Bengaluru diary

Way, way back in the 1980s and the early 1990s, I used to think of Bengaluru as the food capital of India. There weren’t that many deluxe hotels as there are today but those that had opened did have excellent food. The Southern Comfort coffee shop at the Taj Residency (it now has some silly new name) broke new ground by putting appams, Chicken 65 and the like on its menu. Also at that hotel, the Jockey Club served wonderful European food, including a memorable Spinach Souffle. At the West End, the poolside kebab stall was brilliant. And Paradise Island, a vast open-air Pan Asian restaurant, built in the Thai style, broke with orthodoxy by dispensing with air-conditioning and letting the wind waft over the guests.