Travelogue: Back in the Big Mango

[Peter Green]

There must be a mathematical function to describe the deceleration of my posting with relation to the temporal distance from the events themselves.

I don't even have the family about to blame it upon.

But, I shall finish, I promise!

(Close, so close)

[Peter Green]

June 28 – Blowtorch Would Be An Excellent Name For A Band

I like eating with Andrew. I never know where we’re going to end up.

Or when, for that matter.

Shunbo is his current favourite. Japanese, very low key, only a kanji-laden signboard outside to give you a clue that it’s here, tucked into a little alcove off of Sukhumvit Soi 11 at 33/5 (there, the secret’s out).

It’s dark inside, and quiet. Shoes are off, so there’s only the soft tread of stocking’d feet. The space is broken up with partitions, the tables distributed with plenty of space (at least on the ground floor, I didn’t look upstairs).

It’s very private.

Andrew and I took over the bar. It’s not hard, as there were only four chairs there.

And what great chairs! No wooden bar stools, or other quaint furniture. What we had were tall backed leather armchairs, the sort you could lean back into and pass out (more on that later).

As you’d expect in a place like this, there were walls of sake and shochu bottles, each discretely tagged with the customer’s mark. I should’ve taken a picture, but it feels intrusive in a situation like this to presume upon another’s bottles.

Shunbo is sumibiyaki, which is how they grill their meat – over charcoal. This is something I’m more used to from Korean places in Seoul….and, come to think of it, there used to be a place over on Soi 22 by Larry’s Dive – Korean – that did this, but it would pack out with smoke after about an hour or two.

Anyways, the grill’s right in front of us, so we get a good view of everything going out to the tables. The initial impression (for me) is of a Korean place in Seoul transplanted into an exclusive gentleman’s club.

But that’s probably just the leather chairs talking.

Hakutsuru karakuchi jyosen was our beverage of choice. We figured the big bottle would get us started. They had two versions of the Hakutsuru, but karakuchi sounded cuter, so we went with this (I think Andrew had a firmer reasoning behind the choice than I).

An amuse came out for us, a bit of sea borne meat with a sweet plum sauce and fresh spring onion on a bed of daikon. I wish I could tell you exactly what it was, but “fish” is about as far as my memory goes.

I do recall that the slight cloy of the dish (not unpleasant) was gone in an instant with the sake rippling it away.

Sake is good that way.

Heck, sake’s good any way.

And now I was into gorging on things I won’t have for awhile. Some fresh scallops arrived with fresh ground wasabi and pickled kelp. Not a fancy dish, not like the scallop with uni we had at the Four Seasons, but a deeply satisfying dish to have while chatting about food with my friend. This combination, with the lime, called for more sake.

Andrew and I are, we must admit, jaded. He’s got a good point. The new restaurants that have been opening are good, but they’re not delivering anything “new”. Herve does excellent French cuisine at Beaulieu. I have very good faith that Tim’s place – Butler’s – is going to deliver excellent dining, Fabio does fantastic Italian…..

But there isn’t that “different” bit to really grab our attention. Not on a big scale. I’d like to give Ginger the benefit of time right now. I think that there’s an opportunity there, but will that stand on its own, or will it always be compared to what Seiji is doing at Ryugin in Tokyo?

Jaded. That’s us.

But there are bright spots to get us out of our morose moods. This was one such highlight,; Shimesaba no Aburiyaki – or “saba yang” according to my Isaan waitress who was doing the grilling (a nice bit of Thaipanese that – which in itself is a word I should coin, unless Clavell has already done so). This is one of Andrew’s favourite dishes in town at the moment, and he’s been through a lot of dishes.

Just the theatre of the thing makes it worth the baht. It’s a fillet of mackerel, skin on, deftly removed from the bone (okay, I already said fillet), and then blasted just enough to take it away from sashimi. It brings back happy times of wandering through Yaowarat back in the 80s and watching the people grill fish and squid in the alleyways with industrial blowtorch kits.

While the fire was burning, we had some tako wasabi delivered, precious little bits of extremely soft octopus in a wasabi tinged ceviche. I like octopus – a lot – and this was another item that brought smiles to my face.

