On The Edge, MG Road (4.5/5)

I have tried thai food at several places recently and except two or three joints, the results of most of these explorations have been quite average. With this background and zero expectations we decided to visit 'On The Edge'. 

Ambience (4.5/5)

This restaurant has a semi open set up and is located on the 13th floor of Barton towers; a building that has the evergreen 13th floor and ebony in the same floor and commercial office space in floors below. 

We were here on Friday evening and with consistent inflow chilly winds, tasty hot food was the best cure for our needs. Also, the restaurant offers shawls for those who can't embrace the chillness, which I would consider as a wonderful gesture (also after a while it would be impossible to sit around without them - which means its a good customer retention/satisfaction measure). 

The seating options include high rise chairs, wall mounted seating (with cushions of course) and regular dining chairs. Personally, I believe that encompasses all options a place like this can hold. 

With dim lighting, candle lights to support - it might also be an interesting place for a date night. 

Pricing (4.5/5)

I would consider their pricing to be very reasonable when compared counterparts selling similar quality of food. 

Service (4/5)

The staff who attended our tables did a great job in helping us choose the dishes. Also, the wait time for food and drinks was not too long.

One incident that impressed me: as I was clicking the pic of one of the dishes I commented to a friend that it looks great; for which a staff nearby responded saying it would also taste great. What I then thought was arrogance, was nothing but confidence in one's own team. Good job sir! 

Food (4/5)

Our orders included the following:

1. Red thai curry (veg)

Had a couple of small helpings of this dish and it was pretty good. 

2. Pad thai (veg)

Probably the only dish I did not enjoy much. But that's also because I am not a fan of pad thai. 

3. Chilly garlic noodles

A decent noodle offering which combined very well with the curry we ordered (staff recommended). 

4. Stir fried chicken - peanut and chilly curry

The winner dish of the day. The curry was mind-blowing and I am definitely going back to try more of this. 

The curry had a good dose of peanuts and was a thick coconut milk induced chicken curry. Loved the traditional flavours and how the curry combined with both noodles and white rice. 

5. Thai green curry (chicken)

A dish that I have best enjoyed at republic of noodles and singkong and no place has come even close to matching their offerings. 

Well, here is a place that I might now add to that list; curry was a little less thicker than singkong, but extremely delectable.

Drinks

They have a common bar with 13th floor and you would find all the drinks from there being served here. 

I was not drinking but my friends had ordered a red wine sangria and bira (a belgian beer that you do not find in too many places). The sangria tasted pretty good and the beer was as good as always. 

Desserts (4/5)

We ordered three desserts: ebony and ivory,  beeramisu and wayanad. Liked them in the same order and all three of them were unique and relishable in their own ways. 

#ebony and ivory - a chiffon pie with white and dark chocolate swirls

#beeramisu - a beer tiramisu

#wayanad- coconut and jaggery crepe rolls - you would enjoy this is you are a mallu

On a summary note, this place is a must try and I am definitely revisiting!

Singkong, Lavelle Road (4/5)

Was at Singkong with a couple of friends and we were planning to sit by the bar area, have a couple of drinks and starters before heading elsewhere for dinner. However, the starters impressed us to stay longer and what happened was a long evening with the boys and some good drinks and food to accompany. 

Ambience (4/5)

Every joint at the restaurant zone in UB City has similar, yet classy ambience. Breezy evenings are the best times to be here and yesterday was one such evening. 

We sat at the bar area - which is common between sanchos and singkong; the high rise bar seats were comfortable and the ambience was otherwise decent. However. if you ask me whether they have the look and feel for a pricy fine dining - I might disagree. 

Service (5/5)

Mr. Hirak- the staff in charge for our orders and also the bar-man at singkong, mixed up some nice mojito variants. He also took special effort in guiding us with the orders and most of his suggestions were spot on. Also. he was kind enough to replace a drink which I did not like.

The food was served pretty fast and the empty plates were cleared quickly. The restaurant also had staff deputed to consistently maintain the trash and hygiene of the restaurant - impressive! 

Pricing (3/5)

I found the liquors over priced. The food though pricy was relatively more VFM. 

Food (3.5/5)

1. Starters: 

- Stir fried chilli basil chicken 

The dish had tender boneless chicken pieces spiced adequately and with healthy flavours. The dish was however a little too oily! 

- Indonesian chicken satay - served with spicy peanut sauce

Not a fan of satay's usually because of lack of penetration of flavours in the way certain restaurants serve them- but this was an exception. The dish was no comparison to the other chicken starter, but was definitely a good chicken satay. The peanut sauce was spicy and combined as a great dip. 

- aromatic spicy chicken dumplings - was ordinary and might not be a dish I would recommend. 

- wasabi prawns was crispy and yumm!

2. Main course 

Thai green curry with chicken

The last week has been perfect when it comes to thai green curry orders and this one just upped the game. Loved the thickness of the curry and the spicy flavours of the dish. In addition to the white rice, it also combined great with our noodle order.

3. Cocktails (3.5/5)

Of the three cocktails which we got two of them were good quality stuff and were bartender special mojito variants. The other order was a wasabi mojito and we did not like it - it was replaced by the staff. 

The drinks are however overpriced and not really VFM.

Republic of Noodles, Ulsoor (4.5/5)

A friend of mine was staying at lemon tree and he insisted that we should eat at republic of noodles when I was making dinner plans with him. The food lived up to the hype he gave and I liked almost all the dishes I ordered. 

Ambience (4/5)

Themed in red and black the restaurant has a nice yet simple and elegant oriental theme. The cushioned sofa seating weren't completely comfortable but otherwise there was no qualms about their ambience.

Service (5/5)

The staff were extremely courteous and friendly. They seemed completely aware of the house specialties and were spot on with their guidance in choosing dishes. 

Pricing (4/5)

Considering the restaurant is located in a star hotel and also considering the quality of their offering - I would rate them reasonable. 

On a stand-alone/universal basis this would be classified as expensive. 

Food 

I had a complete four course meal consisting of a soup, starter, main course and desserts. A detail list of the dishes are as below:

1. Soup - 

I ordered for a duck tom kha gai flavoured soup. It was a thick spicy soup with strong coconut and lemongrass flavours - LOVED IT! 

My friend ordered for a sea food vietnamese corn and asparagus soup. This was an exaggerated version of sweet corn soup, but tasted better:

2. Starters - Banana leaf wrapped grill chicken

Boneless chicken pieces were dosed with spices and gravy and wrapped in banana leaves. Though it tasted ok the flavour and tenderness of chicken was inconsistent.

3. Main Course

Mhad chicken noodles

A mix of crispy and regular noodles which seemed to have been flavoured with some sauce and chicken chunks. Enjoyed it! 

Prawn thai green curry 

This dish was served with jasmin rice and is easily among the best thai curries I have had. The prawns were fresh and cooked to perfection.

4.  Desserts - Water chestanut rubies and longan
This is a unique dessert consisting of coconut milk, lychees, water chestnuts and ice cubes. I have tried it once at a different restaurant and had liked the way it tasted. This order was no different and was a welcome change from regular desserts for me.

It's a dessert with an acquired taste and my friend didn't completely enjoy it. 

- Chilli chocolate ice cream (complimentary)

The red chillis added a good balance to the ice creams and left a wonderful spice and sweet aftertaste. However, the quality of ice cream was sub-ordinary.

Would recommend this place for oriental/Asian food lovers.