Bow Barracks

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!

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.

Melon amuse bouche

Gol guppa amuse bouche

Cold marsh melon soup
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.

Noorani seekh kebab

Aubergine stuffed with chicken

Beef Pantheras
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.

Prawn cocktail

Another angle of the prawn cocktail
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.

Fish bon femme

Pork vindaloo

Veg curry
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).

Chicken Kiev

Pork Chops

Duck confit
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 :)

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.

4 Seasons wine tasting and bloggers meet

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.

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 :)

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'. 

Sauvignon Blanc

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.

Caesar salad

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'. The lamb chops were decently done, and although off late I seem to have lost some interest in lamb chops, this was nice. 

Lamb Chops

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.

Creme brulee with peaches and blush rosé 

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 website.

Sunday Brunch ar The Park Plaza

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.

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.

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.

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. 

Laksa

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.

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.

Starting from top left, moving clockwise: Pasta salad, German potato salad, Mexican carrot salad, and aubergine & broccoli salad

Prawn, lamb, and prawn again

Prawn amuse bouche, all lined up

Mango yogurt

Chicken (left), and prawn momos

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.

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.

Salami pizza

Indian Mule (left), and a whiskey-based cocktail along with another gin-based cocktail

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 salan 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.

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).

Blueberry & lime

Namashkar, I am pretzel!

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.

Food: Good

$$$: The Sunday brunch, with alcohol is Rs 1600 + taxes...worth it.

Service: Good

Verdict: Worth a visit at least once, and if you live close by, then whenever you feel like gorging on food on a Sunday.

Hotel Park Plaza, 90/4, Outer Ring Road, Munnekollaly Village, Marathahalli, Bangalore. Phone: 080 49094909

Spoonful of Sugar

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.

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.

Lemon pie

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.

Raspberry mascarpone pie

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.

Cucumber mint cooler

For those with a sweet tooth, some of the fastest moving items are the fruit tarts, the oreo cheesecakes, the banoffee pie, and the raspberry mascarpone pies, 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 baked version of the classic blueberry cheesecake 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.

Baked blueberry cheesecake

Fruit tarts

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 quiche I had, it's base was a little underdone, and the lasagna 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.

Chicken quiche

Chicken lasagna

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.

Verdict
Food: Very good indeed
$$$: Expensive
Additional info: While it is expensive, you do get your money's worth

Spoonful of Sugar, 421-G, 1^st Main, 3^rd Cross, 1^st Stage, Indiranagar, Bangalore. Phone: 25255534, 25255535

Seafood festival at ITC Gardenia

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.

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.

Karwar jenji fry - Semolina-crusted soft shell crab

From Karwar, we moved further south to Kerala, and we were served with a prawn starter - the chemmeen ularthiyathu, 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.

Another crab dish, this time in the main course, was the star attraction. The peetala igguru (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.

Peetala igguru - crab meat simmered in a mixture of cashew and masala

Next on the menu was another Andhra specialty - royalla munakaya pulusu, 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 mambazham pulissery 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.

Royalla Munakaya pulusu - prawns simmered in a tangy drumstick curry (right), and mambazham pulissery - mangoes in a coconut gravy

One of Kerala's most popular local dish, the karimeen pollichattu, or pearl spot fish was served with a red chilli powder marinade, wrapped in a banana leaf and grilled. Brilliant. Enough said.

Karimeen pollichattu - pearl spot fish wrapped in banana leaf cooked on a griddle

Some of the other dishes on offer are the kujit (stewed prawns, squids, mussels and clams in coconut milk with green chillies, garlic and onions), Allepy fish curry (seer fish cooked in raw mango and coconut milk curry), and chemmeen idiappam biryani (string hopper prawn biryani).

Chemmeen idiappam biryani string hopper prawn biryani

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

Kujit - stewed prawns, squid, clams and mussels in coconut milk

Badam halwa (left), and rice payasa

Cost:
Lunch: Rs 1200 + tax (Fri, Sat) per person
Dinner: Rs 1275 + tax (Fri, Sat, Sun) per person
Sunday brunch (seafood included): Rs 1950 + tax per person

What are you waiting for. Get calling. The fest is open only till this Sunday.

Don't be a sheep!

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.

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.

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.

In the case of restaurants, a person writing a review may 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!

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.

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.


Note: 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.

Turquoise - The European

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).

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 creme de Porcini and the cream of broccoli 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'.

Creme de Porcini

Cream of Broccoli

Some of the starters we had were the Mezze platter (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!), malazane con pomodoro confit (baked aubergine with tomato confit and cheese), kefta kebabs (ground lamb) with tzatziki, veg tapas platter, grilled prawns (day's special), and chicken wrapped with sage.

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).

Mezze platter with falafels, muhammara, and hummus

Kefta kebabs with tzatziki

Baked aubergine with tomato confit

The chicken with Prama ham and sage 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 grilled jumbo prawns 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 fig and ricotta cheese pizza. Leaving aside the disappointment that there wasn't any meat on the pizza, the pizza by itself was soooo good!

Chicken with Parma ham and sage

Grilled jumbo prawns (day's special)

Fig and ricotta pizza

For the mains, there are a multitude of pasta options that you can choose from. Mr. P had the raviolini stuffed with spinach and ricotta 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 braised pork belly on a bed of red cabbage 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 fish Florentine, rolled and stuffed with spinach and mushroom 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.

Braised pork belly on a bed of red cabbage

Fish Florentine

Spinach and ricotta raviolini

Another of the vegetarian dishes we had was the grilled eggplant rolled in parmigiano. 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.

Grilled eggplant rolled in parmigiano

The desserts we had every time were fabulous, especially the Pavlova. The first time, we ordered the Turquoise trio - chocolate pâté, crème brûlée, and Pavlova. 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.

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 mango mascarpone mousse - 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.

(L-R) Chocolate pâté, crème brûlée, Pavlova

Mango mascarpone mousse

Crème brûlée

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.

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.

Food: Very good
$$$: Expensive (~ 800 per person). I think the pricing could hurt them in the long run in spite of the quality of the food.
Service: Decent
Verdict: Must visit

Turquoise - The European, 9, 2nd Floor, Above Mom & Me, 1st A Cross, 5th Block, Koramangala, Bangalore. Phone: 65776588, 9739942912