The Tao Terraces

A perfect date it was! Asian food, romantic restaurant and my 4-month old fast asleep. 

Tao Terraces would not have happened, had it not been for a meal voucher we got for that place. Considering my little one can’t be out all day, we do not travel far when we want to have a good meal.

The craving for Asian food had been there for very long but I had to avoid it to stay healthy for the baby. This was like a major indulgence in many ways for me.

Tao Terraces is a great place for a fine dining experience. With a water body right in the middle and several Buddha statues adorning the walls, the place warms the heart. Their menu spans across Chinese, Japanese and Thai cuisines. The place also offers a buffet which we chose in order to make sure we tried a whole lot of stuff.

The buffet per say is not a spread. Each dish is brought to you when you pick it from the menu. I missed peeping through multiple dishes. With the little one sleeping on the couch until mid-way through our main course, Vinod and I did manage to enjoy our food and our time together.

So here’s what we sampled through the afternoon. And yes the pics are bad! With diapers, water bottle, rattle, change clothes, umbrella, hand towels, wallet and wet wipes, I totally forgot to carry a camera. So we had to make do with a mobile camera in low light.

Soups : We tried both the Veg Tom Yum and the Chicken Hot and Sour Soup. Both had sharp tastes but nothing out of the ordinary. Vinod said they were both great for his stuffy nose on a rainy afternoon.

Veg Tom Yum Soup

Chicken Hot & Sour Soup

 Starters : On offer were three veg and three non veg starters.

Chicken Dimsums which were like comfort food for us were great with the honey chilli sauce. The diced chicken with ginger and red chilli was superb with tender pieces of chicken well marinated and cooked. 

Chicken Dimsums

Diced chicken with ginger and red chilli (fish in the background)

The wok tossed fish in fermented black bean and peanut sauce was good but not better than the chicken.

And then we decided we wanted to taste the veg spring rolls. I wonder why I did that. The after taste of flour in the rolls remained until main course arrived.

For main course, there was the quintessential Thai Red Curry and Green Curry. My meal was done with this. I cleared went in for the buffet for these two items and I made sure I had my fill. 

Thai Green Curry

Thai Red Curry

The green curry is usually my favourite but somehow there the red curry took over. It was creamier and perfectly spiced. My mouth is still watering as I write about it. Loved it! I missed the plain rice here. We were served Szechwan fried rice and Hakka noodles, both of which were good.

Szechwan fried rice

Vegetable Hakka Noodles

Somewhere in between we had a mixed vegetable and tofu with bamboo shoots in a black bean sauce. Decent, but again not out of this world. Another dish worthy of mention is the Wok tossed fish in a Chinese Parsley sauce. This was mildly spiced and went well with both the rice and the noodles.
 

Mixed vegetables in black bean sauce

Fish in Chinese Parsley Sauce

 The buffet also came with a drink. I picked a Fresh Lime soda and Vinod picked a pint of beer.

Fresh Lime Soda

For the dessert, we were served a platter of fresh fruit, banana toffee, Darsan with vanilla ice cream. The Darsan was good but the ice cream was sadly below average. 

The desserts

While this meal was not very different from any of the regular Asian food joints, the ambience gives it those extra points and for me it was clearly the red curry.

Will I go back there? May be, if someone treats me again J

Pay by : Cash and cards

Average meal for two : Rs 1500

Mel’s overall rating : 2.5 out of 5

Location: 5th Floor, 1 MG Mall, Mahatma Gandhi Rd, Halasuru, Bangalore, Karnataka 560008. Phone: 098 86 640445

Halli Mane

I am not usually a fan of South Indian fare and breakfast is a meal I rarely venture out to try. But a visit to Halli Mane definitely changed that for me. We ended up at Halli Mane as we were on that side of town and needed to finish our breakfast quota for the day.

 

The name is derived from Kannada where ‘Halli’ means village and ‘Mane’ means house. The ambience is therefore is very much like a village house (a little fancy of course!). The Warli paintings on the walls, some cut tiles turned into splendid art definitely impress a first-timer. The cleanliness and hygiene surely meets the eye. The menu is straight and simple – Karnataka ‘tiffin’ varieties. We definitely feasted on a lot that day leaving no space for lunch.

