OUR DINING EXPERIENCE: ANUPAM'S COAST II COAST

 OUR DINING EXPERIENCE: ANUPAM'S COAST II COAST

When you decide to eat out, what determines your choice of restaurant? Some factors could be the novelty of a new place, positive references from family and friends and the type of cuisine they are famous for. Recently, we had lunch at Anupam's Coast II Coast at Bengaluru's popular Church Street, hosted by Prem's cousin: Rati. I guess all three factors mentioned steered us to this restaurant!! We thoroughly enjoyed the lunch! 

This restaurant carries on the tradition of yummy food started by its older avatar at Koramangala (another part of Bengaluru which is chock full of restaurants catering to myriad tastes). The one at Church Street is open from 11 am to 3.30 pm for lunch and from 7 pm to 11 pm for dinner.

There wasn't much of a crowd when we walked in around 12.30 but by the time we left after a sumptuous meal all the tables seemed to have filled up.

Rati and I chose Sol Kadi as an interesting drink to start the meal with. This is a traditional appetiser  made with Kokum, buttermilk, and spices. It was tasty and spicy. Prem settled for his usual Bira White beer. The crisp pappads were the perfect accompaniment for our drinks. They kept disappearing as fast as they came in. 

As you may guessed by now, we had come here in search of our favourite seafood. This restaurant is run by Tulu people who are excellent when it comes to Mangalorean sea food. Naturally we opted for fish and prawns in different forms rather than chicken or mutton.

The Pomfret Rawa Tawa Fry was lip smacking with the pomfret shallow fried on the tawa with a light coating of semolina or rava. Actually for all these dishes, you get a variety of fish to choose from- such as Pomfret, Kane, Anjal etc. We opted for Pomfret or Maanji as it is called in Tulu. It was so tempting that we started eating before remembering that we had not taken any picture!! 

Next up was something we were craving for, to be honest! Steamed Maanji or Pomfret - cooked with a green masala- was melt in the mouth soft and came served in the pack of banana leaves it was steamed in. The taste was out of this world. Perhaps the best dish of the day for me! 

We also loved the Prawn Pullimunchi- again traditional Tulu fare made with Yetti as Prawns are called in Tulu. This came with soft and porous Neer Dosas and with hot steamed rice. Pullimunchi gets its name from "Puli" which means sour and "Munchi" which means chilly in the Tulu language.  This was delicious too. It probably looks more fiery hot in the picture than it actually is. 

We also enjoyed the Kane Raw Fry - this dish had the Kane fish marinated in Mangalorean masala and evenly coated with semolina or rava and then fried till crisp and golden. This too was a big hit! 

When it came to desserts, we had the Tender Coconut Payasam which was a more traditional dessert to finish the meal. It was soothing and cool after the spicy meal.

We tried to persuade Prem to join us in this dish but he chose to stick to his favourite - Caramel Custard! 

Overall impressions: The service was quick and efficient. They let you take your own time without hassling you but were quick to serve the dishes on time. The food was excellent and I would strongly recommend Anupam's Coast II Coast, especially if you are looking for Mangalorean or Coastal style sea food.