Brand Bengaluru boasts of one of the finest dining spaces in the world with the Jamavar at the Leela Palace rated by Forbes recently as one of the world’s top 10 restaurants. Bangalureans patronize iconic dining places with the same élan as they go ga ga on street food. The ubiquitous rava idly is sought as much as caviar,foie gras, sushi etc. Yet there are some restaurants and habits that have not changed much. One such place is Chalukya Hotel @ 44 Race Course Road, that was a happening place not so long ago. The dimly lit A/C restaurant was always full with families celebrating a momentous occasion or groups hosting farewell parties with time standing still for them. It is their signature dishes of masala dosas, rava idlies and coffee that would bring in repeat customers. So it was this space that we, a group of 11 trooped in to experience those nostalgic times.

The captain was good enough to chart out a buffet that suited our budget at Rs 115/= per pax though the menu is a la carte. So full marks in the first round.

We set the evening rolling with Fruit juices that had the goodness of the fruits with the thick froth brimming to the top.Without exception all the juices were very good and though slightly expensive at Rs.30/=to 36/= it was worth every rupee spent.Some of us being health conscious, the next order was the Green salad (Rs 30/=). Then somebody experienced sweet pangs and we all had Badam halwa (Rs 25/=). The Badam paste and sugar were in the right combo though the ghee component aggressively advertised its presence.

The buffet spread opened its innings with

* the tomato soup that was more of a ketchup concoction with few fried bread chunks valiantly trying to pep up the dish.
* The starter-Jafferi Manchurian was a pleasant surprise with 4 varieties snugly nestled on the leaf base decorating the plate. So it was baby corn, Gobi, paneer and mushroom dry varieties of Manchurian that kept all of us sporting our best smiles
* We had Rotis/naans/Kulchas with 5 vergetable dishes-of Paneer butter masala,with the peas properly cooked not leaving a buttery trail.The Palak masala was fine. Ditto with the Channa masala, though the channa could have been softer for it does give one a bloated feeling. The green peas curry teamed well with the rotis. TheAlu gobi masala was spicy and did not interest me.
* For the true South Indian there was the tasty Pulav, unlimited rice to be tasted with rasam and sambhar. For a moment it was like eating at an Andhra restaurant, full meals style sans the plantain leaf.
* Fruit salad was the topping of the meal,with ripe and sweet fruits of the season that flanked the proud vanilla icecream
* Beeda, was the curtain call for a pleasant evening

Mr.Kumar Holla, a pharmacy lecturer was happy that it reminded of home food without the overpowering garlic or onion masalas overtaking the vegetables. The ambience, quality, service scored an "A" with him.

Ambiance 2

Food 3.75

Service 3.5

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