food guide - mangalore

mangalore is a picturesque li'l seaside town. sitting right where the western ghats meet the sea, mangalore has fresh sea breezes and narrow winding hill roads. the weather is sultry most of the year round, but the breeze helps make it comfortable.

the monsoons are the best [ and probably the worst ] time to visit mangalore. the rain here never stops, washing the city and sprouting mosses and ferns all over the place. the rain also destroys the roads, makes it impossible to get anywhere without getting soaked first and the humidity won't let you dry after you do.

take some time to look around mangalore city, if you're new here. you can walk just about anywhere in this small city, though maniacal auto-rickshaws are always available. explore the handful of churches, ancient temples, the markets and very importantly, the food joints.

food guide - mangalore
[ see also, food guide - south canara ]

chef's
intro & location |
chef's is a small, actually teeny, eatery almost outside mangalore town. go to chef's for that unique mish-mash of continental, chinese and manglorean cuisines. the area is called kadri, you go uphill from there till you see chef's / xinhua on your right-hand side (xinhua is the chinese restaurant affiliate of chef's). expect to eat heartily here for a couple of hundred rupees.

ambiance & hygiene |
thanks to it's size, chef's used to be quite cramped. if they were fairly full, you might have your neighbour's elbows and knees coming in between you and your food. apparently, they have renovated recently and added a lot of mirrors. more space. the hygiene is pretty good, though.

food |
chef's dishes out some really unique stuff. their interpretations of offerings as simple as a burger and as complicated as pasta are ... well... interesting. so if you're looking for variation, new tastes and textures, this is a good place for you.
recommendations :
a : chef's double decker burger : this is a multi layered burger with a lot of meat thrown in. chicken and beef are both good, though not in the usual patty form that you'd expect in a burger. it also includes an omelette and salad. try their other burgers if the double decker is a li'l big for you. the chicken and beef burgers are both pretty good.
b : mixed non vegetarian sizzler : (or is it a steak?) either case, this is not a traditional sizzler, has beef, chicken, ham and seafood. very satisfying and quite large. it is served with pasta / noodles.
c : mussels 65 : mussels, for the uninformed, are a type of shell-fish. more firm than oysters and quite tasty. mussels however are only available at specific times of the year in mangalore. so if it is available, it will be on the "specials" board. goes well as a side-dish. do try it.
d : ice cream soda's : quite the standard soda's, they complement the food well. try the orange soda with vanilla.

be prepared to spend some time there, service is slooooooooow.
update: chef's seems to have been given the hindu treatment. so remove all the beef from the above review.

prax's
intro & location |
prax's is even smaller than chef's. it's a tiny li'l hole in the wall restaurant that serves chops, burgers, steaks and the like. i'm not entirely sure of the location for this restaurant. a filling meal will set you back by about 100 or 150 rupees.

ambiance & hygiene |
prax's is quite run-down and not on the clean side, but it is acceptable. you go to prax's for the food. period.

food |
prax's has a limited menu but is quite popular for their food. particularly their mayonnaise, which is kinda sweet.
recommendations :
a : beef steak : this is quite small for a steak but comes soaking in an amazing gravy. this dish looks more like mince than steak and you may be confused at first. but eat it and you'll realise that the name doesn't matter. fried with onions and that gravy, served with chips and 'pav'.
b : beef burger : this burger is made from li'l cutlets of beef. very interesting and very good.


moti mahal
intro & location |
moti mahal is actually an old hotel in the falnir area. you'll be able to find it very easily. they have two restaurants, one serves south indian fare and the other is muti-cuisine. try the multi-cuisine one on the far side of the lobby. this hotel is slightly on the expensive side.

ambiance & hygiene |
old and slightly musty. moti mahal is an ageing hotel that badly needs a renovation. however it still is a lot better place to eat in than the other restaurants reviewed so far. and it is very hygienic.

food |
moti mahal has quite decent food and a very wide spread, but i'm keeping this review limited to a single dish.
recommendations :
a : hot dog : moti mahal makes an elaborate hot dog and serves it like it is some exquisite delicacy. very interestingly, they use several small sliced frankfurters instead of a sausage.


hao ming
intro & location |
a chinese restaurant run by one of the small number of chinese immigrant families living in mangalore. the good thing about this restaurant is the range of its menu. there are several items here that are unique. they serve lamb, poultry, sea food and pork and this helps bring variety. to get here you need to reach 'jyothi circle', the road forks in an 'h' shape. hao ming is in the fork opposite 'juice junction'. lunch here will set you back by 200 to 400 bucks.

ambiance & hygiene |
good. it's a little cramped but thankfully it avoids the dingy red interiors and dull lighting that seem to have become signature of chinese restaurants across the country. they have large windows, aquariums and a fish and turtle pond. generally pretty looking, pleasant restaurant.

