tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34430255948018801192024-03-14T11:42:20.233+05:30Gastronomical g-spotA 34 year old Bangalorean's journey across the culinary landscape, at home and away, inside and out...because in life, eating good food that hits the right spot matters a lot.Karthik Shettyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07215763312804913735noreply@blogger.comBlogger246125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3443025594801880119.post-68767830545986866332017-10-31T16:52:00.001+05:302017-10-31T16:52:55.300+05:30Coffee notes: Indian Bean's Frowner's (Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://theindianbean.com/" target="_blank">Indian Bean</a> is a relatively new-ish coffee company, claiming to be fair trade, and selling single origin, and single estate coffee online. Here's a snapshot of their mission statement from their website </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS8QpwCh2KyxwMqws3Du_pGHfClRG74UZwiQ5X1-4K_558w75-b68UMzgjTqbKr-H2kOl9mANyjoT2DBrg9LP8mISoz3a6PkToDIy4qc-Fhxt8-Xs0T3Xdr-gNWFUiBAr3UwRYbdGgIK8a/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-09-21+at+13.42.31.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="862" data-original-width="1600" height="344" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS8QpwCh2KyxwMqws3Du_pGHfClRG74UZwiQ5X1-4K_558w75-b68UMzgjTqbKr-H2kOl9mANyjoT2DBrg9LP8mISoz3a6PkToDIy4qc-Fhxt8-Xs0T3Xdr-gNWFUiBAr3UwRYbdGgIK8a/s640/Screen+Shot+2017-09-21+at+13.42.31.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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I recently ordered a sampler pack called 'Roaster's bunch', which included 4 different coffees: Bullet, Frowner's, Forest, and Malnad. However, my pack didn't include Malnad, and instead came with Barista's Select. No problem.</div>
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<u><b>Frowner's</b></u><br />
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Don't let the name fool you - it won't leave you frowning, that's for sure! :) This particular coffee comes from the Nilgiri hills, specifically from Kodaikanal in TN. The only other batch of coffee I've had from the Nilgiris weren't that great, but this particular one had more zing to it. Also, the processing method is something I haven't come across previously - wet processing, with 24 hours fermentation. I'm also not sure how this impacts the taste of the final product in your cup.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbTBFpxLVQhflfYvah_-2tdMTqTWRU5q4yICzeAK9Ep2WR0cijUJoko9fDur8GyqTcQ0CL5ezRCQzSzBD08Nv6wmbEdtHihylJmxrEEj5ehOKknRzbg9k8xOFjDXksLdmAx5Zxvfo_plSW/s1600/IMG_8699.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Frowner's Coffee, Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbTBFpxLVQhflfYvah_-2tdMTqTWRU5q4yICzeAK9Ep2WR0cijUJoko9fDur8GyqTcQ0CL5ezRCQzSzBD08Nv6wmbEdtHihylJmxrEEj5ehOKknRzbg9k8xOFjDXksLdmAx5Zxvfo_plSW/s320/IMG_8699.JPG" title="Frowner's Coffee, Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brewed using a French press</td></tr>
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<b>Aroma</b>: Since this is a dark roast, it has a bright chocolate-y aroma. I couldn't gather anything else from the aroma of the beans. Would love to hear if anyone else has experienced anything more.<br />
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<b>Taste</b>: The taste was a little... weird, in a good way. Like I mentioned, you won't be frowning after drinking this. It has a sweetish-fruity taste, with a definite rich chocolate aftertaste. Almost buttery. Also, since I brew my coffee using a French press, this preserves all the oils from the coffee (as opposed to a filtration method using a paper filter), and perhaps this accentuated the <i>buttery-</i>ness. This is a mildly acidic coffee on the balanced side. I expected it to be 'stronger', but it wasn't. The body was medium at best, varying from thin to medium in different batches being brewed.</div>
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Overall, this was quite a bright, sparkly cup of coffee, and quite the opposite from the name! You can buy coffee from The Indian Bean <a href="https://theindianbean.com/" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
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Karthik Shettyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07215763312804913735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3443025594801880119.post-74978021166774043162017-08-20T17:15:00.002+05:302017-08-20T17:38:52.162+05:30Coffee notes: Black Baza's Wanderoo (Coorg, India)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Black Baza is one of the new-ish artisanal coffee roasters in India, and the unique thing about them is they're perhaps the only coffee company in the world that has explicit conservation agreements with growers wherein they grow coffee under the shade of at least a 100 indigenous trees and 22 species of trees per acre, maintaining a shade canopy of 60-80%. That's quite something in this day and age, but for Arshiya Bose, the founder, it couldn't have been any other way. Sanctuary Asia has done a complete story on the positive impact on the environment by the plantations from where Black Baza Coffee sources its coffee from (read <a href="http://www.sanctuaryasia.com/magazines/conservation/10559-black-baza-where-biodiversity-friendly-coffee-takes-wing.html">here</a>).<br />
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I've tried a couple of their coffees, and I'm a fan already. Today I'll be talking about the Wanderoo, which is an Arabica blend of beans from Kodagu (Coorg) and BR Hills in Karnataka. Up until recently, I wasn't a big fan of the coffee from the Coorg district as the ones I had weren't very smooth, and a majority of the coffee I've had from Coorg was of the Robusta kind, and not Arabica (not saying Robusta isn't good, just that it serves different purposes, not the same as Arabica). One coffee grower, a long time ago had told me the that the terrain and climate of areas like Virajpet (Veerarajendra Pete) in Coorg were much more suitable for Robusta than Arabica. However, it's nice to see that Black Baza has not only found farms that have agreed to have a positive impact on the environment by agreeing to move back to shade-grown coffee and grow 100 indigenous trees and 22 tree species per acre, but also good tasting Arabica!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZke3B9XGVXl2X8m_ywqdWXusN9ytJ-dPCbq5DDUdFO62Z7XXxgF0BUSVVoMXEKsjB_pwOliaisdOw9AfLDz7mQp02CZvwK9mhTSQPFv2GxNLxcau090ZekNhf54YyTiJOHYEUoqTj4bM4/s1600/IMG_6711.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="720" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZke3B9XGVXl2X8m_ywqdWXusN9ytJ-dPCbq5DDUdFO62Z7XXxgF0BUSVVoMXEKsjB_pwOliaisdOw9AfLDz7mQp02CZvwK9mhTSQPFv2GxNLxcau090ZekNhf54YyTiJOHYEUoqTj4bM4/s400/IMG_6711.JPG" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Biodiversity & environment friendly coffee!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBDxAJSz174uacwmIeBevMZXRwVwAyRzste9hJ79zv9QAUSbZce8CNDswH-tyDMwROy_2ybJeIV0hTsA9RF3BIVMqiKhRqtkZUEWQJZcREzcC3y5h2LQVOlB0bTOkpl46zRescMTGQgNum/s1600/IMG_8377.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBDxAJSz174uacwmIeBevMZXRwVwAyRzste9hJ79zv9QAUSbZce8CNDswH-tyDMwROy_2ybJeIV0hTsA9RF3BIVMqiKhRqtkZUEWQJZcREzcC3y5h2LQVOlB0bTOkpl46zRescMTGQgNum/s320/IMG_8377.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Wanderoo coffee, a blend of Arabica from Coorg & BR Hills, Karnataka. Named after the lion-tailed macaque</td></tr>
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<b><u>Wanderoo</u></b><br />
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Wanderoo means forest-dweller, and is also the local word used to describe the Lion-Tailed Macaque, one of the indigenous species of monkeys (endangered) that's found in the forests in the Western Ghats of Southern India. The Wanderoo is an Old World monkey and spends the majority of its life in the upper canopy of trees in rainforests feeding on fruit. The Wanderoo coffee blend from Black Baza is a blend of Arabica coffee beans from BR Hills & Kodagu.<br />
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<b>Aroma</b>: When freshly roasted, and then powdered, the Wanderoo gives a rich chocolate-y aroma. Considering this is a blend and not a single origin (or single estate) coffee, it would be interesting to see if subsequent batches of orders of this would give off the same aroma. Nonetheless, it's quite fantastic.<br />
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<b>Taste</b>: This really is a good coffee to have black. It's got good body, low acidity, no bitter after taste (or any kind of after taste). I've also had a small glass of this with a splash of milk (no sugar) and it played out quite nicely with the coffee. However, it's best to have this black. I go the French press way, and I've also experimented with a new method of extracting a little more without making the coffee bitter (using the French press itself - more of this in another post).<br />
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Overall, lovely sparkly coffee, which I'll be having a lot of in the coming days!<br />
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You can buy Black Baza coffee online <a href="https://buy.blackbazacoffee.com/" target="_blank">here</a>. </div>
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Karthik Shettyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07215763312804913735noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3443025594801880119.post-58596665400337893442017-08-14T17:47:00.001+05:302017-08-20T15:41:32.096+05:30Coffee notes: JJ Royal's Gunung Biru (East Java, Indonesia)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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It's been 2 years since my last blogpost. 2 loooong years! A lot has happened during that time. I travelled quite a bit. A large part of the last 2 years was spent in Indonesia where I was working. There were a few short visits to Hong Kong, Cambodia, and Singapore as well. Work didn't allow me to continue my blog as it could have been some sort of conflict of interest and compromise the business, and to avoid any issues, I stayed away from blogging. However, I've now moved on from Zomato, and so thankfully I can tend to my blog once again.<br />
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For someone who used to write and maintain a food blog, there were a few positive developments around the areas of food and beverages. The biggest was my appreciation, learning, and deep interest in coffee. Some other learnings (if you can call it) have been around Japanese and Korean cuisine, and a large part of the learnings have been about Indonesian cuisine. And so there's a lot of catching up in terms of posts, but I thought my comeback post should be about coffee, since that's where my current focus is at. </div>
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<b><u>Coffee</u> <span style="font-size: large;">☕</span></b><br />
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It's that magical elixir of life, which a significantly massive section of the world consumes every day, and not necessarily limited to a single cup a day. During my stint in Indonesia, I not only learnt a lot about coffee, but also learnt to appreciate having it black. A long black, or Americano, was the favorite way of consuming the coffee to appreciate the full taste and 'profile' of the coffee. I occasionally would have a cappuccino or a macchiato, but 80-85% of the times it would be a long black. And unlike Indian coffee, Indonesian coffee has several diverse varieties, given the diverse regions (topography), climate, and soil types. In India, all the coffee grown is centred around a few places in the South: Chickamagalur, Coorg, Hassan, and BR Hills in Karnataka, a few districts in the Nilgiris across Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and a sprinkling of estates in Andhra Pradesh, notably the Araku Valley - all of which have very similar climate and soil types (with some marginal differences) - the area under coffee plantation in Indonesia is several times larger that of India. Check out the images below to get an idea (<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>note</b>: according to the Coffee Board of India, there are new areas in the North East that have started cultivating coffee. I haven't shown that here because I haven't had been able to verify that</span>).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbC7U0UnNiZNDbGYCmZlQdIs-emxsTlvRslZBLWMdHNkFZOXJElyrAQx8B_QQsFchBvHjfMF4tx1fvqcndwtaUNkDOLY5DcpMMYWd47Q5_hjFTKa1iGcPqQxfYB0h8JYddMiuPaEDn7s-y/s1600/Coffee_growing_areas_of_India.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="253" data-original-width="453" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbC7U0UnNiZNDbGYCmZlQdIs-emxsTlvRslZBLWMdHNkFZOXJElyrAQx8B_QQsFchBvHjfMF4tx1fvqcndwtaUNkDOLY5DcpMMYWd47Q5_hjFTKa1iGcPqQxfYB0h8JYddMiuPaEDn7s-y/s320/Coffee_growing_areas_of_India.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coffee growing regions across India, depicted by the coffee bean icon (not to scale). All in the South. <a href="http://www.indiacoffee.org/coffee-regions-india.html" target="_blank">Source</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFdAMWwz5cjNp4iDJmNIoatYOjQYYm7uQdUPTlV2DnO2m3xk7tGr_gWlP18uz02ajl3StRHb0Tc0-NJSxW0L0ND_ZBGSVc8z984ksxp002Az2LzGf4KWfEZwO9FIE9YCx5pGAfJX0f1Dgo/s1600/coffee-growing-regions-indonesia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="664" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFdAMWwz5cjNp4iDJmNIoatYOjQYYm7uQdUPTlV2DnO2m3xk7tGr_gWlP18uz02ajl3StRHb0Tc0-NJSxW0L0ND_ZBGSVc8z984ksxp002Az2LzGf4KWfEZwO9FIE9YCx5pGAfJX0f1Dgo/s320/coffee-growing-regions-indonesia.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coffee growing regions across the Indonesian archipelago, depicted by a coffee bean icon. <a href="http://coffeeexposeoul.com/guest-country/" target="_blank">Source</a></td></tr>
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<b><u>Background</u> (</b><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a coffeenotes="" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="skipToCoffeeNotes" onclick="window.location.hash=">skip and proceed to the coffee notes</a></span></i><b>)</b></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><b>Fun fact</b></i>: Coffee was introduced in Indonesia by the Dutch towards the end of the 17th century (then called the Dutch East Indies), and the Arabica coffee plants they brought over to the island of Java were from India. Yup, coffee made its way to the Indonesian archipelago from India, and today, Indonesian coffee is miles ahead of Indian coffee - export, quality, and variety - largely due to the diverse geographic regions, climate, and soil types in Indonesia.</span><br />
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For someone like me, who grew up in the South - one of the most heterogenous regions of India in terms of culture, languages, geography, food, and climate (next only to the North East of India) - unlike the North, we have a strong coffee culture, along with an equally robust appreciation for tea. Yeah, we're quite moderate that way and like to please as many people as possible. South Indian filter coffee, or <i>filter kaapi</i>, as it's called in the South, is what we grew up on, and it's still what the vast majority consume. Milk and sugar mixed with a decoction of coffee (comprising of an 80% mix of Arabica and Robusta beans, with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicory" target="_blank">chicory</a> making the remaining 20%), and 'pulled' to incorporate air into it, making it frothy. See below (check out the froth at the top):<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQUz1I5-wZ5d8fvWzh_lCicv0uW08aNWvmDuiOemGhTLXutR48BuWvkdvO-p3aTBgavDvaPdPYxuuuPzK764nhUC4hsSLPxwDnVWRf_FMzCuPBMX_dV-h_GZHN3P_8iWBqG7BcxnZ_nTYN/s1600/DSC_0806-2s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1074" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQUz1I5-wZ5d8fvWzh_lCicv0uW08aNWvmDuiOemGhTLXutR48BuWvkdvO-p3aTBgavDvaPdPYxuuuPzK764nhUC4hsSLPxwDnVWRf_FMzCuPBMX_dV-h_GZHN3P_8iWBqG7BcxnZ_nTYN/s320/DSC_0806-2s.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Using a second glass to protect my fingers from the lava hot filter kaapi. And yeah, I know, cool shirt, right?</td></tr>
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For those of you who don't know why the filter coffee blend of the South has chicory in it, it's simple - chicory is free of caffeine, incorporates the same bitter taste coffee does (in fact, slightly more), and cheaper than coffee, and while it certainly is missing coffee's delightful aroma, it contains a super awesome probiotic called inulin, which promotes digestion. Kinda makes you wonder why Baba Ramdev hasn't caught onto this yet. One theory is because that pseudo holy man isn't from the South and won't understand science that way the good people of the South do. I might just be inclined to agree with that theory wholeheartedly, based entirely on facts and not any preexisting prejudices 🙂<br />
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And so drinking a beverage that's naturally bitter wasn't unusual for me growing up, although, naturally (I guess it's natural), as a kid, I hated bitter tasting things, and so the milk and sugar in the filter coffee helped. A lot :) But I was exposed to the 'bitter' taste as something that is 'normal' and 'ok', unlike many north of the Vindhyas, whose sole reason for disliking coffee is '<i>chee, kadava hai</i>' (yuck, it's bitter), or so I'm told. The words of the person who first said this to me made me realised the worlds apart we live actually live in, between Bangalore and Delhi, and those words still ring in my ears causing me to cringe like when you hear fingernails scraping across a blackboard! Well, to each his/her own 🙂</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Me pouring my freshly brewed coffee from the French press</span></div>
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<b><u>The Gunung Biru coffee</u></b></div>
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Anyway, now to the coffee at hand, and in my cuppa. Gunung Biru, literally, Blue Mountain in Bahasa Indonesia, is an Arabica coffee variety that grows in the eastern part of the island of Java, by the Ijen volcano. The volcanic soil is generally rich in minerals, and Indonesia's equatorial climate, and the rich volcanic soil near Ijen results in some well nourished coffee plants.<br />
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I drink my coffee black, and I use a French Press to brew my coffee. I also grind my coffee beans just before I brew them (whenever I have beans) - pretty hipster, right? 🙂 I'll put up a separate blogpost on how and why and all other things related to brewing coffee at home.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPDpbxF-8cHElntyxjHJJkMSjZRgpEIs6PH4iM4bJgQB59UjWvmUcERjmiHxFrLMF60jxMPx_01wSP64lblwRwGP_FtQ4xoPhq75JEMbUGXuI-EP6yNI6rdJeNsJDzQfQsFmSiC3jc9HZK/s1600/IMG_8312.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPDpbxF-8cHElntyxjHJJkMSjZRgpEIs6PH4iM4bJgQB59UjWvmUcERjmiHxFrLMF60jxMPx_01wSP64lblwRwGP_FtQ4xoPhq75JEMbUGXuI-EP6yNI6rdJeNsJDzQfQsFmSiC3jc9HZK/s400/IMG_8312.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I got this from Indonesia, and I bought the beans whole, and not the powder.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZlr2B4zd-6aRo9L3hXngy_CmWXGHULDp7_TBIb6WLPGVw5doJ68s-YBRdjHYX1w9IRG_s4y0XOvaae_6U2cxRgReQ6KdvMRwQaq-sK36P0HvBINpru0Lm089hoPw9rILYjW8HG4D1Jsy5/s1600/IMG_8328+copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="901" data-original-width="1270" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZlr2B4zd-6aRo9L3hXngy_CmWXGHULDp7_TBIb6WLPGVw5doJ68s-YBRdjHYX1w9IRG_s4y0XOvaae_6U2cxRgReQ6KdvMRwQaq-sK36P0HvBINpru0Lm089hoPw9rILYjW8HG4D1Jsy5/s320/IMG_8328+copy.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Bodum French press, coffee grinder, and my mug. And some coffee beans scattered un-aesthetically.</td></tr>
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<b>Aroma</b>: The aroma from the Gunung Biru, when brewed, is sweet, and with a slight musty-earthy aroma, almost like the air around a lake in a humid forest. A friend of mine called it ditch water-like, but I'm guessing that's what he was referring to the taste as (his opinion, not mine), and not the aroma. And just to be clear, that's <b><i>not</i></b> what it tastes like 🙂</div>
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<b>Taste</b>: Unlike some other varieties of Indonesian coffee, Gunung Biru is mildly acidic, light bodied, slightly caramel-y and nutty, and not too bitter. In fact, if someone wants to start drinking coffee black, this mild coffee may just be one of those to start off with. However, because there aren't any other strong flavors - like a chocolatey, or fruity taste, and so if your palate has been conditioned over years by a diet laced liberally with copious amounts of garam masala, and your go-to beverage on a rainy day (or most days) is adrak or masala chai... (you get the drift, right?), then you may not be able to taste the subtle flavours, and might just need something else. I'll let you know. Sometime.</div>
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A lot of the taste imparted from the coffee beans is derived from the soil it grows in. While coffee from the island of Sumatra generally is more 'flavorful' because of the other crops grown in the region (tobacco, cocoa, other tropical fruits, etc), the coffee estates near Ijen have macadamia nut trees for shade, and so the flavor profile for the coffee from around here is but naturally a little nutty.</div>
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Although I liked the Gunung Biru, it isn't my favorite. In fact, there are a few Indian varieties of coffee that are better than this. I'll be putting those up in one of my next posts. Stay tuned.<br />
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Karthik Shettyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07215763312804913735noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3443025594801880119.post-27656728998165031082015-07-31T17:58:00.000+05:302015-07-31T17:59:00.112+05:30Brasil - Houston<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Although I was in Houston for only a little over 2 weeks, I did manage to have some pretty good dining experiences. Houston is surprisingly extremely underrated as a foodie city, and I hope folks around the rest of the States come to realize this. And fast! I think Houston is unfortunate that it tends to lose out to Dallas and perhaps Austin in terms of popularity, but when it comes to food, it clearly is miles ahead of both cities. One of the more popular neighborhoods in Houston is Montrose, and a really popular street called Westheimer Street cuts right through Montrose.</div>