And mushrooms, of course, had to be ordered. As this is a grilling place, it was grilled mushrooms with ponzu and shredded daikon. “They lay like toppled, chubby leviathans after a battle, a cloudy shroud over their helmeted faces….”

Okay, I won’t quit my day job.

The finished sabayang – grilled mackerel – was sliced and presented for our approval.

We approved.

BK magazine has this in the number one slot of their “Dishes to Die For” list, and rightly so. The meat was only lightly cooked, and retained that intense fishiness I look for in a mackerel. I’ll be back for more of this.

If there’s foie on the menu, we’re going to order it. This just glistened cheerfully at us atop the caramelized pineapple (I think that was what that was).

And, just as a note, good sake goes very well with foie gras, clearing the fat in your mouth so you’re ready for more.

And there was grilled cod roe. I’d been admiring this at or tor kor market earlier in the week, so this seemed like the perfect (and last) opportunity to give this a try.

I’m still looking for shiroko. Andrew thinks it may be a New Year specialty, as that was when he’d found it at Hanako on Thonglor. We’d piled out a few weeks later to give it a shot, but it was off the menu by then.

I’d say more about that, but it may get distressing for some.

And what’s a sumibiyashi joint without pork ribs on the grill?

Or pork ribs on the plate for that matter? These were nicely marinated with a bit of gochujang, but not so much that it took away from the simple goodness we call pork. Soft, but with a bit of chew still there to keep your jaw busy.

I’m truly in my final meal mode. Anything that looks to be off my menu for the next few weeks is going to show up. They advertised a grilled sausage, so I ordered it.

The sausage came alongside some Dijon, bits of red pepper glaring at us from amidst the mousse of meat. A good sausage, with enough fat to keep me happy.

And natto! They had natto! I ordered a plate of this, prettier than any that I had in Tokyo (and quite a bit cheaper) and proceeded to chase spiderwebs about the place, the gossamer strands of the fermented beans drifting lazily about, waking Andrew up from the short snooze he was having in his chair while I had been scribbling at my notes.

This was a great place for a final sit down meal. Excellent food. Nothing particularly fancy or complicated, but each dish executed cleanly and nigh perfectly.

If I had any one thing to take issue with, it was the lack of garlic to roast on the grill. But

The service, likewise, was without fault. The combination of Thai service with good Japanese restaurants is a hidden treat (for non-Japanese) in this town. There’s a graciousness that even exceeds that I found in Japan, the result of the natural pleasant nature of the Thai, with the Japanese sensibilities and aesthete strongly imprinted.

Plus, the chairs were really, really comfy.

Next – These Things Never End Well

[Peter Green]

June 28/29 – The Importance of Being Earnest (or whoever else’s name you can come up with when they ask you for ID)

Being Andrew, and being Bangkok, we couldn’t very well just call it a night with the conclusion of an excellent meal. Hence, it was out on the razz, which generally involves the consumption of large amounts of shochu, beer, cocktails, and, at some point, things with legs.

I find these photos on my camera when I wake up.

Things like this bug me.

Actually, the cocoon shaped thingies down in the very bottom look to be bundaeggi (silk worms). I seem to recall they tasted a lot better than the ones in Korea, but that could be either the result of the deep frying (“Frying is good” Rona), or the general abuse of our brain cells.

We’ll go with the frying.

You can tell this was a good night.

Now, I did have a plane to catch in the morning. And, being me, I had a number of contingencies in place.

1. The bars are shut down at 1:00 a.m.

2. I had a taxi coming for me at 8:00 a.m.

3. I had a 7:00 a.m. alarm punched into my cell phone

4. I had set the alarm clock in my room for 7:00 a.m.

I had some vague recollection of getting home quite late.

Quite vague.

I opened one eye and stared at the sunlight poking in around the edges of the blackout curtains. Then, after staring at the flashing “12:00” on the alarm clock, I looked at my watch.

It was 9:00 a.m.

“The best laid plans of mice and men oft gang agley”….and I’m both.

The bars did not shut at 1:00 a.m. I had some cloudy recollection of looking at my watch at 2:30 and thinking something was odd. Where’s a police raid when you need one?

