Tasty Tangles- A Review

This weekend was about Nandos, or rather supposed to be about Nandos. They very clearly advertised (through Facebook) that they were opening mid week, this week. A friend and myself eagerly waited for today, and lo behold.. we got to the proposed site (Church Street) and found it still under construction. Reminded me of the wikileaks site, which was still saying 'under construction' while the Iraq War Logs were being talked about in all the media spheres.

Anyhow, crestfallen, we sat at Matteo trying to figure out where on earth to go for lunch. And in a flash of brilliance, my friend suggested Tasty Tangles for a consolation meal. Located in UB City, she'd passed by it many a times while there but had not gone to eat there, and as she explained, it was Malaysian, Chinese, Indonesian food. I did not say no.

We hopped into an Auto, by then having met up with another Nandos enthusiast, and made our way to UB. We were presented with Asian style tick tick menus- tick the food you want. Dishes come in either S or L. S is a one person dish, whilst an L would be suitable for a couple. And after some excited exclamations at some of the dishes she and I recognized, we placed our orders. The ambiance on a sunny Saturday afternoon, was good. They have the smoking and non smoking sections and fine wooden flooring and decor.

Dish 1: Indonesian Chicken Satay

Price: Rs 199

Rating: 3.5/5

Liked: The closest to a Satay reincarnation that I've had in Bangalore. The chicken was marinated (plenty 'o' garlic!) cooked perfectly, albeit thicker than the ones in Malaysia. You get four satays and well, they come smothered in yummy peanut sauce chunky and a bit zingy with the chilli.

Disliked: There were two things missing in the dish. Traditional Malaysian satay is cooked almost like a barbecue, grilled and fanned over cooling coal. While being cooked, it's brushed with a combination of a sweet liquid (sugar syrup, condensed milk, honey) mixed with oil. This generally makes the satay's flavor smoky and caramel crunchy. Both these elements were missing, but hey, maybe sweet is not an Indonesian thing!

Dish 2: Curry Laksa with Chicken and Prawn

Price: Rs 189 (S)

Rating: 4.75/5

Liked: The laksa! It was beautiful bean sprouts, shredded chicken, fresh prawns (de-veined- they don't even do this in Mal!!), coconut milk, chilly, chicken broth, bok choy, tofu (not paneer), caramelized onions, half boiled egg. It was lovely to eat something so close to home and both my companions agreed, they would definitely order the same thing on their next visit. The below detractions are small minute things, and let me be clear, it in no way detracts from any merits to this dish.

Disliked: Um.. well, can I be super mean and say that it was missing the little sweet calamansi lime that adds a little tanginess? And also, the soup could be a little bit more flavored and less coconut milky and lastly, the noodles. Udon noodles are Japanese, Laksa noodles are usually of two types- rice noodles or thick rice laksa noodles.

Dish 3: Roasted Chicken Egg Rice (Substituted Jasmine Steamed Rice)

Price: Rs 399 (S)

Rating: 3/5

Liked: Get this. When this dish came out my friend was a very happy woman, because it looked authentic. Roasted Chicken accompanied with a portion of rice with some chilly sauce (chilly paste, ginger, lemon mix). The chicken looked impeccable and well roasted, with a shiny crispy layer.

Disliked: Essentially it was the chicken. Unfortunately, the chicken was a little over cooked, rubbery and dry. Almost like it had been left in the roast too long. We got the waiter (Bahadur) to take it back to the kitchen but we got served the same thing, heated with a fresh portion of rice (!!). It was a huge disappointment. On this note though, the staff is very helpful, and they made it a point to come by our table and ask us if we were happy with our dishes. The sauce was also a tad bit too pungent with chilly.

Dish 4: Shanghai Lamb Noodles

Price: Rs 399 (S)

Rating: 5/5

Liked: The tender, well marinated lamb in the noodles peppered generously with thick mushrooms (I thought they were fresh Shitake mushrooms, though initially I did embarrass myself from looking at them, declaring them to either be mushrooms, some kind of root or pork). The noodles were cooked well and honestly, my companion finished it quick enough for us to all know he thoroughly enjoyed it.

Disliked: He didn't say anything.. I didn't see anything and I even forgot to take a picture of it (he ate it too fast), I guess it was really good!

Watered down with: Jasmine China Tea

Price: Rs 49

Rating: 5/5

Authentic tea, not in a tea bag, in a nice pot, served in a nice little Chinese tea cup.. drank it all up myself.

Over all this place is a dream come true for me, I'm already thinking of going tomorrow. To try out the desserts, because my Laksa filled me up earlier, I actually did not get anything else. You need to definitely give this place a try, kudos!