On Residency Road, in the Cariappa Bhavan building, Wild Spice is an unpretentious eatery serving Coorgi food. It was with some misgivings that we looked upon the single room gloomy interior of which we were the only patrons. Also, there's no parking available anywhere near the restaurant which makes it even more inaccessible, though were able to wrangle a spot for our car right next to the establishment.

Okay, now for the food. We ordered the dry pandi fry, which is deep fried pork cubes. Undoubtedly, one of the best pork fry I have had and the succulence and juicy meat traversed down from my tongue and mouth rapidly. Despite being fried, there was hardly any oil or grease on the meat and though the pork fat was…well…fattening…the taste was delectable. With a few curry leaves for the garnish and chillies used for the masala, the starter was as good as any homespun Coorgi pork fry. You get the idea! I loved the pork!!

We then ordered the chapatti mutton thaali and a chicken curry. The chapatti mutton thaali comes with thin rice chapattis,a dry potato sabji and mutton curry. Four chapattis adorned the plate and the mutton curry, with a hint of coconut combined with aromatic spices I knew not of made for delightful eating. Again, the theme of very less oil and homemade flavors percolated through every aspect of the food. The mutton was tender and fresh and went very well with rice and chapattis.

The chicken curry was a bit more spicy but as tasty as everything else and made an able foil to the wonderfully prepared ghee rice. Mouth watering doesn’t quite cut it.

The two of us who went were too stuffed to go for the desserts but we will try those the next time.

Service was surly but very quick. We got all our orders in less than 10 minutes and the entire meal cost us just over Rs 200, which is amazing value for the money!

A highly recommended place to eat in Bangalore especially if you are looking for something very ethnic and are sick of the plethora of the mundane multi-cuisine fare that are dime a dozen in Bangalore.Go with a healthy appetite though!

A nice laid back kind of restaurant inside the Palm Spring Mall in Malad, Lemon Grass is great value for money and the food is also as good. I was expecting the usual food court like offerings but was pleasantly surprised with the menu. There are Korean, Thai, Mongolian and Burmese dishes in addition to the usual Chinese fare.

I started off with the lemon grass soup which was made just right and quite spicy. One of the most authentic tasting soups I've had in India by far. Highly recommend it!

For the main course, I ordered the Burmese Khouswey with flat noodles (you can also get it with rice noodles).  The heavy coconut curry base is very evident as is the milk and lemon grass. The noodles are mixed in the gravy and a side of bean sprouts, garlic and onions all lightly fried. A delectable explosion of spices, this was the first time I had tasted Burmese cuisine.

My friend ordered the Mongolian stir fry which was a dry preparation of flat noodles with a medley of stir-fried vegetables like onions, carrots, broccoli. Light on oil and big on taste, the two dishes complemented each other very ably and I was just disappointed that we could not savor the appetizers that seemed to be quite exciting.

There were quite a few interesting desserts on display and we settled for the chocolate mousse cake and the gooey chocolate cake, both excellent choices and a great way to round off the meal.

If you are in the Malad area, do try out this place with its varied cuisine that is easy on the pocket.

Neatly tucked away in a small lane off 100ft road in Indiranagar, a good place to go for a change of cuisine is Sue’s Kitchen. The only place in Bangalore that serves Caribbean food, the ambience and décor is distinctly Rastafarian.

The owner is a cheerful lady who bustles around ensuring everyone is getting what they need. The recommended option is the buffet. Sunday lunch is the best of all the days. Multiple salads for the health conscious are arrayed in plates at the entrance of the room. The chicken salad and the egg salad are definitely the best. There are also three small bowls of chutneys which are good accompaniments for the main courses. A puffed poori like rectangle is also a good starter with the chutneys. The meats section (on the day we went) had a pork curry, which consisted of cubes of pork in light gravy. Jamaican Jerk Chicken which is a dry chicken preparation slightly sweetish but also quite spicy was also very good. The big draw during Sundays is the Lobster curry. Granted it is a lot of work to get to the meat, but if you’re adept at it, it’s all worth it.

The vegetarian section had the sweet pumpkin soup which I heard was quite savory. There was also steamed rice and a pulao made with peas.  A couple of lentil curries and two vegetable dishes (one with eggplant and the other with mixed vegetables) rounded off the vegetable corner along with sweet fried plantain (my favorite!)

There’s no alcohol served here but there are a lot of fruit juices to choose from. I always order the Cocorico which is sweetened coconut milk. It is a bit creamy though but it goes well with the spicy fare.