The humble entrance

Sunlight making its way through the roof

On our plates that day:

Idli Vada

 The nothing-can-go-wrong idli vada. This is a dish that is not just filling but is a must have in any Karnataka breakfast.

Rave idli

Rave idli – Soft, mildly spiced yet really high on taste.

 

Poori Saagu

Poori Saagu - Soft, non-oily pooris complimented with a mixed vegetable curry. The pooris can tell you if the oil the restaurant uses is clean. This place definitely was!

Masala Dosa

Masala Dosa – another staple among South Indians. The dosa here was impressive – crispy, generous on ghee, ‘bhaji’ tasted great. So that’s a ten on ten right away.

If that was the spicy side of breakfast, there the sweet side.

Chiroti

First up – Chiroti. This is a fluffy  and flaky ghee baked pastry that is eaten with milk. The milk here had a badam flavor and took the chiroti several notches higher in taste.

 



Coconut Holige



Coconut Holige. We usually buy holige (a sweet roti) from the bakery. But its completely different to taste something that’s so fresh and just out of the pan.



Kesari Bhath



Kesari bhath or Ksheera. Not one of my favourites on a regular day. This one was irresistible though with loads of ghee and dry fruits. Literally a moment on the lips, forever on the hips.



Mangalore Buns



Mangalore Buns – Vinod would have died if we hadn’t ordered this. This sweet bun was better that the ones I tasted in Mangalore as well.

With a fresh lime soda and some teas and coffees, it was tata time for the Halli Mane. Cant wait to go back again.

While at the Halli Mane, expect crowds and a little waiting. Explore the area for safe and hassle free parking. The food is simply superb and the prices are very affordable. We recommend a fast the previous night.

Pay by : Cash

Restroom : Decent

Average meal for two : Rs 250 (for a lot of food)

Mel’s overall rating : 4.5 out of 5

Location: 3rd Cross, Sampige Road, Malleshwaram, Bangalore. Ph: 080 65611222

Via Milano

It was our second anniversary and despite all the elaborate plans of how we wanted to spend the day, we ended up working. We knew we’d lose the day if we did not move out before lunch. It was past 2 PM, giving us lesser options of good places to dine. We chose Via Milano, guaranteed of good food and an extra half hour as they close by 4pm.

Being a weekend, finding a place of our choice to sit was not difficult. The ambience is sober yet very classy with a lot of greys, blacks and whites. Large pillars across the place give you enough privacy if you’re on a date or just struggling with the variety of oils kept at the table, not knowing which ones to use.

The menu offers a variety of Italian must-haves and can also give you a  crash course in Italian if you have the time. With little time on our hands we did not take time to decide on what we wanted to have. And while we waited for our food, we played around with the DIY bruschetta kit that was on our table. We tried various combinations and realized we ate too much of it even before our actual food arrived. Fun, nonetheless!

First on order were Grilled Shrimp and Zucchini with mustard dressing. Crispy, mild spiced and grilled whole, the shrimps were a good break from the regular chicken starters we can’t resist. The quantity, given the place was not bad either. The mustard dressing though was not dominant on the shrimps or the zucchini but on the salad that rested alongside.

Grilled Shrimp and Zucchini

 

Do-it-yourself bruschetta

 

The salads on the menu looked inviting and we picked the Chicken and Crispy Pork Bacon salad that was topped with poached egg and garlic croutons. The chicken was smoked but the bacon was too little to enjoy. Though high on taste, more bacon would have made me a happier person.

 

Chicken and Crispy Pork Bacon salad
 

The celebration called for some cocktails. We shared a Rude Cosmopolitan  (Tequila Gold, Cointreau, cranberry and lemon juice) and an Apple Raisin Mojito (white rum, triple sec, fresh apple, raisin, fresh mint and soda). Absolutely loved the mojito! One of the best cocktails I have tasted.

Rude Cosmopolitan

Rude Cosmopolitan

Apple Raisin Mojito

For main course, my choice was a Filler of red snapper in potato crust in a lime and ginger sauce with vegetables. This dish looked awesome and tasted even better. I usually avoid ordering fish but this time I was so glad I did. The quantity was good and the sauce did all the magic. The dish was crispy, soft, tangy..all at the same time.

