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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True Italian Pizza in a cool roof top ambience : Onesta, New BEL Road

Onesta, one of the pizza place which was in my bucket list since I read the blog of  Navneeth Thimmappa (Life On Plates)  on Onesta, Koramangala Branch. But whenever I use to visit Koramangala, due to one or other reason I was missing to dine-in this restaurant. But when I heard Onesta has opened a new branch in New BEL Road which is just a few KMs away from my home, I couldn't able to resist and with in a week of its opening I visited this restaurant for dinner.

Honestly, I felt bit odd with my dining experience as I didn't knew they are running promotional trail. When the steward cleared me that its a free trail at the end, my whole odd experience got justified.

LOCATION: This restaurant is located above Mc.Donalds on the New BEL Road, it can be easily missed out from fast moving vehicle as the major branding has been done on third floor. Google Maps can help you to locate this place easily.

AMBIENCE

Its kind of Hybrid ambience, the front face of the restaurant gives a roof top dining experience and the inner part of the restaurant resembles a fine-dine setup with air conditioning. They have a open kitchen setup for baking the pizza at the outer dining area with a true Italian architecture and they have a bakery kind of setup in the inner dining area which houses desserts and starters. Overall ambience is refreshing, they have decorated the whole place with hanging flower pots, vibrant coloured windows and a country style cycle at the entrance.

We got the corner seat on the outdoor dining area which has a perfect view of New BEL Road. Table was quite small and they had stacked 2 comic books along with the cutlers. Being a comic fan I loved this concept and I hope they change them with new editions regularly. If so, I'll be a patron for this restaurant. 

SERVICE

Since they were running promotional trail, the service appeared quite straight forward. Instead of giving menu, steward dictated the menu and asked to choose 2 out of 4 veg pizzas and 2 drinks out of 4. The drinks arrived bit slowly, as we were not in hurry I didn't wanted to complain. But the steward was kind enough to replace the green apple drink when I complained that it was heavy on sweet side. Pizza were served at the right time and the steward didn't interrupted too much by suggestions which I liked the most.

DRINKS

Orange Mint Cooler

We ordered Orange Mint Cooler and Green Apple Cooler. As I mentioned earlier the Green Apple Cooler was too sweet, when steward wanted my opinion on drinks I honestly told about the problem. After he replaced it with another one, it tasted good. But, I wish Green Apple Cooler must had strong essence of Green Apple. On the other hand Orange Mint Cooler was perfect and refreshing. The texture of this drink was so tempting. I just loved this drink.

PIZZA

Farmhouse Pizza

We choose Farm House and Mexican Veg Delight, they served small pizza’s on a wooden pan. Farmhouse tasted good but I felt like they should work on quantity of topping. But the ingredients definitely succeeded in appealing my taste buds. Especially the crispy crunchy baby corn, lightly added bell peppers, roughly chopped onions and of course fresh black olives. 

Mexican Veg Delight tasted more awesome than the Farmhouse, cheese used in it was too good and the toppings were fresh. The quantity of toppings in this pizza was good. Main attraction of this pizza was cherry tomatoes which satisfied both eyes and taste buds. Along with the cherry Tomato it had capsicum, onion and tiny bits of red chili backed up with Tabasco sauce to give a perfect spicy twist. 

EVERYTHING ELSE: They do offer valet parking and two wheeler parking could be difficult as there is no parking place nearby. Hygiene has been maintained very well in every part of the restaurant. Seating is quite comfortable but it's not meant for long conversations. 

FINAL VERDICT: A perfect pizza place with true Italian origin and a great ambience. I definitely recommend this place for a great dining experience especially on a rainy evening. 

BAKASURA RATING

4.0 / 5

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GALLERY

Green Apple Cooler

Mexican Veg Delight

A Boozing Heaven: The Boozy Griffin, Marathahalli

When someone is passionate about food, drinks, service & hospitality… And if they want to share the same passion with the society, a classic pub like “The Boozy Griffin” will be born. This place is as catchy as its name. Literally this place looks like a luxurious as well as a cosy nest. I’m glad that I was able to explore this place with my fellow foodie friends during 47th FBAB meetup.

Apart from Koramangala this is The Boozy Griffin’s second establishment located on the outer ring road near Adobe / JP Morgan, Marathahalli. Google maps can help you to reach there accurately and meanwhile Zomato helped me to land 1 KM away! :P

AMBIENCE

Is it classic? Upscale? Or Trendy! It's hard to describe in one word. At first glance it appears like a lively place but upon exploring it more you'll come to know how great the ambience is. Definitely management has put a lot of effort in crafting every corner of this property. May it be vintage looking furniture, wall decals, paintings or display properties, everything seems to be having a purpose. It has different styles and arrangements of seats which suits all kind of crowds, the lighting is just perfect as per the theme.

The smokers alley reminds me about the old town streets of London and why not, each and every property installed in this pub threads itself with London culture. Whether its London bridge in the backdrop of the bar or the lamp posts everything will surely makes you to feel like you have ran back in time to London. Bar is ideally in the middle of the pub, its quite large compared to contemporary pubs in Bengaluru and can serve a large number of stags. Meanwhile some parts of the pub feels cosy and warm creating a perfect space for romance and privacy. Totally, just ambience is enough to win your heart.

