Food Review - Om Made Cafe, Koramangala

Om Made Cafe, sounded like a queer but interesting name for a restaurant. It had us all thinking in different directions about the place, food etc, but we had heard good things about it. We decided to pay a visit on a sunday night to find out more. 

The place is located in Koramangala 5th block in between hundreds of other restaurants. To it's disadvantage it is located on the 5th floor of the building and has a visibility issue. On the flipside it is nice and breezy as it's uncovered from the sides, and offers views of the area around.

          

The design elements here are rather different but appealing. You must visit the bathroom, it's like nothing i've seen before. The semi open kitchen is in the center of the floor, and tables are laid out on all sides. The kitchen counter has a glass display for their desserts which had us tempted, and we sat right opposite.

To start off we ordered our drinks - frost sparkling ice tea, white sangria, bellini and a glass of white wine. Unfortunately they serve only wine, but they sure know how to make their wine cocktails as all were mixed properly and had the right taste and right amount of alcohol. 

To go along with our drinks, we ordered for a cheese platter and a couple of salads as there was no real option of starters. The wine is to be had with the food basically, which is the european concept really.

The cheese platter is supposed to have choices of cheese, which was not mentioned to us by the waiter and we got to know about it later. 

The platter had some feta, blue cheese, emmantel and another one. 

The platter was ok but we would have changed some of the hard cheese if given an option.

             

                                                                                                                                      Among the salads we had mowgly and praia, both were made so nicely, none of the flavours were too stark, and in particular the praia I must say was brilliant.

For Mains we tried quite a mix of things. The vegetarians had smart spaghetti, which was not bad, but could have had more of the vegetables. The masala malai paneer skewer was paneer with rice which felt a bit dry. Thankfully the paneer was not hard and chewy so it was managaeable. 

The chicken variant of the skewer was better, and had a nice honey glaze, not overdone and went well with the interesting rice and bell peppers. It wasn't just plain rice, and even though i relished it, i don't really know what it was.

The lamb burger was served without any fires, salad etc and was not big either. A disappointment in terms of size and presentation, but in fact the portions are rather small and a dish would not suffice for a good eater.

We went on to try a couple of their desserts, which was the omc (om made cafe) cup - brownie with ice cream, chocolate sauce and nuts. The dark chocolate and cherry was baked and had mild flavours of both, it was not bad but both the desserts were nothing memorable.

Service is a tad slow and you can't expect to grab a quick meal and get out here. It's better to just relax and have a good time with friends/family while soaking in the atmosphere, sipping on some wine and eating your food. They do have a sunday brunch as well, but going by the options, it might not be the best value.

The pricing is high and it can be left for more precious occasions than a casual eat out.

On our way out we say this colourful red post box which said stay in touch, and also review us on zomato. Guess we'll be doing that Mr. Fernandes.

Rating - 3.5/5

Food Review - Krispy Kreme, Church Street

Fabulous stuff this is. It opens up a whole new genre of desserts which were not the norm until a few years ago in India.
The world leader in donuts, Krispy Kreme have set up shop in India last year and gosh, they are good!!
The first thing you'll notice inside is the conveyor belt and mechanical setup which is responsible for delivering those wonderful donuts to you.



Once at the counter you feel like a kid, looking at all the options, evaluating which combinations would be best for you and then end up taking one or two extra so that you can sample some more.




They have some good options like the original glazed, chocolate glazed, chocolate topped variants as well as jam filled donuts. Apple cinnamon jam is not that good, but the orange and mango ones are quite delicious.
We also particularly liked the chocolate cookie donut and another chocolate filled one(cant recall the name now).
The blueberry donut had a good mix of sweet and slight sourness. None were overly sweet, and tasted just right.
There is sufficient seating, but the place gets full on weekends, so it might take a while to get a table.

They do have coffees as well but that should not be your focus really. A good option for takeaways as well.

The sweet toothed would fall in love with this place i'm sure. A perfect 5/5 for me.

