Deliciously Pleasing times @ Punjabi Times!!

This review is also available on Burrp, This is on my visit to Punjabi times on 31 Dec '08.
Party and Partying was in the air and of course it would be, it was New Years eve!!
With no prior plans we had no party happening. 2008 was a wonderful year and we strongly wanted to make the last day a memorable one. We looked at a few restaurants around home and zeroed down to Punjabi times. Since it was NY Eve, I called them to make a reservation.
The time we reached the restaurant was delayed by an hour but still we were shown to our tables with absolutely no wait. There was a long queue waiting in the narrow corridor and that tapered towards the stairway.

This was my second visit to this place and I could definitely visit more often.
Though the entrance is not so appealing with the automobile showroom interfering, the insides of the place definitely is. The foyer is welcoming with a fat wooden door lined with lamps and a warm host.
You feel like you are transformed to a different place…
It truly has the color and enthusiasm of Punjab! From the water wheel, to the idol of the dancing pair with colorful attire, the huge paintings abounding in colors, the lanterns, the drapes, the cushions, the music and almost everything around, sink and soak you in the rich tunes of Punjab!! The special occasion added more color and embellishments to the ambiance. Like true Punjab and Punjabi's, it was full of life!!
The place simply excited me and my family! I feel it even when I am writing now….

For the evening there was a special menu. One of the waiters quickly gave us one of those.
There was a price difference from the other days to the one in the special menu. There was quite a choice of delicacies. We opted for the masala lassi, salted lime soda and few soft drinks. The lassi was just too creamy and so mmmmm…I made a crazy new year resolution to give up non vegetarian food and so that evening was the last bite of non veg I would eat! At least for next 365 days! So willingly most of my picks were on chicken and meat. For the ‘Shuruwat’, we had a gobi starter, this with it’s tangy chutney, was just too good. It was super spice and nice. It was named ‘Railway Gobi’.The Sheek kabab also made a good starter, it would taste better if cooked for a little longer, The chicken starter was sumptuous.

For the main course it was a variety of breads including Tandoor Roti, Butter naan and Kulchas with some finger-licking gravies!!The quantity of each curry is less when compared to what’s given on the other days. Chicken something was served from a very small plate.It was vegetable Pulav with some nice Raita to conclude our dinner. With all that I tried and tasted from the past two visits, I feel their breads and gravies are tastier than the rice items. I also strongly feel they make the vegetarian food better.

It was a busy day for the team there but with all the pressure they worked courteously. The service was quick. All in all, the timing, the food, warmth and décor of the place made it a Chak de Phatte experience!

Address:
#15/1, Bannergatta Road,
Opp. Shoppers Stop,
Bannergatta Main road,
Bangalore
Phone: 41103222, 4110344

Schatz and Us!

Schatz is our 2 year old Labrador. It was from my childhood days that my sister and I desperately wanted to have a dog. Dad was against this as he thought it needed lots of responsibility and we weren't old enough to display the same. Anytime this matter cropped up, we would end with an unhappy note. But, talking of preparedness, I had decided on the name our first pet 12 yrs ago!

Unbelievably, one fine day he suddenly decided we would get one home! We were hunting hard from that very moment, the classifieds were in demand and ripped apart, dug a few old contacts. It was on the 5th of March in 07 that we got the World's cutest pup home!! After a one hour wait which seemed like a day, A big car halted in front of our gate. A tall man and two kinds jumped out of the car, we saw a basket in their hand. They were welcomed into our house. He slowly unlocked the basket and out of it came our pup. We all sat on the floor, almost completing the circle around it, he walked straight to me! I picked him up. I felt out of this world, i was Overjoyed!! It was such a memorable moment.

