Metro Watch
Bangalore
Good Wishes
The garden city gets a Pan Asian delight.
Rahul Sachitanand
If you’ve lived in Bangalore or visited the city in the last two decades, chances are that you were taken for a fancy dinner to Manadarin Room at The Ashok, once the finest Chinese restaurant here. That was at a time when the hotel itself was a musty government-owned hotel, which was home to the dimly-lit Lotus Bar and everyone wanted to eat Spring Rolls and listen to Shyam and The West Wind belt out numbers from Elvis, Neil Diamond and Elton John. However, with the hotel itself being sold to Bharat Hotels, it was clearly time for a makeover. While the shabby Lotus Bar morphed into the svelte Sutra Lounge Bar, the new owners attempted one spit and polish for Mandarin Room, but recognising a fading brand, they shut the restaurant for an overhaul.
And what an overhaul! The new restaurant Oko, which means good wishes in Japanese, is a 142-cover Pan Asian restaurant, offering a wide variety of food and seating options. Guests can choose from a private dining room, lounge, bar, sushi counter, sunken seating area, an oriental grill or a Tepanyaki counter. The outdoor lounge is the most popular place for dinner, given Bangalore’s weather. This is where we sat, until a light drizzle made us run for cover. We started dinner with Kai Haw Baitoye (marinated chicken cubes, wrapped in pandan leaves and deep fried)—the leaves helping retain the flavour deep within the meat, even as the outer coating retained its rough texture and tangy taste. Another great starter is the Poo Phad Kratiem Phrik Thai (crispy soft shell crab, tossed with garlic and pepper). It apparently goes well with Martini, but I found that a Gin and Tonic on a muggy evening works as well.
For the main course, we had Kai Tung (stir fried chicken cubes with five spice, coriander and chillies), paired with Thai Basil Fried Rice. The combination of the spice-heavy stir fried chicken and lightly flavoured rice seemed tasty in theory, but too hot to handle in reality. If you can handle a medley of tastes then the Prawns Kung Pao Style (crispy fried prawns tossed with dry red chillies, cashew nuts and Szechwan peppers) is highly recommended. Much of the dining experience at Oko is informed by the breathtaking view of Bangalore from the sixth floor. Even though our waiter handed us multiple menus—for cocktails, Pan Asian food and the adjoining Tepanyaki grill—it was, perhaps, the lack of show-stopping dessert that left me grumpy.
ADDRESS: Oko at The Lalit Ashok, Kumara Krupa High Grounds, Bangalore; 080-30527777
Timings: 12-4 p.m. and 7-11.30 p.m.
Meal for two: Rs 3,500 (with drinks)
MUST-TRY: Poo Phad Kratiem Phrik Thai, Steamed Pomfret
Mumbai
Trad Italian
A meal at Novotel Hotel’s restaurant Olio is akin to a meal at an Italian roadside café.
Anamika Butalia
Olio’s menu is a compilation of traditional Levantine recipes. The quintessential ingredient is Olio, Italian for oil. And the best thing about this restaurant is that every dish is original, as it was meant to be—no Indian variations here.
Olio’s spacious interiors and large tables that seat up to eight accommodate close to a 100 people. The restaurant also has a private dining section, a tastefully done-up part of the restaurant, with glass chandeliers and pastel shades of green and orange.
Olio also has live cooking counters. It has two pizza counters, one using an electric oven and the other a clay one. Then there is a live salad counter and a delightful buffet spread.
The cuisine is essentially Mediterranean. Begin with a simple and filling appetiser from their Meze offerings—the Feta Cheese. Try this smooth and creamy Greek goat cheese with either a selection of breads from their bread basket or with pita bread. Vegetarians can opt for Tzatziki—cucumber and yogurt with fresh dill and cream cheese.
For the main course, try Spaghetti All’aglio olio Peperoncino, made with garlic, chilli and olive oil. Nonvegetarians can ask the chef to add roasted or grilled chicken. Also highly recommended is the Pollo Pesto Pizza with chicken breast, pesto sauce, marinated tomatoes, ricotta, mozzarella cheese, garlic and fresh basil. If you love cheese then try the Pomodoro Formaggio Pizza, which is topped with four different varieties: mozzarella, ricotta, pecorino romano and parmesan. Finish with a Chilli Chocolate Mousse, an in-house speciality.
The wine cellar at the restaurant is well-stocked with the fine wines that can be teamed with all the cuisines available here—Italian, Grecian, Spanish and Turkish.
ADDRESS: Novotel Hotel, Balraj Sahani Marg, Juhu Beach; 022-66934444
Timings: 12.30-3 p.m. and 7.30-11 p.m.
Meal for two: Rs 2,800 (exclusive of wine)
MUST-TRY: Feta Cheese, Pomodoro Formaggio Pizza, Chilli Chocolate Mousse
Delhi
New-age Veda
Glitzy décor meets great food at the all new Veda.
Anumeha Chaturvedi
DLF Place, the mall next door to luxury mothership Emporio, is already home to a clutch of big banner restaurants. Joining this happy club is Veda III, the brainchild of fashion designer Rohit Bal and restaurateur Alok Aggarwal. The restaurant is making up for the lack of Indian restaurants in and around the area, and its grand décor makes it a welcome sight.
Bal, who is also the interior designer of Veda, has done away with the excessive splendour associated with its Connaught Place counterpart. This one is bigger— with over 120 covers—and easier on the eyes. The place exudes a warm glow under a string of fairy lights and the exquisite thekri work on the walls, replete with dancing peacocks, is sure to take you back in time. Candlelit by night, the space looks spectacular. But what gets the crowd walking in during the day is the flat 30 per cent discount on lunch orders.
A tub of crispy wafers keep you company the moment you’re ushered in and the food more than matches up to the glitzy interiors. The appetisers—the Sweet Corn Curry Patta Soup, the Crispy Spinach Chaat and Manchurian Cauliflower in particular—are delicious. The owners have worked hard at innovative dishes and the menu is full of their experiments. Do try their wafer-thin, pizza-like, Onion Parmesan Kulchas; the Floret masala, a mix of broccoli, cauliflower and potato, and Murgh Hara Piyaaz, a signature speciality. Quench your thirst with unique Paan shakes, or Leechi ki Tehri. There’s clearly a lot more to the place than those Venetian mirrors and chandeliers, so give this one a try. And given the vivid variety on offer, go easy on the servings. Bon Appetit!
ADDRESS: Second Floor, DLF Place, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi; 011-46040707
Timings: 12 p.m.-12 a.m.
Meal for two: Rs 1,200-1,500 (without drinks)
MUST-TRY: Crispy Spinach Chaat, Paneer Kundan Kaliyan, Kasturi Kebabs
