Kappa Chakka Kandhari - Authentic Kerala cuisine experience

Kappa Chakka Kandhari

Masala Tea to end our meal

Although visually appealing food has its craze, there is no doubt that down to earth, tasty & “made with love” food hits the spot each & every time!

We often taste radically different food but it is rare that a certain taste sticks to our palate. Sometimes we want to take a dip in the clouds again! This reference can be understood if you read deeper into the post.

Raising the curtains now as building more suspense would just cause us more pain: we visited the restaurant Kappa Chakka Kandhari, a restaurant specializing in Kerala Cuisine located in Koramangala, 6th Block, Bangalore.

If you want to check out their demand, just drive past the restaurant & you’ll find a queue of at least 20-30 people at all times, guaranteed! Now that shows that they’re doing something right!

Also, If you want to have a table booked, it is difficult to get one of those coveted Kappa Chakka Kandhari table booking, since they only take a few bookings.

Lemon Goli Soda

After dining there we tried to figure out what that is & guess what, they don’t care if your plate is Instagram-able. They just focus on flavour, homework & ingredients to make you come back for more. It works even more because of the value for money they provide so you don’t feel a pinch in your pocket.

Coming down to the short summary of what we tried from the Kappa chakka kandhari Bangalore menu & the dishes we absolutely recommend:

Koonthal Roast: A simple yet marvellous squid rings preparation. The rings were cooked to perfection. They were soft but had a bite to them. It was mildly spicy & paved the way for spicier food!

Prawn Kizhi: Ever wondered what a banana leaf dumpling looks like? Well, this is it! The prawns mixed with the coconut masala is steamed & tastes delicious because the prawns retain all the flavour. The only downside is that the prawns get overcooked due to the process.

Seer Masala Fry: Seer by its nature is a fibrous fish but in this case, it was cooked so beautifully that you can only focus on the positives. The taste was remarkable & nothing like we’ve tasted before. The tartness of the gooseberries & the spiciness of the chilli, balance out brilliantly.

Irachi/Vazhapoo cutlet: Both the beef & banana blossom cutlets were delicious! The highlight though was the beet root chutney served with it. It was creamy, mildly sweet & packed with flavour. The beef cutlet was mostly beef & fried after coating with an egg wash so although it is very fulfilling, it has a tendency to increase your thirst.

Pineapple Nendram Masala: We hope the Chef gets his commission because we really relished this relish type dish. It is more of an acquired taste. To be honest, we’re missing the tangy sweetness.

Shappu Meen Curry: They give a giant piece of fish in a thick red kokum & chilli based curry. The curry gave us the chills. It tastes really good with white rice. This is served with steamed tapioca & kandhari chutneys. The contrast of flavour is spectacular.

Seer Fish Fry

Koonthal Roast

Pineapple Nendram Masala

Prawn Kizhi

Prawn Kizhi (opened)

That’s about it for the mains! For the drinks, we definitely recommend their Goli sodas as they are perfect thirst quenchers. We also tried a spicy drink made of kandhari chillies which acted as a perfect palate cleanser.

For the bread, the Idiappam & the Puttu were perfect. We tried the Pathiri for the first time & we haven’t tasted anything thinner than this. It is coated with coconut milk & then had as a slice of normal bread. This paragraph is to give credit to the Ramassery Idly. It is the softest idly we’ve had & it has a lot of technique behind it. Do follow our Instagram (@foodielandblog) to check out the video.
Apparently, there are 4 families which still use this method of cooking idlies & one of them work with Kappa Chakka Kandhari Koramangala and one with their Chennai restaurant! This deserves a try.

Vezhapoo Cutlet

Ramassery Idli

Shapu Meen Curry

Tender Coconut Cloud Pudding

The only thing which we thought is average is the Mutton chaps preparation. The minuscule pieces of mutton were cooked well but the flavour profile was not balanced. The gravy was too diluted & we can’t say that we enjoyed it.

Lastly, the dessert section where the cloud reference comes in! Firstly, kudos to Kappa Chakka Kandhari for the concept of the Kandhari ice cream. That creamy, cold, sweet & spicy ice cream hit all the spots. We loved it! Finally, the cloud pudding. We recommend each living being to try this. We can probably survive on just this for a month. This tender coconut pudding is so perfect that we don’t want to upset ourselves by talking about it. If you don’t like anything we said, just visit for this—you won’t regret it!