My bedside alarm clock had lost power at some point, and hence was flashing at me in disapproval.

My cell phone was merrily chiming at me from my pants pocket in the other room.

And the front desk had booked my taxi for 8:00 at night, so they weren’t in a rush to call.

This was really not good.

Luckily, I’d travelled light. I told the front desk to get me a car. I unceremoniously dumped the contents of the fridge into the suitcase, having moved all of my clothes into my duffel bag. I did a quick once over of the room, remembered my toothbrush and floss. Did another once. Noticed in the bathroom mirror that I had a cricket legs stuck in my teeth. Got the toothbrush and floss back out. Took care of the chitin. Repacked. Grabbed my last beer, and hit the road.

I made it.

I do feel real sorry for the guy that sat next to me on the plane.

Next – Coda

[Shelby]

Oh I would have panicked lol

[Peter Green]

Oh I would have panicked lol 

←

"Panicked"? I don't know that I was panicked.....

Okay, I was panicked. But, when it comes to leaving in a rush, I've learned my lessons the hard way (Bogota was a case in point). You can panic, but you still need to stay organized.

Hmmmm.... can one be obsessive compulsive about panic?

[Peter Green]

June 28 – late – Gone To Ground

Home and unpacked. I’m never certain which is the better feeling…..to stretch out horizontally in a soft bed that’s trained to my contours, to stand under the steaming water of a shower and strip away the grime of travel, or to break the seals on the suitcases and peruse my loot.

I’d probably have to go with the loot.

I’d done little real shopping, I must admit. Some shirts and pants that I needed, and a book or two (one on Nonya cooking, which was something I’d wanted to look into), and my food haul from Or Tor Kor. We have no restrictions on importing produce, so I look at these hauls as a way of extending my time on vacation.

If I can eat like I was in Bangkok for a few more days, and share that with my friends and family, then I’m doing alright.

Much of this we’d already covered – edamame from Fuji for Serena. Those plump Chinese sausages, big hunks of white fat under the intestinal lining like teeth in an eel’s belly.

A bag of good dried shrimp, not the nasty things I normally get here, but soft, fresh dried bits of shrimp meat.

A bag of dried mangos, to assuage the Boy. He’d tried to buy a similar bag in Kyoton in March, but I’d balked at $60. For $7 I can feel good about this. I tossed in some wet jerky for him as well.

Fresh ginko nuts to try cooking with chicken. I remembered them this time. And there was some of the fermented pink sausage, pea aubergine, kaffir limes, and chilis..

And a rather incongruous package of smoked ham. This was where I’d messed up in my packing. It was meant to have gone in my hand luggage. I’ve found that, rather than whine about economy class food, it’s a far better alternative just to bring your own. The stewardesses always have buns and butter, so that, with a good package of meat and a glass of red wine is quite a civilized way to pass the time in the Tube in the Sky.

And I had my bai cham poo – the leaves for miang kam. I’d looked for those for so long. And those peppercorns and eggplants are heading for a curry somewhere.

But I’ll post the cooking in the Thai Cooking section. That’s where it belongs.

Regarding the trip, it was more noteable for what didn’t happen.

There was no coup. Not yet. We’ll see what the Fall will bring. For now there’s the shadow play of deals being cut, ministers being dumped, and respected outsiders being put in their place (hopefully as more than window dressing).

Khao Preah Wiharn – or Wat Phra Vihearn – remains a rather water-logged flashpoint (although you never know how people will turn on nationalist hinges). Surprisingly, Hun Sen comes out of this looking like an elder statesman.

Regarding food, I had a number of regrets, chief of which was that I’d left Bangkok. But I suspect there might be issues if I tried to draw my salary without actually showing up in the office.

There were a number of places I’d wanted to get to, but ran out of time (and there was that one film party night when I missed a meal ). Hai Isaan sounds quite interesting, over on soi 22, not far from where I was staying. They’re taking an upscale approach to Isaan cooking, looking for the best ingredients and adequate care and attention to the processes involved. They’re starting to show up in more and more references, and I would really like to see what they’re doing.

