Ice and Spice St Marks Road Bangalore

One of the most popular eat-outs in Bangalore, Ice and Spice on St.Marks Road has been serving delicious burgers, sandwiches, pastas, steaks and tarts for almost 10 years.

With its proximity to some of the best pubs in the city and a seating capacity of about 35 – 40 at one go – getting a seat for group of more than 4 people during weekends especially during the lunch and dinner hour  is tough – but trust me the wait is worth the food.

Must haves:

Brownie Points - Who knew a simple chocolate & walnut  brownie could be so much fun to drink !!

Brownie Points – Indeed !!

Chicken Steak with BBQ sauce – The best chicken steak with BBQ sauce in central Bangalore PERIOD

Classic Chicken Steak with BBQ Sauce – Delicious

Arrabiata Pasta - I love the slight Indian touch to this Italian import – one of the best Veg red sauce pastas I have tasted

Yummmmmm……

I am not a fan of the Cream-based Pastas – but this one was good, quite filling though.

Delight for White Sauce Pasta Worshipers – too much for me though..

Burgers – Chicken Steak & Veg  burger (The Lamb burger is quite a favorite – although I have never tasted one.

The best chicken burger in Bangalore

Rum Tart – Yet to find a better rum tart than this in my city  - Absolute Sin (Hence no image )

I have been frequenting this place since 2005 and yes the food still tastes as yum as it used to be

Great location and awesome food that is easy on the wallet makes this one of the must visit food joint in the city .

Basaveshwaranagar Dosa Camp

I owe this one to a dear friend – since he introduced me to this lip smacking benne (butter) dosas at Basaveshwaranagar. As evident from the name, they serve only dosas along with chutney – no sambar at all. No coffee or tea is served at this joint.

Wood-fired Benne Dosas – cant get better

About Basaveshwaranagar Dosa Camp:

Located in the western part of Bangalore, Basaveshwaranagar Dosa Camp has been serving delicious and super heavy on butter dosas since 2004. Started by Mr.Shivaraj about 9 years ago, they have mastered the art of making benne dosas akin to the Davangere Benne Dosa.

They are open all days from 7:30 am to 1 pm and 5 pm to 10 pm.

Their menu consists of only 5 varieties of dosas:

-          Benne Masala: 28 INR

-          Open Dosa : 28 INR

-          Benne Khali: 28 INR

-          Benne Dosa: 27 INR (Must try)

-          Set Dosa: 23 INR

I tried the Benne Masala and Benne Dosa – both were awesome; super filling as well (courtesy the butter).

Benne Dosa – delicious

What makes these dosas stand out from the regular benne dosas – giving them a unique taste and making them super crunchy are the 7 servings of butter (you heard it right – 7 dollops of butter/dosa) used to roast the dosa at various intervals  and the forgotten art of cooking with firewood.

Word of caution:

• This place is packed during the weekends (especially during the evenings). We had wait on a Sunday morning for about 30 mins to get the dosas – although they have a brilliant token system which ensures no-one jumps the line and that everyone gets what they ordered for.
• NEVER EVER make the mistake of parceling this  for your loved ones – it is best enjoyed hot and crispy right out of the tava

Location:

Basaveshwaranagar Dosa Camp 

8^th main road, 3^rd Phase,

Basaveshwaranagar, Bangalore – 79

Landmark: Street across Gold’s Gym (on the Polar Bear Icecream lane)

Satkar Icecreams Bangalore

I heard about Satkar ice creams by a friend who studied in the college opposite Satkar ice creams and yet I had never visited one. Another friend recently spoke very high about the ice creams at this place and I had to visit this place.

For over 8 years, Satkar Icecreams have been delighting patrons (mainly students) with some very unique icecreams; translating to yummy and easy on the pocket ice creams – Gadbud being their most popular offering.

About Satkar Ice creams:

Started by Mr.Ganesh Bhandary, they have about 6 outlets mainly around south of Bangalore around the vicinity of Mysore Road (SH17). The first one was opened in Kengeri-Upanagar (near Hoysala Circle). One of the USPs of this place is that – All their ice-creams are GELATIN-FREE

Outlets include:

• Outer Ring Road, Jnana jyothi nagar – 1 outlet – I visited this one
• Kengeri-Upanagar – 2 outlets
• Opposite RV College of Engineering – 1outlet
• ITI Layout – 1 outlet
• Rajarajeshwari nagar – 1 outlet

I tried their Special Gadbud and Three-star – both are very filling and require a decent appetite

Gadbud – Must Try

Their most sold and popular ice-cream is almost equivalent to a meal – a stack of about 4 to 5 different flavors of ice cream with nuts, fruits and jelly – surprisingly all these work together so well, making it super yummy.

