Spoonful of Sugar

"A" is a little upset that I came here without him. It was a very last minute decision and I didn't even have time to change out of my sweaty gym clothes and the driver (sent by Mama B to pick me and dadi up from home) is already impatiently honking outside at the gate. I've heard so much about this place and even read a superb review about the desserts on the Food Lovers magazine. "A" would have to wait.

Tuscan Chicken Sandwich - this was good! Ok, to be honest, I only took a little bite because Sammie ordered it and I wasn't going to devour the whole sandwich. I'm pretty sure the people at Spoonful of Sugar had coated chicken pieces with sun-dried tomato sauce or some sort of pesto.

Chicken Quiche - the chicken breast chunks were very moist, the quiche wasn't too eggy and the crust actually looks homemade. Needless to say, dadi loved this dish and requested to have her last bite packed in a parcel to be taken home.

Mississipi Mudpie - yum! When I saw this behind the glass window of the refrigerator, it was intact. They must have heated the pie so the chocolate filling would melt and what better way to serve melted chocolate than with custard.

There is not many seatings, maybe a total of 6 tables but it's a cozy and intimate place to hangout with loved ones. Plus, it's always nice when others are indulging along with you.

Follow-up visit with "A"

Sun dried tomato pesto with chicken


Mushroom cheese quiche


Raspberry mascarpone cheesecake


The many dessert choices available here.

Overall Ratings:
Candice's: 8.5/10

Would we return?
For sure!

Address:
421-G, 1st Main Rd, Indira Nagar
Bangalore, Karnataka 560038

(By the way, there are two 1st Main Roads in Indira Nagar. Google Maps might point you to the 1st Main Road next to Domlur, which is wrong. This 1st Main Road is nearer to CMH Road)

Royal Orchid Cafe

Last weekend, I went with "A"'s family to the Karnataka Golf Club for a swim. I won't spend the time complaining about the run-down mold-infested place and their rigid and pretentious behavior but I will let you know that instead of having lunch at the club, we walked across the street to Royal Orchid Cafe for lunch, even though having lunch at the club would have cost us one-third of the price.

The cafe had a wide spread of Indian and western cuisine on the buffet but we went a la carte.

I was as hungry as a wolf after the swim so I ordered a lamb burger, medium-rare. Despite the hunger, the burger wasn't as juicy nor yummy as I had expected it to be. It was sloppy and the meat was dry and bland, despite the added mayonnaise and melted cheese.

"A" ordered the club sandwich that wasn't all bad except the egg layer was overcooked so it was a bit rubbery. The bread were too "toasted" which resulted to a crumbly, messy sandwich.

Overall Ratings:
Candice's: 3/10

Would we return?
Probably not

Address:
1, Golf Avenue, (Adjoining KGA Golf Course),
Airport Road,
Bangalore 560 008,
India

OKO Restaurant

OKO is an open-air restaurant at the rooftop of Ashoka Hotel that specializes in sushi and tepanyaki but also serves pan-asian food.

Because it was election weekend, alcohol was forbidden so we had mocktails instead.

We started off with some sashimi; tuna, yellow-tail and mackerel. According to our chef, these were all flown in frozen from Japan.

Tempura soft-shell crabs, so crispy but not greasy. Dip this in the light soy sauce-mashed radish-wasabi concoction and you will get a combined flavor that is just simply delicious! Needless to say, this is "A"'s favorite dish.

Chef Asmic Raj in action with prawns and soba noodles.

Soba noodles with prawns, cooked with yakisoba sauce so the dish had a hint of sweetness. I know how easily one could overcook prawns but despite the time duration the prawns were left on the hot pan, they were tender and yummy. For the finishing touch, the chef added a bit of butter and a dash of yakisoba sauce on the prawn tails that resulted to more flavor and crisp.

Canadian scallops; cooked with lemon, garlic, ponchu sauce and a splash of rice wine. I think the chef was too heavy-handed on the salt, probably because we complained previously how the soba was not salty enough. Also, I usually like my scallops slightly raw so you could taste the sweetness of the scallops, so this dish was to me, a bit overcooked and masked.

John Dory fish with bean sprouts that were cooked to perfection. This was lightly cooked so we could still taste the delicate flavor of the fish. The chef made this for us for free. And for dessert, he also threw in two little cups of red rubbies in coconut sauce on the house.

The service was a bit slow at the beginning but the chef made it up by being friendly and professional, which made our dining experience pleasant and not to mention the freebies were an added bonus! Oh, and don't forget to visit the bathroom, which has been reviewed many times as the best loo in the city.

Overall Ratings:
A's: 8.5/10
Candice's: 8/10

Would we return?

Yes

Address:

The Lalit Ashok,

High Grounds,

Kumara-Krupa,

Bangalore 560001