Daddy's Deli, Bangalore

Daddy's Deli,
594, 12th Main,
HAL 2nd Stage,
Indiranagar
Bangalore
080 41154372 / 76, +91 9844011237


We ate breakfast at the Red Fork, but inspite of an excellent brunch, when I realised that Daddy's Deli was an attached restaurant, I just HAD TO look at that menu too.

There was so much exciting stuff on that menu, since Daddy's Deli serves homestyle Parsi food, some of the items you won't even find on the menus of the best Parsi eateries of Bombay.

The great thing is that they serve half plates too, so you can sample much much more than you normally would be able to. Kolmi na Kavab (Prawn kababs), macchi na cutlet (fish cutlets), pork vindaloo, Khichri sas (fish or prawns cooked in a sweet and sour white sauce sith yellow rice), narial na doodh ma papeta ne sekta ni sing (potatoes and drumsticks cooked in a coconut curry).

When I saw brain cutlets (275/-) on the menu, there was no way I could leave without trying them. Its been ages since I've eaten brain cutlets (they are too fiddly to make at home). So inspite of having paid the bill for a 12noon brunch and an impending 1pm invitation to someones house for lunch, I just had to order the cutlets, and I'm truly glad that I did.

They were sheer perfection, lightly mixed with onions and green chillies, their crispness was a perfect foil to the soft creaminess of the brain.

Its going to be really tough for me to decide between the menus of Daddys Deli and Red Fork, the next time I'm in Bangalore.


Rating : 4.5 / 5

Red Fork - Contemporary Cafe, Bangalore

Red Fork - Contemporary Cafe
594, 12th Main,
HAL 2nd Stage,
Indiranagar
Bangalore
080 41154372 / 76, +91 9844011237


OMG! OMG! OMG!

We fell in love with The Red Fork almost as soon as we entered and the arrival of food on our table just reinforced that love.

The Red Fork is another of those lovely eateries in Bangalore that has sprouted inside a house, so it lends a lot of character to the layout and the seating space.

The menu is written on blackboards on the walls and keeps changing. But I hope the ham and egger (250/-) remains on their menu for ever, it is so yum. Its a beautifully crisped up burger bun (soft on the inside) stuffed with ham, bacon, rocket leaves and scrambled eggs. All of my favourite things in a single burger, can life get any better than that?


We had headed here for brunch, so we ordered a variety of things to eat from their 9am - 3pm breakfast menu. The chilli scrambled eggs on sourdough (150/-) came so beautifully plated that we were feeling bad to disturb it in any way.

The margarita omelette (180/-) was a great play on the margarita pizza. All the normal toppings, were incorporated into the omelette and serves with hot bread.

The sister was happiest with her chocolate waffles (200/-) and it was the dish that was most dug into at the table.

As each dish came to the table we were torn as to which dish was better than the other. The sister also managed to get herself some scrambled eggs and toast. The little baby frying pans that the scrambled eggs came in was just too cute.

Service is on the slower side and dishes don't come to the table all at the same time, but believe me, the wait is most definitely worth it and it gives you a valid excuse to steal more mouthfuls from the plates that do arrive :)

Their menu keeps changing, so you may not get the items described above when you visit, but given the superior quality of their food, I don't think you can go wrong.

The coffees and teas that we ordered were lovely. They have a display outside with their fresh cakes, cheesecakes and pastries on display. We tried a cheesecake and it was so yummy that I couldn't wait to take a picture before digging in.

The Red Fork is definitely a firm favourite.

Rating : 5 / 5

Desserted, Bangalore

Desserted,
42, 8th Main Road,
Next To Mount Carmel Management Institute,
Near Cunningham Road,
Bangalore
+91 9611733066

My sis took me to Desserted for a late breakfast because they served waffles. It was only when we went there and took a look at the menu, that we realised that it was vegetarian. (In my book, eggs are vegetarian.)

We did however have a pretty decent breakfast from their All Day Breakfast section. Pancake Stack (120/-) was a set of 4 pancakes served with whipped cream, a berry preserve and maple syrup. The waffles (120/-) were very good too.

Muesli with cold milk and fruit (110/-) was one of the healthiest breakfasts that I have seen being offered in a stand alone Cafe. The mushroom quiche (60/-) wasn't bad either.

They serve a range of hot coffees (30/- - 90/-). My sister quite enjoyed her latte. The cold coffees (80/-, 100/-, 110/-) were also yummy. You also have the option of teas, milkshakes or smoothies as well as a few fresh seasonal fruit juices.

The desserts were very good. They have a large bakery display section, so its best to go in there and pick and choose.

Desserted is one of the houses converted into an eatery, so you can wander about the little maze of seating, cooking, bakery and dining options. Its quite cosy, including the garden outside. The people who own the place are really sweet and they told me that they would soon start to offer non-veg items too.

We did love the food, but I had to head to Imperial after this for chicken kebabs. :) When I travel out of Ahmedabad, I expect to have meat at every meal, I'm so starved for good non vegetarian options in this city! :)



Rating : 3.5 / 5

Dairy Den, Ahmedabad

Dairy Den,
Sanidhya Building,
100 Feet Road,
Anand Nagar,
Prahlad Nagar,
Ahmedabad
+91 9879113974

The Prahladnagar Dairy Den is in the same building as Delizio, but on the outside with open air seating.

Dairy Den has an interesting collection of ice creams, which is perfect for this horridly hot summer. You can ask for your ice cream in either a waffle cone or the standard cups. For me the perfect way to indulge is bring home a whole tub of a couple of flavours and then create a sundae out of them.