Food Review - M Cafe, Marriott Whitefield

We had been to Marriott on a friday afternoon to try out Alto Vino, which we had been hearing a lot about.

Unfortunately we discovered that it's open only for dinner, and we had to settle for their other dining option M Cafe.

They have only a buffet spread and we had a peep around. It had decent options so we decided to go with the buffet.

We started off with their veg soup, cos there was no non-veg option. It was an oriental style clear soup with strong flavours, nice and spicy.

The starters comprised of tandoori chicken and fish apart from veg cutlet and paneer tikka.

Unfortunately the taste was below average, so we didnt enjoy the starters really. We were served a slice of pizza on the table and that too was rather ordinary, so we just had a few bites.

They had a lot of salad options, we tried a few but we are not really salad lovers...

The main course had oriental and north indian options. A live counter for stir fried vegetables and one for pasta added to the options.

We tried the penne arabbiatta pasta, but it was a bit hard and taste was not great either.

The oriental dishes like fried rice, noodles and the veg and non veg gravy were all quite nice.

The indian was also good, i tried the mutton biryani and chicken gravy with saffron rice which was a great combo.

My wife had the veg dishes like paneer and mix veg with a wonderfully baked tandoori roti.

The standout here was the desserts section though.. Outstanding!

If you love desserts, this buffet is a must for you. There was nearly 18-20 desserts including rasmalai, mouse, cheese cake, barfi, ice creams and many more interesting ones.

The desserts warrants an extra 1/2 a star.

Service is good and at 750+ taxes, the buffet is good value for money.

They have an outdoor seating as well, right next to a small cascading waterfall of sorts. 

The decore inside is also neat, and overall it's worth a visit if you happen to be in that area.

Rating - 4/5

Food Review - Feast, Sheraton Bangalore

The all day dining restaurant at Sheraton Bangalore is called Feast. Located on the ground floor, it allows seamless flow between the lobby and the restaurant. The decore is simple yet elegant, and most of the area is divided between the buffet and the seating. Needless to say, the seating capacity is quite large as this happens to be the area where breakfast is served for all guests.

At other times of the day it is an ideal place to relax and have a quick snack.
For lunch and dinner they have a la carte as well as buffet on the menu. We had the buffet on the night we visited.



The spread is quite large and they have various sections to it. The salad bar has about a dozen options, both veg and non veg, and not all are for the health conscious eater with some of them having copious amounts of cheese and mayonnaise. Starters were served on the table, veg had options like paneer tikka, babycorn and channe ki tikki. Babycorn was tasteless and paneer was just about ok. Non veg had fish and chicken
Kabab. Sadly all the starters were rather not memorable.

There was a section of oriental cuisine with noodles, fried rice and a couple of dry and gravy dishes. We tried the noodles which were unfortunately rather cold and we didn't have much of it. The fried rice was pretty good though.
A small spread of Italian and continental items such as roasted potatoes, zuchhini rolls which were good, some cheese based lamb dish and some bread options. A live pasta counter added to the options, but we didn't try the pastas.





Indian section had few south indian dishes like rasam with steamed rice, avial, curd rice and a fish curry. 

Lamb biryani was quite nice and the veg biryani was not bad either. Raita was available to have with the 

biryani, but we had it more with the dal makhani which was thick and delicious. 

The dal tadka was also good.

They also had paneer gravy and mix vegetables along with chicken curry and mutton rogan josh if i'm not mistaken.

The indian cuisine was pretty much the saving grace and that's what filled our tummies mostly.




The desserts section looked inviting and we had reserved some space to satiate our sweet tooth. A variety of cakes, souffle, mousse decorated the display counter. Some cut fruits were available as always for the diet conscious, and their caramel custard was a little watered down, could have been a bit thicker. The rasagulla was the pick of the sweets, but we were disappointed at the lack of Indian sweets - no gulab jamoon, jalebi, halwa, kheer, nothing! A live ice cream teppanyaki counter was interesting and had 6-7 flavours of ice cream and a whole lot of toppings, we tried a mixture of mango, vanilla and chocolate and it was quite interesting. A favourite among kids for sure.