We named him Schatz - A German word, which means Treasure, Wealth, Darling, Sweetheart. It is a pleasure to have Schatz around, he bring so much joy to the family and makes home an even special place. He is selectively obedient and a drop dead handsome guy! When he is asleep the cuteness quotient drastically increases! Bathing, brushing, feeding, petting, fighting, running, and walking him is such a joy! Driving with Schatz makes you feel like a celebrity, All eyes on you! It is thrilling to see him put his face out and enjoy avidly.When we go on vacation, he is left at the dog's hostel and we so miss him. Right now, he is not around and I can't wait to get my hands on him. There are a lot of lessons we learn while raising pets, We get to be more responsible and patient. We always have a friend, a companion who accepts us for who we are. Teaches us how to express love, Unconditional Love. To bury ego, forget and forgive quickly! Most importantly, we learn to enjoy and love every moment each day!
It was in the weekend, I watched Marley & me. It is a wonderful movie, it illustrates the journey of a couple and their dog. It is a simple movie that takes us through their everyday life and ends as a tragedy. In the movie, They say, "A dog doesn't care if you're rich or poor, educated or illiterate, clever or dull. Give him your heart and he will give you his."
What scared me was the fact that nothing in life is permanent. How do we handle and accept the loss of a pet, a loved one? An extremely tough task! However for now, something that I learn from Schatz... Enjoy every moment of life!
Schatz, for the one who brings abundance delight to our life, We love you forever!!

The Mehendi Day!

It was one of the most memorable days of my life... Yes, I was getting ready for my marriage! Out of the so many functions we have before the marriage, the marriage itself and the post marriage. The Mehendi function was one of the most enjoyable one! I had invited a few of my close friends. Relatives, cousins and other well wishers were invited for the event.

My sister, mother, aunts, were just so busy making sure all the arrangements were ready. My sister was running around and was preparing for this 2 days prior. The aroma of the delicacies from the kitchen just add to the the festive aura.
Slowly everyone arrived, they were all so prepared to rock the floor. The foot tapping music just filled the hall with enthusiasm. Except me and a few very shy ones, everyone was on the floor. what a sight, Absolutely colorful, lively and contagious!! I was just waiting for the Mehendi guy to finish of as fast as possible, I pleaded and requested him! Irresistibly i was immovably doing my bit of jhatkas and matkas.The photos and videos of these moments definitely bring a smile on my face.

It was not so long ago, we had a training program at Sonata Software on soft skill training. There was an activity to draw your entire life on a 4 paged book, The front sheet would be the title and a picture depicting your life, the second was on your childhood, the third was your family and the last was what you'd like to do in your old age.
It is extremely prosperous to have wonderful parents, siblings, friends, colleagues and an understanding life partner. With wonderful people surrounding me I named the book of my life as ' A blessed life'.

The mehendi function happended a year ago and I did not think of writing on this. It was a dear friend and colleague of mine who told me that she had a very happy time there on this particular day and would write on it. Today, when i read on her impressions I was in all smiles. Here is what she writes on A blessed life.

Eggxplicitly Eggcellent!!

My spouse and I have given up non-veg for this year and our next delicious desire was egg. Reading on the other reviews and impressions, Egg factory was something we definitely wanted to visit.
After several plans and cancellations, we finally made to this place for lunch.
It was a jammed path to get to St Mark's road. Off St Mark's road to your right you'd find a building named 'The white house', The egg factory is on the ground floor of the same building, it is a pain to park on this crammed road!

We entered and I was in all smiles, I just loved the theme and logo of the place. The floor, ceiling, wooden seats and tables, walls, people, their attire everything around gives you a look and feel of a Factory. The most wanted raw material here is 'The Egg', Almost every preparation here has egg in it. We started with Pink lady and lime juice, this was soothing and very refreshing after the tiring ride. Something that is very interesting is the menu, it resembles one of those user manual that accompany the electronic gadgets we buy.They also have them translated in different languages! Also the sections in their menu have names similar to my subject line, A few to mention would be, Eggxtraordinary, Eggcellent, eggstacy. These lil creative details have been handled so well to give the whole place a super special concept!

