Roadside chaat (along with bonda,bajjis) is one of the important reasons why I like staying in India, and without a weekly dose of roadside masala puri, I get as desperate as a habitual drug user! I have no qualms of eating on the roadside, and am willing to eat on any gaaDi, provided its been recommended from a well known friend (just never drink water there).
There are two push carts that are particularly good in the Basavanagudi, Jayanagar areas that am familiar with.
The first one is near National College, to be exact, at the junction of Shankar Math road and Vani Vilas road(in front of the Veda Patha Shala). I have been visiting this place for the last 5-6 years, mostly from when I started working since this has always been on the route back home from work. Masala puri is the best, he gets the fundamentals right, i.e, crisp puris, piping hot peas and masala, slightly spicy...and there you have the perfect masala puri!!! Everything is good here, but I prefer the masala puri mainly. It costs just Rs 10 per plate (I think, its been 3 months since I have been here) and is quite hygienic by gaaDi standards!
The second one is near Madhavan park stadium near Jayanagar 3rd block, this is adjacent to the basket ball courts, you cant miss this place as the push cart is always surrounded by atleast 20+ customers, and when it comes to eating, crowds are good, its good to be a part of the crowd. This falls on our route from office now, so over the last 3 months, I have been frequenting this place atleast once a week. Masala puri is the best here as well, I had alu puri which was not quite as good. USP here is the super fast service, its simply amazing, has to be seen to be believed. This place is really really good, I tried pani puri the other day, not particularly great (prefer Pani puri in the North Indian style).
I recommend both these places to gaaDi eaters in case you have'nt been there already, if you have been, no need for me to say another word about the place!
ps: both places, if you go in a car, they will serve you in the car.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Bowring Instt Kulfi Stall
I have written about this in several blogs and considering how unbelievably good it is and how little people know about it, I decided to write a blog dedicated to this.
On St Marks road, as one travels from SBI towards MG Road, there is a petrol bunk adjoining the Bowring Institute. In the corner there is a small stall, looks like the typical pan beeda kind of stall, but it is not.
This is the famous kulfi stall, the kulfi here is easily the best in Bangalore(and lot of other places). There are several flavors available, elaichi, pista, pista badam, kesar badam, kesar and khajoor. The cheapest of them is elaichi which costs Rs 13 and the most expensive is khajoor which costs RS 16. Believe it or not, these are tastier than any kulfi I have eaten in any other fancy restaurants. Also, kulfi in these fancy restaurants costs a bomb.
Elaichi is probably my least favourite flavor, it just tastes sweet. The real good ones are pista, pista badam and kesar badam. All the three are simply out-of-this-world. During my previous job, we used to frequent this place a lot, especially during summer when it would become a daily routine.
Another great thing about the place is the way he packs kulfis if you want to take a parcel, he packs kulfis amidst crushed ice and salt, that way the kulfis wont melt for atleast 30min, so you can take it home and store. I have heard that for larger orders, he even freezes the kulfis in a block of ice so that you can carry it farther without fearing melting.
People, you must visit this place to know what I am talking about. Considering the crowds in MG Road, Church St, Brigade Rd etc, am surprised how many people have never been here. It is so so close to 'downtown' Bangalore if I may call it that :-)
On St Marks road, as one travels from SBI towards MG Road, there is a petrol bunk adjoining the Bowring Institute. In the corner there is a small stall, looks like the typical pan beeda kind of stall, but it is not.
This is the famous kulfi stall, the kulfi here is easily the best in Bangalore(and lot of other places). There are several flavors available, elaichi, pista, pista badam, kesar badam, kesar and khajoor. The cheapest of them is elaichi which costs Rs 13 and the most expensive is khajoor which costs RS 16. Believe it or not, these are tastier than any kulfi I have eaten in any other fancy restaurants. Also, kulfi in these fancy restaurants costs a bomb.
Elaichi is probably my least favourite flavor, it just tastes sweet. The real good ones are pista, pista badam and kesar badam. All the three are simply out-of-this-world. During my previous job, we used to frequent this place a lot, especially during summer when it would become a daily routine.
Another great thing about the place is the way he packs kulfis if you want to take a parcel, he packs kulfis amidst crushed ice and salt, that way the kulfis wont melt for atleast 30min, so you can take it home and store. I have heard that for larger orders, he even freezes the kulfis in a block of ice so that you can carry it farther without fearing melting.
