A note on the words: Mangalorean cooking is a coastal South Indian cuisine known for its seafood dishes, coconut and ghee. Yetida Chatni is a spiced appetizer made from dried shrimp. Fish Rava is fish coated in semolina and fried until crisp, while Marvai Sukka is, apparently, a Mangalorean clam dish stir-fried with spices, ghee and coconut. Basale Kadle is a traditional curry combining spinach and black chickpeas in a coconut-scented gravy.
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Bangera’s Kitchen on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
Hello, this is Hangover Meshi. This time, I visited “Bangera’s Kitchen,” a South Indian restaurant in the Ginza and Yurakucho area. It is inside Ginza Inz 2, right beside Yurakucho Station, so it is very easy to get to. Having arrived a bit early, I strolled around Yurakucho. When the time came and I approached the front of the restaurant, the aroma of spices drifted gently out! I couldn’t wait to eat curry!
Looking at the menu, the options other than curry were remarkably extensive. There were plenty of dishes I had never seen before, which made it very exciting. I had wondered what South Indian food was like, and it seems there are quite a lot of seafood dishes? That made me look forward to it even more. We decided to go a la carte, ordering whatever we fancied one after another.
First, a beer! So I tried to order an Indian beer, but unfortunately it was sold out!
However, we were able to order an all-you-can-drink option on the spot, so we went with that. It is Asahi, but beer is included.
The first thing we ordered was a snack-like dish made from dried shrimp. And this was good.
Curry-like, or masala-like, or perhaps neither — it is hard to describe, but the impression is something like dried shrimp tossed with curry spices, ha.
When you think of South Indian food, seafood — or fish — comes to mind, so here was fish roasted in a tandoor tossed with a salad.
This was delicious too.
And then came the fish dish, which I think is probably the star attraction, with photos of it posted in various spots.
When we went to order, there was a chalkboard listing the fish varieties and their prices.
I see, the fish used for this dish is not fixed, and you can choose it yourself.
There were choices like yellowtail and sea bream, but they recommended hamachi (young yellowtail)! Looking at the price, it was the most expensive at 5,000 yen! But they advised us that this portion size would be better, so we ordered it. And here is what arrived.
Huge!
It is huge! Chunks of fish fried in a fine coating, served with a real presence. That certainly makes an impression, and great entertainment value too. As a dish, it is hamachi marinated in masala and coated in semolina before frying. Fluffy on the inside, crisp on the outside, and thoroughly delicious.
A dish I had wanted to try ever since I saw it on the menu.
Apparently a Mangalorean specialty of clams stir-fried with ghee, spices and coconut.
This is exceptionally good. Really delicious. The rich sauce is the real heart of it. Highly recommended!
Originally it was 1,200 yen for two pieces, but since there were three of us they made it three pieces.
The menu said “mutton that melts the moment it enters your mouth!” and it really did melt. Melty mutton. Delicious.
And finally, it has to be curry, so we chose Basale Kadle, which the menu noted as a traditional dish.
A curry of black chickpeas and spinach with the rich aroma of coconut wafting through. This too was remarkably delicious!! South India is amazing!
South Indian cooking is incredible!
I came in thinking mainly of curry, but there are so many dishes beyond curry and every one of them was remarkably good. I definitely want to come back. I would love to try all sorts of other dishes, so maybe I will bring some friends along and spread the word about South Indian food, ha.
Bangera’s Kitchen (Indian / Yurakucho Station, Ginza-itchome Station, Ginza Station)
Tabelog dinner rating ★★★☆☆ 3.8
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