I didn’t get out to the Holland Brewery – the latest venture from Tawarn Daeng. But it’s a long way out, across the bridge. And I’m lazy. Still, I may aim for that for September with my nephew.

There’s an Okinawan restaurant out Sukhumvit. That’s a cuisine I haven’t tried, and I’d like to give it a go some time.

And YaowaratI need to wander and eat through. It’s been too many years since I was there, and Jok’s has got my interest up again.

So little time, so many meals.

There. Now I’m done.

Next – idle chit chat

[tupac17616]

wow i miss bangkok. great, great thread, peter!

[FlyingRat]

June 28 – The Butler Did It

Dessert started with (I believe, my notes are sketchy) a fried banana siding a chocolate mousse, with some cashew praline to crunch down upon.

After this came the Thai tea I’d mentioned earlier.  Thai tea is Tim’s favourite new flavour.  With the mango this was pretty, but there was a lot of work to be done in scraping up the granitee.

The husband and I stopped by Gaysorn this evening to see if Butler's was open for general business yet. We were in luck, in more ways than one!

I hope to do a bigger review later, but WOW. We were very, very impressed with the concept, the food, and the setting. The "three-course" dessert selection, in particular, is a great idea. My husband had the two desserts above (Thai tea and chocolate banana) and raved about both of them.

Tim was kind enough to stop by our table so we could chat with him.

We plan to stop in at least once a month, and are really looking forward to seeing how the place develops.

Next on the list: Shunbo (it's right around the corner from us, and across from Katsuichi, an excellent tonkatsu restaurant frequented by the Japanese community here).

Thanks again for the great writeups-- we are discovering so many good places thanks to you!

[Peter Green]

The husband and I stopped by Gaysorn this evening to see if Butler's was open for general business yet.  We were in luck, in more ways than one!

I hope to do a bigger review later, but WOW.  We were very, very impressed with the concept, the food, and the setting.  The "three-course" dessert selection, in particular, is a great idea.  My husband had the two desserts above (Thai tea and chocolate banana) and raved about both of them.

Tim was kind enough to stop by our table so we could chat with him.

We plan to stop in at least once a month, and are really looking forward to seeing how the place develops.

←

I love a happy ending. Please, let's get some shots up. I'm really keen to see how Butler's looks out from underneath the covers.

[Hiroyuki]

This is similar to what I’d had in Kyoto at Okariba.  Shirakawago is a small town  up in the mountains of Gifu, with the famous Gassho style houses.  I’ll have to leave it to Hiroyuki to fill in the details about the brewers themselves, as I don’t know much about the area beyond the World Heritage architecture.

←

Sorry I hadn't responded earlier.

This sake is a product of Miwa Shuzo.

http://www.miwashuzo.co.jp/FS-Shop/shop/index.html

According to this page

http://www.miwashuzo.co.jp/FS-Shop/shop/nigori_sk.html

It is made by blending junmai ginjo sake made from rice milled at a milling ratio of 60% and junmai ginjo moromi at a ratio of 8:1, to give it a fragrant and mild flavor. Chill it to 10C before serving.

[eternal]

I really enjoyed reading this thread this morning. Thank you for all the pictures and stories. I am headed to Bangkok in a couple weeks. Will be there at least 4 nights but don't really have any formal plans after so will probably stay a little longer and might even travel back through a few weeks later after some time traveling around the country and Laos.

It is interesting...When I mention Bangkok to most of my friends I get the "Don't stay there very long...just a transit point", but my foodie friends mention it as one of the best cities in the world. I had planned to cut down my portion intake after the holiday season but that might not happen

[tb86]

I really enjoyed reading this thread this morning. Thank you for all the pictures and stories. I am headed to Bangkok in a couple weeks. Will be there at least 4 nights but don't really have any formal plans after so will probably stay a little longer and might even travel back through a few weeks later after some time traveling around the country and Laos.

