BangaloreMirror I FRIDAY, MAY 9, 2014

YOU www.bangaloremirror.com/columns 20
W
hen an iconic brand from
Singapore lands up in
your city, its only fair
that you pay a visit at the
earliest. I harried a few
friends into doing exactly that on a la-
zy Sunday afternoon. From a single es-
tablishment at Boat Quay, Harrys
now has over 30 outlets across the
globe, including our very own at Indi-
ranagar. The month-old outlet hasnt
really publicised itself, so we werent
surprised to find only a few other ta-
bles occupied. Harrys, as a chain, bills
itself as a sports bar, but though the
large flat televisions would corrobo-
rate that, it does seem more like some-
thing that just stepped out of an Amer-
ican sitcom the one where friends
catch up after a days work. Brick walls
and comfortable seating, with a pool
table in one corner you get the pic-
ture. The props are probably standard
at all the outlets, but they do make the
entire ambiance conversational
posters, coasters, napkins, all are an at-
tempt at wit. My favourite was High!
How are you? The music was a bit of a
surprise and could be an educative ex-
perience for the kids who are the typi-
cal target audience at such outlets
ABBA, Boney M, The Whispers are not
something theyd hear a lot. But I
wouldnt complain, especially be-
cause they played That Thing You Do
when we were leaving! Now lets stop
pottering around and talk about the
food and drinks!
Appetisers: The drinks menu gets both
sides of a menu card (illustrated like a
clipboard), just like its food counter-
part and thats an indication of the fo-
cus. They have several house specials
from which we tried the Singapore
Sling and Harrys Old Fashioned. The
cherry brandy pretty much overpow-
ered the gin in the Sling, but it was a
reasonably refreshing drink. The sec-
ond drink (created at the original out-
let) had Scotch in abundance though
they went a bit overboard on the or-
ange peels! But what we really liked
were the election specials (drink for
change). The mango and vodka based
Kejrinator was fantastic, and the Na-
Mo Thunder (orange vodka, lime and
mint) matched it. We passed the RaGa
Snoozer though. I absolutely loved
the creative play on the ingredients/
descriptions in these mango, or-
ange, and RaGa being a mocktail ap-
proved by mom! An extra point
only for that!
The Wasabi Paneer
sounded interesting, but
turned out to be Paneer
with a wasabi dip. Ex-
cept for that expecta-
tion blip, the dish was
quite good fresh cot-
tage cheese that was made
just the right side of crispy.
The Crispy Calamari, on the
other hand, was a disappointment as it
was fried a little too much. We then
tried the BBQ Pickled Chicken and dis-
covered a potential rival to the Tunday
Kabab for the melt-in-your-mouth
quotient! Thanks to this, and its zesty
flavours, this was our favourite dish.
The Fried Lollypops and Pattaya Fish
Fingers are house specials, and you
could give them a shot as well.
Entre: The Caesar Salad was more
mundane than magnificent, and this
was despite the bacon. The Harrys
Jazz Burger was good on paper, with
mutton patty and bacon among its
ingredients, but the patty could have
done with better cooking. Ironically,
the next dish was Harrys Double
Cooked Noodles and we asked for the
Mixed Meat Butter Curry version.
While fish sauce in every-
thing is probably common
in the generic geography
that Harrys originates
from, I hadnt anticipat-
ed prawns in the dish.
Over several experienc-
es, I have discovered that
theyre allergic to me and
seek to escape. This time was
no different; I will spare you the
graphic details. A mention in the me-
nu would have been nice! The Kasoo-
ri Paneer Khurchan, with well
cooked cottage cheese, a flavourful
gravy and served with a curious ver-
sion of naan was a surprise winner in
this round.
Afters: From the four options availa-
ble, we chose the Baked Vanilla
Cheesecake and the Chocolate
Mousse. The former, with the little
lemon curd touch was easily the bet-
ter dish. In addition to the taste itself,
we didnt like the plating of the latter
much, because seeing a lot of empty
space where chocolate could have
been is not a pleasant feeling!