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Brasil sits quietly at the intersection of Westheimer and Dunlavy, and when I say quietly, I mean it. Literally. They don't even have a legible sign out front, but trust me, it's there. It tries to be anonymous, but it hardly is. Although they're open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (see their menu <a href="https://www.zomato.com/houston/brasil-montrose/menu">here</a>), I've only been here for lunch on a few occasions, but those few times created a lasting impression on me. A lovely brick interior with high ceilings keeps you sheltered from the harsh Houston sun. There's also an outdoor seating area that looks quite nice and I've seen a lot of folks sitting there even in June! The most surprising thing for me (not in a bad way) is that they don't have table service. Instead, you queue up at the counter, place your order, pay up, and collect an order number and someone brings you your order when it's ready. <br />
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Even though this place may not be know for it's burgers, I think their Poblano burger is right up there! The poblano mushroom seems to go really well with ground beef, and I'd asked for my burger to be done medium - which is was - and it was quite juicy. I actually had the juices roll down my arm to my elbow. I was in two minds, whether to try to lick it off, or collect it with a spoon at my elbow :) I chose the latter... ok, TMI! But the burger - have it, it's awesome!<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Poblano Burger with fries</span></center>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Poblano Burger with salad</span></center>
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For lunch, I ordered a combination of a quiche along with their soup of the day! This is one of the best combinations in terms of taste and satisfaction. I had the bacon and spinach quiche along with the soup of the day (can't remember whether it was a squash soup or a pumpkin soup). Both were amazing. The quiche was baked to lovely perfection where it wasn't tasting eggy and yet wasn't overdone, especially around the crust. The soup was nice and hot and had the right amount of seasoning.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibJJkoeyocMZIufmzUkFUTnR3RDKCg0iQPhfDQjHuHWUxG81dcKUyE3Ht-_jl2_GaDJZFnaewg7CTN-W3IjkRMt_cyMAmIlJA-WDcIAFo53npb0AdJw5FImmhgFMFd6jTASrHah4Pp-acg/s1600/03-Quiche.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibJJkoeyocMZIufmzUkFUTnR3RDKCg0iQPhfDQjHuHWUxG81dcKUyE3Ht-_jl2_GaDJZFnaewg7CTN-W3IjkRMt_cyMAmIlJA-WDcIAFo53npb0AdJw5FImmhgFMFd6jTASrHah4Pp-acg/s400/03-Quiche.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Quiche</span></center>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Soup and quiche</span></center>
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Brasil also has free WiFi, and you'll find a very diverse set of people visiting this place. From folks in business suits to teenagers, and no one feels out of place here. The staff here are extremely friendly and they're always ready to help you out in deciding what to order. If you're in the Montrose area and looking for a place to eat, Brasil <i><b>has</b></i> to be on your list.</div>
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<a href="https://www.zomato.com/houston/brasil-montrose" target="_blank"><img alt="Click to add a blog post for Brasil on Zomato" src="https://www.zomato.com/logo/16879820/ibiglink" style="border: none; height: 146px; padding: 0px; width: 200px;" /></a>
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Karthik Shettyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07215763312804913735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3443025594801880119.post-30431374800708500892015-06-29T09:36:00.000+05:302015-07-31T17:59:50.150+05:30Torchy's Tacos - Houston<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-family: proxima_nova_rgregular, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Calibri, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333330154419px; line-height: 21px;"><a href="https://www.zomato.com/houston/torchys-tacos-river-oaks" target="_blank">Torchy's Tacos</a> is your go to place for Mexican comfort food if you're near River Oaks. They've got a pretty nice patio, and and their tacos are pretty darn awesome! What's equally awesome, and interesting, are the names of some of these tacos!</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-family: proxima_nova_rgregular, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Calibri, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333330154419px; line-height: 21px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-family: proxima_nova_rgregular, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Calibri, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333330154419px; line-height: 21px;">I had The Democrat (shredded beef, avocado, queso fresco, cilantro, onions), the Baja Shrimp (shrimp, cabbage slaw, pickled jalapeños, onions, queso fresco, cilantro), and the Green Chile Pork (pork carnitas, green chilies, queso fresco, cilantro, onions). The Baja shrimp isn't heavy on your stomach, and yet, it was The Democrat that won me over - in terms of flavor, and filling :)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-family: proxima_nova_rgregular, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Calibri, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333330154419px; line-height: 21px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-family: proxima_nova_rgregular, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Calibri, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333330154419px; line-height: 21px;">The beef in The Democrat was seasoned well, the avocado and spices blended well, and the cilantro and onions added the 'icing' in terms of the zing it adds to the overall flavor. The green chillies in the pork are exactly what's needed - not many people know that adding green chillies to pork can add an awesome flavor profile (most stick to just black pepper and other sauces that are made from red chillies).</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-family: proxima_nova_rgregular, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Calibri, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333330154419px; line-height: 21px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-family: proxima_nova_rgregular, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Calibri, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333330154419px; line-height: 21px;">The only disappointing aspect was that the tacos were quite obviously not made in house, and seemed like they came out of a packet. Not the most ideal, but then again, I guess for a small-ish fast food kinda place it could suffice.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-family: proxima_nova_rgregular, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Calibri, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333330154419px; line-height: 21px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-family: proxima_nova_rgregular, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Calibri, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333330154419px; line-height: 21px;">We had also ordered a portion of tortilla chips and it was pretty swell with the dip it came with. Overall, satisfaction guaranteed!</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.zomato.com/houston/torchys-tacos-river-oaks" target="_blank"><img alt="Click to add a blog post for Torchy's Tacos on Zomato" src="https://www.zomato.com/logo/16889921/minilink" style="border: none; height: 36px; padding: 0px; width: 130px;" /></a>
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Karthik Shettyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07215763312804913735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3443025594801880119.post-18881981518404090182013-09-22T19:43:00.001+05:302013-09-22T19:43:48.678+05:30Arbor Brewing Company - Bangalore<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Wow! Life at Zomato ensures one thing - you have a lot of awesome work, you never get bored of the work you do, and well, you also don't seem to be able to make time for some of the other things you love - at least, I'm unable to, and I wouldn't want to straight away chalk it down to bad planning. It's not impossible, but I guess I've just chosen to use whatever free time I have to rest and recuperate.</div>
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A while back, I was invited over to Arbor Brewing Company to try out the range of brewed beers and some of the food they serve. The owner, Gaurav Sikka, was an excellent host, and extremely passionate about the beer brewing job. I know there's been a lot that's been spoke about Arbor on various social media platforms about the 'quality' of what it has to offer, but I think the saying 'to each his/her own' couldn't hold more true here. Sure, like at most places, there are a few things that are amiss, and there are few that'll blow your mind.</div>
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The interiors of Arbor are what you'd what a pub to look like. It's got an all wood look, and there's a long bar counter...like, really, really long! There's a section where you can see the huge vats in which the beer is brewed, and it lends a little bit of mystic charm to the whole place. I loved the wooden benches - classic! But then there were some couches and cushion-y seating arrangements that I didn't think went well with the whole look. It would have been great had everything been old school.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Ales and lagers</span></td></tr>
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Now, on to the beers. At the outset, I'm a fan of wheat beers. I used to like dark ales until I was introduced to the paler, slightly less fruity tasting Hoegaarden. And from then on, I've been hooked. The darker ales almost taste bad now :p So anyway, we were introduced to a whole different set of lagers and ales that Arbor brews - 7 to be precise on that night. Except for the Irish Stout, I didn't mind all other lagers and ales. The stout, with its pitch black coffee-like appearance and smoky flavour isn't something I can handle, and hence can't really comment on how good it was. The honey lavender ale was one of the best I had. While it didn't actually taste like honey, it did have a nice 'feel' on the palate. Apart from these, I also liked the Bangalore Bliss (wheat beer) and the Brasserie Blonde (spiced ale).<br />
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Moving on to the food, here there were some hits and quite a few misses. Now, I normally prefer a pub to have pub food, and so far, barring one or two places, I haven't come across too many places that stick to their guns and serve only pub food. Invariably, they do go down the road of having India food, especially when it comes to the main courses, and to my mind, that's just an attempt to please a small segment of the masses, who, quite honestly, wouldn't mind if dal makhani and rice weren't available. But what do I know - I'm a bloody Anglophile who loves food and don't care about others, right? Right?<br />
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A non veg platter, with the usual suspects, was presented. The chicken tikka and the prawns were quite decent, not over cooked, and the brown dip given, with a sweet & sour taste to it. The wings were good - the sauce was sticky and nice, while a sprinkling of coriander gave it just a little additional flavour burst while ripping the meat off the bone. What wasn't so great were the chops and the calamari. With the chops, the flavour wasn't the best, the meat was a little tough, and overall, while I like the fact that chops are available, this one wasn't kosher. With the calamari, the pepper coating was way too inconsistent, and the calamari itself wasn't the best.</div>
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Then came the hummus with some sun-dried tomatoes and olive tapenades. Nice, but not the creamiest hummus I've had. And I'm not even comparing it with the ones I've eaten in the Middle East.<br />
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Next came a platter of <i>ghaas poos</i> food. Needless to say, I wasn't too thrilled, but of course, I needed to stay neutral. There was a surprise in store though. The onion rings that you see in the snap above - well, those are by far the best onion rings Ive had. Ever. The least expected dish of the lot brought the biggest smile to my face. My fellow food blogger Swapna of <a href="http://thefoodporndiaries.blogspot.in/" target="_blank">FoodPornDiaries</a> and <a href="http://foodforswaps.blogspot.in/" target="_blank">FoodForSwaps</a> had also joined me with her hubby Arvind, and together, the opinion was unanimous. The rest of the stuff on the platter were mediocre to poor. The paneer and pineapple combo just didn't work because there wasn't enough of acid from the pineapple, and not a strong enough flavour in the marinade on the paneer. The gobi manchurian was, well, an oily glob of soy sauce and cauliflower, and I've far better gobi manchurian from street vendors. The baby corn was decent, but then again, <i>ghaas poos</i>, so nothing great :)<br />
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We were then presented with fish tacos, something that was being worked on. Well, it needed to be worked on alright! Here's the thing people need to realise with seafood, especially fish. There needs to be some form of acid or the other. Lime/lemon juice, tamarind, even kokum. And chilli. Of course, with the regular seasoning (duh!). When you're going to wrap that seafood in a pocket of dough (tacos, in this case), you need to make sure of two things: (1) any accompanying bits and pieces of anything shouldn't cover the taste of the seafood, and (2) remember all the acid + chilli? You need a little more of it.<br />
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Finally, to have something with the last round of beers, we decided to try something else, and this time, we decided to take a pick from the menu. We zeroed in on the Turkish kebabs, or so it said. Don't know how Turkish this was, but one thing was certain - this was the best dish of the night! By a long shot. The herb flavouring used, along with the seasoning, was perfect. I didn't care too much about what the dip/sauce was, because I didn't even want to try it. The meat was grilled very nicely, it wasn't allowed to become dry, the flavours blended in perfectly with the lamb, and it went really well with the beer! Game, set, match!<br />
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Overall, I think Arbor has some fantastic beer, some selective snacks that are good, and some that require quite some work to be done before they come out of the kitchen. Also, given that it seemed evident that the kitchen has its fair share of inconsistent 'behaviour', I think it'd be best to work on a slightly smaller menu, get those dishes right, and then gradually ease more dishes into the menu. Cheers to that day!</div>
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Karthik Shettyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07215763312804913735noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3443025594801880119.post-74304620251372944742013-04-01T22:44:00.004+05:302013-04-01T22:57:37.636+05:30Merry ol' London - gastronomic memoirs of a travelophile<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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It has been almost forever since I last visited this hitherto blank page, where once I used to visit it every 10 days. A lot of food has passed between my lips, and many a drink has splashed into the pit of my stomach since November, and sadly, not a single one of those adventures has found its way onto these pages here. Well, I think it's about time that changed.</div>
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November end (2012), I flew to London on work, to help launch <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.zomato.com/london">Zomato in London</a>. Post that, the last 10 days of January 2013 I flew to Doha (Qatar) - again to help launch <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.zomato.com/doha">Zomato in Doha</a>, and in early February I was in <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.zomato.com/colombo">Colombo</a> - same reason. March set in, and I was in <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.zomato.com/manila">Manila</a>. In between all these trips, I was in Delhi. Right now, I'm back in Bangalore, and will be here for a short while before I probably head out someplace again. Since we're gearing up for the IPL T20, I think I'll first put up a highlights package - just to set the mood, and dish out the detailed posts in the following days.</div>
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I'll start off with merry ol' London, and work my way through the winter onto the other cities and the other gastronomical delights that came up before me. Hopefully this little preview will be enough to whet your appetite for the details that will follow soon.</div>
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Karthik Shettyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07215763312804913735noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3443025594801880119.post-10127503908856224502012-11-15T12:25:00.000+05:302012-11-15T12:50:08.253+05:30Delicio - Italian food festival at Bene, Sheraton<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Delicio, the Italian food festival at Bene, is the result of Sheraton Bangalore bringing to town Chef Enrico Fiorentini, the Executive Chef at the Sheraton Milan Malpensa Airport Hotel. The food being showcased during this fest is the food from the Lombardy region of Italy. </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Chef Enrico Fiorentini</span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo credit: Sheraton Bangalore</span></div>
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While the popular notion is that the Lombardy regions cuisine has a lot of Swiss influence, Chef Enrico has a slightly different take on it. He says that Switzerland itself doesn't have a very strong gastronomic tradition, and has taken a lot of influences from France, Germany, and Italy, and so the 'influences' in Lombardy food comes mainly from France. Chef also spoke about how being a slightly hilly, landlocked region meant that the food incorporated almost everything grown in the region. Even the famous Minestrone soup, which usually contains pasta when served in other parts of Italy, has rice in it!</div>
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Some of the starters we were served were very reflective of the philosophy of Lombardian cuisine. The use of a lot of vegetables and polenta, which is one of the most prominent starchy foods. Seafood isn't eaten much - obviously, the coast is quite far! - but the consumption of other meats is quite high, with veal and beef making up for a bulk of the proteins and pork coming in closely behind.</div>
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The fest at Bene will be an a la carte setup and there's a special menu apart from the regular menu at Bene. One of the starters we had, a <b>timbale of stewed lentils and roasted pumpkin with almond velouté and a Parmesan cheese crisp</b> was very reminiscent of a classic, 'earthy' dish. The flavours were earthy and yet light. I'm not a big fan of a strong Parmesan flavour, so I didn't like the taste of the crisp all that much, but in terms of technique, it was brilliant.<br />
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Timbale of stewed lentils and roasted pumpkin with almond cream velouté and Parmesan crisp </div>
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We then proceeded onto the next course - not the main course - called the Primi piatti di pasta, or the pasta course. As mentioned before, seafood isn't really big in the Lombardy region, but they do 'import' it from the south, and make a few dishes. The <b>ravioli</b> we had was custom made - stuffed with seafood instead of the usual pumpkin - and was superb. The shell wasn't too thick, and was boiled for just enough time to ensure it's firm and not pasty. The seafood inside wasn't over cooked, and the basil oil on the plate was a nice addition along with the standard balsamic vinegar artistry.<br />
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Seafood ravioli with basil oil</div>
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For the meat course, we had a <b>butter pan fried lamb chops in a herbed polenta crumbing</b>. The cut of lamb chops that we got was outstanding. I mean, look at the snap below (click the image for a larger, better view) and check out how much meat is present on the bone, and the portion of the bone exposed. Lovely. It was served with a pumpkin risotto. I'm not a big fan of strong cheese in a risotto, so this one didn't get a smile from me, but in terms of being cooked, it was nicely done. The lamb chops were divine. Done medium, these were stacked up proudly on a plate, with a glaze sauce. Personally, I'd have liked to have had one of the traditional beef or veal dishes, like perhaps an ossobuco, or even a rabbit dish that's there on the menu.<br />
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Butter pan fried lamb chops in a herbed polenta crumbing</div>
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Finally, for dessert, or dolci as they say in Italian, we had a combo of sorts. In the foreground and at the 12 o'clock position is a <b>polenta and dark chocolate timbale</b>, and on the horizontal plane is a <b>Parmesan cheese ice cream</b> (left) and <b>red wine poached pear</b>. The Parmesan ice cream was a pleasant surprise. I thought it was plain vanilla until my nose crossed over the spoon and I got a waft of the Parmesan aroma. It went well with the poached pears as it cut the acidity from the red wine and the general acidic nature of the pear fruit. The dark chocolate was rich and creamy.<br />
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Assortment of desserts</div>
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The Italian food festival at Bene is a little different in the sense that the menu is not all pastas and pizzas, and certainly not the usual flavours you get, which are typically from the southern half of Italy. However, it is quite an interesting perspective to the food from a country where we usually only get to eat the food from the lower half of the country.<br />
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Delicio - Italian food festival</div>
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<b>Dates</b>: Till the 18th of November 2012</div>
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<b>Venue</b>: Bene, at Sheraton Bangalore</div>
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<b>Mode of dining</b>: A la carte</div>
