THE BRAHMIN'S KHANAVALI - TAKEAWAY NEAR ST.MARKS ROAD

Right in the heart of the city, in Devatha Plaza opposite Bishop Cotton Boys School is, this place, THE BRAHMINS KHANAVALI located. It was a pleasant surprise to hear of this because these kind of places, the really good ones, one needs to go to south Bangalore. This place is small with limited seating capacity. There is no way one can have a leisurely lunch and sit around chatting. Come - eat - go is more like it. I've been here twice and it was jam packed both times, which goes to show how good the food is. A variety of lunches are on offer here ranging from mudde oota to chapathi meals to akki roti meals to jolada roti to rice baths. Here's a breakdown of the takeaway meals I had, because there was no way I could sit there and eat. First visit: I had chapathi meals which contained 2 chapathis, Rice, Sambar, Peanut Chutney podi, Lobia beans curry – very good, Cabbage playa – nice and an onion slice You know that it is all freshly prepared and no colors added. Taste was very homely and flavorful. I like the lobia beans/kaalu curry the best. 2nd visit I went for the akki roti plate...this is different from akki roti meals. This one is without the rice and sambar. So there is 2 Akki rotis..which was kinda cold. I like them fresh and piping hot. Took some time to reach Indiranagar though so that could be the reason. Lobia beans curry again which was just as tasty Cabbage palya again Chutney podi and the onion slice I also ordered chilli bajji with this...these were fat and doughy. I did want the famous ennegai palya but they dint have it that day so in terms of curries it was a repeat of the previous takeaway. It seems the curry varieties do change. I ordered extra Chapathis too. Overall, these make for wholesome meals and I wish something like this was in Indiranagar near my place. Was it mind blowing? Taste wise probably not. I have had really great food especially sambar and Chapathis and ennegai curry from Uttara Karnataka outlets in other areas but definitely good, tasty food. Are they worth visiting - definitely – for clean, healthy food.. Would I go again - definitely whenever the cravings hit. Would I recommend it to others - yes...though it is better to get takeaway. Huge minus is the one way road making it tough to go in a roundabout way to reach there. One look at the crowd makes me feel they need to expand to a bigger place and probably have more outlets. Service is really good despite the owner being under tremendous pressure. He is always juggling customer needs and does it amicably. Most welcoming but he does need an assistant methinks. Prices are very reasonable. Check it out if you are around the area and crave North Karnataka food. Overall rating 4/5 1-No! No! No! 2-Just about average 3- Good. Can give it a try 4-Great!! 5-Yes! Yes! Yes! And I’ll tell all about it. Details: St Mark's Rd, Shanthala Nagar, Ashok Nagar, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560001. From 11.30 am to 4.30 pm

TUK TUK THAI KORAMANGALA

I always like all vegetarian restaurants, especially those which burst myths that there aren’t many options for vegetarian food, especially international cuisine. Tuk Tuk Thai has been on my “to visit” list for a long time. I was torn between going to the JP Nagar place and Koramangala branch but decided on Koramangala because it is closer. Menu offers an excellent variety of soups, salads, dimsums, appetizers rice and noodles to name a few. Ambience: cozy and good seats. What I had as soon as I was seated: Complimentary: Green tea and cucumber carrot sticks with a spicy dip. Tea was so soothing! Chi Chow Dimsum: This has a filling of corn peanuts and water chestnuts. It had some thick black doughy covering. I like the regular white ones. Filling was very light and fluffy. Thai chilli basil noodles: Mixed noodles stir fried with vegetables, kafir lime, garlic, green pepper corn and basil. Good portion size. The vegetables beans and Broccoli could have been cooked further. Beans were quite raw - ish. Otherwise, the dish was piping hot and filling. Dessert was Apple Berry compote: This was awesome...fried apples with Berry jam and ice cream. I thoroughly enjoyed this. They could have more dessert options. Service was Top notch...the moment I mentioned about the beans being a bit undercooked..I was offered a replacement, a complimentary dessert which I had to decline because I was already on the Apple Berry compote, a discount...all of which I refused. I was assured of the best food and services next time around. I got the Som Tom papaya salad as takeaway for dinner, which was spicy, sweet and tangy all in one and which had crushed peanuts in it. This was easy to finish and light on the stomach. Despite the little blip on the beans, I'd still rate them 5/5 and I'd go back for round two because the overall food and service was really good. Overall rating 5/5 Rating for reviews: 1-No! No! No! 2-Just about average 3- Good. Can give it a try 4-Great!! 5-Yes! Yes! Yes! And I’ll tell all about it. Details: 17th Main Rd, KHB Colony, 5th Block, Koramangala, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560095.

SUBZ - JAYANAGAR

I have stopped going for buffet lunches off late because while there is a variety on offer, most times food is usually cold despite the heating facilities underneath the dishes so I love my food piping hot! Subz located in Jayanagar was on the list, however, for two reasons. I love me an all vegetarian buffet. I like the area. I heard lots of good things about the place. Once I was done with the lunch here I have zero regrets. It's total value for money. Skipped the soup which to be served at the table. Starters were a mix of Chinese and Indian which was good. Loved the salads. Especially crispy noodles salad. They had a chaat and paratha live counters. I had dahi churmur chaat which was great. North Indian fare mostly...paneer gravies, aloo mirch curry ..I found this unique, jeera rice, steamed rice and rasam, curd rice. The kathal biryani wasn't great. Weird taste. That apart, I liked all the curries that went with jeera rice. Dal was good too. I skipped the pasta, chinese noodles and gravy though that is usually my go to cuisine but off late been indulging a lot of it. Desserts were good with angur jamoons, 4 types of ice cream, mini cakes, custard jelebi cut fruits etc. Whatever is on display wasn't OTT yet almost everything was well made and could relish all items. Music could have been softer. Service was quick and efficient though it was mostly self service. I do wish they had a few south Indian snacks as well. I'm glad my first review for the year went well. I'm definitely going back on different days. Highly recommend to give this buffet lunch a try, even if you have to go your way out in coming to the area. Overall rating 4/5 Ratings for reviews 1-No! No! No! 2-Just about average 3- Good. Can give it a try 4-Great!! 5-Yes! Yes! Yes! And I’ll tell all about it. Details: Cosmopolitan Club, Ground Floor, 22nd Cross Rd, Jayanagar 3rd Block, Jayanagar, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560011 Timings: 12 to 3.30 PM and & 7 to 11 pm