Service is as expected from a 5 star hotel of this standard. Pricing is expensive obviously, even though it might not be ideal for a special occasion, maybe dining with family or friends.

They also have a sunday brunch  priced at 1695+tax without alcohol which might be a feasible option for a relaxed meal.

Rating - 3.5/5

Food Review - Cafe Noir, Orion Mall

Food Review – Café Noir, Orion Mall

The French love their food, and their cuisine is rich in flavours with cheese, cream, fresh vegetables and meat forming important components. To perfect the taste is difficult, yet café noir comes close.

They have 3 branches in Bangalore, and we paid a visit to the one at Orion Mall, Malleshwaram. However from past experience I can tell you, the consistency is great across outlets.

The decor is simplistic and neat, tables are small with tight seating, and they have large counters for desserts and kitchenette for the staff. The menu has touches of Italian and French cuisine, and being in a group, we sampled much of their food.

Drinks -

They have fresh fruit juices, where were indeed fresh and devoid of excess sugar or ice. We tried Watermelon and Orange, they also have pineapple and apple apart from these. Café FrappeFroz is the cold coffee with ice cream blend, it was thick but a little too sweet. Hot coffee and tea are also available apart from a range of mocktails they have on offer. They serve wine and wine based cocktails too. Another french specialty 

Food - 

We began with the homemade chicken nuggets which were cooked perfectly and had a nice tangy tartar sauce to go along with it. The Classic Bruschetta was just about ok, nothing to delve upon.

Classic Bruschetta

We then had the quiche farmer which was among the best you can find in India. The pastry was light and not too thick, it broke easily and small chunks of chicken and mushroom covered in a cream - cheese mixture revealed themselves. Served with a small portion of salad, the quantity was less, but quality was supreme. The fish and chips were different from the usual, the shape and size of the fish slices was smaller and also it was extremely tender. How much one likes it will depend on their perception of fish and chips, but I can say it was well prepared.

The Quiche Farmer

We also tried the ratatouille, a French specialty, a small portion of rice with the rich tomato gravy. It would suit the Indian palate of most people who are vary of French cuisine.

The lemon chicken with rice turned out to be a drastic disappointment and we were unable to have much of it. Avoid this dish.

Ratatouille 

Lemon Chicken with rice

St Lazare

We also tried one of their sandwich – St Lazare, it had roasted chicken with veggies and served with fries and a small portion of salad. They do offer a choice of breads, which we didn’t check and wasn’t told to us. The bread we got was a bit hard for our liking.

The suckers for desserts that we are, we tried a few even after being stuffed. The chocolate mousse was good, but the strawberry tart had an extremely hard base. I really had to use a knife to cut it, and still it proved quite tough. Nothing to remember among the desserts, though usually they are. Maybe we didn’t choose the right items. The other strawberry pastry we had was the best, but I don’t recall the name exactly Frasier something... They have lots of desserts options including macaroons which should be tried.

                                    Strawberry Tart

Service is quick and despite 

being a small place they have good number of service staff. It’s expensive by café standards, and rates are more like a fine dine restaurant, but then so is the quality mostly. Good for a visit if you like French cuisine or if you happen to be in the mall.

Rating -4/5

Food Review - Starbucks, Orion Mall

Starbucks is in Bangalore, yes. We’ve all hear lots of hype about it and it’s something of an attraction for now with queues of coffee thirsty zombies lining up outside their stores almost every day.

The café with the largest number of stores in the world has 3 in Bangalore for now and we visited the one at Orion Mall. The place itself is not huge, they have seating for about 50 people or so. There is a glass display cum billing counter where a lot of their food items invite you to pick one of them. There is bound to be a queue for billing and to get a table on weekends, though on the other days it might be better.