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Karthik Shettyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07215763312804913735noreply@blogger.com2Sheraton Bangalore Hotel at Brigade Gateway, Bangalore, Karnataka12.9715987 77.594562712.9561257 77.5748217 12.9870717 77.6143037tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3443025594801880119.post-720664628019699322012-11-05T20:15:00.001+05:302012-11-06T08:46:42.356+05:30New menu at Shao - Park Plaza<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Shao is the Chinese restaurant at the Park Plaza hotel in Marathahalli, located next to the multiplex. Recently, Shao went 'under the knife', and the surgery in this case was a complete revamp of their menu. I wasn't able to attend the launch of the new men; however, I did get invited to a dinner where a select number of dishes from the new menu were put on focus and served to all the guests who were staying in-house, as well as a few select folks.<br />
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The customary Chinese tea was served into some very nice China, and the chilly night wind that had managed to seep through my thick skin and was tingling my bones while I was outside was quickly contained. I limited myself to just one cup - any more and I knew I'd be over doing it, and declining completely seemed...rude (I don't know why). The real 'warmer' came next - a Thai mojito. With an almost freaky red colour, the Thai mojito actually did the trick. It wasn't too potent, but had enough buzz in it from the spices and the alcohol to actually whet my appetite. The last time I was here for the Melange brunch, the cocktails were quite a hit with my friend and me. This time around wasn't any different.<br />
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Thai mojito</div>
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We started off with a <b>lemon coriander soup</b>. The soup tasted good, but I'd have really liked it if it was a clear soup and not a semi thick soup. And then, the starters began to arrive. Two kinds of <b>sui mai</b> - chicken and veg - made their way to the table, and in no time were these dim sums polished off. Going through the menu, I'd have liked to see a slightly larger variety of dim sums on the menu, given that this is a Chinese place. It would have been a great way to differentiate themselves from the other Chinese restaurants.<br />
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The <b>prawn tempura</b> with the wasabi mayo sauce was a really very good - just the right amount of tempura flour used to coat the prawn, and fried to perfection. I didn't want to seem greedy, so settled for two pieces. In hindsight, I should have had a couple more :) The <b>veg spring roll</b> is a good option for vegetarians, and it's surprisingly not very heavy in spite of being deep fried.<br />
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The <b>chicken with roasted chilli paste and yellow rock sugar</b> sounded very Thai - roasted chilli pasted, yellow rock sugar - very Thai, and the taste didn't disappoint one bit. While the lack of several other Thai ingredients in the dish can be questioned, and also the spice levels, the taste of the chicken and the amount of time it was cooked for were great. The chicken was still succulent and juicy, and the spice levels didn't make you reach out for your glass of water. The last of the veg dishes, the <b>crispy fried wild mushrooms</b> was pretty decent, but I didn't really pay too much attention as to how many types of mushrooms were int he dish.<br />
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Lemon coriander soup</div>
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On to the mains, but before that I had another round of the mojito. The chef had come and spoken to us in between and checked on us before heading in to work on the food. For the main course, there were quite a few options that were presented on the special menu that was on offer, but I was a bit disappointed that there was not a single pork dish offered, given that Chinese cuisine wouldn't be complete without pork. The menu did have Cantonese roast pork or roast pork ribs, and that would've been perfect!<br />
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The two non veg dishes in the main course - the <b>sliced chicken with pokchoy and mushrooms</b> as well as the <b>sliced river sole with mint and pepper sauce</b> - were brilliant. The river sole in particular was quite refreshing as most places now used that blasted basa for white fish. The sole had a mildly sweet taste to it, and a slightly firm texture. The fish went perfectly with the mint and pepper sauce it was served with. The sliced chicken, on the other hand, was a slight contrast to the fish. The meat was tender, and the mushrooms in the dish gave a slightly musty flavour to the dish.<br />
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Vegetarians who like tofu, the <b>tofu and pokchoy stir fry with Schezwan sauce</b> is one of those dishes you could opt for. Silky in texture, and slightly spicy in taste, this is perhaps ideal to club with a simple fried rice. The <b>assorted string beans with garlic and chilli</b> seemed like a very blah dish, but the beans we were served were crisp and tender, with the garlic-chilli combo providing in taste what the beans provided in texture. The <b>shredded potato stir fry with spring onions and soy sauce</b> seemed better as a starter is the sauce wasn't as watery, as it would be fun to pick up the string thin potato and munch on it. The standard carbs were provided in the form of fried rice and noodles.<br />
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Tofu and pokchoy stir fry with Schezwan sauce</div>
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Sliced river sole with mint and pepper sauce</div>
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Sliced chicken with pokchoy and mushrooms</div>
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Finally, after all this food, there was dessert, and a <b>fresh fruit roll with ice cream</b> was served. The fruit rolls, although seemingly deep fried, was quite nice and didn't feel too heavy at the end of the meal. Maybe it was just the ice cream and some psychological thing, maybe it wasn't.<br />
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Overall, we had a nice meal. When it comes to the new menu that Shao has put out, it still seems a little conservative in terms of the dishes on board, almost as if they were playing it a little safe. A little more adventurism and a little more depth in the menu would have set them apart from the rest by a long shot. However, this could just be the first of many changes, so hopefully this brings them the success it was intended to, and hopefully that in turn leads the chef to get a little more bold with the selection of dishes. </div>
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Karthik Shettyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07215763312804913735noreply@blogger.com112th Main Rd, HAL 2nd Stage, Indira Nagar, Bangalore, Karnataka, India12.97008439322982 77.64104068279266412.969600893229821 77.640423682792658 12.97056789322982 77.641657682792669tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3443025594801880119.post-48160630639391811992012-10-29T19:36:00.001+05:302012-10-29T22:36:23.940+05:30Bricklane Grill invitation from Spiritz and More<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Bricklane Grill is a restaurant located at the junction of Indiranagar’s 100 Feet Road and 12th Main Road, in the same building that houses Sunny’s, but on the 12th Main side. The restaurant opened up in a low key manner earlier in the year, and is quite popular with the expats in the city, and is yet to hit the mark with most other foodies and gourmands in town. I was asked to review the restaurant along with some of the alcohol brands that are served at the restaurant by <a href="http://www.spiritzandmore.com/">Spiritz and More</a>. The restaurant is high above all the hustle and bustle that takes place below. Awash with white walls, white furniture, and even white exposed bricks, the restaurant takes its name from a lane in London, that coincidentally also houses a large number of restaurants that serve curry.</div>
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While the restaurant does boast of a very romantic setup in one section, weekends are lively with DJ events, so that special meal with a special someone would have to be done on a weekday.
While my photograph of the table in the romantic section doesn't to any justice, the night time view is spectacular. The night we visited the restaurant, there space was arranged for a party of 6, and I unfortunately was carrying only my 50mm lens, so couldn't get a wider shot.<br />
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The restaurant can be broadly divided into the following areas: few seats around the bar and the grill area, some tables under the covered area and some in the open, a table for 12 inside which is a chef’s table, primarily to be used for wine pairing events, and lastly, the upstairs area that has a lounge-y feel to it, with the balcony area having a three 2-seater tables – ideal for a romantic dinner with that special someone. The cool breeze in the night meant that the open air seating area was a brilliant location, and for those who tend to catch the chills easily, there are heaters nearby.</div>
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I started off with a cocktail – a green apple Martini, while my friend opted for a Whyte and Mackay Glasgow whisky. While the Martini was quite good, with the sour flavour of the green apple giving an additional ‘spike’ in the taste, the whisky, according to my friend was lovely, and he’s taken a liking to it over other Scotch whiskies like the Black Dog 12 year because of the slightly sweeter taste. Both of us enjoyed the drinks and while we were getting warmed up with the alcohol, a plate with toast arrived. I assumed it was the standard garlic bread, but it wasn’t. It was bread alright, but it was green with envy – basil oil. Very novel and quite a ‘refreshing’ change I might add. Before I get into what we ate and how the food turned out, I must say that Bricklane Grill serves Parsi food, which is their signature of sorts, along with a fusion of select Indian dishes and European favourites. While to some this could be seen as being a little ‘confused’, a closer inspection can present a different picture.<br />
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Green apple martini</div>
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Toast with basil oil - superb!</div>
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The first of the starters was a Chettinad chicken tikka, one of the examples of a slight fusion of the north Indian tikka, marinated in Chettinad spices. While a couple of pieces did feel a little dry, the rest were fine and the heat from the chicken was perfect with both the vodka martini as well as the whisky. Before the spices from this ebbed away, we were served with another special – the mango infused paneer with pomegranate. Superb! The paneer was of good quality (and even if it wasn’t, I wouldn’t fault a Bangalore restaurant for not having good paneer), and the flavours blended perfectly – the sweet and the sour coming together beautifully.<br />
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Chettinad chicken tikka </div>
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Mango infused paneer with pomegranate </div>
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The crispy yellow chilli prawns were a beautiful golden brown, but there wasn’t much chilli, and the plump prawns felt a little chewy, but that’s probably because of the size, and not over cooking, although some experts may say it could’ve been cooked for about 20 seconds less. I didn’t have any complaints. The ajwain fish tikka was also quite superb – well cooked, and thankfully not overcooked in spite of being cooked in the tandoor.<br />
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Crispy yellow chilli prawns</div>
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The Parsi starters, the boti soti, cubes of mutton cooked and skewered on a toothpick with a cube of potato, and the batter coated and fried, lived up to expectations in taste and texture, although the outer coat was quite oily. The bheja na cutlets (brain cutlets) would certainly take getting used to due to the soft texture, but if you’re a fan, then the ones served here would give most places a run for their money. In between all these, I ordered another cocktail, a Moscow Mule – vodka, wine and ginger ale – and while it tasted good, it could have done a little more to make sure I felt the mule ‘kick’ me. My friend was in love with the Whyte and Mackay, and smooth whisky was working wonderfully with the starters.<br />
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Moscow Mule </div>
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Boti soti </div>
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Brain cutlets</div>
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We then moved on to the main course, and here we were spoilt for choice. I mean, there are the Parsi favourites of course, and then there were some very interesting combinations that married flavours from Indian dishes to European favourites. The lamb chops with rogan josh masla and red wine reduction was a perfect example of flavours from two regions coming together beautifully. Ditto with the Jack Daniel’s pork chops – the JD sauce going brilliantly with the pork chops, but the whiskey corn salsa was a bit of a mystery as I wasn’t able to understand the reason for that, although texturally it was quite pleasing. The peppercorn crusted beef tenderloin was cooked very nicely, but I found the amount of pepper a touch overpowering as I wasn’t able to concentrate on the taste of the meat. Whisky or no whisky, the pepper was a bit too much.<br />
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Jack Daniel's pork chops </div>
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Rogan josh flavoured lamb chop with red wine reduction, and Whyte and Mackay in the background </div>
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Peppercorn crusted beef tenderloin</div>
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The Parsi mains – sali boti, mutton dhansak, and the biryani with meatballs was quite a delight, although we were quite full by now, and couldn’t do full justice by polishing off the dishes as we did with the previous dishes. The dhansak was good and the sali boti was quite lip smacking – the sweet and mild sour flavours doing well to give the palate a good exercise. The lone veg dish that we had - the tamarind glazed eggplant and tomato - we had them serve us only a fraction of the portion. The tangy tamarind flavour combined well with the smokiness of the eggplant, but unless you're the kind who doesn't mind a light main course, you may want to stock up on something else.</div>
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Biryani and dhansak </div>
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Sali boti </div>
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Tamarind glazed eggplant and tomato</div>
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By the time we got to desserts, we were actually about to pop a few buttons on our shirts. Loosening our belts didn’t help, and so we could only take a couple of bites from both desserts. The ice cream sandwich – warm jalebis with home-made ice cream – was a little disappointing. The sweet, crisp jalebi was superb, but the vanilla flavour from the ice cream just didn’t come through. I mean, if you can’t taste vanilla, then that’ll certainly get you wondering, won’t it? If wasn’t sure if it was the sweetness from the jalebi, or the fact that the ice cream being home-made didn’t have enough vanilla flavouring from the pods, or a combination of both. The South Indian coffee brûlée was a nice idea and the coffee flavour wasn’t overpowering, but the custard below the caramelized sugar could’ve been a little more velvety. Also, while some would argue that the almond biscotti served with the brûlée could be used to spoon out every last bit, I don't know if I'm from that school of thought. We really had stuffed ourselves silly by now, and even getting off the chair was a bit of an issue.<br />
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South Indian coffee brûlée </div>
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Ice cream sandwich with jalebis</div>
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Overall, it was a very nice meal that we had, clubbed with the alcohol. Both the cocktails I had were good on the whole, and the Whyte and Mackay my friend had was something he was quite pleased about. Given that Bricklane Grill has such a vast array of dishes and some that are obviously something new (marriage of flavours from different cuisines), I think they need to iron out a few creases and be spot on with the every dish, or people would automatically blame them for having their fingers in too many pies. Perhaps cutting down on the number of dishes on the menu is one way to go, but that’s for the restaurant to decide.
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Karthik Shettyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07215763312804913735noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3443025594801880119.post-57865233404945592612012-10-21T22:52:00.000+05:302012-10-21T22:52:16.049+05:304 Seasons wine tasting bloggers meet at Royal Orchid<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Last month, I was invited to my second bloggers meet arranged by 4 Seasons wines, and this time around it was at the Royal Orchid Hotel on Old Airport Road. The guest of honour who was going to be joining us was <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shamita_Singha">Shamita Singha</a>, who is also a brand ambassador for 4 Seasons Wine.<br />
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It was a cool, sunny day, and almost perfect for a wine pairing event, especially since camera-wielding bloggers like me crave for day time meetups with ample sunlight.The get together began with Shamita talking about the wines, and surprisingly, she actually knew quite a bit about wines, and didn't seem as if she were just repeating lines someone had fed her. That actually is quite a pleasant turn of events as it's actually good to see more and more people in celebrity positions getting more involved with promoting wines, which happens to be at a very nascent stage in our country, and a far more nascent stage in the food scene of our country.<br />
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After giving the bloggers a brief about the wines, it was time for the food. Starters started doing the rounds , and we had a decent selection of starters that could be paired with the wines. The Chenic Blanc went well with both the chicken satay as well as the grilled vegetables. While we were downing glass after glass of wine along with the food (starters), the staff of The Royal Orchid started getting things ready for the cooking demonstration.
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The chef started off with the salad - slicing the apples deftly, and then tearing up the lettuce and went on to make the dressing. The dressing is what can make or break the salad, and an orange juice based dressing was in store for our salad, mixed with olive oil.<br />
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For the main course, the chefs went ahead with preparing a Thai green curry. Many of us were a little miffed that the chef chose to use canned coconut milk powder, canned green curry paste, and a whole lot of ingredients that were canned and not fresh. The dessert though was quite simply awesome. Overall, it was a nice opportunity to interact with Shamita (for that matter whoever 4 Seasons chooses to send) if wine is something you want to learn about.<br />
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Karthik Shettyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07215763312804913735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3443025594801880119.post-73716956299837228332012-10-11T15:00:00.000+05:302012-10-13T16:31:18.471+05:30Ni Hao - Chinese food festival at Sheraton<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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When you think of Chinese cuisine, if you even remotely know your geography, and club that knowledge with some common sense, then putting these two together, it wouldn't be too hard to deduce that given the vast size of China, there has got to be more than a few variations of 'Chinese cuisine'. And true to that, China can be divided in several culinary zones or regions, each one having something unique for the diners in terms of ingredients used, methods of cooking, as well as the history of the dishes. Although opinions may vary, Chinese cuisine can be divided into roughly 5 culinary zones:
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Guangdong and Hong Kong , whose cuisine primarily can be called <b>Cantonese</b> or <b>Yue</b></li>
<li>Beijing and the northern areas, whose cuisine primarily can be called <b>Mandarin</b></li>
<li>Shanghai and surrounding areas, whose cuisine can be called <b>Zhe</b> or <b>Zhejiang</b></li>
<li>Sichuan, or Szechuan, where the cuisine is called <b>Chuan</b></li>
<li>Hunan, in the south-central part of China where the cuisine is called <b>Xiang</b></li>
<li>Cuisines like <b>Jiangsu</b> and <b>Min</b> (from the coastal areas of Fujian) among others</li>
</ul>
The Sheraton in Bangalore has flown down a Chinese chef, Chef Thi Giang, the Chef de cuisine at Li Bai restaurant at the Sheraton Saigon for 11 days. The fest, that started on the 4<sup>th</sup>, will go on till the 14<sup>th</sup> of October. Since Chef Giang is Chinese, the dishes were very much Chinese, not the Indianised version that's peddled at most other restaurants in the city.<br />
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Chef Giang is a small man...frail, like someone's skinny grandmother, but don't let those sayings of "never trust a skinny chef" fool you. For just like many a grandmother, Chef Giang has many a culinary trick up his sleeve. His diminutive probably affirms to the fact that good things come in small packages!<br />
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Chef Giang Thi</center>
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Wonton soup with seafood</center>
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The wonton soup with seafood was simply superb. A clear soup, with a sprinkling of scallions and fried garlic along with the wonton and some choice seafood - prawns, squid, and scallops - made this a clear winner. So good was the soup that I actually had two bowls, one at the start of the meal and one at the end.