After our drink we couldn't wait to bite into the much spoken egg delicacies. Yogesh was kind enough to place the order and needless to say, we let him do so as he was an expert! We had the 'Desi Penne pasta' which was spiced up to suit the Indian taste, It was so presentable with pasta and strips of eggs in orange sauce. A spoonful and i just loved it! the next was the the Garden Frittata which accompanied a fluff garlic bread, The Frittata was just fat and filling, Garlic bread is my favorite and here it was at it's best! Next came the parathas and methi egg curry, The Parathas were accompanied with vegetable salad and a cuppa curd. I liked the masala curd and that made a wonderful combo with Paratha and boiled egg. The curry had boiled eggs in spicy gravy of finely chopped onion, tomatoes and methi leaves.
It was nice to see Yogesh, the co-founder of 'The egg Factory' greet and get opinions from all his customers. My friend and I were just so filled and decided to come back again. The meal didn't real end here! To give it a grand finale came the caramel custard and bread custard. The caramel custard was indeed one of the best i have eaten so far! I liked the bread custard more than the former, it had custard with the right amount of flavor and sugar, the cherries and bread on the custard made it just the most delicious custard dessert i have had so far!!

The service was quick, empathetic and very neat, With all this warmth and sumptuous meal made a wonderful afternoon. It was definitely a task to get back to work after all this!!
For people who love eggs you must visit this place! I have made plans to bring my family and friends next, there are just so many varieties of eggs that i am keen on tasting!!
All the best and many thanks to Yogesh!!
This review is also available on Burrp

Address:
Ground floor, White house,
St Mark's Road
Bangalore
Phone: 42110041

Charming Coorg!!

A busy day, a call from an unknown number, it was from a pleasant talking lady from Club Mahindra! She quickly got to the matter and said we won a free stay in any of their resorts! I reconfirmed and she reassured, quickly we set up a time and date for a presentation, it was a marketing session to buy their membership.
After a 45 minute session, we weren't quite ready for a damage of over 2 lakhs, we gracefully turned their option. They were kind enough to give us the free stay in spite of the disappointment. This gift voucher was alive only for 6 months, which meant we need to use this up before June '09.

One leisure weekend afternoon, we decided we should go to Coorg for the valentine's day! We quickly booked recived confirmations and waited for the day to come. After much debate and unconditional concern from both our parents, we were allowed to go by our car! I was damn keen on going with Hope. Well, all the vehicle have been named! and Hope is our santro. It was 14Th and a special day to all those in love! It was an extremely fun filled drive to Coorg!

The Bangalore-Mysore highway makes driving a pleasure, it was little over 2 hours by the time we reached Srirangapatanam. we took the Hunsur road leading towards Bailukoppe.

The Golden Temple, Bailukoppe
Bailukoppe has a lot of Tibetians, A left on the main road would take you to the interiors of the town. It was nice to see people clean up the bushes and also tarring the road. Once you take a sense of ownership on the tasks you perform, the result is always finer.From young to old everyone was at work on the field.
It was noticeable that every task they were performing had that extra effort. Indeed a crowded place but neatly maintained. Around 5 kms on the same road is the wonderful Buddha temple. it was 11 in the morning and the massive hall as filled with monks reciting prayers. Once you step into the hall you are embraced with a sense of peace, it was definitely a wonderful moment. They have lush greenery around and a hall lit with more than a thousand lamps! We spent some time talking to the localities we headed back to the highway, The next place of interest was Kaveri Nisargadhama.

Kaveri Nisargadhama.
I had been to this place in my last year at school which was 11 years ago, oh yes it has transformed much beyond recognition. This wasn't the case with my husband who had visited this place 2 years ago. He very well recongnised everybit of the place and was more like my guide. A super suspension brige connects you to the park. The deer, elephants, rabbits, monkeys (lotsa them) are a few you'd be excited to see. They have facilities like boat rides and elephant rides. The water level is less since the dry season has set in. The park has bamboos almost everywhere except the pathway. These bamboos sway with the tunes of the wind and are bound to catch fire as the barks rub one another in the process, to avoid this they are kept wet through a sprinkler. A friendly encounter with a 10 yr old elephant, feeding the spotted dear, peddling boat, a quite walk and a wonderful atomsphere made our visit to nisargadhama a special one!