Filler of red snapper

Roast Chicken with musroom and thyme sauce

Vinod did not want to miss chicken over main course and ordered a Roast Chicken with musroom and thyme sauce which came with veggies and mashed potatoes. This dish was good though quite ordinary like the ones served in other restaurants. And when I asked Vinod, if there was any particular reason he picked this, the child in him said, it was not the chicken but the mash. So, Fair enough!

 

It was dessert time, and a Chocolate Lasagne it was. Chocolate Mousse resting on Vanilla Mousse/ icecream, this one tasted as good as it looked.

 

Chocolate Lasagne

This was one lovely anniversary meal – something I would remember for a long time. I would definitely recommend this place whenever you are out to have a quiet dinner with your special someone. Keep your fingers crossed about people throwing their project parties. We were lucky that one big group stepped out while we entered the place. The place though on a slightly higher side, is worth it.

Pay by : Cash and cards

Restroom : Very clean

Average meal for two : Rs 2300 (with cocktails)

Mel’s overall rating : 4 out of 5

Location: # 612, 3^rd Floor, 80 Feet Peripheral Road, 4^th Block, Koramangala, Bangalore- 560 034. Ph No. 080 41309997/4

 

 

 

Bistro Claytopia

There’s no dearth of good places to eat in Bangalore. Bistro Claytopia is my new favourite. With their successful hangout at Indiranagar, they have now started a place closer home in Koramangala. And for long we were looking for a place where we could sit for hours and not be disturbed and Claytopia seemed like the answer.

We headed there for a weekend dinner. The place was not crowded considering it had opened about 10 days ago. As I entered the place, everything reminded me of Goa. They have a part indoor and part outdoor seating. Set in the front yard of a house, this place looks like any Goan restaurant with trees lit up and bences to sit on. What’s more they even played Goan Konkani music for a while.

The name Claytopia comes from the fact that guests here can paint items made of clay. You can pick (read buy) the item of your choice and paint it, the team will then process this and call you when its ready to be picked up, which generally is about 7 days.

We were meeting our friends Neha and Abhi after long and chose not to ‘clay’ around. We went straight for the food. The menu is that of a coffee shop with no specific dinner options. But if you’re not fussy about what to eat for lunch or dinner, this is just the place. Mark, one of the persons incharge here was sweet and very considerate about our needs.

The milkshakes looked extremely tempting and we had to order them that very minute. So the Creamy Oreo shake and Brownie shake it was! Both of them were extremely thick and were generous on the oreo and brownie. Guys, good job done…but I hope you retain the same quality each time unlike other places that are inconsistent. We even ordered  another Crazy Nutty Hazelnut which was espresso with cream, double scoop ice cream, torani hazel nut topped with whipped cream and nuts. Sounds exciting na? Well they forgot to serve us this and we too forgot about it until I returned home and checked the bill where we were charged for a coffee we never had. Well, we should have been more careful.

The Creamy Oreo Milkshake

Brownie shake

Irish Coffee

 First on order were the Barbecues Chicken wings followed by Spicy Chicken Strips and Cheesy Jalapeno Poppers. The wings were soft with the bbq sauce while the strips were tangy and flavourful. The cheesy poppers are anyway an all-time favourite and had to be good. For more reasons that one this place reminded me Jamie’s Place in Goa which is still my ‘favouritest’ restaurant in the ‘world’. Phew! That reminds me of school!

Chicken Wings

Spicy Chicken Strips

For the main course, all of us picked burgers with no prior planning. Neha enjoyed her Double Delight Chicken Burger combo which was a delicious combo of crispy chicken, minced chicken and chicken salami with egg, mushhrooms and cheese. Vinod went in for The Ultimate Sausage which was a chicken mortadella (cold cut sausage)  and a chicken patty with cheese, mushrooms, egg and gherkins. Both these were combos and were to come with fries and coke. Well, they forgot the coke. I remembered it while I was writing this review. We were too busy chit chatting that day. Well, a sure shot lesson learnt now.