The ambiance is great, plus leather chairs and large tables lend a very British feel, certainly perceived as a high end café. The rates are high too, 5 coffee’s and a muffin costed above Rs. 1000 even though the portions are very large.

We were stuffed after our meal so didn’t get a chance to eat anything, but we tried the blueberry muffin which was ok. It had a few blueberries inside but was a tad dry for our liking. The coffee we had were flavoured latte – all 3 varients, namely caramel, hazelnut and vanilla. The caramel latte was by far the best, and the other two had very mild flavours. Cappucino was pretty ordinary with a lot of froth on top.

They have optional powdered flavours which can be added, these are kept in bottles by the sugar and straws, and are not chargeable. I remember seeing cinnamon, nut meg, vanilla and one other flavor, probably hazelnut or chocolate.

They have a large range of selection of about a dozen hot coffees and atleast 5-6 cold coffees apart from some hot and cold tea variants.

Service is quick and when your items are ready, they call out your name to pick up the order. There is a personal touch with the service staff asking your experience while you have your coffee here and addressing you by your name each time, even as you leave the café.

Probably on the next visit, we’ll be sampling some of their food to judge better, so it warrants another visit for now.

Rating – 3.5/5

Movie Review - Hasee toh Phasee

A display of young talent, Hasee to Phasee directed by debutant director Vinil Mathew comes as a breath of fresh air to Indian cinema goers.

Of late, we the unfortunate film viewers have been peppered by blockbusters with big stars and little scripts, remakes of south Indian movies or clichéd formula movies. This time however the script is kind of new, the faces are relatively new and even the director is new, yet the movie works its magic.

The story revolves around Nikhil (Siddharth Malhotra) and Karishma (Adah Sharma) who have known each other for 7 years and are ready to tie the knot. Karishma is from a very wealthy family while Nikhil is trying to make his mark and his professional life is in a soup. 

Nikhil is not really head over heels in love with Karishma, but having spent so much time with her, he is willing to compromise and make this marriage happen. Karishma on the other hand is critical of Nikhil on every occasion and wants to make sure his financial condition is stable before she marries him.

Enter Meeta (Parineeti Chopra), Karishma’s sister who had escaped her home during one of their elder sister’s wedding and is doing some research in China.

Karishma’s family hates Meeta who had deserted her family and left to fulfill her dreams, besides looting them before leaving. Karishma calls Meeta for the wedding but wants to keep her under wraps from the family and entrusts the responsibility of her stay and well being to Nikhil.

Through some funny sequences we soon learn that Meeta has a drug problem and takes anti-depressants on a regular basis which takes her into a different zone for a while. Nikhil being the kind hearted boy that he is gets Meeta to stay at his house as the ‘friend of his cousin’.

As she gets into and out of trouble, Nikhil is there to support her and help her out, himself getting into trouble on more than a few occasions. There are some funny sequences in the movie such as the one where Nikhil’s dad, a retired police officer conducts a search for a missing necklace in the house or the one where Nikhil has to wake up Meeta’s dad in the middle of the night to discuss wedding arrangements.

There are no other big names to speak of in the movie, but each one does really well in their respective roles and the flow of the movie goes on smoothly.

The family discovers Meeta’s presence towards the end as she is planning to loot them again, and she is accepted into the family after a bit of drama. 

Also as expected, on the day of his wedding Nikhil realizes he loves Meeta more than Karishma, and in fact Meeta had already asked him to marry her as she feels they would make a better pair. The last 20 minutes of the movie are the worst where the clichéd plot kicks in- bride and groom deciding at the mantap whether they should tie the knot, the airport scene of Meeta wanting to leave and weeping while she waits for her flight. At last, all falls in place as hero and heroine get together just while you begin to roll your eyes in despair.

Apart from it’s flawed ending, the rom-com does well and it doesn’t seem too long or stretched. There are a few fun moments and few mushy ones, very little melodrama thankfully.

Siddharth does well in his role and looks smart in the movie. Parineeti absolutely shines and is the heart of the movie. The direction isn’t too bad, and there aren’t many dance numbers stuffed down your throat out of turn.

