Last week, while returning from office, we wanted to eat the usual masala puri but forgot at the moment we were passing Madhavan park...turning back in that peak traffic is out of question...that is when Ravi suggested we try out the "new" place Dosa Express.
It looks like a hep south Indian darshini (standing and eating, yes). They have about 10-12 varieties of dosas on the menu, but on that day, 5-6 were available. Some dosas available include Mysore Masala, Open, Palak, Vegetable, Khali/Plain, etc. I tried the Mysore Masala, the dosa was very nicely done, golden brown to perfection, crisp on the outside, soft and thick on the inside, just as a masala dosa should be! The difference compared to ordinary masala dosa was that the chutney inside was not red, not sure what chutney was smeared on the dosa, but it sure did taste good! Coconut chutney and some other chutney are the accompaniments, no sambar!
Since the mysore masala dosa was good, I tried an open dosa as well..this is a thicker than normal dosa on which they sprinkle chutney powder liberally, and then serve it with a dollop of butter, potato curry and the two chutneys...this is spicy and nice. I tasted the palak dosa which Chethan had ordered, it was good...I got vegetable dosa packed for my parents, it was decent as well(best veg dosa to date is at the Outpost, Marathahalli).
Idli, khara bath and other snacks are available there. The coffee was really good...not had this good coffee outside of India Coffee House, strong, really strong!
The dosas are priced around Rs 18-30, considering the hygiene, ghee, etc, it is worth it. Since it is located on Patalamma temple street(the road joining Armugam circle/Gunasheela Nursing home/Krishna Rao park to South End Circle), parking etc is not a problem.
Overall, if we consider CTR, Vidyarthi Bhavan as an 8-8.5 on 10, I will give this place a 6.5-7. It is a very good place but would like to see how he maintains the initial josh over time. Definitely worth a visit...especially for a change, considering the extremely convenient location.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Higher Taste
When I was offered chakli, kodbale and nippattu at Sesha's place which he very highly rated, I was eager and curious to see what it was about them that Sesha was praising them so much. These were bought from Higher Taste, the ISKCON shop in Jayanagar 4th Block.
These are really great, the moment I tasted them, I was hooked! The nippattu and small kodbale were particularly good., the difference with all other equally wonderful nippattu and kodbale was that the color was greenish, they had probably added ground green chillis to it, it gave a nice spicy kick to the whole thing!
Samsoa chaat, etc is supposedly good as well. I had chaats at Bangalore ISKCON, and they were really good...dont know how they had substituted the non-saatvic ingredients so well...
Pastries supposedly are very delicious..each costing upwards of Rs 45 per piece. And the added attraction for lot of people is that all the food there is strictly saatvic! It does not matter to me personally...but there are people who are fussy about such things, and for them, it is a God-send.
I need to go and check out the place myself, but my first impression of eating the kodbale and nippattu has been so good that I want to go see the place asap. I have been warned that it is really expensive, but then my logic is that if you are ready to pay Rs 80 for a coke at a movie, how can you crib about paying for any 'real' food item?
These are really great, the moment I tasted them, I was hooked! The nippattu and small kodbale were particularly good., the difference with all other equally wonderful nippattu and kodbale was that the color was greenish, they had probably added ground green chillis to it, it gave a nice spicy kick to the whole thing!
Samsoa chaat, etc is supposedly good as well. I had chaats at Bangalore ISKCON, and they were really good...dont know how they had substituted the non-saatvic ingredients so well...
Pastries supposedly are very delicious..each costing upwards of Rs 45 per piece. And the added attraction for lot of people is that all the food there is strictly saatvic! It does not matter to me personally...but there are people who are fussy about such things, and for them, it is a God-send.
I need to go and check out the place myself, but my first impression of eating the kodbale and nippattu has been so good that I want to go see the place asap. I have been warned that it is really expensive, but then my logic is that if you are ready to pay Rs 80 for a coke at a movie, how can you crib about paying for any 'real' food item?
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Subbammana Angadi (Subbamma's shop)
Subbammana angadi (means shop in Kannada) is an iconic landmark in Gandhi Bazar, Basavanagudi. The official name of the place is something else, no one ever refers to it by its official name, its always Subbammana Angadi (Subbamma's shop).