People, you must visit this place to know what I am talking about. Considering the crowds in MG Road, Church St, Brigade Rd etc, am surprised how many people have never been here. It is so so close to 'downtown' Bangalore if I may call it that :-)
Cane O'La
This is long overdue, I have always been a big fan of sugarcane juice, started first with Janata stall near Majestic bus stand, during my college days, we would walk from UVCE to Majestic and it was on our way, priced at Rs 5 only!!! The place is still very popular, people may say it is 'unhygienic', I believe that only adds to the appeal!
Ever since I started playing tennis, sugar cane juice at Cane O'La has become very popular as an after game drink., compared to the aerated drinks, this is a wonderfully refreshing natural drink that also is easy on your pocket. One glass of the most hygienic sugar cane I have ever seen(that can ever be) costs Rs 10 which is a steal.
There are several flavors, natural, salt and pepper, chaat masala, lemon, ginger, garlic and I have tried all of them except garlic. My all time favourite is lemon, least favourite is ginger. Somehow the thought of garlic in sugar cane juice is a thing I have not been able to come to terms with!
The pop corn available there is also very good, since I dont go to the movies much, pop corn was non existent in my list of things to eat, since we play during weekends, grabbing pop corn and watching premier league on ESPN-Star has become a regular weekend feature. A bag of pop corn costs Rs 10.
Chikki of various types is available there as well, am yet to try this.
Locations: All over Bangalore, atleast south Bangalore has lots of outlets.
Ever since I started playing tennis, sugar cane juice at Cane O'La has become very popular as an after game drink., compared to the aerated drinks, this is a wonderfully refreshing natural drink that also is easy on your pocket. One glass of the most hygienic sugar cane I have ever seen(that can ever be) costs Rs 10 which is a steal.
There are several flavors, natural, salt and pepper, chaat masala, lemon, ginger, garlic and I have tried all of them except garlic. My all time favourite is lemon, least favourite is ginger. Somehow the thought of garlic in sugar cane juice is a thing I have not been able to come to terms with!
The pop corn available there is also very good, since I dont go to the movies much, pop corn was non existent in my list of things to eat, since we play during weekends, grabbing pop corn and watching premier league on ESPN-Star has become a regular weekend feature. A bag of pop corn costs Rs 10.
Chikki of various types is available there as well, am yet to try this.
Locations: All over Bangalore, atleast south Bangalore has lots of outlets.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Jalsa Junoon
A couple of weeks back, we had an official lunch at Jalsa, a Mughal kind of theme restaurant on outer ring road about 1-2kms from Marathalli bridge towards KR Puram. I was excited to go there since I had heard good things about the place from people and it appeared to be a really fancy place. Entering the place, I felt as if I had entered some Mughal era monument in Agra or some such place. The ambiance is quite different and very pleasant.
It was supposed to be a working lunch, but did not turn out so! People ate with total abandon and it was the fantastic food there which made people just let go and enjoy whats on offer!
Official lunch, so no alcohol. The non-alcoholic drinks seemed good as well, but we skipped it. Since we were a party of 15, the lunch had been 'pre-ordered' for us, which in a way was welcome. I am sick of eating my own choices, so its nice to have someone else order for me.
We started with Tomato Dhaniya shorba which was nice. There was a green salad ordered, am not that great a fan of salads unless am traveling and there is precious little to eat.
Among starters, Chatpati Gobi Mirch stood out, it was quite spicy and nice without it being the ubiquitous Gobi Manchuri! Paneer tikka was nice, very soft and fresh paneer with mint chutney. The third starter was a veg sheekh kabab, probably the Lahori Sabzi Seekh Kabab, this was also very good. Starters get full marks from me, they cost somewhere in the range Rs 175-250. Non veg starters were reportedly great, and sea food platters are supposedly out of this world.
Main course vegetarian dishes we tried were fried okra which was quite good, some bhutta palak methi which was a combination of corn, palak which I simply loved, paneer kurma was delicious, somewhat sweet but very good nonetheless, sabzi miloni handi which was mixed vegetables cooked in garlic flavored spinach gravy...this probably was the pick of them all. If you love spinach/palak, you're going to love this place. The curries cost around 175-250 as well. The portions are reasonably generous.My friend Muninder gave the thumbs up to all the non veg food saying it was extremely good.
Butter naans, tandoori rotis, lachha parathas and kulchas formed the bread and we were all set to eat!!! I thoroughly enjoyed all the food and ate like there was no tomorrow. It is that sort of a place, makes you feel very relaxed and comfortable. The weather was very pleasant that day as well.
