Touché in Indiranagar

I don't know how to categorize this restaurant without using the term "multi-cuisine", so I just left the label out. To me, multi-cuisine spells "I don't really know how to cook anything, so I'll cook everything", which too often means mediocre-tasting food in abundance. While food is not their specialty, digital entertainment might be. I think this place would be appealing to people who don't like socializing over food or for parents dining with ADD kids who constantly need to be entertained.

I don't mean to sound negative. This place is not all bad. For instance, they are one of the more eco-friendly restaurants in town. No use of paper (you place your order on the touch-screen computer that's also your dining table), and instead of paper towels, they provide clean, ironed white napkins.


Chicken quesadilla was a safe order and turned out to be not bad at all.


Caesar salad - not made with caesar dressing but more like mayonnaise (and too much of it!) with a few wilted lettuce leaves and a bad attempt on croutons.


Walnut brownie with vanilla ice cream, which turned out OK but I swear it tasted like it was made out of Betty Crocker's brownie mix.


The touchscreen menu which lists all the food and beverages along with their photos. When you're done ordering your meal, you could also play some games and read a few jokes, if you like.

Inside Touché.

Overall Ratings:
Po's: 4.5/10
A's: 6/10

Would we return?
Highly Unlikely.

Address
100 Feet Road, Indiranagar , Bangalore

Citrus at the Leela Palace

I love Sunday brunch buffets! I know I haven't reviewed too many of them, so this past weekend I thought I'd check out the brunch at Citrus, in the Leela Palace. Unfortunately though (and to my surprise), we were too early for the brunch buffet (it was 11:30a.m and brunch starts at noon. Really? Isn't brunch breakfast + lunch. Wouldn't "lunch buffet" be more appropriate that late?). So we had to order from the a la carte menu which is not bad, but the fun factor of having breakfast or brunch at the Leela is that the cafe is surrounded by peaceful and beautiful greenery.

For Rs650, I got the following.


Fresh seasonal fruits, with a nice tall glass of freshly squeezed juice.


Omelette with pieces of lobster, mushrooms, cheese (and they forgot to add red peppers). I thought the lobster was a bit fishy and the omelette didn't have any seasoning. Other than that, it was a nice and fluffy omelette, which is how I like it.


And to end the meal, a cup of hot chocolate (which turned out a bit too milky for my taste).

Overall Ratings:
Po's: 7/10 (mainly for the peaceful atmosphere)

Would we return?
Probably for brunch.

Address:
Airport Rd, Kodihalli
Bangalore, Karnataka

The Fat Chef in Whitefield

I absolutely love it when I enter a new establishment and see that someone has put some thoughts into the decor. I especially liked how the interior of the restaurant has a combination of rock cut walls and perfectly white pillars and beams. I thought it's very modern "Karnatakan". The food is good but nothing with a "wow" factor but I think it has a lot of potential. I'm looking forward to coming back soon.

Menu at the Fat Chef.


Bruchetta with tomatoes and basil, cheese and olive - a very refreshing starter. The bread could be a bit more toasted though.


Beer battered prawns - so very crispy on the bite but light and tender on the inside.


Alfredo with vegetables - considering how it's just vegetables with white sauce, it turned out pretty good. The dish was nicely seasoned and the sauce wasn't sweet like how it is in some places in Bangalore.


Lobster roll - I went to a New England seafood restaurant in NYC with my sister a couple of years ago and I remember feeling guilty because the small sandwich was both so very good and so very expensive. When I saw "lobster roll" on the Fat Chef menu, I had to order it. It wasn't as expensive (Rs240 vs. US$20) but it wasn't quite like the lobster roll I devoured back in NYC. I wish they had used less ketchup (I thought the sweet flavor and pinkness came from ketchup) and no cabbage. The lobster has an opaque color (undercooked, perhaps?) and didn't have much taste. Otherwise, it was a good try.


Pesto chicken and pasta - tender pieces of chicken and fusili drenched in pesto sauce and topped with shredded parmesan cheese.

Overall Ratings:
Po's: 7.5/10
A's: 7/10

Would we return?
Likely.

Address:
No. 5/2A, Jagriti, Ramagondanahall,
Varthur Main Road, Whitefield,
Bangalore

(Attached to the Jagriti Drama Theatre)

Caperberry

It was Friday evening and it wasn't a special occasion or anything. In fact, it was merely because there was an IPL match at the Chinaswamy Stadium which means a normal 20-minute drive home would’ve taken us an hour. Besides, it’s been way too long since our last visit to Caperberry. It’s about time.

To my surprise, we got a table without making reservations beforehand. A fine-dining restaurant like this in New York or Bombay on a Friday night would have starved me until 10:30pm before they would offer us a table or even worse, turn me down because reservation is full for the next few weekends to come.

Instead of a proper 5-course French dinner, we decided to dine tapas-style.Here’s what we ate:


Alfonso Mango and Chicken Salad – So very refreshing and a great combination of sweet, tart and savory all on one plate. My friend Moots liked it so much she ordered another one.