Dubare Elephant Camp.
This is a 12km from the highway. A neatly laid road but a narrow one. Coffee plantations keep you company along the way to the camp, There is the jungle lodges and a cople of other places that offer a stay at this place. Soon after we parked the car, there was a man who spoke to us on something called Still water rafting !!
I remember Rafting the first time, This was in Dhandeli, river Kali was in all glory, it was a unforgettable moment, this is one of the most adventerous activity i have attempted so far, and knowing on how fierce rafting is, i was shocked on the phrase 'still water rafting!!' when asked to explain what he meant, he said they would take you on 1.5 km ride on a raft on the still waters! and guess what they charge Rs.100 per person. Didn't like the idea and chose to go by boat. we reached the otherside and were facinated to see the elephant taming sessions, it's a huge task! This is mainly devoted to elephant-capturing and training of the Forest Department at the edge of Dubare forest. It was lucky to find 5 newly captured elephants being trained.
During their mating season, the elephants are left out in the wild, they are chained on one of their limbs. Before dusk the mahouts follow the path get the elephants back. They are fed well and kept neat. In fact people who visit the elephant camp have activities such as elephant bathing, feeding and rides.

The highway until you reach Kushalnager is simply a beauty! Past Kushalnagar, the road is nothing comparable to the latter. They have some repair/broadening of roads and hence another 3-6 months, this would soon be a pleasure.
A safe and consistent driving speed, comfortable amount of time in all the three places, breakfast and leaving Bangalore by 6:30 am allowed us to reach Madikeri at 3.30 pm.


Club Mahindra Resorts.
In all sense a wonderful place, spread across 33 acres, it's truly a magnificent.
It is 7 kms from Madekeri town, The gates opened to a thick green aura and a stoned pathway. We drove down to the reception, you are greeted by a lady with a lamp and chandan (Sandalwood paste). we took our seats at the reception and within no time all the formalities were done. A refreshing welcome drink and a towel made the welcome a very warm one. we were shown our way to the rooms. A beautiful room with a balcony. I was really happy to receive all this and that too for free!! They have 3 restaurants Coffee Blossoms, Green Cardamom and Marcara. out of these Marcara is our favorite restaurant. In the 3 days that we stayed at the club, 2 dinners and a lunch was at this place. The food they make here is sumptuous! On one of the days, The janitor surprised us with pumpkin Alva and delicious ladoos (basin and Coconut). I didn't see that happening with the other tables. It was just for us!! The pizza at coffee blossoms was bad! The pizza was no where close to one.

Talking about the facilities, they have a pool, neat and small. It was last October since i swam and so the long gap made the swimming experience relaxing. It was a much deserving exercise! They have a badminton court, Table tennis, many indoor games including snooker, video games, chess, carrom. They also give you an option to borrow books and DVD's there is a projector and you could have a private theatre. On weekend nights they have a program called Magical moments, where they organise games and several dance programmes. All this was a treat!

Abbey Falls
Abbey in kodava (the language of kodavas) means falls, it is also called as Jessy falls. It is around 8 kms from Coorg.
A drive down the ghats and you'll hear the water falling in all force, This closes by 6:30 in the evening and because we started late, we hurriedly reached Abbey just in time! From the parking you'll have to take a walk to see this falls! 10 yrs ago, there were no steps, just a muddy pathway you'll have to mind every step, no bridge to view the falls better. A lot of effort has gone into beautification and maintenance of the place. Feb is not the peak season, but the white water falling ahead of the black cut rocks kept us staring!

Raja's Seat
After the falls we got back to Coorg. There is this famous park, called the Raja's seat. it is named that way because the ruler of the place came there to enjoy the view point at the place. The view is indeed breath taking, it is an epitome of nature's beauty during sunsets and sunrises. They have introduced a musical fountain. This definately had our foots tapping. They played most popular Hindi and Kannada numbers, you would find people dancing and whistling. It ended with a patriotic number. Talking of patriotism. The place is filled with warriors, they gave Major Cariyappa to the world!

Omkareshwara Temple
Dedicated to lord Shiva, this temple is a km from the Raja's seat. we decided to walk and the weather made it all the more enjoyable! There is a kalyana containing the holy water at the entrance of the temple. There were paintings of many Gods around. It ends with Goddess Kaveri's picture. The people of pray and have a supreme place for the goddess of water. I broke into a smile when i saw a huge jug of water right below the picture of Godess Kaveri! Sure I had a tumbler full.

After a visit to almost six magnificent places, we sure were a tired and hungry couple. The next day started early with an hour of swimming and good breakfast at one of the bhramin hotels in the town. we started out to Bhagamandala and Talakaveri.

