THE BAALE YELE OOTA FROM UDUPI SRI KRISHNA BHAVAN

There is something so wholesome and satisfying about eating meals from a leaf- these are usually served in weddings and functions. I have had my fair share of Andhra vegetarian meals too and been looking out for restaurants where meals are served on leaves or Baale Yele Oota as we call it down south. In Udupi Sri Krishna Bhavan right on Gandhi Bazaar main road, the Baale Yele Oota is very similar to ones in weddings – starting with pulpy grape juice, sweet, salt, pickle, kosambari, two different types of dry playa/curries, holige, bajji, poori, saagu, two types of flavoured rice (tomato rice was awesome), dahi vada, papad, kadubu, chutney, steaming hot white rice and sambar (I feel like going and paying just to eat these two items and nothing else), rasam, curd rice, and they even end it with paan and banana. The sheer variety of items is mind boggling!! I had to refuse a few and i dont think i listed them all!! I feel like I’m describing an Indian version of an Enid Blyton picnic. Taste is very good. I liked being served as little or as much as I want. Service was very hospitable and very thoughtful. Prices are reasonable for variety of food items. Good clean seating space. The person cleaning up the tables and taking finished meals on leaves and dirty dishes into his cart doesn’t have much space to maneuver his cart and this can get a bit annoying for the dirty cart is too close when eating. That said, this place is a delight to visit if you are in the Gandhi Bazaar area. I’m definitely going to eat more often here and I got the cravings to explore more such meals on the leave across the city. 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: Udupi Sri Krishna Bhavan, Gandhi Bazaar main road, Basavanagudi, Bangalore. 12.30 pm onwards.

TWO PLACES TAKEAWAY REVIEW - THIPPASANDRA MAIN ROAD

TWO PLACES TAKEAWAY REVIEW Durgamba uphara If there is one snack I truly love and indulge in besides chaat, it is bajjis and bondas. Right at the entrance of Thippasandra main road is Durgamba Uphara…with a huge menu of tiffin and rice items during the day and evenings after 4, hot bajjis and bondas available. In pics are my favorite chilli bajjis, masala vada, mangalore bajji, udin vada, aloo bonda. Out of these the chilli bajjis and aloo bondas were the tastiest and freshest. Rest were average. There’s a guy closer to my place who makes them well. Their morning idli vadas are tastier methinks. This would be a once in a while indulgence if I am in the area. Need to explore and review more Bajji/Bonda joints. Overall rating 3/5. Beginning of Thippasandra main road, opp Hema book stores. AMMA’s PASTRIES This is one place I have been wanting to buy cakes from, considering they have outlets everywhere and in my area too. As I bought bajiis, I wanted something sweet to go with it and headed to one such Amma’s pastries outlet in Thippasandra a few feet away from the bajji vendor mentioned above. The cakes looked great and prices were lowkey reasonable. The Opera, the chocolate bar, chocolate tart and mini pizza made for some awesome dessert indulgence. Looks like i’ll be visiting their outlets often. They also have rusks that is quite tasty. Overall rating: 4/5 ..some attention to details such as packing etc could be better. On Thippasandra Main road. That said, this place, thippasandra main road is a delight to explore especially evenings with loads of eating places and snack joints. On my to do list for sure!! 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.

