The NeedGrub.com Blog

Indian food is something that we all love. Despite the pizzas and pastas and burgers and cookies, it is the Indian cuisine that tempts most. Whatever we might eat for years, but it is the craving for real Indian food that will never be satisfied. In fact the more we get, the harder it is to resist. So now that we love something to this extent, would you not like to know something interesting about it? Well here you go:

Why is it maximum North Indian outside India?

This is because North Indian food was the first food category to be actually served in restaurants. But why? Well Indians respect their food and the tradition was that the food should be absolutely shudh and this means that nobody else, but the family members should cook. Few north Indian dishes however, like chicken were anyways not treated pure and thus spared the rules. Also it was not allowed to cook these dishes at homes and thus such dishes were served outside. Resultantly the first of restaurants served hard core Punjabi food which instinctively became popular.

Why do Indians eat with hand? Is this a poor country which can not afford cutlery?

India was once amongst the richest nations and thus poor country logic is absolutely crap. We Indians use our hands and not cutlery to eat because there are feelings attached with food. When we touch food, our senses and thus feelings are satisfied. Hunger for Indians is not restricted to the belly.

Something unanswered …

India is by and large a vegetarian country and thus the cuisine is governed by vegetarian food choices. Reason … maybe because we worshipped cows … However despite this there are mythological stories depicting gods and holy persons eating venison. So how did we turned vegetarian??

We are a too many countries in one when it comes to food

Perhaps no other nation can beat us to this. It is possible that every individual of an Indian group could have completely different choices when talking about just the Indian cuisine. This is largely because the Indian food is too different and thus quite unique in various parts of the country. Few regions are a little too spicy, while another few have sugar added to whatever they serve or eat. There’ll be sections who would not mind eating fish in the name of vegetarian while there could be those who will not even consume mushrooms. Yet there is one universal similarity … we all love to eat!!!

Expert review of Shiro, UB City Mall, Bangalore

“The sheerness of Shiro”
If there’s going to be a new restaurant in town, I say make it Japanese. The sooner Japanese food is more affordable, the sooner I can make it my staple diet. Because this cuisine is both an art and a science in which everything about the food - colour, ingredients, texture, method, nutrition, flavour - has a meaning and an intention to sate the umami craving…which it does.

Moreover, in the Japanese pursuit of perfection, a serene environment is an important criterion, and in fulfilling all these requisites Shiro seems to have set a high bar. And I mean really high because this place is full of ambient surprises from towering stone walls leading upto a fantastically lofty bamboo ceiling to giant sculptures of oriental figures adorned with curtains of enormous teardrops that had me hypnotized like magpie.
“Shiro (said shee-ro) means ‘Castle’ or ‘Fortress’,” says one of the staff. “And the sculpture is of a Cambodian queen.”

The staff is courteous and ever-smiling though not in a condescending way; and as if to emphasise the calm of this already peaceful, cool, stone edifice tastefully adorned with Buddhist statuettes and wall-sculptures, there’s the sound of flowing water and ornamental pools. Yet all this old-world charm becomes relevant to contemporary patrons with the chic furnishings and mostly appropriate lounge/world music; an outdoor terrace with a big bar and live Teppanyaki counters.

Most importantly, the menu is interesting (albeit high-priced) - a mix of Japanese, Korean, Thai cuisines - and if done well, how can anyone go wrong with that? I suspect I created a pool of my own drooling over each page…but I was here with the sole intent of diving into some sushi, so somehow getting past the dim sums, prawns, avocados, Peking ducks, yakitori, Edamame (beans), laksa, lobsters and the rest, and although I’m more keen on Makizushi (with nori) but have had it before, and since I’m not as keen on Sashimi, the only thing left was Sushi Nigiri of which I ordered an assorted platter.

Waiting is the hardest, but there’s so much to absorb at Shiro that I didn’t mind and when the sushi arrived soon enough, it was all worth it. The platter looked small when compared with my appetite, but the balls of vinegared rice with toppings like salmon and red snapper were as excellent as expected, not forgetting the Shoyu (soy sauce), Wasabi and Gari (the delicate sweet pickled ginger). Of course, I ate very expertly with chopsticks (there should be no other way), and I was Umami alive.

Meanwhile, the credit card-machines suddenly stopped functioning, so optimistic-me walking around with inadequate paper money, eventually found myself sitting on comfy cane chairs at the terrace sipping a bartender’s special mocktail. The Teppanyaki menu I noticed (which includes a few set courses for ~Rs. 1000) looked so very attractive that I wished I’d had that in the first place. But chances are I’ll be back at Shiro soon enough, waxing eloquent about how Japanese culture is good remedy for fat, corporate Indians.

