In my last post I wrote about the horrible experience at Yana. After the experience I realised i did not know what exactly a wok was. A quick look on wikipedia revealed that it’s just the name for a chinese Kadai!

The wok is a versatile round-bottomed cooking vessel originating in China.

the wok is known as a wadjang, as kuali and kawali (small wok) in Malaysia, kawa (big wok) in the Philippines and kadai in India.

Obviously, not very exciting!

Next, I looked up Stirfry and that gave the kind of results I was looking for. Apparently, the technique followed at “All stir fry” is the Chao technique. And the one used at Yana is neither!

So the next time I see a place with a Wok, I know I need to ask whether they stir-fry or not and in what way!

I love chinese food but somehow the only chinese place that I’ve frequented in Bangalore is Rice Bowl on the Lavel road. These days I come to Bangalore quite frequently but stay near domlur/Indiranagar thus ruling out rice bowl completely. So, its been time to experiment with places in Kormangala.

Tried Yo China but its way crowded for any entry. Minimum wait time: 30 mins. Too noisy and hence not worth the wait or another visit. Visited another place near 6th block. Nice decor which reminded a lot of rice bowl. Again long wait time but not as long as Yo China. Another time perhaps. Went over to Magnolia near Raheja residency and then visted again.

Magnolia is half km off the Kormangala main road (BDA road) into the road between nandini and Utsav. A nice quiet area compared to most of kormangala. Its a house converted into a restaurant and it shows. Still very tastefully done interiors and very polite subdued service. Consists of two floors each with two rooms. Ground floor is non-smoking service while the first floor has one smoking room. Being rooms, smokers are completely isolated compared to most other places. Seats can be uncomfortable for large people and lack of armrests is uncomfortable for any. Tables are placed far apart so one can actually hear the music which is a huge plus.

I usually like to evaluate a chinese place by the quality of soups and the rice. So far, I haven’t tried the rice so I’ll keep to the soup here. I’ve tried a clear soup and a thick soup. Both had the just the right aroma and the flavour. However, the thick soup is not really thick even by Bangalore standards, forget Mumbai places like Chopsticks (Nariman point). Still, the taste is just right.

Magnolia also serves Thai food. So, I ran my eye over the menu looking for kai (Thai for Chicken). Surprisingly, only one item. Then I realised that all the names are translated and the Thai dishes are with the prefix Thai. A first time for me definitely! I believe in the saying that a rose smells as sweet by any other name and so shall certainly try the Thai fare in near future.

I’ll certainly come back for more to this place.

I noticed Moet’s shack in defence colony while on way to dinner to Little Italy last Friday. Returned with another friend the next day. I wanted a quiet place but gave in to the joy of exploration.

Shack offers Chinese and sea-food. We went for Chinese not being sure of sea food in Delhi. Again, the place was closely packed and noisy. Again I ordered Chardonnay hoping for a repeat of the last week. Alas, the wine was too cold. But any regret was short lived as food was served a lot faster than we expected. It was pretty good. But it did not delight. It merely met the standard of good chinese food in taste and in size of helpings. A place worth another visit but not the kind of place where one can vow people.

Rating: 3.5/4