BM Review: Elements Heritage

On Sunday, I visited Elements Heritage on Mosque Road in Fraser Town to review the place for Bangalore Mirror. The review that got published can be read here (link will be provided once it's come up on their site). The snaps and the version with no word limit constraints is down here.

At the start, let me say that we didn't have any vegetarian dishes because nothing caught our fancy. The restaurant is setup in a 90 year old bungalow from the Raj era. It's been restored to a pristine condition, and is run by the same family that runs The Elements restaurant on Nandi Durg road. After my interactions with the owner, Asif Mohammad, one thing was clear - this is a person who's passionate about what he does. The food here follows the footsteps of

We started off with the Peshawari murgh tikka, which was very similar to a malai kabab. The chicken was cooked nicely and the marinade was just as we expected there. Along with that, we'd ordered a machchi ke tikka, which was essentially the same flavours but on fish (no snap of the fish dish). The fish was also done quite well. However, the creme de la creme of the starters were the Malabar prawns. Asif and his family are originally from Kerala, the right term being Mappila (or Moplah) and so the dishes from Kerala here are really great.

The tandoori lamb chops were a mixed bag. I liked it, while the guests were of the opinion that the masala used was a little 'raw', meaning, it hits you straight in the throat. Usually this is avoided if the ingredients of the masala are first dry roasted individually and then mixed and used in the marinade. Another interesting starter we had was the seekh-e-elements - seekh kababs that were served on paper thin iddiappams, and were to be eaten as a roll would be eaten - the iddiappam rolled over the kabab. Last but not the least was a special dish, the kaada fry, which is a partridge that is fried whole and served. Although it was the first time for the rest of the crew, I've had it before at Nachiyar's, and this tasted nice, but nothing special.

Malabar prawns

Seekh-e-Elements

Peshawari Murgh tikka

Tandoori lamb chops

Kaada (partridge) fry

For the main course, we again set our sights on a variety of dishes. A meen appam, which involved a fish being stuffed into an appam that was prepared by having rice batter smeared on a banana leaf and folded. This was served with some tamarind sauce and this certainly lifted the taste of the entire dish. The nalli nihari, which I had the last time I was here, was not to be missed, and it lived up to it's reputation. The surprise package though was the moogh dal ki gosht, which was moog dal with lamb served with rice and roti (all main course dishes are served with rotis/iddiappams and two portions of rice, while starters are served with rotis or iddiappams and no rice).

One of the spiciest dishes we had that night (and possibly ever) was the kozhi mulagh itathe. Fortunately, what went in favour of the dish was the fact that it wasn't just overly spicy to kill you, but spicy in a flavourful way. And lastly, there was the biryani, with meatballs in it. Mildly flavoured and served in a handi with the seal made of dough intact, it acted as a balm after the kozhi inferno :)

Meen (fish) appam

Nalli nihari

Moong dal ki gosht

Kozhi mulag itiathe

Meatball biryani

And whatever wee little space we had left inside us, we filled with dessert. Khubani ka meetha, a compote made from apricots (served here with butterscotch ice cream) and a zafrani phirni is what we opted for. Some of the other options were shahi tukda and gulab jamuns, and of course, ice cream, all of which we rejected because the former would have been very heavy, while the latter two were pretty common. Needless to say, the two desserts we had were quite superb.

Khubani meetha (right) with butterscotch ice cream

Zafrani phirni

Overall, great experience, and it's one of those places you'd be forcing yourself to visit each time you're anywhere close to Fraser town and are in the need for a meal.

Food: Very good
$$$: Slightly on the higher side. A full meal for non-vegetarians will come up to about Rs. 600 per head.
Service: Good
Verdict: Certainly worth a visit

Elements Heritage, Mosque Road, next to Savoury Restaurant, Fraser Town, Bangalore. Phone: 41144146

BM Review: Little Home

Finally, a decent joint serving Mal food. For those of you unaware of this terminology, Mal is hort of Mallu, which is another term used to describe people and things from God's own country, the (erstwhile) communist state of Kerala (quite an oxymoron that - communist state being called God's own country).

A couple of Fridays back, I visited Little home in Koramangala, a small joint serving Kerala food, and also the usual 'Chinese' and some north Indian fare. The review can be read here. Although the place is billed as a 'family' joint (in Bangalore parlance, this usually means you can expect to serve Chinese, north Indian, and 'Continental' or 'multi-cuisine'). True to this, the place serves Chinese and north Indian, and the third musketeer is Kerala cuisine. And it was precisely for this that we went over to Little Home.

My guests were AG and TK, techies like me, hailing from God's own country, and big time movie aficionados. Along with the them, VP also joined me, while another friend, formerly with the Bangalore Mirror, ManU, also joined us. This place was going to be a test for VP as he doesn't like food with coconut in it, can't eat stuff cooked in coconut oil (among some of his other notorious allergies).

Of the starters, the squid disappointed - I mean there were hardly any slivers of squid meat in the dish, lost in the middle (muddle) of diced onions and dessicated coconut. The crab roast was good, and so too the seer fish fry (decent enough for the price charged), while the chicken fry felt a little dry although it did taste nice.