It really feels good to write about good & hearty food because it takes you back there & we’re currently sitting in Kappa Chakka Kandhari (metaphorically). We had a great time tasting these delicious wonders.

We know its long but we strongly advise to skim through. Do let us know what your thoughts are & definitely let us know your likes & dislikes if you visit!

The value for money which they provide is rare considering the quality of food.

Hope you enjoyed the visuals ;)

We’ll be back again soon with something different!

Till then –stay healthy, stay safe & bon apetit!

12:46
21 Comments

Monkey Bar Team Spirit Food Festival | Bangalore

bangalore

The Team Spirit Spread

It’s that time of the year when Indian Cricket enthusiasts rejoice. If you know what we are talking about, you just made our job a lot easier. If in case you didn’t, this time of the year is IPL time. There have been 11 editions of the IPL so far, considering the ongoing one & it is undoubtedly the biggest annual sporting festival in our country.

The IPL does not need any introductions & the same goes for The Monkey Bar, Bangalore which is hosting the Team Spirit food festival. This post will be all about this food festival, about what we tried, our recommendations, feedback & the amount of research it took for these guys to come up with an elaborate menu covering all home states of the IPL teams.

As mentioned, the Team Spirit menu consists of items from all the home IPL teams: Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, Rajasthan etc. to name a few. This festival is running across all Monkey Bar outlets in the country for the entire duration of the IPL. Now that’s one long food festival! The advantage is that there is a lot of time for anybody to plan a visit & support their team during the live screening. The best part: even if your team loses, you can say that your team’s home cuisine is better ;).

Now, coming down to the food & drinks:

Toast to Calcutta, Pork Powerplay & Fried Riders : KKR

Regarding drinks, we tried the Toast To Calcutta, which is a Gondhoraj based cocktail with a Vodka base. The drink is light & very aromatic. A classic Monkey Bar cocktail. On top of this, there is a 1+1 on all drinks so it is not only the taste but also the value for money.

We’ll try to keep it short, so we’ll give our recommendations first:

Lal Maas Royals: We couldn’t keep our hands away from this one. This is a taco which has Lal Maas filling in it & it is too good to be true. Try insisting on lesser amount of mayo as that’ll bring out the flavor of the meat. If you’re a fan of the Rajasthan Royals, this is for you!

Murgh of the Match: This is a char grilled chicken preparation honoring the Punjab team. They’ve tried to recreate the Dhaba style chicken which is served in the region & we must say that it doesn’t matter because it’s mouth-watering! Moreover, this is a good companion with drinks & is filling.

Kothu Super Kings: This dish is obviously honoring Chennai Super Kings & was delightful. Many might complain about this but that is probably because they are unaware of the concept. Kothu Paratha is mostly shredded paratha & less shredded meat.

Full Toss Fish

Kothu Super Kings in the background

Chicken Googly

Gully Bao

Captain Kheema: This is a Hyderabad based specialty which is a puffed roll stuffed with spicy & tasty mutton keema. This is not for the calorie conscious but boy does it taste good.

Full Toss Fish: This dish is honoring the Royal Challengers Bangalore & consists of Rava coated Mackerels inside sliders. The mint mayo adds a zing to it. It is perfect as finger food.

Gully Bao: If you’ve watched the film Gully Boy, you know which team this dish is honoring. This is a recreation of a Misal Pav in the form of a Bao. Once you bite into this, this really does taste similar to kudos to the chef & the team behind for the creativity involved. This is the only recommendation we can give for the vegetarians. We’re sorry :P.

We believe the dish called the Fried Riders will be a huge hit, especially amongst the Bengali folk & fish lovers in general.

Murgh of the Match

However, we felt that the Pork Powerplay, the Kolkata street style Kolkata dumplings could be made better. The dumplings themselves & the pork filling was not the problem. It was the seasoning as the typical Kolkata pork momos are a tad bit spicier. Pork as a meat has a natural smoky aroma which we felt was missing in this.

The Laal Mas Royals & Captain Kheema are our favorites, do let us know if you find yours!

Overall, this is yet another well executed food festival from Monkey Bar. The food has a greater chance of winning your heart than your favorite team. The festival is on for quite some time so do give read through & try out their offerings.

