The Seafood Mela @ Bonsouth | Koramangala | Bangalore
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Some restaurants have people behind them who have a vision and this is what sets them apart from other establishments.
On the same page, the uniqueness of their vision and their
willingness to adapt to the customer’s needs are also equally important. Our
most recent visit was to a restaurant with a very unique vision and yes their
flexibility is something they are known for!
Their specialty: Creating delicious marvels with a twist.
The twist being that the food is adapted to south Indian cuisine and hence
tinkered with a little. Some might get the wrong impression that they only
focus on south Indian preparations, but that is not the case. They emphasize on
serving a wide variety of preparations, both veg and non veg but in the south
Indian way. The condiments they use, their preparation style, the way they
marinate and finally the way they serve is what that differentiates these guys!
Their vision is to uphold the south Indian style of cooking
and making it popular among people from other parts of the country.
Without further ado, let’s mention the name of the
restaurant: Bon South! ;)
Quite a catchy name isn’t it? It is situated in Koramangala 5th block around the JNC road in Bangalore and it is quite a buzzing
locality.
The restaurant has been carved out of an old bungalow and
the decor is rustic and rather unique with a modern touch. They have both
outdoor and indoor seating arrangements and their seating is quite comfortable.
They also have an open kitchen in the middle where the chefs prepare the
delicacies which we are about to mention.
Currently these guys are having a seafood festival which
runs till the 22nd of this month.
Their seafood preparations are
absolutely delightful in the sense that they are refreshingly different!
They have a wide
variety of starters and main course and we tried to cover as much as possible!
It is quite rare that the veg starters outnumber the non veg
ones, but in bonsouth that is the case so they are veggie friendly as well.
Coming down to the food:
In the veg starter section these were the items: jackfruit
puri, grilled mango, steamed corn, spicy green peas wada, a fried paneer
preparation, podi idly and the mushroom pizzas. The names of the items are
quite different, but we are not complicating things so we are using the easier
names ;)
The jackfruit puri is something we had for the first time
and it was delicious! Ripe deseeded jackfruit cooked with a light batter
coating. We felt the coating had banana as one of its ingredients which gave it
a very authentic aroma and we were very impressed.
The corn preparation was served in the way panipuri is
served and it was a very good starter. It had a delicate aroma of curry leaves
and it was full of flavours. An ideal dish for corn lovers!
The grilled mango preparation was something I (Rudra) liked
a lot. They were perfectly grilled so the mango slices were not falling apart.
The fleshy part was tight and not overcooked. The masala coating was appetizing
and the mango essence was present throughout!
The spicy peas wada was something new as well. The main
constituents were peas and green chillies, so it was a hot and spicy
preparation. It was difficult to process how just green chillies, peas and a
combination of spices can be so delicious! The combination was well balanced as
in the hotness of the chillies and the sweetness of the peas was in sync.
The idly preparation consisted of small bite sized idly’s
which were normal idly’s cooked with podi (a mixture of ground dry spices) and
it was quite good. The paneer preparation was fantastic! A big block of paneer
coated with spices and then covered with fried rice vermicelli. It had a
crunch, a unique taste thanks to the spices and of course the good old taste of
paneer.
Lastly, the mushroom pizzas were also pretty decent. The
bread base was fried perfectly, so the bread was not breaking with eat bite.
The mushroom layer on top was very tasty, although some more mushrooms would do
wonders. It was a simple yet pleasing preparation.
Now for the non veg starters:
These were the items: Steamed Mackarel, pepper grill
drumstick, crisp grilled fresh prawn, anchovy rawa fry and the fish cutlet with
seafood chutney.
We found the drumstick and the prawn preparation to be the
best, hands down! The chicken legs were perfectly marinated and were tender,
juicy and soft. The chicken is marinated in coconut crème and hence the
creaminess. The slight sweetness from the coconut is well balanced with the
flavour of pepper. The smokiness from the grilling added 1 more point to make
it a full 100!