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Wonton soup with seafood along with some of the key ingredients</center>
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Cosmopolitan</center>
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French 75</center>
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One fantastic idea Sheraton came up with was to make drinks based on Chinese philosophy, specifically based on the year you were born in. Since I was born in '83, the year of the pig, my drink was a gin and wasabi drink, as well as a drink called French 75, another gin-based cocktail, from Sheraton's top 100 cocktails. It's really a great thing to see the kitchen team work this closely with the F & B team and implement such wonderful ideas. I think the fact that Sheraton is now experimenting with different
ideas, especially on the drink front, is great news to the food scene in
Bangalore, because usually everyone focuses on the food, and the drinks
are relegated to a proverbial footnote. Apart from that, we were also told about the concept behind this, and how the hotel plans to take this forward based on its success.<br />
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The Executive Chef, Bela K. Rieck, came and had a nice, long conversation about food and his philosophy about how food and how he plans to take things forward. The man is a genius. His work ethic is so focused and 'logical', it appealed to the engineer in me.<br />
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As for the food, it was lovely, and the Chinese dishes are part of the regular Feast buffet (easily one of the best, if not the best, spreads in the city). Although I tried very hard to restrict myself to only the Chinese dishes, I did end up trying a few other dishes, that were equally good. The salads, chicken and cabbage, as well as the spinach with roasted garlic were good. The idea of supplementing the spinach with garlic was good because not only does it add flavour,, it also helps neutralise the sort of monotonous taste of spinach. Apart from these salads, there were the other salads that are a part of the buffet anyway.<br />
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Cabbage and chicken salad</center>
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Spinach and garlic salad</center>
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Some Chinese ingredients used during the fest</center>
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The fish poached in olive oil was light and this sort of cooking technique does justice to the fish and helps keep intact the 'flavour' of the fish. This dish though wasn't par of the Chinese dishes of the fest, and neither was the roasted chicken at the carving station. <br />
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Poached fish</center>
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Roast chicken</center>
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The beef braised and stewed along with mushrooms was divine. I mean, yes, the cow is holy and all that, and so to make sure it continues to remain that way, it needs to be cooked with a lot of care. Loved this dish as well, but again, this wasn't part of the dishes for the Chinese fest.<br />
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Stewed beef with mushrooms</center>
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The braised tofu in Szechuan sauce was silky and spicy - the tofu being silky soft and the sauce being spicy. The Kung Pao chicken with cashew nuts was nice (wok fried), but I so hoped that there would've been sweet and sour pork that evening. <br />
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Braised tofu in Szechuan sauce</center>
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Some veg dish with broccoli</center>
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Kung Pao chicken with cashew nuts</center>
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The steamed fish in broth with pork fat was mind blowing...simply fabulous! This was one of the other dishes that I had twice, and I think it was my favourite dish of the evening. That broth...oh man, pork fat does lend such a wonderful and magical flavour to everything. There was another soup on offer, a lotus root with sweet corn in a pork broth. Unfortunately I don't seem to have a photograph of it, but that soup was equally brilliant. Normally, I'm not a big fan of the lotus root (sorry, I hope some jobless person doesn't sue me saying I'm disrespecting the national flower's root!), but in this case, the soup was really very good. I think anything cooked with pork automatically tastes better.<br />
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For desserts, the Chinese dessert that was on offer was something that has an acquired taste, and so although I did try a little and didn't find it too bad, I didn't go for seconds. I did, however, make my way to the teppanyaki ice cream counter to have some ice cream mixed over a cold stone and served to me. I didn't want to sample the other desserts, because that would've spoilt the taste of the Chinese food I had, so I opted to play safe. So overall, excellent food and great service at Feast. Stay tuned for more such fests at Sheraton (there's an Italian food festival coming up in November that I am eagerly waiting for).<br />
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Steamed fish in broth with pork fat</center>
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The veggies for the noodles</center>
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My second bowl of soup, along with the noodles with the XO sauce</center>
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Dessert...very acquired taste :)</center>
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Last two days of the fest...go fast! :)<br />
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<i> Sheraton Bangalore at Brigade Gateway, 26/1, Dr Rajkumar Road, Malleshwaram-Rajajinagar, Bangalore. Phone: +91 80 4252 1000</i></div>
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Karthik Shettyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07215763312804913735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3443025594801880119.post-81093190851390080152012-10-07T22:58:00.001+05:302012-10-07T23:00:40.592+05:30Suisse rendezvous - Mövenpick Swiss food festival<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Last week, I was invited to Mövenpick Hotel and Spa near New BEL Road, for the Chef's Table at the start of the Swiss food festival. The Swiss food festival is on till the 14<sup>th</sup> of October and will be at the all day dining restaurant My Place. The hotel has flown down their Executive Chef from the Moevenpick in Zurich - Chef Walter Wyssen to showcase Swiss food. "Swiss food is more than just fondue!" And I can attest that it certainly was.<br />
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Our meal started off with a cheese platter consisting of some very unusual and some very strong cheese, brought all the way from Switzerland. In fact, Chef Wyssen told us that he brought along close to 210 KG of produce from Switzerland for his food festival. There were hard cheeses, and there were soft cheeses, and even some creamy ones as well. The names are just as strong as the cheese themselves, so I don't quite remember the names of the cheeses now. However, one thing is certain, and you don't need a degree in food sciences - cheeses have an acquired taste, so don't be too gung ho about tasting cheeses unless you're prepared to do so with an open mind and an adventurous palate.<br />
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Cheese, glorious cheese!</center>
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Next stop, cheese fondue! For this, the chef took us to an area where other chefs were, in front of their burners, and used a heavy-bottomed pan to dunk some cheese into it. And finally, the fondue prongs that were on our table were put to good use, as can be seen in the snap below where the chef <br />
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Prongs for the fondue</center>
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Bread basket</center>
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Making the fondue</center>
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Chef Wyssen tasting the fondue</center>
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Onto the actual hors d'oeuvre! Fancy eh? Well, it's French, and one part of Switzerland is French. Well, it means 'first course', or the course you have before the main course...starters, in lay mans terms. Oh wait, there's more fancy jargon around the corner. We started off with a lovely beef tartare with bacon gugelhopf. A gugelhopf is a term used in southern Germany, Austria, the Alsace region, and Switzerland for a sort of marble cake. This one had bacon. Everything tastes better with bacon. That's a fact, so deal with it.<br />
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Beef tartare with bacon gugelhopf</center>
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The second snack was a dry beef slice, rolled and filled with cheese, on a slice of zucchini and a slice of toasted baguette. Red meat and cheese is a lovely combination, and still, this was probably the only 'boring' dish of the evening. Don't get me wrong, it's not that it was bad...it simply didn't measure up against its more illustrious, and tastier counterparts.<br />
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Dry beef with cheese</center>
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The next canape was interesting, and was my favourite. It consisted of Tete de Moine, a cheese that literally translates to "Monk's head", and combined with a plum and pear bread, this was a real winner for me. The pear bread is what actually stole the show - a fruity sweetness with the crumbly texture of the cake/bread and the cheese was simply fabulous.<br />
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Tete de Moine cheese on pear bread</center>
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All 3 hors d'doeuvres</center>
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We were also given a shot of cappuccino, but not the coffee kind. This was a special one, and used one of my favourite non-meat ingredient - mushrooms! It was a porcini mushroom cappuccino, and was lovely. The earthy flavour of the mushroom along with the light cream and minimal seasoning brought out the flavours to the hilt. In my excitement to down the 'shot', I didn't realise there was actually more than just one 'shot', and it was hot as heck. My throat burnt, I worried that I'd not be able to enjoy the main course, but thankfully it wasn't that bad.<br />
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Porcini mushroom cappuccino</center>
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And finally, the main course. The menu given to us said there would be a vegetarian dish, a dish that's as much Swiss as the masala dosa is Indian - the Rösti. A common breakfast dish of the farmers, it consists of roughly grated potatoes mixed with butter and seasonings that is then fried after shaping it into a rough patty. This was served with a mushroom sauce. The other dish was a lamb chop served on an elder aceto sauce and glazed pumpkin. The lamb chop was beautifully medium rare, nicely seasoned, and very tender. By this time actually, most of the diners at the table were dropping like flies coz they were full, and I must admit, you eat a lot of cheese and then some more in the form of fondue, your stomach will need to have some serious capacity to pack away the carbs (Rösti) and animal protein (lamb).<br />
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Lamb chops with sauce and glazed pumpkin</center>
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Another shot of the lamb chop</center>
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Rösti, the unofficial national dish of Switzerland</center>
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And as if all this food wasn't enough, there was dessert. And one of the most famous desserts from Switzerland, the carrot cake from the Aargau canton. The Aargau canton is famous for carrots, and in the words of the chef himself "they make everything from carrot...cake, pies, casserole, what not!" A strong waft of cinnamon from the cake makes it way into the nasal cavity, but it doesn't offend the senses, but entices you to dig in. And dig in I did...with gusto!<br />
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<span class="st">Rüebli (c</span>arrot) cake</center>
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Overall, given that this was the first time I was actually eating Swiss food, I'd have to say that it was very good, and extremely interesting. And like India, different regions have different foods, owing to the influence from the Germans, the French, the Italians, and some dishes very native to the land itself. The Swiss food festival is on till the 14<sup>th</sup> of October at My Place, the all day dining restaurant at Mövenpick Hotel & Spa, Bangalore. For more details and making reservations, you can <a href="http://www.zomato.com/events/bangalore/go-suisse-swiss-food-festival-100021397">check here</a>.</div>
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Karthik Shettyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07215763312804913735noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3443025594801880119.post-6926382398489246122012-09-30T18:29:00.001+05:302012-09-30T18:29:23.945+05:30Bow Barracks<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Bow barracks is a region in Calcutta (now Kolkata) that has a predominant Anglo Indian community. Anglo-Indian cuisine has an almost mystical air about it. Traditional British dishes with Indian spices, as well as dishes with Indian sounding names would certainly get people new to encounter this cuisine put their thinking hat on - I certainly did!<br />
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And so when a place opens up in Bangalore claiming to serve Anglo-Indian cuisine, a cuisine that is on what seems like its last legs, then you want to make sure you get there. Bow Barracks in Indiranagar is run by Sujoy and his wife. Some may describe the setup inside as a little claustrophobic - the presence of a couple of pillars with a slightly low ceiling and the furniture 'just' fitting inside gives this impression. I, on the other hand, appreciated the ambiance and setup and would call it 'cozy' and more like a well kept home.<br />
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Melon amuse bouche</center>
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Gol guppa amuse bouche</center>
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Cold marsh melon soup</center>
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We started off with the cold marsh melon soup (which seems to have gone off the menu now - pity, because it was simply superb!) served in a cup and it was divine - cold, with a fruity sweetness to it and a hint of spice, and it was quite refreshing.<br />
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Noorani seekh kebab</center>
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Aubergine stuffed with chicken</center>
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Beef Pantheras</center>
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The Noorani sheek kebabs were very good - delicate, and most importantly, they weren't dry. The flavouring was again subtle, and it had a surprising coating of minced chicken around it - chicken and lamb combined well. The aubergine stuffed with chicken too was a nice dish - not overdone, with the smokiness from the aubergines nicely combining with the chicken. The beef pantheras was something I personally didn't like too much - it was a deep-fried dish and I didn't like the taste of oil that lingered on the coating.<br />
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Prawn cocktail</center>
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Another angle of the prawn cocktail</center>
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The prawn cocktail was decent, but nothing spectacular, served with a Marie Rose sauce, or maychup (combination of mayo and ketchup). Now that there's a Continental section, it's good to see that this dish has been pushed into that section. The atoorsi aaloo - baby potatoes with mango chutney and mustard was quite superb, so vegetarians, don't worry, they've got some nice things in store for you as well. The mushroom and paneer dishes from the tandoori section are decent, but nothing to rave about.<br />
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Fish bon femme</center>
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Pork vindaloo</center>
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Veg curry</center>
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For the mains, the pork vindaloo and the Hussain lamb curry along with the coconut rice is quite superb. The vindaloo, done the Anglo Indian way, isn't as spicy as the original Goan dish, and so is more palatable for those who don't like spicy dishes, and the lamb was beautifully flavoured with yogurt and was extremely tender - perfect! The fish bon femme - a grilled beckti on a bed of peas with bacon around it - was pretty nicely done. Pan-fried, with the skin made a little crisp, the beckti, a fresh water fish from the East, blended well with the peas and shallots, but was certainly not Anglo Indian (now this has been moved into the Continental section of the menu).<br />
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Chicken Kiev</center>
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Pork Chops</center>
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Duck confit</center>
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The pork chops on the menu are a must-try if you are a lover of pork, and the confit of duck was also done to near perfection. Unfortunately, we didn't get to try the beef jalfrezi, which is an Anglo specialty, but that's probably for the next visit. The veg curry along with rice is also quite a delightful curry, although I don't really know too many vegetarians who would walk into a fancy restaurant and appreciate a curry with rice! Well, I didn't ask them to act all pricey :)<br />
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For desserts, the honey lime pannacotta had an usual flavour combination that actually worked and worked well, and the amount gelatin used was about right (could have been a little less, but good all the same). Overall, good dish, and so was the chocolate mousse and the tiramisu, although I did not get the distinct taste of Marsala from the tiramisu.<br />
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Karthik Shettyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07215763312804913735noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3443025594801880119.post-74981423309697778572012-07-30T06:17:00.001+05:302012-07-30T06:17:14.397+05:304 Seasons wine tasting and bloggers meet<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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A couple of Mondays back, I was invited for a wine tasting event at Fava by 4 Seasons who are doing a lot of promotions for their wines. They have regularly been inviting bloggers and other social 'influencers' and educating them about wines and some of the minor points about wines, be it white, red, or rose. The opportunity to get a little more insight into wines and to also meet fellow bloggers from different genres (not just food bloggers) was appealing and too good to miss, and so off I went in spite of it being a Monday evening.</div>
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Mr Abhay Kewadkar, the head of UB-4 Seasons Wines and chief wine maker was the host, and his intention was to not only help promote his product, but also to talk to us bloggers and give us an understanding of wines and answer questions we may have about wines. A look at the menu that was prepared for us was enough to make me happy :)</div>
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We started off with a glass of Chenin Blanc, and later moved on to a Sauvignon Blanc. Mr. Kewadkar began a very passionate round of conversation about the subtleties in the two wines, and then we gradually moved on towards how wines are paired, and what are the essential characteristics in the wine and food that make them 'match'. </div>
