Have You Ever Felt Your Breath Sucked Away Right From The Gut, Marvelling At The Painstaking Detail Put Into The Food And Decor At A Place? That’s What I Felt When I First Stepped Into The Beautiful Treehouse-esque @the.mandala.cafe , That Also Doubles Up As Mangalore’s First Eco-Conscious Café.

Here’s What I’ve Had Over Several Orders:

1) Cappucino - Rs 110
2) Affogato - Rs 150
3) V60 - Price Varies Bean To Bean
4) Siphon - Price Varies Bean To Bean
5) Aeropress - Price Varies Bean To Bean
6) Cold Mocha - Rs 160
7) Chicken Quiche - Rs 40
8) Cold Chicken Sandwich - Rs 80
9) Basil Pesto Cheese Swirl - Rs 60
10) Cinnamon Roll - Rs 70
11) Chocolate Chip Cookies - Rs 30
12) Whole Wheat Brownies - Rs 140
13) Oats Banana Muffin - Rs 100
14) Coffee Purin - Rs 190
15) Doughnuts - Rs 50
16) Apple Almond Cake - Rs 70
17) Multi Seed Bar - Rs 50
18) Avocado Toast - Rs
19) Kombucha - Rs 110

A Cupp’a Cappuccino Is Probably The First Term Coffee Explorers Encounter, Also The Popular Visual Of Steamy Milk Foam Being Swirled Into A Shot Of Espresso In A Myriad Of Patterns. Relished By All, Including Those Who Don’t Like The Frankness Of Pure Americano, Or Generally Dislike Coffee. The Best Way To Savour The Delicate Notes Of The Coffee Bean Is To Refrain From The Customary Spoonful Of Sugar (As Enjoyed By Moi). If You’re A Coffee Noobie, That Sugar Sachet Would Probably Be Welcome To Douse The Bitterness To A Manageable Level.

Affogato Is The ‘People Pleasing’ Child Of The Espresso, Who Mingled With Ice Cream To Create A Dessert Most People Would Cosy Up to. When Scoops Of Ice Cream (Often Vanilla) Are Topped With The Concentrated Espresso, Milky Sweetness & Fragrant Coffee Hit Close To Taste Bud Nirvana. This Was Likely The Way To Have ‘Coffee Ice Cream’ Before Dairy Companies Began Mass Manufacturing That Flavour. Espresso Is Similarly A Base In Many Other Coffee Drinks.

V60, A Funnel Model Used To Brew Coffee Via A Pourover Method, Yields A Brooding, Intense Cuppa. As Of Yet, They Have 3 Different Roast Variants; Light Using Jumping Ant From @blackbazacoffee , Medium Light & Medium, Which Both Have Wanderloo From @blackbazacoffee & Parama From @mavericandfarmer . If You’re Looking For A Layered Intensity, V60 Is For You.

An Old-School Syphon Used To Brew Coffee Has 2 Chambers, & Employs The Scientific Principle Of Vacuum To Siphon Warmed Water From The Lower Chamber To Soak The Beans Housed Up. A Constant Positive Pressure Difference Due To Presence of Heated Water Vapour Maintains The Set-Up, & The Beans Form A Coffee Slurry Gradually, Which Can Then Be Decanted Once Done. Mandala Is The Only Café In Mangalore To Use A Siphon & It’s A Veritable Pleasure To Watch @_abdul.22_ Operating This Steampunk-seque Machine.

Aeropress Is Another Device, This Time Created By A Stanford Brainiac In The Early 2000’s, That Forces Coffee Bean Slurry Through A Filter Using A Plunger. It’s Gotten So Popular That It’s Got Its Own World Championship, & Now It’s At Mandala.

Mocaccino Or Mocha Is A Kid-Favourite Form Of Latté (A Cappuccino Without The Milk Foam) That’s Got Cocoa Powder & Sugar Added, To Serve A Dual Purpose Of Hot Chocolate Along With The Shot Of Caffeine. An End Product That Brings To Mind Irish Coffee; Which Uses Whiskey With The Coffee & Sugar.

The Quiche, A French Savoury Tart, When Baked Well, Is Creamy & Meaty, This One Admittedly Was A Tad Salty During The Initial Bakes. That’s all Been Improved Now, So You Need To Try This Spiced Chicken Tart, AND In Case We Forget To Mention, The Gheeroast Tart As Well. Grab That Zingy One As Soon As You See It!

