We continue with our reader-driven series on must-sample restaurants and eating places in India. This time around, Amith Prabhu tells us about a Bangalore restaurant offering Mangalorean cuisine.
Are you someone who loves Mangalorean food? Or are you a Mangalorean who is desperately missing home-cooked food? Then we have found the right address for you.
Head to Mangalore Pearl on Coles Road.
Just a year old, this Mangalore eating house is the project of a first generation entrepreneur Steven Pinto, who quit his job as a techie, after 20 years, to set up shop.
The seafood really rocks. You get five kinds of fish at any given time (seer or surmai, ladyfish, sardines, mackerels, pomfret and more), squid, prawns, clams and mussels -- all cooked in different styles. Mangalorean specialities in chicken, pork and mutton are also served.
The Squid Butter Garlic and Mussels Roast Masala are good bets. You could also try the Chicken Kori Roti which is very spicy and consists of dry rice wafers and chicken curry, which you need to pour over the wafers.
Vegetarians have a limited choice, but what they do have does not disappoint. The Mixed Vegetable Curry, Channa Sukkha and Moong Sukkha are good and not too spicy.
Solkadi and kokum juice are must-try appetisers. The desserts -- Mani (a jelly made of Ragi or rice and dry fruit) and the Caramel Custard -- are also great value for money.
The most amazing part is the pricing. A meal for two, with a side dish, main course, coastal appetisers and dessert, rarely goes beyond Rs 200.
The service is superb -- friendly waiters doing their best to ensure prompt service.
The decor and ambience is not much to write home about, but the owner makes every guest feel truly at home.
Easily accessible on Coles Road, next to NDTV studio at the Wheelers Road crossing in Fraser Town, Mangalore Pearl has its share of regulars who swear by it. It also has the home delivery option and is closed on Tuesdays.
Phone: (080) 25578855
Amith Prabhu, 25, works as an associate with Genesis/Burson-Marsteller and lives in Bangalore.
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