Summer Drink, my favorite Packaged Buttermilk

You must be enjoying your summers and desperately waiting for rains.  If you are in south India pre-monsoon has already begin and weather must have started to cool down.
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Recently I had a visit to Delhi and it was HOT! Bangalore feels like a hill station to me now.

This summer, I consumed lot of packaged butter milk and I though of trying other brands as well. Honestly my first and last choice was Amul Masti but if we look around there are other products which are worth trying.

I will write down about following three products

The contenders and content

Value Per 100 g/Product	Mother Dairy	Parag	Amul Masti
Energy	10 Kcal	Not printed	29.3 Kcal
Protien	1.1 g	2.5 g	1.7 g
Carbohydrates	1.4 g	Not printed	2.3 g
Sugar	0.0 g	Not printed	0 g
Fat	0.9 g	1 g	1.5 g
Saturated	Not printed	0.6 g	1 g
Trans Fat	Not printed	0.1 g	0.1 g
Calcium	45 mg	20 mg	Not printed
Sodium	Not printed	500 mg	Not printed

Amul (http://www.amul.com/products/amul-pouchbuttermilk-info.php) 

Cost: 12 Rs

Packing: Tetra Pack

Quantity: 200 ml

My recommendation: Yes, I liked the spicy taste and is similar to Mother dairy. Well spiced and have a creamy taste.

Mother Dairy (https://www.motherdairy.com/Product/2)

Cost: 12 Rs

Packing: Bottle

Quantity: 200 ml

My recommendation: Yes, I liked the spicy taste.

Parag (http://www.paragmilkfoods.com/go-buttermilk.php)

Cost: 12 Rs

Packing: Tetra Pack

Quantity: 200 ml

My recommendation: No, it has a bland taste. Even though it says spicy but not worth the taste.

I also will recommend Paper Boat (http://www.paperboatdrinks.com/). 



In India, Buttermilk is such a basic product that none of the manufacturers can go wrong. Every (most...) household in India knows how to make it.  
A product can be out of market if do not have a balanced taste and right spices.

Enjoy your butter milk, but prefer to have a fresh product rather packaged one.

Jain Chawal Wale, Connaught Place, New Delhi

Delhi was a pit stop on my way back from our visit to Holy Shrine of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Ji. 

Delhi is an interesting city and I must say every one crave for Delhi Street food.  

I found that Chandini Chowk, Paharganj is not the only place for street food in Delhi. You can find them everywhere and we found right at Connaught Place. 

We found Jain Chawal Wale in the heart of city (Connaught Place) and credit goes to Zomato. 

A supper crowded, much relished street food joint in Connaught Place, New Delhi.

Cuisine: Indian

Address: P-1/190, Connaught Circus, Connaught Place, New Delhi

Price: Will not bleed your pocket.

Main course was: 

1. Khadi Chawal  (70 Rs)   😁

What to expect: Rice, Kadhi, Pakoda, Papad and Onion. 

Everything is served on one place -  all mixed together.  - Worth Trying

2. Rajma Chawal (70 Rs)   😁

What to expect: Rice, Kadhi, Pakoda, Papad and Onion. 

Everything is served on one place -  all mixed together.  - Worth Trying

3. Choley bhtoorey (60 Rs)  😚

What to expect: Choley, Bhtoorey, Onion and Pickle  - Not worth it

Bhtoorey are reheated. They were thick and Choley were not that great. May be i am not a fan of Choley bhtoorey

4. Lassi  😚

What to expect: Lassi in a disposable glass  - OK

Lassi is not topped up with cream unlike Amritsari Lassi Wala, Chandni Chowk

Final words: Food is OK. This place is certainly not hygienic. With no shade. It perfectly fits a street food definition :)

Recommendation:  Enjoy the crowd and street food of Delhi. Visit this place in evenings when sun cools down during summer. 

Swathi Delicacy, an Highway pit stop

Long distance travel are refreshing when you have clean and hygienic places for pit stop. Swathi Delicacy was a recommendation by many travelers on TEAM-BHP.  

Cuisine: South Indian Pure Veg - Karnataka style

Address and Location:

 

Approach Road:
Right on highway, but on the other side of the road when travelling from Bangalore to Mangalore.

Food and Beverages:
There specialty is Karnataka style south Indian food. 
Something to note:  They do not serve any packaged food or beverage (Juice / Sodas / Soft Drinks)

Restrooms:
Nature call is the first need which has to be addressed when we stop on any highway. You and your family will not be disappointed.
Restrooms are clean and hygienic, they have bath rooms and toilets which are clean and have ample water.

Other areas:
They have large space for kids to play around which is just opposite to restroom.

Seating arrangement and approach
Surprisingly they have a ramp for seniors for wheelchair access, you will not find this at many pit stops or on highway restaurants.

Ample seating space on two floors.

Our food:

Final words and Recommendation: This place is a good refreshing pit stop on your way to Mangalore from Bangalore and it is recommended to stop here. 

Although, food taste and quality is much hyped on some of the forums. 

Enjoy your stop and ride.

Salt Indian Restaurant Bar Grill, Whitefield

Click to visit their official website

This review is for a team lunch at this new restaurant in town. One of my colleague reserved this place for 30+ team members.

I was chasing a deadline in office and was in no mood to take a break for a long lunch. But went along with team as part of "good" gesture. 