Seer fish fry

Crab roast

Chicken Fry

Squid (try spotting it among the diced onions and dessicated coconut)

For the main course, they'd run out of kappa meen curry (fish and tapioca curry), and so we started off with appams and chicken stew, along with Kerala parotas with some Malabar chicken roast. Feeling quite full, the others were on the verge of calling it quits, but I knew no meal (and review) of a 'Mal' joint would be complete if you didn't have a fish curry (kappa or no kappa), and so a bowl of steamed rice along with a seer fish curry was duly polished off, and the fish curry was superb - the right amount of tamarind, just enough coconut and spices, and the fish cooked for the right amount of time. Needless to say, VP didn't even bother looking at the dish - his stomach was already rumbling :)

Malabar chicken roast

Appams and chicken stew

Kerala parota and chicken roast

Steamed rice and seer fish curry

Overall, for a bill of Rs. 1270 for 5 people, I thought it was well worth the meal, given the quantity, the taste, and also the location (this is Koramangala, remember?). I wouldn't recommend the place to people across town, since I'm sure most neighbourhoods, within a 3 KM radius, would have a Mal joint in one form or the other, but if you're in Koramangala and are in the mood for some Mal food, hop right in. Way better than that Malabar place we visited some time back in Jeevan Bhima Nagar.

Food: Decent
$$$: Cheap
Service: Decent
Verdict: Can visit if in Koramangala and if in the mood for some Kerala food.
Extra info: This place is after Umerkot, before the Raheja Residency signal. Parking isn't available on the main road, so try your luck in one of the side roads.

Little Home, #1015, 80 Feet Road, 1^st Block, Koramangala, Bangalore. Phone: 25631504, 32930021

Malabar

Last evening, we decided to meet as there were a few pending 'gifts' to be given. VP's birthday gift was to be given, and I had decided that I'd also give P something for his birthday (since he was gracious enough to celebrate an anti-birthday) sometime back. SO i bought a couple of Ts online from this site called infibeam.com from where I'd earlier purchased a few really nice T-shirts. And so we decided to meet up, where else, but in Indiranagar at Gloria Jean's Coffee which now officially is our coffee adda, and I hardly ever have coffee!). P said he'd be a lil late - some last minute thing at work, and VP, although he left office at 6:20, at 7:45 he was still stuck somewhere on Old Madras Road (which according to me is the worst road in Bangalore). So when I called him, we made a quick change in plans and decided to meet up at a Chinese place next to Coffee Day (called Wang's) on the Jeevan Bhima Nagar main road. Once we got there, we saw two other restaurants there - Malabar, and Biryanis. And we decided on Malabar.

Since VP and I were the first ones there, and VP was dying of hunger, we decided to start off with something, and we ordered a couple of plates of seer fish fry (I wanted to have mussels, but they weren't available, and I didn't fancy even asking for prawns at this place), so seer fish it was.

Seer Fish Fry

With the fish out of the way, and still no sign of P, decided to order a plate of kababs (full plate with 6 pieces, and half plate with 3 pieces - no points of guessing what we opted for).

Chicken Kabab

We were nibbling on these for a while and discussing options for hosting a website (whether to go with GoDaddy or iPages for a domain), and just when we were done, in walked P. With no time to waste, we got down to ordering. 3 plates of appams (each plate having 2), a chicken stew, a veg stew, and a plate of gobi manchurian as there weren't too many other veg dishes available for P.

Chicken Stew

I know the chicken stew has chicken, but they could have added a couple of veggies as well just to give it some substance, but at the prices they were charging, you'd have to be a madman to complain. The manchurian was nice - spicy and with MSG in it, the appams actually tasted better with that.

Appams

Gobi Manchurian

Veg Stew

Food: Decent - don't complain at these prices.
Service: Decent
$$$: Cheap - all of the above, plus 6 bottles of aerated drinks cost us Rs. 455
Verdict: Can visit if in the area and aren't in the mood to spend too much. Skip starters and head directly for the main course. Order Kerala paratha and some chicken gravy - that's the best.

Malabar, Jeevan Bhima Nagar Main Road, Next to Coffee Day and Wang's, Bangalore

BM Review: Coastal Junction

Last Friday, the 31^st of July, saw me visiting Bangalore latest sea food restaurant, Coastal junction, on 80 feet road, in Indiranagar. Again, this was an official review for The Bangalore Mirror, and the review can be read here, titled 'At the crossroads'. The snaps of what we ate are below.

Squid masala

The squid masala (there was a specific Mallu name which I can't remember now) was the best among the appetisers.

Kane fry

Too thin, almost dry, and not marinated long enough, 'coz the marinade hadn't 'seeped' in deep enough (and since there was hardly any flesh, you can guess how 'well' it was marinated).

Chicken ghee roast

Tasted nice, but there didn't seem to be any ghee!!! I mean ghee roast and no ghee - are you kidding' me? They could have called it chicken masala or something, but not ghee roast.