food |
as i mentioned, hao ming offers a large variety of very interesting dishes. the perfect way to eat here is to go in a group of five or more and order something different for everyone. that way you'll get to sample a good range of their fare. try their chicken, crab and squid delicacies. warning : the crab has to be shelled by hand.
recommendations :
a : the sizzling rice soup : this is a hot and sour, dark soup which comes with a small bowl of crisp fried rice. quite ordinary. the magic happens when you add the rice to the soup, it begins to crackle and hiss. this soup is recommended for the novelty. be warned that the serving size is very large. one sizzling rice soup will be big enough for two people.
b : hao ming platter : if you are eating alone or with one other person, a good way to sample more hao ming fare, is to order the platter. the platter comes in vegetarian and non-vegetarian options and starts with a choice of soup, it then offers you a choice of noodles or rice, vegetables done the way you want and one chicken preparation. all these arranged beautifully on a platter. the quantities are more than enough for one person.
c : ants climbing tree : a chinese style minced pork dish. a fiery red sauce garnished with a 'tree' of broccoli, giving the effect of red ants milling around a green tree.
d : roast pork : sliced roast pork done in a honey and ginger sauce. sweet.


jayjee's
intro & location |
jayjee's is a small bakery in bijai. ask for the bijai church and then walk up hill, jayjee's will be on your right hand side. this bakery is more of a general store than a restaurant, the reason it's featured in this guide is because it's the perfect place for a sunday morning breakfast. after mass in the nearby bijai church, the proprietor jayjee thunders up the road on his bullet and opens the store while hungry souls wait patiently outside. you can eat the everything on the menu for a hundred and fifty bucks.

ambiance & hygiene |
small table and chairs in the portico outside the bakery. from this vantage point you get to look at a lazy stream of people going back home on a sunday morning. the place has very little in the name of amenities but then again it isn't very pretentious, it's only a li'l bakery.

food |
a good breakfast can be had with even this limited menu. add packaged juice and fresh bread from the store. a great breakfast. however, jayjee refuses to toast the bread. why ? nobody knows. it's a mystery.
recommendations
a : bacon & eggs : exactly that. eggs the way you want them, sunny side up, scrambled, omelette, whatever.
b : sausages : pork. sliced up and fried with peppers and onion rings.
c : ham : jayjee will fry ham too, if you ask him.


pop tate's
intro & location |
roadside eatery at 'jyothi circle', on the right hand side of 'juice junction'. pop tate's serves excellent pseudo arab snacks. shawarmas for 25 bucks and the whole chicken for a 100 odd.

ambiance & hygiene |
pretty decent for street food.

food |
two items on the menu stand out.
recommendations
a : chicken shawarma : slices of chicken breasts soaked in a subtle marinade and piled up on a skewer, slowly rotating in front of an open oven. the outer fringes cook and the chef slices these edges off. so you now have shredded roast chicken, toss with pickled chillies and salad, then roll it up in a kuboos (arab bread or roti) slathered with some garlic butter. delicious.
b : rotisserie chicken : also known as 'round-round-chicken'. delicately seasoned, marinated, whole chicken slowly roasting on a rotating skewer till it's a golden brown. you can buy half a chicken too, but i suggest you eat the whole chicken, it's very satisfying. served with salad.

pabba's
intro & location |
ask for 'saibeen complex', across the main road in front of the complex and to your right hand side is pabba's, one of the manglorean icecream joints of repute. mangalore and its environs are known for the large number of local icecream manufacturers. icecreams are decently priced, desserts average at about 50 bucks.

ambiance & hygiene |
pabba's is a huge airy icecream parlour. very big and clean.

food |
the famous icecreams here are the 'parfait', 'chocolate dad' and 'gadbad'.
recommendations
a : gadbad : the original south karnataka icecream. the gadbad is exactly what the name hints at, a hotch-potch random mix. two or three flavours of icecream (mango, butterscotch, vanilla...), nuts, raisins, two or more toppings, some cubes of fruit (pineapple, banana, apple...) and jelly (am i missing something ?). served in a tall glass with a long spoon. slurp.
b : jackpot : it's got yummy gaajar ka halwa and some yummy flavoured ice cream. very good stuff.

hangyo
intro & location |
open-air snack joint at the saibeen complex.

ambiance & hygiene |
slightly cramped during rush-hour, but otherwise, a pleasant joint. decent hygiene.

food |
the place makes for an ideal snack stop, while waiting for someone or otherwise hangin' out at the mall. there is only one item here, that i recommend.
recommendations
a : thick chocolate shake : super-thick milk-shake with a chocolate flavour. it stands out because it is so thick. you can get a milk-shake in many joints in mangalore but none of them is as thick. you've gotta try it to know.

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more joints and recommendations
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taj mahal, mohini vilas and woodlands

for a breakfast in mangalore, these three joints prove to be excellent options.they have some authentic konkani food on offer too. the coffee is sinfully good.

sukhrundo's stall

for the konkani style bhel puri, called "charamburay upkari", a visit to the sukhrundo's stall (a redhi, in hindi) is a must. he stands opposite the mukyapraan temple, near car street. he has been in business for years now. actually, sukhrundo is the father, it's the son who manages business these days. excellent stuff, worth a try.

[ credit to pooja and poorna for helping write reviews ]