Bhagamandala
This is also called 'Dakshina Kaashi' Three rivers meet here thereby forming a Triveni Sangam. There was very less water and so it did not look any special, On the other side of the lane we have the Bagandeswara temple. This is dedicated to Sage Bagandeshware. we have a lot of small temples inside this one. they look like small cottages with a sloping roofs. 8 kms from here is the very famous Talakaveri.

Tala Kaveri
As the name indicates this is the place Kaveri is born. even to this day on the specific date and time, we can see how the water rises from the ground, wonder how they calculate this but it is right on the dot! The place has a beautiful viewpoint! higher up you have steps taking you to Bhramhagiri, this gives you a higher view point and measure to about 3600 mts in altitude. The altitude made the afternoon completely pleasant. Though it was 10 yrs back i came to the exact place, memories of the clouds passing you by are still fresh. The beauty around just overwhelms you!
we headed back to coorg. On our way back we lost our way and an old man guided us and we reached our destination. That evening at Club Mahindra was just very relaxing.

The next morning, We had breakfast at the famous Krishna cafe, The idly vada was delicious, We tried the masala vada and that was just perfect. They have 'avalakki ' flattened/beaten rice in some masala, sugar and curd, this was something i had never tasted, was just too good! We checked out quite a few stores, shopped for spices and headed to Bangalore. On our way, we wondered on how time just flew so fast. Coorg was simply charming with very warm and friendly people! I definitely have to thank my colleague and friend for helping me chalk out the itinerary. Also thank Club Mahindra for picking us to relish all this royal treatment absolutely free!

Have a great evening!

" Simply Super and Southern....

Heard quite a lot about this place and being a resident of BTM we made several plans to visit Maiya’s… but the visit that we finally made was absolutely unplanned :-)
A long day after shopping and before we realized we should have dinner it was 10'oclock, it could be more too!
Would it be closed? Would it be crowded? Clueless of these we parked and went in. Surprisingly open and not crowded our tired faces hit a smile!

The entrance welcomes you with some exquisite and tempting sweets. The food and service hall is at the 1st and 2nd floors. We were led to the second floor.
The lighting and the interiors are pleasant. There were 6-7 tables occupied even at that hour…
We took our seats at one of the corners and without a choice and within minutes we had clear glasses of water, rectangular plates and a silver glass with grape juice!
Talk about people who had to wait in queue for 20 minutes, do a prior booking, and wait in endless serpentine queues!! Our’s was good timing and on a weekend it was great timing!

Not a big fan of the grape juice I didn’t want to taste it, but after much praise from my father I had a sip.
There was hot soup that came in next and it tasted just fine. Next in line was hot and golden yellow greasy puris… with potato curry was simply delicious. Thick vegetable curry popularly known as ‘sagu’ and cabbage curry added to the taste. Then came the capsicum rice which was so delectable it was a blend of just the right amount spices, cashews and of-course the yummy capsicum. The person who served us was full of life and the energy he had even at that late hour needed to be mentioned. He was ever smiling and these are a few things I gathered from him. It has been started 3 months ago, it has been under the entrepreneurial wing of MTR. Not sure if they are the popular Maiya’s who do the outdoor catering (BTW they make awesome food too).

The rice and Sambar, needless to say is the best you could get. The sambar with pumpkin has always been a favorite combination with south Indians and this one was so delicious! The rasam, papad and a cup of curd made an ideal and heavy meal.
On the weekdays they have a meal for Rs. 50 and Rs. 100. On the weekends there is no choice. Heard from friends that the dosas you get are good too, would definitely want to taste them next. So, once you are stuffed with this opulent meal, you’ll find it hard to get off your seat to clean your hands. What’s more, you get back and you will be surprised to find the grand finale, The ice cream or should I say milkshake, because the quantity between the two doesn’t really make a difference! The ice-cream was huge. It is a combination of fruit salad with some tasty sauce more like custard and a scoop of ice-cream. Even after trying hard, none of us could finish it.

