The Fatty Bao — Restaurant in Bengaluru

A long pending visit on my ever growing bookmarks, The Fatty Bao - Asian Gastro Bar is something that has been fast tracked because of my new found fondness for Vietnamese cuisine. Any place that is rumoured to serve good Bao's & Pho, I prioritise to visit them sooner.

So, one fine sunny afternoon, we ended up in Fatty Bao to sample some of their Southeast Asian fare.

And, obviously we order a Bao, a crab cake Bao bun for two, which is not listed in the menu, but was a special that week. We also ordered a portion of Spicy Tuna Tartare Sushi. After a rushed order, we had a chance to look around & the remaining part of the menu.

The Decor was more Japanese than specifically Southeast Asian, with quirky dragonfly chandeliers.

Menu is extensive with a wide range of not so regular southeast Asian fare, which has become oh so common these days.

The menu is a wonderful mix of Japanese, Vietnamese, Thai, Malaysian & Chinese dishes.

The crab cake Bao arrived shortly and we devoured it quickly, wonderful flavours packing that authentic Vietnamese punch that we love. The crab cakes themselves were cooked well with nice flavours, and freshness. The bao was warm, super soft, moist & steamed well, with the accompanied sauce doing enough justice.

The Sushi was nicely done, with freshest seafood you can find and beautifully accompanied by wasabi, gari (Japanese pickled ginger) & soy dipping sauce

For mains we opted for the obvious Fatty Pho, with Chicken and a Teriyaki glaced Salmon with Japanese Soba noodles.

The Pho as such was a very aromatic broth with the chicken beautifully cooked, firm & moist with black noodles. The broth one of the best I had in Bangalore, but not matching the one I had in Melbourne. But hey, am not complaining, it's just that my search for the perfect Pho will continue and does not end here in The Fatty Bao.

The Salmon was fresh and nicely cooked and tasted wonderful with the Teriyaki and the accompanied soft soba, nothing to complain here.

The surprise package actually came in the form of the desserts that we ordered. We opted for the Fatty Hill & a simple Japanese cheese cake.

What arrived at our table were two Michelin star quality dishes, in terms of presentation as well as taste.

The Fatty Hill is a chocolate pyramid with a mint Center, with Almond praline, rice crispies scattered around & a quenelle of vanilla ice cream. There was a pair of pink mushrooms (fondant, maybe) growing on the sides. Absolute delight to look at, and I was scared to even breathe heavily, so as not to disturb the delicate placement of the crispy pearls on the Choco pyramid. I must confess, that am not a big fan of the classic Chocolate - Mint combination. However a big exception here, I very much enjoyed this dessert as much as I was sad to destroy this piece of art.

In the look test, the Japanese cheese cake lost a few points to its chocolate neighbour. But it definitely scored, and quiet well when it came to being moist, soft & delivering delicate flavours.

A great place for Bao's with a wide range of appetisers covering most cuisines of south east Asia, am definitely visiting them soon, to try out their enticing & extensive small plates.

However I have made up my mind about one rule. If I ever come to Indra Nagar for lunch or dinner, am skipping dessert and heading right over here to The Fatty Bao for sampling the other deliciousness listed in the...

Perfect Pan-Asian Pork with a View And a Drink (or Two)...

Every major Asian city has its Food Streets: Hong Kong has Temple and Penang, its Macallum. In Bangalore, we have two top contenders. For your late-night, post-pub, “paisa vasool” needs, there is the venerable and much loved VV Purnam: cheap, cheery but alas both “dry” and veg. If you are however, looking for something with a bit more meat, spirits and variety, Indiranagar’s 12th Main is your Golden Mile. It’s a stretch packed with great joints and Fatty Bao (FB) is chief among them.

There are three things that separate FB from its (often very good) neighbours and those are a) its pork, b) its pork and c) its pork. With the exception of the fantastic (and fantastically expense) choices available at Ultra High Lounge, very few do pork better than Fatty.

Good meat is hard to find in India (with the possible exception of mutton). The beef and pork that is available at Bangalore’s restaurants are often (perhaps understandably) sub-par. India may be the vegetarian’s paradise but for the strict non-vegetarian, it can be a bit of a desert. Thankfully, we have the occasional oasis of carnivorous delight, like FB.

