordinating with us and she said UGC grants also meant that the teachers are earning much better now. At the same time, the annual scheme is replaced with a semester scheme and each department has to come up with extra credit courses. Teachers now have to teach upto 120 students at a time in popular courses, in addition to crafting these credit courses.
There are many new courses now - computer application related, travel management, business management and so on. The pressure is telling on the older lecturers quite a few of whom have opted for voluntary retirement with a decent pension under the UGC scheme.
The college was as clean as it was when I was studying there. The canteen is still there - serving the same burgers, pizzas and pastry puffs with diluted sauces. All departments have a noticeboard. Many chartpaper based posters adorn the walls - talking about successful young folks world over, about debit cards, about some business achievements, about some competitions, cultural festivals around the city. There was also a "radioactive campaign" on called "Toilet Bachao". :)
The new buildings are big and spaciously built. May be nostalgia, but I did think the spirit of the college was intact. The girls seemed the same - young, beautiful, full of hope and spirit.
I am so happy I visited college. I wish I can do that sometime again with my Mount Carmel gang - A, B, P and Y.
Monday 10 September, 2007
Stunted nostalgia, smelly plates, expensive but great food.
The title sums up my first impression about Moti Mahal, Tandoor Trail @ Sigma Mall on Cunningham Road in Bangalore.
The food is great tasting. Good quality fresh meats were used in the preparation. The spices are balanced and one gets to savour wholesome flavors in the cooking. Despite some of the other downers I will point out, chances are I will visit Moti Mahal again, if I want to indulge in a good non-vegetarian tandoori meal. (I just may need to carry my own plate!) That it's located in one of the more pleasant malls in town, Sigma Mall, is another draw.
To begin with, the menu. There is no bar and the restaurant focuses on food. The waiters are brisk and appear to be a mix of local talent and imports from the other Moti Mahal locations . There are specific items listed out as Moti Mahal speciality.
Slightly amusing is the "Bata" style of pricing. Yoghurt is Rs 59/-. Plain Naan is Rs 49/-. Naan with Butter is Rs 59/-. Chicken dishes are all priced Rs 249/- and upwards. A Pomfret preparation is priced at Rs 499/-.
As is apparent by now, Moti Mahal prices are above average, placing a premium on its brand and history.
Another peculiar thing was, that their square tables ( seating four ) were really big and their rectangular tables ( seating as many as eight ) were really narrow!
Even otherwise, the decor of the restaurant was overall drab - the only concession to an ethnic look was the use of inverted Kadhais (Indian woks) for lamp shades! One wall of the restaurant was fully windows - and that was so dirty! If clean, the windows could provide some really nice views.
For lunch, we had Kalmi Kababs (house speciality), Keema Masala, Tawa Chicken, Tandoori rotis and Khuskha for main course. The kababs were served on a sizzler and the marinade was excellent. The minced mutton used in Keema was appropriately coarse and it was a near homestyle preparation, simple and very tasty. The tawa chicken had excellent flavour.
We gave desserts a miss and ordered no vegetarian food either. So, while I cant share my opinion on them, my guess is that they too will be well made and tasty.
The worst and most off-putting aspect of the place was that the plates were greasy to the touch. Y smelled them and got completely upset. It was obviously not washed properly. He had them changed 3 times below they got him some really clean plates. For a place serving such oily food and non-vegetarian food, they need to be more careful about the plates.
The other aspect is the stunted nostalgia - most pictures are really dated - showing Nehru, Kennedies and so on. Its almost as if the brush with celebrity stopped in the 60s and then was picked up again in the recent years. We see pictures of Shiela Dixit and the tourism minister. The pictures tend to give you an impression that Nehru and the like visited the restuarant very often but according to the book - "Moti Mahal - Taandoori Trail" that we leafed through in the restaurant, seems more like like Moti Mahal catered food at government dos those days.
Anyways to conclude, its a place of dubious cleanliness and great tasting food.
The food is great tasting. Good quality fresh meats were used in the preparation. The spices are balanced and one gets to savour wholesome flavors in the cooking. Despite some of the other downers I will point out, chances are I will visit Moti Mahal again, if I want to indulge in a good non-vegetarian tandoori meal. (I just may need to carry my own plate!) That it's located in one of the more pleasant malls in town, Sigma Mall, is another draw.