SERVICE

It feels like someone you know for a long time is serving you. Their crew provide such an experience to you. They have blended the technology and hospitality very well in here. A service calling device placed on your table provides you an extra level of comfort, ease and convenience to instruct your steward or to avoid unnecessary interventions. Stewards & managers are too friendly and always ready to serve you as per your requirement. Their smiling attitude will definitely pamper you a lot. Though we were a huge group of people, they managed to deliver every order precisely.

DRINKS

The Boozy Griffin is one among such rare pubs which gives equal priority to mocktails compared to cocktails, which makes us easy to include non-alcoholic friends in our parties. Believe me, each and every cocktails & mocktails we had that night was awesome. May it be the presentation, texture or the taste, it was really outstanding. They also have wide variety of beers and hope they serve beer from tap soon.

Some of the Mocktails we had are:

Bora Bora : First drink of the evening and it definitely impressed everyone. It was an elegant mixture of Passion Fruit syrup, pineapple and a pinch of lemon flavor.

English Chocolate: It was classic and stood out of the league. Its much recommended for chocolate lovers. Its the mixture of fresh cream, banana, chocolate and apple juice.

Die for you: This was my personal favorite. It was creamy and pinchy at the same time with the light sourness in the background. I just loved this drink and yes! I can die for this drink.

Key Lime Pie: Its more of a dessert than a mocktail. I just tasted it once, it had the traces of vanilla and cinnamon.






And now about  cocktails:

Cosmopolitan: A straightforward drink with no fancy flavors. It was vodka based along with the combination of cranberry and lime.

Griffin Dot Com: A special drink which is carries the brand name Griffini. It was presented on smoking base which added more temptation. This vodka based cocktail had a great combination of pineapple, cinnamon & lemon grass.

Boozy Foxtail: This was whisky based cocktail with a strong note of taste. It will definitely make an impression to the whisky lovers.

Rainbow Shooter

If you are in Griffini with a gang, then you must try this drink. As soon as this drink arrived on our table, we started to choose the colors of which we will have. A perfect chemistry must have been worked out in the bar to create this marvelous drink with different colors. It was really great!

Dr No: Brilliantly chosen name, this was the vodka based drink with green apple flavor in the background and with strong ginger aroma. I loved it.

FOOD

They have succeeded in creating a great menu which has covered almost all international cuisines. It is really happy to see that they have given equal priority to vegetarian food too. Each and every dishes will make you to crave more forgetting about your stomach’s limitation. Our dining experience included following menu:

Peshawari Tarkari: The first dish to arrive on our table and it tasted so delicious. Perfectly cooked vegetables were tossed with perfect blend of peshawari masala.

Veg Nachos: Nachos were perfect and the veg salsa supplied with it was great. Both tasted good.

MagicShrooms: This is USP of the boozy griffin. Though I won’t eat mushrooms generally, the presentation tempted me so much and the reactions of my fellow foodies made me to taste this dish. And I would have regretted a lot if I hadn’t tasted it. It was heavenly. I ordered one more plate of this.

Tex Mex Roll: This was another dish which I loved to the core. The fried roll of raw vegetable dipped in the cheese filled veg salad was really impressive. I really loved having it again and again.

Grilled Veg and Hummus Quesadilla: Though it looks very normal in presentation, with combining the right amount of salsa it becomes deliciously temptative dish. A brilliant work of chef.

Stuffed cheese Onion Rings: How can some one hate this dish. Everything about this dish was perfect. It was fried and stuffed accurately.

Beer Batters Cheese Ball: Another dish which crowd loved the most. Right from the presentation to taste, it was just great. I don’t know how many time we ordered this dish. It was an ultimate satisfying starter which I had in recent times.

Griffin Exotic Pizza: Ah! It was exotic in deed! Appeared like it has been baked in oven of heaven. And the toppings… they were too good. Especially caramelized onions, it tempts me even when I think about this pizza. I loved this pizza so much.




DESSERT: In my view, dessert is the last thing you remember after a great party in menu. So, its better to get it right as it puts a final impression. And yes! The Boozy Griffin has successfully imprinted its final impression with two great desserts;

Lava cake: It was good with the right texture, softness and sweetness. It was indeed a perfect way to end your dining experience.

Coffee Rum Cheese Cake: Personally I didn’t like this dessert as the base was too hard and due to uneven spread of sourness. The coffee flavour was very light.

EVERYTHING ELSE

They do have valet parking facility along with a decent space for two wheeler parking. They take hygiene factor way too seriously. Every corner of this pub was neat and tidy. I was able to get a glimpse of kitchen too and it was managed well and systematically.
The only flaw I observed was, as the music pumps up you will feel like dancing but there is no enough dancing space at all. Management has to take a serious note on this and should try to expand dance floor.


FINAL VERDICT: Whether its your first date night or a night with your buddy group. This place is just perfect for everything. Just forget the time boozing yourself at The Boozy Griffin.

BAKASURA RATING

4.5 / 5 

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GALLERY