Arrey Akha Bangalore Mein Mere Jaisa Koi Hai Kya ??
This dialogue adapted from the movie Satya would apply to Satya Restaurant … …
...She didn’t have much of a problem finding Satya restaurant as Shiv had given her precise instructions ; “ If you are coming along St John’s Hospital road , with the Hospital on your left , continue past the first intersection for about a 100 feet till you see Kudremukh Iron Ore housing quarters on your right . Around that point you’ll get a board on your left mentioning Satya . Take the left turn and 2 minutes later you are there. “
It was around 7 and dusk was setting in as she entered the place. As she parked her Kiny , the attendant helpfully mentioned that there was no power . Still there was enough light to see a tiled pathway leading to the main house . One side of it was straight out of a tropical jungle with tall palm groves . Set amongst these groves were circular white plastic tables with umbrellas on poles protruding from their centres . The tables were two deep , you had to cross one to get to the farther one. Each table had a small candle in a glass chimney , giving out a warm glow . Most were occupied by young couples .
As Shiv hadn’t yet come she sat on her Kiny waiting for Mr Late . On the table nearest to her, a sardar in a yellow Adidas T shirt with a south indian looking female was regaling his companion with a Kaakey da dhaba joke . She caught him giving her the once-over ; apparently the female with him caught him too as she kicked him under the table and asked him to sit so that his back was now to her.
Just then Shiv entered on his black Bullet and parked next to an aquamarine Esteem . With a sorry-I’m-late he quickly hustled her to one of the free tables .
The waiter came up with a tattered looking menu , with the pages inserted in plastic covers . The spellings in it were straight out of a dictionary ; out -of as opposed to from-in-a dictionary ! Seeing her slightly distasteful expression , Shiv hastened to add “ Don’t go by the Dikhava ; the food is far out plus what’s more important Honey , the place does have a romantic charm “ “Yeah , I bet and this jungle must be having a mosquito charm too “, she retorted .
“ Hey , Not to worry , Look below the table , they got Kachuaas there . “ She glanced down and alongwith the glowing one eyed mosquito coil , she saw another two glowing eyes , belonging to a somnolently gazing white cat. Shiv too saw the cat and commented , ”That’s Osama after plastic surgery , hiding in this Koramangala jungle ; He’s tomorrow’s dinner .
” He continued , ”Speaking of jungles reminds me , What did Tarzan say when he met Lord Mahaveera in the jungle ?” Seeing her negative shrug , he cackled , ”Me Tarzan , You Jain !!” “Shiv , the Jains are gonna lynch you , ” She giggled . “No , they won’t . They are pure vegetarians ; Anyway let’s order , I’m famished .” She chose sweet-and –sour chicken soup to start , while Shiv went for his standard avian Kingfisher and Chicken tikka .
The starter took some time to arrive and till then Shiv went into romantic mode . “ Do you know ? For me you are the most beautiful girl in the world .” “Umm.. Hmmm “, she responded . “When you laugh , ” he continued , “ When you look at things intensely , when you purse up your mouth … Everything makes my heart sing “ For all his declarations of love , he had yet to introduce her to his family . “ Scared of Dad “ was how he put it .
The first course arrived . The soup was just perfect . Not the diluted maida you got in many places . The Tikkas too were soft and succulent and also served decoratively with garnishing . While they went thru these , she also scanned the menu for the main dinner . The place mainly had Chinese and Punjabi . She decided on Punjabi – Tandoori rotis and Chicken bartha . Shiv expansively ordered fried rice , noodles and garlic chicken gravy . His motto was – Order enough , if you can’t finish it , Get it packed .
To pass time till the main course, Shiv ordered one more avian, this time KF Diet . “It’s got 30 % lesser calories”, he grinned , rubbing his tummy . She took a sip of his beer . Wonder what guys liked in this bitter brew , she thought . Just then the power came on . It didn’t make much difference though , the tables were not on electric light and only the main building lit up and some old Hindi songs started playing .
Shiv suddenly stood up , “ Gotta call Nature , ” he winked and staggered off . Osama too waddled away after him . Shiv came back after some time , but barged into the neighbouring grove . They all looked the same in the dim light . “Oopsy Doopsy” he exclaimed as he found his way back . She too stood up to go , but sat back when Shiv warned her that they were just OK. The dinner arrived .
As Shiv had said , it really was Grrreat !!! The Bartha was finger licking good . The Chinese too was surprisingly quite tasty , though she still preferred the fare at Chung Wah. One thing she didn’t like was the central strip dance pole in the table.; all dishes had to be arranged around it . The service was decent but nothing great . They had to keep reminding the waiter to refill the water.
Shiv , being a South Indian had to wrap up the dinner with curd rice . Here too she was pleasantly surprised . Normally in such joints one wouldn’t get curd rice , or even if you got it , what was served was a hastily cobbled mixture of curd and rice . But the dish served here was of even consistency , with mint leaves garnishing . She was really appreciative now.
The waiter brought the bill . She glanced at it as Shiv checked the total . Rs 476 was really money for value , especially if you discounted Rs 150 for Shiv’s beers. They made their way though the pathway ; she hadn’t seen it before , but there was a small playground with a see-saw etc ; a couple of kids were abusing it. The sardar was still at his table ; he was now telling a joke in a Mallu accent about Horlicks … only he pronounced it as Hoar Licks .
As they reached the parking lot , she noticed that the Esteem had gone and it’s place was taken by a silver gray Sonata . “ If they keep coming in cars like that “ , Shiv muttered , ” Soon we’ll not be able to afford this place .” As she bid him a fond Bye she thought “ Must write a review on this joint “ ….
The Sage’s Take :-> If You’re in LOVE , Nothing else matters