Cuisine: Indian

Address: 3rd Floor, VR Bengaluru, Itpl Main Road, B Narayanapura, Mahadevapura, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560048
Phone: 080 49652540

Lets come to the point:

Seating arrangement: They ask you to take a seat and food will be served right at your dining table. Isn't it exciting?  The restaurant space is much smaller then you expect.

Read on to find out more.

Price: 650 + TAX , I will rate this as expensive and fine dining restaurant.

Ceremony begins: 30+ members were seated in two rows. It appears we filled up 1/4 of the restaurant space.

Serving process: One of the restaurant staff and identified food preferences (Veg or Non Veg)

Starter Menu: Menu was fixed with unlimited serving, we were served 3 portion of vegetarian starters. Among them I only liked panner tikka.

Main course was: Choice of bread (Naan and Rot), Daal, Mix vegetable and yellow Lentils.

Finally we were served with Biryani, Raita and Desserts

Problem statement:

a. Food was supper spicy, not for every one.

b. Our wait time was frustrating

c. Limited choice of desert

d. Even though staff identified people with preference of vegetarian and non vegetarian choice. They keep on asking vegetarian people choice of Meat (chicken or mutton).

Final blunder:

They served chicken soup to a vegetarian person

Recommendation:  Big No for a team event. Family with younger kids may enjoy the place as they do not have to get up and take food. I am surprised with the reviews on Zomato.

Wong’s of Boston

Wong’s of Boston - Boston Downtown

Year 2015 was very busy for me and my family and thus you see fewer post on my blog. It has again started to snow in Boston. Today's Boston's weather was cold and windy. It was around -9 degrees centigrade. 

This is going to be a short recommendation with our experience, rather then a detailed review. Please excuse and do provide your experience.

Cuisine: Chinese

Location: Food Court, Boston downtown

Interestingly:

Being vegetarian we often had dearth of choices in a Thai or Chinese restaurant. We spend couple of minutes talking to server on the customization's she can do, so we can eat and get aroma of Indian Cuisine. 

  

Soon chef of the food counter walked by and asked us - Do you want spicy and will you like Tofu? We responded "Yes" by nodding our head. He said I will serve you a hot vegetarian dish along with rice and noodles and you will like it.

Our Menu

Rice, Noodles and hot vegetables in soya sauce. It was simply amazing. The quantity was sufficient for two.

Price: 6.45$

Recommendation: It is in a busy downtown food court and me and Namrata recommends you to visit this place. 

There price is low, portion is big on top of it they serve fast and tasty food.

I love this place and visit them again because of the Chef. He had a lovely smile. He made our day, Thank you!

Food Lovers: Food Festival - Bangalore - Avarekalu Mela 2014

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Zhangs Dynasty - Bannerghatta Road

Chinese food! The majority of my friends, colleagues love Chinese food. I actually didn't grow up in a household that loved Chinese food particularly, and it's not really my go-to food or anything. We are more a Indian Vegetarian food lover. But my Kid and Wife love Chinese and that is why I made this visit. 

Our visit to Zangs Dynasty: Early December in 2014

Restaurant Cuisine: Indian, ChineseThere are a couple of Chinese restaurants on Bannerghatta road. Candidly, we picked up this restaurant by looking at Zomato and assuming this restaurant will not burn a big hole in my pocket.

Our Dinner Menu of the Night

Szecuan Fried Rice

This recipe originates from the Sichuan province of China and is a combination of bold flavors, brought about by pungent ingredients like garlic and chilies.

The long grain rice is used in the recipe preparation, but was served with medium size grains. The rice was well cooked and has a perfect combination of other ingredients like garlic and chiles. It was a medium spice recipe. We loved the recipe. 

 Vegetable Balls with hot garlic sauce

Garlic sauce is our first choice. It was a no experiment night, because of the mixed review of the restaurant. This choice was natural.

The recipe was as expected with strong flavors of hot garlic and they maintained the thickness of the gravy. The gravy was smooth, consistent and thick.

Quantity was sufficient for two and crispiness of vegetable balls were also maintained.

If you like garlic and thick gravy, then you can be 90% safe in choosing this recipe in any restaurant in India. Indians have mastered the art of serving Vegetable Balls with hot garlic sauce.

Shanghai (Mixture of Rice and Soft Noodles)

Szecuan Rice increased our appetite and we wanted to order Noodles as well. We expected the Rice and Noodles to be mixed in true sense, but they were mixed as called out.

The noodles were smooth and bland. Made a good combination with Vegetable Balls.

Other Non-consumable information

Cost: We paid around 450 Rs along with taxes

The good experience:  Taste, Quick service

The bad experience: 

Ambiance: Certain part of the restaurant is dull and dark. The low light in the restaurant is maintained from a design standpoint, it is a psychological ploy for greater intimacy, and to make you feel calmer so you stay longer. 

However, the lights in the restaurant were too dull and dim. We have to strain our eyes to see what was served.

Washroom: The washroom was clean, but looks like they need to use modern fixtures.

Table cloth: We could feel the table cloth was not clean. 

My Recommendation:  No - If you want luxury and courtesy in service. 

I will suggest you to visit this restaurant, in case you want to have just food and keep your spending low.

Smiling staff: No

Cards Accepted: Yes

Parking: Available

Wheelchair access: No

Visual Hygiene: No

Address: No 16, Above Dominos Pizza, Arakere Gate,Bannerghatta Road, Bangalore

Phone: 080-26486988
         080-1430988