The prawns were wow! They were perfectly cooked and the
spices used while grilling gave it a truly amazing taste. The prawns were fresh
and so the taste was present throughout.
The fish cutlet/samosa preparation had a good stuffing of
minced and cooked fish, covered with a slightly crispy but soft covering. It
was not oily at all and tasted wonderful with the seafood chutney. The seafood
chutney was made from dried prawns and had the aroma of it, which many might
not like.
The anchovy rawa fried fish tasted nice and it goes very
well with a chilled glass of beer. The fish is fried after covering with rawa
which gives it a different texture and taste. The steamed Mackerel preparation
was something special. The fish is first covered with cooked spices and then
steamed using a banana leaf. The caramelized onions used for preparing and the
fish itself impart the sweetness, whereas the cooked spices made the fish very
tasty. Since it is steamed, one might get a fish like smell in some portions
but that is normal. The special part of this dish is that there is no raw smell
because of the spices used.
Lastly there was a calamari preparation which was fried, but the calamari was soft, chewy and well cooked. It was not plain fried, but had distinct flavours.
The starters have a lot of details, so let’s keep the main course and desserts short and simple.
We could not try much, because of lack of stomach space but
we did try some of the items:
Creamy seafood special soup, mix veg cooked in coconut milk, paneer
cooked with spinach, dry fruit pulao, crab masala, a mutton preparation and
prawns biriyani.
Accompaniments were dosa, appam and kerala paratha which can
be ordered directly.
The mixed seafood soup was thick, and had the aroma of crabs
and prawns. It was a perfect start to the main course.
The mixed veg preparation was commendable. It was creamy,
slightly sweet and tasted heavenly with the dry fruit pulao which was fragrant
and beautifully prepared.
The paneer preparation was equally good. The dish was very
tasty and packed a lot of south Indian flavours. The spinach content was well
balanced so that it was not overpowering. Only one problem was that the paneer
cubes were slightly stiff and chewy.
The crab was magnificent. They used river crabs instead of
the normal sea ones so more meat, sweeter and a more delightful experience. The
preparation was rich and very spicy!
There were a couple of veg and fish preparations which we were unable to try:
Lastly, the mutton preparation was similar to the mutton
kassa we normally have but a tad less spicy and having the aroma of curry
leaves. It tasted excellent with the prawns biriyani.
About the prawn biriyani, it is the best prawn biriyani we
have had. It had an appetizing fragrance, a lot of flavours, was light on the
stomach and of course insanely tasty. One needs to have it to believe it!
They also had a section called sambar of the day, where a special sambar and white rice is available:
There were a few varieties of desserts as well:
The gulab jamun was pretty decent but nothing which sets it
apart. The pineapple pastry was good. The pineapple jelly used was tangy and
helped avoid getting the mouth dry. The mango custard was pretty good too. It
would have been better if it was a bit thicker as the custard was watery.
Flavour wise it was good with small mango pieces distributed in it.
The two best desserts were the tender coconut payasam shot
and the chocolate kesari. Just one word to describe them: awesome! The tender
coconut shot was made with coconut milk and was mildly sweet. The lovely
essence of coconut gave the perfect dinner a perfect ending. Best part was that
it was light on the stomach.
The chocolate kesari tasted like foreign chocolates. The
milk chocolate coating was superb. It had the right amount of sweetness and
also had a crunch to it. Overall, this was also a big hit.
This marked the end to our splendid dinner experience.
These guys change their menu a lot and have many such food
festivals on a frequent basis.
Moreover their ambiance, courteous staff, soothing instrumental tunes and of course the mind blowing preparations with "twists" are guaranteed to make your time a memorable one!
Do try to visit them for their seafood mela as it is
something which will rock your taste buds. The best part is, they offer it at
very attractive prices and it is a buffet!
(P.S: it ends on the 22nd, so if I were you I
would start making reservations soon ;))
Till next time—bon appétit!
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