For ice-cream fans in Bangalore/Karnataka – this Gadbud tastes very similar to the famous Special Gadbud from Ideal Ice creams or Pabbas in Mangalore

The Best Gadbud in Bangalore

Three-Star:

I was absolutely full after the Gadbud – so there could be a lot of lapse in judging this one

Three Star – Black Current + Fig & Honey + Butterscotch with fruit salad

PS: These are the real kind of ice creams I grew upon – places like LakeView Milk Bar, Ideal Ice creams (Mangalore) etc which boost of home-made like ice creams. These are definetly not the BEST Icecreams in Bangalore (we being spoiled by the likes of Gelatos, Corner House, Mama Mia and other such vendors). But then such places treasure lot of  old memories – back when Bangalore was just a small city

Location:

Swedish House Mafia – One Last Tour Bangalore

Woooooooooohooo, was my reaction when I heard that these 3 DJs are performing in Bengaluru – I mean it is Swedish House Mafia –  the top  Electro-trance DJs in the world!!!

No second thoughts – booked 4 concert tickets right away and started counting the days to the concert on Jan 20 2013 –  well I dont recollect much of what happened in-between  apart from the fact that everyday I did get high on their music

So 2 days before the concert, the ticket vendor announced the opening of about 6 outlets to collect the passes for patrons who booked online and what an absolute chaos it turned out to be and in-spite of waiting for 6 hours – I still couldn’t collect the tickets for the concert next day

To add to this chaos was the rumor of SHM not playing on the scheduled day (usual thing – before a major concert – generates publicity) but sadly it did turn out to be true – One of the artists couldn’t board the flight from Jakarta to Bengaluru

Finally, we got the confirmation that they would perform a day ahead aka Jan 21.

Drama everywhere!!!

Tickets to Trance Heaven

SHM everywhere

The best concert of my life PERIOD

Swedish House Mafia – Bangalore 2013

They Came

They Raved

We loved !!!!

Kambala, A Buffalo Racing Sport in Karnataka

Kambala  is the traditional sport of Buffalo racing held across various towns/villages across coastal Karnataka.  Kambala season lasts from November to March and is more of a fair attracting participation from various village teams; although a fair share of betting is involved, the purists race mainly for pride than the money. One of the most famous and renowned Kambala is held at Kadri in Mangalore. I visited the Kambala at Mulki – about 30 kms from Mangalore during the last week of December 2012.

Kambala has been in existence since couple of centuries across various hamlets of coastal Karnataka – In the recent past, most of the kamabalas are held under the supervision of Kamabala Samhiti (Kambala Association).

Kambala is held on a paddy field along two straight parallel tracks of about 200 -400 metres in length filled with slush, water and mud. Two buffalos along with one rider/runner run on each of these mud tracks.

Kambala

Apart from the head-to-head racing (similar to an automobile drag racing) in the Kambala, we have the highest splash competition – where the buffalo which splashes the mud to the maximum height is the winner.

Getting Ready to Race

Kambala is organised during the day and at nights as well – although the daytime is a good chance to mix with the locals, listen to the Kambala stories, its heroes, taste those yummy foods in the stalls. It is during the night when this place really comes alive – as much as I don’t want to say it –”You haven’t witnessed the real Kambala if you haven’t seen it under floodlights PERIOD”.

Sweets at Kambala

More Sweets at Kambala

Namkeens at Kambala

I mean its magical – suddenly you are transported to this movie set – with people dressed in colourful clothes, kids adoring these racers in awe , guys with 6-pack abs who run faster than the best athletes in the world, to buffaloes which spew aggression with every breath and yet listen to the kids and come-up with expressions I never expected from such tough looking creatures.The energy and the vibes from this event so out out of the world and addictive.

Kambala Track – Day

Magical Venue at Night – Kambala

Shame, it took me so long to see a live Kambala.