That is not to say the non-pork dishes are avoidable. Quite the opposite: • FB’s Vietnamese Bo Luc Lac or Shaking Beef is tender, well sauced and just lightly seared enough to deserve being called stir fried • The Fried Rice is not the usual mushy mess but fragrant, well separated grains that actually carry flavour (try the Chilli & Basil Chicken or Asparagus & Bacon)

The two standouts though, remain its pork dishes. In particular: • The Pork Belly: perfectly cooked, with crispy skin, solid sweet fat and melt-in-the-mouth meat • Chasu Ramen: Asia’s comfort food, here it is pure porky goodness, rich and full flavoured

Like most successful speciality restaurants, FB ensures that nothing sours the positive experience the food provides. Though prone to occasional confusion (difficulty in understanding that customers may want starter plates served with mains instead of separately), service is usually quick, efficient and friendly. The indoor décor is airy with plentifully potted plants and tall French windows providing plenty of natural light.

There are some grating negatives: One is the outdoor area. It seems to have been decorated as afterthought. The tables are ugly and the hard seats, cheap and uncomfortable. Which is all the more glaring when compared to the pleasingly done indoor decor. For most people however, it won’t be much of a deal breaker. Another more serious negative is the lack of warning about the inclusion of 10% service tax: FB should take a leaf out of Plan B’s (and other places) book and clearly display this at the entrance. Fine print on the menu does not cut it.

These deficiencies aside, if you’re looking for true culinary authenticity, then you may want head over to the equally good Nasi & Mee. On the other hand, if you are in need of an al-fresco cocktail and a view to go with some excellent, reasonably priced pan-Asian food, FB is just the place for you.

Suggested Dishes: Shaking Beef, Pork Belly & Chasu Ramen

Suggested Serving Size: 3 rice/noodles + 3 mains for 2 people

Metrics: • Time taken for Starters: N/A • Time taken for Mains: 20 min • Time taken for...

I had very high expectations from 'The Fatty Bao' but perhaps that's exactly why I wasn't that impressed at the end of our meal! Don't get me wrong, it is not a bad restaurant at all, it is just that it didn't meet my expectations.

Ambience: Quite normal/average and the building seemed quite old. The tables are quite small and if you order too many dishes at the same time, it is going to be a problem for sure. The washroom's design is not planned well either, because there's no common washbasin outside, only the one in the washroom.

Food: I was really disappointed to know that they didn't have Oysters that day. I really wanted to have their Fatty Oysters. Should have called them before going. They didn't have Teriyaki Salmon from their menu either. Please do call them before going in case you wish to have something exotic.

Anyway, we decided to stay and have our lunch here. We had two mocktails to begin with: Ruby Rangoon (cranberry juice with chocolate sauce) and Bora Bora (passion fruit juice). Both of them were good. We had "Spicy Cottage Cheese and Spring Onion" baos. Note that these were closed baos, not open. Came with three sauces or accompaniments. These are a bit like momos as they are closed balls with filling. Then, we had Steamed Edamame and removing the soybeans out of the pods was quite a task in itself. Quite overrated in my opinion. We also had "The Fatty Bao PB&J" which is basically pork belly. It was quite crunchy on the outside and a bit chewy on the inside. It is quite good if you prefer some crunch. It is not 'melt in your mouth' tender though. We also had Fatty Pho Ramen and Exotic Mushroom Ramen. Both were soupy and hearty but nothing extraordinary as such. Then we had Asparagus & Bacon Fried Rice and this one was my favourite in main course. This was quite tasty and the bacon really imparted nice flavour to the rice. I tried it with some soup from the aforementioned Ramens and it went along quite well with that. I couldn't really feel the asparagus in it. We also had desserts: Lemon Tart and Peanut Butter and Chocolate Torte. These are exactly like the names indicate: lemon-y and peanut-ty.

Service: Polite service. The most impressive part is that they are very fast in preparing your orders. Really fast. The place was so crowded since it was a Sunday. It is preferable to book a table before going to this place.

Price: Not as expensive as some other pan-Asian restaurants. Moderately priced.

Summary: Go here for pan-Asian delicacies. I can recommend 'The Fatty Bao PB&J' and 'Asparagus & Bacon...