Embers @ Nandana Grand

A very impromptu decision to go out for lunch led us to Embers @ Nandana Grand in Koramangala. The catch phrase of this restaurant is "Global Cuisine" and hence I was quite skeptical about how good the food is going to be. I generally feel that many of these multi-cuisine places tend to screw up some cuisines and have had many practical experiences as proof of this. It is much better at times to find a niche and stick to it. In other words, its not gonna suffice if you are "Jack of all trades". You need to be a master of at least one of them.

Coming back to the review, all the items turned out to be surprisingly quite good at the buffet lunch. They had a good spread comprising of Chinese, Italian (just one dish), North and South Indian dishes in this lunch buffet priced at Rs 149 + taxes. We started of with "Cream of Spinach" soup, which was quite well done and was served at the right consistency and temperature. This was followed by a generous helping of Babycorn manchurian (they called it Shanghai Babycorn). I totally loved the manchurian. The taste was just how I expect a manchurian to taste i.e., not too much of ginger-garlic-soy sauce masala.

There were three salads. One was the regular green salad. The second one was a mixed vegetable salad in a nice vinegar based dressing. The third one was a pineapple-paneer salad of which I ate only the pineapple :D I am somehow not a huge fan of Paneer. I prefer Cheese :D

For the main course, there was Penne in a vegetable and cream sauce and again it was the just the way I like my Pasta to be. Among the north-indian stuff, there were Aloo mutter and Dal fry. Both were very well done. There were two non-veg gravies also. Rotis were served directly at your table and were soft and warm. Among the rice items, there was Chicken Biryani, Vegetable Schezuan Fried rice, Plain rice along with Rasam and Curds. Accompaniments like papads were also present.

Dessert comprised of a yummy tasting carrot halwa and fruit salad. Needless to say, all the items on the menu were very well done. Of course, I cannot give first hand opinion of the non-veg dishes as I am a vegetarian, but my friend did say that the non-veg dishes were quite good too.

Should you go there? YES! A perfect place to take a foreign dignitary for lunch as the food was not very spicy and there was just the perfect amount of variety among the Indian fare.

PS: Almost forgot to mention. Another "My kinda restaurant".

(Don't) Picture This

Time : Around 6.30 am
Location : Somewhere enroute to Hyderabad
In : Train

I wake up to a beautiful morning with a nice breeze blowing in from the window. I think "Wow! It feels so nice to wake up early in the morning and watch the country side go by. Oh! Just in time for Sunrise. God knows when was the last time I saw the sun rise!! Hmmmm...."

Then, the inevitable happens. (Warning: Read ahead only at your risk) I see a half naked man in the fields doing err.... his business.

Ewwwwwwwwwww!!!! Why god Why ??????

PS: Had been on a trip to Hyderabad over the weekend. Post coming up if I am not feeling lazy to type :)

A familiar feeling

You think its been 3-4 years. Things would have changed. I would have moved on. Those feelings would have gone by now. But hey, What do you know ?!! When I saw her recently, all I could think of was "God! She is so Beautiful!". She still manages to make my heart beat faster. I just could not help but admire her.

I feel that everyone sub-consciously has a mental image of what their perfect woman/man should look like. Many might be aware of it and some may not be. When we actually meet someone who matches this image, the infatuation just happens. In my case, I dont think I will be able to get over it any time in the near future (I have had this infatuation from the past 7.5 years). I am not repenting or anything of that sort. I am very much aware of the practicalities of life and enjoying my life at present very much. But, each time I see her, she just takes my breath away!!

I so relate to this song right now -
Anisuthide Yaako Indu
Neenene Nannavalendu
Maayada lokadinda
Nanagaagi bandavalendu
Aahaa yentha madhuraa yaathane..

I dont want to translate the above lines to English as I dont think I will do a good job of the translation and it wont be able to capture the meaning of this song as intended. So, the readers of my blog who don't understand Kannada, Please Excuse :)

Indi Joe - 2

I had been to Indi Joe for lunch today and I came back feeling so satisfied. It never fails to satisfy my foodie brain. I am so thankful that this restaurant exists in Bangalore! Incase, you have not yet realized, it is among my favourite restaurant in Bangalore.