[pratyush6]

Originally Posted by DerAlte

It is standard practice at all restaurants for
- meat (long cooking time, impractical for cooking and serving immediately),
- chicken (if it is cooked and served immediately, one can be sure that the chicken was parboiled with salt earlier. Most restaurants who serve overcooked chicken are guilty of not controlling the process when cooking twice) and
- fish (other than fried fish)..

If this is the case, can you please explain to why 'Bhojohuri Manna' takes a zillion years to get your orders? Last week, I visited the Kormangala Outlet and decided to take a parcel - they bloody took 30 minutes for a Biryani & Mutton Dakbangala. And I was again shaking my head in disbelief.

Any reviews of 36 Chowringhee Lane in Shantinagar? I pass by it almost everyday but have not tried it out.

The best Bengali restaurant I have been to (in Blr) is Oh! Calcutta - expensive but brilliant food.

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by nowwhat?

... Any idea if this is only for Ramzan or whether she cooks similar stuff throughout the year? ...

Not sure if she does Haleem all the time, but the other stuff yes - she prepares and caters from home. Give her an advance notice of a day, and fix a time that you will go and pick up.

Originally Posted by pratyush6

If this is the case, can you please explain to why 'Bhojohuri Manna' takes a zillion years to get your orders? ... they bloody took 30 minutes for a Biryani & Mutton Dakbangala. ...

If I ran the place, I would be able to explain. But then again, if I ran the place, you would have got your stuff in 5-10min.

The primary reason for tardiness in executing orders is laziness and laissez faire attitude, both in the workers as well as the owners. Traditional restaurants from the eastern part of India do not have the professional attitude one finds even at Darshini's in Bangalore, who clearly know turnover is indirectly proportional to order turnaround time. Money is made when things are moving, not during idling.

Originally Posted by pratyush6

... Any reviews of 36 Chowringhee Lane in Shantinagar? I pass by it almost everyday but have not tried it out. ...

Hoair eckjackly ... sorry, where exactly in Shantinagar? Have been hearing about it for the last 10 years, but they are like the Cheshire Cat. Whenever I have thought of visiting them, they vanish and open up at another location. They started in Langford Town (near Hockey Stadium; I remember having talked to the lady running it then), moved to somewhere near Jayadeva crossing, now you say Shantinagar! I expect it to be in the same category as Bhojohori Manna or the other one on 12th Main HAL 2nd Stage - Ballygunje something.

BTW, does anyone know where did the Cinnamon turned Babu Moshai joint vanish to from Indiranagar? Yummy, cheap, oily food for that rare occasion you want taste, not health consciousness.

Originally Posted by pratyush6

... The best Bengali restaurant I have been to (in Blr) is Oh! Calcutta - expensive but brilliant food.

Well, it is a good restaurant serving Bengali cuisine, quite different from a Bengali restaurant. Been wanting to replicate their smoked Hilsa (European concept, Bengali flavor) for a long time. It was so delicious that my Japanese (as finicky as they come) friends have requested me to freeze some and bring to Japan if and when I go there.

[hothatchaway]

^^^eggjactly sorry exactly my thoughts! Even at Panch Phoron, I saw the bejeweled and decked-out-in-gizmos owner/manager? panicking as patrons started trickling in; its one thing for these joints to manage at 20% occupancy, the moment dinner rush arrives they lose the plot...

However we were one of the early diners and the food reminded one of home (folks from the other side of the border may not agree though ) but management? well thats a debate best reserved for friday evenings!

[pratyush6]

Originally Posted by DerAlte

Traditional restaurants from the eastern part of India do not have the professional attitude one finds even at Darshini's in Bangalore, who clearly know turnover is indirectly proportional to order turnaround time. Money is made when things are moving, not during idling.

Absolutely true. I remember telling them there is a problem with the food they served and they looked at my face and were like : What do you expect me to do with it? They have one smarty pants as a main order taker; who believes he knows just about everything about Bengali Cuisine

Originally Posted by DerAlte

Hoair eckjackly ... sorry, where exactly in Shantinagar? Have been hearing about it for the last 10 years, but they are like the Cheshire Cat.

It is located at the intersection of Berlie Street & Langford Road near Nanjappa Circle. I'd probably note down their number next time. It is located in a shared building on intersection with a very small signboard and from the outside it looks rather run down.