This place is a treasure trove when it comes to South Indian traditional eatables. Be it holige, obbattu, sanDige, koDbaLe,etc or festival specials like sakkare acchu, antina unDe, etc, this is the place!
I started going to this place a couple of years back when we started trekking seriously, the holige is an excellent eatable to carry on a trek, it is tasty, has good calories content and is not messy, and when it is from this place, it becomes a favorite among the gang. There are several varieties of hoLige, the first classification is based on the filling/stuffing, jaggery/gram (hurNa), coconut (obbattu) and sugar (sakkre hoLige). For each of these varieties you get different levels of sweetness, very sweet and normal. The very sweet one is the way to go! This has more stuffing and hence is tastier...
Another thing that is very good there is the khara stuff like chakkli, koDbaLe, etc. All kinds of pickles are also available, powders that go with rice etc are popular. This place is full of people who are getting kgs of stuff packed for the US, etc.
Chutney puDi is available in several varieties and the sweet one is simply out of this world!
Sandige of all kinds are available, and are pretty good.
All in all, it is an excellent place to check out if you have not seen it already...be warned that its more of a place where you can buy lots of traditional good-to-eat stuff/condiments rather than a restaurant kind of place.
Location: HB Samaja road, Near Gandhi Bazar circle, Basavanagudi
This place is a treasure trove when it comes to South Indian traditional eatables. Be it holige, obbattu, sanDige, koDbaLe,etc or festival specials like sakkare acchu, antina unDe, etc, this is the place!
I started going to this place a couple of years back when we started trekking seriously, the holige is an excellent eatable to carry on a trek, it is tasty, has good calories content and is not messy, and when it is from this place, it becomes a favorite among the gang. There are several varieties of hoLige, the first classification is based on the filling/stuffing, jaggery/gram (hurNa), coconut (obbattu) and sugar (sakkre hoLige). For each of these varieties you get different levels of sweetness, very sweet and normal. The very sweet one is the way to go! This has more stuffing and hence is tastier...
Another thing that is very good there is the khara stuff like chakkli, koDbaLe, etc. All kinds of pickles are also available, powders that go with rice etc are popular. This place is full of people who are getting kgs of stuff packed for the US, etc.
Chutney puDi is available in several varieties and the sweet one is simply out of this world!
Sandige of all kinds are available, and are pretty good.
All in all, it is an excellent place to check out if you have not seen it already...be warned that its more of a place where you can buy lots of traditional good-to-eat stuff/condiments rather than a restaurant kind of place.
Location: HB Samaja road, Near Gandhi Bazar circle, Basavanagudi
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Badam burfi from VB Bakery
Just terrific, if I had just two words to describe them. The best ever badam burfi, the conventional ones I had tasted were from Bombay Tiffanys in Mysore, and the best badam halwa, needless to say was at MTR.
The VB bakery badam burfi is different from the ones you get in normal sweet shops like AAB, Asha Sweets, etc. It is made differently, with some kind of a base flour(not sure, it tastes like that) unlike those shops where it is just badam and sugar. This actually tastes better, or so I feel currently. They are quite filling and are sprinkled with dry fruits like grated pistas etc on top.
The badam burfi itself is very very nice, and is quite expensive...last I heard some years back, it was approx Rs 10 per piece I think. It is available in Butter Sponge on Vani Vilas road in addition to VB Bakery on Sajjan Rao Circle, VV Puram.
While at Butter Sponge, try out the kodbale and avalakki, both are extremely good.
The VB bakery badam burfi is different from the ones you get in normal sweet shops like AAB, Asha Sweets, etc. It is made differently, with some kind of a base flour(not sure, it tastes like that) unlike those shops where it is just badam and sugar. This actually tastes better, or so I feel currently. They are quite filling and are sprinkled with dry fruits like grated pistas etc on top.
The badam burfi itself is very very nice, and is quite expensive...last I heard some years back, it was approx Rs 10 per piece I think. It is available in Butter Sponge on Vani Vilas road in addition to VB Bakery on Sajjan Rao Circle, VV Puram.
While at Butter Sponge, try out the kodbale and avalakki, both are extremely good.