Cheesy Jalapeno Poppers

Double Delight Chicken Burger

Bbq Chicken Burger

The Ultimate Sausage

Abhi chose a simple Barbecued chicken burger while I took a Street Side Cheesy Double Dog. The menu read that this dish had sausage with minced chicken, jalapeno, olive and cheese. But mine had barbecues chicken cocktail sausage with grilled onions, olive and cheese, which means they swapped my order with another.  Claytopia has another dish called The Lick-a-licious Dog which has the same ingredients. And how did I know this? I brought home a take-away menu and read through the descriptions.

Supposedly The Street Side Cheesy Double Dog

Double Chocolate Mousse

All the burgers were good, though I would not say they were extraordinary. For dessert we coaxed ourselves to a Double chocolate mousse (I hope I got the name right) which was very good and didn’t seem less though shared by four.

Despite all the goof-ups I think the ambience and company did it for me. I still would go back there, only to be careful the next time around.

Pay by : Cash and cards (the line will be up shortly)

Restroom : Very neat with potted plants

Average meal for two : Rs 800

Mel's overal rating : 3 out of 5 (I could have rated this place better had i not realized the numerous goof-ups)

Location : Next to SBI, Diagonally opposite to Koramangala Wipro Park, Koramangala I Block, Bangalore 560095. Phone No. 080 64350526

Smoked Out Barbecue

So it was 6pm on a weekday, Vinod and me were still in office barely done with our day’s work. With a lot of work done that day, we thought we deserved a good meal rather than cook it ourselves. With this thought we were deciding on which place to try out. That’s when we came across ‘Smoked Out Barbecue’. I had read about this place a while ago and the location and the type of food seemed perfect for us.

We called the restaurant for directions. It was not difficult to find at all. What welcomed us was this little place adjacent to a service apartment. With a basic seating that can accommodate a maximum of 30 people, this place is neatly done up. No plush interiors here, it’s a semi outdoor seating.

The menu is not vast but boasts of their signature dishes. With a home style grill, this place promises a good American home BBQ experience. Once the meat is on the grill, the place is actually smoked out. For starters, everything on the menu looked inviting and so we asked for a Barbeque Platter. A dish that took about 30 mins or more to arrive but was totally worth the wait. Four very large wings, two drumsticks and a really large chicken thigh. I am so glad we were just the two of us. While the quantity was great, the taste was too good to share. The marinade was a predominantly ready to use bbq sauce with added spices. With a sweetish tinge, that how I like my sauce. This one was perfect.



BBQ Platter

The accompaniments

Tendeloin Steak

At the end of the platter we had little space left for main course and so opted to share a Tendeloin steak. We asked for it to be very well done. This one was extremely juicy and a little tangy too making it a great meal. The meal was not tough and hence we didn’t have to fight with the cutlery.

With, no space for desserts, we decided to call it a day. And we’re definitely going back there again!

Pay by : Cash or Credit Card

Restroom : Decent and manageable

Average meal for two : Rs 750

Mel’s overall rating : 3.5 out of 5

Location  : No. 426, 8th Main Road, 4th Block, Koramangala, Bangalore 560095. Ph : 080 40921023

The Only Place

A few years ago, when there weren’t as many restaurants, this place was a favourite for all special occasions. It was THE ONLY PLACE. There’s something about the place that draws you time and again. Be it the food that tastes like home or the warm interiors.

We made our way to OP this weekend and made it right on time for the last free table. There was a sense of quietness despite the crowd. The ambience reminds me of Goa with the tiled roof, a centre sun-lit area and homely lampshades. The sunlight through the Bamboo and over the pebbles, take you to a different time and place altogether. OK, I might be exaggerating a bit!

The food is European and OP luckily has not succumbed to Indo-European additions like most other places. No Chettinad Chicken steak here! So here is this menu where everything sounds good. I went there to relish the steak but I think I ordered everything but the steak.

First on order was the Chilly Beef. Tender meat, tossed with loads of green and ground pepper. This tasted just like the authentic Beef Chilli in a good Kerala restaurant or like the one that the neighboring Ammachi prepares. This one was ‘unputdownable’ until the last bite. I didn’t spare even the leftover-almost-nonexistent gravy.

