This particular outing to Zaica was a rather memorable one, not so much for the food but other reasons which I shall talk about later on. The three of us came in rather early, just past seven in the evening, to the restaurant. For someone who is used to late dinners, seeing an empty restaurant at the time was rather unsettling.
We ordered two starters to kick off the meal. The first was the tandoori pomfret. The pomfret was cooked really well with the masala spread evenly. The meat inside was just the right texture, neither too hard, nor too squishy. It made me feel bad that I had to share the fish with others at the table. I’d definitely recommend the tandoori pomfret for anyone who goes here. It comes with a side order of onions dipped in curd, sprinkled with some sort of chaat masala. We shamelessly asked for a second helping of the onions to which the restaurant obliged.
 |
| Tandoori Pomfret |
 |
| Onions in curd |
The second starter for the evening was a plate of aachari aalo. It’s basically potatoes marinated with spices and roasted to taste more like a cutlet. While the flavours were good, the overall dish was just average. But beyond the various types of paneer, we didn’t see much of a choice in the starters for vegetarians. The khatha-meetha tamarind chutney that came along with this dish was really good. Once again, we shamelessly asked for another helping of the same.
 |
| Aachari Aalo |
The main course was fairly simple. We ordered a palak paneer which was nice and thick and gave off a good aroma. It was a safe yet good option. The non veg dish was a murgh dhaba special. It was a thick tomato-based gravy with chicken pieces, sprinkled with egg. I’m not too sure on the verdict on this dish. While it was a nice, extremely rich gravy with soft chicken pieces, it really never left me with anything to remember. This might have been thanks to the tandoori pomfret we ate earlier which was really good. These dishes were accompanied by Indian breads.
 |
| Murgh Dhaba Special |
 |
| Palak Paneer |
Now to the memorable part of the evening. Ever since I have embarked on this quest to become a reputed food blogger, I carry my camera almost everywhere. Much to the displeasure of friends, I have to stop them from eating their meal the moment it comes to the table because I need to take pictures. This was no different at Zaica. I’m guessing one of the waiters over heard my friend’s use the word ‘blog’ and they did see me take a lot of pictures, and ask for a seat with good lighting. All of a sudden, the even otherwise courteous staff was over-courteous to us. The manager walked over at least twice to ask how the meal was. They even offered to replace any of the dishes for free in case I wasn’t happy with the taste. This created a rather awkward dinner experience; because in an otherwise empty restaurant, most of the staff’s energy was focussed on us. At the end, I was even introduced to the chef. I’m going to be optimistic and say that they’ve read my blog and recognize my work. Just imagine if I were one of the really more reputed food bloggers, they might have never let us leave.
Anyway, dinner was a pleasant experience with the tandoori pomfret being my pick for the evening. The only problem I did have with Zaica was the music which was a little loud and overbearing (read brash instrumentals of the latest tunes from Bollywood). Otherwise, it was a fun dining experience. The entire meal worked out to under Rs. 1500. Zaica is located on the 100ft. road in Indiranagar near the Domlur flyover.
Comments