Restaurant Review: Barbeque Factory, Indiranagar ( For the 7th FBAB Meet-up )

"Sheekampuri ke sikhaye,
 Nalli ke Nihare,
aur Palak to palkon pe bithaye,
ek ehsaas ko hum review mein utaren !!"

Excuse me for the bad poetry but good food can do a lot of things to one. And as you see, in my case, it has aroused the slumbering poetess in me.

Stepping into Barbeque Factory for the 7th FBAB meet, I could not help but notice the warehouse like interiors with wiring running all over the place and those over-sized overhead lamps. We were among the first ones to step into the restaurant. It was raining quite heavily and hence most folks were stuck in the traffic. After being greeted most warmly by Ajay who owns the place, we were given the table with the best view (the perks of being a food blogger). The restaurant front is open and the shades had also been pulled up and the fresh air felt quite soothing. It was the prefect setting to introduce the food bloggers and reviewers to their new menu.

Suddenly I spotted some kids with cotton candy. Walking around the place, I found that they had installed a machine for it and a few kids had gathered around it. Feeling rather excited, I got one for my son who duly refused to pose with it (din't I say that being a Mum is a thankless job) !! Slowly everyone started trickling in and the starters were served.

The very first dish which came in was their signature Shikhampuri kebabs with honey paratha and 4 awesome chutneys. Apparently there is a signature style of devouring it too as demonstrated by our host. And what a dish !!! Totally blown away with those flavours...the chicken, the saunth, the chili, the coconut and quite a few other ingredients coming together in a beautiful way.

This was followed with chicken tandoori, chicken wings, golden fried prawns, fish tikka, tandoori mushroom, tandoori achari paneer, palak kababs, dahi kebabs and seekh kebabs, the usual suspects that one finds in any barbecue place. While all of them were quite good, it was the Basa fish tandoori and the palak kebabs that left me in a drool. Have never tasted a more flavorsome Basa preparation !!
And the bits of papad (or was it something else like chana jor garam) embedded in the palak kebabs took it to just another level. Don't miss it for anything.

Most of us were feeling a bit full by the time we ventured for the main course. I spooned some peas pulao with some dal makhni and dal tadka onto my plate and was rather enjoying the simple stuff when the Biryani came in. One of their signature dishes, it turned out to be quite delicious with lots of flavors going into it. But having sampled atleast 20-25 types of biryanis ranging from the Southern varieties like Hyderabadi, Andhra & Ambur to the North/East ones Lucknowi, Kolkata & Sindhi,  I can tell you that it is among the heavier ones. Biryani lovers should try this atleast one.

But there was something else in the main course that took me my surprise. The Nalli Nihari which turned out to be just my types. With places like this, the main focus usually remains on the starters and the main course can be quite boring. But here I had a totally different experience. The meat was soft and ready to fall off the bones while the rich gravy has a silken feel to it and continued to tickle by taste-buds for a very long time. The spices were minimal and the flavor of meat was demonstrated in full glory. This is the best Nihari that I have ever had till date.

And of course there were these oysters too !!

Finally when it came the desserts, I decided to go for just one thing. And after much deliberation and consultation with the in-house folks, I picked up the coffee icecream. Low on sugar and just the right note of bitterness, this turned out to be a delight !!

Overall, it turned out to be great evening with a awesome spread and some great conversation. And the best part is that you get to enjoy this experience at just Rs 729 bucks which is a steal deal. 

Restaurant Review - Cafe Aramane (Mysuru)

A heritage building with oodles of old world charm is how I can define this place !! Everything from the royal paintings to the stained glass windows to the lovely white chairs that adorn this place lend credence to its name 'Aramane' which means Palace in English. A hot favorite among the Mysore locals, it serves everything from breakfast and snacks to full fledged meals.

We dropped there by 8:30 pm and they were still serving tea and snacks. But the meals were also available at the same time as informed the waiter, a friendly souk who promptly switched to Hindi when his initial queries in Kannada were met with blank stares. We ordered a dosa and then went for a simple meal consisting of Butter Naan, Dal Tadka and Kadhai Paneer. The service was real quick. Everything turned out to be delicious. But the buttermilk and Lassi that they served was sour and seemed to have been made from curd that was turning bad.

The waiter was very helpful and took good care of us. He informed us that the place was popular with office goers and that they had a special dosa variety every day. Finally when the bill came, it made us smile as everything was so decently priced.

While the food is definitely on the good side, one needs to visit this place just to get a feel of the old time ambiance !!

Restaurant Review Series : Pancha Phoron @ Murugeshpalya, Bangalore

Looks can be deceptive and this restaurant fits the bill perfectly. We chanced upon this place while driving on the Wind Tunnel Road. From the outside, it looks like one of those middle class places that are known more for their lip-smacking fare rather than for fancy presentation/innovative dishes or an artsy ambiance. And at a reasonable price.

Regional preferences for comfort food ensure that we turn to Bengali cuisine when Odia cuisine is not available ( and I am in no mood to cook ). So, we entered the restaurant hoping for a good and wholesome meal (dinner). The interiors are quite drab but do have that old city kind of feel. It was a bit hot and we had to ask one of the waiters to turn on the AC.  Apart from us, there was just one guy and the lady of the establishment was helping him out with the menu.

One look at the menu and the prices came as a bit of a shocker !! But we persisted thinking that the food might me good. We settled for a Chicken Kosha, Mutton Curry (Mangshor Jhol), luchi and white rice ( a meal that added up to Rs 610/- ).

The food arrived with 15 mins. They served the Chicken Kosha along with the luchi first. The chicken was good, not too spicy and quite similar to the one I make at home. The quantity (4 pieces) was good for the price. Out of the 4 luchi's ( maida puri ), 2 had been over-fried.

Then came the disaster. The Mutton curry which refuses to get out of my head. The gravy smelled of raw masalas. The mutton was just too chewy. And the meat did not take on the distinctive aroma of the spices (which can only mean that it was first boiled separately and then added to the curry). When we called the owner and told her about it, she gave a lame excuse like "since you have had the spicier Chicken kosha first, this tastes a little bland. Bengali mutton curry is like that only" . But she agreed to cook it some more. So, the dish went off the table and came back 10 mins later, with only a marginal improvement. I guess the lady had no idea that with Odia and Bengali dishes, it is the 'kasha' or stir frying ( more like braising ) process of the masalas along with the meat, that actually plays the major role in the final taste of the dish.

The mutton remained untouched (except for one piece that I had served on my plate) and we finished the rice with whatever was left of the Chicken Kosha. And sadly, the establishment did not bother with niceties like refilling the water glasses or asking for a feedback on the food.

A terrible experience !! Save your money and show some mercy to those taste-buds .....a must avoid experience !!

Rating - 1/5 .