The R1 turns three

Today is a very special day in my life, 3 years ago on this day, I was thrilled, proud, overjoyed and anxious at the realization of a dream, end to a pursuit – The R1.

It has been 3 eventful and glorious years with the R1 and honestly it is the cycle of ups and downs which has made this journey of ownership of the motorcycle so memorable.

Ticket to Pleasure

 The ogle from the fairer section, to be seen by kids as an idol, to the jealousy of other folks, to that overwhelming responsibility of riding a liter-class monster on our highways, to the constant hunt for premium and better quality of fuel stations on the rides, to those cheap thrills of shifting at 11,000 rpm, to getting the skin of your legs burnt(courtesy riding in the city), to being reminded about the impracticality of owning a super-sport motorcycle in India and to many more such MOMENTS – Cheers!!

Special

 In spite of everything, I love the R1 – it is these small things which make every outing with the R1 so memorable

 Cheers to the 3 wonderful years we have spent and to many more

How to travel the world without money

I have been a traveler all my life, visiting new places gives a perspective on life like none. All my travels have been restricted by 2 major aspects – time and money.

Time – since I always had to get back to my job and Money in order to save for another trip. Ever since, I have been thinking/scouring across the web on ways to travel which involves least or no money and make money while travelling – this blog-post is the result of this research.

Presenting you the top 10 websites(in no particular order) which can help you sustain travel for a longer duration (beyond 6 months) with minimal to no spending.

1) CouchSurfing:

One of the best hospitality community website on the internet, with over a million users across the globe. Couchsurfing allows a user (couchsurfer) to offer his/her place up for stay for free for another coachsurfer.

How-to-get-started – A simple free sign-in form to complete your coachsurfing profile for other members to understand who you are.

2)  Hostel World:

A collection of the best and clean, extreme value for money backpackers hostels across the world. I have personally stayed at one of their recommended hostels in Malaysia and it was worth the moolah. I’ve found some great places to stay during peak seasons by exploring page 2 and page 3 of this website.

How-to-get-started – Sign in for free with an email id or you can just browse through the list based on your destination.

3) Escape the City:

I am so glad we live in this current world – couple of years ago, a concept like this would been a joke. Escape the city offers on the go jobs with a difference based on the location of travel across various industry/domains of expertise.

How-to-get-started – Sign in for free with your LinkedIn account.

4) Road-Sharing: (mostly Europe based)

Roadshare is a social community offering carpooling, free car sharing and hitchhiking services. A great way to travel with a companion for a few days while splitting the costs. I haven’t used this one yet, but included this based on what I have read about them from other users.

How-to-get-started – Free sign-in with an email id

5) WWOOF:

WWOOF stands for Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms – an amazing platform to find opportunities to work at an organic farm – live the countryside and see the raw world. Food and accommodation would be take care by your farming host.

How-to-get-started –  There is no single universal WWOOF membership , interested volunteer to join the country-specific WWOOF-listed organization – free and paid (depending on the country)

6) Find a Crew:

How about volunteering on a sailboat? Every boat is different in what it requires, from capable sailors or people with technical expertise or just a few hands to carry out their daily chores and the best part – You DONT need to have prior sailing experience J

How-to-get-started – Free and premium membership to get started based on the duration of your sail (365 days of premium membership costs about 26000 INR)

7) Mind my House:

A global  house sitting matching service – bringing house owners and home sitters together. Get paid as much as $20/hour as a house sitter.

How-to-get-started – Sign-in for free using an email id

8) HouseCarers:

Another house sitting opportunity website with a global audience. One of the highly recommended websites by many globe trotters.

How-to-get-started – Paid and unpaid online registration

9) GlobalFreeLoaders:

Another online community which brings people together to offer you free accommodation all over the world.

How-to-get-started – Fill-out an online registration form for free to create profile

10)  Worldhelplink:

A global platform to find that perfect job program while travelling from volunteering services to internships to teaching opportunities with contact information of the program in order for you to contact them directly.

How-to-get-started – you can just browse the site for opportunities or sign-up for newsletters

 

Most of the opportunities here are from a global perspective – to my eternal dream of Globe Trotting. They may not be applicable to travelling in India. But if you do find such websites, please feel free to comment.

Not all who wander are lost – J.R.R Tolken