One stop to explore whole South Indian cuisine: Simply South

Indian cuisine… Whenever someone arises a question about it, we generally answer there are just two kinds; One is North Indian and Another is South Indian. Just like we have many diversified languages, cultures and celebrations, we have many diversified cuisine in each state.

Simply South attempts to bring out those diversified cuisines of South India by combining top notch delicacies of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Kerala together.  It’s a brilliant concept introduced by the famous Chef Chalapathy Rao.

Location: It’s located in the New BEL Road right opposite to the Woodland’s showroom on the 3rd Floor above Xtreme Sports bar. Locating this restaurant is quite easy with the landmarks and you can also depend on the Google Maps.

AMBIANCE

Simple… Just like it’s name. The ambient lighting, rich cutleries  and raw textured furnitures are enough to give an elegant look to this simple ambience. Strategically placed frames of cultures, monuments, festival illustrations from all five southern states will definitely grab your attention. The whole ambience is peaceful and the light classical instrumental music in the background fills your soul before stomach. It’s an unique experience.

SERVICE

 

Since it is a new restaurant service feels bit clumsy and moderately slow. But every operation of stewards is closely  monitored by the management to provide flawless experience to the guests. I’m sure that you won’t notice any hinch in the service and you will surely be pleased by their genuine service. 

FOOD

They have divided their menu into 6 major parts each dedicated to cuisines of southern states. Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra, Telangana and Hyderabadi! Yes! Being one of the oldest cuisine, Hyderabadi has a special historical value and loved by all. So, the Hyderabadi cuisine has got it’s own exceptional place in the menu.

Though they serve core south indian dishes, the course of meal they follow is very close to North Indian kind. (Like; Soup & starters at first, main course followed by desserts) However, it’s a kind of different experience.

Tomato Saar: This was served as soup. Though they mentioned it’s origin as Karnataka, taste didn’t felt like Karnataka Tomato Saar. Because, in Karnataka sweetness will be equivalent to the sourness of this dish. Keeping it aside, the taste was just brilliant. The sour and spice combination was just awesome. I enjoyed every sip as it cleared my throat and provided a lovely start to our dining experience.

Mokka Jonna Garelu: It was corn based deep fried dish served as the starter along with soothing light spicy side dish. This is the first time I tasted a Telangana dish and it turned out to be great. It tasted lovely.

Gobi Kempu Bezule: Though its a Mangalorean dish, I tasted it before in Kerala. But here it tasted too good than ever. The crispiness was just perfect. 

Muvva Vankaya: When it arrived on our table I thought this is similar to Enegai Gojju which is the speciality of North Karnataka. But upon tasting it felt like it belongs to an entire new league. It was prepared with Andhra Style of cooking by well marinating the baby brinjal and adding the peanut powder for that ultimate twist. Being a non-brinjal lover I adored this dish.

Ulavacharu: This was an absolute treat to the tastebuds. A firm mix of sour and spicy taste just made my day. It became my primary choice to try other dishes with this combination. Extraordinary indeed!

Bendakaya Vepudu: It was neither crispy nor softy… Somewhere in the middle which I generally don’t like. But the taste of this was too good. It can become a nice combination to the Malabar Paratha but when you have other dishes like Ulavacharu this dish looks bit on downside.

Tomato Pappu: I’m introduced to Andhra’s Pappu in very recent years by my foodie friends. I have tasted different kinds of Pappu in different places at Bangalore. Compared to that all this place serves really good quality of Pappu. But the taste wise I felt it was too low on spiciness. However, it was nice to taste with Ragi Sangiti and Paratha. 

Ragi Sangiti: I was bit surprised when I saw Raagi Balls on mall table. Then it hit me, what else can be showcase the real south essence in the restaurant dedicated for southern cuisine.  It was perfect and served with warm ghee. 

Desserts: 

Wow! They have most amazing collection of desserts! No… Don’t expect ice cream, jello, cut fruits or cookies. You’ll get the true south Indian desserts which have been part of our tradition for many centuries. Like Gasagase Payasa, Godhi Haggi, Badam Halwa, Elaneer Payasam, Sheer Kurma, Kubani Ka Meetha. My personal favourites were Gasagase Payasa and Kubani Ka Meetha. I realized the real taste of Kubani Ka Meetha here and I highly recommend this.

EVERYTHING ELSE: 

The whole ambience feels pure. I must say hygiene at its best. They do offer valet parking and there is a decent parking space for two wheelers next to the restaurant. They do have live counters for Appam at the entrance. If you are impressed by their pickles and chutney powder you can buy them too. They change their menu every Ugadi which marks as the beginning of new year as per Hindu tradition and they do serve special thali and dishes during festivals which is an attractive factor of this restaurant.

FINAL VERDICT: This restaurant is a tribute to the south Indian culinary history. A perfect place to take your family and elders who still have a string attached to our rich tradition. I recommend this restaurant for a true south Indian experience.

