Harima

I was told sometime back that Dahlia on Church Street served better Japanese food than Harima. Unfortunately, by the time I started making enough money to visit joints where I'd have to pay in excess of Rs. 500 (per person) for a meal, Dahlia had closed, and so Bangaloreans like me have to settle for Harima (unless you consider Zen at The Leela Palace and Shiro in UB City as 'authentic Japanese'). Without a doubt, Harima is miles ahead of it's nearest competitors (in Bangalore at least).

Seven of us (deadly sinners) went to Harima on Saturday for lunch, and we weren't disappointed one bit.

Sake 'shot' glasses

One of the lamp shades, snap taken by The Professor

My sake glass

Tempura

Harima Deluxe Platter (sushi & sashimi)

Beef noodles

One of the 'bento' boxes - like a thali, or a set meal

Okonomiyaki - Japanese style pizza-pancake

Another bento

My bento box

Green tea ice cream - me not likey!

Wasabi ice cream - the wasabi can really explode inside your head, so take smaller spoonfuls

Overall, great experience, especially for someone like me who's always game to try on new food. Someone at work asked me how could I get myself to eat "such kind of food", with an expression of pure revulsion. To which I gave my standard answer - if it's good enough for humans in a different part of the planet, it ought to be good enough for me. I don't believe in a lot of our societal barriers like caste, religion, etc., but what I've noticed is that a lot of people belonging to, let us say, a particular section of Hindu society that places them right on top, seem to be clinging onto the caste system because it's the only way they can have the sense of being 'important'. A few hundred years ago, yeah, but today, when we're in an era of being able to send man to the moon and send data in a few seconds over several thousands of miles across the globe, I'm at a loss at how to react to such people when they make such obnoxious statements. In any case, this is a different discussion, not for my food blog.

At the end of the day, we're all human, aren't we? I'm not eating food that a South American vampire bat or a tape worm eat, I'm eating what other civilised humans are eating. Don't forget that.

Food: If you're ready to appreciate the food and cultural philosophy behind food from a foreign land, then this food is superb.
$$$: Very expensive - we paid Rs. 1100 per head, but mainly because of the Rs. 3000 sushi platter. Well worth the money since this isn't a daily or monthly thing that I do.
Service: Good
Verdict: Like I said, it's the only Japanese restaurant in town, and it's worth a visit if you're game for some exotic food. May not be suitable for vegetarians, although if you eat egg, then you may just be able to have a few things to eat besides sea weed :)

Harima, 4^th Floor, Devatha Plaza, Opp. Bishop Cotton Boys School, Residency Road (Field Marshall Cariappa Road), Bangalore. Phone: 41325757

Casa Del Sol

After a lot of deliberation, I finally agreed to go to this place. I'd heard it wasn't all that great a place, and with Harima's one floor above, Mr VP and I were both tempted to go there instead of here. Well, Mr P was insistent enough to get us into this place, and so Casa Del Sol it was. The place is nice and very spacious, and the decor is simple, but hardly Spanish. We were informed that the Sunday brunch consisted of unlimited alcohol which included wine, beer and Sangria (a Spanish drink consisting of wine, brandy, orange juice and fruits) to go along with the buffet laid out. Fair enough we thought.

And so we started off with a glass of sangria, which all of us agreed was nothing more than a glorified fruit punch, and the alcohol was noticeable only when the liquid slid down our throats; we got a very slight tingle of the alcohol only after we 'concentrated' to detect it.

We then had the veg stew soup, which tasted good, but didn't seem to have anything 'solid' in it. So I spooned in a couple of spoonfuls of mushroom and broccoli from the salad table nearby.

The starters were served to us at the table itself, and the noteworthy ones were the lamb balls (trust me, it's not what it sounds like) and the mushrooms, while the paneer and the chicken were not too bad either.

The sangria kept us company while we finished the starters, and once that was done, we ordered a round of beer: and would you believe it, Fosters, straight out of the bottle.

From the salad counter, we got a mixture of spiced pineapples, cinnamon apples, cheesy potatoes, Thai chicken salad, Tuna pasta, and a mixture I made using walnuts, spicy mayonnaise and cheese (which tasted amazing).

For the main course, I served myself the seafood paella, and I immediately realised that the rice used was not the kind typically used for a paella or the flavouring was off, when compared to the awesome paella I had at Bangalore Bistro. The chicken roulade was bland, while the fish in white sauce tasted good. I didn't have the Mexican rice that was there since I had served myself the paella, but had a helping of the ricotta & stuffed capsicum, which all of us agreed didn't have a very nice texture.

There was a pasta counter where we could get 'make' our own pasta as part of the buffet, and upon hearing that, Mr P and I went ahead there, only to realise things weren't as good as thought. There was only spaghetti and some funny coiled pasta, only two basic sauces (red and white), and the pasta wasn't anything great either.

Dessert time! And as usual, I wasn't disappointed with the desserts, although I was hoping for a little more variety.

The lemon mousse was very good, while the two cakes that were there were good too. And to wrap it all up, we decided to go with a glass of red wine.

Well, according to Mr VP, it tasted like the toilet water from the Air Force Command Hospital (I don't know when and why he tasted that, but whatever), and Mr P and I too agreed it wasn't the best we've had, although I didn't mind it. It certainly wasn't a sweet at all, but it wasn't as disgusting as Mr VP made it out to be.

So all in all, the food at this this place was average. There was enough food and booze for the Rs. 725/- we paid per head (all inclusive), but I'm certain we won't be going back there in a long time. And to the owner of the place, all I can say is "Por favor, este no Español" (excuse the Spanish if it's grammatically wrong).


Casa Del Sol, 131, Devatha Plaza, 3^rd floor, opposite Bishop Cotton's Boys School, Bangalore. Phone: 51510101