Originally Posted by DerAlte

Been wanting to replicate their smoked Hilsa (European concept, Bengali flavor) for a long time. It was so delicious that my Japanese (as finicky as they come) friends have requested me to freeze some and bring to Japan if and when I go there.

That thing is out of the world. I generally am not a fish guy but that is an exception.

[motomaverick]

Originally Posted by hothatchaway

Its on 1st Main rd, 7th block...take the road along which Tunday kababi (to your right) and further down Empire restaurant (to your left), Meghna biryani etc are located and eventually you will arrive at the junction whereupon taking left will lead you to forum mall, instead of taking left, cross the junction to go straight ahead and Panch phoron will be to your right (if you keep going straight you will reach Alishan restaurant as the road bends to the left)

Hope this helps

Just opposite to Panch Phoron is Axomi. They used to serve lip smacking pork smoked in Bamboo, not sure hows the quality now its been a while since we went there.

[adhiraj]

Koramangala has got a new bengali food joint named Royal Bengal Hunger. Its beside Ammi s in the lane of Alishan. Tasted their veg chop/ egg-devil / biryani /chaap. Liked the taste, atleats better than the ever diminishing quantity and quality of Alishan. Worth a try. Its a small eat out joint with no dedicated car parking though.

[hothatchaway]

Originally Posted by adhiraj

Koramangala has got a new bengali food joint named Royal Bengal Hunger. Its beside Ammi s in the lane of Alishan. Tasted their veg chop/ egg-devil / biryani /chaap. Liked the taste, atleats better than the ever diminishing quantity and quality of Alishan. Worth a try. Its a small eat out joint with no dedicated car parking though.

Spotted this since its right next to Panch Phoron...is the biryani kolkata like? (aromatic, lightly spiced with a big aloo smack in the middle??!! - waiting for response with bated breath)

[adhiraj]

Originally Posted by hothatchaway

Spotted this since its right next to Panch Phoron...is the biryani kolkata like? (aromatic, lightly spiced with a big aloo smack in the middle??!! - waiting for response with bated breath)

YES

I found it to be better than alishan and lazeez.

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by hothatchaway

... is the biryani kolkata like? (aromatic, lightly spiced with a big aloo smack in the middle??!! - ...

Originally Posted by adhiraj

YES ... I found it to be better than alishan and lazeez.

Waseem-bhai, o Waseem-bhai, zara aneka idhar ku. These hazraat need to be stuffed with the 4-5 South Indian Biryani varieties to give them a Biryani appreciation course. Namakool logaan, lahaulvilaquwwat!

[adhiraj]

Originally Posted by DerAlte

Waseem-bhai, o Waseem-bhai, zara aneka idhar ku. These hazraat need to be stuffed with the 4-5 South Indian Biryani varieties to give them a Biryani appreciation course. Namakool logaan, lahaulvilaquwwat!

Plain English please

[pratyush6]

Originally Posted by adhiraj

YES

I found it to be better than alishan and lazeez.

Alishan Mutton Biryani is pathetic (well, atleast when I tried it the last time - strict no no). Lazeez is among the better ones. Best so far in Blr: Oh! Calcutta. In love with that Biryani. And I am talking about Calcutta Style Biryani.
I was stuffed and I still ate like there was no tomorrow

Apart from that I have found Hyderabad House (Chicken) to be good at times. Then there is the Biryani Zone and then Hyderabadi Birayni near Lifestlye.

Got to try this one. Just that these places simply do not fall 'directly' in my way - I travel through the Forum Mall almost daily though.

[pratyush6]

Originally Posted by DerAlte

Hoair eckjackly ... sorry, where exactly in Shantinagar?

Never mind - I visited the location today, determined to get my share of Bengali Food. Turn out that the establishment is shut. No one even knows about it.

[nowwhat?]

Originally Posted by DerAlte

Not sure if she does Haleem all the time, but the other stuff yes - she prepares and caters from home. Give her an advance notice of a day, and fix a time that you will go and pick up.

Thanks.

Originally Posted by pratyush6

They have one smarty pants as a main order taker; who believes he knows just about everything about Bengali Cuisine

Your post brought me memories of my visit a few months ago to Asian Ninja, run by the same people as Black Pearl and in the same building in Koramangala.