When I was all done, they brought veg biriyani which looked extremely tempting, I usually dont like rice items, leave alone biriyani, but I had to try this. It was out of this world, the spice, the flavours, so subtle, so nice...you should try this, whether or not you are a biriyani fan.
Food really is terrific, starters as well as the main course are extremely good.
The menu is somewhat compact in that all the cuisines in the world(read Indian chinese) are not present, but who cares! This is after all a specialty kind of restaurant and what they have is simply fantastic!!!
For desserts, we had kulfi which was very very good. But then, considering the price,Bowring institute stall is still the king of kulfis, the kulfi there tastes as good as this but costs Rs 15!!!! But apart from Bowring Instt kulfi, this is easily the 2nd best I have ever eaten in Bangalore.
Since it was an official lunch, I have no idea of what the bill was :-)
My guess would be that it would be around Rs 500 per head without alcoholic drinks. This is on the upper side, but considering the offering, I feel it is okay.
I would definitely visit the place again given a chance and will wholeheartedly recommend it to friends, family and anyone else who cares to listen!
URL: http://jalsa.co.in/Home.php
Location: Near Doddanekundi, as you drive on the ORR from Sarjapur side to KR Puram, after you cross Marathahalli bridge, you see this after 2-3km on the left side.
It was supposed to be a working lunch, but did not turn out so! People ate with total abandon and it was the fantastic food there which made people just let go and enjoy whats on offer!
Official lunch, so no alcohol. The non-alcoholic drinks seemed good as well, but we skipped it. Since we were a party of 15, the lunch had been 'pre-ordered' for us, which in a way was welcome. I am sick of eating my own choices, so its nice to have someone else order for me.
We started with Tomato Dhaniya shorba which was nice. There was a green salad ordered, am not that great a fan of salads unless am traveling and there is precious little to eat.
Among starters, Chatpati Gobi Mirch stood out, it was quite spicy and nice without it being the ubiquitous Gobi Manchuri! Paneer tikka was nice, very soft and fresh paneer with mint chutney. The third starter was a veg sheekh kabab, probably the Lahori Sabzi Seekh Kabab, this was also very good. Starters get full marks from me, they cost somewhere in the range Rs 175-250. Non veg starters were reportedly great, and sea food platters are supposedly out of this world.
Main course vegetarian dishes we tried were fried okra which was quite good, some bhutta palak methi which was a combination of corn, palak which I simply loved, paneer kurma was delicious, somewhat sweet but very good nonetheless, sabzi miloni handi which was mixed vegetables cooked in garlic flavored spinach gravy...this probably was the pick of them all. If you love spinach/palak, you're going to love this place. The curries cost around 175-250 as well. The portions are reasonably generous.My friend Muninder gave the thumbs up to all the non veg food saying it was extremely good.
Butter naans, tandoori rotis, lachha parathas and kulchas formed the bread and we were all set to eat!!! I thoroughly enjoyed all the food and ate like there was no tomorrow. It is that sort of a place, makes you feel very relaxed and comfortable. The weather was very pleasant that day as well.
When I was all done, they brought veg biriyani which looked extremely tempting, I usually dont like rice items, leave alone biriyani, but I had to try this. It was out of this world, the spice, the flavours, so subtle, so nice...you should try this, whether or not you are a biriyani fan.
Food really is terrific, starters as well as the main course are extremely good.
The menu is somewhat compact in that all the cuisines in the world(read Indian chinese) are not present, but who cares! This is after all a specialty kind of restaurant and what they have is simply fantastic!!!
For desserts, we had kulfi which was very very good. But then, considering the price,Bowring institute stall is still the king of kulfis, the kulfi there tastes as good as this but costs Rs 15!!!! But apart from Bowring Instt kulfi, this is easily the 2nd best I have ever eaten in Bangalore.
Since it was an official lunch, I have no idea of what the bill was :-)
My guess would be that it would be around Rs 500 per head without alcoholic drinks. This is on the upper side, but considering the offering, I feel it is okay.
I would definitely visit the place again given a chance and will wholeheartedly recommend it to friends, family and anyone else who cares to listen!
URL: http://jalsa.co.in/Home.php
Location: Near Doddanekundi, as you drive on the ORR from Sarjapur side to KR Puram, after you cross Marathahalli bridge, you see this after 2-3km on the left side.
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