To begin with, the menu. There is no bar and the restaurant focuses on food. The waiters are brisk and appear to be a mix of local talent and imports from the other Moti Mahal locations . There are specific items listed out as Moti Mahal speciality.
Slightly amusing is the "Bata" style of pricing. Yoghurt is Rs 59/-. Plain Naan is Rs 49/-. Naan with Butter is Rs 59/-. Chicken dishes are all priced Rs 249/- and upwards. A Pomfret preparation is priced at Rs 499/-.
As is apparent by now, Moti Mahal prices are above average, placing a premium on its brand and history.
Another peculiar thing was, that their square tables ( seating four ) were really big and their rectangular tables ( seating as many as eight ) were really narrow!
Even otherwise, the decor of the restaurant was overall drab - the only concession to an ethnic look was the use of inverted Kadhais (Indian woks) for lamp shades! One wall of the restaurant was fully windows - and that was so dirty! If clean, the windows could provide some really nice views.
For lunch, we had Kalmi Kababs (house speciality), Keema Masala, Tawa Chicken, Tandoori rotis and Khuskha for main course. The kababs were served on a sizzler and the marinade was excellent. The minced mutton used in Keema was appropriately coarse and it was a near homestyle preparation, simple and very tasty. The tawa chicken had excellent flavour.
We gave desserts a miss and ordered no vegetarian food either. So, while I cant share my opinion on them, my guess is that they too will be well made and tasty.
The worst and most off-putting aspect of the place was that the plates were greasy to the touch. Y smelled them and got completely upset. It was obviously not washed properly. He had them changed 3 times below they got him some really clean plates. For a place serving such oily food and non-vegetarian food, they need to be more careful about the plates.
The other aspect is the stunted nostalgia - most pictures are really dated - showing Nehru, Kennedies and so on. Its almost as if the brush with celebrity stopped in the 60s and then was picked up again in the recent years. We see pictures of Shiela Dixit and the tourism minister. The pictures tend to give you an impression that Nehru and the like visited the restuarant very often but according to the book - "Moti Mahal - Taandoori Trail" that we leafed through in the restaurant, seems more like like Moti Mahal catered food at government dos those days.
Anyways to conclude, its a place of dubious cleanliness and great tasting food.
Friday 7 September, 2007
"Graze"-ing is acquired taste
After all, we aren't cows! Lame jokes apart, Graze is the new address in Bangalore for "dining on the lighter side of European cuisine".
We are somewhat resentful of the place, because it replaced our favorite bar in town - Jockey Club in Taj Residency. Graze is a minimalist and smaller place - not as spacious and plush like good old Jockey Club. When we got there, it was full - a considerable number of them were foreigners - maybe folks staying at the hotel.
Anyway, we were shown in and asked to occupy an extremely cramped table. By then, the ever resourceful Y found us seating at the dining bar facing the bustling open kitchen.
We were the only people at the bar counter. That pretty much set us up for the evening and we had a great time looking at the chef and his staff create some extremely good looking dishes.
As for eating them, well - that’s a different story. For me at least. Y is very adventurous and is open to trying all foods.
Basically this meant that I couldn't enjoy the foie gras and some shell fish based appetizers at all. We drank a couple of imported beers. Asahi was one of them - very light.
The main course was better. I safely ordered roast spring chicken that was done a tad too dry. Y had some excellent lamb chops. The dessert - more than anything was stunningly pretty. I had a chocolate mud cake with 'crème Anglais' and I can't remember what Y had.
The service was brisk and non-intrusive.
Through out, we had a great time watching the kitchen staff at work. Especially the 'make up man' - I think called the Expediter or Announcer, who finished the dishes. He was a delight to watch - working away diligently at the most sparkling and spotless table of the kitchen.
When we were done eating, we had the Chef saunter across to where we were sitting asking us how we liked the meal. I told him about how the chicken was dry and he said, "Yes madam, I too like my chicken juicy and tender but our Indian guests keep asking for it to be sent back to be over done. Also because of my fear about Chikungunya, bird flu etc, I have instructed for the chicken to be well done. Next time you come by, I will take care to have it made to your liking".