Cold Chicken Sandwiches When Chock Full Of Peppered Cream, A Choice Veggie (Tends To Be Thin Slices Of Capsicum Or Carrot) & Juicy Shredded Chicken, Are A No-Brainer As A Delicious Snack. I’ve Been Relishing Them Right From My School Days In Bahrain, & Here My College Canteen Used To Stock Some Piquant Sandwiches As Well. Takes One Back.

Basil Pesto Cheese Swirls Are Puff Pastries With A Dried Slathering Of Fragrant Pesto Sauce, Some Sharp Cheese In The Nooks And Crannies & A Crackling Texture Of Puff Filo. These Are Best When Hot, But A Decent Handful On The Go As Well, Especially For Vegetarians.

Cinnamon Rolls? Well, What’s To Write About These Spiced Parcels Of Bliss? The Buttery, Cinnamon Dusted Glaze Atop The Swirls Provides Much Of The Decadent Fragrance, While The Soft Mouthfeel Comes From The Warm Puffy Slightly-Sweet Dough. The Danes Have A Good Thing Coming For Giving The World This Magnum Opus.

The Choco Chip Cookies Are Hands Down A Chocolatey Affair Of Crunch, & A Prime Accompaniment To Any Quiet Shenanigans Planned On The Cyber Front Or Otherwise. Grab Them And Dunk Them In The Coffee Of Your Choice. Trust Me.

Whole Wheat Brownies Are Like Having The Cake & Eating It Too. Or The Brownie. Same Thing? Well, There’s A Satisfaction In Knowing That The Gummy Maida Doesn’t Enter Your System, AND Its Healthier That Way. What’s More, It’s Just As Scrumptious As A Normal Chocolatey Brownie.

Muffins Are A Big-Headed Cousin Of The Cupcake, And If They’re Delish, They Have Every Right To Be. The Oat Banana Muffin Has The Tropical Sweetness Of Banana, Matured From The Bake, And The Astringency Of The Oat. Moderately Sweet, & Nothing More. Blueberry Muffins Are Good But This Ain’t A Slacker.

‘Purin’ Or Japanese Pudding Is More Like A Cream Caramel, But Smoother & Finer In The Balance Of Flavours, Noticeable From A Minimal Eggy Flavour, Distinct In Custard Flans Otherwise. The Coffee Flavour Here Was Akin To A Hint As Compared To The Stronger Vanilla, But The Overall Texture And Flavours Did Render It Worth The Gobble.

Doughnuts Have Just A Few Requirements; The Dough Should Be Fluffy & Fragrant, The Glaze Should Be Light & Work Well With The Dough, & They Should Be Fresh. If All These Are Met, Even Something As Minimally Decked As The ‘Original Glazed’ Can Become Anyone’s Staple Junk Food!

The Apple Almond Cake Is The Type Of Compact Cake One Would Like To Stock Up On Long Expeditions. It Keeps, Doesn’t Spoil The Fastest, And The Flavour Remains For Long. It Doesn’t Hurt That Apple & Almond Stoically Appeal To Many.

Multi Seed Bars Are The Handiest Accompaniment On Long Journeys, & Are As Good As Edible Bars Of Dynamite. Why? They’re Dry & Keep Well, They’ve Got An Arsenal Of Roast Nuts & Seeds Jammed Together With What’s Often Date Or Organic Edible Gum, & If You’re Familiar With The Bars Often Kept At The Check Out Counters At Supermarkets, A Flavour Bomb. Pumpkin Seeds, White Sesame Seeds, Almonds, Peanuts, Walnuts, Pistachio, Figs, You NAME IT!

SCOBY Doby Doo! The Trending Drink In Town Of Late, Kombucha (Or Booch As Is Fashionable) Is A Fermented Probiotic Chinese Tea. When Sugared Tea Is Introduced To A Gelato-Fibrinous Mat Of Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria & Yeast (SCOBY), The Sugar Gets Used As Fuel & The Liquid Becomes Acidic, & Bubbly. An Ethanol Production Is Also Seen, But Its Mostly Negligible, In The Range Of 0.5-1%. The Pleasure In A Good Kombucha Comes From The Fermented Flavour & The Purported Health Benefits. These Guys Stock Up On @burpme_kombucha , That’s Homemade & Unpasteurized. They Also Have Tepache, A Mexican Drink Fermented From The Peel & Rind Of Pineapples (Which Are Usually Inedible), Which They Source From @thegutculture These Are Ideal For Those Who Refrain From Caffeine!