The Nocturnal Burp!. Review on Hotel Hilal, Shivaji Nagar, Bangalore

Hilal is on our very own Broadway (Shivaji Nagar) Hilal looks like a typical 'kaka' hotel as most locals would guess. I guess it is not. Now what is a 'kaka' hotel is out of scope of this text but we'll talk more about Hilal now. Frankly, it is not a place where you can take your Wife/Girl/Etc and have a Gastro-Romantic evening. But you'd rather go there with your cronies after a good time in Tavern for example. Normally Hilal is buzzing with activity till the wee hours. So next time your regular restaurant is closed, get your act together and head to Broadway. Remember, Sun never sets on Shivaj Nagar.

Exact location: Off Russel Market, at the entrance of broadway, Bang opp to ''Wet Pets Aquariums'' on a majestic elevation with slippery stairs. Go to the first floor where it is ''Regular Rates in A/C'' and is a little more cleaner than the ground floor. Quick service is the hallmark of this place by good 'ol Suresh, the waiter, small guy with glasses who.. Nevermind. Don't expect to get seated immediately as there are only four tables which can take 6 each and you may have to wait for a little while. Don't try the old stunts like standing next to a table and deliberately watching the folks tryin to hurry them up, you may get whacked by them and lose your appetite.

Food! Yeah, sorry, so the kind of food you can expect there is predominantly non-vegetarian and I'd recommend only chicken. They don't serve Beef,Pork of course not. In case you are a vegetarian you'll have tough luck with the rubberized panner butter masala, which one of my veggie friends always eats and loves it. Nevermind..., let's talk about things which makes me Drool.

Methi Chicken: Cashew gravy, rich, mildly tangy and Spicy and medium rare boneless chicken and atomic traces of methi. Don't expect it to look green, it is brown traditional coloured potent gravy. Quantity is good for 2-3 depending on your consumption levels. The shade of brown has nt been consistent probably because of the changing temperment of the cook. But it always tastes the same. There are no extra veggies in the curry or bones to bother you, only nice thick gravy and chicken nuggets. Bon Appetite. <Slurp!>

Have it with Roti of your choice Rumali, Tandoori, Tava Roti or the more traditional/nutritious(HA!) wheat parota, which is the good old chapati, only as big as my bath towel. Some of the types of roti might not always be served hot esp, Tava and Rumali, so don't throw it on his face, just ask him before hand and avoid disappointment.

Buna chicken: Also called Tennis Chicken, because of the way they roast the chicken, a Chick is sandwitched between two very Tennis raquet resembling devices and roasted, it tastes a bit like tandoori chicken with missing punjabi masala coating, but that is how it is meant to be. One strange thing I noticed is that those roasting holders even have iron strings making them look like chris evert's mom's raquet, and they don't leave any check marks on the chicken. Really strange. Do eat it even if you see those marks. I always wondered why. Food for thought (no pun intd).

Sisthou chicken: My friend Jayant liked it so much that he pronounced it as the best chicken dish he'd ever tasted. It is damn good, I love it too. I really wonder how they make it. by the looks of it. it looks as if they run a road roller over the chicken to make it flat like a not so round pizza. It is boneless by and large, IT has a very strange flavour, say buna and and little bit of tang which seems to come partly from chat masala, melted cheese and the rest from undisclosed sources. (My guess; not to be taken for granted.) This normally get over by 2AM so get there by then. I haven't come across this thing anywhere else so far.

That makes it really exclusive. You do get bheja Fry etc, but I don't want to get into the details, it is made pretty good for those who like it. You also get butter chicken, do-paiza, chilli chicken, pepper chicken in Hilal's own stlye. I recommend Pepper chicken. Rest are not really worth while just like eating Fried Rice in New Shanti Sagar. I recommend you stick to the reviewed dishes, which is what makes Hilal stand out. Of course it is your prerogative ultimately. Like most kaka hotels they are nice enough to give you free Dal (Mild Dal with chucks of bottle gourd) and the house gravy. In case you run out of your Methi Chicken or Paneer Butter Masala or if you have ordered just Sisthou ckn.

The ever popular Ghee Rice AKA Kushkha is always there to supplement the main course to South Indians like me. The quantity is pretty huge, Half should easily satisfy an average soul. Sorry no desserts available here, so head to the nearest chai shop and have a sulemaani chai (Lemon Tea) which will keep you awake till you get home. Dessert Options, Empire Next door - Ice Cream, Tea Shop Opp : Sulemani Chai, Opp Rusell Market Adrak (Ginger) Tea. I have never seen this place in daylight and might not recognize it as well, but in the night it is the right time to go and discover the other side of bangalore night life.

Cheers

Kj