!! Fears of Chikungunya after a Rs 4500/- meal and veiled racist comments about Indian dining preferences!
The conversation actually went on to the foie gras and the chef remarked about what an exotic delicacy it is, how it is his personal favorite and that I didn’t have "the tongue for it" - meaning taste for overfed goose liver.
You know, I wish waiters and chefs didn't indulge in small talk - at least with me!
Well, Graze is a smart looking place and expensive. The service and ambience has the usual quality of a star hotel.
As for the taste, I would like to reserve my judgment. I didn't enjoy the meal. Even Y gave it thumbs down.
Who knows? Like the chef said, may be I don't have 'the tongue' for it. Or maybe, we just miss our good old Jockey Club - a place where many an evening was deliriously well spent.
Then again, we eat out a lot and maybe we are right.
We are somewhat resentful of the place, because it replaced our favorite bar in town - Jockey Club in Taj Residency. Graze is a minimalist and smaller place - not as spacious and plush like good old Jockey Club. When we got there, it was full - a considerable number of them were foreigners - maybe folks staying at the hotel.
Anyway, we were shown in and asked to occupy an extremely cramped table. By then, the ever resourceful Y found us seating at the dining bar facing the bustling open kitchen.
We were the only people at the bar counter. That pretty much set us up for the evening and we had a great time looking at the chef and his staff create some extremely good looking dishes.
As for eating them, well - that’s a different story. For me at least. Y is very adventurous and is open to trying all foods.
Basically this meant that I couldn't enjoy the foie gras and some shell fish based appetizers at all. We drank a couple of imported beers. Asahi was one of them - very light.
The main course was better. I safely ordered roast spring chicken that was done a tad too dry. Y had some excellent lamb chops. The dessert - more than anything was stunningly pretty. I had a chocolate mud cake with 'crème Anglais' and I can't remember what Y had.
The service was brisk and non-intrusive.
Through out, we had a great time watching the kitchen staff at work. Especially the 'make up man' - I think called the Expediter or Announcer, who finished the dishes. He was a delight to watch - working away diligently at the most sparkling and spotless table of the kitchen.
When we were done eating, we had the Chef saunter across to where we were sitting asking us how we liked the meal. I told him about how the chicken was dry and he said, "Yes madam, I too like my chicken juicy and tender but our Indian guests keep asking for it to be sent back to be over done. Also because of my fear about Chikungunya, bird flu etc, I have instructed for the chicken to be well done. Next time you come by, I will take care to have it made to your liking".
!! Fears of Chikungunya after a Rs 4500/- meal and veiled racist comments about Indian dining preferences!
The conversation actually went on to the foie gras and the chef remarked about what an exotic delicacy it is, how it is his personal favorite and that I didn’t have "the tongue for it" - meaning taste for overfed goose liver.
You know, I wish waiters and chefs didn't indulge in small talk - at least with me!
Well, Graze is a smart looking place and expensive. The service and ambience has the usual quality of a star hotel.
As for the taste, I would like to reserve my judgment. I didn't enjoy the meal. Even Y gave it thumbs down.
Who knows? Like the chef said, may be I don't have 'the tongue' for it. Or maybe, we just miss our good old Jockey Club - a place where many an evening was deliriously well spent.
Then again, we eat out a lot and maybe we are right.
Italian fare Via Milano @ Koramangala, Bangalore.
'Via Milano' is a new addition to the Italian restaurants in Bangalore. It’s a stylish chic place done up in red, black and white. Located on the third floor next to Sony World in Koramangala, the place has some nice views.
We went there for dinner mid week - 2 nights ago and the place was full. It seemed to be a favorite with expats and quite a few people appeared to have dropped by after work.
Now on to my dining experience.
The two things that stand out in my mind are - the reasonable bill and one over-enthusiastic/pushy head waiter - who never waited on us. (Yeah... I seem to have this thing for waiters :)).
This particular head waiter was someone who had obviously spent a lot of time at the gym and dressed carefully to show off the effort - quite unusual and pleasing to the eye. What was absolutely terrifying was how over the top he was with waiting. He talked a lot, leaned a lot towards the table, and made far too many suggestions about what to eat or not.
We saw him working the nearby table and got so frightened that we quickly placed the order with the waiter who was perhaps supposed to just serve the food. He was quiet and did his job calmly and we were spared any overbearing hospitality.
