Mama's

1701, Stockton St.,

San Francisco, CA

Phone: (415) 362 6421
Website: http://www.mamas-sf.com/index.html

Food: 4/5
Ambience: 3.5/5
Service: 3.5/5
Meal for 2: $$

Thanks to a 'continental drift', we have been MIA on the blog for a long long while. Yes, we are now on the other side of the Pacific ocean - which does not bode too well for our waistlines (you must see the portion sizes here - HUGE!) but yayy to new foodie adventures!!!

Mandatory pic of the Golden gate bridge - check.

The San Francisco Bay Area, where we now live, is like an 'amreekan' version of Bangalore - there's the Silicon Valley, there are the desi geeks and there are the restaurants - oh! the restaurants - of all shapes and sizes, from every corner of the world, where one can savour a different cuisine for every day of the month. No wonder we are so tummy-happy with the move!

A frantic google search on an empty stomach in San Francisco pointed us to Mama's, located in North Beach, the Italian quarter of sunny SF. Online reviews warned of a looong wait for a table and boy- where they right or what! We waited a good 40 minutes outside on a Saturday mid-morning - our hungry tummies growling from bass to baritone. Not to mention the tempting menu on the window (torture- I tell you) and the smell of toast and eggs and other good things wafting out - I was wiping off my drool from the sidewalk .

Waiting.....

...and some more

The iss-speshals!

The tiny but cosy restaurant was done up in cheery colours to match the holiday season and was full of happy, chattering folks (must be the food - always a good sign!). The orders are taken at the cash register but making up our minds on what to eat was no easy task - everything sounded yummy! M'omelettes (short for Mama's omelettes) or benedicts? French toast or pancakes? How about one of each? Thankfully this foolishly sanguine idea was promptly dismissed in the interest of errrm....health, shall we say?

'Tis the season to be jolly

So we waited for our order to arrive over coffee and a mug of hot chocolate. My omelette arrived - fluffy and light, folded over minced Dungeness crab, sliced avocado and havarti cheese. My choice was driven by my love for the crustacean (of course as food!!!) and also to make the most of the Dungeness crab season that had just begun. There was a lot of crab inside the omelette - soft and fleshy - needing just a hint of salt and pepper to enjoy the fresh and flavorful meat. The cheesy avocado elevated this simple breakfast into a hearty meal. (Excuse me, while I salivate on the memory.)

Dungeness crab omelette

The chocolate cinnamon french toast for Balaji came with heaps of berries and bananas and gooey chocolate syrup drizzled on top. Soaked in eggy goodness and dusted with sugar, it looked like it would send one into a sugar rush lasting for days. Surprisingly, it wasn't overpoweringly sweet- just the right degree of sinful goodness.

Chocolate cinnamon French toast

Being the inquisitive Indians that we are, we could not help but unabashedly look at tables around us to 'check out' what others were having. We learnt that the Monte Cristo (turkey breast and baked ham sandwich, in cheddar and havarti cheese bread dipped in egg, grilled and served with homemade jam) is a popular lunch option here (Mama's is open for breakfast and lunch only). We also heard of (and promptly noted down) some other popular restaurant haunts in the city. What a wealth of info some discreet eavesdropping can get you! Warning - This stunt to be performed only by experts.

A fresh batch of Monte Cristo's being made in the tiny and busy kitchen

Despite being packed, service at Mama's is prompt and quick. The waiters are well-informed and courteous and the ambiance, warm and welcoming.

Mama's is a lovely nook of North Beach to refuel after a jaunt in the city. There's always the longish but pleasant walk all the way to Fisherman's Wharf to work off all those calories later!

Did you know......................

........................................that the Dungeness crab is named after Dungeness, Washington where the US West Coast's first commercial fishery, mainly producing these crabs, was built in 1848?

.......................................that French toast is supposed to taste best when made from day-old or leftover bread? In fact, French toast is called pain perdu which means "lost bread" in French.

