Jalsa

The word means “celebration”. The place is symbolic of the same. It’s more about celebrating the “royalty” in each person. That’s the exact impression I carried back. For its true, you are treated like royalty out there (if you ignore the fact that all the staff is dressed in resplendent Mughal outfits, shiny brocade, pearls, headdress, et al while you are in your favorite jeans and sandals :-p).

What struck me first is that the place is very, very spacious. Very surprising in Bangalore, but then it’s located so far away (which is one of the few drawbacks I found). You are greeted at the door, into an extremely vast room, after which you are given a very nice private cozy spot, irrespective of the crowd (we were seated in a nook by a lattice window: D), oh and yes, the cozy spots come curtained with glass-bead curtains. Very glitzy, very kitsch, over the top, but pure fun! Right from the cutlery down to the restrooms, no glitz is spared, although it does add an interesting touch to the whole ambience and experience.

The food definitely is something one can eat and talk about for a while. Specialty Indian drinks like the Casis Cooler (Blackcurrant syrup with lime cordial – full points to this!) and the sweet lassi proved to be an instant hunger stimulant – one sip, and you wanted more from the kitchen! Things just got better one the Karela salad arrived. Four extremely talkative ladies didn’t have a word or second to spare – we were too busy digging in. The Murgh Achari Tikka and Panner Kurkuri, though were a tad disappointing after the salad, and it didn’t help that both looked pretty much the same, which may be a slight inconvenient if the table is occupied by vegetarians.
The main course was a non-vegetarians delight. Both the Chicken curry (in butter-tomato gravy) and the Chicken Hyberabadi Biryani (served with full jazz, in a clay pot, sealed, tied in cloth… the complete works!!) won a thumbs-up from the non-veg eaters. Jo and I were somehow a little dissatisfied with the Malai Kofta (it was like an anticlimax after all the other wonderful-tasting stuff). The side breads, though were soft and very well cooked, and also tasted great(some fermented Kulcha-like thing with a unique yeasty flavor, and soft-well cooked Lachchha Paranthas). All in all a wonderful meal.

Some things I noted though were :
a) Although the quantity seems adequate and not too much, don’t be fooled. The food is too rich (none of us had room for dessert L )
b) The staff may seem very courteous, but sometimes, up-selling and too much conversation can get a little uncomfortable. Really.
c) It’s a must-go.