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Sauvignon Blanc</div>
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Soon the first course arrived - simple Caesar's salad that was to be paired with the Savignon. The salad was fresh, and the chicken was grilled nicely with the right amount of dressing on the salad. Also, the conversations touched upon how the Indian palate, which may be unaccustomed to wine, would perhaps naturally gravitate toward sweeter wines. Another popular 'idea' in most peoples' head is that wine is only for the sophisticated, high class folks, who dine on fancy cuisines. Mr. Kewadkar very clearly dispelled this notion and explained how the Indian foods can be paired very well with wines. One way to try to get people to change their habits is certainly through interactive sessions like this one.<br />
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Caesar salad</div>
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To each his own. This was essentially the mantra that needs to be understood. While there can be guidelines about how to pair wines with food, you can never lay it down as a 'rule'. We then moved on to the main course, rosemary lamb chops, paired with both a Cabarnet Sauvignon as well as a Shiraz (both red wines). I think I preferred the Shiraz over the Cabarnet, and it did seem to go well with the lamb chops. The reason we were served both wines was to compare and see what suited our palates better, and then arrive at a 'decision'. <span style="background-color: white;">The lamb chops were decently done, and although off late I seem to have lost some interest in lamb chops, this was nice.</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><br />
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Lamb Chops</div>
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During the meal ,we were joined by Abhijit Saha, the top chef and person behind Fava and Caperberry. Chef Saha spoke about the changing scenario in Bangalore and India and also spoke about his experiences in Spain (during a recent visit). To round things off, dessert was served along with a blush rosé wine.<br />
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Creme brulee with peaches and blush <span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;">rosé</span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"> </span></div>
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The health qualities of red wine have been explained through a lot of studies, especially due to anti oxidants in red wine. Overall, this was a very satisfying experience and one that was loaded with information. And of course, meeting new bloggers across the board is always a wonderful thing. Hopefully, more wine companies will come forward and try to impress upon the public about wines and get them into wines. Thanks to 4 Seasons and this initiative of theirs. You can find more details about their wines on their <a href="http://www.fourseasonsvineyards.com/">website</a>.</div>
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</div>Karthik Shettyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07215763312804913735noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3443025594801880119.post-4954130412031819372012-07-18T00:34:00.002+05:302012-07-18T08:45:33.136+05:30Sunday Brunch ar The Park Plaza<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: white;">A couple of Sundays back, I was at The Park Plaza for brunch. Invited. Normally, I don't take invites from restaurants to visit their place and then 'blog' about it - there's always the credibility issue. However, in this case, I reasoned with myself that a brunch cannot be 'fixed' or 'be made more special' for me. I was right.</span></div>
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The Park Plaza is in Marathahalli, near the multiplex (on the same side). The hotel houses a 24 hour coffee shop called The Melange, a North Indian/Mughlai restaurant Zafran (single 'f'), a Chinese restaurant Shao, and a lounge called Gadang. I particularly like the name chosen for the lounge because the word 'gadang' is a word from my mother tongue Tulu, and basically is used to refer to a local liquor shop. Of course, I didn't ask as to whether that was the case here because I was drawn into Melange like a moth toward a ... no sorry, like a bee toward a colourful flower.</div>
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Melange is a huge place, with both indoor as well as outdoor seating. My friend and I chose to sit outside, but that was probably not the best decision in spite of the fantastic weather. The wind was on a rampage, knocking over some of the live grills that were set up outside, and on other occasions toppling over the caps some of the chefs had got on their heads. But it was fun to see in a nice way.</div>
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We started off with a laksa that was part of the Asian section along with steamed momos. The laksa had a nice dose of coconut milk and I was sold! The noodles and meat in it was nicely married in the dish along with the veggies. However, I didn't think the dish was spicy enough - given the colour of the laksa, this certainly was not the rempah-based laksa (Sarawak laksa), and it didn't have enough sourness from tamarind for it to qualify as a asam-based laksa (Penang laksa). Given the colour, I'm guessing they were going for the Penang laksa, but I can't be certain. Nonetheless, if you're the kind you enjoys a Tom Kha soup, you're bound to enjoy this, but if you're looking for the real deal, I'm not so sure. </div>
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Laksa</div>
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Beside the usual starters like salads, there were also a few neatly laid out amuse bouches that made for a very nice picture. The prawn amuse bouches were really very nice, and the lamb was fantastic - creamy in texture, with good amount of seasoning to bring out the flavour of the meat. Amongst the salads, the carrot salad blew me away simply because of the way it looked (first), and then because of the taste and the fact that is retained a crunch but wasn't hard at the same time, making it easy to eat with a fork. There were also some cured meats - ham and the like, and those were very nice as well, including the melon + ham combo.</div>
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The steamed momos that came in, chicken and prawn, were also quite nice, although the shells were a little on the thicker side. However, since they were steamed right there, I'm guessing the shells had to have a slightly thicker 'bottom' to ensure the entire things holds and doesn't crumble and disintegrate.</div>
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Starting from top left, moving clockwise: Pasta salad, German potato salad, Mexican carrot salad, and aubergine & broccoli salad</div>
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Prawn, lamb, and prawn again</div>
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Prawn amuse bouche, all lined up</div>
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Mango yogurt</div>
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Chicken (left), and prawn momos</div>
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The spread for the Sunday brunch is extremely extensive and very impressive. There was a counter where a chef was making pizzas and you could choose the toppings, while another counter had pastas. The are where we sat outside had a tandoor for tikkas for kababs, a burger stand, as well as a huge Weber grill where jumbo prawns were being grilled. The pizzas were decent, although I wish they hadn't been so stingy with the meat toppings.</div>
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As part of the brunch, you also get to have cocktails, and there are some really nice cocktails - not your usual run of the mill types - available here. 'Sweet' cocktails are perhaps easy to make, most usually involving the addition of some syrup like grenadine or curacao. However, try one of the spicier cocktails and you'll be in for a treat, especially if you go in for the Indian Mule, a gin-based cocktail.</div>
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Salami pizza</div>
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Indian Mule (left), and a whiskey-based cocktail along with another gin-based cocktail</div>
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I was torn between trying out the tandoori stuff, grilled prawns and burger (all outdoor), and the indoor food that included biryani, rice, and fish curry. Pastas were going to be left out. Eventually, the rice dishes and Goan fish curry won. No regrets. The biryani was spot on in terms of taste, how well it was cooked, and the <i>salan</i> with it was also quite brilliant - a little spicy, tangy, tasty...yum! The Goan fish curry though could've been a little spicier, given that Goans toss in a fair amount of chillies into their curries. All in all, quite a good meal, one that I took a couple of days to work off on the treadmill.</div>
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And then there were desserts! Oh yes, I'm not done yet! There was a whole shelf of desserts to choose from, and just looking at them made my stomach want to go on strike, protesting against the stuffing that it was being subjected to. However, better sense prevailed and I did have some desserts. While the creme brulee wasn't up to the mark (it was in a shallow dish, so the caramelized sugar was a in a larger proportion when compared to the custard below. However, the two kinds of creamy deliciousness that I had...they had me hooked. I don't remember what they were called, but they were lovely. I also caught sight of some pretzels (shaped in a manner to resemble the hands of a monk in prayer).</div>
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Blueberry & lime</div>
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Namashkar, I am pretzel!</div>
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Overall, a very satisfying experience and totally worth the drive from where I stay. A few tweaks here and there can be done so that everything is ship-shape and that should certainly get people coming back.</div>
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<b>Food</b>: Good</div>
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<b>$$$</b>: The Sunday brunch, with alcohol is Rs 1600 + taxes...worth it.</div>
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<b>Service</b>: Good</div>
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<b>Verdict</b>: Worth a visit at least once, and if you live close by, then whenever you feel like gorging on food on a Sunday.</div>
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<i>Hotel Park Plaza, 90/4, Outer Ring Road, Munnekollaly Village, Marathahalli, Bangalore. Phone: 080 49094909</i>
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Karthik Shettyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07215763312804913735noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3443025594801880119.post-91693093548898208902012-07-02T17:36:00.001+05:302012-07-03T08:48:31.232+05:30Spoonful of Sugar<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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This post has been a while in the making. Spoonful of Sugar (SoS) is a small pastry shop, which then became a pastry shop that began masquerading as a cafe, a cafe that was essentially a pastry shop, in Indiranagar. It has been around for a while - it used to be around when I was working at GXS, but when I finally was awakened to the fact that I am what is generally described in many circles as a 'foodie' (around the year 2007), and when I began my gastronomic adventures around town, SoS was a place I frequented many a time, and never once have I been disappointed. Well, OK, I was disappointed once, but that's out of more than 15 visits.</div>
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So what do you do when you're stressed? Sleep? Punch something (or someone)? Yell out loud? Use one of those squeeze ball-thingies perhaps? How about 'turning it around' backwards and eating it? No, really, try it. Because stressed, turned around backwards, spells desserts. Coincidence? I dunno.<br />
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Lemon pie</div>
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A narrow lane, opposite Toit on 100 Feet Road Indiranagar, called Sri Krishna Temple street takes you to Nilgiri's, and a little after that, a left turn directs you toward what is arguably Bangalore's finest spot of cakes, bakes, and pastries. Spoonful of sugar is a quite literally a hole in the wall, and until a couple of years ago didn't even have proper seating - it was more a take-away place. But all that has changed now - well, they have about 4 tables (3 outdoors and 1 indoor) - and although there has been a change in terms of seating arrangements, it has maintained the same high standards of everything it has to offer in terms of food, especially the items for your sweet-tooth.<br />
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Raspberry mascarpone pie</div>
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Essentially, Spoonful of sugar is a place that serves (or sells) you dishes that in any restaurant would be categorised under 'desserts'. From cakes and pastries, to luscious cheesecakes and creamy tarts, they have them all. All the items are made only in limited numbers per day. The owner, Sangeetha Damani, says that they use only the freshest ingredients and so sticking to a fixed number helps maintain quality.<br />
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Cucumber mint cooler</div>
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For those with a sweet tooth, some of the fastest moving items are the <b>fruit tarts</b>, the <b>oreo cheesecakes</b>, the banoffee pie, and the <b>raspberry mascarpone pies</b>, the last one being one of my all time favourites, simply because the cream cheese used is quite good, and the amount of gelatin used is minimal, leaving them quite creamy and not 'stiff'. And it's not too hard to see why. There is also a <b>baked version of the classic blueberry cheesecake</b> which is sublime, and usually this competes with the raspberry mascarpone for top slot. The fruit tarts are probably the ones anyone visiting the store should start off with. Firm but not hard tart shells hold a delicious concoction of cream cheese, fruits, and jelly - and thus far, I've only noticed a slight increase in the cost of these, but never a drop in the quality. They also take orders for cakes, and compared to the stores that 'mass produce' cakes, one can immediately spot the difference in the taste, in the richness that oozes from every bite of their cakes.<br />
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Baked blueberry cheesecake</div>
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Fruit tarts</div>
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Spoonful of sugar also caters to those who wish to grab a bite of food. Primarily sandwiches and pastas, they also have some wonderful quiches and fresh dips that are served along with crackers. The hummus here can match the ones made at any top end restaurant in the city. My only grouse about the sandwiches are that they are made using sliced bread; perhaps a next step could be to offer a choice of bread, but I don't know if that would bode too well with the philosophy of the place. It is after all, a spoonful of 'sugar'. Also, the <b>quiche</b> I had, it's base was a little underdone, and the <b>lasagna</b> seemed to have cheese that was old (visibly), and that was the only 'issue' I had that I'd mentioned at the start of this blog post. But that apart, they tasted very nice indeed.<br />
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Chicken quiche</div>
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Chicken lasagna</div>
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When it comes to cost, Spoonful of sugar certainly charges more than any of your other cake shops, but you can easily see why. With ingredients as fresh as the ones used here as well as a quality that many will find hard to match, you will WANT to pay for their food. If you love desserts and can't settle at just one per person, then desserts for two can set you back by about Rs 400 or so. If, like me, you're get a little dessert starved, then you may spend a wee bit more. I personally have polished off Rs 800 worth of goodies here in one sitting, but then that's just me.<br />
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<b>Verdict</b><br />
<b>Food</b>: Very good indeed<br />
<b>$$$</b>: Expensive<br />
<b>Additional info</b>: While it is expensive, you do get your money's worth<br />
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<i>Spoonful of Sugar, 421-G, 1<sup>st</sup> Main, 3<sup>rd</sup> Cross, 1<sup>st</sup> Stage, Indiranagar, Bangalore. Phone: 25255534, 25255535</i></div>
</div>Karthik Shettyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07215763312804913735noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3443025594801880119.post-24133015099938438272012-06-07T15:59:00.000+05:302012-06-07T20:30:14.868+05:30Seafood festival at ITC Gardenia<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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ITC Gardenia will be having a seafood fest starting today until Sunday. Chef Harish from Chennai (from Dakshin) is down here and he's come up with a host of specialties from the coastal areas of the 4 southern states. The dishes will be served as part of the buffet at the Cubbon Pavilion. I was invited for a sampling, and after speaking to the Chef, I can safely say that he knows and loves what he cooks, so you can expect the same quality throughout the fest. Here's a sneak-peak at what to expect.<br />
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We started our meal with a semolina crusted soft shell crab (from Karwar). If semolina crusted is sounding vague, try rava fry. Seafood dishes from the western coast, especially Karnataka use red chilli powder for the dry fry preparations, and aren't overly spicy. It was the same case here. The soft shell crab was delicately flavoured, and I swear if I wasn't in a 5 star hotel, I'd have grabbed the ones off the plates of my fellow guests as well.<br />
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Karwar jenji fry - Semolina-crusted soft shell crab</div>
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From Karwar, we moved further south to Kerala, and we were served with a prawn starter - the <i><b>chemmeen ularthiyathu</b></i>, or prawns tossed in shallots and coconut, along with red chilli powder and a few other spices (coriander, cumin, garlic, and maybe a little ginger as well). I know the dishes are usually toned down so is appreciated by all, but I'd have preferred if they'd have maintained the same spice levels as the dish demanded.<br />
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Another crab dish, this time in the main course, was the star attraction. The <i><b>peetala igguru</b></i> (an Andhra dish), or crab meat simmered in a mixture of cashew nut paste and masala, and served in the crab shell itself, was a fabulous dish, scoring high on presentation, flavour, and ingenuity.<br />
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Peetala igguru - crab meat simmered in a mixture of cashew and masala
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Next on the menu was another Andhra specialty - <i><b>royalla munakaya pulusu</b></i>, or prawns in a tangy drumstick curry. I really expected this dish to be spicy (because it's an Andhra dish :P). However, it was actually quite a surprise to see prawns paired with drumsticks, and go quite well in the dish. However, a little extra 'bite' would've been nice. The <i><b>mambazham pulissery</b></i> was a clever dish where mango was used to substitute tamarind, since mangoes are in season. The taste wasn't as sharp and the sweetness from the mango lent a slightly subdued touch. I personally love sour and tangy dishes, so this was probably the least favourable dish for me. <br />
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Royalla Munakaya pulusu - prawns simmered in a tangy drumstick curry (right), and mambazham pulissery - mangoes in a coconut gravy </div>