Hae Kum Gang

20, Paul Castle,
Castle Street, Near Brigade Towers,
Ashoknagar, Bangalore - 5600025.
Phone : 41127730, 41127732
email : haekumgang@hotmail.com

Food: 3.25/5
Service: 3/5
Ambience: 2.5/5
Meal for 2: Rs 700

The food scene in Bangalore never ceases to amaze us. Where else would you find great Korean food, prepared true to its roots, miles away from its land of origin? Hae Kum Gang (named after a river in Korea), on Castle Street, pleasantly surprised us with the lovely cuisine of far away Korea.
Perched on the second level of a drab office building, one would not believe that this restaurant houses a cheerful and homely atmosphere - spilling over with Koreans, busy catching up with each other and with their ghar ka khana! A boisterous group of Korean students occupied the table next to ours and their spirit was infectious. Artefacts from and about Korea filled the simple and well lit dining area.



Crowded!


The staff was courteous and prompt though they hardly spoke any English (definitely room for improvement here). It was getting a bit difficult conversing with them which was when the owner, Mr Chi Jung Sik stepped in and was more than helpful with his suggestions.
Since we were totally clueless about Korean cuisine, he suggested the meal sets (with choices of chicken, seafood, beef, pork and vegetarian) which had a bit of everything that is part of a traditional Korean meal, something like our thalis.



Looks like Greek and Latin? - its actually Korean!


The chicken chulpan gui set had juicy chicken gui (grilled meat in Korean) presented on a sizzling plate (chulpan). And we really enjoyed slurping the outrageously tasty seafood broth that was part of the hemul jeon gol set (hemul means seafood). Rich and aromatic, with succulent pieces of fish, prawn, mussels, squid, shrimp and even crab - this broth alone can make for a wholesome meal even without the accompaniments.



Chicken chulpan gui set



Slurpy broth

Speaking of accompaniments, or banchan as they are known in Korea, the sets were served alongside spinach, sweetened baby potatoes, tofu, batter fried brinjal, vegetable soup and rice - all unlimited. Two kinds of kimchi (Chinese cabbage and radish) complete the meal. We heard that the kimchi is prepared fresh everyday and is also sold by the kilo.
Kimchi, a Korean staple made of fermented vegetables and spices, is traditionally eaten with rice and banchan. Spicy and tangy (sweeter variations are also found in certain regions of Korea) , it is probably Korea's best known food. In fact, the Koreans are so passionate about this food item that in 1986, a museum was established in Seoul to inform and educate the world about it!Thousands of foreigners were introduced to it for the first time during the Summer Olympics in Seoul in 1988!
Bulgogi is another popular meat dish in Korea made from marinated and barbecued beef. We had to give it a miss because we were stuffed (after all the broth and kimchi we gulped down!) but we are sure it is delicious.
We felt the dessert section was woefully inadequate considering that the rest of the menu was full of great choices. Ice creams in different flavours and a fruit dish with seasonal fruits in sugar syrup was all that was on offer.
Strictly for the adventurous foodie, this is the kind of place in Bangalore which will wake up your tastebuds. Jal meokkesseumnida (Bon Appetit) !

Did you know....................
........................that when taking photographs, South Koreans often use the word 'kimchi' in the same way as English speakers say 'cheese'?
........................that unlike the Chinese version, Korean chopsticks are medium length stainless steel rods that taper to a square blunted end, traditionally made of brass or silver? Koreans use a spoon for their rice and soup, and chopsticks for most other things at the table.
.......................that a segment of the population in Korea consume dog meat during the summer since it is believed to keep the body cool? Since 1984, selling dog meat has been illegal in South Korea. Dog meat manufacturing and processing are not allowed, but the order is sometimes ignored. And relax, Hae Kum Gang DOES NOT serve dog meat.

Roasted Pepper Prawns with Pasta in Arabiatta Sauce

Healthy food is generally perceived as bland and boring. However, a cookery show where Sanjeev Kapoor was featuring a zero-oil recipe - roasted pepper prawns, caught our attention last week.It seemed so easy to make and looked so good that we tried it out later that week. Paired with pasta, it turned out to be a simple, healthy and fulfilling meal - one that can be cooked when you are pressed for time.