The staff did seem a little flustered. That or perhaps something else, did not lend a completely relaxing atmosphere like say Fiorano ( another Italian place in Koramangala) does.
We had all courses - antipasti, pasta, fish for main course and a dessert. Unfortunately, we aren’t great fans of delightfully healthy food so we found the antipasti selection disappointing - what with most being lettuce or green leafy based. The chicken tortellini and red snapper for main course were both well made - except that the sauces were a trifle too salty.
We mentioned this to another hovering waiter and he replied, "I tell them in the kitchen to be generous with food and they add extra salt". And a prompting smile. We lamely smiled back. Sheesh!
Anyways, that apart, Via Milano has an well stocked bar and like most restaurants around town - they too have the irritating habit of getting only one bar menu and chauvinistically handing it over to the man at the table! Like women can't read and choose their own drinks. bah! :(
The dessert was quite ordinary - a rum cake with some fruit and orange custard.
The final bill presented - for 2 bottles of Cobra beer and a complete meal for two at about RS1500/- was very pleasant indeed.
In terms of actual menu selection and food quality, I still prefer my experiences at Sunny's (on Lavelle Road) while Y says he likes Little Italy (in Indranagar) better.
But Via Milano is a nice place; particulary ideal for a business lunch. Though Via Milano is quite not there yet - in terms of an overall complete rounded experience, it is value for money. Go try it sometime.
We went there for dinner mid week - 2 nights ago and the place was full. It seemed to be a favorite with expats and quite a few people appeared to have dropped by after work.
Now on to my dining experience.
The two things that stand out in my mind are - the reasonable bill and one over-enthusiastic/pushy head waiter - who never waited on us. (Yeah... I seem to have this thing for waiters :)).
This particular head waiter was someone who had obviously spent a lot of time at the gym and dressed carefully to show off the effort - quite unusual and pleasing to the eye. What was absolutely terrifying was how over the top he was with waiting. He talked a lot, leaned a lot towards the table, and made far too many suggestions about what to eat or not.
We saw him working the nearby table and got so frightened that we quickly placed the order with the waiter who was perhaps supposed to just serve the food. He was quiet and did his job calmly and we were spared any overbearing hospitality.
The staff did seem a little flustered. That or perhaps something else, did not lend a completely relaxing atmosphere like say Fiorano ( another Italian place in Koramangala) does.
We had all courses - antipasti, pasta, fish for main course and a dessert. Unfortunately, we aren’t great fans of delightfully healthy food so we found the antipasti selection disappointing - what with most being lettuce or green leafy based. The chicken tortellini and red snapper for main course were both well made - except that the sauces were a trifle too salty.
We mentioned this to another hovering waiter and he replied, "I tell them in the kitchen to be generous with food and they add extra salt". And a prompting smile. We lamely smiled back. Sheesh!
Anyways, that apart, Via Milano has an well stocked bar and like most restaurants around town - they too have the irritating habit of getting only one bar menu and chauvinistically handing it over to the man at the table! Like women can't read and choose their own drinks. bah! :(
The dessert was quite ordinary - a rum cake with some fruit and orange custard.
The final bill presented - for 2 bottles of Cobra beer and a complete meal for two at about RS1500/- was very pleasant indeed.
In terms of actual menu selection and food quality, I still prefer my experiences at Sunny's (on Lavelle Road) while Y says he likes Little Italy (in Indranagar) better.
But Via Milano is a nice place; particulary ideal for a business lunch. Though Via Milano is quite not there yet - in terms of an overall complete rounded experience, it is value for money. Go try it sometime.
Tchi - Good food and that's about it.
Tchi is a Chinese/Thai restaurant tucked away in a quiet interesting corner of Queen's Road - Edwards road in Bangalore. Its a house converted to a restuarant.
I have been there three times now. The very first was just two days after it opened. The bar was not yet functional.
The service was a bit tacky - 'perhaps because of the newness/earnestness ', I thought. The most noticeable factor was that - the waiter doesnt rest till he has hounded you multiple times to take the maincourse order - after you have ordered the soup. The funny thing is - this repeated itself all 3 times!