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One of Kerala's most popular local dish, the <i><b>karimeen pollichattu</b></i>, or pearl spot fish was served with a red chilli powder marinade, wrapped in a banana leaf and grilled. Brilliant. Enough said.<br />
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Karimeen pollichattu - pearl spot fish wrapped in banana leaf cooked on a griddle </div>
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Some of the other dishes on offer are the <i><b>kujit</b></i> (stewed prawns, squids, mussels and clams in coconut milk with green chillies, garlic and onions), <b>Allepy fish curry</b> (seer fish cooked in raw mango and coconut milk curry), and <i><b>chemmeen idiappam biryani</b></i> (string hopper prawn biryani).<br />
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Chemmeen idiappam biryani string hopper prawn biryani
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Starting from the 12 o'clock position, moving clockwise: mambazham pulissert, royalla munakaya pulusu, peetala igguru, butter beans with green chillies in tamarind and garlic gravy, pepper rice
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Kujit - stewed prawns, squid, clams and mussels in coconut milk
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Badam halwa (left), and rice payasa
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<b>Cost</b>:<br />
<u>Lunch</u>: Rs 1200 + tax (Fri, Sat) per person<br />
<u>Dinner</u>: Rs 1275 + tax (Fri, Sat, Sun) per person<br />
<u>Sunday brunch (seafood included)</u>: Rs 1950 + tax per person<br />
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What are you waiting for. Get <a href="http://www.zomato.com/bangalore/restaurants/central/residency-road/cubbon-pavilion-itc-gardenia-50318">calling</a>. The fest is open only till this Sunday.</div>
</div>Karthik Shettyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07215763312804913735noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3443025594801880119.post-88624489294035275452012-06-01T09:50:00.003+05:302012-06-01T09:50:38.302+05:30Don't be a sheep!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I know the title is very ambiguous, vague, and any other adjective that would indicate a high level of lack of clarity. But read on, and you'll see what this is all about. I've been writing this blog for almost 4 years now, and over a short period of time, it transformed from a blog that merely 'spoke' about the food that I ate, to one that got into the depth of food and actually 'reviewing' restaurants, the latter an outcome of a lot of comments left on the blog.<br />
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After I started reviewing restaurants, I kind of moved on to the 'big league' - I was given the opportunity to do the reviewing formally, for the Bangalore Mirror (thanks to Amit Akali), something that I went about doing for 2 full years, loving every bit of it. And yet, throughout the last 4 years, one thing has slowly dawned on me with regard to the reviews that I, and many others, wrote and continue to write about restaurants - there are people who follow us and take our word seriously about the places we've visited and the food we write about.<br />
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Moving on to the broader picture, where reviews of anything - movies, books, gadgets, or restaurants - are concerned, I've observed that far too many people exhibit a tendency to put their thinking on hold while reading these reviews. Sure, if there is a whole lot of 'factual' data that is spoken about, then one can be excused for not wanting to take the time off to perhaps Google the content and verify it (some people are busy, while some are happy to be spoon-fed, and both are perfectly normal, so don't worry). However, whenever there's an assertion made that is an inference, or a conclusion made from an opinion or based on a preference, then dear reader, I would request you to not readily accept the 'logic' behind the conclusion at face value but employ a little bit of thinking on your part as well.<br />
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In the case of restaurants, a person writing a review <u>may</u> arrive at a conclusion (about something in particular) based on a personal preference or simply a personal opinion. You can agree with the conclusion if that preference or opinion works for you as well, but always remember, it's a preference/opinion, so it doesn't necessitate the acceptance of that conclusion as the law. To use an oft repeated example, a person who's used to and enjoys eating extremely spicy Indian food (like Andhra food), would probably never be able to fully appreciate the finer subtleties of European or Mediterranean food. However, that doesn't mean such a person 'should' start developing a liking to food served at Mediterranean cuisine restaurants just because the review of that place is positive. The taste, however authentic, will be something that will probably not be appreciated on the palate. Taste is a very personal matter, and what works for one needn't work for another, and the converse also holds true. If a connoisseur of spicy food slams a Med cuisine place for lack of 'spiciness', you might want to hold off on passing judgement. However, if the place suffers from a lack of {insert adjective here} that results in sloppy, uncooked food being served, then there can be no two ways about it - it's bad!<br />
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Another example, moving over to a movie review this time to keep things a little different, is like when the movie Satya released, there was a lot of hue and cry about the language used and the amount of violence, and due to these two factors, some reviewers said the movie wasn't worth the watch in spite of a stellar performance by Manoj Bajpai. This opinion was later voiced by many a man on the street (rather thoughtlessly, I might add). The story actually centered around elements of the Mumbai underworld, and so firstly, the language used was more or less in line with what could be deemed 'routine' in those circles. Secondly, the savagery of the underworld in any country cannot be ever disputed, and so the violence shown was also justified. If the reviewer was squeamish about watching people being beaten to death, and based his conclusion on that, well, violent movies quite clearly aren't for him. Had the people who readily accepted the reviews, reviews that were quite clearly conclusions drawn on the basis of opinions and preferences, thought for a moment, they'd have found the folly in the reasoning.<br />
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Why am I writing this post all of a sudden? Simply because of late I've been seeing a lot of mindless parroting of lines from reviews, and not necessarily ones where the conclusion was based on fact. Remember that agreeing with an opinion because it merely 'sounds right' isn't a very smart thing to do. If this post can get some of the readers here to question potentially faulty conclusions, or even get them to agree to disagree with a conclusion that's been drawn based on opinion and not fact (as simple as "it works for you, but not for me"), then I think the quality of the diners (in terms of being discerning) in the city can certainly improve. Mind you, as a member of the debate team in school, I strongly believe that while opinions are sacred, it's better to develop opinions based on fact and not sentiment. And why limit this post to just diners? It's applicable to anyone reading any review of anything. So dear reader, don't be a sheep.<br />
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<i><u>Note:</u> It goes without saying that I can hardly be called an expert in the field I write in, and I will readily agree that for me it's a learning process too, and hopefully the quality of posts (reviews) have improved over the years and will continue to improve. That said, it goes without saying that the posts here are open to scrutiny as well, and if genuine errors in are pointed out, it will be appreciated</i>.</div>
</div>Karthik Shettyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07215763312804913735noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3443025594801880119.post-80835226836636970972012-05-23T10:03:00.000+05:302012-05-24T09:46:16.965+05:30Turquoise - The European<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The post for Turquoise has been long pending, and in fact, I had written it once, was about to 'publish' it, but ended up doing something while sleepy and the entire post got deleted. And then I wasn't able to find any of the pictures! Thankfully the horror story ended there, and I'm back with the details about Turquoise - The European (I'll need to visit the Indian a couple of times more to gauge the place fully and type it down).</div>
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The menu at Turquoise is expansive, and can leave you spoiled for choice. When Mr. P and I are together, we've just got to get ourselves some soup. The <b>creme de Porcini</b> and the <b>cream of broccoli</b> are the ones we tried, and both are quite good, with the Porcini soup taking the cake for me simply because I like mushrooms over other veggies, especially when it comes to soups. That isn't to say the broccoli wasn't good. In fact, the consistency of the broccoli soup is to be appreciated for not being 'grainy'.<br />
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Creme de Porcini</div>
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Cream of Broccoli</div>
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Some of the starters we had were the <b>Mezze platter</b> (we asked for 3 dips; you can ask for 6 or 9 as well). The dips we asked for were the muhammara, hummus, and falafels (OK, so falafels aren't dips, so sue me!), <b>malazane con pomodoro confit</b> (baked aubergine with tomato confit and cheese), <b>kefta kebabs</b> (ground lamb) <b>with tzatziki</b>, <b>veg tapas platter</b>, <b>grilled prawns</b> (day's special), and <b>chicken wrapped with sage</b>.<br />
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The Mezze platter, especially the muhammara, was simply superb. The texture was spot on, although the levels of heat were a little less than what it could have been. I'm not a big fan of falafels, so won't comment, and the hummus was creamy and just the way it should be. The kefta kebabs, similar to the Indian sheekh kabab, was again spot on. The meat was tender, well seasoned and flavoured, and most important of all, the meat wasn't dry (most common issue with most sheekh kebabs in Bangalore). The baked aurbergine was good! So much so that Mr. P, who initially wanted to go with the mozzarella fritters, was actually polishing the thing off. But we did agree that the tomato confit and/or the added tomato puree on top made the dish a little too acidic. The hash browns on the side were quite a treat (if you're a fan of hash browns).<br />
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Mezze platter with falafels, muhammara, and hummus</div>
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Kefta kebabs with tzatziki</div>
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Baked aubergine with tomato confit</div>
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The <b>chicken with Prama ham and sage</b> was a nice little package. However, I don't think this is available on the menu now. Sad, because if you like and appreciate subtlety in flavours, then the marriage between the sage and the chicken with the ham is something that you should try. The <b>grilled jumbo prawns</b> were good, but I have an issue with jumbo prawns - I don't like the smell of the shells. Only of the jumbo prawns. I know! Weird, but true. The meat itself was sweet and nice, but when it comes in the shell...boy! not happening I tell you. A Thin crust pizza is always a delight, and Turquoise makes a mean thin crust pizza. Since every time I visited the place I was with a sizable number of vegetarians, I ended having the same vegetarian pizza every time - the<b> fig and ricotta cheese pizza</b>. Leaving aside the disappointment that there wasn't any meat on the pizza, the pizza by itself was soooo good! <br />
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Chicken with Parma ham and sage</div>
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Grilled jumbo prawns (day's special)</div>
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Fig and ricotta pizza</div>
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For the mains, there are a multitude of pasta options that you can choose from. Mr. P had the <b>raviolini stuffed with spinach and ricotta</b> and it was quite superb. The tomato and asparagus sauce though was a little too acidic - not sure if that particular batch of tomatoes had a higher level of acidity or what. The <b>braised pork belly on a bed of red cabbage</b> was divine. As hard as I tried to find a fault here, I couldn't! To nit-pick, the fat had peeled off the meat and for some reason the meat tasted better WITHOUT the fat (I know some people who aren't too find of pork fat), but when the fat isn't giving you the jollies, something's gotta be up! The red cabbage underneath was simply to die for. Pickled, or made sour, the acidity was the perfect balance to the pork. The <b>fish Florentine, rolled and stuffed with spinach and mushroom</b> is quite easily one of the best fish dishes I've had...it's right up there at the top. The rolling of the fish without breaking it is quite remarkable (it may be a simple, commonly known thing, but was a first for me), and the stuffing complimented the fish perfectly.<br />
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Braised pork belly on a bed of red cabbage</div>
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Fish Florentine</div>
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Spinach and ricotta raviolini</div>
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Another of the vegetarian dishes we had was the <b>grilled eggplant rolled in parmigiano</b>. I seem to have developed a liking for eggplant in the last few years, but somehow I just didn't think this worked for me, although Mr. P thought it was quite good. <br />
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Grilled eggplant rolled in parmigiano</div>
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The desserts we had every time were fabulous, especially the Pavlova. The first time, we ordered the <b>Turquoise trio</b> - <b>chocolate pâté</b>, <b>crème brûlée</b>, and <b>Pavlova</b>. The chocolate pâté was sinful and rich, and had the perfect soft texture with the right amount of 'butteriness' (sorry, my vocab eludes me now). Typically, pâtés are made from ground meat (liver being the most common) along with some fat. So in other words, pâtés are slightly heavier, or denser that a mousse. Now imagine that with pure chocolate. Pure delight.<br />
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The crème brûlée had the perfect crust, and the inside 'custard' was baked just right. We were actually jostling and sparring with our dessert spoons to see who gets a little more of the crème brûlée. I'd never had a Pavlova until then, but I'd seen enough of it on Master Chef Australia, so I had a fair idea of what it ought to have been like, and it was. The meringue was nice, the base was crispy, and light. The only dip in an otherwise consistent graph was the <b>mango mascarpone mousse</b> - not because it wasn't good, but because the rest of the dishes were far better. Also, it seemed a little too gelatinous for my liking. <br />
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(L-R) Chocolate pâté, crème brûlée, Pavlova</div>
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Mango mascarpone mousse</div>
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C<span style="text-align: justify;">rème brûlée</span></div>
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After three visits to the place, and with consistent levels of service and quality of food, I can happily say that Turquoise - The European is a place to be.<br />
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Also, if you're reading this, from the month of June, I have made it a point to post at least 2 posts per month, pushing for 3 a month. Should I not achieve that target by the end of each month, the first person to point it out to me through any media will win a free lunch. OK scratch that, we'll make it 600 bucks off a meal you have. We'll work on the 'how' once this actually happens.<br />
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<b>Food</b>: Very good<br />
<b>$$$</b>: Expensive (~ 800 per person). I think the pricing could hurt them in the long run in spite of the quality of the food.<br />
<b>Service</b>: Decent<br />
<b>Verdict</b>: Must visit<br />
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<i>Turquoise - The European, 9, 2nd Floor, Above Mom & Me, 1st A Cross, 5th Block, Koramangala, Bangalore. Phone: 65776588, 9739942912 </i>
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</div>Karthik Shettyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07215763312804913735noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3443025594801880119.post-35133368929299022662012-02-25T00:39:00.029+05:302012-03-19T15:35:55.238+05:30The Fat Chef<div align="justify"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYOdHlE9FdlW9iK35_KZnsk_GrpNAc6rxAdwGRmDlDGO6sEHXnmdpg0TmfyY1WTMSkfwTJdY0TjzAnvv63HThg6DxFRSy0G7f3KvYgrqJcVWHH1SsWkR9rG3ywI5xW6gIvR2TW7S9v59ge/s1600/DSC_5326-21.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 141px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYOdHlE9FdlW9iK35_KZnsk_GrpNAc6rxAdwGRmDlDGO6sEHXnmdpg0TmfyY1WTMSkfwTJdY0TjzAnvv63HThg6DxFRSy0G7f3KvYgrqJcVWHH1SsWkR9rG3ywI5xW6gIvR2TW7S9v59ge/s200/DSC_5326-21.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5713667056953046418" /></a>Just to emphasize, this blog is <b>NOT</b> dead! Although it's quite an old post, and I thought I'd write in the usual style (what style?), I decided to go with a more 'editorial' approach, just for a change (not that I particularly like this style or anything). A few months ago I'd visited The Fat Chef - the phrase apparently refers to the owner, who is a rather 'healthy' chef - is located next to the Jagriti theatre on Varthur Road in the Whitefield area. Notice how us folks from areas that we consider to be within the city refer to Whitefield as the Whitefield area - that's because not only do we not know where it starts and where it ends, even the residents there don't!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQThRpRu4Ik7_qlWIPXg7HU5m7BUKuC9ITwByFXLqZSeYYwaTIS8psuMj9R-yQxNkNawEHcRRhgM1oX822s4fkQjBy-9EF123Xr9fBAMk-luPUlEPJ73zQcx1VkT02WwIPOKcvvSPeQsjp/s1600/DSC_5339-21.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 134px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQThRpRu4Ik7_qlWIPXg7HU5m7BUKuC9ITwByFXLqZSeYYwaTIS8psuMj9R-yQxNkNawEHcRRhgM1oX822s4fkQjBy-9EF123Xr9fBAMk-luPUlEPJ73zQcx1VkT02WwIPOKcvvSPeQsjp/s200/DSC_5339-21.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5713668017529095874" /></a>The Fat Chef may be off traditional 'restaurant zones' within the city, the new settlements springing up around the periphery of the city seem to swear by this place. And why not! The restaurant is located within the Jagriti complex, and adjoins a small lawn. Seating is both indoors as well as outdoors, and both options give you sufficient space, light, and a semblance of well-being. White interiors make the place seem that much more well lit, and the place has decent ventilation and is almost always cool. And did I mention that the restaurant's menu is chalked up on a blackboard? This just goes on to add to the charm of the place.<br /><br />The food at The Fat Chef is mixture of Mediterranean and Western European food. Among the starters, you would do well if you stuck to the nachos, baked stuffed mushrooms, sauteed prawns in coriander, Vietnamese rolls, and chicken wings. The beer battered prawns is a much touted dish, but I feel it's the coriander prawns that score higher simply because of the flavour. Also, I'm not a big fan of batter frying meats because it can so easily mask the actual taste of the meat if not done right. Among the salads, the watermelon, feta and olive salad is a must have. Light, refreshing, and tasty, this should be on our list irrespective of whether you are a weight watcher or not.