It is interesting...When I mention Bangkok to most of my friends I get the "Don't stay there very long...just a transit point", but my foodie friends mention it as one of the best cities in the world. I had planned to cut down my portion intake after the holiday season but that might not happen

←

let me know when your in town, always more than glad to do a little eating/ tour guide "day off" if my schedule allows,

little update for peter so we have 2 places now and are opening 2 more pastry shops as of jan 16th

[Piglit]

Bangkok = wonderful food! Whether you're after local cuisine or something French, you'll have a wonderful time and it won't break the budget! The longer you can stay, the more you can eat.

It's been mentioned before in the forums, but if you've got half a day to do a local food tour, this website on the Giant Swing food street is pretty useful and has a map too: http://importfood.com/saochingcha_guide.html

Make sure to have lunch at Chote Chitr, and then go for mango sticky rice afterwards. The mango place is a bit allusive to find (no signs) and when you get there, the people may appear surprised that you're asking for mango sticky rice (weird, given it's the main thing they sell), but you won't regret (unless afterwards when you're back home, and you can never find anything that similar ever again...).

ENJOY!

[Peter Green]

I really enjoyed reading this thread this morning. Thank you for all the pictures and stories. I am headed to Bangkok in a couple weeks. Will be there at least 4 nights but don't really have any formal plans after so will probably stay a little longer and might even travel back through a few weeks later after some time traveling around the country and Laos.

It is interesting...When I mention Bangkok to most of my friends I get the "Don't stay there very long...just a transit point", but my foodie friends mention it as one of the best cities in the world. I had planned to cut down my portion intake after the holiday season but that might not happen

←

let me know when your in town, always more than glad to do a little eating/ tour guide "day off" if my schedule allows,

little update for peter so we have 2 places now and are opening 2 more pastry shops as of jan 16th

←

2 places! Things are going well, crisis or no crisis.

Where's the new place located (and where will you be opening the pastry shops)?

All the best,

Peter

[FlyingRat]

let me know when your in town, always more than glad to do a little eating/ tour guide "day off" if my schedule allows,

little update for peter so we have 2 places now and are opening 2 more pastry shops as of jan 16th

←

Two places-- awesome! I've been in the US for the past month (and in Japan before that...was supposed to come back to Bangkok, but the airport closure put an end to that) and my husband and I are looking forward to stopping in sometime soon. I'm really glad things are going so well!

- Ellen

[Pan]

It may be an urban (or suburban....heck, rural) myth, but long ago friends of mine who'd lived in Malaysia talked of how the best durian were those that had been eaten  by an elephant.

The elephant can't digest the durian, so they pass through, and lightly cook in the body heat.  The durian are then collected and clamoured for.

Is this the first instance of sous vide?

←

Er... are you sure they weren't pulling a foreigner's leg?

←

Definitely a joke, and a pretty funny tall tale at that. I never heard that claim in the 70s when I lived in rural Terengganu, and even then, there were way too few elephants for this to work out in real life in Malaysia. Actually, what we did know about were tigers eating durian. They love it! We let our cat lick durian seeds, and was it ever a treat for him!

[Pan]

And now I've just finished reading the thread. As usual, a great thread! I will see what other travelogues you've done that I have yet to read. Thanks so much, Peter, and Happy New Year!

[giom]

Finished reading all the thread... great preparation to my trip to Bangkok this week :-)

Now I know where to go: Dosa King (I want to see how it compares to the Tosai I eat here in Malaysia), Buttler's (the pan seared foie gras club sandwich looks delicious) and Shunbo or Ginger

Edited July 4, 2009 by giom (log)

[v. gautam]

YAAY Dosa King!  Thanks for the great experience, not to mention the fantabulous pictures and write-up.  I'm hooked on the place now; I actually went back there on Sunday night...

←

Was it your first time at Dosa King? If so, . How can you live in Bangkok and not have eaten at Dosa King? That's terrible! I suppose your second visit so soon after the first makes up (somewhat) for the transgression...

The first time we went to DK, we also did a follow-up visit just a few days later. It was that good! (I can just hear the "purists" saying, "Why would you eat Indian food when visiting Thailand?" but they've never eaten at Dosa King, so they couldn't possibly understand!)

