In December, when I moved to Bangalore, I was not a complete stranger to the city having visited it a few times during college and childhood. In fact, there have been fond memories. But moving to a different city to work always brings with itself a set of challenges, the first and the most crucial being food! Bangalore oh sorry, Bengaluru (though I think 'Bangalore' is way more cool) is famous for its ever expanding list of restaurants catering to every strata, every class and every taste that one can have. As I have very few friends in the city, during weekends, I would head out to a restaurant which I would come to know as 'worth trying' or had 'popularity appeal'.
One of the first few places that I visited was 'Nandos' . The 'peri-peri' chicken specialist is located just before Matteo's(another cool place, will talk about it in my next post) and looks colorful from the outside with its blaring green and red insignia. What happens when you go alone to a restaurant is that you tend to observe people sitting around you which arises due to the insecurity that you are alone and the rest are in twos threes or in even bigger groups. Nando's had a lot of families seated, with chicken pieces lying on their tables like fresh kills. Mind you, this was a weekend so a lot of rush was expected. I went in early, at around 8 pm and I was escorted to a table for two(yes, restaurants have always believed that you dine with someone). The friendly waiter came up to me with a menu for drinks and food. After keeping the drinks menu aside, I was curious to read about the 'peri-peri' chicken. For those who don't know, 'peri-peri chicken' is of Portuguese origin. In an attempt to sound like Rocky n Mayur, I asked the waiter to suggest what's the most hot selling dish and what should be ordered. Bummer! I had gone alone and every reason for him to over sell the items on his menu. He politely told me about the chicken and it was a big gulp down my throat. The so-called famed chicken was with bones and not boneless. It was a moment of conundrum when I wanted to simply run out of the restaurant knowing fully well that I will not enjoy their signature dish, rather won't order it. After calming my brain talk in seconds, I figured there is something made for half Indian half Portuguese taste. The final order was 'peri peri' chicken strips with Portuguese rice. What was the oversell? A side order for french fries (Oh boy, they were fabulous and a mound of it too difficult to finish by oneself) which came with a lovely mayo dip and additional pineapple pieces to the rice.
While devouring my meal, I noticed a couple who had ordered just the with-bone signature chicken and a mug of beer each. That is when I felt like my meal was worthless if had alone. Another potato fry in my mouth and I knew I would be making the most of my time in Bangalore by eating at good places.
Nando's was a good experience, simply because it gave me the confidence to be fearless while trying out different type of food (I had never had peri peri chicken in my life, the closest I came was with McD's Piri Piri Fries) and realized that apart from overselling, the staff of a place is very polite if they see a lady come to eat alone.Will I go back to Nando's again? Maybe, to try something different and certainly the french fires!!!
One of the first few places that I visited was 'Nandos' . The 'peri-peri' chicken specialist is located just before Matteo's(another cool place, will talk about it in my next post) and looks colorful from the outside with its blaring green and red insignia. What happens when you go alone to a restaurant is that you tend to observe people sitting around you which arises due to the insecurity that you are alone and the rest are in twos threes or in even bigger groups. Nando's had a lot of families seated, with chicken pieces lying on their tables like fresh kills. Mind you, this was a weekend so a lot of rush was expected. I went in early, at around 8 pm and I was escorted to a table for two(yes, restaurants have always believed that you dine with someone). The friendly waiter came up to me with a menu for drinks and food. After keeping the drinks menu aside, I was curious to read about the 'peri-peri' chicken. For those who don't know, 'peri-peri chicken' is of Portuguese origin. In an attempt to sound like Rocky n Mayur, I asked the waiter to suggest what's the most hot selling dish and what should be ordered. Bummer! I had gone alone and every reason for him to over sell the items on his menu. He politely told me about the chicken and it was a big gulp down my throat. The so-called famed chicken was with bones and not boneless. It was a moment of conundrum when I wanted to simply run out of the restaurant knowing fully well that I will not enjoy their signature dish, rather won't order it. After calming my brain talk in seconds, I figured there is something made for half Indian half Portuguese taste. The final order was 'peri peri' chicken strips with Portuguese rice. What was the oversell? A side order for french fries (Oh boy, they were fabulous and a mound of it too difficult to finish by oneself) which came with a lovely mayo dip and additional pineapple pieces to the rice.
While devouring my meal, I noticed a couple who had ordered just the with-bone signature chicken and a mug of beer each. That is when I felt like my meal was worthless if had alone. Another potato fry in my mouth and I knew I would be making the most of my time in Bangalore by eating at good places.
Nando's was a good experience, simply because it gave me the confidence to be fearless while trying out different type of food (I had never had peri peri chicken in my life, the closest I came was with McD's Piri Piri Fries) and realized that apart from overselling, the staff of a place is very polite if they see a lady come to eat alone.Will I go back to Nando's again? Maybe, to try something different and certainly the french fires!!!