Shiva's chaat in Hanumanthnagar
Shiva's chaats off 50 feet road, Hanumanthnagar is a place that had somehow got missed from my list here. Its not new to me, as popular as it is, I till recently did not frequent the place often. Of late, the popular National college push cart is not on my route, and if its a weekend, going to the pushcart near Madhavan Park corporation stadium is also a pain...so Shiva's chaats it is!!! It is a stone's throw away from my place, right next to Kaggis bakery on 50 feet road, Hanumanthnagar/BSK 1st stage, just before Nirmala Stores bus stop.
This place is teeming with crowds, and is the only chaat place I know of(non restaurants) that has a token system. I would particularly recommend the Masala puri and Bhel here, both are simply terrific. I will not bother to describe how good they are...if you ever happen to be in the neighborhood and are in the mood for some spicy chaat, you should check this place out. Cost per plate is below Rs 15 no matter what you take.
This place is teeming with crowds, and is the only chaat place I know of(non restaurants) that has a token system. I would particularly recommend the Masala puri and Bhel here, both are simply terrific. I will not bother to describe how good they are...if you ever happen to be in the neighborhood and are in the mood for some spicy chaat, you should check this place out. Cost per plate is below Rs 15 no matter what you take.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Aditya Veg - Neer dosa and paddu
If you are not sure what a dosa or paddu means, I have tried explaining it at the end :)
While returning from work, all of us were hungry and decided to eat something. Satish suggested paddu for a change from the usual Masala puri. There's this place called Aditya Veg in Jayanagar 4th Block which he has been talking about for sometime now, and I was very happy since Satish knows more than a thing or two about food and if he recommends a place so much, it has to be good.
We went to the one in Jayanagar 4th block, on 5th main, coming from 4th Block, come down the Jain temple road, left turn towards Maiyas', this place is right next to it. It is a small darshini kind of place, but nice and clean. You have to either stand and eat or probably can sit in your car, there is no seating there.
We ordered paddu (a delicacy popular mostly in Karnataka and also in Andhra under its telgu name), the guy told us it would take 15min!!! Going back without eating was no option, so we decided to order something else to kill the time...the unanimous recommendation was neer dosa, this is dosa made from rice only(no uddina bele) batter fermented overnight, it is extremely thin and delicate and is very light and tasty to eat. Neer dosa is served with grated coconut+jaggery and coconut chutney...it is a superb combination and is lip smackingly delicious.
By the time we finished eating the neer dosa, the paddu was ready and this is served with two chutneys, one sweetish, red chutney, and the other is a normal coconut chutney. This was very good, I would say neer dosa is the highlight of the place.
Seeing the menu..or rather the board displaying the eatables, this place seems to have everything from chaat to neer dosa to baby corn manchurian to parathas!!! The neer dosa costs Rs 22 and paddu also around the same I think.
I learnt from Satish that the same guy has opened a bigger restaurant also named Aditya Veg infront of Ranga Shankara in JP Nagar which has good seating etc, I have not been to the place, but Satish assured me that the food is exactly the same!
I cant believe that having lived near J'nagar for so long, I had missed out on this place...better late than never, am sure I will keep visiting the place whenever am in the area.
-------------------------------
Dosa is very similar to pancakes and paddu is small spherical shaped batter(rice and pulses soaked, ground and fermented) shallow fried, and both are eaten with chutney.
While returning from work, all of us were hungry and decided to eat something. Satish suggested paddu for a change from the usual Masala puri. There's this place called Aditya Veg in Jayanagar 4th Block which he has been talking about for sometime now, and I was very happy since Satish knows more than a thing or two about food and if he recommends a place so much, it has to be good.
We went to the one in Jayanagar 4th block, on 5th main, coming from 4th Block, come down the Jain temple road, left turn towards Maiyas', this place is right next to it. It is a small darshini kind of place, but nice and clean. You have to either stand and eat or probably can sit in your car, there is no seating there.
We ordered paddu (a delicacy popular mostly in Karnataka and also in Andhra under its telgu name), the guy told us it would take 15min!!! Going back without eating was no option, so we decided to order something else to kill the time...the unanimous recommendation was neer dosa, this is dosa made from rice only(no uddina bele) batter fermented overnight, it is extremely thin and delicate and is very light and tasty to eat. Neer dosa is served with grated coconut+jaggery and coconut chutney...it is a superb combination and is lip smackingly delicious.
By the time we finished eating the neer dosa, the paddu was ready and this is served with two chutneys, one sweetish, red chutney, and the other is a normal coconut chutney. This was very good, I would say neer dosa is the highlight of the place.