BAKASURA RATING

4.5 / 5

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A hidden Italian gem in the backyard of New BEL Road : Scirocco

Scirocco, a well thought name for an Italian restaurant situated on a foreign soil. This is an absolute hidden gem in New BEL Road. If I hadn’t found it on Zomato, probably I wouldn’t have visited this place ever.

It is located on the first floor of the building which is opposite to Cafe Coffee Day in 80 Feet Road which connects to the MSR Junction. Due to trees and poor sign board it makes difficult to find this restaurant. You can depend on Google Map if you get confused.

AMBIENCE 

Elegant and cozy. They have branded their restaurant well right from the ground floor by mentioning appetizers name on stairs. It’s basically a cafe theme with an uniformity all around the place. Whether it is comfortable upholstery or the wall decals everything matches up to the theme. Especially the seating next to large window facing towards the road is enough to make your evening memorable.

SERVICE

I don’t know how long ago this restaurant opened, but the staff seems to be new and inexperienced. I’m not saying that they are rude, their hospitality is too good and I admire that. But when things come to handling the cutleries, right time to intervene the guests and prioritizing the order should be taught to the stewards. All staffs generally gang-up in a corner near service desk and when guests needs them, they should literally stand up or raise their hands to call the stewards. At least if one or two stewards present in dining area, service part can get better. 

FOOD

When you look at the menu it really surprises you by their huge collection of pizza, pasta, beverages, appetisers and desserts. I took around 15 minutes to order as I found it very difficult to choose from such great collection. However I narrowed down to 4 items and here is my experience with them;

Sparkling Strawberry: The fizz in this drink was just outstanding. And the pinching flavour of strawberry was really good. I just loved this drink and gave great start to my evening.

Garlic Bread Sticks: Compared contemporary pizza places of Bengaluru,  Garlic Bread was quite nice here. They have used very less cheese as per my request and the spices sprinkled on it gave a lovely texture and tasted good. It justifies the price tag.

Nawabi Pizza: Honestly I didn’t wanted to try any Indian version of Pizza in a restaurant which had true italian essence in it. But since my friend insisted on this, I had no other choice than ordering this. This was 10” thin crust pizza with the topping of juicy corn, well sliced capsicum, tomato and onions with the combination of spicy tomato sauce and  mozzarella cheese. The cheese over here had slightly superior taste compared to other pizza place.

Pizza Mellino: Since the foodie inside me was craving for true Italian pizza I order 6” Pizza Mellino and it tasted delicious. This was topped with some of the true Italian toppings like spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, black olives, green olives, pickled onions, roasted red & yellow capsicums and Jalapeno. The toppings were overwhelming and the taste of such great toppings with the fresh tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese was just awesome. It felt like the pizza came directly from a kitchen in Paris. It’s just fantastico!

EVERYTHING ELSE: The whole floor is air conditioned and when it comes to hygiene factor, it’s spotless. Instead of sauce dispensers they keep sachets on the table which is more hygienic but gets messy when you try to tear it with cheesy hands. Parking wouldn’t be a problem as there is ample parking space opposite to the restaurants. As per my observation, it’s not too crowded and makes it a perfect place to have long conversation. The price on the menu are inclusive of tax and there is no additional charges. The entire menu was priced very moderately. 

FINAL VERDICT: Value for money and a lovely place for Italian food lovers. I strongly recommend this place for its ambience, quality and for pizza.

BAKASURA RATING

4.0 / 5

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Breakfast Ride to Explore the Taste of Masala Dosa at Vasu Hotel, Kanakapura

Whenever I discuss my plan to ride hundreds of Kilometers just to taste food, usually people react with phrases like “Are you Mad!??” , “This is insane dude” , “You gone crazy Man” , etc etc… But all these years, nothing has ever stopped me by adding adventure to my foodie tales. But this time it was little different as I planned a short road trip with like minded people who love food as much as I do! And getting into an adventure for the primary passion has excited many…

PC: Vinay Nagaraju

So… Here is how we planned; Creating an exclusive WhatsApp group for this plan was the first step, creating curiosity and temptation by posting pics and delicious discussions has backed up our plan very well and out of 25 Members 10 people turned up to the plan.

THE PLAN

PC : Naveen Suresh

Simple, just drive to Kanakapura - a small town situated just 6o KMs away from Bengaluru and visit the legendary Vasu Hotel to taste their famous Masala Dosa. This was our first ‘official’ plan with fellow foodies. And when we fixed the assembling time to early morning 7 AM on a cold Saturday, automatically some people choose comfy beds instead of riding with us. Without bothering much, we continued with our plan as 10 members assured about their attendance.

JOURNEY TOWARDS KANAKAPURA: We assembled at Metro - Cash and Carry near Banashankari between 7 to 8.30 AM. After a short introduction we started towards Kanakapura. When it’s a single lane road, bikers will always have advantage to save time by reaching the destination faster. Same thing happened with us, we bikers reached Kanakapura 30 Mins before and waited to welcome the luxury riders by sipping hot coffee.