←

A belated reply! And an opinionated one too! When going to a Dosa place, one might want to separate the Northern & Southern cuisines. I am sure the former hae plenty of competent representatives elsewhere in BKK; at the least, keep your meal focused on the Tamil cuisine for that evening. When you go to a pizza joint, you do not necessarily need to enjoy an opener of French onion soup:whether or not that is well-executed becomes moot

You will have noticed an array of fritters called bondas, bajji & vada: it would be fun to explore sparingly of these, since they all are deep fried;

alu bonda : mashed potato encased in a chick pea batter

bajjis [ similar to N. Indian pakoras] batter-coated veggies: onions, etc.

vada: multiplicity of styles , some donut shaped , others flat, varied mixtures of legumes & rice. Will come with sambar [the lentil soup] & white coconut chutney. One way to eat the donut shaped urad dal [black gram vada ] is to break off pieces, drop them into the sambar and into your mouth folowe by chutney. An even messier way but better is to coordinate the vada + sambar + chutney in the same bowl or spoon before eating.*

[There is another variant where the vada is delivered sopping in rasam, caled RASAVADE. Rasam is made from the rich supernatant that rises upon boilng the Cajanus cajan split legume known as toor dal. It is a thin broth that is like clear soup but variously flavored [singly] with lemon, ginger, black pepper, garlic, etc. It is generally eaten with rice, yoghurt and flame roasted papad as the third, final course of meal. Rasam can be very spicy because it is meant to be mixedwith several other things.]

{The HUGE MISTAKE made in consuming INDIAN dishes by most Westerners that I hve observed is this: Indian grvies, veg. meats whtever are meant as ACCOMPANIMENTS ONLY to a BREAD OR RICE, they compris not more than 20% of a mouth ful, the other 80% being that bread or rice. PAPAD is not a bread, ever!! These dishes are meat to enhance the flavor of the starch, that has been made to sound like a curse word in the English language and modern Western sensibilities, for the most part. That word now.carries so much undeniable psychological baggage that it needs to be replaced.

No wonder everything goes out of balance when people add a couple of spoons of rice into a mass of gravy & meat and feel overpowered by the spices & richness; DUH!! That is not how things are meant to be eaten. Likewise, the sambar & 2 chutneys are to be sopped up in conjunction with the main, in the proportions suggested}.

*The same applies for the Chennai idli, the plain white idli. Its texture and many nuances make this a very highly sought after delicacy; easy to execute but extremely difficult to master. There are places in Chennai & Bangalore that specialze in nothing more than idli-sambar [Rathna Cafe, Chennai] or idli-vada-green chutney [brahmin Cafe, Bangalore] whose execution remain unmatched.

The test for a Dosa King must be :

Plain: look for ridge & furrow; see here for detail

http://pleasuremountain.wordpress.com/2007/11/22/banzai-uma/

or

Masala: means a fiilling of potato & onion was added right before folding. You break of a piece with your fingers wrap it around some filling, dip into chutneys followed by sambar.

Paper Butter dosa, plain or masala: these are the thin, crisp style

Ghee roast dosa

Rava dosa: a semolina + whole wheat flour dosa made LACY on a salt water sprinkled gridl as opposed to conditioned griddles for the others.

Uttapam: slightly soured dosa batter [like sourdough] on an open-face griddled “pancake” to which you can ask for onion, tomato, green pepper, ginger etc. to be added.

Uppuma : semolina or idlis roasted and cooked with a few peas/veg. or nothing else in a particular fluffy (emolina)/roasted ( idli)way

Here is there menu online:

I am just marking some of the more clssic South Indian dishes which you shoul try & for which you should be visiting here. It is missing COMPLETELY missing the point to feast on N. Indian standards like going to a Sichuan specialist and then compose your meal of Cantonese standards. Better that you come away dissatisfied but having learnt the true flavor palette of AUTHENTIC TAMIL BRAHMIN, rather than RESTAURANT INDIAN.

PAPAD*

Lentil wafers known as pappadum a great appetizer.

PAPAD MASALA*

Fried pappadum garnished with chopped onion, chilleies, coriander and tomatoes.

ROASTED PAPAD MASALA*

Roasted pappadum garnished with chopped onion, chilleies, coriander and tomatoes.

FRENCH FRIES*

Deep fried golden crispy potato chips.