Ordinarily I wouldn't have gone there. But when I saw a Groupon deal for buffet Asian lunch WITH sushi for less than Rs. 500 a person, I immediately snapped it. Where else in Bangalore can I get sushi at an affordable price, I really don't know.

So I took my family there one Sunday afternoon. As I found out, most of the Asian stuff turned out to be Indian including the Asian Street Stall which turned out to be a chat counter. When I inquired about this, the person there mentioned that India is also part of Asia.

I turned my attention to the sushi which was after all what I was there for, but I couldn't locate it. When I inquired about its location, I was pointed to a small dinner plate sized serving tray on ice that had wafer sized pieces of sushi each with a diameter the same as the wedding ring on my finger.

As soon as I began "heaping" the sushi on to my plate, I was met by a "knowledgeable" person who told me that the sushi they make follows the original Thai cuisine! I had put a dab of wasabi and soy sauce on the side of the plate, but he said that was totally wrong. He then proceeded to mix the wasabi with the soy sauce and said sushi is supposed to be immersed in this chutney and eaten.

The only good thing there was the Teppanyaki platter which I had two of.

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by nowwhat?

... a small dinner plate sized serving tray on ice that had wafer sized pieces of sushi each with a diameter the same as the wedding ring on my finger. ...

Originally Posted by nowwhat?

... the sushi they make follows the original Thai cuisine! ...

I wonder about his knowledge if he says Sushi is Thai cuisine! Not that one doesn't find Sushi in Thailand, but Sushi is indubitably Japanese. There are 7 varieties of Sushi, but we commonly see only Makizushi, and sometimes Nigirizushi.

The origins of Sushi is from nare-zushi (one finds it near Lake Biwa near Osaka as funazushi; extremely 'aromatic' LOL) which originated in the Mekong delta - it was lacto-fermented rice. Modern Sushi practice started about 700 years back in the Osaka region (Kansai, Kyoto) when they started adding rice vinegar to rice to make it sour (sushi means sour rice), instead of the traditional lacto-fermented rice. Imagine rice mixed with milk and allowed to ferment for a couple of days - it is like curd rice after a couple of days without refrigeration! The kaiseki-influenced Sushi what we see now in Japan percolated to Tokyo about 250 years back from Osaka.

Originally Posted by nowwhat?

... he said that was totally wrong. He then proceeded to mix the wasabi with the soy sauce and said sushi is supposed to be immersed in this chutney and eaten. ...

He is right, in a way. Sushi is served with a small dish of very light soy sauce (almost pale brown) with a couple of cones or dabs of Wasabi served separately. The *customer* is supposed to mix it with their chopsticks before consuming, because different people like different amounts of Wasabi.

Originally Posted by nowwhat?

... The only good thing there was the Teppanyaki platter which I had two of.

Platter? Not a live counter?

Teppan-yaki is food grilled, broiled, or pan-fried (yaki) on an iron plate / griddle (teppan) *in front of the customer*. Fried in a pan in the kitchen does not qualify as Teppan-yaki.

Someone should go and tell them - "No ullu banaoing"!

[nowwhat?]

Originally Posted by DerAlte

He is right, in a way. Sushi is served with a small dish of very light soy sauce (almost pale brown) with a couple of cones or dabs of Wasabi served separately. The *customer* is supposed to mix it with their chopsticks before consuming, because different people like different amounts of Wasabi.

I looked up on the interwebs after your post and mixing wasabi and soy sauce does seem to be the prevalent practice especially in the west.

I was unaware because when I was living in Osaka many moons ago I was taught that it is sacrilegious to mix the two together. One Japanese told me that it is better to simply disregard these two as the sushi itself would have the correct proportion of soy sauce and what not and would be "perfectly balanced" by the chef. Also that soy sauce and/or wasabi go well only with certain types of sushi and if I didn't have a clue, it was better not to use them at all.

Hence I only use these in moderation. The only exception is the shaved ginger which I religiously use as a palate cleanser when switching from one type of sushi to another.

Originally Posted by DerAlte

Platter? Not a live counter?

Nope, no live counter.

In all my stay in Japan, I never once had Teppanyaki. So honestly I have no idea how authentic the one in Asian Ninja is except that it tasted well and I especially liked the sauteed veggies.

By the way, thanks for the history.