The ingredients for the Roasted Pepper Prawns are:
Jumbo or medium sized prawns, cleaned and deveined 250gms
Tomato sauce 2 tbsps
Mustard sauce/paste 1 tbsp
Chopped garlic 1 tsp
Ginger-garlic paste 2 tsp
Ground black pepper 2 tsp
Broccoli and chopped carrots 1 cup
Lemon juice 1/2 tsp
Few fresh basil leaves (can be substituted with 1/2 tsp of dried basil)
Salt to taste


Ingredients for roasted pepper prawns

Boil the broccoli florets and carrots with very little water in a pressure cooker. Five minutes is enough or else the veggies will end up overcooked and soggy.
Mix the tomato ketchup, ginger garlic paste, mustard paste, cooked carrot and broccoli, prawns, salt and ground black pepper. You can add a little more tomato ketchup if the mixture seems too dry. However, go easy on the mustard paste, since it has an overpowering flavour that can mask the taste of the other ingredients.
Heat a cooking pan and roast the chopped garlic- no oil, remember?- for a minute. Now add the mixture prepared earlier and cook on medium flame for around 8 minutes. Garnish with fresh, torn (this brings out the flavour) basil leaves. Dried basil available in most stores can also be used instead. Add some lemon juice if desired. Serve with pasta cooked as mentioned below.



Roasted Pepper Prawns

Ingredients for Pasta with Arrabiata sauce:
Spaghetti - just enough for 2 (this is usually half of the normal packet size that is available in stores)
Arrabiata Sauce - 3 tbsps
Extra virgin olive oil - 1 tbsps
Dried basil - 1/2 tsp
Dried oregano - 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Cook the pasta as per instructions on the pack. Remember not to overcook it; it should be al dente. Make sure you add a couple of drops of olive oil to the boiling water so that the pasta does not turn out sticky. Once cooked, drain and keep aside some of the pasta starch.
Heat the remaining olive oil in a pan. Add the arrabiata sauce and cook on medium heat for a minute. Add 4 tbsps of the pasta starch and cook for another minute. Now add the cooked pasta and dried basil and oregano. Toss till the sauce and pasta get mixed well. Serve hot.


Pasta with arrabiata sauce

The whole meal took about 30 minutes to make but the end result looks like a lot of time has been spent on it - truly gourmet ;). All the items for the recipes are easily available at departmental stores. Jumbo sized or atleast medium sized prawns would be ideal for the roasted pepper prawns though we used small prawns. The recipes given above serve two.

Did you know.......
......................that the arrabiata sauce is called the angry sauce? The word arrabiata is Italian for "in an angry mood", which describes perfectly the spicy, zingy flavor of a good arrabiata sauce.
......................that "spaghetti" is the plural form of the Italian word "spaghetto", which is a diminutive of "spago," meaning "thin string" or "twine"? The word "spaghetti" can be literally translated as "little strings."

Cafe Inch

57, Milestone, Defence Colony, 100 ft road, Indiranagar, Bangalore - 560 038
Phone : +91 80 4153 8088

Food : 2.75/5
Service : 2/5
Ambience : 2.75/5
Meal for 2 : Rs 250 approx (for breakfast)

The first Indian outlet of a Swiss venture, this cafe offers a refreshing atmosphere to sink into a filling meal. The interiors look inviting with splashes of orange and yellow and comfortable couches as well as tables, both inside and outside (where you can have your meal overlooking the 100ft road - but I guess that wouldn't make for a pleasant view on a weekday, what with choc-a-block traffic on the road!).



The menu listed a whole lot of options for breakfast, starters, soups, items for lunch/dinner, pastas, juices, teas and coffees. We opted for an English breakfast (just realized, I'm blogging about English breakfast for the second time...hmmm) which was scrambled eggs on toast, bacon, sausage, baked beans and juice.




English breakfast

The eggs and bacon were well done. The baked beans tasted quite good too but I suspect this came straight out of a can :). There were also sauteed mushrooms along with the breakfast which was succulent.
However, the service is quite slow at Inch. The waiters look a little lost and take ages to get your order. This kind of mars the experience of a satisfying meal. There is definitely room for improvement in this area.



Our recommendation -go to Cafe Inch for the food but don't expect attentive service. You will come away with a happy tummy!