Good luck to all the participating teams!

We’ll be back soon with a lot of posts this month so you know what’s coming ;).

Till then – Cheer on & Bon Apetit!

22:51
17 Comments

Next Stop Kolkata Street Food Festival @ The Monkey Bar

bangalore

Fish Roll

It is always a great feeling if one catches a glimpse of their rich cultural heritage on display in a faraway land.

This time of the year is where all the festivities begin & we as Bengalis mostly talk about the festival of festivals: Durga Pujo.

This post is dedicated to the ongoing Next Stop Kolkata food festival across all Monkey Bar outlets in the country where certain handpicked street food specialties of Kolkata are being served.

Bengali culture has a variety of aspects and it is very well known that food is extremely important to us. Moreover, the street food in Kolkata has an influence of multiple cultures unlike any other Indian city.

We were a part of the preview & we were impressed at the amount of research conducted before putting up the final menu. The festival lasts till the 21^st of October & aims to hit the emotions of Bengalis living away from Kolkata. For those who have never indulged in these, it’s time!

Now coming down to what we tried:

Beadon Street Fish Roll, Girish Park Shoitan Deem, Chitpur road Chicken Rezala, Esplanade Mughlai Porota, Vardaan Market Moong Daal Pakodi Chaat & the Vivekananda Park Ghooghni.

We also tried a couple of cocktails which are a part of the menu.

The full menu consists of 4 other items which can be seen in the menu which we’ve put up.

The fish rolls in Kolkata typically consists of thin slices of Kolkata Bhetki, stuffed with a mixture of curried fish/prawns & vegetables. It is always served with Kasundi mustard. Here, in all cases there were some adaptations based on multiple factors, mainly because this is going to be in a bar menu. The actual fish rolls are generally bigger in size but they’ve replicated the taste remarkably & made them bite sized.

The Shoitan Deem is a hybrid of scotch eggs & Egg devils available in the streets of Kolkata. A well done Dimer Chop (Egg chop) will blow your mind! This was impressive with the runny yolk (6 min eggs) & the shammi kebab filling but it isn’t quite there. Moreover, egg devils are generally light on the stomach. This is not. Highly recommended for meat lovers.

Shoitaan Deem

The entire spread

Moong Daal Pakodi Chaat

The Rezala was our favourite! The delicate flavor & the traditional triangle parathas took us back a thousand kilometers. The white curry was aromatic & not so rich. Making the gravy richer would have enhanced the taste but it would’ve lost the “street food” touch. Very well executed & highly recommended. The meat was well done as expected.

We had mixed feelings about the Mughlai Porota. Although typically, Esplanade Mughlai Porotas are famous for being made with duck eggs, in this case considering different palates they were made with normal eggs. In the iconic shops, they are deep fried & very oily but here they are sautéed on a tawa & not much excess oil. The crunch was missing though. The taste of the potatoes were spot on.

Lastly, the Ghooghni & the Daal Pakodi chaat are ingredient based. These guys did their homework well & it tasted as good as the real thing. The ghooghni won the race because the Chutney in the Chaat needed to be more Khatta as the sweetness was perfect.

Ghooghni with Phuchka Pani Capriojka

Chicken Rezala with triangle Paratha

Mughlai Porota with Thanda Cha

About the drinks: we tried the Thaanda Cha which is quality Darjeeling tea with a tickling kick of Vodka.

The 2^nd drink we tried was the Phuchka Pani Capriojka which was truly brilliant. It had a great balance between the Vodka, the Gondhoraj lebu & the Phuchka jol. The mixing was done perfectly & it goes very well with the items on the menu.

That’s all we tried, but we’re surely going to visit to try the Pork & Prawn Dumplings!

This festival is running across Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai & Bangalore & we would definitely recommend a visit.

We have our roots in Kolkata & felt the deviations but criticism aside, they’ve done an amazing job.

Do let us know about your experience if you visit!

We’ll be back soon with more news on grub.

Till then—believe in good food & bon apetit!