It was last Sunday that we made a visit to this place for breakfast, the place was crowded. They serve breakfast from 7am to 11:00 am. We went there by 10:40. We waited for about 10-15 minutes and we had our table. Quickly placed the order including Rava idlies, Dosas and Kesari bath. The kesari bath had all of us Mmmmm…

The dosa was just too good. Every bite was rich and had sinful amount of ghee…. Coffee, tea and the cold badam milk had the five some totally pampered and just too full.

The interiors are simple and neat. Two huge paintings of Karnataka’s ancient monuments are endowed on one of the walls adding the color and glee of South India.
It makes me happy that there’s a restaurant which is close in taste and quality to the famous MTR. And is close to home! It is definitely worth more and more visits.

Address:
737/C, 7th main, 12th Cross,
BTM Layout
Bangalore - 560076
Ph: 26684680, 26684693

" Break-your-fast Buffet!

A lazy Sunday morning and no one was in a mood to cook. My dad offered to treat us!! We looked for places that offer some good and my sister’s strong recommendation came for Kkrishi. She had been there earlier and liked the food. The buffet closes by 10:30 and we didn’t have much time to waste.
We headed straight to the Jayanager 4th Block. This is on second floor of the eminent BDA complex. Narrow corridors and a stairway take you to Kkrishi, once you get into the restaurant you’ll see the theme color, Green. The waiters wear green shirts.
Well for a weekend, it wasn’t crowded. Soon after we entered, there wasn’t anyone to show us place, make a count of how many have come. We took the forks and knives from the table that was close to the table, the food was served on. I could see no one until I went for my second serving! But soon after they came in, they were very responsive and nice.

They had some Super South Indian breakfast. It stared with Idly, Vada, Set dosa, Kara bath, Kesari bath, Rice bath, Sambar and two types of chutney.
Some nice watermelon juice is given to you as a complimentary drink. The vadas looked presentable and very so crispy, Hot and spicy Sambar and these crunchy vadas made a delicious combination!! The kara bath and Kesari bath gave the perfect Chow Chow effect! (hot and sweet combination). The Sweet was greasy with loads of ghee, with small pineapples chunks, this was just irresistible . The idly was just fine, nothing very special like the others. The rice bath wasn’t good at all, it had fat rice and tasted bland. The set dosa and the vegetable sago made a nice combination. The Chilli-Coconut and Orange chutney made a delectable choice with the rest. I heard form the others that the famous Bisi BeLebath the Masala dosa are available on a few lucky days!

For all this, it is just 49 per head! It was a good break-fast experience. They also have a open hall for parties, a small one which accommodates 15-20 people inside their restaurant. If one likes the south Indian cuisine, then this place worth is worth tryin.

This review is also available on Burrp.
Address:
Floor-2, Jayanagar Shopping Complex
Jayanagar 4th Block
Bangalore
Phone: 26657053, 26657054

" Official Buffet!!

Last week, our team lunch was organized, we planned it at Isys, This was chosen because of two convenient reasons, there was a lunch buffet and it was close to the place of my work, Sonata Software.
One of my colleagues tried more than hard to execute this plan! Thanks to her, it finally worked and was deliciously-fun!

This was my first time at Isys. This is in the ground floor of The President hotel. They have a glass door opening to a hall that has food served on one side and the tables arranged all over. We started early and reached the place by 12:30, there were hardly anyone at that point and the room looked pleasingly peaceful!