MISMATCHED HALASURU

This review is for a two time visit to this lovely little place just opposite 1 mg lido mall. – MISMATCHED. With a title like that and cozy vibes, once I walked through the through I decided to indulge in my favorite hot chocolate – post shopping at 1 mg and to beat the chill in the air. First visit: Hot chocolate: This! Warm and comforting and chocolatey. With the place all bright and lit up and cold weather – it was perfect. 5/5 Classic Mac n cheese: was the usual with gooey cheese. I like lettuce on mine and they were able to give it to me. I love it when food is customized to my needs. Wacky though they seem. 4/5. In the first visit I got the most awesome snacks basket which was delightful filled with hot papads and boti (golden fingers) a snack I really enjoyed in my childhood. Very fresh and hot. 5/5 Second visit: Chole Batura: Very tasty and hardly any oil. Channa accompaniment was good. Not the best I’ve had though. 4/5 Honey Ginger tea : something to ease the guilt! This was soothing, fresh and well presented. 5/5 Papaya salad (takeaway): I had this at right and it still remained fresh with peanuts and chilli flakes in it. Quite a meal in itself. Very good. Next time I go I’ll have it fresh there. 5/5 This time the snacks basket was a bit of a let down and less crispy. Menu: Wide range from chaats to north Indian to continental cuisine. Both Veg and Non Veg. Service: Prompt. Servers need to mask up and spruce up a bit. Food: Really good. Worth giving it a try. Ambience: Cozy. Not a very big place and tends to get busy noon but so usually I’ve enjoyed having the place to myself. Price: Reasonable depends on what you order and the number of people you go with Location: Centrally located. Much needed in a place like that. Overall rating: 4/5. Can do with some minor improvements. 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: Mismatched, No.154, Pothraj Group, Trinity Church Compound, Old Madras Road, Landmark:, next to Domino's Pizza, Halasuru, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560008. 10 to 1 am.

SHIV SAGAR PART 2 MG ROAD

RS SHIV SAGAR – PART 2 I could easily make this place my adda (hangout)!. My second visit here wasn’t disappointing and just as pleasant as my first one. I went in for chaats again. They have introduced a range of mocktails that seem cool and refreshing to read about. I ordered a strawberry colada, a spin off from the regular Pina Colada but with strawberries. I loved it. The aloo puri was tasty and filling and felt like a meal in itself. Piping hot gravy was filled in the puris. Sev puri was the usual. I got assorted pakodas as takeaway which could have been better batter – it seemed overdone. They also used regular chillies instead of bajji chillies so that made smoke come out of my ears because it was soooo spicy. Chapathis were at home so I got a curry packed – Dum Aloo Kashmiri – a tad salty I felt but the stuffed potato itself was very, very delicious! Service is good as usual. However, only south Indian food is available up to 12 pm. It is only after 12 pm that other dishes on their vast menu are available so it makes sense to visit a bit late. Being a weekday it wasn’t too crowded. I can’t wait to try their other items on the menu and looks like I have found a new place to visit frequently right in the heart of the city! Overall rating: 4/5 this time. 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: MG road, 1st floor, public utility building,

RS SHIV SAGAR MG ROAD PART 1

RS SHIV SAGAR – PART 1. This is a quick write up for SHIV SAGAR located in utility building mg road. I have labeled it part 1 because I feel I need to visit again and eating more dishes on their rather vast menu to give this review any justice. Here we go The place: located centrally...huge advantage. Walkable from metro station. Ambience: spacious, well thought out seating. I went with a big group of friends and was quite comfortable. Very clean. Service: Top notch. Quick and efficient. They do know their stuff. Food: Ragda Pattice, palak papdi chaat...very tasty. Chats seem good here. Fresh and well made. Onion rings and Hara Bara kabab: hot, crisp and worth ordering. Price: Reasonable. Overall I would highly recommend it. Part two coming soon. 5/5 for first time. Overall rating: 5/5 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: MG road, 1st floor, public utility building,