It’s a decent light and entertaining film which can be seen with the family. Not one for people looking for a piece of cinematic brilliance.

Rating – 3.5/5

Food Review - 100ft, Indiranagar

100 ft boutique restaurant is one of the oldest restaurants on the much touted 100ft rd, Indiranagar. Despite a lot of fancy competitors opening up in the vicinity, they've managed to hold ground.

We decided to go here for the sunday brunch which seemed economically priced at Rs. 1000 for a decent spread of food and included beer, wine and select IMFL cocktails.

The food included salads, breads, cold meat, grilled starters, cold mezzeh and a range of other Mediterranean specialities. Things like Falafel, Hummus, Babaganoush, Tabouleh etc were part of the menu which had a very greek feel to it.

Apart from these they also had pizzas, pastas and some veg and non veg main course dishes. Quite a large spread. I forgot to mention about 5-6 varities of desserts in addition to this. So a person who likes mediterranean cuisine cannot have an opportunity to crib about lack of options.


We were a large group of 10 and tried a whole lot of the items. Some were good, and frankly our opinions differed from one another for the same dish based on our preferences. Though by my experience as afoodie, i must say the overall taste of food didn't leave us satiated. There was something lacking, and it wasn't a great meal.

The service also was rather slow, particularly for the drinks, which made us feel we were being slowed down in terms of the alcohol we consume. The mixes of the drinks also were not right mostly, barring the odd drink. After a while some of us had to move back to bottled beer.

The decore no doubt is brilliant, they have indoor as well as outdoor seating. Their boutique houses some fine knick knacks and the ladies will surely be interested. It's not bad for a visit considering the price.

Had the service and food been better, we might have revisited. As of now, i'm a little doubtful we'll be back here soon.

Rating - 3/5

Food Review - Angeethi, Museum Inn

Angeethi has been in Bangalore for ages. One of the first few restaurants of the BJN group.
It's an open rooftop restaurant above museum inn even though most of it is covered from the sides as well.
The ambiance is rustic with posters of old hindi movies adorning the walls and the music is also classic bollywood.
There is a small well created at the center of the restaurant.
At lunch they serve buffet, which is what i've had whenever i've been here.

The spread is pretty decent, they have some chats, which i must say are better than most places in Bangalore.
The shorba, papad, salad as accompaniments go along well with the good veg and non veg starters.
The fish tikka was ok, but i was unhappy with the very chewy chicken starter.

As for the main course, we had chole bhature which was much above average. The veg dishes included paneer, dhingri mutter masala, dal and mix veg. Non veggies like me feasted on the jhinga pepper curry and mutton. Again the chicken dish was chewy much to my disappointment.

Fresh rotis/naan are served on the table. And the mutton biryani was rather delicious, not so the veg variant.
The desserts were not as expected for me. An extra sweet halwa, soome gulab jamuns and rasagullas and sweet boondi were the desserts apart from cut fruits and vanilla and strawberry ice cream. I wasn't too impressed.

Service is fine, and value for money is not bad either.
If you are looking for great quality, it may not rank very high, but it's still good wholesome meal at justified prices.

Rating - 3.5/5

Food Review - Kamat Lokaruchi, SH 17

A really good dining option at the Bangalore Mysore highway is Kamat Lokaruchi. Needless to say it specialises in South Indian cuisine, Karnataka cuisine to be more precise. Most popular for breakfast, the options ranges across Idlis, vadas, upma, dosas and nice filter coffee among others. The Kadubu or "glass shaped idli" is good for people who've never had it before.
The taste of all the items are good and you won't regret a visit here.
They also have a breakfast buffet which works out better for the hungrier lot.

At other times of the day they serve specialities like the Jowar roti meals, neer dosa and some interesting sweet stuff as well.

Service is good and quick despite the fact that they are usually quite crowded. On weekends they have literally thousands of people coming for a meal and yet they are all serviced and the place is kept neat and clean.

