Last weekend, I went for a blogger meet-up with friends to try the food at BonSouth. The invite mentioned that it was a Hyderabadi/Nawabi food festival. I went to the event expecting traditional Hyderabadi cuisine. Boy, was I in for a surprise!
Generally, Hyderabadi cuisine draws its flavor from two rich legacies - the Deccani cuisine of Nizams with its delectable biryanis (rice flavoured with meat and vegetables), haleem (pounded wheat and mutton dish) and kebabs, and the spicy Andhra style of food, laced with mustard, garlic and chillies and eaten with doles of chutney and pickle.
BonSouth though did a kind of fusion of Hyderabadi with some other South Indian cuisines, making it a most interesting and unexpected dining experience.
I knew the dining experience was going to be unusual almost immediately when I was presented with the amuse bouche.
Interestingly named as curd atom bomb, this curd and chaat combo dish was an explosion of taste in my mouth, and made the perfect start for a most unusual and innovative South Indian dinner that played with all our ideas of what makes up a South Indian meal.
After the amuse bouche, we had multiple rounds of starters presented to us - all of which were universally good.
Here are photos of some standout items we sampled.
The Vegetarian starters
Because every one at my table was non-vegetarian, I got to gorge myself on the veg starters. There was a lot of variety but I loved these items the best. Mouse over for descriptions of the food.
The kuzhi paniyaram (also known as paddu) and the banana twisters especially were very addictive, and they simply vanished out of the plates and into our mouths.
Another table favorite was the veg kurkure, which is kinda like a South Indian spring roll.
The Non-vegetarian starters
I am a vegetarian, and so didn't actually try any of the dishes mentioned here (except for the eggs), but based on other blogger's comments, and the speed at which the food was consumed, I think these were the top non-veg starters.
But the real star was the Nizami murgh thangadi - a kabab of chicken leg - which everyone agreed was the best among the non-veg.
There were plenty of other starters offered to us as well - such as grilled paneer, grilled corn, Chicken 65, and so on. I am merely highlighting above what was the best of the best.
The main meal
Understandably, I wasn't too excited to try the main course after such a generous helping of starters. So, we spent some time chit-chatting, taking photographs of all the food in the buffet, eventually I helped myself to only a select assortment of dishes.
The biryanis at the buffet looked especially tempting. There were three varieties - a chicken biryani, a mutton biryani, and a Zafrani Badami Pulao (which is the vegetarian option).
All the three biryanis smelt heavenly. I of course, opted for the vegetarian option.
And of course, no South Indian meal is complete without a helping of curd rice.
Dessert options were there, but not plenty. I wasn't too interested in the desserts after the curd rice anyway, choosing to end the meal with a small tumbler of filter coffee, ending a most unconventional South Indian dinner on a very traditional note.
Details
Address: Bonsouth, #131,1st Cross, Koramangla 5th Block, Jyoti Nivas College Road, Bengaluru
Timings: 12 noon to 3.30 PM and 7 - 11 PM
Reservations: 080 2552 6363
Pricing: Rs. 650/- onwards
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