Zaika

The craving to have biryani is always there. But that special ‘Muslim’ biryani is just irresistible. So over the weekend, we were heading for late lunch and picked Zaika on MM Road for our fill of biryani.

The shirt stairs led to a spacious hall with basic seating. Fancy wall posters of biryani coupled with the enticing aroma make you order almost immediately. Though I gave a customary look at the menu, I anyway knew what I wanted.

A chicken biryani for me and a mutton biryani for Vinod. Aaaahhhh! Awesomeness. The gentle spices, the fragrant rice, the soft meat all cooked under ‘dum’ to create the perfect biryani. I loved this and I am definitely going back to this place. The masalas in both biryanis were the same. Sometimes chicken in the rice tends to be tough but the softness of this one completely surprised us. The mutton was tender as always.

Chicken Biryani

 I could have ordered another plate had it not been for this whole ‘watch your weight’ thingy. What’s more the biryani came with the famous tomato-brinjal gravy that is to die-for and the yummy phirni. Vinod stays away from the brinjal gravy making me a twice-as-happy person so I can have the share of two.

Raitha

Tomato and Brinjal Gravy

Phirni

Malai Kabab was our choice to accompany the heavenly biryani. Though it reached us after we had finished our rice, this was a good after snack. The chicken again was marinated in cream and light spices and was cooked to perfection in the tandoor.

Malai Kebab

This meal was one of the most satisfying meals of recent times. For those of you who wish to try other items, there are various options of tandoor and Chinese.

Pay by : Cash or Credit Cards

Average meal for two : Rs 450

Mel’s overall rating : 4 out of 5

Location: MM Road, Mosque Road, Frazer Town, Bangalore 560005. 

Anjappar

Family lunches at restaurants are a great idea. Not only do you get some exclusive bonding time, but you get a chance to order a lot of food. With my new found interest to try cuisines I was not familiar with, we zeroed in on Anjappar. Of course this reputed Chettinad restaurant is there around the world but we chose the outlet in Koramangala.

The first thing that strikes you is the capacity of the place. Two large halls on two floors can accommodate a whole wedding party if needed. With no reservation 6 of us found our way to our seats. My knowledge of Chettinad chicken was limited only to a chicken dish I make and so I was super-duper kicked about belting on the non-vegetarian delicacies that Chettinad cuisine boats of.

The menu has a lot of regional favourites including quail and rabbit. There is a good balance of veg and non veg food here with a choice of Chinese food as well. The food here is served on plaintain leaves.

First up was the Anjappar Fried Chicken. We asked for a full portion which had medium sized pieces of chicken marinated in spices and deep fried till golden brown. The meat was tough and was extremely dry giving little chance to enjoy the taste.

Anjappar Fried Chicken

 Next in line was the Rabbit Roast. I had tasted rabbit meat before and this was as expected, soft and was cooked with pepper and a lot of strong spices. This one was good but the quantity was too little to satisfy.

Rabbit Roast

We went on to order Chilli fish from the Chinese section since one of my cousins loves fish and is comfortable with ‘more-familiar’ food. This one had  pieces of seer fish sautéed with diced onions and capsicum and tossed well in various sauces. I must admit that this was amazing and a great Chinese dish at a  Chettinad outlet.

Chilli Fish

For the main course we ordered for Chicken and Mutton Biryanis. Cooked with basmati, the aromatic biryani with tender meat went down really well. The taste was superior though not extraordinary. For Grand mum, we ordered the Anjappar Regular Meal. As much as she insisted on eating only rice and curry, her meal was more than what she could handle. Rice which came with fish, chicken and mutton gravy, rasam, sambar, kootu, poriyal, keerai and curd.

Biryani

The meals

To go with it, we asked for the day’s special which was Tuticorin Chicken – a spicy and thick masala with chunks of chicken which was high on the spice meter. This was surely one dish which had all the spices in a  kitchen. A dash of lime and this gravy is finger licking good. 

We washed down our meals with lime sodas (though we ordered for lime juice). The bill was not heavy compared to the quantity we devoured. With a bill that came up to Rs 1500, this is a great family lunch option.

Pay by : Cash and cards

Restroom : Clean

Average meal for two : Rs 600 (ours worked up to Rs 1500 for 6)

Mel’s overall rating : 3.5 out of 5

Location: No 4, 4th B Block, 17th Main, 100 Ft Road, Near BDA Complex, Koramangala, Bangalore 560034.

Grill House

We’ve been frequenting the Ulsoor Lake – Frazer town area for our dance lessons (Yes, the calories do bother us! ) and so we decided to try more eating joints around these places. So this weekend, Grill House it was.  For the shopaholics, Grill House is a little further down 1 MG Road, the latest mall in the vicinity. For the old timers, this place is just a few buildings away from The Park hotel. For lunch, parking didn’t seem an issue however in the evenings, it could be a slight concern.

The ambience is ranch-like and carries  a western steak-house feel to it. Heavy wooden furniture add to the rugged look. The menu here has a wide range of veg and non-veg starters, sizzers and steaks, salads and dessert.  A full-fledged bar menu also ensures the thirst is quenched. There are a few things I have to order when I see them in a  menu. For eg, The Buffallo wings and Bloody/Virgin Mary. Vinod has almost begun to taunt me for my obsession.



Buffallo Wings



The Buffalo Wings were tossed in a sauce that was quite different from the ones we had tried elsewhere. The waiter  asked us to  choose from mild, medium or hot sauce and we bravely picked the hot one. But it was not so bad when it arrived. I was imagining tears and a running nose but this was very much manageable. Pepper was used in abundance but the sweetness of the sauce overpowered it. I would have preferred the wings a little less sweeter but Vinod seems to like them this way. 

Virgin Mary

Sunset Cooler

Of course, the Virgin Mary was close to perfect. Had to skip the alcohol in this one owing to dance class. Having tasted BM in SEVERAL places, I can clearly tell the superiority of one drink from the other and even the difference in ingredients. This one was fabulous. Perfectly spiced. Hubby chose a Sunset Cooler – a mix of cranberry juice, orange juice, lemon juice and Sugar syrup. Quite light and refreshing.

We did not over order this time. One starter and we were up for main course. I picked the Moroccan Lamb Sausages - Grill House Special of lamb sausages grilled, served with pepper sauce, rice and mash on a  plate instead of a sizzler. The presentation didn’t appeal to me much. With my first bite into the sausages I realized that I was not too fond of lamb sausages. but overall it was not a bad buy. The portion too was good. I was glad I didn’t opt for the sizzler. 

Moroccan Lamb Sausages

Twice Marinated Steak

Vinod ordered for the Twice Marinated Steak - the chef's special steak, marinated twice, served with two pepper sauce. This was a great choice. We asked for the steak to be well done on a sizzler plate and Grill House is right about the ‘Marinated Twice’ bit. The juicy meat proved that in every bite.  Somehow since both our dishes has a pepper sauce, we almost felt we ate the same stuff.

As we were finishing our main course, a polite waiter arrived with a tray of sinful cheese cakes. We had to decline the offer twice as politely. With a full tummy and a dance workout on the way, this was the best decision. I wouldn’t say Grill House is one of the best places in town for steak but it is definitely worth a try if you are on this side of town.

Pay by : Cash and cards

Restroom : Very clean with neat interiors

Average meal for two : Rs 1400 (with mocktails)

Mel’s overall rating : 2.5 out of 5

Location: #8/6, Ulsoor Road, Bangalore- 560 008. Ph No. 080 4097 7011 or  81478 62595