Cafe De Lekkerbek

80ft road, Koramangala, Bangalore.
Phone : 57686767
email: lekkerbek@rediffmail.com
blog: http://belgiancafe.blogspot.com/



Note: Just after writing this post, the name of this eatery was changed to Cafe Terra



Belgian Cafe on the first floor


Food : 2.75/5
Service : 2/5
Ambience : 2.5/5
Meal for 2: Rs 250 for breakfast

A lazy Sunday morning in December, swathed in wollens, half awake from deep slumber we set out to a Belgian cafe in Koramangala. This suburb is teeming with a profusion of restaurants of all shapes, sizes and cuisines but most of them, according to our experience,turn out to be run of the mill with just a fancy name to attract crowds. However we were pleased to discover that Cafe De Lekkerbek lived up to its reputation and it was well worth dragging ourselves out of bed on a cold morning!!

The cafe is tucked away on 80ft road, Koramangala in the same building as Bandbox. A small cosy looking place with a huge shelf full of Tintin comics (which other Belgian can you think of?)

along with Calvin & Hobbes and Archie comics on one wall,this restaurant looks like the ideal place to sit with a book and coffee for hours.






Gourmet, epicure or glutton - what are you?

Spongy delicious muffins, perfect waffles with maple syrup along with hot tea on a wintry morning.... thats exactly what I had in the Belgian breakfast. The waffles were lovely - crisp on the outside, not too soggy, sprinkled with powdered sugar and served with maple syrup. My hunt for the perfect waffle in Bangalore is over!!!




Belgian Breakfast


Balaji had a filling English breakfast which was toast, a chicken cutlet, eggs (made to order - scrambled in this case) and chicken sausages with coffee. The sausages seemed to have a mild hint of masala in it which tasted so good that he ordered an extra plate of them coz I was polishing off his share with glee! The scrambled eggs were peppered, light and fluffy. The cutlet was crunchy and tasted more Indian than English but who cares coz it tasted good:)






English Breakfast

I think it's something in the air over there, what with the delicious smells of cooking wafting out of the kitchen area, I was tempted into ordering a spanish omlette despite my groaning tummy. The crunchy layers of spinach, baby corn and many more veggies makes for a scrumptious and filling meal in itself. We wolfed it down like we were starved for ages!

The menu also lists food from across the continent for lunch and dinner. Their minestrone soup, banana cakes and various salads are quite popular. This is a place that definitley requires a second visit!!

Kamat Non-Veg Parcels

Chicken Biryani

Vuda Complex, Siripuram, Vizag; Dwarakanagar Main Road, Opposite Titan showroom, Vizag and Lawson's Bay Colony, Vizag.
Phone: 0891 5560290

Food : 3 /5
Meal for 2 : Rs 300

Imagine savouring on spicy biryani- the recipe for which comes straight from the kings' kitchen! Well, thats exactly what you will find at Kamat Non-Veg Parcels in Vizag which has three outlets in the city. This eatery was conceived by K.Subba Raju who belongs to the Raju dynasty of Vijayanagaram that is known for its delicious Hyderabadi biryani. The same time-tested recipe is used to prepare the biryani at Kamat's.

Kamat Non-Veg Parcels is synonymous with home cooked non-vegetarian Andhra cuisine in Vizag. Yes, all the items in the Kamat outlets are cooked under the supervision of K.Subba Raju's wife. And as the name suggests, this is a take-away place, therefore ambience and service does not count here. The food is laid out in a buffet and the customers walk in, inspect the menu of the day, place their orders and collect their parcels.

Kamat's is best known for its chicken and mutton biryanis, prawn dishes and a wide range of curries. The Andhra curry menu offers chicken, mutton, fish and the very popular crab curry. The crabs are sourced from the Godavari river, which flows past the city of Vizag and the seafood comes fresh from the Bay of Bengal.

We tried the chicken biryani which lived up to its reputation; the spices just right with juicy well-cooked pieces of chicken. The fish curry that we had ordered alongside was a tad too oily for our taste. But the fish was quite up to the mark and tasted good.

Apart from the Andhra menu there are also some Punjabi items on offer as well as a limited Chinese menu. The food is always fresh and once an item is sold out for the day, it is not replaced on the menu.

This bustling place is open from 10-30 am to 3-30 pm and then again from 6 in the evening till it closes at midnight.

Kamat's offers good value for money for foodies who want to try out authentic coastal Andhra food.