FOOD: THE HINDU SUNDAY MAGAZINE/RESTAURANT REVIEW/I & MONKEY


Cuisine capers

Check out this quaintly named eatery in Indiranagar
that experiments daringly and deliciously with its cuisine
It is Mainly about very good foodAt I & Monkey
It is Mainly about very good foodAt I & Monkey
It's getting tougher to grab  and hold the diner's  attention, especially the Indiranagar diner  who is admittedly spoilt for choice. However, I & Monkey's  Reji Thomas is clear  about his new enterprise:  while the location (on the  12th Main; it can't get much  better than this) and the environs (white stippled  walls and a gleam of dark woodwork, very pleasing ) ought to be top- notch, the focus has to be on  the food.

But before we come to  the food, let's talk about the name of the restaurant.  Reji, veteran taker of the  Bangalorean diner's pulse  (he is the man behind the hugely popular Windsor Pub),  has settled on one cracker of a moniker; the name of the eatery both intrigues and amuses.


Apparently, it's about getting in touch with the monkey inside us all, the creature that lives for good times and more than a dash of mischief, the creature that is ready and willing to be entertained with good food and good wine. But, as Reji Thomas would have  it, it's mainly about the food and the food is, in two succinct  words, very good. The menu encompasses Kerala, Mangalorean,  Coorg, Goan, Anglo-Indian and Continental cuisine and the dishes  all carry quirky-as-hell names. Expectedly, there is a smattering of God's own dishes… God's own seafood soup, His own melimelo  coconut creamed vegetable soup.

After which Susi aunty makes her appearance on the menu , with curry leaf chicken. And then there's Thaai's very own Bitangala pandhi fry, Cochin bad word curry (I'll give you a hint: it has to do with spherical dumplings in a spicy curry), the amazing bang bang prawns, and some of the Windsor  Pub's more popular offerings.

When the monkey makes his appearance, it's through under the monkey's blanket, crumbed breast of chicken topped with tomato pomodori, sliced ham, all baked in  cheese; the wrap-up monkey, which is chicken breast  filled with mushrooms, wrapped in milk crepes, pan-fried with egg dip and served with creamed Dijon mustard sauce; and the vegetarian All for monkey goes Herbi, the chef's combo of select  vegetables and cottage cheese grilled and served with a choice of pepper or mushroom sauce.

The wine list includes Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc  and Red, Shiraz, Cabernet. This writer would recommend you check if either Reji or his son Satish are around and leave your taste buds in their capable hands. Oh, and I and Monkey  is worth a visit just for what the chef does with curry leaves, I promise you!

I & Monkey is at 968, 12th Main, near Au Bon Pain. It is open from  12.30 to 3.30 for lunch and 7 to  11.30 in the evenings.
Tel: 080 40923656.

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