SAMOSA*

Crispy snack with potato and vegetable filling (served 2 pcs.).

ONION PAKORA*

Deep fried onion rings dipped in gram flour batter.

VEGETABLE PAKORA*

Deep fried vegetable pieces dipped in gram flour batter.

PANEER PAKORA

Deep fried cottage cheese coated with gram flour and Indian spices.

BREAD PAKORA*

Deep fried bread pieces coated with gram flour and Indian spices.

MASALA VADA*

Deep fried bengal gram patties with spices (served 2 pcs.).

BATATA VADA*

Mashed potato balls with spices dipped in gram flour and deep fried (served 2 pcs.).

SIZZLERS

TANDOORI STARTERS ON SIZZLERS

PANEER TIKKA

The chef speciality. Cottage cheese with Indian spices cooked in clay oven.

PANEER HARYALI TIKKA

A speciality. Cottage cheese with spinach and Indian spices cooked in clay oven.

PANEER SHASHLIK

BBQ cottage cheese chunks skewered with onion and tomato.

PANEER SEEKH KEBAB

Mashed cottage cheese & spices skewered and BBQ in clay oven.

BHARWA SHIMLA MIRCH

Whole green capsicum stuffed with vegetables cokked on grey charcoal.

TANDOORI GOBHI*

Cauliflower marinated with spices and cooked in clay oven (Tandoor).

TANDOORI AALOO

Stuffed potato grilled on a skewer in clay oven (Tandoor).

APPETIZERS

LIP SMACKING ORIGINAL INDIAN APPETIZERS

PANI PURI*

Puffed crispy puris served with boiled chick peas, potato chunks and minted spicy water.

TIKKI CHAAT

Potato patties with curd, chick peas, spices, sweet and sour chutney.

PAPDI CHAAT

Thin crispy puris with curd, sweet and sour chutney, boiled potato and toppings.

AALOO CHAAT*

Boiled potato chunks with Indian spices, sweet and sour chutney.

FRUIT CHAAT*

Mixed fresh fruit chunks with Indian spices.

CHANNA YAM*

Spicy and sour chick peas preparation.

DAHI VADA NORTH INDIAN STYLE

Lentil doughnut dipped in yoghurt with sweet and sour taste.

DAHI VADA SOUTH INDIAN STYLE

Lentil doughnut dipped in salty yoghurt with green chilly and ginger.

TOMATO SOUP

Freshly pureed tomato soup with cream.

DAL SOUP*

Yellow lentil soup flavoured with Indian spices.

SALAD FRESH

Fresh garden salad.

PLAIN DOSA (WITHOUT FILLING)*

Served with sambar and chutney.

BUTTER DOSA

Served with sambar and chutney topped with butter.

PAPER DOSA*

Thin and crispy rolled like a paper served with sambar and chutney.

PAPER MASALA DOSA*

Paper dosa served with onion and potato filling alongwith sambar and chutney. REGULAR MASALA DOSA*

Served with onion and potato filling alongwith sambar and chutney.

DOSA MIX VEGETABLE FILLING*

Served with mix vegetable filling alongwith sambar and chutney.

DOSA PANEER FILLING (COTTAGE CHEESE)

Served with cottage cheese filling alongwith sambar and chutney.

DOSA GREEN MOONG*

Dosa of whole green moong batter with topping of minced onion and spices.

SET DOSA - A SET OF TWO*

Slightly thick and soft dosa served alongwith sambar and chutney.

CHILLI DOSA*

Stuffed with capsicum/bell pepper, cottage cheese, onion & spices.

UTTHAPAM - ONION & TOMATO*

Thicker soft dosa with onion and tomato topping.

UTTHAPAM - MIX VEGETABLE*

Thicker soft dosa with mix vegetable topping.

RAVA DOSA - PLAIN*

Mixture of semolina and rice flour with onion & chilli served with sambar and chutney. RAVA DOSA MASALA*

Mixture of semolina and rice flour with onion & potato filling, sambar and chutney.

MANGALORE MASALA DOSA*

Spicy dosa served with onion and potato filling alongwith sambar and chutney.