Seeing the menu..or rather the board displaying the eatables, this place seems to have everything from chaat to neer dosa to baby corn manchurian to parathas!!! The neer dosa costs Rs 22 and paddu also around the same I think.
I learnt from Satish that the same guy has opened a bigger restaurant also named Aditya Veg infront of Ranga Shankara in JP Nagar which has good seating etc, I have not been to the place, but Satish assured me that the food is exactly the same!
I cant believe that having lived near J'nagar for so long, I had missed out on this place...better late than never, am sure I will keep visiting the place whenever am in the area.
-------------------------------
Dosa is very similar to pancakes and paddu is small spherical shaped batter(rice and pulses soaked, ground and fermented) shallow fried, and both are eaten with chutney.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Brindavan, MG Road
Brindavan on MG road is an old time favourite, in my college days, during the very few visits to the area, this was the only place I remember going to, simply because this was the only place that was affordable for me as a student. All old time Bangaloreans know this place really well, it is a hotel with decent, moderately priced lodging and a very down-to-earth South Indian restaurant, I think it also has a multi cuisine restaurant, but I have not been there.
Just yesterday, I was in the area and felt really hungry, so me and a friend headed to Brindavan. It was quite early in the morning, and we were sure that this is the only place that will be open at 10am on a weekend.
Times food guide had ranked the dosa here very highly a couple of years back if I remember correctly. So, we tried rava dosa and plain dosa, both were just perfect. Not too oily, not too crisp, not too thick, nor too thin,...can go on. The chutney is very good and the sambar, my God! easily one of the best ever!!! This with tea/coffee costs Rs 75, that is the good part of Brindavan.
They are in a neighborhood that I see is becoming increasingly pretentious, exorbitant, and they remain like an island in a time warp, seemingly unaffected by all that is around. I like the old world ambiance, it is not the fanciest but is neat and clean. The staff are courteous yet not phony, no phony musical greetings, hellos, etc. Dont get me wrong, I love the phony and pretentious part too...which is why I like the really upmarket restaurants as well, but then, depending on my mood, sometimes, I want plain delicious food, at a reasonable price minus all the drama, fanciness, fake-ness, etc, that is the time I visit this place.
On working days, the lunch here is great, it is like a food in a traditional Karnatka function, 2 veg curries, 1 salad, 1 chutney, chapatis(soft and wonderful), rice (no soda, yes!!!), sambar and rasam (no garlic!!!), payasa (sweet)...and all this Rs 80!!! Only place that comes remotely close to this place in the neighborhood is the Airlines restaurant in the cross that connects Lavelle road and SBI junction on St Mark's road.
If you like dosas, you must visit Brindavan, it is simply amazing and you will love it.
Just yesterday, I was in the area and felt really hungry, so me and a friend headed to Brindavan. It was quite early in the morning, and we were sure that this is the only place that will be open at 10am on a weekend.
Times food guide had ranked the dosa here very highly a couple of years back if I remember correctly. So, we tried rava dosa and plain dosa, both were just perfect. Not too oily, not too crisp, not too thick, nor too thin,...can go on. The chutney is very good and the sambar, my God! easily one of the best ever!!! This with tea/coffee costs Rs 75, that is the good part of Brindavan.
They are in a neighborhood that I see is becoming increasingly pretentious, exorbitant, and they remain like an island in a time warp, seemingly unaffected by all that is around. I like the old world ambiance, it is not the fanciest but is neat and clean. The staff are courteous yet not phony, no phony musical greetings, hellos, etc. Dont get me wrong, I love the phony and pretentious part too...which is why I like the really upmarket restaurants as well, but then, depending on my mood, sometimes, I want plain delicious food, at a reasonable price minus all the drama, fanciness, fake-ness, etc, that is the time I visit this place.
On working days, the lunch here is great, it is like a food in a traditional Karnatka function, 2 veg curries, 1 salad, 1 chutney, chapatis(soft and wonderful), rice (no soda, yes!!!), sambar and rasam (no garlic!!!), payasa (sweet)...and all this Rs 80!!! Only place that comes remotely close to this place in the neighborhood is the Airlines restaurant in the cross that connects Lavelle road and SBI junction on St Mark's road.
If you like dosas, you must visit Brindavan, it is simply amazing and you will love it.
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