Dessert is usually fruits in a bowl, caramel pudding, brownie cake and banana cake (I think!). Go there with a big appetite. You’ll need it mon!

A relatively new bistro on Indiranagar 100ft road is French Quarter. Named after the French territories, the restaurant serves food from France and some of the French colonies (India, Vietnam, Lebanon, Louisiana?)

The menu itself is not expansive but there’s enough stuff for the carnivores to gorge on. The vegetarians at the table ordered falafel and roasted tomatoes on toasted mini bread pieces (rusks in India). The falafel was fairly good and goes well with the yoghurt based sauce. The toasted bread slices were really well made and they vanished in record time.

I ordered the beef based French Onion soup and was pleasantly surprised to see it was very much like the soups I’ve had in France of the same name. The melted cheese on the toasted bread in the soup was just right and everything was steaming (or should I say scalding) hot. A dash of pepper and this was a great start for me.

More vegetarian dishes – Ratatouille was again a good choice as was the Vietnamese curry with steamed rice. We had to order more steamed rice as the quantity that comes with the curry was insufficient.

I had the steak in red wine sauce. My favorite way is to get this done Medium Well and I must say the meat was very tender and done to perfection. The brown gravy was superb. The steak comes with some salad and Fries.

Being too full, we didn’t try the dessert but the mousse cake and blueberry cheesecake looked pretty yummy. Next time!

Frankly, it was with some trepidation that I went with family to Hotel Green Park in Chennai. My wife's relative assured me that the food was great and the value for money was not too bad either.

The 4-start hotel is on Arcot Road in Vadapalani, a little bit out of the center of the city. The decor and the hotel itself are classy and spacious.

Once Upon A Time resides on the lounge floor neatly tucked away to the left of the large atrium. I was pleasantly surprised to see a substantial selection of South Indian food and was especially intrigued by the Chetinaad items on the menu. As only two of us are the vegetation eating types, I wasn't able to do full justice to the offerings. However, I ordered the Nethili Fry and Karuvapilai Kozhi for the starters.

One word to describe both the starters - 'amazing'! Nethili Fry is a dry dish made from anchovies that are deep fried and each piece is like a French Fry. The spices were exquisite to say the least. Chilli powder and turmeric powder were mixed in the right quantities to produce a true masterpiece of Chettinaad cuisine. The taste was crunchy and full of flavor. Adding salt to any fried dish is always a challenge but here it was just right and we cleaned up the plate in good time.

Next, on the starters list was Karuvapilai Kozhi. This was again an excellent preparation with pieces of boneless chicken made with Chettinaad spices and curry leaves. A little less dry than the Nethili Fry, the Kozhi dry was an able follow-up to the fish.

We then embarked on the main course. For this we went with a Erachi (Lamb in Malayalam) Kozhambu and the Kozhi (Chicken in Tamil) Kozhambu, which are essentially a Kerala Lamb curry and a Chettinaad Chicken curry respectively.

The lamb curry was served first. Once again - amazing! Made as a gravy with tamarind, chillies and other spices I have no clue of, the curry went great with steamed rice. The lamb was succulent and juicy and with the curry on the lamb, the rice and curry were an awesome combination.

The chicken curry was no less in any way. A very different kind of dish from the lamb, this had a lot of pepper and more of Chettinaad spices and went beautifully well with steamed rice. The spices for both dishes were rich and quite hot and definitely these dishes are not for the faint assed! It takes a while for the spices to hit the right spot, but when they do, you realize that these dishes are really really hot!

Summary? I asked to talk to the chef and a young man came out. I forget his name as I was too effusive in my praise for the fare he had presented to us! Without a doubt, this is the best Chettinaad food I have tasted in Bangalore and Chennai combined. If in Chennai, make time for Once Upon a Time. It is definitely worth it! 6 stars out of 5 I say!!

Off Lalbagh road and a left turn on RV Road (next to Kamat) will get you to Ganesh Chaat. There are two of these mind you. One is the cycle based stall and the other one, the swankier new digs a little further ahead on the same road in VV Puram. The ownership being the same, it doesn't matter which one you go to, it's all up to you.

The portable one is run efficiently by the apparent matriarch of the family, a warm lady of sizeable proportions who will ensure the best experience for you.

Now for the real stuff!! The signature item is the Boati. The name comes from the fact that long golden chip fingers are the main ingredients. The pipe shaped fingers are deftly sliced, with the slices included in the offering. The result looks like a long boat!
Carrots, cucumber, onions, cilantro and secret masalas are then sprinkled along the length of the boati. Peanuts and raw mango pieces are also available on demand. The Boati, by far is the USP of this place and definitely get that when you go there.

