UNDER THE MANGO TREE, RICHMOND TOWN - A REVIEW

BY PRIYA JAIN

Office time lunch is always a nerve-wracking experience. There is always that fear of overshooting your allotted lunch time as well as the idea of being on call. But when my colleague said ‘let’s go under the mango tree’ I simply found it hard to say no!

So off we went, bright sunny day, a headache almost threatening to come on. But once we entered the restaurant, I was quite happy with the cool (natural and not AC) breeze coming through and natural lighting, without being blinding, under the mango tree.

The menu was given and knowing our penchant for trying stuff never tried by us before and of course, Harry Potter and pumpkins obsession, we went with the roasted pumpkin soup priced at Rs 110 to start with.

The soup was quite bland in the beginning, but with more and more going into your mouth, the creaminess and the mild saltiness start to grow on you. Much as I was tempted to lick my soup container clean, I resisted. But I still do not understand the pumpkin obsession in Harry Potter, are pumpkins tastier abroad?

We went with Spinach cheese squares served with garlic tumb priced at Rs 190. In one word, the dish was ORGASMIC. Three of my favourite ingredients put together in the most delectable manner. The only disappointment was that there were only 4 pieces. My friend had to part with an extra half thanks to my greed and a phone call! Yippie! I am certainly going to try recreating the magic of this one at home!

Main course was again pumpkin based. Pumpkin ravioli in mango sage butter priced at Rs 280. A delightful dish that left me wanting more. The cream was so rich, I scooped it all out and ate it with the bread that the dish came with. When there was still some left, I used my spoon. The Ravioli had stuffing of mashed sweet pumpkin. The dish was lovely and flavored at every level. I LOVED IT

I did not like the fact that we were forced to take mineral water at Rs 30, most restaurants give you the choice of choosing regular water. Why put out more plastic in the environment when it’s already suffering? And what is wrong with drinking perfectly respectable tap water?

For dessert, we chose a blueberry cheesecake, priced at Rs 176. As good as a usual blueberry cheesecake.

The backbreaking bit as always were the taxes. 159 rupees. Could have had another starter and left a generous tip for the steward. An article coming soon on the service taxes.

Overall, the meal was a delight and did not take more than an hour to get through with.

ZAIKA, INDIRANAGAR- A REVIEW

BY PRIYA JAIN

Planning an evening on a Friday night is a literal nightmare, not only do you fight colleagues and others to ensure you get out of work, but even land up at a full restaurant and are forced to make an exit because it’s too full or too noisy!

This strange experience actually happened to me a week or two ago when I tried to plan a surprise for a friend of mine. We walked into the latest, crazily popular watering hole to find it too full and we walked out. Amazingly enough, my friend was quite a sport and agreed to find another place to wine and dine.

The very normal décor!

Considering we were in Indiranagar, it wasn’t too hard to find another place to eat. But that did not happen before we walked in and out of two other restaurants. One was closed for renovation and the other was, well, just closed!

We finally, grudgingly, trudged into ZAIKA. Considering I was red-faced from all the closed restaurants (and the plan going out of the window), I insisted we eat right there. I realized later and again much later that it was a pretty bad idea. The reasons will come one by one. 

The two of us were welcomed warmly and asked to choose a seat. Well, the whole restaurant from any angle looked the same to me; anyway we chose a seat right around the middle.

We were given rolled & roasted papads to nibble on as we decided our orders. While we chose our order, I noticed that the décor is fairly similar to most other restaurants. There was nothing very memorable about the restaurant or the décor.

Dal Dhaniya Shorba

We chose a soup to begin with. Dal Dhaniya Shorba priced at Rs 85 by two. The first taste of the soup which had dal and coriander tasted a lot like my mom’s homemade dal. It grew on us with a few more sips later. But not enough to try it ever again.

Karara Palak Patta Ka Chaat

The starters of choice were Karara Palak Patta ka chaat & Mil Jhol Subz kurkure. Karara Patta Palak Chaat priced at Rs 175 was a very refreshing starter, unlike any I have ever had before. The spinach leaves were fried to a crisp and topped with several vegetables along with a generous helping of curd and spices. Quite nice. A definite re-visit!

Mil Jhol Subz Kurkure

Mil Jhol Subz Kurkure priced at Rs 195 were just spring rolls with a different name! Really average and not really something that I will ever try again. I expected a tangy flavoring with a lot of vegetables and a sprinkling of condiments, but never mind that.

Description of Kehkashan

After the disastrous beginning, we cautiously ordered just one dish and two parathas for the main course. Kehkashaan was the subzi priced at 190 and Bharwan Amritsari Kulcha at Rs 50 and Lachcha Paratha at Rs 45 were our super cautious orders.

The parathas were perfect, but one was quite enough for each of us to feel overfull. Kehkashaan was very edible and we actually ate the leftovers without bread!

Drinks were cool!

Drinks of choice were Pineapple and cinnamon martini at Rs 295 and Tequila sunrise 275. Both were quite decent and not too many complaints there.

Now the thing is, we are good eaters. On a good day, we have easily polished off 3 starters and at least 3 main courses. And this was a good day. But the food gave us a bloaty feeling. Most people say, that happens thanks to the food additives like soda. Now I am not sure what they added in the food, but I have never had a harder walk down the stairs and then to the parking!!

Added to the absolute nightmare of the bloaty feeling was- the bill! The bill was, as it is nearly 1400. But the taxes were the real back breaker. An additional 300 bucks! I could have had at least 3(much nicer) meals at a local Darshini.

Incidentally, as I was writing this- I got a call from Zaika- asking if friends and I would like to come to the restaurant for a New Year buffet on 31^st. I decided then and there, a big no!

All in all, it is ok if the cost of the food is worth it. Here I found neither the worth nor the satisfaction of blowing up nearly 2000 rupees on a dinner that could have easily been 4 other meals.