Apr 21, 2010 08:15 AM
1662 Views
Success in food business is mostly based on how the customer perceives them and they living up to it. The choice of menu, taste, ambiance & service all have their role to play. There are Chinese joints with a cook from Nepal or Darjeeling. His looks are Mongolian. But the stuff you eat is only an imitation. It is the chef's perception of Chinese. Such quacks exist in all business and so do they in food business. Most of the north Indian food serving restaurants in and around the city of Bangalore are predominantly thriving on this principle. And if liquor is served, even with the best north Indian cook around, you can take it for sure that the taste & it's impact gets diluted.
Mast kalandar is a very rare effort to provide 100% veg food which is tasty under a relaxed ambiance which at times is very close to the expected taste or the way it tastes in north india. The menu starts with a choice of 3 meal combo's depending on how hungry you are. Tadka dal, 2 phulkas [or 2 roti] and a sabzi with a spot of raita, chutney & a salad for 65/- seems inexpensive. Of course you can get 2 sabzis or a full meal with a desert and chaas as you progress upwards on the choices.
The parantha combos are equally well thought of. The choice of any parantha [about 9 to choose from] is served with daal makhni, raitha, chutney.a good choice would be masala aloo, aloo 2 pyaza & paushtik parantha. They seem to be the toppers. The paranthas are thick, well stuffed and the quantity is sumptuous .the parantha combo price ranges between 65/- to 100/- depending upon your choice and is a full meal in itself ! In the knick knacks or the starters department, there are chatoree chats and kababs. Among the choice, hot & spicy tikki and kyunki khane se pehle kabab are a must while a typical patiala chaas or a lassi helps you wash it down.
The other food option is to have a plate of roti/naan with a subzi. This is called the mast curry combo.in this list the balle balle pindi chole and gourmet saag paneer is out of the world and so is mast methi paneer.the first one served with amritsari kulche and the second with garlic naan.mast methi paneer is served with namak mirchi ke paranthe.they are absolute value for money.[costing about 88/- , 95/- & 99/- receptively] [the palak saag is one of my personal favorites, since very few Bangalore restaurants offer this, they offer palak in gravy form over boiled]
Now coming to the the rice dept. Again a combo offer with a choice of chole chawal , biryani, kadhi, rajma and so on. dilli style rajma chawal and ghantaghar ke kadhi chawal take the cake. They are served raitha, salad, papad and chutney. All in all spending about 100/- to 150/- for a good north Indian food which is tasty enough to claim it’s authenticity is definitely a great idea. God bless mast kalandar.
