Khawa Kar Po

P, VP and I were supposed to go for dinner at this new place called Zheng, part of a new business hotel called Blu Petal. Zheng boasts of a Mongolian barbeque (apart from the Chinese cuisine). And so We reached the place and it took us a bit to find the place (we weren't quite sure where 'Jyothi Nivas Road' was - whether it was the small road on which the college was actually located, or the main road where Ping is located). So eventually we found it on the small road where the college actually was. While waiting for VP to come, P and I saw a lot of other small joints that we'd never been to before.

We then suddenly came up with this:

P: Let's have a roll here, at this roll joint.
Me: No way, I don't wanna fill myself before the Mongolian barbeque.
P: Let's go there some other time... we'd never come back to this area to visit these small places. Now that we're here, let's do them.
Me: OK, the logic sounds good.

So we waited for VP while munching on rolls at a small place (next to Cuppa). Once VP came we told him the change of plans and once we finished our rolls, we headed down the street towards a Tibetan restaurant called Khawa Kar Po (don't ask me what it means). We decided to skip the usual Chinese stuff (OK, not all of it, but most of it).

We started off with soup (P and I): a clear veg soup for him, and a Pc's chicken soup for me (which had a lot of egg yolk in it, I was told). We also ordered a plate of chili beef, chicken steamed momos, a lahping, which was like Malaysian flat noodles in a spicy sauce.

Veg lahping

Pc's chicken soup (this was a meal in itself)

Chili beef seemed inviting, but turned out to be really spicy. I know it says 'chili', but this was a little too much.

Chili beef

Veg clear soup (some kind of clear soup, although it doesn't look very clear)

The next thing we had was something very Tibetan - shabbakalay. These were little round thingies filled with either vegetables or meat, and then deep fried.

Veg shabbakalay

The chicken momos were the most familiar of the lot - in terms of taste and knowing what to expect. However, the taste of the dough wasn't the smoothest, and could have been much better.

Chicken momos

I was full, and didn't want to eat any more as we were planning to go to Corner House for strawberries and ice-cream, but P wanted to eat something more. So he ordered a veg dish with glass noodles (the name eludes me now). When it came, we saw it, and I threw my hands in the air and said "I'm not eating that - just the sight of it makes me full!". A bowl full of noodles and veggies, and if that wasn't enough, it was spicy as hell, as in outrageously spicy. You'd do well to ask them to reduce on the spices next time...they seem a little trigger happy with the chilies. I wonder if it was because they figured us to be south Indians and stereotyped us into the usual 'spicy food loving people' category.

Veg glass noodles

Food: Decent
$$$: Rs. 295/- for all this. Figure it out.
Service: Prompt - they take your orders and can tell you what is what. If you're expecting more, go jump.
Verdict: Not a bad option if you're around that area and want to have a quick, cheap lunch, although I must admit, if you're fussy, better go to Chung Wah or Popsies.

Khawa Kar Po, Opp. Jyothi Nivas College Gate, Jyothi Nivas College Road, Koramangala, Bangalore.