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOcMdTmJPB7_kN_ZkNAFwnRyGfmVhKdnt7siXH43y5PT5_g6TXdfB0gHjhff2VvdTrC2izUHiM02ZUGxVEZGT3ELZ3jZcgUb5CQITfgeaYrASm_RjM1aqtJuywalkEyAkqiHMgbiqqaSI_/s1600/DSC_5364-21.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 235px; height: 145px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOcMdTmJPB7_kN_ZkNAFwnRyGfmVhKdnt7siXH43y5PT5_g6TXdfB0gHjhff2VvdTrC2izUHiM02ZUGxVEZGT3ELZ3jZcgUb5CQITfgeaYrASm_RjM1aqtJuywalkEyAkqiHMgbiqqaSI_/s320/DSC_5364-21.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5713669136177906018" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilV72d2Gvw2OJRg9Z1SUoYpd4Obxfno0WgPIrJVyDh7mfgHaMIul8KGAW2StQaX-LX5QcFt4uVTYBjanZA6mGkg2NYHdkA5kbIry3fsa8tyhpLBhF4OIX55QoQ7qbUF_94flKlUeAcraXv/s1600/DSC_5141-11.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 235px; height: 140px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilV72d2Gvw2OJRg9Z1SUoYpd4Obxfno0WgPIrJVyDh7mfgHaMIul8KGAW2StQaX-LX5QcFt4uVTYBjanZA6mGkg2NYHdkA5kbIry3fsa8tyhpLBhF4OIX55QoQ7qbUF_94flKlUeAcraXv/s320/DSC_5141-11.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5713669913272146706" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHvN4VDIqY-K99eKvDEd44LTUwNaNSa3O3q99q6fiJZVMgEoa-vkZW2T-A1e5iJyOoqt4RVlCb_bmIfDqj4Fn6jGvd2EtwB4t4bF9OisuGL658EuR8p5gHgW7E0FonBN1hTXv8SDmTDQ1P/s1600/DSC_5145-1.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 235px; height: 140px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHvN4VDIqY-K99eKvDEd44LTUwNaNSa3O3q99q6fiJZVMgEoa-vkZW2T-A1e5iJyOoqt4RVlCb_bmIfDqj4Fn6jGvd2EtwB4t4bF9OisuGL658EuR8p5gHgW7E0FonBN1hTXv8SDmTDQ1P/s320/DSC_5145-1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5713670943884722434" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdVW1jlhLJ9ZdOtivSH-1R4lRMxfceECujia0EkYdMA9b9QrnQavvbZ-KKP6QhXOFQK2ywc8PApRkqVaQppW04OxSkaD4drLBIizLoVE96QPzTuBsROYF7t2oqlrHns9DBmJgGyIvLwa3X/s1600/DSC_5347-21.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 235px; height: 140px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdVW1jlhLJ9ZdOtivSH-1R4lRMxfceECujia0EkYdMA9b9QrnQavvbZ-KKP6QhXOFQK2ywc8PApRkqVaQppW04OxSkaD4drLBIizLoVE96QPzTuBsROYF7t2oqlrHns9DBmJgGyIvLwa3X/s320/DSC_5347-21.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5713771716901624290" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-xHNIzyrR1GNi-HksT8JRsn4zuVcbR0kbAfVRgJN9mNnW6I_wkLJwAYOOHHr5XStZ2kw0QqwDb84WtlKpLQOgKpRHX2v3T56KPo8qpiWAAe8FZJqpKtXKTTKl5xLzCULp249_aKeKgEDC/s1600/DSC_5348-21.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 289px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-xHNIzyrR1GNi-HksT8JRsn4zuVcbR0kbAfVRgJN9mNnW6I_wkLJwAYOOHHr5XStZ2kw0QqwDb84WtlKpLQOgKpRHX2v3T56KPo8qpiWAAe8FZJqpKtXKTTKl5xLzCULp249_aKeKgEDC/s400/DSC_5348-21.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5721438485099600258" /></a><br />The chicken wings with a barbecue sauce flavoured coating is also a superb starter if you don't mind having starters that have bones in them. For the vegetarians, the sauteed mushrooms is another decent option.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfDp3Hs9yDgvtZnF1wr23OO0clYi8PGItPKFftIC_xsS79Iw3XQG2ANcZOjAgedb_UPVF-DiyZcNgtpMLIbQmMkx5Z-FbPncv3Eqect_5YIrR5KW7JD1AFUH35QrW2ajv7AsyH-PAjj19q/s1600/DSC_5160-11.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 284px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfDp3Hs9yDgvtZnF1wr23OO0clYi8PGItPKFftIC_xsS79Iw3XQG2ANcZOjAgedb_UPVF-DiyZcNgtpMLIbQmMkx5Z-FbPncv3Eqect_5YIrR5KW7JD1AFUH35QrW2ajv7AsyH-PAjj19q/s400/DSC_5160-11.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5721531762956535490" /></a><br />For the main course, if you want something light, then the crepes or the grilled fish are the way to go. If not, then the lasagna, chicken casserole, or the steaks, or even one of the pastas are perhaps options that could satisfy you. There's also quite a decent selection of wine on offer, so if you're a wine lover, then do look up the list.<br /><br />The fish curry and rice is a wonderful curry-rice combo if you like rice. And in fact, if you don't want to try pastas and other such dishes, I would suggest you go ahead and try this dish - it was finger lickin' good. The ratatouille, on the other hand, was a little insipid in flavour.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx1jQHsrPPIGW-ZVIe2ax3iAgelDvhq9nQclnb-JyIlI6aLDzapb2Lcyg_bO3AsdAr04A_d31zn7CYMvM4Lv0aolxAs1bFMicbmRg0DSbOPspcZNNA0f4wI3cxGO4AVk-7KvahvrJDuZwa/s1600/DSC_5167-11.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 218px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx1jQHsrPPIGW-ZVIe2ax3iAgelDvhq9nQclnb-JyIlI6aLDzapb2Lcyg_bO3AsdAr04A_d31zn7CYMvM4Lv0aolxAs1bFMicbmRg0DSbOPspcZNNA0f4wI3cxGO4AVk-7KvahvrJDuZwa/s400/DSC_5167-11.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5721532653531331986" /></a><center>Ratatouille</center><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipsYXv7BJUmze8ZhAOJCWmdGGyXh64xNECUGegXnMsQWY-wjq-6IIXNfgmPxTwJhGwQQ4EGxBCgYhDc9cbBwxMbt7Ut58eHV6H1zmyUTYE6DWK5FaTvuW7Ql4GaTbxMQXNyfP23iffNBJ6/s1600/DSC_5174-11.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 277px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipsYXv7BJUmze8ZhAOJCWmdGGyXh64xNECUGegXnMsQWY-wjq-6IIXNfgmPxTwJhGwQQ4EGxBCgYhDc9cbBwxMbt7Ut58eHV6H1zmyUTYE6DWK5FaTvuW7Ql4GaTbxMQXNyfP23iffNBJ6/s400/DSC_5174-11.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5721532658019752386" /></a><center>Indian fish curry with rice</center><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNIPOAfxKmGNOAy3M4DSlWXvWgD3pfbyZvWLXx65K-0H2BAGqayCHt6Se_rGuporU43FnybiMxQfq-qKOs0FlPtVcu1h6Vk2VW_YUBy_ryvSmzK749xtxD_EaQCpMzdqNVE2xJIHXLzmZa/s1600/DSC_5374-21.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNIPOAfxKmGNOAy3M4DSlWXvWgD3pfbyZvWLXx65K-0H2BAGqayCHt6Se_rGuporU43FnybiMxQfq-qKOs0FlPtVcu1h6Vk2VW_YUBy_ryvSmzK749xtxD_EaQCpMzdqNVE2xJIHXLzmZa/s400/DSC_5374-21.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5721532676219077090" /></a><center>Chicken breast stuffed with cheese</center><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjHTg20CdkHuv4WS4tE57uUIb5tQR8W_-AskZHgCTNCIQuXMhbjqKigvLwNi3ymeQbQq5Ha3P0biRJS1IS6TNiRX92xsJk6cEZPFe6D-OWGmKX6qt054f5vbLKwkRI41Q5JbRdPRcLdmlH/s1600/DSC_5181-11.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 255px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjHTg20CdkHuv4WS4tE57uUIb5tQR8W_-AskZHgCTNCIQuXMhbjqKigvLwNi3ymeQbQq5Ha3P0biRJS1IS6TNiRX92xsJk6cEZPFe6D-OWGmKX6qt054f5vbLKwkRI41Q5JbRdPRcLdmlH/s400/DSC_5181-11.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5721532670902000594" /></a><center>Veg lasagna</center><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_hiBj3dGFFGqG1QpFVUxe4ZsslJB1kriG9fFAU_xnBR1MlZoP6eAH45ZSvmo-KMg32edeItZvvITo9I8aeGKFLsM73GIjiXeVbY2oOl4i_5NUTy_Bao7KQ_2GXA7v4ZdfCOm-alZ008iR/s1600/DSC_5177-11.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_hiBj3dGFFGqG1QpFVUxe4ZsslJB1kriG9fFAU_xnBR1MlZoP6eAH45ZSvmo-KMg32edeItZvvITo9I8aeGKFLsM73GIjiXeVbY2oOl4i_5NUTy_Bao7KQ_2GXA7v4ZdfCOm-alZ008iR/s400/DSC_5177-11.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5721532664420782434" /></a><center>Lemon grilled chicken</center><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwMoadzM0hN7OI0HpQjrhZ-SO4lpsTDmlxB2j_cyKORANacvnii0h_FKPXo5-fbxg-dRBqFxDAuvqwRQIo0UAOgseUzAHZSM2SqG9nEA8NOmQs8Erc6s6pIVXQilVenJIHZLyTvsXnG8w_/s1600/DSC_5378-21.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 273px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwMoadzM0hN7OI0HpQjrhZ-SO4lpsTDmlxB2j_cyKORANacvnii0h_FKPXo5-fbxg-dRBqFxDAuvqwRQIo0UAOgseUzAHZSM2SqG9nEA8NOmQs8Erc6s6pIVXQilVenJIHZLyTvsXnG8w_/s400/DSC_5378-21.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5721544944108696754" /></a><center>Grilled fish</center><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyLb-7OKQeuYK78jbbV59g2m3ruJB2r3fSPHsHQQrsu_hhtl42DoawgO5IislcM4WnA-Lz5_X6Vzkoa-dPmFvGv8aDw0WBJUnofmsjdytp5Er0YytdOPf1w50H0RXCf7DuceLu_MUsvI6r/s1600/DSC_5381-21.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 284px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyLb-7OKQeuYK78jbbV59g2m3ruJB2r3fSPHsHQQrsu_hhtl42DoawgO5IislcM4WnA-Lz5_X6Vzkoa-dPmFvGv8aDw0WBJUnofmsjdytp5Er0YytdOPf1w50H0RXCf7DuceLu_MUsvI6r/s400/DSC_5381-21.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5721544955726899682" /></a><center>Mutton curry with rice</center><br />The chicken breast stuffed with cheese is nice, but the cheese is just way too powerful and completely dominates the dish. You'd do well to ask them to go easy on the cheese. However, I'd prefer if they used a milder cheese. The veg lasagna was nice and a very satisfying dish, both in terms of quantity as well as taste. The lemon grilled chicken was very nicely done, but a little too lemony for my liking. The mutton curry with rice, just like the fish curry, was a smashing super hit with everyone at the table.<br /><br />For dessert, it's a bit of a lottery. You need to make sure you place an order soon because desserts are in limited quantity on display.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHm562qqntKznrmHG39m9skbzDSA0EON45KAN5kRNBG6GqVRo39nlN_ph290r7ec21siWem3dHLZIknqitJPtLqvhJHgZ1H1j-EgWVN4CSVhcBUZuJ0lMbbc-Lgay3QU_nv1_BLK0QR0Fc/s1600/DSC_5402-21.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHm562qqntKznrmHG39m9skbzDSA0EON45KAN5kRNBG6GqVRo39nlN_ph290r7ec21siWem3dHLZIknqitJPtLqvhJHgZ1H1j-EgWVN4CSVhcBUZuJ0lMbbc-Lgay3QU_nv1_BLK0QR0Fc/s400/DSC_5402-21.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5721547067896492642" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE0IxP5K3_2NSbXHP7lkHkpc4YoHUxJY3O8CJ1hwD-tO72x8vpvwSV2vfXAsRtJ8G5iQcMLO9bBZR0peM5wd7lMjW8mQlCFYV241iTWEsmYmTvM8KlpRhZDxNB4oEtSJPawlenUbaK8CyV/s1600/DSC_5188-11.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 281px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE0IxP5K3_2NSbXHP7lkHkpc4YoHUxJY3O8CJ1hwD-tO72x8vpvwSV2vfXAsRtJ8G5iQcMLO9bBZR0peM5wd7lMjW8mQlCFYV241iTWEsmYmTvM8KlpRhZDxNB4oEtSJPawlenUbaK8CyV/s400/DSC_5188-11.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5721547063325097682" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNJjE6_Pi4cSINoeEs8IvKP7TdT4dFbxMfLq4B2ZXe2-gb6OdKNRMzQyL6-t2GMM_okRC0wfB5iMze1ijdiD6ctH79PzxHUWpCo2TWYT8ZMSHx2bQXYAviqn-bdTQwRHG83MSbKoriRkl5/s1600/DSC_5182-11.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 308px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNJjE6_Pi4cSINoeEs8IvKP7TdT4dFbxMfLq4B2ZXe2-gb6OdKNRMzQyL6-t2GMM_okRC0wfB5iMze1ijdiD6ctH79PzxHUWpCo2TWYT8ZMSHx2bQXYAviqn-bdTQwRHG83MSbKoriRkl5/s400/DSC_5182-11.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5721547059909829314" /></a><br />Service can be a little dodgy on weekends when they're running full, but otherwise, for the best part, the restaurant staff are fairly well informed about most of the details of most dishes. The owners, Mayur (The Fat chef himself) and Vandana can be seen doing the rounds and you could very well ask them your queries. Overall, very good ambiance, and if you can stomach the drive till that corner of town, the food should feel just fine in the stomach.<br /><br /><em>The Fat Chef, 5/2A, Jagrithi, Ramagondanahalli, Varthur Main Road, Whitefield, Bangalore. Phone: 080 40992981, 080 40992982.</em><br /></div>Karthik Shettyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07215763312804913735noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3443025594801880119.post-61762719019140957682012-02-05T09:46:00.005+05:302012-02-05T10:16:02.229+05:30Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk<div align="justify">Foof! The last 2-3 months have been insane in terms of the amount of work - I guess this is typical of how things are when you join a new workplace, and more so when it's a startup :)<br /><br />So after the impressive campaign to launch their product 'Silk' (no Smitha, this is chocolate!), Cadbury has come out with another variant called Silk - Orange Peel. If you're the kind who loves a fruity flavour added to your chocolate fix craving, then this might actually help. The balance between the orange pulp flavour and the bitterness of the zest seems to be balanced, but then again, this could be subjective.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1hH6gOt4LNSgEHAacYhRNzURCD7V-1VW1NO0V3PlfAP6hdTxr4B9TCEpcP3RkyiQ-OWZeT2oFsPRtrvMNzqbL8Hbt6MYnQAf1Ke4UBVZmVkOl95Y4gUONiazNi4xMQRiuQluw9KwL4slg/s1600/Cadbury+Silk.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 284px; height: 400px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5705502186415634930" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1hH6gOt4LNSgEHAacYhRNzURCD7V-1VW1NO0V3PlfAP6hdTxr4B9TCEpcP3RkyiQ-OWZeT2oFsPRtrvMNzqbL8Hbt6MYnQAf1Ke4UBVZmVkOl95Y4gUONiazNi4xMQRiuQluw9KwL4slg/s400/Cadbury+Silk.jpg" /></a><br />The TV ad is a decent one, and although I'm not too sure I followed the ad fully, it was a nicely made one.<br /><br /><center><iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/jRCTcUh-XOc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center><br /><br />Personally, I like to have some dark chocolate as well, and I keep waiting for the day when dark chocolate in a higher percentage is introduced by Cadbury (in the Bournville series perhaps), so that I don't have to spend the extra bucks on imported brands like Lindt.<br /><br /></div>Karthik Shettyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07215763312804913735noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3443025594801880119.post-46670563230155643652011-12-06T22:49:00.006+05:302011-12-30T15:45:52.278+05:30Chinese Feasts<div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzGj6Q81ZIeNHeMQbEWN9mJjVfzFIZvrEWzORTSn1hiSdcYHdUedRx3waoT3xlruMghGeVg8KQEIzNfocraop976TRUa0tcJLSoJRzw-o2krLGpjiGIm7bu4O267dvqNUQstKNkE3w28rr/s1600/DSC_5240-11.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="text-align: justify;float: left; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 225px; " src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzGj6Q81ZIeNHeMQbEWN9mJjVfzFIZvrEWzORTSn1hiSdcYHdUedRx3waoT3xlruMghGeVg8KQEIzNfocraop976TRUa0tcJLSoJRzw-o2krLGpjiGIm7bu4O267dvqNUQstKNkE3w28rr/s320/DSC_5240-11.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5687502766083038786" /></a>Chinese Feasts was a restaurant on MM Road in Frazer Town, in the not-so-busy part of MM Road. And before I start off about this experience, I have to state that I've been told Chinese Feasts has closed - the owner was having problems with the rent being raised exponentially by the landlord. Sometime in the month of October, I was invited by my friend Chung Tham (a third gen Chinese Indian) for dinner along with his family at a restaurant that is owned by a person of Chinese origin, and we were going to be eating some real Hakka Chinese food, and not the MSG loaded and/or manchurian dishes we usually get at most 'Chinese' joints.<br /><br />We started off our meal with a soup - battered meatball (beef) soup with tiny shrimps in them as well. The beef is 'battered' - actually, thrown against the walls of a steel bowl repeatedly. the tenderisation that happens and the resultant texture is different from what you get using a meat tenderiser. The meat is them rolled into meatballs and cooked and added to the soup. When I tasted it, I was amazed to note that the texture was actually more tender that traditional meatballs that I've eaten. Since the dishes served were all off the menu, I don't know the exact name.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgys2Tkz9r42jtpwjCF2fez-kImu9o09C4XRMR2Q7F7qLRbGslxCxkFXu4M72c5-5itVHwMpoTGMCkN0hXhsfPmN_PM38gGIfWzUIryT8PEsm1tMDMly8AURnHtqO7VrLUhu1fGP6eIajng/s1600/DSC_5242-11.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="text-align: justify;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 278px; " src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgys2Tkz9r42jtpwjCF2fez-kImu9o09C4XRMR2Q7F7qLRbGslxCxkFXu4M72c5-5itVHwMpoTGMCkN0hXhsfPmN_PM38gGIfWzUIryT8PEsm1tMDMly8AURnHtqO7VrLUhu1fGP6eIajng/s400/DSC_5242-11.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5687503989216507042" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpyoPqVn1sHr15zOMvgXOrofyoArDP_ORJoyDquFZfVggOA59lI1JapAVBpUUQVVVbSuhdphLbCbZoj-_-0vLyoINBccvt_kfm51KwQ51KknBgpsMi-0zJ_MDQt0VDtVcWoyNAvkXBC9dC/s1600/DSC_5244-11.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="text-align: justify;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 286px; " src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpyoPqVn1sHr15zOMvgXOrofyoArDP_ORJoyDquFZfVggOA59lI1JapAVBpUUQVVVbSuhdphLbCbZoj-_-0vLyoINBccvt_kfm51KwQ51KknBgpsMi-0zJ_MDQt0VDtVcWoyNAvkXBC9dC/s400/DSC_5244-11.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5687503994428269906" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd-TdFjeV2leR4x40pcIMp57UYWMfwNi__V8_rQS3UN7dD-8YnHqCjxzm-bhBi9KilJrtTSR2xsmNLT_RBxsZB3T6xfs2WOdC-y1nCO9fMFk0KlNlAZjXTigKeQp6VkvEkkRhn4VbvrBAz/s1600/DSC_5246-11.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="text-align: justify;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 319px; " src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd-TdFjeV2leR4x40pcIMp57UYWMfwNi__V8_rQS3UN7dD-8YnHqCjxzm-bhBi9KilJrtTSR2xsmNLT_RBxsZB3T6xfs2WOdC-y1nCO9fMFk0KlNlAZjXTigKeQp6VkvEkkRhn4VbvrBAz/s400/DSC_5246-11.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5687503999859890642" /></a><center>Chinese tea</center><br /><br />The next appetiser was pan-fried chicken momos. This one had fillings that tasted quite nice, but I wasn't too sure why they pan-fried it when steaming it was an option. I didn't ask that though. I guess I'll never know now :)<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-FshkTcBzQMKJhnUTMG0vbY8SC7Xu0BE_FuktfUj7A2BX2-GfCsPgfzVe_pcD8knhmXCHxwnqYRO6u_lkR2KB1BdLLTSLKosKEY4WsHKsJExQtUeW5yxtl-1SXWPDe1SZ1otPQTCGr6pv/s1600/DSC_5249-11.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="text-align: justify;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px; " src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-FshkTcBzQMKJhnUTMG0vbY8SC7Xu0BE_FuktfUj7A2BX2-GfCsPgfzVe_pcD8knhmXCHxwnqYRO6u_lkR2KB1BdLLTSLKosKEY4WsHKsJExQtUeW5yxtl-1SXWPDe1SZ1otPQTCGr6pv/s400/DSC_5249-11.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5687504005368987794" /></a><center>Chicken pan-fried momos</center><br />The food just kept on coming. We were served a chicken dish that had a sauce that seemed a mix of tomato, vinegar, ginger and chillies. The ginger though was pungent and strong, but was a more mellow. The addition of sesame seeds, to me, seemed unnecessary, but who cares - the dish tasted great. Chinese version of chilli chicken!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgfppleU0-q0FievxPHP8NeRGs3x8ikAzCjXTEuADmtmjwOJhTFm5s6ywyolzN2LSFQo5tGEB4kV6f4PAqVjGdNnxzjTAmi1OEdRcoK56ok58qIOUmmX6MsnxA1bkm-ciei3jmYIREidjO/s1600/DSC_5263-11.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="text-align: justify;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px; " src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgfppleU0-q0FievxPHP8NeRGs3x8ikAzCjXTEuADmtmjwOJhTFm5s6ywyolzN2LSFQo5tGEB4kV6f4PAqVjGdNnxzjTAmi1OEdRcoK56ok58qIOUmmX6MsnxA1bkm-ciei3jmYIREidjO/s400/DSC_5263-11.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5687505038827981986" /></a><center style="text-align: justify;">Chilli chicken</center><br />The chicken was followed by fish - again, in a sauce that was more glazed, but the fish was very nicely cooked, and came apart very easily in the mouth. The flavour wasn't spicy, and was more sweet, but it made for a wonderful balance with the other dishes. The fish was followed by another cousin from the sea, prawns, in a coriander gravy, and this was absolutely yummy.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRaaLO9KImhZGxARUrLMfBQo9v-vCWV1HrjBI9nDoXZMweGOTzJEkq_52Tozlv0IAm_KCoF3I6JNNwsXXOo6bxDt0KrrAk0ksBtsqmvlAl4vDv5e-cJZJM_i_k8W8isK3bhefMvUSO0PhF/s1600/DSC_5264-11.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="text-align: justify;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 276px; " src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRaaLO9KImhZGxARUrLMfBQo9v-vCWV1HrjBI9nDoXZMweGOTzJEkq_52Tozlv0IAm_KCoF3I6JNNwsXXOo6bxDt0KrrAk0ksBtsqmvlAl4vDv5e-cJZJM_i_k8W8isK3bhefMvUSO0PhF/s400/DSC_5264-11.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5687505046630442786" /></a><center>Fish</center><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzqRV28ze9SnDjb9W7ZigLEO70ThWCpb5Mxh4ORiz1n_jIJMG2TdwQ9ICmk29nsJ-8Ez65glqAldsjUsTVUMa9WNGqGy9OOK3beLCV2MgRRUISRKt_CHOLGbdW9SgZQZCii8L66GIpdp0l/s1600/DSC_5265-11.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="text-align: justify;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 322px; " src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzqRV28ze9SnDjb9W7ZigLEO70ThWCpb5Mxh4ORiz1n_jIJMG2TdwQ9ICmk29nsJ-8Ez65glqAldsjUsTVUMa9WNGqGy9OOK3beLCV2MgRRUISRKt_CHOLGbdW9SgZQZCii8L66GIpdp0l/s400/DSC_5265-11.