My favourite flavours are : choco - layers, choco chip marble, rich chocolate walnut and the French Vanilla (its no surprise that most of my favourites are chocolate based, is it?)

The good thing is that, unlike some other ice cream brands of Ahmedabad (that I will not name here for fear of upsetting some more sensitive and passionate Ahmedabad foodies) the flavours don't taste synthetic and the chocolate used is pretty decent quality.

I've not yet got around to trying their inhouse Premium sundaes, but maybe one of these days for lunch. . . . .

Edited on 15 Jul 14 to add:
Tried the Sundaes this weekend. Husband had an Indian Beauty (110/-) which was French Vanilla with some kesar, honey and almonds which was good.

I wasn't happy with my Soft Serve French Vanilla with Nutella and hazelnuts. The crushed nuts had peanuts mixed in to them and the soft serve ice cream wasn't properly churned, so it was melting very quickly and when it melted, it was separating into watery ice cream and milk solids.

Rating : downgraded from 3.5 to 2.5 / 5

Disclaimer : Since I normally buy their tubs and don't eat on location and the tubs aren't very pretty to photograph, so the picture above is from the Dairy Den, website

Vipul Dudhiya Sweets, Ahmedabad

Vipul Dudhiya Sweets,
Navnidhi Complex,
Near Stadium Circle,
Opposite Vodafone Office
Navrangpura
Ahmedabad
079 26461955, 079 26447246

I first visited Vipul Dudhiya to buy Paneer, as I was told that they made the best Paneer in Ahmedabad. So on my first visit here, I just bought Paneer and mawa (to make gujiyas). The quality of both was excellent, so I have often been back to pick up more of these milk products.

I have also bought their fresh snacks like theplas and handvo and they have always been fresh and tasty.

The other field in which they stand out is their range of matthos (shrikhand). They have a variety of flavours on offer, displayed like at an ice cream or gelato counter. They allow you to taste each flavour before you decide which to buy. The flavour and taste is slightly different from the Maharashtrian shrikhand, but it is extremely yummy.

I've heard that they make excellent basundi, but I have never had the opportunity to taste it (never been available when I visit - its only available in winters)

They always have a huge pot of chaas (buttermilk) being churned. In summer, they also offer fresh aamras, which mango fans tell me is excellent (I don't eat ripe mangoes).

They have a wonderful range of packaged snacks too. My favourite is the malai chakri that is extremely soft yet crispy. Their sev and other items are also quite yummy for munching on.

Rating : 4 / 5




Vipul Dudhiya Sweets
Dev Darshan Complex,
Opposite IOC Petrol Pump,
Bopal Ghuma Road,
Bopal,
Ahmedabad

+91 9722200000

This is a much more upmarket version of Vipul Dudhiya. Its very neat, clean, fresh and new looking (if that makes any sense) Most of the Vipul Dudhiya items are on offer here including the flavoured mathos (shrikhand), snacks, paneer and other milk items. But I was surprised to also see fresh farsaan - like khandvi, khaman and patra on offer along with a wider variety of sweets.

This is a much easier location to visit from our part of town, so I will be visiting more often and will try the farsaan at that time.

Rating : 3.5 / 5

Cafe Unplugged Bar & Grill, Ahmedabad

Cafe Unplugged Bar & Grill,
3, Acumen Building,
Opposite Passport Office,
University Area,
Gulbai Tekra
Ahmedabad
079 30494989, +91 9978909801

We only stopped here for an evening coffee break between shopping and exploring the city. So we were really thirsty, but not hungry at all.

We ordered a cucumber mint cooler (100/- which was lovely - very refreshing, very soothing), a green tea (40/- no rocket science required - just boil water and serve with a tea bag on the side) and a cappucino (70/- which had too little milk for our liking, but the staff very helpfully and sweetly added more milk to the coffee when we requested them.

Given that we had just these items, why have I rated Unplugged so high?

Well, I just fell in love with the place. Lovely ambiance, perfect for chilling out and completely non-pretentious. The fact that they were playing good English music (which I haven't heard in any other restaurant in Ahmedabad) immediately endeared the place to me. They have a brilliant juke box, where you can choose your own selection. And the staff was extremely sweet, polite, obliging and pleasant. I'm definitely going back here for a meal. But I had to rate and review them after today's experience.

Rating : 4 / 5

Dasaprakash, Ahmedabad

Dasprakash
Maruti Crystal
Opp Rajpath Club
Ahmedabad
Ph: 2687 3333

I loved Dasaprakash, their food is much much more authentic than Sankalp. Sadly it has recently closed down. Hopefully its just temporary.

The chutneys are amazing, as is the sambhar. Whether you order idlis, vadas, dosas or meals, the food is finger licking good. The Mysore Masala Dosa (130/-) is authentic with the lovely red chutney inside. The Ghee Roast Masala (145/-) is absolutely sinfully doused in ghee. They offer something called a Masala Guliyappa (105/-) The closest equivalent I could think of is a goli bajje stuffed with potatoes. Interesting, but not enough of any strong taste - a stronger dose of masala would help.

We often order the South Indian appalam (40/-) A  side. Fruit juices are in the 75/- - 80/- range. I wouldn't advise them. Because while the juice itself is good, I think they reuse their knives without washing them properly, because on 2 occasions, I found my watermelon juice laced with a flavour of onions.

The only non-authentic part about Dasaprakash here in Ahmedabad is that everything is served with extra ghee or butter including the idlis *85/-). I once asked for a plain idli for dinner because I wanted to have something light and easily digestible. It came soaking in butter! The taste was obviously very good (butter makes everything better), but it definitely wasn't a light dinner.

Whatever you eat here, you should end with a South Indian filter coffee.

Rating : 4 / 5