My visit to the Indian restaurant Ssaffron at Shangri-La was pending for so long that I had begun wondering if I could ever make it. Every time I made an attempt to dine there, something else would get in the way, so I had just resigned myself with a Kesar’a sera, whatever will be will be 😀
Well this time their invitation to try out their Thali meals finally fit into my schedule and I managed the 3 km that lay between us to enjoy the pre fixed spread that needed no choosing from the menu.
Ssaffron is the authentic Indian restaurant, high up on the 18th floor of the opulent Shangri-La hotel and it serves rich cuisines from the four regions of India, with a greater emphasis on the North and South.
With their market fresh as well as home-grown produce, they bring to us food with flavors that are true and which make them a sought out venue for private as well as business lunches and dinners.
The decor as is expected of a hotel of that stature, is of course ornate, with grand carvings and sandstone sculptures. The view of the city is panoramic, with the Vidhana Soudha, the golf course and many other familiar features in view through the glass walls.
The total seating capacity of 152 guests is divided between the open terrace which is mainly frequented at nights and the indoors which is preferred at day time. The well stocked bar is a part of the terrace, from where flow their interesting cocktails, mocktails and wines.
Apart from their extensive a la carte menu, they also serve a pre set Thali that eliminates the problem of having to choose from the menu … a blessing for people who just cannot make up their minds (read yours truly 😛 ) and the thalis come in veg and non veg versions.
A typical thali comes accompanied by the usual pickle, mint chutney, date chutney, laccha onion, vadam and tandoori papad and people like me can make a meal of just the vadams and addictive date chutney !!!
The rest of it consists of a Soup, an appetizer and 4 main course gravies that include a dal.
The breads served are from the range of Naan variants, tandoori rotis and such. A flavored rice, white rice and curd rice are also available.
The meal is rounded off with a dessert of the day.
Well of course the chef was in a mood to pamper us so we had a few extra dishes to taste from 🙂
We opened with the delicate Zafrani bhuney bhutte aur lesun ka shorba, the garlic flavored corn soup, its saffron hue in tune with the theme.
A fancy Dahi bhalla was our amuse bouche, presented with the drama of accompanying smoke.
The mains were served on a heart shaped silver (colored) platter and the vegetarian one consisted of the Tulsi kalonji ka paneer tikka and the Silbatta ka tikka where the humble beetroot was transformed into a delectable disc.
Dal makhani, Udupi kurma, Subz sunheri handi and Paneer kurchan made up the rest of the meal along with a specially ordered Alu gobhi that greatly pleased the vegetarian at the table, being of perfect texture and authentic flavor.
The non veg had the nicely done Dungari Barrah – the juicy mutton ribs and the spicy Bhatti da murg as the starters.
And apart from the dal and veg kurma, we also had the creamy Dum murg darbari, the tangy Martaban ka meat, and the Meen kuzhambu – the fish curry that could have done with a bit more zing.
The chef also indulged us with a bowl of chicken biryani that I was actually too full to taste !!!
We were definitely not going to be spared from tasting dessert though, which came on a platter with a bit of everything on it. A blob of gulkand, a stuffed gulab jamun, jaggery sweetened ada pradhaman (a kerala payasam made from cooked rice flakes), khubani ka meeta and the rainbow style Rangeela kulfi and falooda, which apparently is quite a favorite among their guests … and we were no exception 😀
My favorite was the Ada pradhaman.
End your royal meal with a great view of the Bangalore Palace, that is visible from Caprese their Mediterranean restaurant.
The thalis are available at lunch from Monday to Friday and are priced at Rs 1000/- all inclusive and the dishes vary from day to day.
For more pictures see My Facebook – Shangri-La-Ssaffron
Aug 30th, 2017
