Just to emphasize, this blog is NOT dead! Although it's quite an old post, and I thought I'd write in the usual style (what style?), I decided to go with a more 'editorial' approach, just for a change (not that I particularly like this style or anything). A few months ago I'd visited The Fat Chef - the phrase apparently refers to the owner, who is a rather 'healthy' chef - is located next to the Jagriti theatre on Varthur Road in the Whitefield area. Notice how us folks from areas that we consider to be within the city refer to Whitefield as the Whitefield area - that's because not only do we not know where it starts and where it ends, even the residents there don't!
The Fat Chef may be off traditional 'restaurant zones' within the city, the new settlements springing up around the periphery of the city seem to swear by this place. And why not! The restaurant is located within the Jagriti complex, and adjoins a small lawn. Seating is both indoors as well as outdoors, and both options give you sufficient space, light, and a semblance of well-being. White interiors make the place seem that much more well lit, and the place has decent ventilation and is almost always cool. And did I mention that the restaurant's menu is chalked up on a blackboard? This just goes on to add to the charm of the place.The food at The Fat Chef is mixture of Mediterranean and Western European food. Among the starters, you would do well if you stuck to the nachos, baked stuffed mushrooms, sauteed prawns in coriander, Vietnamese rolls, and chicken wings. The beer battered prawns is a much touted dish, but I feel it's the coriander prawns that score higher simply because of the flavour. Also, I'm not a big fan of batter frying meats because it can so easily mask the actual taste of the meat if not done right. Among the salads, the watermelon, feta and olive salad is a must have. Light, refreshing, and tasty, this should be on our list irrespective of whether you are a weight watcher or not.
The chicken wings with a barbecue sauce flavoured coating is also a superb starter if you don't mind having starters that have bones in them. For the vegetarians, the sauteed mushrooms is another decent option.
For the main course, if you want something light, then the crepes or the grilled fish are the way to go. If not, then the lasagna, chicken casserole, or the steaks, or even one of the pastas are perhaps options that could satisfy you. There's also quite a decent selection of wine on offer, so if you're a wine lover, then do look up the list.
The fish curry and rice is a wonderful curry-rice combo if you like rice. And in fact, if you don't want to try pastas and other such dishes, I would suggest you go ahead and try this dish - it was finger lickin' good. The ratatouille, on the other hand, was a little insipid in flavour.
The chicken breast stuffed with cheese is nice, but the cheese is just way too powerful and completely dominates the dish. You'd do well to ask them to go easy on the cheese. However, I'd prefer if they used a milder cheese. The veg lasagna was nice and a very satisfying dish, both in terms of quantity as well as taste. The lemon grilled chicken was very nicely done, but a little too lemony for my liking. The mutton curry with rice, just like the fish curry, was a smashing super hit with everyone at the table.
For dessert, it's a bit of a lottery. You need to make sure you place an order soon because desserts are in limited quantity on display.
Service can be a little dodgy on weekends when they're running full, but otherwise, for the best part, the restaurant staff are fairly well informed about most of the details of most dishes. The owners, Mayur (The Fat chef himself) and Vandana can be seen doing the rounds and you could very well ask them your queries. Overall, very good ambiance, and if you can stomach the drive till that corner of town, the food should feel just fine in the stomach.
The Fat Chef, 5/2A, Jagrithi, Ramagondanahalli, Varthur Main Road, Whitefield, Bangalore. Phone: 080 40992981, 080 40992982.
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