360 degrees
At last Swagath has a little brother
Atmospherics: In the Malcha Marg Market, full as it is with eateries of all kinds, Sanadige can be said to have completed the bouquet of cuisines on offer. The décor is rather in your face and covers every inch of the floor, walls and ceiling. Because of the presence of an elevator, floor space on the first floor is rather cramped. There is seating on three floors, the second floor being the best and the ground being the least attractive. The menu not only covers the cuisines of Goa, Maharashtra, Kerala and South Karnataka (coastal), it also features sweet corn soup and Sikandri Raan somewhat incongruously. Apart from making the menu far too long, the physical menu is bound at the top, with pages of ascending size, making it a feat to turn the pages <I>and<I> remember what one chose three pages back! Do note that the portions are enormous and in the case of their seafood thalis, there is a curry and fried titbits of the particular seafood, besides pickles, chutneys, rasam, dry vegetable, buttermilk, rice and breads.
Table talk: The one factor that works in favour of Sanadige is the amount of customization the service staff allows you. I wanted my prawn thali (Rs 850) to feature prawn pulimunchi so that is what I got, in place of a prawn curry (pulimunchi is a tamarind-based curry). The seafood platter (Rs 1550) that we ordered on a separate occasion featured gargantuan portions of anjal (kingfish) chilli fry featuring darnes of bony kingfish slathered over with red chilli paste, prawns butter pepper garlic which was the one disappointment of the evening, chilli squid whose masala paste was almost identical to the kingfish and clams sukka. The original platter consists of prawns tawa fry which we managed to substitute for the butter pepper garlic. The one dish that displayed how serious Sanadige is about their cuisine is the kori da ghee roast (Rs 495). Made with what is obviously Mangalorean ghee (a world apart from the North Indian variety) it is a good attempt. Chicken ghee roast is the butter chicken of Karnataka, where everybody has their own favourites.
Plus and minus: The less than felicitous term ‘naked prawns’ could easily be substituted with ‘fried prawns’. However, vegetarians won’t find much on this menu.
Must try: kaju Sanadige (v), kane masala fry, Mangalorean mutton curry.
Food: 3.50, Service: 3.00, Décor: 3.00
22/48 Commercial Centre, Malcha Marg
Tel: 40507777, 41629677
Open from 12.30- 3.30 and 7 to 11.30 pm
Meal for two: Rs 3,000
Credit cards, alcohol
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