Most Koramangala residents know the place. It’s the stone house with a stone fence. An architectural talking piece, with rough walls and a stark grey colour. It cries out for a splash of pink. And an enthusiastic team of four has done that. So now, it’s Magnolia, the Chinese and Thai restaurant.
Being a home that has been turned into a restaurant, Magnolia offers more than one dining area. There are curving spaces into which light flows in through French windows. The team behind Magnolia has done all the work themselves, so it doesn’t set out to make any design statements. But, except for the black napkins and the pink uniforms, which jar a tad, it creates a feeling of comfort. The finishing may not be perfect, but a light, airy, floral quality pervades the place.
Magnolia is as utterly feminine restaurant. And not just because of the colour schemes. In fact, the restaurateurs hope it will be women who will bring their companions to dine here, rather than the other way round. Lunch times are also for groups of chatting women. It’s billed as a family restaurant and no alcohol is being served at the moment.
But it’s for the food you should head here. The Chinese repertoire has been well received, but it’s for the Thai that the crowd keeps coming. For starters they have dim sum (Rs 90 for chicken, Rs 70 for veg) made from freshly made wrappers painstakingly rolled out till they are nearly transparent. If you want something with spice then perhaps the prawns pepper salt (Rs 90). The prawns are fresh, brought in everyday. The veg sesame toast (Rs 50) is crisp and nice and with a considerable number of calories, to be sure.
There’s a long list of soups from Tom Yum to Talumein and Thai coconut soup (Rs 35 to Rs 50). After which you should order yourself one of the excellent Thai curries. The red is especially good, the spice paste made in-house, with galangal and coriander root, chillies and a hint of dried prawn, all slow-fried then brought to a creamy richness with coconut milk. It’s fabulously flavored. And Magnolia, thoughtfully, offers shortgrain rice as an accompaniment instead of trying to strike up Indo-Thai fusion with basmati. They should offer some stirfried greens, not on the menu at the present, and you’ll have the perfect meal.
The green curry is pleasing without being exceptional. A more hereby fragrance and sharper flavour may help.
If you like spice, then the Thai chilli-basil combinations are a must-try. There’s chicken, prawn and fish (Rs 95), the last is larger tender chunks smothered in a light spice paste and lots of stirfried basil. Very well done.
And to go back to familiar Chinese dishes there are prawns in black bean sauce (Rs 95), Hunan chicken (Rs 80), shredded lamb capsicum (Rs 90), crispy veg hakka, veg Manchurian for devoted fans of this dish and more.
While plain steamed rice is the recommended accompaniment for most of the Thai dishes, you may wish to check out the fortune rice or Peking noodles as well. |