Two different types of crostinis – The chorizo one had caramelized onions as a base, a nice compliment to the saltiness in the chorizo. The pesto chicken one I thought was just OK, maybe I’m getting a bit bored with the combination of chicken and pesto.


Fois Gras – I know, we're all over the place with our meal tonight, but here’s a rarity in Bangalore. I was apprehensive (because if you don’t cook the liver right, it becomes tough and powdery) but this one turned out pretty good. Served on slices of green apples and roasted tomatoes.


Calamari Rings with Aioli – What! Who ordered this? Why are we wasting stomach space on food you could find at Herbs & Spice or TGIF? To be fair, this has got to be one of the best calamari rings I’ve eaten in Bangalore. Perfectly seasoned (do I see a bit of rawa-style?) and fried, crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside.


Cooked in an actual patella.


Chorizo and Chicken Paella – Not on the menu anymore, but my dining mates were craving for pork that night, so they made this especially for us. The rice (I’m guessing Arborio) was tender, slightly al-dente and was nicely flavored by the capsicum, saffron and chorizo. Topped with a bit of aioli.


Chocolate Duet – I am going to be absolutely honest, I don’t like chocolate mousse, so I didn’t enjoy it much. The rest of my dining mates didn’t enjoy it either because they were making fun of it (they were very imaginative). The cakey side of the chocolate is also a so-so for me. There is a salty taste in the fudge which I found a bit overwhelming.


So French. Complimentary little pieces of petit four.

Overall Ratings:
Po's: 8.5/10
A's: 8.5/10

Would we return?
Certainly.

Address:
48/1, Ground Floor, The Estate, No 121,
Dickenson Road, Bangalore

Phone: +91 (0)80 2559 4567

Olive Beach

Someone wrote to me through this blog recently, asking for suggestions on restaurants that have buffets. Apart from the Sunday buffet brunch at the Taj, where my first landlord took me to as an incentive to try and get me to extend my lease two and a half years ago, I realized I've never really been to any other buffets or brunches. I started asking around and I did some research on the internet. It was like digging into an old pair of jeans and finding a Rs.500 note! Sunday brunches in Bangalore are such a popular pastime that people discuss the vast variety of options on Internet forums! These buffet brunches aren't cheap though. They range between Rs800-Rs1000 back in 2006, and today you won't be able to find a good brunch for lesser than Rs2000 (excluding tax and service charge).

So for Mother's Day, after some nudging (because "A" can't fathom spending Rs2000 per person on brunch), we decided to take my (soon-to-be) mother-in-law to a buffet brunch at Olive Beach.

I've always liked Olive Beach. I've dined there a few times in the past two years. Heck, I've even attended a wedding party here. The food has always been fresh and delicious, and the atmosphere, though a bit staged, somehow managed to transport me out of India and onto an island in Greece.


The Mother's Day brunch menu. It occurred to us then why they'd charged so much for brunch. The extensive meal also includes an all-you-can-drink, like any kind of drinks, from the bar. Needless to say, "A" and the rest of the family were happy campers.

Fresh Cochin oysters. I was very excited about the prospect of eating raw oysters but was a bit disappointed when the waiter rinsed the shucked oyster in a pail of fresh water before serving them. It tasted a bit diluted but nonetheless, very fresh. I know you're curious, and the answer is no, none of us got sick from eating raw oysters in India.

The widespread buffet. Salads, cheeses, breads, dips and cold cuts, all for our consumption.


From the grill - rosemary marinated lamb chops, medium done. The meat was so juicy and well seasoned, there was no need for the extra sauce that came with it. Also on the grill was steak, fish and sliders but this was good enough for me!

Desserts - on top of what's served here, there was a person who'd make fresh waffles.

I'm not doing justice with the photos here. As you can imagine, I was too occupied with stuffing myself silly and was happily tipsy on my mojitos.

One of the best things about India is that even though it's a buffet, which often means self-service in other countries, it doesn't really apply here. You can sit on your dining table for four hours and just tell the waiters what you'd like and you'll have your choice of food served to you with a smile.

Overall Ratings:
Po's: 8.5/10
A's: 8.5/10

Would we return?
Absolutely!

Address:
16 Wood Street,
Ashoknagar, Bangalore

Phone: +91 (0)80 4123 9483 Reservations Recommended

i-t.ALIA at the Park Hotel, Pt. 2

I know, it's not fair. How can one restaurant have two posts. I can't help it. This place is genuinely good, and in my mind, still the best Italian food served in Bangalore. Check out my previous posting from last year here.

A friend of mine from NYC was in town for a quick two days in Bangalore and I felt like it's my duty to show her the "other" side of India. My initial choice of cuisine was Andhra biryani but I know she had been traveling in the most rural areas of India for the past few weeks, and by now she would appreciate some really good non-Indian food in a slightly upscale setting. We came into itALIA, ordered a bottle of good Indian wine, and took our time with our meal decisions (too much catching up to do!), while the waiters patiently waited on us.


