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BangaloreMirror

I FRIDAY, JULY 19, 2013

18

Food with many fusion twists

Manu Prasad bmfeedback@gmail.com

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ne of the lesser known meanings of the word tilt is a combat between two mounted knights like a joust. The Tilt we visited bills itself as Bangalores first destination gastropub. I know a certain Monkey who might pick a joust over that, but since Koramangala IS Bangalore for a lot of people, well let that pass. When wed dropped in at Tilt a couple of months back, we had the luxury of choosing our seating at 8 pm on a Saturday, but this time, people who walked in at that time didnt even have a choice of where to stand. The place was packed the ground floor, the mezzanine seating, and the outdoor option! I get the feeling that a certain DJ TT had a hand in it, but even otherwise, judging from our experience the food and the general vibe the place deserved it. The interiors include hat tips to music in the form of posters all over, but we wondered whether they had gone a bit overboard with the grunge look. However, the rest of the experience easily takes over before you start paying attention to the details. Familiar is the word that Tilt uses to describe the music it plays, and it was exactly that. Yes, a bit loud, but everyone seemed to be having a blast, and that brought the painful realisation that age was not really tilting in my favour!

Cuisine Owner(s) Chef Alcohol Wine List Price range

Parking

Appetisers:

Broth of leeks and Chicken Soup; Pork Cocktail Sausages; Mini Wharf Burger; Billions of Blistering Blue Barnacles

The menu is an eclectic mix of various cuisines, with many fusion twists. In addition to the regular menu, theres also a bar snacks menu. A rainy night menu meant that we had to try a soup. The Broth of leeks and charred Zaatar flavoured chicken got a few points just for the unique presentation, and the mildly spicy soup didnt disappoint on taste either. We missed the German snail sausages in the dish, but the Pork Cocktail sausages and the superb sauerkraut seasoning quite made up for it. Billions of Blue Blistering Barnacles was up next grilled seafood, mushroom ceviche,

crisp Basil chiffonade chicken with chlorophyll mayo and Peruvian bread. We found squid, prawn, and fish; the mayo deserves a special mention for the flavour it lent to the dish. The Old Monk Chicken crispy chilli hot wings has been a favourite and continued to be everything it promised. Alcoholic adventures continued with the Sangria, which had brandy in it, and was actually good! The Tilt Kiss (mocktail version) was not bad either, but the Cosmopolitan turned out to be too sweet.

choice, mostly thanks to its name dropping among ingredients ham and bacon, to be specific. But the thin pizza was only average, though quite filling. For those interested, there is also a Man vs Burger championship thats always on.

Wheelchair access Service Sound level & Music

International, Pub cuisine Prashant, Lohit, Arvind Manikantama Naidu Yes Well-stocked bar For about `1,500, you could share a drink, a non veg starter, a couple of main course dishes and a dessert (Inclusive of taxes and service charge) Street parking, though they have some heavily contested space in front No

Entree:

Technically, the mini wharf burgers are part of the bar snacks menu, but given that we were a few drinks down, we tilted it towards the main course! I was warned that their appearance was deceiving and theyd be quite filling. I think there is some tasty truth in it. The Fusilli in creamy pesto with mushrooms was thick and creamy, but might have felt a little ignored in the company of meatier dishes. Capriscisico calebresse was our pizza of

Afters: From the half-a-dozen options, we chose the Chilled strawberry bisque and the Crme Brule (sic). The former also had pistachio quenelles and ricotta cream, which complemented the strawberry flavour, but couldnt really elevate the dish. The Crme Brulee was crunchy and custardy, but the custard was a little too hard. You could go with the Gianduja hot chocolate souffl which has fried chocolate biscuits and a chocolate vanilla creamy 'soup' which complement each other well. In all: Tilt has a lot of things going
for it good food, energetic vibes and from a few experiences, superb music. What it can work on

Friendly and prompt Excellent music, but you might need to communicate on WhatsApp Ambience Functional, comfortable Hours 11.30 am 11.30 pm Home delivery No Reservations Absolutely must, unless you want to give the evil eye to seated diners

BM VERDICT

are the details eg. dog-eared menu cards. If they do, theres nothing that stops the establishment from going ahead full tilt, even amidst the gastronomic abundance thats Koramangala.

Bangalore Mirror reviews anonymously and pays for meals

BM SAVEUR: MAGHAI PAAN SHOP

This paan shop is a must-stop shop for any Bangalorean returning from a dinner and passing St Marks Road
s a 17-year-old boy, 50 years ago, Gulabchand Singh came to Bangalore from Allahabad. He came here to study but didn't want lose himself in books and instead got inspired by his brother who had a paan shop on Brigade Road to start his own. His brother, four years older to Singh, suggested that he open a paan shop on St Marks Road at theKoshy's corner. Ever since, on a car seat covered with a plastic gunny-bag, in a white kurta pyjama, Gulabchand Singh (popularly known as Chacha) sits and prepares paan that Bangaloreans consider the best. Maghai Paan Shop is a 6X7 shop that is blue and brown. When you stand for a paan, your eyes will linger to the wall at the back of the shop where three photos of Hindu gods are prominently displayed. The tiny blue, black, silver
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and red tins have various powders that Chacha uses to make his paan. Right in the centre of the matchbox shop is a wooden box which is the parcel counter. Occasionally when Chacha is travelling, the paan is prepared by four boys from his village who have learnt the tricks of the trade. Paan banana dikkath ki cheez nahi hoti (It is not a difficut task to make paan), says Chacha. Since the last five decades, Chacha has been using the same masalas to prepare the paan. The recipe has never changed because it's such an easy item to prepare. He uses gulkand, khajur, kesar and more. Chacha has never sold cigarettes. There is no effort in selling a cigarette pack because you are just giving a pack to a customer. You're not making anything, says Chacha. He feels the

same about selling coffee and tea, and hence doesn't sell either. Over the years, apart from the change in the price of paan, Chacha feels that there is a change even in everything around him. It was clean and green here before, but now there are so many highrise buildings around my shop, says Chacha. When he started, he would sell a paan for 20 paisa. But today, one maghai paan is Rs 15. People from all walks of life visit his shop including the stars from Sandalwood - Puneet Rajkumar and Uppi saar (Upendra) who are his regular clients. The shop opens at 7.30 am and Chacha says there is not a moment to relax... business is brisk and he can rest only when he shuts shop for the day at 11.30 pm. Khushali P Madhwani