In which Madhu extracts his pound of flesh…
August 24th, 2004 | Published in Blogs | 20 Comments
He’s been most kind to fix the comment spam problems on my blog and many others! Helped me find a decent economical host and also heeded my cries for help at some point of time or another. And in the middle of all thankless tech support, he has time to run a retaurant. So I guess, for all the times I’ve hassled him, I owe him this small favour :)
- If you’re in Bangalore, please visit Madhu’s new restaurant, Shiok Far-eastern Cuisine that serves good Thai, Malaysian, Indonesian, and Singaporean food. The restaurant is on CMH Road, Indiranagar, Bangalore.
Btw, the food is really delicious and Madhu mixes a mean cocktail or two. So rush to Shiok and discover the joys of Oriental cuisine! Today :)
August 24th, 2004 at 12:25 pm (#)
Been there once
Expensive place !
Not for visiting regularly!
August 24th, 2004 at 1:14 pm (#)
You should try the prices at Rim Naam at the Oberoi. 3 times. Or the Zen at the Leela. 5 times that.
Or even Bamboo Shoots / Aromas of China. 20% more.
Importing expensive raw materials and sauces has a higher food cost.
Serving local Gobi Manchurian would be much cheaper, but we’re not about that.
August 24th, 2004 at 2:45 pm (#)
MadMan,
Looks like you did’nt help Gautam with his blog.
:-)
August 24th, 2004 at 6:52 pm (#)
Nitin, That was priceless :)
August 24th, 2004 at 6:56 pm (#)
Gautam, Treat my comment only as a joke.
Sorry, Anita for spamming.
August 24th, 2004 at 7:12 pm (#)
serving Beef?? I dont if I wld like to eat in the same joint which cook different meat.
else I wld try, next time in Banglore.
–p
August 25th, 2004 at 11:48 am (#)
Well Madhu, it depends on what one compares against
If you are looking at the people who frequent The Leela and Oberoi’s Chinese restaurants is Blogging the best method :-) ?
Naah, I don’t like Gobi Manchurian myself (though my daughter loves it!) but somewhere I think restaurants like Civet and Shiok are missing some message. If they continue with their prices the vast majority of the junta who eat out will only frequent them once a blue moon (though Shiok is located much better than Civet in ITPL)
bangalore has some decent Asian joints that are not so expensive …taipan and the ‘panda’ joint in Transit, Forum
my do paise as a value and cost conscious eat-out’er ;-)
And Madhu if I ain’t your typical customer sorry for taking up your time :-))
ciao,
Gautam
August 25th, 2004 at 9:40 pm (#)
mein aaaaaaaa rahe hooon.…
August 26th, 2004 at 2:11 am (#)
I don’t really want to use Anita’s blog as a platform for this debate, so last post…
I think restaurants like Civet and Shiok are missing some message. If they continue with their prices the vast majority of the junta who eat out will only frequent them once a blue moon (though Shiok is located much better than Civet in ITPL)
a) The aam junta doesn’t come to these joints anyway. They’re happy with their Punjabi-Chinese food. Earlier, we used to get angry people who demanded “gravy” with their dishes. They’ve shrunk now. Thank goodness for that.
b) The average “Chinese” place does not have to buy rice noodles at Rs. 90 per packet or light soy sauce at Rs. 1050 per 6 litre container. The “desi” soy sauce (an abomination) is available for some Rs. 30 per bottle, but I wouldn’t touch that crap. Similarly, Kaffir Lime Leaves cost about Rs. 300–400 per kg; Galangal costs Rs. 200 per Kg. These are the costs of authentic far-eastern cuisine. In the programmer world, we have a saying — GIGO — Garbage In, Garbage Out.
c) The aam junta already pays more for so-called Chinese food in the upmarket restaurants of Bangalore. They’re doing brisk business.
and…
bangalore has some decent Asian joints that are not so expensive …taipan and the ‘panda’ joint in Transit, Forum
I don’t think either of them spent Rs. 25 Lakhs on their interiors or pay close to Rs. 1 Lakh per month as rent. It’s like comparing McDonald’s to a French bistro. Do you get waiters serving you at the Forum?
Sorry for sounding militant, Gautam. It wasn’t my intention. But the restaurant business doesn’t operate on just one model. Most people have no clue what the operating costs are. What works for a McDonald’s will not work for a fine dining restaurant.
August 26th, 2004 at 6:45 am (#)
Been a while since I moseyed in here, Anita. And I’m very glad I did, now. This restaurant sounds super and it now gives me more reason to come flitting down sooner than later!
August 27th, 2004 at 11:02 am (#)
R: Definitely look forward to seeing you here soon. We shall catch up at Shiok :)
August 27th, 2004 at 7:09 pm (#)
what you say gautam.. its absolutely exquisite food… the kind of stuff that leaves a flavour in your tastebuds for days together after also… you may have not eaten it the way cuisine food needs to be had…
i go there once a month… (probably) …its expensive…but its all WORTH it… :) love your food madhu… you are good!
August 30th, 2004 at 11:45 am (#)
well Lavannya
I never said the food was bad …
I only said that it was unafforadable …and this is my last post on this topic too!
regards,
Gautam
August 30th, 2004 at 11:46 am (#)
Not a place to frequent.…lekin pretty good place..and food is indeed delicious.
September 2nd, 2004 at 2:30 pm (#)
And I have a permanent link in my blog… and keep getting customers.. SIGH !!
September 6th, 2004 at 8:01 pm (#)
went there … nice place … had a cocktail, but not food„ wasn’t hungry enuf, maybe next time .…
August 24th, 2004 at 5:12 pm (#)
Shiok
If you’re in Bangalore, please visit Madhu’s new restaurant, Shiok Far-eastern Cuisine that serves good Thai, Malaysian, Indonesian, and Singaporean food. While I have never been there, I can trust Madhu for it. And so can you. And so do Anita and Kiru…
November 2nd, 2005 at 2:28 pm (#)
The food in Shiok is excellent. I am a regular customer here and have written about it in Mouthshut.com.
Regarding the pricing, the food is worth the value. I dont think i can say the same for Leela or Oberoi.
Madhu just need to keep the quality intact and it should dip with time.
Thanks
Arnab
July 10th, 2007 at 8:26 pm (#)
I like their Thai food there…
February 8th, 2008 at 9:25 am (#)
The food in Shiok is definitely excellent. I have been a regular from mid late 2003 to 2006 enjoying the food at least once a week.
I have tried almost every dish on the menu and quite a few which Madhu Dished up on the fly.
The service has always been great.
The sea food was always fresh and i remember the Java Fish and the pepper crab.
Coming to the price, i would agree its expensive but with a good number of people in Bangalore with deep pockets, Shiok makes sense.
For the Rest, the Shanthi Sagars with their Gobi Manchurian and Chopsey should satisy their palate without damaging their wallets