MANGLORE PLAIN DOSA*

Spicy dosa served alongwith sambar & chutney.

PIZZA DOSA

Chef's speciality a fusion of east & west.

PANEER TIKKA DOSA

Fusion of north & south indian cuisine served with sambar and chutney.

IDLI SAMBAR*

Soft steemed rice and black gram cake served with sambar and chutney.

VADA SAMBAR*

Deep fried black gram dumplings served with sambar and chutney.

UPMA*

Semolina preparation with green peas and onion.

TANDOORI ROTI*

Wheat flour bread prepared in traditional clay oven.

PRANTHA PLAIN

Layered bread baked with butter.

AALOO PRANTHA

Layered bread baked with butter, filled with spicy potatoes.

GOBHI KA PRANTHA

Layered bread baked with butter, filled with spicy cauliflower.

PUDINA PRANTHA

Layered bread baked with butter and fresh mint leaves.

BHARVAN KULCHA (PANEER/AALOO/MASALA/GOBHI)

Stuffed kulcha with selection of cottage cheese/potato/mix spices/cauliflower.

TANDOORI ROTI MAKHNI

Wheat flour bread prepared in traditional clay oven and buttered.

MISSI ROTI*

Fresh bread made out of wheat flour and mixed with lentil.

NAAN PLAIN*

Indian bread of very fine flour prepared in clay oven.

AALOO NAAN*

Indian bread of very fine flour prepared in clay oven stuffed with spicy potatoes.

NAAN MAKHNI

Three layers of naan bread prepared with butter, baked in clay oven.

GARLIC NAAN

Crisp naan bread filled with buttered garlic, baked in clay oven.

MASAALA NAAN*

Bread filled with spices baked in clay oven.

PANEER NAAN

Naan bread stuffed with cottage cheese & spices baked in clay oven.

SHAHI KASHMIRI NAAN

Naan bread stuffed with cottage cheese, cashew nuts, raisins & spices.

LACHHA PRANTHA

Multi layered crispy bread topped with butter.

VEGETABLE PULAO*

Basmati rice fried with mix vegetables and indian spices.

MATTAR PULAO*

Basmati rice fried with green peas and indian spices.

JEERA RICE*

Rice steamed with cumin.

LEMON RICE*

Rice cooked with lemon juice and spices, served with sambar and pappadam.

SAFFON RICE*

Steamed saffron rice.

CURD RICE

Rice with yoghurt, served with pappadam and pickle.

STEAM RICE*

Fragrant steamed rice.

SAMBAR RICE*

Sambar and steam rice served with pappadam and pickle.

PURI BHAJI NORTH/SOUTH INDIAN STYLE*

Puffed puris served with potato preparation.

CHOLE BHATURE*

Chickpeas curry served with maida puris & mini salad.

PAV BHAJI*

Mixed vegetable curry served with toasted buns.

BRIYANI GRAVY*

Basmati rice cooked with mixed vegetables and servedw/ tomato gravy.

Please carefully note that none of these items save sambar, actually appear in the main meal of the day which is an early lunch. These fried foods are part of TIFFIN, consumed in late afternoon with coffee. At night, only a very light meal is taken. The main meals are very low in fat, and these types of foods are not everyday indulgences.

Rice with sambar, which is dal mixed with a vegetable, another lghtly cooked green vegetable, yoghurt & rice with pickles and maybe rasam/papad is the daily main meal. Breakfast can be yoghurt/rice or idli/yoghurt/chutney powder, always with filter coffee, the progenitor of the numerous Southeast Asian filter coffee devices. By 1616, English writers had noted coffee to be a long established custom in South India, including your famous latte with froth. So please be sure to ask for filter kaapi by name, even if not on the menu. There are Indian names for coffee as well, but this one is easier to pronounce!!

Filter coffee along with these rich fried foods essentially are the equivalent of a high tea. That isthe understanding you must bring with you when you order these items at Dosa King. These assertive flavors clash with North Indian ones, so please leave the latter for another visit. You may order some garden salad and a fruit platter to cleanse your palate while you are eating. Cucumbers are good, too.

Edited July 5, 2009 by v. gautam (log)