They have some nice interiors with this cool blue and white. Once our big group settled down in one of the finest corners of the restaurant, we had their staff helping us with serviette and water. Before we started with soups, a colleague and I checked out the offerings for the day. They had quite a variety. The buffet on hand comprised of quite many salads, There was the spinach salad, Aloo chat Pineapple and Paneer, mixed vegetable, peas and sweet corn, pasta and chicken… The pineapple and the cottage cheese salad was really sumptuous.
The Veg soup was ordinary but the non vegetarian one got some good ratings from all. There were two starters for veggies, both of tasted just fine. It was paneer nuggets and crispy vegetable. They had the Shanghai fish, and a two chicken dishes for starters. The bread basket is brought to your table, the gravies on the vegetarian side just did not impress me. They had something in mutter, Palak with babycorn and veg Kholapuri. I soon went on to taste the rice items, there was some Vegetarian Biryani with pomegranates. This was a turnoff because I don’t really like pomegranate (atleast with biryani) but I went on to give this a try and did like this! The chicken lovers just loved the Dum Biryani. A friend of mine commented the Dum Biryani was 100% VFM! The Rice, Rasam and Sambar were delectable. The Sambar was authentically South-Indian with coconut and okra.
The desserts placed were, fruit truffle pudding, some soft cakes, chocolate sauce, Raj Bogh, Semiya payasam (Kheer) and Jain up fingers; for curiosity, i had a bite of this and this had loads of sugar and is something you can avoid.
The pudding was oh!! Just too good…. This had loads of fruits, custard, and layers of cake in between making every bite to irresistible! They serve ice-cream on the table, this is inclusive of the buffet. Some of the ice-cream lovers simply went Mmmmmm….
There were quite a lot of teams from various other companies.
A buffet costs 225 + taxes and they offer the 16th plate absolutely free! All in all a fine place for corporate buffet.
This review is also available on burrp
Address:
Isys - The Preseident Hotel
#79/8, Diagonal road
3rd Block, Jayanagar
Bangalore
Phone: 41808777

" Grrrrr Gufha.....Deliciously Wild!!

At office, we play ‘Secret Santa’ in December and I, a lucky angel got a generous Santa who presented some nice gifts and also offered lunch. I had been to Gufha a couple of times and we chose this as it was also close to office. It was surprisingly drizzling on this winter afternoon. Soon after you are out of the car the hosts help you with an umbrella and also offer to park your car. You have Isys on the first floor and a front desk office. This leaves space for a narrow corridor towards the lift. Gufha is in the 5th floor.

Soon after the door opens at the fifth floor, there starts the chilling cave atmosphere. When you are just engrossed in looking at the very different indoors, you’d notice two men standing to check your reservations. Like said in the previous reviews, these men are dressed like forest rangers and juvenile Shikari Shambu definitely would be reminded of. At the door a man dressed in tribal attire opens the doors to the inner caves. We walked through the halls… Oops caves! They looked really good with huge idols and water flowing on them, the bats, owls, nests hanging from the cave tops. It has dim lighting and just enough beams to eat and read the menu was available. If you like watching cartoons and know Flintstones, The chairs look like the ones in that cartoon, the cushions have tiger prints, They serve water in copper bowls. The plates too have a strip of tiger stripes on them! A lot of work has gone into designing this whole setup…. It does look groovy and close to genuine.

We got helped to take our seats and offered the menu. You have some complimentary crispy crackers placed on the table. We placed orders for the starters. We insisted they give the meal early as we had to head back to work and oh boy, they were real quick! The soups were good, the Acharwala babycorn was simply yum, on the menu, against the name it had a tiny picture of a Chilly, implying it would be spicy, but this just wasn’t. A container with shallots, mint chutney, some orange chutney (not sure of its ingredients) and pickle was placed on the table. My colleagues, who relished the Hariyali Murg, said that it was very tasty. The quantity given was quite a lot. After he placed these two starters and we were almost done with them, the waiter got the Masala Papads, this just wants correct timing! We were done with the soups too….

Our main course for the day’s lunch was Rotis, Vegetable Kolapuri and Vegetable Dum biryani. The Roti and curry tasted fine and there wasn’t anything extra ordinary. The Biryani was good, it had the right amount of spice and hardly any vegetables, I thought it was a little overcooked and with the way the waiter served it on my plate, it was almost mashed. With the thick curd salad, it made a good blend. None of us preferred desserts and next, came the bill with the feedback form. Deservingly, I put an excellent and good to most of their options. For the food I chose an average because nothing was very appealing and must improve on the music. It had some hoots and roars which did create the forest atmosphere but in between there was some unpleasant, screechy music.

Disgracefully, the man who received this came back to me on why I gave the food an average rating. This is definitely not courteous and I strongly feel, should be avoided.