Stuffed cannelloni with seafood - delicious! The perfectly cooked diced shrimps, squids and white fish added a hint of sweetness to the tangy tomato sauce. The slightly burnt ricotta cheese was a nice creamy addition to the whole dish.


Goat cheese ravioli in mushroom sauce. The mushroom sauce was a tad salty, when eaten with the ravioli but the combined flavor was absolutely mouthwatering.

Tagliatelle with prawns with saffron cream sauce. I absolutely adore fresh pasta. To know that they serve it here made me so happy. My only complaint is the way they serve the dish. Instead of letting the pasta soak-in the sauce and then letting them fall graciously on the plate, they've jam-packed the noodles into a mold. So as you'd expect, the noodles were stuck onto each other when I dug into them.

Overall Ratings:
Po's: 8.5/10
A's: 9/10

Would we return?
We just did!

Address:
The Park Bangalore
14/7 Mahatma Gandhi Road,
Bangalore 560042, India

Phone: +91 (0)80 2559 4666

I-95, Goa

While we were in Goa, we met up with "A"'s second cousin's wife's parents for some drinks and they graciously took us out to dinner. Since they spend half of their time in Goa, they've acquainted themselves with a lot of locals and of course, know of a lot of good places to eat.

If you're looking to dress up a little and experience fine dining in Goa, you should definitely check out I-95 (I know, the name sounds very much like an American highway ). You won't be disappointed. The menu is unpretentious and there is a good selection of wine to go with it.


The restaurant shares the same entrance of this age-old building which is also a gallery. The entrance reminded me a little of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.


Warm mushroom soups in test tubes. I was a bit weirded out by the presentation but the soup was a nice comforting start to our meal.








The dining area is simple and humble.

Overall Ratings:
Po's: 8/10

A's: 7/10

Would we return?
Very likely

Address:
Castello Vermelho,
Behind the Art chamber,
1/115 A Gauravado,
Near Kamats Holiday Homes,
Calangute 403516
Telephone: +91 832 2275213

Souza Lobo, Goa

Goan food is one of my favorite Indian foods. Unlike the majority of India, where local specialty foods often mean vegetarian (by the way, I have nothing against vegetarian food!), Goan food is often made with "catch-of-the-day" seafood. That said, it's never going to be as good having Goan food anywhere else.

Here's a restaurant that's been around for a long, long time. It's right on Calangute beach but you have to walk through a small, sandy lane and pass a few tattoo stores before you come to the entrance of this restaurant.


Chili-fry oysters.


Fish fry - seer fish marinated and lightly pan fried.


Mutton Vindaloo. The challenge I find with taking photographs of Indian dishes is trying to capture the deliciousness in the picture, which is not easy considering many of the dishes are in gravy.


Fish Curry - one of Goa's most popular dishes. Usually eaten with rice.


Crab curry


Souza Lobo restaurant.

Overall Ratings:
Po's: 7.5/10
A's: 8/10

Would we return?
Maybe

Address:
Calangute Beach

Florentine, Goa

I love stepping into a restaurant filled with locals when I travel. Florentine is a Goan restaurant that's tucked away (the good local ones are always tucked away) which we found out from a restaurant owner in Bangalore who visits Goa every other month. Here's what we ate.


Oyster rawa fry. Crispy on the outside, soft and tender on the inside.


"A"'s favorite food in the world; Goan style fish fingers.


Prawns Balchao - prawns cooked in Goan masala, is so good with just plain boiled rice or poi (Goan bread).


Chicken Cafreal - this dish made Florentine restaurant popular amongst the local, and I can see why! The chicken is marinated with green masala and grilled. Yum!


And for dessert, caramel custard or creme caramel or flan. I found out this dish originated from France and was spread all over Europe and now all over the world, and to this little humble restaurant, in Goa.


Inside Florentine restaurant.

Overall Ratings:
Po's: 8/10
A's: 8/10

Would we return?
Probaby

Address:
Chogm Road, Saligao,
Bardez, Goa

Sunny's Indiranagar

I went to Sunny's a couple of times in both locations in the past few months. I have to say, even though the food is nothing to write home about, it has been consistently mediocrely good. One thing for sure, the ingredients used have always tasted fresh to me and the chefs at Sunny's cook decently good tasting Italian (now fusion) food.


Crab cakes - tasty, but a bit soggy.

Calamari fried to a perfect crispness.

Stuffed zucchini rolls, not the most popular appetizer on the table, but I thought it was an innovative dish.

Smoked salmon with cream cheese.

Almond crusted fish with lemon cream sauce.

Another grilled fish which I vaguely remembered to be slightly overcooked.

Asian style sea bass served with bok choy.

Chicken Diane.

Ganache tart

Overall Ratings:
Po's: 6.5/10
"A"'s: 7.5/10

Would we return?
Er, yeah, only because there are not a lot of choices.

Address:
34 Vittal Mallya Road,
Bangalore 560 001
Phone: 2224 3642

OR

No.769-770,100 Feet Road,
12th Main Road, Indiranagar,
Bangalore - 560 038
Phone: 4125 5157