A taste of Vietnam
YOU www.bangaloremirror.com/you
INTHEPAN
PHOBIDDEN FRUIT
I
Manu Prasad
bmfeedback@indiatimes.com
f you’re feeling blue, and would
like to ginger up your appetite
with a new cuisine, but without
an astronomic bill, you would do
well to check out Phobidden Fruit,
which specialises in Vietnamese food.
With a pleasant ambience and decent
food, this restaurant is indeed a good
gastronomic experience.
GENESIS: Phobidden Fruit is the
result of Prasanna Swamy’s fascina-
tion for Vietnamese cuisine, and it
has now been around for just over
two months.
SIGNATURE DISH: Banh Xeo, Pho
and Bun Bao.
» CONTINUED FROM PAGE 21
With a teenager, molestation and
abuse takes on a different dimen-
sion. Coerced by guilt or threats,
these supposedly ‘adult’ children
may still not talk or protest due to
the person involved, the type of
abuse and the duration of abuse or
molest. Children, even those who
express their displeasure vociferously
when something goes against their
will, can be coaxed into silence with
lures according to their age.
Most are either shocked at what is
happening since the molester is a
figure of trust and authority or they
don’t understand the entire issue
until later. They usually remain
silent because of fear that they won’t
be believed, shame that they may
have been responsible for the actions
or guilt if there has been involuntary
physical pleasure — needless to say,
each reaction and its intricate
nuances differ from case to case.
Children of different age groups
COST: For `1400, you could get a
couple of non-veg starters, two main
course dishes, try out a couple of
desserts and share a beverage.
can react different ways. According to
the environment of the child — from
support to disbelief to aggression —
the reactions are different. Small chil-
dren may get aware that something
DURGESH KUMAR Y
Crispy Spring Roll and
Pho Beef (below)
VENUE: Phobidden Fruit, #965, 12th
Main, HAL II Stage, Indiranagar,
Bangalore - 38. Tel: 41255175
unusual is happening at a later age,
especially when the molestation
occurs over a duration of time. Some
children may show no sign of abuse if
the support from family is positive
BangaloreMirror
FOODIES'FEEDBACK
(From l to r) Madhu Menon, Nithya Dayal, Prateek Dayal at Phobidden Fruit
Partners-in-crime: The nature of the cui-
sine warranted Vietnam ‘veterans’. So
my reinforcements for the mission were
Madhu Menon, chef and restaurant con-
sultant, and Prateek and Nithya Dalal,
founders of Muziboo and SupportBee,
who had recently returned from a
three-month consultancy in Vietnam.
What A Sight: Though the ground floor is
relatively uninspiring, negotiate the spi-
ral staircase and you’re transported to a
cheerful casual dining ambience with
wooden seating and pretty cushions.
With 80s pop and the occasional creak-
ing of the dumb waiter, this is just the
right setting for a relaxed meal.
Show Viet: The menu offers a bunch of
appetisers, and has quite a few options
for vegetarians and non vegetarians. In
fact, the latter would be spoilt for choice
– chicken, beef, clams, pork, prawn, fish,
squid, lamb…see? There are a few soups
and salads too, and the main course can
be broadly divided into noodles, rice,
Vietnamese curries and Saigon street
favourites. And if you don’t already feel
stuffed, there are some unique desserts
and beverages too.
Saigon Pick: We started quite well. The
Banh Xeo, crispy rice crepes with a fill-
ing of button mushrooms, onion and
sprouts accompanied by a spicy sauce
ended up a favourite, as did the Fresh
Spring Roll (Chicken), though Madhu did
mention that it might have worked bet-
ter with rice noodles inside instead of
rice, and could have done with some
and unquestioning.
Others whose confessions are met
with disbelief, suspicion or anger may
feel let down, depressed and may sup-
press their anger and rage. However,
one marked sign is a drastic change in
behaviour. With boys, it is tougher.
Our society expects them to be tough
and do not encourage such talk. They
may not find any person whom they
can talk to easily without getting
embarrassed. Teenagers can show self
destructive behaviour like alcoholism,
drug abuse, or promiscuous behaviour
as they feel that could be the only way
they can get love.
That molesters, most of time, walk
away scot-free is alarming but even
more alarming is that molesters do
not come with the ‘monster’ tag –
they are like anyone of us – which
makes them harder to find and closer
to the child than we can imagine.
Kavita* aged 15, was highly trau-
matised when her sports teacher
touched her private parts. She told her
mother who said that she was watch-
ing too many movies and hanging out
| FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2011 22
more herb flavour. The Viet Spare Ribs
were fairly good too, despite the ribs be-
ing stingy on meat. Among the main
course dishes, we found that the Pho
(we tried Chicken and Beef) shared a
common broth and the meat was added
later, but it’s still worth checking out, as
is the Viet Red Prawn Curry.
Saigon Kick: The desserts were a disap-
pointment. The Coconut Sorbet, while
not lacking in flavour, missed out on the
texture of a sorbet. The Lemongrass Ice
Cream again got the flavour right, but
was more like a pudding. The Che too
seemed to stray from its original ver-
sion. We tried a Vietnamese Iced Coffee,
but instead of the condensed milk and
strong coffee we expected, this turned
out to be a much diluted version.
Service: The service is quite prompt
and despite all the tables being full,
managed to do a good job without any
major trouble.
Verdict: A catchy name, a relaxed set-
ting, the possibilities of a unique cui-
sine — all things considered, this place
deserves a visit. While it cannot be
called inexpensive, if you keep the
options in mind, you couldn’t really
complain. Go Pho it!
FOOD
AMBIENCE
SERVICE
Bangalore Mirror reviews
anonymously and pays for its meals
with wrong friends. “I was shattered
that my mother did not believe me.
The incidents with the teacher were
getting more frequent. I felt awful
when such things happened. Finally,
I told my tuition teacher as she was
willing to listen to me although reluc-
tant to interfere. But she was so dis-
turbed by what I had said that she
called my mother and begged her to
listen to me,” tells Kavita. The result?
She was pulled out of the tuition class
and was advised by the parents to for-
get the incidents. This only led to sup-
pressed anger and rage within the
child. “I burn with anger that why my
parents don’t want to believe me?”
says Kavita.
—With inputs from Brinda Adige, pioneer of
Makkala Sahaya Vahini and director of Glob-
al Concerns and Vyoma Prasad, counseller.
*Names have been changed to protect the
privacy of the victims
Tomorrow: We will see methods to tackle
the problem.