Wednesday 11 June 2014

Tiffin Box etc, Bangalore



Working in Whitefield, Many of us are in a lookout for a quick meal and buffet lunches fit the bill for the following few reasons:
- No hassle of reading through the menu, 
- Waiting for the food to arrive post preparation,
- Covers various meal courses.

What becomes difficult is to find the right balance between spread and pricing. Most of the times, the spread is too large for what can be enjoyed in a quick meal or the pricing is too high for the spread that is being offered. 

Being in close vicinity, I decided to give 'Tiffin Box Etc' located inside 'In Orbit Mall' a shot and must say, "I am happy to have dined there." It is a fast paced restaurant offering delicacies from various regions of India. The emphasis lays on the Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western specialties represented by major cities of the regions. In addition it also has a focus on Brimingham which is famous for Chicken Tikka Masala.

Menu:
Tiffin Box Etc boasts of being the first of its kind restaurant that offers novelty tiffin box options like Bangalore Tiffin Box, Kolkata, Mumbai and Delhi tiffin boxes on the menu. Each of these boxes contains delicacies specific to the respective regions. In addition this, there is a fair listing of A-La Carte selections and a lunch buffet that offers diners a fair spread at decent prices.

What We Ate:
We mostly focused on the buffet but also called for two of the tiffin boxes to get an idea of the offerings in it. The lunch buffet available Monday to Friday, includes a fairly sufficient spread of both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. This spread includes a soup, a few salads, pickles, an appetizer each for both the vegetarians and non-vegetarians, mains, breads, rice and desserts.

Like always, my focus remains on the non-vegetarian food but based on the recommendation of my friends on the table, I tried the soup of the day, some papdi chaat and moongfalli vada from the buffet.

On the non-vegetarian front, I relished 'Chicken Tikka' - an appetizer was a nicely marinated boneless preparation from the tandoor. It was soft, juicy, succulent and went very well with mint chutney.

In the mains, it was 'Chicken Kohlapuri', 'Mutton Korma' that were delicious and were best enjoyed with fresh and hot butter naan which is served on the table.


Desserts offered on the buffet were blueberry cheese, caramel custard and butterscotch ice cream. Simple yet classic offerings. My favorite of the lot was the butterscotch ice-cream and the caramel custard.

While this was all about the buffet, in between we also tried a vegetarian Delhi and non-vegetarian Kolkata tiffin box. The Delhi tiffin had paneer butter masala while the Kolkata thali offered 'Kosho Mongsho Mutton' in the mains in addition to the rice, chapatti, yellow dal and gulab jamun which come with every tiffin. 

I absolutely loved the Kolkata signature; tender mutton in the 'Kosho Mongsho'.The flavor of the mustard with the other spices was bang on. The food was very much like home cooked food and the portions in the tiffin box were more than sufficient for two (may be with a side call of a few more chapatis).

Available on the a-la carte menu, the Nalli Nihari was another wonderful preparation from the kitchen of Tiffin Box Etc. Slow cooked mutton fell of the bone effortlessly and the gravy was rich in flavor. This makes for a delicious meal in the company of steaming hot white rice.

Verdict:
The buffet was really nice and did not go overboard in terms of the spread. Having said this, "I'd have loved to round of my mains with a serving or two of chicken or mutton biryani which apparently was not on the buffet that given day." Being an ardent lover of biryani, for me this was the only negative point in the buffet spread. The a-la carte presents some interesting dishes and the tiffin box concept is really nice and makes for a nice fixed meal menu for 2 in the company of some additional phulkas or chapati.

The ambiance is very simple yet very attractive with a lot of wall art, tiffin box lighting and more setting or representing the whole theme of TiffinBox etc. Very thoughtfully placed is a take away counter on the food court side of the restaurant where folks can do a quick grab and go lunch.

The buffet is priced well at Rs. 350 and an average a-la care meal for 2 will cost anywhere about Rs. 750 both exclusive of taxes and charges.

Quick Tips:
- Buffet is a great option for a quick meal with a nice spread to keep you content. 
- A-La Carte is available only for dinners on weekdays and both lunch and dinner on weekends. 
- Tiffin box is a great concept and the portions are large enough to share between two.
- Stay tuned to hear about the door delivery service of the TiffinBox meal...
- The counter in the food court is a nice option for a 'Grab N Go' meal.


Address: 1st Floor, In Orbit Mall, EPIP Industrial Area, Whitefield, Bangalore 560066
Phone Number: +91 80 2802 9599


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