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5687505058897096866" /></a><center>Coriander prawns</center><br />A stir fry and a couple of bowls noodles later, we were almost purring in pure delight and satisfaction.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifLDvrM-qHMOn1rZE6I6e_h9i5n2AJIplGQ4ffdG2ruSwhBLH1EBcj-_PsrftMn-QFHiAqsZbRZQHZrw6zUbBUk9hXQSc6CW0esUqH_4s0jBOKQ_ta9xzq69-PnEaAHONuu13oNLmLx86T/s1600/DSC_5255-11.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="text-align: justify;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 275px; " src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifLDvrM-qHMOn1rZE6I6e_h9i5n2AJIplGQ4ffdG2ruSwhBLH1EBcj-_PsrftMn-QFHiAqsZbRZQHZrw6zUbBUk9hXQSc6CW0esUqH_4s0jBOKQ_ta9xzq69-PnEaAHONuu13oNLmLx86T/s400/DSC_5255-11.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5687505031348622610" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipMxKDcNsSIMBH9AeLN7nhkjQIetGAMg-TzGJu4V1w45XU3BMgzN5QsywDmVkgSPKh1r0bAWGs4lfOY002ksEfLJzFWCovq3gyNu2XjTQ0B8QA4Ux2VeWSUW9ic55UqyEdhOvNR8qntBXC/s1600/DSC_5252-11.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="text-align: justify;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 254px; " src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipMxKDcNsSIMBH9AeLN7nhkjQIetGAMg-TzGJu4V1w45XU3BMgzN5QsywDmVkgSPKh1r0bAWGs4lfOY002ksEfLJzFWCovq3gyNu2XjTQ0B8QA4Ux2VeWSUW9ic55UqyEdhOvNR8qntBXC/s400/DSC_5252-11.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5687504019081130546" /></a><br />It's too bad that <span style="font-weight:bold;">Chinese Feasts has closed down</span>. Would've been great to have the restaurant around, but I'm glad I got to visit it at least once.<br /><br /></div>Karthik Shettyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07215763312804913735noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3443025594801880119.post-82321165806745003952011-10-30T12:03:00.008+05:302011-11-15T09:33:07.310+05:30European Art of Taste - Via Milano<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2hseBiwYPOydPuZO_7c3tzuaUOtuD7h4QShH3RK1z0_oGqiIe07cVmp8WWV08P3-cXlJhQYSWffar2U-jgSe3FZ0xDNuspoh-HqzZ6FqegBkp3RXQConBNM_pVZgWHqSP4Ye5Y4zfi6Ls/s1600/DSC_5317-11.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 112px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2hseBiwYPOydPuZO_7c3tzuaUOtuD7h4QShH3RK1z0_oGqiIe07cVmp8WWV08P3-cXlJhQYSWffar2U-jgSe3FZ0xDNuspoh-HqzZ6FqegBkp3RXQConBNM_pVZgWHqSP4Ye5Y4zfi6Ls/s200/DSC_5317-11.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673053366945143090" border="0" /></a>The second event of the European Art of Taste (EAT) was held at Via Milano, and this was a more fun event. It was a cook off for home cooks, and the cuisine was... obviously Italian! The idea was the showcase Italian food and cooking using some prime ingredients like olive oil and pasta. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsROiaaByy1GBcMyZE3L7-gvPZxyjBr670bb5Wi08DQbzjgAvOE34J7T8jJDrOosmwJOPbQgdi5mteH9Fff0PmT4b1nK7iwvG1Hsf0xmsUPAIl4hLDPDcvfG2SuPQ9kH8NkstJuP-rwE-e/s1600/DSC_5319-11.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsROiaaByy1GBcMyZE3L7-gvPZxyjBr670bb5Wi08DQbzjgAvOE34J7T8jJDrOosmwJOPbQgdi5mteH9Fff0PmT4b1nK7iwvG1Hsf0xmsUPAIl4hLDPDcvfG2SuPQ9kH8NkstJuP-rwE-e/s320/DSC_5319-11.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673054205487546674" /></a>Chef Gianfranco Angelillo of Italy was down to show Italian food at its simplest and evocative best. Via Milano was the venue where the good chef would demonstrate how to prepare four dishes and then the contestants would have to replicate one of the dishes based on the one they drew from lots. So what did I have to do in all this? Why, I was one of the judges, of course! Along with Nisha Millet, the former swimming champion. The contestants were a bunch of random people and teams were formed by mixing the people to form heterogeneous groups. The image on the right is of Chef Gianfranco prepping for one of the pasta dishes - penne in a mushroom ragù. Mind you, the Italian ragù is quite different from the French ragout. While the latter is generally a main dish stew, the former is sauce made by simmering meat with finely chopped vegetables.<br /><br />The event was a fun event, and all the participants had a gala time, and as judge, I had a splendid time, first tasting the dishes made by Chef Angellilo, and then tasting those made by the contestants. The hardest part Nisha Millet and I had was selecting the winner, and after constantly reworking our scores, we settled on a team for first and second place.<br /><br />Below is a set of photographs of what Chef Angellilo prepared. Simple, and tasty.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiQpqFYASlGw8-Wv04hHYEgTGBswZXrjcoqV7IlOXGFlKKfXN1VtVR5zasmTsurRB8OrXgtwITe0bMWUsdT9YA25ymeC-HjZgAhLHizn0WcygSQw1BI-hnHlSY5UVQY0MT9J8Xmfb1m-fb/s1600/DSC_5321-11.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 206px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiQpqFYASlGw8-Wv04hHYEgTGBswZXrjcoqV7IlOXGFlKKfXN1VtVR5zasmTsurRB8OrXgtwITe0bMWUsdT9YA25ymeC-HjZgAhLHizn0WcygSQw1BI-hnHlSY5UVQY0MT9J8Xmfb1m-fb/s320/DSC_5321-11.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673057826510975074" /></a><center>Sautéing the mushrooms</center><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMV5UPQK4QOaYWfYE5Vbs9UPnQxLZH4S9XnxmXUJefKUAgLpbP1XGhyX_6kwjVAWNdL2xPg_U8iLPllnr-NUUAfQH0d-c7oP6xf6fB8YI20lbHC8v7Gk_dgqkycJ1SuO0hRLS1fCj8xXfp/s1600/DSC_5328-11.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 145px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMV5UPQK4QOaYWfYE5Vbs9UPnQxLZH4S9XnxmXUJefKUAgLpbP1XGhyX_6kwjVAWNdL2xPg_U8iLPllnr-NUUAfQH0d-c7oP6xf6fB8YI20lbHC8v7Gk_dgqkycJ1SuO0hRLS1fCj8xXfp/s320/DSC_5328-11.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673057832774164338" /></a><center>In go the cherry tomatoes</center><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaK6-R9HPvZMC2YAF_7NVpFzKOBz8ZwHtITEXEOzEisCePJhGxhwfw_CSlimtEZs1suaHV_cKjTFX6oGkJIc3_VaVgYRHyCRq9BjmU9jQxXapAV-6HsN50-NcN5zHOnP74S3LIXe7-WMhH/s1600/DSC_5336-11.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 194px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaK6-R9HPvZMC2YAF_7NVpFzKOBz8ZwHtITEXEOzEisCePJhGxhwfw_CSlimtEZs1suaHV_cKjTFX6oGkJIc3_VaVgYRHyCRq9BjmU9jQxXapAV-6HsN50-NcN5zHOnP74S3LIXe7-WMhH/s320/DSC_5336-11.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673060375430197954" /></a><center>Voila! Penne with cherry tomatoes and mushrooms</center><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic6BGCJ7fjx6hElQGz9x1SBwWdNMlECdiG40yK6pwZ7V3BHF_S1tpVWDM2y51SOilixFFV9BEgp51NEx5XSc5UQlvaoAJIae5ZeyF-W9s3hyphenhyphenbAPAK0uXkEgEznmo_3GUKf8bK78sJGSo5r/s1600/DSC_5349-11.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 211px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic6BGCJ7fjx6hElQGz9x1SBwWdNMlECdiG40yK6pwZ7V3BHF_S1tpVWDM2y51SOilixFFV9BEgp51NEx5XSc5UQlvaoAJIae5ZeyF-W9s3hyphenhyphenbAPAK0uXkEgEznmo_3GUKf8bK78sJGSo5r/s320/DSC_5349-11.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673060379537131442" /></a><center>Tossing fusili in the Carbonara sauce</center><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzBsrDe_JY0_t96mlngDMZGTZF5GYjx4lmNAFen-_qfCRc9J7zVJvf7E2tW3iJBX3EqaO6sFTmctiKCKSkD0NkFgn6U56Jq5vah0Dpuau1Dg_fnAbm-9abJXCLCS8ugmJYrqWm_cGu4NdJ/s1600/DSC_5353-11.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 218px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzBsrDe_JY0_t96mlngDMZGTZF5GYjx4lmNAFen-_qfCRc9J7zVJvf7E2tW3iJBX3EqaO6sFTmctiKCKSkD0NkFgn6U56Jq5vah0Dpuau1Dg_fnAbm-9abJXCLCS8ugmJYrqWm_cGu4NdJ/s320/DSC_5353-11.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673060387291944962" /></a><center>Fusili carbonara with zucchini</center><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2msOCpdzDaNURqRkeQu7bO1-3gRAytSPEet30V8L3hRZSOY9P-bgOR7Gw9fgsTgdqupvBYhudXlN5BT2N1sUZg3vMth5ynmUK08AtEkfXx-0yEV6Z7y_wotFGwKIpZwdpo4JV6ANUqrjU/s1600/DSC_5388-11.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 298px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2msOCpdzDaNURqRkeQu7bO1-3gRAytSPEet30V8L3hRZSOY9P-bgOR7Gw9fgsTgdqupvBYhudXlN5BT2N1sUZg3vMth5ynmUK08AtEkfXx-0yEV6Z7y_wotFGwKIpZwdpo4JV6ANUqrjU/s400/DSC_5388-11.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673061091389479042" /></a><center>Crespelle - Italian crepe stuffed with squash and carrots</center><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlB2z6Di9LkZVA4huL1qq-_LeiiFnYlScK9n6Uq7Shi0LowWsqnZVk30aKh3Apeb70F8fpk0kd5hWULpkfppDxGfF3YT64y-tYrWIXyYZ7rDtkSDA25sedNBuvTWhiQm0Xwtc9am6GODSn/s1600/DSC_5365-11.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlB2z6Di9LkZVA4huL1qq-_LeiiFnYlScK9n6Uq7Shi0LowWsqnZVk30aKh3Apeb70F8fpk0kd5hWULpkfppDxGfF3YT64y-tYrWIXyYZ7rDtkSDA25sedNBuvTWhiQm0Xwtc9am6GODSn/s400/DSC_5365-11.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673061083972945922" /></a><center>Making a frittata</center><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGk9_vfkB4iPVvNKpGoEppB2GPtFYk4fqHisNdtLW0R7CIju_AtyhfJ154sdf0-QhMYkAtSPb5DnPJJwChzGSW78KAyvlEwHYN0PTELD6ACwHe7mQ1L8ZjhPR2nhawJ-fWXkQgLBj6f1HF/s1600/DSC_5375-11.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 262px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGk9_vfkB4iPVvNKpGoEppB2GPtFYk4fqHisNdtLW0R7CIju_AtyhfJ154sdf0-QhMYkAtSPb5DnPJJwChzGSW78KAyvlEwHYN0PTELD6ACwHe7mQ1L8ZjhPR2nhawJ-fWXkQgLBj6f1HF/s400/DSC_5375-11.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673061085785036978" /></a><center>Frittata with squash</center><br /><br /></div>Karthik Shettyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07215763312804913735noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3443025594801880119.post-36632116401133594412011-10-30T12:02:00.011+05:302011-11-16T10:40:31.454+05:30European Art of Taste - Caperberry<div align="justify">A few weeks back, my friend the <a href="http://foodtravelbangalore.wordpress.com">Wicked Witch of the Feast</a> invited me over to Caperberry, where there was a dinner being held to showcase Italian art and food, in association with the European Art of Taste (EAT) in conjunction with the Italian government and the EU. I was thrilled to bits, and even though this was more a Page 3-ish event, I couldn't have cared less and made sure nothing else was added to my calendar. Suman's post on this event can be <a href="http://foodtravelbangalore.wordpress.com/2011/10/31/european-art-of-taste-eating-italy/">read here</a>.<br /><br />The event was like this: art was going to be showcased, art that was inspired by food, and in turn Chef Abhijith Saha had prepared a 4-course meal that was inspired by the art (that was inspired by the food)... see where I'm going with this? :) Every dish was to be paired with a wine from the <a href="www.istitutograndimarchi.it">IGM</a>, a consortium of wine producers, and also needed to have pasta, provolone cheese, or extra virgin olive oil. Each course had two options and each diner could select which one of the dishes they'd like to be served.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMJYAFKcLQvDEtwid1OXKtUja4UmdRZwy097Qslw0Bxcp5aztE2gZHx2W8EuiWye4pHmZk81S39AKmGS_HqX8-2HgdFWKPlVOLOoPcF_pB_QByXtwUdhTWGQqXYES0TKZZ8_mvYldddEnq/s1600/DSCN0371-1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; height: 276px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5672694615168931490" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMJYAFKcLQvDEtwid1OXKtUja4UmdRZwy097Qslw0Bxcp5aztE2gZHx2W8EuiWye4pHmZk81S39AKmGS_HqX8-2HgdFWKPlVOLOoPcF_pB_QByXtwUdhTWGQqXYES0TKZZ8_mvYldddEnq/s400/DSCN0371-1.jpg" /></a><center>Amuse bouche - Tomato & mozzarella</center><br />In the first course, there was a <span style="font-weight:bold;">green apple, arugula and walnuts with provolone cheese salad</span>. The crunchy apples, mildly acidic, combined well with the oily nuttines of the walnut, and the cheese added a new angle to the taste. The dressing seemed to be done only with olive oil (extra virgin), and it was a pleasant surprise that there was no vinaigrette added. I guess the zing from the apples' acidity was sufficient. The photo I took of this came out blurred, and so apologies - but then again, it's a salad, so I'm sure you won't have to let your imagination run wild :)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy1JNLPNc-YC-neWZ49yLhyphenhyphenCrrpgCXY3tIh1nz1KIJYxvP2j-Jx-_e1eFuUcm-Bv5DCpzsFCQ2rK7dobjnRf0flz0in17EZrtV_y0k6MQ5j3Bh2OXE7bANnSIk-nvByv87Au5gVfkciXwX/s1600/DSCN0380-1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 400px; height: 302px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5672695033665891938" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy1JNLPNc-YC-neWZ49yLhyphenhyphenCrrpgCXY3tIh1nz1KIJYxvP2j-Jx-_e1eFuUcm-Bv5DCpzsFCQ2rK7dobjnRf0flz0in17EZrtV_y0k6MQ5j3Bh2OXE7bANnSIk-nvByv87Au5gVfkciXwX/s400/DSCN0380-1.jpg" /></a>The other dish in the first course was a seafood soup, a <span style="font-weight:bold;">Ligurian seasfood stew</span> (Liguria is a coastal province in the north-western part of Italy). The seafood stew was a rich, thick, tomato-based soup with (our soup had) fish, prawns, and squid. To my mind, the squid should've been in the form of the usual squid rings, but by using just a chunk of the squid in the soup, I thought it spoiled the 'tenderness' of the soup because the squid was just rubbery. Served with a piece of toasted bread that was lightly moistened by a pesto, the soup was a delightful dish, save for the squid.<br /><br />The second course began with diners having the option of choosing from a <span style="font-weight:bold;">fettucine aglio, olio e peperoncino with cherry tomatoes and green peas, topped with a some cherry foam</span>. Since Caperberry brands itself as a restaurant that dwells into molecular gastronomy, it was a classy rendition of a foam, but personally, I didn't see the need for it with the pasta, although it still was a superb foam. This was otherwise a simple dish, but then again, with just olive oil constituting the major part of the 'sauce' component of this dish, it's very easy to go wrong with it.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfER9r8Z54VQIWDnMnZfx7IaPt2QzrP33cgkOjz1Xav8fVI8RPLHkS4hzxSy0gYECcdel9w4pGhTtsyiGDuiFqtbMVKi_CGlIlwAh_aRUlaVBN0fJCe4KLtuOCTG3adoV_B3GDdu87ZDf5/s1600/DSCN0382-1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 351px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfER9r8Z54VQIWDnMnZfx7IaPt2QzrP33cgkOjz1Xav8fVI8RPLHkS4hzxSy0gYECcdel9w4pGhTtsyiGDuiFqtbMVKi_CGlIlwAh_aRUlaVBN0fJCe4KLtuOCTG3adoV_B3GDdu87ZDf5/s400/DSCN0382-1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5672695697785454882" /></a><br />If the cherry foam on the pasta was classy, then the alternative dish to it, <span style="font-weight:bold;">rotolo di lasagna al prosciutto with pesto, along with chilled melon cappuccino</span> was classier - the chilled melon cappuccino at least. The prosciutto was a shade too thin for my liking, but that aside, it blended in superbly with the rotolo, while the melon cappuccino was simply mind blowing - cool, light, and airy.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMID7U8ivTpJgSLjwYIwYqin3sx3SdD5a4SL3coPv8PPVwmy32VxILzTO-HTtTfjSx8N2zevNxTDBHn_AV6UlHRbV0HnXvdgn0rRDo7VHWvajsWfXq7EAQzf9HYK8tgSxDreteLz8oglzA/s1600/DSCN0383-1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMID7U8ivTpJgSLjwYIwYqin3sx3SdD5a4SL3coPv8PPVwmy32VxILzTO-HTtTfjSx8N2zevNxTDBHn_AV6UlHRbV0HnXvdgn0rRDo7VHWvajsWfXq7EAQzf9HYK8tgSxDreteLz8oglzA/s400/DSCN0383-1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5672696092639893522" /></a><br />The third course consisted of a <span style="font-weight:bold;">potato gnocchi and provolone stuffed morels in a mushroom sauce</span>. The thought of trying out morels was very tempting, enough to make me almost order for this. This is a very simple dish - not simple in terms of the effort it takes to make it and make it right, but simple as in it's almost a commoners dish. There was a musty/earthy aroma that wafted from the dish, perhaps enhanced by the drizzling of olive oil (extra virgin I think). Mushrooms have always occupied a special place in my gastronomic heart, simply because I think they are more of a bridge between veg and non-veg food, even more than eggs are, and what's more, they're freakin' delicious. Too bad I opted for the other dish!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCnunfPBRM5Enh_Hc2i5IoaOhxouSRbi5xFbgjUY5GeIno_KetAVGfJph_8tVCUvUyR6wUG1s51t3CWBKbdE-Rs-5J1Zp5DkrQI3k4Huk6aXbn4-B1Vp0ANao7VVcCfJTcSrRh3owqKXXL/s1600/DSCN0384-1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 381px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCnunfPBRM5Enh_Hc2i5IoaOhxouSRbi5xFbgjUY5GeIno_KetAVGfJph_8tVCUvUyR6wUG1s51t3CWBKbdE-Rs-5J1Zp5DkrQI3k4Huk6aXbn4-B1Vp0ANao7VVcCfJTcSrRh3owqKXXL/s400/DSCN0384-1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5672696753478647842" /></a><br />After reading about the dish that I opted for, there'd be no points for guessing which one I had hoped to have actually ordered. The other option for the third course was the <span style="font-weight:bold;">lemon zest and garlic marinated leg of lamb in a red wine jus with baby potatoes</span>. The meat was absolutely tender, and it was so lovely to have actually gotten lamb, and not the leg of an old goat or sheep! However, the taste was something even I couldn't get my tongue around. To me, and the other two guests at my table (a rockstar who's the founder member of the band Thermal and a Quarter and his wife :P), the dish was lacking some basic seasoning. That aside, for me the red wine jus and the lemon zest just didn't seem to gel with the lamb, but the Italians at the other tables felt it was done absolutely flawlessly. So I guess this is very evident of the fact that food is such a subjective, personal thing, that at times, in spite of a dish having been executed flawlessly, there could still be someone who may not appreciate it. Damn! I actually felt bad when I learnt that the dish was actually executed the right way because I pride myself in having a palate that is very adaptive to subtle flavours. Well, there are always exceptions.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwPY7yUe6N0j3Iy1VeiW7heLxIQQkAYaclD4kotJwp385_rys8MnWyWnIUt9jIhsAUDA1D9jAtiETcpUZRlAmUJ1LZDTt1Q-zFM6Oboq033B-qiIASpMqT-ALSKR92d9T3w72vA9z2uYhY/s1600/DSCN0385-1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 326px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwPY7yUe6N0j3Iy1VeiW7heLxIQQkAYaclD4kotJwp385_rys8MnWyWnIUt9jIhsAUDA1D9jAtiETcpUZRlAmUJ1LZDTt1Q-zFM6Oboq033B-qiIASpMqT-ALSKR92d9T3w72vA9z2uYhY/s400/DSCN0385-1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5672696758719640786" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir-ecLwRWDkjEHR0BwuJxDUBSz4Zxpm-xwdqkeXQm9JODx5MFYtYHIC9a_DagylpZjEIDpZS99SME2bc2R8BvCbWQHG_EMyD9vd8kZ237Z823b3XXV-jMGtz_og9AxcMTqxYpcUyYlzv_u/s1600/DSCN0388-1.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 311px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir-ecLwRWDkjEHR0BwuJxDUBSz4Zxpm-xwdqkeXQm9JODx5MFYtYHIC9a_DagylpZjEIDpZS99SME2bc2R8BvCbWQHG_EMyD9vd8kZ237Z823b3XXV-jMGtz_og9AxcMTqxYpcUyYlzv_u/s400/DSCN0388-1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5672697458133661986" /></a>For dessert, it was a common dessert for all - a red wine poached fig tart (r), passion fruit panna cotta (c), and a tiramisu (l). I absolutely loved the passion fruit panna cotta - a delightful execution of the panna cotta. The amount of gelatin used was dot perfect, leaving the texture of the panna cotta in a state where a slight tap with the spoon would make it quiver, like a 16<sup>th</sup> century French courtesan whose inner thigh would quiver at the touch of her lovers fingers. I have no idea how or where I got that line from, certainly not from Jane Austen, but you get the idea about the desired texture, don't you.<br /><br />The fig tart and the tiramisu were pretty decent, but I was going back to polish of the glass that had the panna cotta. I was just so glad that I got the opportunity to be a part of this event, and from what I heard, this was by far the most formal and 'official' Page 3 event, something that I absolutely loved. It's also made me want to go and try Caperberry again, since a lot of water seems to have passed under the bridge since my <a href="http://gastronomicalgspot.blogspot.com/2009/06/caperberry.html">last visit</a>.<br /><br /></div>Karthik Shettyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07215763312804913735noreply@blogger.com17