In the theme of one word menu items, the 'Floating' is another must-try. This is essentially paani poori but floating in a thin masala gravy. No matter how much the pooris are soaked in the gravy, they remain crisp as ever and the taste is heavenly. You can order the spice and sweet to suit your constitution here.

If you are able to take more in, go for the Nippat Burger. The Nippat burger is an innovative jugalbandi of western and South Indian culinary disciplines.  A slightly sweetish spicy chutney is first applied on each open half of the bun. A nippat (a fried disc like biscuit) is placed on the chutney, followed by a slice of cheese and the usual chaat ingredients like puffed rice, onions, cucumber and carrot. One amazing creation is all I can call it!

The 'Three in One' is yet another find. This has peanuts, puffed rice, chips' balls mixed in chaat. There are also the usual yughurt based chaats which are on par with the other offerings of this establishment.

For those not accustomed to rich spices, a chocolate souffle, a peanut biscuit or coconut burfy will cut down the burning in your mouth though I can't guarantee the same cooling down on the other end.

A decrepit corrugated roof shack on the side of the main road going from J.P. Nagar to Banshankari. I've passed by this place numerous times and have never even seen it.

There's no sign outside proclaiming the eatery's name. It has a dhaaba like ambiance but not really! Walking inside, a small board reveals itself to you and the cryptic name S.M.H appears in a small font. Below that, in huge letters, it says NO OTHER BRANCHES.

You really need to go here with a regular patron because otherwise, the service will take forever. There are a couple of kids who are most adept at weaving in and out of the kitchen and it's best you tell one of them what you want. Again, there's no menu so you better know what you want.

We ordered the chicken biryani, mutton chops and the chicken fry. The biryani arrives in a bowl made of dry leaves (very hygienic!) as do the other orders. You can either get a banana leaf or a steel plate with a banana leaf on top.

Biryani is made Marathi style here so it's slightly yellowish in color and very consistent unlike a dum biryani or Hyderabadi biryani. It's quite spicy and the chicken pieces taste great.  Don't be squeamish about the oil you see though. I'm sure all that can be burned off in a few years.  The mutton chops are also spicy but the meat is tender and done to perfection. Chicken fry was no less tasty and the ensemble with some onion raitha ensured that I slept for the remaining part of the day.

Next time I need to try the mutton biryani. Also, I have received news of a similar joint in Balepet, a overly crowded market area in Bangalore. Look for a review and comparison with SMH soon!

SLV - a deceptively small acronym stands for Sri Lakshmi Venkateshwara. While SLVs are dime a dozen in Bangalore, not all SLVs are created equal so be warned!

The place I am talking about is in J.P. Nagar near Raagi Gudda temple. Let's dig right in.

You can either stand around the highly elevated metal bar stool like contraptions or there is a sit-down kind of facility upstairs. If you're looking for a relatively quiet time and less chaos, definitely climb up, but I recommend the mayhem downstairs any day. There's also a sweet stall adjoining the main eatery area which also serves snacks.

Two of the owners (probably) sit behind a tall counter in the food department. The person on the left takes orders for dining in and the person on the right takes take-out orders.

Actually, let's figure out what to order even before we look at the ordering method.

If you are a dosa fan, this is the place for you. Their ghee masala dosas and butter masala dosas while rich in calorific content, are a godsend to the palate. Made with the right amount of crispiness and potato stuffing, you can easily polish off two dosas with a medium appetite. The sambar made with a hint of jaggery is again very well made. You are served dosas with coconut chutney and sambar and the trio make for a harmonious eating experience.  Other dosas that are noteworthy are the plain dosa, onion dosas and the set dosa. For those unfamiliar with the set dosa concept, this is a set (what else!) of three soft round dosas served with a thick Saag and of course the ubiquitous chutney. Over a period of time, one needs to try all the varieties of dosas here as they're all damn good!

The vadaas are another achievement this establishment boasts of. Though slightly oily (ok fine..very oily), the crispiness and the taste are superior.

If you are going by after 4 p.m., don't forget to pick up the Mangalore Bhajjis. These are round objects made of flour and fried. An order consists of 5 bhajjis and make ideal snacks to bring home.

