Afternoon Buffet at Masala Kraft, Indiranagar

Hi folks! A few weeks ago I had the misfortune of having a buffet lunch at Masala Kraft which is a part of the World Cuisine Network and is situated at 100 Ft Road in Indiranagar, Bangalore. I actually picked up a copy of the Food Lover's Magazine and saw a full page ad of that place promising Italian with an Indian 'twist'! Nevertheless, the unsuspecting me decided to give it a try looking the ambience and the mouth watering pics of prawns in the ad.

So, the experience was (and every word I use will be an understatement here) quite sad and I don't see any reason why anyone should go out and eat there. To my and the reader's surprise the place was completely empty and there was not a soul in sight except for the waiters. That place also seems to have a penchant for playing all Emraan Hashmi songs that no one wants to listen to these days.

Anyways, without giving this place much space and time on my blog, I will quickly list down 5 reasons why you should not go there:

(1) They serve 'chilled beer' with the food (KF Blue) !!! Why would anyone in his right frame of mind have beer while chomping on naan, tandoori roti and chicken kadhaai!?!?!?!?
(2) The starters consist of papadi chaat (I can make a better one at home) and kababs of chicken (I guess they were marinated with vinegar!!!), fish and mushrooms. The fish was remotely recognisable as fish after being wrapped in a crunchy cover of besan. The mushrooms could just pass muster.
(3) The soup was probably water mixed with some flourescent colored oil that left no taste in the mouth and had no vegetables or chunks of chicken to speak of!
(4) The main course consisted of chicken kadhaai (completely dripping with dalda!!! eeewww) and mutton keema with peas. The mutton keema tasted more like nutrela than anything else!
(5) The biryani was chicken but full of tomatoes and cardamom which got me confused as to the real style the chef was trying to adopt here.

Harima (Part I): To the moon and back!!!

Hi folks! I am back to share my gluttonous adventures with you once again. So, this weekend I went to Harima which is a Japanese restaurant located at 131, Devatha Plaza, Residency Road. To sum up the experience in one word: fabulous!!! The place is as authentic as it can get, even the minimal decor and the seating reminds you of a typical Japanese household, the kind you see in the movies. The music they play is Japanese as well!!!

So let me begin by saying that the only thumbs down about the place is the menu-card which seems very disorganised and haphazard!!! (:P Now, I had 4 dishes altogether including 2 types of sushi and a shot of sake (which is amazing as well as expensive!!!) So, I started the meal with Wasabi Ebimayo which is basically fried prawns in Wasabi sauce. Now this was the first time that I had wasabi and going by the name, while my vivid imagination had thought of a concoction which was green in colour, the part I missed was its' spiciness! Trust me, its' very spicy and the spices actually went up to my nose and made me feel numb for while! While I enjoyed the prawns that were cooked to perfection, I tried my luck with some sushi. One notable point about this place is that they don't have all types of fish listed in the menu available at all times, so you might just end up getting disappointed at times. Anyways, I ordered for 2 types of sushi, Tai Sushi which is esentially snapper fish sushi and Salmon Sushi. The quantity is not that great actually, 2 pieces of sushi per plate, but the experience is enough to compensate for lack of quantity! The Tai Sushi was actually better than Salmon and the sushi was layered with the trademark wasabi sauce on the inside which added an element of surprise for the tastebuds. While a lot of people don't end up liking sushi for the fact that it's actually bland, what people often fail to appreciate about Japanese food is it's inherent simplicity and no fuss attitude reflected in the food. Nothing in a Japanese menu is heavy on the stomach and the presentation of the food itself reflects a sort of serenity that makes dining a very soothing experience.

After I had my quota of sushi, I decided to order something grilled and settled on Honjitsu No Yaki-Sakana which is grilled salted fish. The order took a little more time than usual to arrive due to the grill but the outcome was superlative! The plate had 2 square shaped pieces of fish which was crunchy on the outside and fresh, boneless and succulent inside. By now, I was completely full so I asked for the cheque while browsing the menu which is quite elaborate and needs a lot many trips to this place to be completely exhausted. What remains to be tried is the sashimi and teppanyaki and the caviar sushi (not beluga off-course!) and a host of other grilled meats. So, the bill was around Rs. 1400/- and the experience was totally worth the money I paid. Certain dishes like sashimi and teppanyaki are on the higher end but I am sure the price is totally worth the value you get.

Until my next visit to Harima, it's time to retire with a Murakami in my hand :)