Something that needs a mention is the ambiance and presentation of food. The non vegetarians have more of a choice. A place kids will be excited in and is worth a try or two. This review is also available on Burrp

Address:
Gufha, The President Hotel
# 79/8, Diagonal Road,
3rd Block Jayanagar
Bangalore
Phone - 41808777

Fluency and Humor

Sometime back, i happened to run through an article on linguistics It said that there are three stages to learning a new language: the first is the basic grammatical structures and vocabulary, this is also what some people refer to as "survival" understanding of a language. The Second is you achieve the ability to communicate your thoughts, comprehend and articulate accurately or almost accurately. this might be call "proficiency;" Finally, you begin to identify the nuisances and refinement or the subtleties of a language that involves cultural understanding of concepts like humor, and this can be called fluency."

It's the point about humor that is of particular interest to me. What I have realized is that the index for what can be considered humorous is lowered considerably when you don't speak the language fluently. But the lines to follow definitely forces me to re-think on this. Hilarious in it's true sense and a revolutionary change it brought in with it!!

It is little known that one Okhil Chandra Sen wrote this letter to the Sahibganj Divisional Railway Office in 1909. This is on display at the Railway Museum in New Delhi. This was also reproduced under the caption 'Travelers' Tales' in the Far Eastern Economic Review.

Okhli Babu's letter to the Railway Department :

"I am arrive by passenger train Ahmedpur station and my belly is too much swelling with jackfruit. I am therefore went to privy. Just I doing the nuisance that guard making whistle blow for train to go off and I am running with 'lotah' in one hand and 'dhoti' in the next when I am fall over and expose all my shockings to man and female women on plateform. It is too much shame shame for me. Then I am got leaved at Ahmedpur station. This too much bad, if passenger go to make dung that stupid dam guard not wait train five minutes for him. I am therefore pray your honour to make big fine on that guard for public sake. Otherwise I am making big report to papers."
Now coming to the revolution this created, Any guesses why this letter was of historic value?





















It apparently led to the introduction of Toilets on Trains :)
I hope this made you smile. Have a great day!

Won the Crown on Burrp!!

I was on vacation at Hyderabad and i got an SMS from a very close friend saying " You won on Burrp" I was delighted!!

In fact it was with this friend who treated me here!! After writing over 20 reviews, I finally won. Needless to say, winning the crown was something that i always wanted!
Read on to find out more....

Wah Wah Chung Wah!!

At noon on a weekday a friend wanted me to join her shopping! All excited we started off. Unfortunately the store was closed and we headed back.
She suddenly insisted we eat out, On the road back was Chung wah and this was a treat to remember!

We took the stairs to get to the open terrace restaurant. My clock showed 12:10 and obviously there wasn’t any one in the restaurant.
Soon we took the best place and waited for the menu.
The ambiance is appealing! Contrasting Maroons and Creams adorn the place. The floor mostly has round tables serving for four and along the walls are some nice comfortable cushions serving 8 -10. They have a few nice black wooden benches paired with glass tables placed close to a finely arranged water body.
The Maroon ceiling with some trenchant illuminates, cover most of the restaurant. The high ceilings have glass panes giving you the view of the sky. The ceiling ends to bring a natural canopy of trees and sky. The cool and pleasant breeze from the tall treasured trees around is indeed aplomb!
The tables have a nice cream cover that caps them with some nice raw silk running cross. The cutlery they have chosen is white with most creative shapes. Some of the lil bowls with sauce were just very cute. There is a waiting area at the entrance with thin designed wooden partitions giving it a look of Bamboo.
The menu has details on main ingredients of each dish. Not too hungry we decided to make it light. We opted for a ‘Soya something’ starter. This was just not as fancy as its name. It was just fried soya chunks sautéd like Manchurian. A few of the chunks were hard. The garlic sauce that came with this was tasty.
The main course was vegetable in spinach-n-soya sauce and veg fried rice. This was a wonderful combination and was delicious! The sauce was authentic in its true sense. It was the first time I tasted anything Chinese with Spinach. If one likes greens, this ones a, must try.
The Service is courteous and quick. This place has a magnificent ambiance, Dinners and late evening visits to Chung Wah Opus is mesmerizing!
One of the most ideal places for lovers & Chinese cuisine lovers! :)

hApPy - N - YUmMy 2o09 : -)

Well what you waiting for? It's time you try this place out!!
Address:
Chung wah Opus
63/2, 8th Main, 18th Cross,
3rd Block, Jayanagar,
Bangalore
Phone 32488588, 32488688
This review is also available on Burrp