VASU HOTEL

It's a legendary restaurant which is currently celebrating 75 Years of serving excellent Masala Dosa for the commuters of the infamous State Highway - 948 which use to connect Bangalore - Mysore - Coimbatore. This restaurant has served many generations and reserved the same charm till date. 

I have been on this route so many times during my road trips and solo bike trips. But I came to know about this restaurant very recently by my foodie friends. Since then I was planning to visit this. And finally when we visited this restaurant on last Saturday I felt that I have accomplished my goal.

AMBIENCE

A very small entrance will surely mislead you and this is how people miss this restaurant. Once you enter the restaurant you can feel the nostalgia of this place by its raw ambience. Way the serving bay has been designed with wood arches, long dining tables, cement sheet roofing and of course the gray kitchen, it all takes you back in time. It can easily accommodate 70 people at once with its huge dining area. Kitchen occupies 30% of the whole restaurant.

SERVICE

Straight and  forward. Many people who work here has more than a decade full of experience and it can be easily recognized by their organised working style. This restaurant offers only self service and the men at the service counter serve the dishes according the first come first serve priority. The amount of order each individual handles is a real amazing factor. They are quick and precise.

FOOD

To be honest, this place is good only for Masala Dosa. Rest of the things are just average or above average. We ordered Masala Dosa at first and when it arrived the size of the Dosa really surprised us. It was too big and the dark brown texture tempted us to attack and finish it in minutes. Taste!?? I won’t say it was extraordinary or out of the world… I can just say that it was perfect. Perfect in taste, crispiness and size. The chutney supplied with it blended well with the dosa. Palya (Subji) was too good. Potatoes were smashed well and cooked very precisely. It was overall a delicious package.

Chow-Chow Bath: Another south Indian delicacy which tasted good other than Masala Dosa. Khara Bath (Upma) was warm, moderately spicy and had perfect texture. Kesari Bath on the other hand had right amount of sweetness with few dry fruits being less oily at the same time.

Bisibelebath : It was more like a sambar rice. But a tasty sambar with a sweet twist. Though it was completely opposite to Bisibele taste, I liked it!

Menthya (Fenugreek) Rice: It was average as the flavour of Methi was too heavy which resulted in pungent kind of taste. 

Poori Sagu: This was above average. They won’t fry poori freshly which results in over crispiness. However, the taste is manageable with chutney but Saagu was poor.

Rava Idli: Not at all impressed. Firstly the sagu supplied with it disappointed me then the idli itself was hard and rubbery. Couldn’t able to eat more than two chunks.

Idli: It was kind of okay and you can get such Idlis in any normal restaurants. Yes, it was soft but there was no ‘wow’ factor in it.

Muruku: Our final trail of the day and this too failed to impress as it was too salty. We were not able to munch even half of its portion. 

AMAZING FACTS: 

• Hard work and consistency always pays. It’s absolutely holds true when we look at the history of Vasu Hotel. The man who joined this restaurant as a normal server 50 years has bought this place and continues the legend of serving Masala Dosa. It’s an inspiring story and tells us the moral that no service / work such as small or low. If you work hard you will come up in life eventually. 
• The pricing of the food is damn cheap and makes you think that you have entered the era of 90’s. They still follow the manual token system and the highest denomination token they have is of Rs.25 only. It costed just Rs.56 per head for such a lavish breakfast experience.
• They haven’t renovated the building for decades to preserve the old charm of this restaurant.

EVERYTHING ELSE: There are two Vasu Hotels in Kanakpura and both are claimed to be of single owner. However, the Vasu Hotel which is in the middle of Kanakapura is the oldest. You can depend on Google Maps to reach this place or you can seek local guidance once you enter Kanakapura.

Hygiene factor is quite low and parking would be a real problem as it is located on the narrow highway. 

FINAL VERDICT: In my experience riding all the way to Kanakapura just for the sake of this restaurant is not worthy. But if you are travelling in the same road it’s a must pit stop for breakfast.

I can guarantee that Masala Dosa won’t disappoint you but I’m not sure about other dishes. 

BAKASURA RATING

3.5 / 5

FOODIES JOINED OUR JOURNEY:

Sujay Krishna - Yamaha Fazer (Food Blogger, www.BeingBakasura.com)
Vinay Nagaraju - RE Bullet (Food Blogger, www.wompblr.wordpress.com)
      Navneeth Thimappa (Food Blogger, www.LifeOnPlates.com)

Harshavardhan Reddy (Foodie)
      Hari Camla (Food Photographer)
      Naveen Suresh (Food Blogger, www.BangaloreEpicure.com)
      Kiran Munipalle (Food Reviewer)

Jaideep Gaandhie (Food Blogger, www.thehungryjedi.com)
      Vinay Setty (Food Blogger, www.voiceofmytastebuds.wordpress.com)
      Manoj Kumar K (Food Reviewer, www.zomato.com/manojkumark)

In Action

Look at the reaction of people behind

       

GALLERY

NEARBY PLACES TO EXPLORE:

1. Shivanasamudra :

2. Talakadu:

3. Biligiri Rangana Betta (BR Hills):

4. Male Mahadeshwara Betta (MM Hills):

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