Bangalore restaurants- Food and Travel: Home delivery

48 East

Tuesday, May 23, 2017ruthdsouzap

Being a working mom I sometimes wonder what it would be like if we didn't have some good food home delivery services nearby. I live in Jayanagar and the choice caters largely to popular choice. That being said, there are a few places that we have been loyal to for the past 15 years or so that we have been in this area. I am also a bit envious of other locations like Indiranagar and Koramangala that tend to have an overload in terms of choice because of the sheer variety. Anyways, the kind folks at 48 East, an Asian delivery service based in Indiranagar recently offered to send me a sampling of their menu. What came was quite literally Sunday brunch and all that you see below fed 4 adults and a child and then had quite some leftover as well. Take a look at what we had

This was the entire spread out on my table and I made sure I set things up fast - the food made its way to us from Koramangala and arrived piping hot. What I really appreciated was that none of the boxes had a spillover of any sort. Not one dumpling got smashed, nor did a single noodle find itself drenched in the sauce that is supposed to be on the side. It all looked good and we couldn't wait to dive in.

We started with Bulgogi Chicken Salad which had think slices of chicken, salad greens, bellpeppers and quinoa as well. A citrus based salad dressing comes with this, on the side and a good shake later, this salad was ready to eat. The chicken is moist, thanks to the cooking and not the dressing and the rest of the ingredients still had their crunch and colour going strong. I could certainly make a meal of this salad alone.

Next up was the Thai Guava and Raw Mango Salad and this one too, with a sweeter dressing on the side to offset the tanginess of the raw mango. The salad has a great mix of sweet, sour, tangy and spicy thanks to those little red jalapenos that are in the salad as well. Crunch factor is high on this one and it is a very enjoyable salad.

Afghan Aushak Green Dumplings - So I have to admit that when I first read the name, I was a bit taken aback. Somehow Afghan and Dumpling did not go together for me. And then I did a little reading to find out that it is indeed a regular on Afghani menus, but is a special occasion dish with meat and scallion forming the filling. Am guessing the colour here comes from spinach. These were moist, steaming on the inside, despite making the trip from Koramangala. The tomato based dip is, in my understanding a take on the tomato sauce that is usually a part of this dish.

Chicken and Garlic Golden Gyoza - These are delicate little parcels with chicken and garlic, with three kinds of dip - a mayonnaise based one, and two varying chilli based one. Each one added to the flavour profile of the filling. The garlic is not predominant and complements the chicken well. The dumplings are not chewy or doughy as they sometimes tend to get. And I loved the touch of garnishing with the dry chilli flakes.

These Honey Chilli Wings served up with cabbage and carrot salad and some pickled sesame carrots were brilliant in their balance of spice and sweet. Not something you usually see in home delivery dishes. The marinade is nice and sticky even post cooking, giving you enough reason to lick those fingers shamelessly and look around for a beer bottle if you don't have it near you already.

The one mistake I made with these Pan Fried Chicken Baos is that I did not have them first. But truth be told, they tasted fabulous when they were cold too. So while I had the taste of one at room temperature, I got my lazy self up and heated the second one to taste it the way it should be. The baos are lovely in their springy soft texture and the filling ample. Hit these first if you plan to order them.

Now getting down to the heavy stuff - Burmese Vegetable Stew with Tangy Potato Salad made me a very happy lady. It had everything that is my idea of a comfort meal- it was hot, it was coconutty and thereby in my definition gooey and it has baby potatoes along with flat noodles. How can you not love a dish of this nature?

And while I can't get the official name of this meal in a box - it had Basil Fried Rice along with bokchoy, mushrooms and cashews and was wrapped in a leaf that imparted a lovely fragrance (pandan maybe?)

And then another one that qualifies for my hot and gooey favorites - a Seafood Laksa - this is a sizable portion and can be shared - though if you are making a meal of it, you can easily get through one. I know I can. A lovely, creamy version this one and you will find it another one of those comfort meals. I rarely find such dishes in takeaway options. In fact, I have just two that I hold in high esteem and now I can add a third one!