The food was delicious. Priced a little above average, the portions were very satisfactory and preparations very tasty and balanced in flavors.
The second time around again - great food and tacky service. The head waiter wouldn't rest till he forced out a complete order from us and another waiter spilled wine on our tablecloth. Minor glitches I suppose - but the stuff that separate the classy from mediocre is what I would say.
This third time last month was the worst - their valet service was not present because 'the boys have gone for parcel delivery'!
This time around, they had some extremely bad acoustic live music. Seriously, the place could just do with some soft instrumental music in the back ground.
Of course - the usual: great food and off service.
What finished my experience with Tchi was they way they dealt with the bill. Suddenly, they were not able to accept credit or debit cards! Their 'server' was apparently down. We paid up a bill of Rs 2000+ in cash - rather unexpectedly and headed out looking for an ATM to replenish our cash reserves to last for the weekend.
To conclude. like my title says - good food and thats about it.
And frankly, Bangalore has such a vibrant eating out culture, I could easily give Tchi a miss and not notice it at all for the rest of my eating out here.
And thats what I am going to do. :)
I have been there three times now. The very first was just two days after it opened. The bar was not yet functional.
The service was a bit tacky - 'perhaps because of the newness/earnestness ', I thought. The most noticeable factor was that - the waiter doesnt rest till he has hounded you multiple times to take the maincourse order - after you have ordered the soup. The funny thing is - this repeated itself all 3 times!
The food was delicious. Priced a little above average, the portions were very satisfactory and preparations very tasty and balanced in flavors.
The second time around again - great food and tacky service. The head waiter wouldn't rest till he forced out a complete order from us and another waiter spilled wine on our tablecloth. Minor glitches I suppose - but the stuff that separate the classy from mediocre is what I would say.
This third time last month was the worst - their valet service was not present because 'the boys have gone for parcel delivery'!
This time around, they had some extremely bad acoustic live music. Seriously, the place could just do with some soft instrumental music in the back ground.
Of course - the usual: great food and off service.
What finished my experience with Tchi was they way they dealt with the bill. Suddenly, they were not able to accept credit or debit cards! Their 'server' was apparently down. We paid up a bill of Rs 2000+ in cash - rather unexpectedly and headed out looking for an ATM to replenish our cash reserves to last for the weekend.
To conclude. like my title says - good food and thats about it.
And frankly, Bangalore has such a vibrant eating out culture, I could easily give Tchi a miss and not notice it at all for the rest of my eating out here.
And thats what I am going to do. :)
Nice to be back!
Wow... didnt know I would miss blogging this much!
Quite a few things conspired to keep me away from my i-home. The main thing being that for some mysterious reason these pages were blocked @ work place and I just couldnt get enough time to blog from home.
N, my little sis, got married. The runup to her wedding was nightmarish for mum and me. But what a lovely wedding finally! And my lil sis was looking like an angel. So beautiful and happy.
S came down from Delhi for the wedding and we all had so much fun together.
The reception at Hyd was so classy. S and N had done such a great great job of it. The impromptu dancing to bollywood numbers was a great end to a great party.
Another really nice thing we did in time for the wedding was finally hang all the black & white pictures on the walls at my mum's home. About 16 pictures - from my mum's childhood to her wedding. There was also pics of us 3 girls when we were 2 years old. People visiting couldnt stop looking at them and praising! Mum just preened as usual. :)
Y and me worked so hard for the pics. Its all worth it.
Quite a few things conspired to keep me away from my i-home. The main thing being that for some mysterious reason these pages were blocked @ work place and I just couldnt get enough time to blog from home.
N, my little sis, got married. The runup to her wedding was nightmarish for mum and me. But what a lovely wedding finally! And my lil sis was looking like an angel. So beautiful and happy.
S came down from Delhi for the wedding and we all had so much fun together.
The reception at Hyd was so classy. S and N had done such a great great job of it. The impromptu dancing to bollywood numbers was a great end to a great party.
Another really nice thing we did in time for the wedding was finally hang all the black & white pictures on the walls at my mum's home. About 16 pictures - from my mum's childhood to her wedding. There was also pics of us 3 girls when we were 2 years old. People visiting couldnt stop looking at them and praising! Mum just preened as usual. :)
Y and me worked so hard for the pics. Its all worth it.
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