Karwar prawns

Nice, but could have been seasoned a little more. Seemed to be lacking in salt, but the prawns were very fresh.

Baby corn something

This was ok.

Goan prawn curry

Tasted good. Again, prawns were fresh, and the spices in it were good and the dish on the whole seemed pretty authentic.

Chicken xacuti

Tasted good, but again, this isn't how a xacuti (pronounced sha-ku-tee) looks. It's supposed to be dark, like a shade of grey due to the roasted coconut nad peppercorns in it. Also, it's supposed to be 'knock-your-pants-off' spicy. This wasn't - it tasted good, but wasn't the 'real' xacuti.

Appam

Nice.

Neer dosa

Good.

Payasams

Heavenly. Probably the best dish of the night. All three payasams were heavenly, our own ambrosia.


Food: Nice, but I expected something better for the prices charged
$$$: On the higher side. Meal for two could cost anywhere from close to Rs. 1000 to Rs. 1500 without drinks.
Service: Like any other place, nothing special for a 'fine-dining' place and for the prices charged.
Verdict: Can visit once for the Malabar cuisine, other cuisines are OK but may lack authenticity.

Coastal Junction, #623, 5^th floor, Above Roseby's, 11^th Main, 80 feet road, Indiranagar, Bangalore

The full review is here:

When I hear the words fine dining clubbed with coastal cuisine in India, and when the coastal cuisine in question is from the west coast, there’s a sense of cautious uneasiness in me. One usually associates fine dining with, among several other things, dining with a fork, knife and a spoon. See where I’m going? So either we dine with knives and forks, in which case it’s a little difficult to enjoy the Malabar and Konkan cuisine without food literally flying off the plate, or the food would be made suitable to be eaten with knives and forks, in which case the chefs would need to be really innovative to preserve the authenticity of the dishes.

Coastal Junction is Bangalore’s latest coastal cuisine restaurant, dishing out Konkan and Malabar dishes. Owner Clifford Mascarenhas, who also runs the store Roseby’s in Indiranagar (Coastal Junction is located above Roseby’s), says he started a coastal cuisine restaurant partly because of his origin (he’s a Mangalorean, so opening a coastal cuisine restaurant made sense), and also because there aren’t any restaurants in the vicinity dishing out coastal food. Fair enough. On a night that saw a steady drizzle after a long time, I visited the place along with my guests Ra-Ben Almeida (Goan), his cousin Mavis Smith (Mangalorean) and her sister-in-law Milly Smith (again, Goan). And of course, yours truly was there to chip in with his Mangalorean-in-exile expertise.

The bar looked swanky, but the furniture didn’t scream ‘fine dining’ to us. A look at the menu projected a tilt in favour of Malabar cuisine. The squid appetiser we had, one of the Kerala dishes, was fabulous — right from the way it was cooked to the masalas used in it, it was lip-smacking. The chicken ghee roast was nice, but strangely, was lacking the ghee! If I can’t even smell the ghee, let alone watch it drip from the chicken, it’s not a ghee roast. Had it been called by a different name, there would have been no complaints. The Karwar prawns were very fresh and nice, but should have been seasoned a little better. Sadly, the kane (lady fish) fry lacked any real substance (read flesh), and wasn’t marinated long enough with the marinade.

For our main course, again, we tried to sample dishes from across the coast, and so a round of appams and neer dosas along with a bowl of red rice was to be polished off with a Goan prawn curry and a chicken xacuti. The appams were good — crispy and not sticky, and the neer dosas were the best I’ve had in Bangalore restaurants in a long time. Although they didn’t look exactly like neer dosas (they’re supposed to be more porous and white), they tasted great.

The prawns in the Goan curry were fresh, and the curry had everything, right from the concoction of spices to the coconut milk. The xacuti, however, was a different story. Purely going by the sense of taste, it was great. But with its introduction to the sense of sight, especially with prior knowledge as to what a xacuti is supposed to look like, you would be a little flummoxed. A traditional xacuti, according to Mavis and Milly, is supposed to be dark, like a shade of dark grey because of the deep roasted coconut and peppercorns in it. Also, a traditional xacuti is supposed to be so spicy it will exorcise all the sniffles and blocked/running noses and coughs associated with the rainy weather. In our case, the xacuti presented to us was almost reddish-brown in colour, and although it tasted good, wasn’t anywhere close to the legendary spiciness. Our tryst with the desserts saw us order the trio of payasams — one tender coconut based, one banana and jaggery based, and the third one based on rice flour and cashew nuts. All three were heavenly — India’s very own ambrosia!

At any restaurant, the ‘cost-to-quantity and quality’ ratio is something to look for the most. For the prices charged here, you certainly expect more on your plate in terms of quality and certainly shouldn’t cut any slack for loss in authenticity. What’s more, you’d expect to see something that you normally wouldn’t find in other sea food restaurants. As for Coastal Junction, it’s seems to be at the crossroads from where it needs to chart its own course towards the promised land.