Michael's Kitchen — Restaurant in Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation

It's my first time in this restaurant. It's gleaming profile and good reputation was the reason I went there. Before I begin, I'd first like to appreciate the dishes that were not only delicious but also came with interesting and highly appealing presentation and saved me from an empty-stomach (garlic prawn-buttery and melted in mouth, chingudi poda gupchup and badi-chura fried fish with ambula rai- creative and aesthetically appealing fusion and authentic odia flavour and Japanese chicken noodle bowl- authentic and delicious). These dishes are worthy of all the appreciaition. If not for these dishes the rating would have been short of 4 stars. For the service was poor beyond expectation. Maybe it was a bad day for me as well as the restaurant.

Complaints: Korean food fest(today being the last day) without korean food (despite the menu board flaunting a list of korean specialities). Lax managemnet, unavailable head chef/owner, understaffed and unreliable service.(Though the staff were well behaved) Unnecessary delay in preparation and serving of dishes despite having only 2 tables to serve at the moment. Inauthentic(specific) and disastrous dishes despite long hours of wait. Somehow they agreed to prepare 2 korean dishes. And in end there were still 2 pending dishes of which one they told us couldn't be prepared(prawn dimsums- as the chinese chef wasn't available) and the other would take yet moreeee timeeee(dahi kebab) and hence dropped off the list.😒

Now coming to the food: Vietnamese prawn roll (unlike the authentic dish)- limp and feeble Lacked the papery crispness and freshness of the filling There was no herbs The Japanese katsu curry rice- Undercooked and bland rice(brown and thick variant unlike the small white japanese rice) Curry miserably thin and scarce in quantity(had to ask for more) Hardly any veggies in it(minced instead of diced vegetables) The only saving content was the fried-chicken, which despite being properly prepped seemed dry as it didn't sit well with the rest. Indonesian speciality Nasi Goreng (pic not included as my patience ran out)- Smelled weird Had the distinct smokiness and savoury taste Lacked in the caramelized flavour which the burned onions that served as a prop on top of it failed to deliver. Tasted like tangy pulao Unappetizingly dull and dry/Lacked the natural moisture Had to ask for peanut chutney, which still failed to save the dish. The biggest dissapointment, the worst of all the korean tteok-bokki(spicy rice cakes), a sorry imitation of the authentic Korean one, supposed to be soft, chewy and from the very look of it hot and spicy- Rice cakes hard-as-rock-crumbly Sauce lacked the characterestic redness was smelly(kinds reminded me of the disgusting inauthentic gochujang by urban platter which I had once used before) Overall fatal for palate Had to ask them to remove it altogether, as I didn't find it worth paying for and thankfully they did (though the fact that it was a waste of effort, ingredients and time did feel bad ). Lastly, the korean fried chicken (takeaway)- undercooked meat. 😮‍💨

To top all this off, they kept referring to all the dishes as chinese dishes and stating the absence of the head chef or a chinese chef as the reason for the unavailability and bad prep of these non-chinese dishes. Whatever the reason maybe I believe anyone will be at the end of their wits if they placed the order at 2 PM and didn't get to have a decent lunch even by 4 PM. 😑 . In the end the wait and the service killed my appetite and got most of all these (blacklisted) dishes packed. I wish they tasted as good as...

Odia cuisine ,a cuisine full of wonders and art which is still undiscovered by the whole nation and the world . Today , @chef Michael showed us how our everyday Odia cuisine can be represented in a progressive way while keeping intact the indigenous Odia culinary essence . . We attended MK foodies meet up themed as "PROGRESSIVE ODIA CUISINE " . Before starting off our food session ,Chef Michael elaborated the beauty of our cuisine and explained each and every dish . It felt tasty in his words, but in reality , they are tastier . . It was a 8 course meal and each served with interval of 10 mins . Dishes are - welcome drink-Nali Paida Pana

• Chilika Fisherman Stew, Sweet Paprika Khai (Seafood kanji pani)

• Savoury Egg Kakara, Pumpkin Sakara

• Badi Chura Crumbed Fried Fish, Ambula Rai Mayo

• Fresh Bay Leaf Wrapped Patra Poda Chicken, Spicy China Badam Butter Sauce

• Guava Sorbet

• Pumpkin Flower, Scallion Crab Bara, Poda Tomato Chutney, Bitter Olive Tapenade

• Sorisa Ceaser Salad, Grilled Prawn Besara, Marsilea

• Mini Soft Chakuli Taco Mutton Kassa, Crushed Papad, Odia Tomato Salsa & Nadia Pachedi

• Chenna Poda Cheese Cake, Black Jamun Compote,Moti Chur Laddu Cream, & Labanga Lata

• Khil-e - Paan

badichura fried fish and guava sorbet were our favourite of all . (Detailed description of the dishes will be posted in IGtv .)

such a wonderful experience at nickel's with other guests . Time spent well. We would request Mk to keep on organising such events and hopefully these dishes will be part of their regular menu one day .

thank you...

Go here only if you have plenty of time and seriously don't mind sluggish service. Honestly, that's the only major negative here, because the food and the atmosphere are so good they actually make up for the wait.

The vibe is cozy, well decorated, and just a great space to hang out in. You might be there a while, but it's a genuinely pleasant space to sit and wait.

Now, a big heads-up on the food: their international dishes are definitely adjusted for the Indian palate, so please don't walk in expecting them to be "authentic." That said, they pull off a pretty good emulation, and it's genuinely delicious.

For example, their Tonkotsu Ramen has the rich body you want from a pork bone broth, but they heavily flavor it with shoyu (soy sauce), making the broth dark, bold, and super savory. It’s a customized flavor that absolutely works well, even if it's not the traditional milky white Tonkotsu.

But here's the major caveat: the noodles are a massive compromise. They come in only one type, which I assume are the white, thick, round rice noodles that are notably soft and with little chew. This is my biggest gripe: I can't even ask for a substitution, because they insist that's the only noodle that comes with the ramen. It's bloody frustrating when you know the local maida noodles could be cooked to perfection to give you that firm texture you crave. So please keep your expectations grounded and you'll enjoy...