In all: The ambiance and the pricing
give it the potential to be a good han-
gout. However, in the crowded res-
taurant scene of Bangalore, consis-
tently great food is a must for any
Tom, Dick or Harry to survive!
Bangalore Mirror reviews
anonymously and pays for meals
Drink, and a little food
Cuisine Pub Grub
Owner(s) (run by) Pan India
Food Solutions Pvt.
Ltd.
Chef Arun
Alcohol Yes. Loads of it!
Wine list A well-stocked bar
(with visual proof)
and excellent in-
house cocktails
Price range A meal for two would
cost around `1,500
(inclusive of taxes and
service charge) a
couple of cocktails, a
non veg starter, a
main course dish and
a dessert.
Parking Valet
Wheelchair No
access
Service Friendly and cheerful
Music & 70s and at just the
Sound level right levels to be
noticed
Ambience Comfortable and
cheery
Hours 12-11.30 PM on
Sunday-Thursday, 12
PM-1.30 AM on Friday,
Saturday
Home delivery No
Reservations Not required at this
stage
C C
N 2 1 f R
H 2 S
5 P 4
BM VERDICT
pink in colour, making a difference to the
taste, says Mouli. A scoop of malai
(cream) ice-cream or vanilla ice-cream
along with a dash of pure malai is floated
next. Mouli advocates almond ice cream
but uses vanilla ice cream in his classic
version. Certainly not for the calorie-
conscious, this drink.
It amuses Mouli that most customers
order the drink before the meal. Of course,
Chettinad cuisine aficionados know better.
He jests that his decision to introduce
the drink last year may have just triggered
the unusually hot summer this year. The
summer was like in any Chettinad village,
he says with a laugh.
Jayanthi Madhukar
garthandasatiated the thirst, he says.
The spicy, heavy Chettinad cuisine has
very few desserts. Save for the elaneer
payasamand Vellai Kuzhipaniyaram, there
arent many options, says Mouli. Besides,
the soaring temperatures in the region call
for a cooling drink.
The myriad ingredients that go into
the jil jil jigarthanda take their cue from fa-
looda. In fact, the name has been de-
rived from the Mughal period, says Mou-
li. The key ingredient is badam pisin, the
sap of the almond tree that is dried like
gelatin. The pisin acts as a natural coo-
lant for the body. A spoonful is soaked
overnight in a couple of spoons of water,
and a generous dollop of reduced milk is
added to it along with cold milk. Its
topped with a dash of rose syrup.
The rose syrup, especially the one
from Madurai region is sweeter and more
W
hat better than a cool drink to
plunge your on-fire tongue into af-
ter a taste of fiery Chettinad cui-
sine? Jil Jil Jigarthanda (meaning cooling
the body) may sound like a lively song
from a 70s Bollywood movie, but its ac-
tually a drink that originated in Madurai,
south of Chennai. A commonality in the vil-
lages of Chettinad, this milk-based drink is
now making an appearance in a few se-
lected restaurants in Bangalore too, like
Aachis at Indiranagar.
Karthik Mouli (34) of Aachis says the
drink is a habit in the 76-village Chettinad
belt, famous for its spicy non-vegetarian dis-
hes. Invariably, ajigarthandastall awaits its
customers outside these non veg joints.
I remember tasting this drink in a stall
outside Madurais famous Ammas Mess,
which serves the best non-veg food. I was 15
years old and still remember how thejil jil ji-
This milk-based drink, a Chettinad specialty, is the perfect coolant on a hot day after a spicy meal
BM SAVEUR: JIL JIL JIGARTHANDA
From top: Baked Vanilla Cheesecake;
BBQ Pickled Chicken; Kasoori Paneer
Khurchan and Wasabi Paneer
Manu Prasad
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KAUSHIK J N
KAUSHIK J N
Karthik Mouli whips up the dense jil jil
jigarthanda using all the ingredients