Since it's just over an hour from outer Bangalore, many patrons drive down just for a meal here.And the pricing is not high either.

There is also a dirt biking track just opposite, and the restaurant itself is located right next to Janapada Loka, which showcases Karnataka culture.
Kamat Lokaruchi is a mini guide to Karnataka food culture. I surely recommend a visit to people travelling on the highway.

Rating - 4/5

Food Review - Kadambam

The road between Mysore and Bangalore is arguably one of the best in South India when it comes to dining options. There are scores of restaurants ranging from breakfast and tiffin options like Kamat Lokaruchi, Kadambam, Adigas, Maddur Tiffany's, Indradhanush etc. Fast food joints aplenty like Mc Donalds, KFC, Dominos and coffee shops like CCD and Raasta cafe. Even Empire finds a spot on this busy highway.
A couple of food courts like Bestin's break and Right O have also set up shop more recently.

We however would be reviewing one of the better breakfast options - Kadambam

 Located at Channapatna, this iyengar restaurant serves up the usual fare  of idlis and vadas but also some very delicious pongal, pulyogre etc.  The interiors are very neat and clean, and done in nice traditional  fashion. The walls have idols of deities or so it seems. Ample parking is available and service is quick.

 The thatte idlis are served hot with chutney and  good tamil nadu style sambhar, unlike the sweet  reddish sambhar which one gets in the "sagar"  restaurants of Bangalore. Vadas are nice and crisp  and puliyogre has a good tangy taste which is not  overdone, perfectly cooked. The big draw for me though is the pongal. The  pongal is made in ghee and is flavoured with pepper  kernels and curry leaves.

A dish you won't get often is the sweet pongal, a lovely mixture of boiled rice, sugar cane juice, jaggery which is just a perfect blend and will melt in your mouth, I love it. The coffee is also good strong filter coffee and the prices don't burn a hole in your pocket.                                         It's a great alternative for people who haven't tried it and need a break from the usuals.

Rating - 4.5/5

Food Review - Vindu, Jayanagar

This andhra food joint has been in Jayanagar for the last couple of years but has not become too popular, maybe because it's located on the 1st floor.
The place is very neat and clean, a simple unpretentious restaurant with no ambiance to speak of.
The food menu is elaborate in terms of south indian meal and side dish offerings.

We tried the tawa fish, chicken 65 and chicken curry all of which tasted fine, a bit bland for andhra cuisine and that was surprising. The dosa with mutton curry turned out to be quite average as the curry had more of bones and very little meat.
The biryani and meals were also rather ordinary and not in comparison with their more established rivals.

Service is generally good and staff is very sincere.
The dining area also doubles up as a small party hall when not occupied and the positive being they serve alcohol as well.
If you are looking for a simple outing for a decent meal, this would not be a bad option as it's not heavy on the pocket.
I also read about this sunday breakfast buffet which they have started. Would love to try it sometime.

Rating - 3/5

Hotel Review - Saffron, Mangalore

Mangalore has been growing over the years and now boasts of a few good hotels, and this is one of them.
It used to be called Mohini Vilas earlier, and still retains a South Indian restaurant by the same name.

The location is excellent, right in the market area and walking distance from the largest mall in Mangalore. Staying here means easy access to restaurants, bars, shopping area, movie theatre etc.

The rooms are not too large but well furnished but have the basic amenities like a.c, t.v etc.
The breakfast included is a small spread comprising of bread butter jam, cut fruits, tea and coffee and about 3-4 south indian dishes. Overall the taste of the food is quite good here and I have tried several of their items over the years here. They also have a rooftop restaurant though they don't serve liquor. This is also where the breakfast also is set up.

Don't expect any views or frills here though, its a basic, neat and tidy hotel in Mangalore.
Service is good which is what keeps bringing me back here.
The room rents are affordable and they give corporate discounts for firms as well and that's always a positive.

Food Review - Eurasia, Jayanagar