Anyway, now for the processing of orders. If you want to eat right there, you fight your way through the throng and somehow make sure your hand is visible to the left guy. You also need momentary eye contact while you tell him your order. You'll get two receipts of different colors. Give the receipts to the next counter behind which is the kitchen. Total chaos seems to reign here but somehow it all works out. Someone grabs the yellow receipt (you keep the white one), glances at it, puts it on the counter and yells the order to the kitchen behind. There is really no acknowledgment from the culinary division on whether they heard him or not. However, in due course of time (10-20 minutes depending on the crowd), the guy you gave the receipt to will locate you, repeat your order and give you exactly what you ordered. If it's a take out, he'll put everything in a bag and hand it over. If not, plates of hot steaming goodies will appear together and you need to make sure you have enough hands to handle the supply chain because believe me,  food will come in quick succession.

It's amazing that there are hardly any mistakes made. There will be an occasional one where they give you a masala dosa instead of a plain or vice-versa  but these errors are few.

Other items to try here are the khaara baath, bisi bele baath, chow chow baath, idlis and the really strong coffee! And remember, this SLV is in J.P. Nagar and I do not vouch for any other SLVs in Bangalore!

Is it really so tough to comprehend? What is it about South Indian food that others just don't get? Every time we invite people over, or we're in a place with rice and lots of southern curries, I wince in pain as I watch North Indians and others eat.

Let me explain...I see the rice first go into the plate. This is where things go haywire. In rapid succession, sambar, kootu, rasam (and whatever else appears in remotely liquid form) all go into the same pile of rice! Blasphemy! Sacrilege! Horror!!  Can one not figure out that adding multiple distinctly flavored gravies onto the same plate just does not give you any one taste? What is the point? What are you trying to achieve here? Just want to get over the meal as fast as possible? Entreaties from shell-shocked folk like us that there is a sequence to eating rice and gravies fall on deaf ears. No wonder we hear that all our food tastes the same. Well duh!

Okay, on behalf of all Madrasis (as we are all erroneously termed as), I take it upon myself to explain the protocol which will hopefully give you the ideal eating experience of our cuisine.

If there are powders to be mixed in rice, start off from there. Use a spot of ghee or oil and mix it in the rice. Add the powders based on your tolerance for spice. Mix it well so the result looks like a pulao (well, almost). Now, don't go and spoil it by adding a huge ladle of rasam on top of the rice! Once the mixing procedure is done, add a small helping of the daal of the rasam, or some sambar on the side. On the side mind you, so none of the gravy and rice mix. You then make small balls of the rice, lightly dip each one into the side gravy and then savor the flavor. Potato sabji or pickle are also able accompaniments.

Once the plate is cleaned of the first course, you then move onto the next gravy. Again, mix it in rice and use sabjis as side dishes for each handful of rice-gravy you are eating.

Remember that curd rice is held in absolute reverence in the south and that is the last course of your meal. The penultimate course is rasam and rice so if there are more liquid dishes other than rasam, have them with rice first, and in sequence, before having rasam and rice.

Simple right? Yes it is if only you would listen to our pleas for right eating methods! One caveat though....any meal with rice is best eaten with your (right) hand and please please don't use your hand like a shovel! Use your hand like you do when you eat other things like say, chocolate, burrito, pizza...whatever... Come on! You can do it. It has been done before and it works!

So, the next time you are invited for wholesome South Indian food, astonish your hosts and give them unbridled joy and the satisfaction that what they made matters and that each dish deserves to be treated with respect and uniqueness.

You can't miss Shezan. It's right on Cunningham Road right next to a great tea shop (Infinitea). I'll talk about that one later.

So, if you're in the mood for good steak in Bangalore, this is the place. The owner will personally come and take your steak order. I ordered mine 'medium-well' and what I got was outstanding. Cooked to exactly the right level, the juices perfect, I had the best steak experience in a long time.  The plate comes with mashed potatoes, caramelized onions and boiled vegetables. While all the accompaniments are good, the meat takes the center stage in no uncertain terms.

Shezan also serves North Indian and Chinese food, but my recommendation is to stick to the former and of course the steaks. The service is pretty efficient and the ambience is friendly and spacious. Planning to try out the other main courses next time.

Infinitea is unique in the fact that it is a tea shop and not a coffee shop, which are dime a dozen in Bangalore. While the varieties of tea are infinite (sorry!), what one must not miss here is the Tiramisu. Whatever you do here, do not leave without tasting this delectable Italian cake (?) in a place which has mastered the recipe. It doesn't have an overbearing liqueur taste. The pastry melts in your mouth and everything is just right, the cream, the sugar the taste, I could go on. And don't make the mistake I did by ordering 1 slice and having 5 people pouncing on it in an uncanny resemblance to a raptor attack!