burrp! Stats
- 5 Reviews
- 1 First to review
- 2 Places Added
- Been to 5 Places
- Burrping since Sep 07, 2007
Reviews by swarna_05
Apr 25, 2008
@ Hotel Ista, 1/1 Swami Vivekananda Road, Ulsoor, Bangalore
Rated: Awful
Chenaab:The scam festival @ Zaman
The fancy north Indian restuarant Zaman, in Ista, Bangalore - recently announced a "Punjabi Food Festival" called Chenaab. This has been running since 18th or 19th of April to 26th April '08.
It has been one of the heavily publicised food festivals in recent times. Notice that I say - publicised and not advertised. I can't recall seeing even one advertisement for the event. But Times Of India has been carrying news and listing of the food festival every single day - starting 2 days prior to the start of the festival.
There have been nice page 3 news items on how the Bangalore Page 3 regulars met there and danced to Punjabi tunes and really enjoyed a great Punjabi meal and so on. There was even a write up with quotes from a manager of the hotel on how they had quite a cool thing going on.
Well, I bit the bait.
And went there yesterday - April 24 2008. For dinner.
And boy, if there ever was a scam of a food festival - this was one. It was an expensive, stupid and anonymous north Indian meal. Thats it. No flavours of Punjab anywhere.
They had a measly food menu with not more that 6 starters listed - including all categories - vegetarian, red meat, chicken and fish! It was the same for the rest of the menu. The special Punjabi menu of Zaman did NOT have tandoori rotis in their menu.
Food Festival - so where was the food? Where was the introduction these festivals normally make to a whole exciting world of flavours and tastes of a cuisine? The food menu was so small and boring that the average Punjabi restuarant around town would have come out a winner in a comparison!
The food preparation, serving style was all boring and same old same old. And of course, no new gastronomic experience to be had - so sublime or exciting trip to the taste buds here.
No attempt to create any mood of the festival - that was so heavily talked about to the press.
OK - the lilting Punjabi music? The zesty bhangra tunes? Nopes.. no such luck! There was a bad bad speaker sound system - which was set so that the songs sung would sound like they were coming from the next building! And there was some singers - local no doubt - who sang some really bad ghazals. And they tried their hand at a couple of Punjabi songs and quickly gave up!
Decor? Nothing - it was the same old same old Zaman.
So where was the festival? It was not there in the food, sound, sights or smells! Least of all in the service. Such good looking waiters - all hiding boredom and robotic in their movements.
What a scam Chenaab was! Why did Ista even bother with this?
Get a lot of press and not live up to the built expectation? Where do they think their money will come from? The Page 3 regulars and the Times Of India - or the greater numbers of Bangalore Janata which is willing to pay a lot for a paisa vasool dining experience?
Don't they realize they have more custom to lose than gain with such half hearted attempts? Bangalore - has so much of food choices - how many will come back to get fleeced at a place like that - which can't deliver what it promises?
I have been to so many food festivals in Bangalore for the past 10 years and this festival "Chenaab" in Zaman, Ista has been by far the worst.
One of the best in the business of fine dining is F&B's Bouquet. Their food selection is amazing, fantastic service. Zaman is not even half as classy as Bouquet. Bouquet right now has undergone a subtle makeover in sync with the season - summer colors, different menu and generally a lighter and more fun atmosphere.. without missing a step and losing a drop of their class. Zaman could pick a lesson from them!
Mar 18, 2008
Lido Shopping Mall, Ulsoor, Bangalore
Rated: Awful
Spaghetti Kitchen (Bangalore) is terrible!
This weekend, Saturday lunch, we went to Spaghetti Kitchen that's newly opened @ Lido Mall in Bangalore.
Now this is an Italian restuarant in a mall, it is a part of a food chain ( yeah like McDonalds ) and even had a positive review in the previous day's Bangalore Times.
I know, I know- that should have been enough to put us off, but the bravehearts that we were, we went anyway.
And boy! Did the place live up to it's context! Apart from the really nice interiors, the place has NOTHING to go for it. Let me quickly list them for you,
1. The tables were greasy. Not clean. We saw why. There was a totally un-interested, incompetent waiter cleaning all tables - with the same dishcloth - moving from table to table. Basically he was evenly spreading the grease to all tables.
2. The service is TERRIBLE. The guys just don't care. They seem like seasoned imports from some other Spaghetti Kitchen joint. They had that distinct absent way of service and taking the order. Our waiter didn't have the patience to speak to us or listen to our order. It was almost as if the dining guest is in the way of him doing his job!
3. Our drinks were pre-prepared. We decided to drink Sangria ( it was listed as a pitcher but was not available ). It was pre-prepared and the apples had badly discoloured.
4. The food is frozen food. Make no mistake about it. It's frozen food that's then put together and served. We noticed that of both the chicken and fish we ordered. The fish was deep-fried in oil and any taste/flavour of fish had been successfully killed.
We selected 2 of their signature dishes and they left much to be desired. The food was oily and didn't have even an iota of subtlety that one would expect from Italian food. Only the Pizza appeared to be freshly made.
So there you go, the place is not clean, the service sucks, the food and drink that taste very very bad.
It is a perfect example of standardizing and mass producing a cuisine and totally ruining it.
Spaghetti Kitchen serves up the perfect example of "mall food" - unhealthy over priced trash. The best way to torture even the mildly discerning palate.
I am running back to my good old "The Only Place", "Sunny's", "Fiorano", "Via Milano" and Sunday brunches @ "Ista".
You know why? We paid a bill of Rs 1900/- at Spaghetti. This was for 2 drinks, 1 starter and 2 main course dishes.
At the same price, I can have an absolutely delightful Italian meal for two at any of the above places.
Sep 12, 2007
Taj Residency, MG Road, Bangalore
Rated: Average
"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, we found ourselves 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.
Basically this meant that I couldn't enjoy the foie gras and some shell fish based appetizers at all.
The main course was better. I safely ordered roast spring chicken that was done a tad too dry. My friend had some excellent lamb chops. The dessert - more than anything was stunningly pretty. I had a chocolate mud cake with 'crème Anglais'.
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 as much as I expected to.
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.
Sep 12, 2007
Sigma Mall, 3rd Floor, Near Wockhardt, Cunningham Road, Bangalore
Rated: Good
Stunted nostalgia, smelly plates, great food.
Stunted nostalgia, smelly plates, expensive but great food - this pretty much 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 can't 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. It was obviously not washed properly. We had them changed 3 times below they got us 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 somewhat doubtful cleanliness and great tasting food.
Sep 12, 2007
Asha Plaza, 80 ft Road - 100 ft Road junction, 4th Block, Koramangala, Bangalore
Rated: Good
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.
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! Well.
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 Rs 1500/- was very pleasant indeed.
In terms of actual menu selection and food quality, Sunny's and Little Italy seem a little 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.