Avg. (non-drink) meal for two: Rs. 1500
Avg. cocktail: Rs. 350

Been to Shiro recently? Share your opinion.

Why would anybody call the restaurant TGIF? Thank god it’s Friday, what if it is some other weekday? Anyways ignore the PJ, but really what is it with restaurant names?

For any business the name game is important and in such circumstances, would you like to name your resultant, weirdly. Ok how about Mangi Ferra? Sounds tastelessly complicated is it? Well this is the name of an Italian restaurant in Mumbai. The owner got kind of emotional about a mango tree in courtyard of his place and thus decided to call the restaurant Mangi Ferra. Well Mangi Ferra means mango tree in Latin. So that is a Latin name for an Italian eatery.

Well this was something new, and seemingly strange. But the more conventional Indian eateries too are named weirdly. Take Sagar Ratna for instance. I have tried hard, but frankly have not been able to work out any connection between Sagar Ratna, i.e. sea jewel in English and south Indian food.

Anyways, no point going on with the cribbing … how about some serious talk?

Your restaurant is a result of hard effort and you would certainly not like to leave any stone unturned while working on the promotion. Among various other facets, finalizing the name of the eating joint is also an important strategy decision. So while naming your restaurants, keep the below mentioned tips in mind:

• Be thorough with the research: Foreign names could sound interesting, but be very sure of the meaning or connotations with other languages and cultures. For instance Fat Buddha is a name an eatery picked, but coz a group did not approved of the name, the restaurant’s administration was made to change it.
• Don’t sell food and talk French - That is ensure that the name is easy to spell and remember. Anything complicated is just not the idea.
• Stay away from registered names - Of course you would not like to be labelled a copycat; so while you research, do also check if the name or any close variant is already trademarked. For instance there are too many Pizza Hut / Express variants already filed and thus you would not like to add to the name hassle.
• Go back to A, B, C… - Would be nice if your restaurant name begins with an early alphabet, coz directories would then list you early. This however is not a very important aspect; coz foodies don’t mind making the effort for taste, let that be going till Z.

Quick example: MOCHA

Mocha, a popular café, is the perfect example. The word means coffee, is easy to remember and spell and is not identical to any other brand in same or similar domain.

Next time you eat at any of the restaurants around your place, and end up suffering from stomach infection or indigestion or any other bad food related ailments, do not be surprised. Essentially because the eateries in Bangalore are currently putting up a poor case of bad food quality. It most likely appears as if the restaurant managers have tied up with doctors and medical suppliers and thus are doing their best to give their partner’s business a serious push up.

But what is the administration doing? I mean are these restaurants not audited for quality?

Well of course, there are official quality checks and thus established quality norms for all restaurants in Bangalore and other cities, across India. However despite this the situation is not very charming and the key reason can be best understood with the help of few quick figures.

There are about 25000 eateries in Bangalore. How many inspectors do you think would be sufficiently needed to audit these eateries on regular basis? Let’s see, maybe 250, guess that is the minimum required. Well now coming over to the facts, there are just 7 food inspectors entrusted with this important task. Till February 2009, the number was even lesser. Wonder how these people would ever audit the so many Bangalore restaurants even once; leave aside the idea of periodic audit.

So now that the official machinery is not really up to the mark, who has the final responsibility. Guess it now boils down to the foodie community. It is you, me, us and all who have to take up the task. Whenever you eat at any of the restaurants in Bangalore and get disappointed because the food was not up to the mark, report it at your own food authority at NeedGrub. This reporting will at least caution the others around you and thus save us all from eating at our own risk!!!

The festival of colours is just around the corner and as dedicated Indians; we once again are all set with the Holi accessories. While you must have purchased the colours and balloons and desi bhang by now, how about finalizing the menu as well.

Holi has its own special menu listing, which includes Gujia, Puran Poli, Papri, Dahi Bhalla, Kanji ke Vade, Sharbat, Malpua and more. Yumm … feels delicious, isn’t it? Whichever part of India you may be from, it is almost impossible to neglect the flavour of these delicacies. Especially for those, who on account of education or profession obligations have been forced to stay away from their houses, in cities like Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai, etc., this menu gains even more relevance. After all, something that you cannot easily get hold of, naturally assumes pertinence.

Anyways, if this is the case, and you do not have your mom or wife around to do the needful this Holi, no need to be disheartened. There are excellent eateries all around, which serve delicious Holi foods. It is just a matter of finding the suitable restaurant.

NeedGrub can assist with this endeavour. Simple log on to www.needgrub.com restaurant review column, select the city of your preference, say Bangalore and list of restaurants, along with menu options and ratings is right there.