We are lucky to live in the restaurant capital of India. I am not exaggerating when I say that there are hundreds of places to eat, including just about every type of international cuisine you could reasonably expect, within 1km of our apartment. There are always new places opening, usually in line with the latest foody trends, and we try these out when we can.
Last night we covered three places in one. First, we stopped off at the new "Monkey Bar" for a pre-dinner drink - ice tea for me and a cocktail for Phil. The Monkey Bar is a Bangalore import and is essentially a pub which serves lots of "small plates" of food with a mixture of Western and Indian influence. It's a cool and relaxed place and a favourite of Phil's which I suspect is partly owing to the monkey branding! His current favourite cocktail is the whisky based "Copper Monkey" which apparently comes highly recommended.
Next, we moved on to the "Fatty Bao", a much-hyped new ramen restaurant (another Bangalore import, like the Monkey Bar above) which opened in Bandra on Monday. We arrived exactly at opening time and were lucky to get a table as they were fully booked. I'm very glad that we did as our duck gyoza, crispy tofu bao and soupy ramen were excellent. The ramen was a highlight for me - mine was packed with various kinds of exotic mushrooms, although was pretty salty, the only fault I could find.
Now full of ramen, the 100m walk down the road to a new icecream bar was enough to prepare us for pudding. There are plenty of icecream shops in Bandra but this one is a little different as all the icecream is made in front of you using liquid nitrogen which we were told is the first bar of its kind in India! There is a wide ranges of flavours and sundae options although we settled with a simple cone and chocolate mint icecream (made with a mixture of chocolate cream and fresh mint leaves). It was rich, tasty and fun to watch the icecream being made behind the counter.
All three venues for the evening had staff who went out of their way to speak to us, tell us more about the background to the restaurant and food and really make us feel welcome. There is huge competition in the area which means that restaurants / shops have to fight to do well and so ensure excellent service to keep your custom. I think we are a bit of a novelty too as foreigners who have lived in the local area for a while so the waiters / managers / shop assistants tend to want to chat and find out more about us.
We have several other local favourite spots, some of which have only recently arrived in Bandra, including The Sassy Spoon for great fresh light lunches and desserts, Doolally for craft beer, Pizza Metro Pizza for authentic pizza and pasta, Kofuko for great Japanese food and Lemon Leaf for reliable Thai takeaway, although there are many many more good places to eat and drink nearby. There are still many places that we haven't tried within a short walk of our apartment, although we are trying our best to remedy this!
As if to remind us that the Bandra restaurant scene is not typical of Indian life, Phil was caught in a very Indian traffic jam on the way to pick me up from the office to go to dinner. A herd of cows was blocking the road at one of the biggest junctions in the area!
Last night we covered three places in one. First, we stopped off at the new "Monkey Bar" for a pre-dinner drink - ice tea for me and a cocktail for Phil. The Monkey Bar is a Bangalore import and is essentially a pub which serves lots of "small plates" of food with a mixture of Western and Indian influence. It's a cool and relaxed place and a favourite of Phil's which I suspect is partly owing to the monkey branding! His current favourite cocktail is the whisky based "Copper Monkey" which apparently comes highly recommended.
Eagerly anticipating entry to the Monkey Bar
Monkey Bar interior (from a previous visit, but you get the idea...)
Next, we moved on to the "Fatty Bao", a much-hyped new ramen restaurant (another Bangalore import, like the Monkey Bar above) which opened in Bandra on Monday. We arrived exactly at opening time and were lucky to get a table as they were fully booked. I'm very glad that we did as our duck gyoza, crispy tofu bao and soupy ramen were excellent. The ramen was a highlight for me - mine was packed with various kinds of exotic mushrooms, although was pretty salty, the only fault I could find.
Eagerly awaiting our food, enjoying the kimchi nibbles
Feeling satisfied post-ramen
Now full of ramen, the 100m walk down the road to a new icecream bar was enough to prepare us for pudding. There are plenty of icecream shops in Bandra but this one is a little different as all the icecream is made in front of you using liquid nitrogen which we were told is the first bar of its kind in India! There is a wide ranges of flavours and sundae options although we settled with a simple cone and chocolate mint icecream (made with a mixture of chocolate cream and fresh mint leaves). It was rich, tasty and fun to watch the icecream being made behind the counter.
The new coolest place in town
A range of sundaes, complete with benzene ring (vaguely) presentation
Menu and equipment - pretty reasonably priced at less than 100 rupees for a decent sized waffle cone and icecream
Our liquid icecream pre-freezing
Smoking!
Enjoying the end result
All three venues for the evening had staff who went out of their way to speak to us, tell us more about the background to the restaurant and food and really make us feel welcome. There is huge competition in the area which means that restaurants / shops have to fight to do well and so ensure excellent service to keep your custom. I think we are a bit of a novelty too as foreigners who have lived in the local area for a while so the waiters / managers / shop assistants tend to want to chat and find out more about us.
We have several other local favourite spots, some of which have only recently arrived in Bandra, including The Sassy Spoon for great fresh light lunches and desserts, Doolally for craft beer, Pizza Metro Pizza for authentic pizza and pasta, Kofuko for great Japanese food and Lemon Leaf for reliable Thai takeaway, although there are many many more good places to eat and drink nearby. There are still many places that we haven't tried within a short walk of our apartment, although we are trying our best to remedy this!
As if to remind us that the Bandra restaurant scene is not typical of Indian life, Phil was caught in a very Indian traffic jam on the way to pick me up from the office to go to dinner. A herd of cows was blocking the road at one of the biggest junctions in the area!
Cow in the road
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