19:26
12 Comments

Tiki moments of truth with Three Dots and a Dash

hawaiian

Personalized experience is the order of the day for restaurants and pubs with growing set of millennials partying out to shove off the week’s stress. And it is surely going to disrupt the pub culture in India. Those who wish to reach out better to the target audience, take a leaf out of Three Dots and a Dash’s book. Think about it. There are just so many options providing happy hours, DJ nights and so on. You need to differentiate to stand out of the crowd. Saying it loud is easy, but hitting the right chord with the millennials requires a differentiated experience – probably the Hawaiian theme at Three Dots providing a tropically uplifting party ambience clearly makes a point.

The new outlet of J P Nagar at the heart of South Bangalore has lots of open space that gives every audience a sense of privacy. The interiors ensure a relatable Hawaiian party theme. The diverse group of patrons are all dressed in Hawaiian themed shirts and trousers. You may visit during off-hours if you wish. This is certainly not a place for a quick drink. One needs to enjoy the relaxed vibe, the amazing Tiki cocktails and delicious platters, the accompanying music and classy décor to soak up the Aloha spirit.

I started off with one from the chef-recommended Tiki cocktails – the Fog Cutter. A unique combination of three spirits, this one had a unique aroma and classy presentation in a fresh coconut with a sunflower on top with the fuming dry ice in its base. The taste was a bit on the tangy and mildly sweeter side with the orange and pineapple juices gelling nicely with the spirits and the flavor from the tender coconut.

Fog Cutter (on left) and Dead Reckoning – two classic Tiki cocktails that should be on your wishlist

The next on the menu was The Forbidden Island. The specialty of this masterpiece lies in the concoction of vodka and white rum, gin, brandy and the touch of Red Bull and apple juice. It’s quite neat to whack someone out if he/she is not familiar with strong cocktails. It came in the classic Forbidden Island Tiki mug – one you might have in your showroom for décor.

The Forbidden Island – a signature cocktail to get you in the groove

I also decided to try out some of their delicious dishes from a varied range of cuisines.

Beet Beet Zing Kebab - one for the veg tandoor lovers who wanna get out of mundane paneer tikkas

The first of so many was the chef’s special Beet Beet Zing Kebab. The dish is not at all spicy (base prepared with mashed beetroot) and complements the Tiki drinks nicely with its taste and aromatic spices. The Peanut Tikki is another veg delicacy that should find a place alongside Tiki cocktails.

If you are one of the “carne” cravers, here comes your wishlist. I tried (rather it brought out the glutton in me :-p) the Almond Yogurt Kebab (chicken) and it was really tender and one of the juiciest chunks of chicken I ever had. The secret marination certainly made its mark. It’s a dry tandoor starter with a savoury taste.

Almond Yogurt Kebab (Chicken) – a delicious chicken starter that will never disappoint your palettes

The chicken wrapped prawn was served hot from the station next. Rich taste and succulent prawns would help you relate to the classic bacon-wrapped prawns also available on the menu.

Chicken Wrapped Prawns – one for the seafood lovers

I jumped to the main course straight after and it was time for some pizza. Gone are the days of the likes of cheese bursts and thick crusts. The chef introduced himself proudly as the hot Cottage Cheese Tikka was laid down on the table. The palatable thin crust and the succulent toppings marinated with tikka sauce were incredibly coupled to prepare one of the best pizzas I ever had. This or any other option from the pizza chart is a must-try if you are fond of classic Italian pizzas.

Go Italian with the thin crust Cottage Cheese Tikka (veg)

Next up was Chicken noodles. I am not too fond of flat noodles, but the presentation and aroma was compelling. I tried it out and the taste was pretty good with the accompanying Hawaiian Pork Curry. You should definitely try out this spicy main course if you have a taste for spicy pork. The succulent combination of bone, fat and meat is so perfect (this is where I find many of the signature dishes from other restaurants average with disproportionate measures), that I could not resist gorging on it. The X-factor: a chance to have the chef customize the level of spice just to suit your taste buds perfectly.

Hawaiian Pork Curry - a chef's masterpiece

With all the spices nicely blended in, I had to cool everything off with the Tiki Tower – a cocktail prepared carefully with variants of rum and fresh melon by the expert patron. I was extremely happy with the waiting time at Three Dots and a Dash, which is generally high for a crowded Tiki bar as each and every cocktail requires care and curation time.

The Tiki Tower - something to cool you down after a mouthful of Hawaiian spices

To me each of the vast exotic tiki drinks has a personality of its own. From taste to presentation to affordability, I find each of them a must-have.