Chilli Beef

 For a change we went for a soup. With a rigorous dance workout that was to follow, the hungry instincts suggested a Chicken Chowder Soup. Very few restaurants still have this on their menu. A thick broth of cornstarch and shredded chicken tasted so homemade that I wanted to call mom.

Chicken Chowder Soup

We had to eat ‘light’ and for main course ordered a Chicken Tetrazini out of the steaks and a OP Special Sheperd’s pie. The Chicken Tetrazini featured in both the bakes’ and the steak sections. Though we asked for a steak, I am sure we were served a bake. But there was so much cheese on it that we loved this happy mistake. Though this was Vinod’s lunch, I managed to dig in until the cheese was gone.

OP Special Shepherd's Pie

Chicken Tetrazini

The Sheperd’s pie in front of me was above average. The minced meat with spiced baked in a loaf and hiding under creamed potatoes was very filling. For Bangaloreans who have tried the spice sausages from The Ham Shop, this was like a loaf made of the sausage filling. Why wouldn’t I like it?

To wrap up our ‘light’ lunch we ordered for an Apple Pie that many people recommend at OP. Of course with a heavy heart I had to say no to the other interesting cheesecakes, mousse cakes and pies. Chunks of crunchy apples in a gooey sweet mix resting on a pastry bed made a good ending. Be warned that this dish is extremely sweet and might be an overdose sometimes.

Apple Pie

 I would not bet my money on the food here because there are a lot of great choices in the city. But The Only Place never disappoints if you are looking for a quaint restaurant for a small birthday treat or a date. What also struck me was that they never played any music as long as we were there giving us more time to talk to each other.

Pay by : Cash or Credit Card

Restroom : Outside the restaurant but decent.

Average meal for two : Rs 1200

Mel’s overall rating :3.5 out of 5

Location: No 13, Museum Road, Bangalore 560001. Ph : 080 32718989

Gullu's Chaat

It’s not often that we find ourselves in a  chaat house. Especially when grab a bite means the nearest KFC. There is no time or day in the week when we are not hungry and recently while we were at Sheshadripuram, we decided to head towards the famous Gullu’s Chaat for a chatpata feast.

We had to ask for directions to reach the place which is tucked away near Kumara park. As expected the place was crowded. There were people all around eating a variety of chaat. We headed right inside for the ‘service’ section. Nothing to mention of the interiors because there aren’t any.  The seating area is run down and functions as wash room, part kitchen and store room. However that did not hamper the good reviews we had heard of the place.

The menu like most snack houses offers chaat, pizzas, sandwiches and juices. I have loved Masala Puri since time immemorial especially at those roadside eateries. The smell of simmering gravy over the kerosene stove still makes my  mouth water. Anyways, so with this masala filled thought, I had to order for a Special Masala Puri. It was good, though not out of this world. When asked what at the must-haves at Gullu’s, the waiter recommended the Dahi Puri. Again not the best in town. We enjoyed both nonetheless, but I definitely would not travel even one extra mile to taste this.

Special Masala Puri

Dahi Puri

For the second round we picked a Pav Bhaji and a Samosa Bhel. The Pav Bhaji was slightly tangy but was fairly high on taste. It reminded me of the Pav Bhaji you get at the Jayanagar 4th Block Shopping complex. The samosa bhel was better than the rest. With crumbled samosa tossed in the usual bhel, this one went down pretty well and fast too.

Pav Bhaji

Samosa Bhel

 And finally to complete the chaat meal, we ordered for Pani Puri. Having had the usual potato and onion filling for the last few years, the peas and curry filling was a good change. Gullu’s Chaat definitely sells good chaat, but with so many chaat counters in the city…there is nothing much to travel here for.

Stepping out of this place, I noticed that the shop next door was jam packed and sold ‘Indian Burger’ and ‘Masala Cola’. I wouldn’t mind giving that a try.

Pay by : Cash

Restroom : Didn’t risk it. No second thoughts, I didn’t come across one.

Average meal for two : Rs 100

Mel’s overall rating : 1.5 out of 5

Location: No 2/1, Serpentine Road, Kumara Park West, Bangalore 560020. Ph: 080 2356 0164