Perhaps the only dish that did not go down too well with all of us was the Kung Pao Braised Lamb with Basil and Mint Noodles. While meat in itself was good, there was something in the sauce that added a burnt bitter flavour that overpowered everything else. The Basil and Mint Noodles though were great on their own.

The meal rounded off with two desserts - A Date Caramel custard and Banana Nut Rolls - Both were just right on the levels of sweetness and made for the ideal dessert after an Asian meal.

Banana Nut Roll

Though 48East is yet to start delivering to my part of the world, there is no reason you should not get online or on your phone and have yourself a good meal. An average meal costs approximately Rs 400. Joseph Cherian and Nabhojit Ghosh, you have something really good going.

48East currently serves Indiranagar, Cambridge layout, Old Airport road, HAL 2nd and 3rd Stage, Tippasandara, Ulsoor and Domlur. You can place your orders through www.fortyeighteast.com or through the app on Android / iOS

Bangalore restaurant reviews budget eating Burgers/Sandwiches

Freshmenu

Thursday, January 21, 2016Me! In words

So this has been a post in the making for a long while now. Over the last year or so, there seems to have been an avalanche of sorts when it comes to home delivery of food - from curators, to independent kitchens to home cooks and so many more. There was once a time when Tandoori Nights in Jayanagar was our one and only go to place for takeaway and comfort food - but now, we are spoiled for choice (PS: I still love Uncle and Tandoori Nights).

I used to be extremely skeptical about online delivery services. Having been on the receiving end of "order was not registered", "its raining, our Internet is down", "We can't track our delivery boy", "We don't deliver to your area, despite confirming your order online that we can" - I was all but ready to give up with most services. But then Sudhakar convinced me to give Freshmenu a go.

So we ordered and the order came in 45 minutes later than it should have and I walked around with a "I told you so" look on my face. But our first order of a pasta and burger turned out to be so good, that I was willing to give it a go again. And I am happy to report that from our second order, close to around 6 months ago, I have never had an order come in late.

Yes, on occasion, the chicken in the chicken salad was forgotten, or a dish was left out of an order, but that was rectified soon enough, with just a phone call. Every place is allowed a few mistakes. But bottom line has been that the food has always been worth the money.

The food has always been good, the packaging great (I have found some great uses for the boxes outside of the kitchen!) and the innovation regular. The introduction of the breakfast platters were a great addition and very filling for a weekend brunch. In most cases, I just fried up some bacon at home and completed the breakfast platter the way I wanted it. The seasonal jams and preserves that come in are always brilliant.

Christmas time saw the addition of some really good plum cakes and we ordered ourselves a few of those. Currently Freshmenu is on a specials spree and they are done with their Asian and Bread specials and are currently on their Burger promotions. We have been sure to order something for each special each time.

So Freshmenu divides their menu into Appetizers/Salads, Mains and Desserts. We don't usually do desserts, but this once we ordered a Walnut cake with caramel drizzle (I may have got this name a bit wrong) and it was fabulous. The salads can be a meal in themselves and I love that the dressings are never the staid vinaigrette or cream based ones. The orange dressing is a favorite. Special mention goes to their Chicken Quesadillas. I invariably order one of those every single time I see it on the day's menu. The salsa and the sour cream dips are what warrant the repeat orders from me.

And so Freshmenu has become an integral part of the ordering-in culture in the Prabhu family. The fact that the prices are usually in the Rs 200 to Rs 250 for a main course, makes it an affordable good option. I am hoping their specials take them down the Mexican, Japanese and some interesting Indian cuisines way as well.

Take a look at some of what we have ordered. All of these are taken on the phone or the point and shoot and may not really do justice to the dishes. But then hey - we ordered in and wanted to dig in, so had to be quick about it!.