Time for desserts. The chef promised us a delectable experience with the Nutella Banana Empanadas with Ice Cream (with a toothsome cherry topping) and it surely lived up to its expectations. Afraid of too much sweets? This one’s perfectly suited for you. I also tried out Butter Raisin Cake, again a not-so-sweet delectable experience that would nicely sum up the 4-course meal on a cozy relaxed afternoon.

One for the dessert-lovers: Nutella Banana Empanadas with Ice Cream

I am sure Three Dots and a Dash had many more treasures hidden in their Hawaiian chest, but I had to calm my cravings as nearly 4 hours went by in this gastronomical exploration. This is a must-visit for all who crave for a tropical exploration to the beach-side with a Tiki cocktail in hand.

23:02
10 Comments

Delectable Meat & Grills @ On The Rocks | Crowne Plaza Adyar Park | Chennai

Chennai

Grilled Tenderloin on the rocks

It is a known fact that alcohol goes well with meat, be it white or red. Plenty of people prefer their drinks in a certain way & we recently enjoyed our meat in that way. Surprised?

We were too! Now, confirming our lines of thought: we tried our meat on the rocks. Stone minced meat & cooking meat on a hot stone is practiced in many parts of the world, but what we tried had a twist. Ever seen a thick fillet of beef cooked on a piece of volcanic rock under 5 minutes? Well, that’s what we are talking about ;)

This post is all about our dining experience at On The Rocks, Crowne Plaza Adyar Park, Chennai. They have an exclusive bar at the ground level & a family dining area at the +1. They focus mainly on their grills & wine pairings & they are of a different league.

Coming down to what we tried:

The 5 meat course on the plate & the tenderloin on the rocks: short & sweet isn’t it?

Each course has a soup/salad accompaniment. We tried the salad & Chicken & Thyme soup. The salad had the right balance between greens & citrus elements. On top of that it had feta, cherry tomatoes & pomegranate seeds/nuts as the crunchy element.

The soup was a clear broth soup with loads of vegetables & chicken. It captured all the natural flavors & it was an absolute treat.

On the rocks:

The volcanic stone is heated to about 200 degree Celsius & because of its properties, it remains hot. First, some rosemary & rock salt is scattered on it & then the thick tenderloin fillet. The meat has to be turned periodically to avoid overcooking certain portions. It has a red wine jus for adding while cooking. We had it medium rare & accompanied with a blue cheese sauce & vegetables it is a complete meal. This was one of the best tenderloin steaks we’ve had till date.

Mocktails with bread & accompaniments

Stone cooked Tenderloin

On the plate:

Well, this is a meat eater’s paradise with 5 different types of meat being served one after the other. The red meat is paired with a Shiraz. The 5 being: Chicken, Duck, Lamb, Tenderloin & Tiger Prawns. Except for the lamb which was slightly overdone, all of them were cooked to perfection. The chicken & duck paired well with the BBQ sauce which was served. The duck is a special variant from Thailand & was plain grilled without marination. For the red meats, a different sauce was served & as expected, the pairing was perfect. Lastly, the prawns were huge in size but the best in taste. It was partially caramelized on the outside & it was juicy on the inside. Kudos to the chef.

We tried a mocktail before the meat came in: It was pineapple based with vanilla ice cream. It was mildly sweet & the consistency was just right.

Grilled chicken on the plate

Grilled Lamb on the plate

Grilled tenderloin on the plate

Grilled tiger prawns on the plate

Grilled duck on the plate

Lastly, for dessert we tried a couple of items, the names of which we do not remember exactly.

There was a coffee crème brulee with the perfect crack, served with figs & an almond biscuit. It had the right amount of sweetness & balance of flavor. The chocolate delice was served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. It has a velvety texture outside & a creamy texture inside, but fully chocolate. A must try for chocolate lovers.

That’s all folks!

Chocolate Delice

Coffee creme brulee

It was a really special evening with varied conversations & the dining experience wouldn’t have been the same without it.

The items mentioned above are carefully crafted to perfection & are definitely worth a shot. Don’t complain to us if you get cravings all of a sudden though ;). Do enjoy the visuals & let us know about your experience if you visit.

Till then—stay tuned & bon apetit!

20:08
16 Comments

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