BURMA BURMA INDIRANAGAR

BURMA BURMA - INDIRANAGAR After hearing rave reviews from food groups and friends, a visit to this place in my area was long overdue and decided to lunch here recently. Situated in 12th Main Indiranagar, Burma Burma is an all vegetarian fine dining place serving Burmese food Right away, I was warmly greeted and seated. The place is cozy, - all soft lights and plush seats. Since I went alone this review is only for the few items on the menu I could stuff myself with but trust me, there is a huge array of vegetarian options from starters to salads to noodles to rice to curry and desserts and a separate tea menu. One is spoilt for choice actually. What I had: Uncle Maung’s Chilli garlic street noodles : Udon noodles tossed in pounded roast chilli and garlic topped with wok tossed asparagus taro and tofu. Flat noodles with veggies. This can be had by itself and no gravy/curry needed. It is already dunked in sauces and veggies. They have assorted sauces and a whole lot of fried onions and garlic pieces and spring onions, cut lime pieces etc on the table in fancy little bowls that can be added as extras to the noodles. I quite like this idea because you can control what goes into your noodles. I ate half at the place and got the other half as takeaway. Very, very tasty piping hot and I totally relished every forkful. Surprisingly, this tasted even better at night as leftover takeaway heated up at home. I was stuffed already so ordered dessert which was Dark chocolate and olive oil served with slices of chocolate cake, a bit of ice cream and chocolate sauce poured over it. This needs to be consumed immediately else it turns into a gooey mess! Delicious all the same! Saffron and samuza cheesecake Baked saffron cheesecake, pistachio crème, real tiny flaky honey samuza and mango sorbet – as takeaway… drool worthy and unique dessert. Lotus stem crisps (KYAR KOE KYAW) fried lotus stems crisps in paprika and curry leaves. This one was also take away to snack on and stayed with me for 2-3 days. Different and flavorful but probably wouldn’t indulge in again. Portion sizes are huge so this place is better suited to go with friends and family OR as takeaway meals so it would serve two times, unless you have a really large appetite . It is heavy on the pocket so best to go prepared. Service is prompt and your preferences are actually patiently listened and catered to.   What I liked best: 1. Bursting myths that vegetarians have little to choose from, especially if it is cuisine from abroad. This one had loads of vegetarian dishes to offer. 2. Fresh ingredients. Very tasty, different food. 3. The most AMAZING takeaway packing. Most restaurants skimp on the sauces and sides and very badly packed that it’s all soggy and spilling over by the time you get home despite paying a lot. But not these guys. Five to six sauces and all the extra ingredients and dessert boxes were packed beautifully in neat boxes (though some in plastic) and it was exactly like eating back at the restaurant ..at home!! They totally won me over with this. What I dint like: The pipe music was annoying and I did tell them to reduce the volume a bit but it kept increasing on and off. Plus there was a drilling noise above the roof. I truly needed peace and quiet that day. Don’t let this stop you from visiting this place if you are looking for some different, flavorful food. My benchmark for any review Would I go again? : Definitely to try more items on the menu and other noodles. Would I recommend to others: Yes, do visit. Overall rating: 5/5 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: 607, Ground Floor, 12Th Main, Hal 2Nd Stage, Indiranagar, Bangalore - 12 to 3.30 pm and 6.30 to 10.30 pm.

MILANO PIZZA INDIRANAGAR

This place has been on my “to visit” list for a while. I've had their ice creams and recently got to know about this restaurant that also has food options. Situated on 100 ft road Indiranagar, it's a dear little place with outdoorsy seating. It wasn't crowded when I visited on a weekday. To start with, I love their concept of pizza by the slice. I always wanted this idea to become popular in the pizza joints. So many times I've been forced to buy seven inch and 10 inch pizza and not able to finish it instead, have had to have it for dinner. Here it's in a square bread size bits and quite a variety to choose from. Perfect for me. I got the following two as takeaway “ Roasted vegetables (nice but nothing unusual) Vegetables and pesto ...different and delicious! Must try. Package for takeaway very good At the restaurant I had: Green salad: really good with paper thin tart apple slices and all the other ingredients in a salad. Spaghetti with vegetables.. Tasty. Would have preferred broccoli in it. Nutella milkshake: Awful! It has some solid Nutella or chocolate bits in the shake.. I don't know what it is but it was stale and smelt bad. They do have desserts and juices but I dint indulge in them. Service was very good. Feedback taken. Prices ok. Depends on what you order. Ambience very good clean and airy. Must change the music. This is an awesome place if you are craving Italian food. Good to go alone or if you want to just sit and chat with a friend for long with no one breathing down your neck. . Would I go again...yes! to try other pizza slices and pastas. Will steer clear of the ice cream shakes. . 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: 100ft, 50, Defence Colony, Indiranagar, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560038 11 am onwards.