Plan a day by doing Yoga/ any workout followed by a healthy and hearty meal at Enerjuvate Studio & Cafe, Koramangala

Have you ever felt like going to a Cafe and spend some relaxed time on one of those off days? I have and in Bangalore, there are enough cafes which are good for spending time; either for work or fun time with your pals. Health Studio trend is catching up fast and benefits include you can work out, practice yoga, read books, work or just have some healthy grub and you will be sorted for the entire day. Last year, when I visited Enerjuvate Studio & Cafe in Jayanagar, it was totally a new experience for me which I enjoyed to the core. They are now open in Koramangala as well. Perhaps I liked the studio space in Koramangala than Jayanagar outlet. Inside the studio is having a peaceful atmosphere.

Enerjuvate Cafe is run by two amazing ladies - Darshana and Sunayna. Their belief is to serve art on a plate, which begins with appealing your eyes and a sense of aroma ending up in melting your mouth that you and your body both enjoy and relish.

Recently, a group of us had a dynamic yoga session followed by a healthy lunch at Enerjuvate. Yoga session was performed under the guidance of ‘Blogger and Yoga expert’ - Carolyn Theresa. Carolyn was really helpful throughout the session. She carefully guided each one of us.

After the yoga session, it was time to indulge in some good food. This time whatever I tried was totally different from my previous experience. Darshana and Sunayna are masterchefs when it comes to healthy food. We tried so many dishes from the menu as part of our tasting and they served us small portions to get the most benefit of each dish.

The following were my favorites:

Drinks

Almond milk thandai

Lemongrass basil lime water

Kombucha

Carrot ginger ale

Soups

I liked the Burmese Khao Suey than Tibetan Thupka. Tibetan Thupka had starch from the in-house prepared noodles and made it thicker and grainy. Khao Suey was good with all the right ingredients and flavors.

Salads and starters

We tried six different dishes from the menu and I liked the Cucumber boats, Thai DIY Paan ( Miang Kham), Momos platter and beetroot orange walnut medley. The Thai DIY Paan was fun making. With a generous amount of fried peanuts, coconut slices, lemon wedges, ginger, fried coconut, red chillies, onions, and Tamarind – Jaggery chutney to wrap in a lettuce leaf to form a one bite wrap.  If you visit Enerjuvate Studio, then don’t forget to try their Potato Wedges platter with Grilled Potato, sweet Potato served with Beetroot Hummus and a salsa dip.

Pizza

They have a variety of pizzas at this Cafe. Last time they amazed me with their Pizza made of vegan sauce which is not so common in Bangalore restaurants or cafes’. This time it was pizza made of Amaranth crust. They don’t use all purpose flour or sugar in their recipes. Enerjuvate special pizza had roasted garlic, chunks of sundried tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, crumbled feta and a fresh topping of rocket leaves. Sometimes veg food can also be interesting than non-veg food. I realize this every time I visit Enerjuvate.

Main course

From their hearty meals menu, I liked the Sizzling Enchiladas made of maize flour tortilla with beans and veggie filling. They served a spicy dip with this.

Desserts

I am a dessert lover and always indulge in high calorie, unhealthy desserts. For a change, I had a platter full of healthy desserts which all of us uniquely said ‘Wow’ especially for the Chocolate Chia cup. Darshana’s secret recipe with gourmet products made it divine. Other desserts like Pineapple cranberry cake, Choco mint ganache tart, and Banana peanut crunch were also great in taste.

These two ladies are doing a tremendous job. From recipes to seeing that satisfying smile on their customers face, they make sure that their personal attention is reached everywhere. Overall this was a relaxing session for me and I should start practicing some of the Yogasanas to burn the calories I gain through food events. Enerjuvate Studio frequently conducts interesting events and workshops. Get updates on their events - click here

Address:

Enerjuvate Studio & Cafe

#82, 7th Cross Road

KHB Block

Koramangala 4th Block

Bengaluru

For reservations, contact -  080 48148585

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Are you looking for some unwinding time? Check out Lady Baga, Bengaluru for that Goan vibes!

Last year I made my maiden trip to Goa. Sounds crazy right..? But I believe there is always a first time for anything you would enjoy. Now I don’t have to worry about flight tickets, room booking and places to eat in Goa because a mini version of Goa is here in ‘luru. No brownie points for guessing this place. It’s Lady Baga located at Lavelle road (above Sodabottleopenerwala), launched a few months ago. After hearing so much about their Goan food, shack themed atmosphere, and overall Goan-Hippie feel about this place, a visit was a must. Finally, I visited this place a few days ago after hearing from foodie friends about their new menu and signature cocktails.

The moment I entered level 2, I felt like I entered a Goan shack. There was sand, sea waves on the big screen, loungers, shower and what not. Even the stewards were dressed according to the Goan theme. Oh, dear Goa! I won’t miss you anymore; I told myself the moment I received the signature cocktail – ‘We like big coconuts and we cannot lie’. He.. he.. I just mentioned the name of the cocktail which was an interesting mix of Vodka, tender coconut, litchi, cherry, lime, and mint.

My friends ordered a Chorizo dish and Sungta Maria. I liked Sungta Maria which had prawns cooked in Goan flavors and served on a toast. Short bites are the best but not at lunchtime. So I ordered a Kara Chilli fry which was nothing but Goan style Chilli Beef. I simply loved it!

Goan style Pomfret fry was another favorite on the table. I would have preferred it bit spicier. My bad, that I didn’t inform the spice level while placing the order.

Konkan community plays an important part in the Goan culture and Konkan Thalis are something you shouldn’t miss if you are a seafood lover. I wanted to try their Thali, but it was not available on Friday, so the helpful staff suggested me to try the ‘Chef Aloo’s Prawn Curry’ meal which I think was the best suggestion. The combo had Goan Prawn curry, fried anchovies, tendli (Ivy gourd) pickle, Kismur (sun-dried salted prawn crumbs) and unpolished red rice – a match made in heaven :)

While typing this review, my mouth is filled with water thinking about the super delicious Prawns Pulao I had at Lady Baga. With the right balance of flavors from the spices used, it was more like a Prawns Biryani than Pulao.  They served this Pulao with raita. A must try dish when you are in Lady Baga.

Goan special Poee with Pork Vindaloo was a great combo. Poee was bit on the harder side and the Vindaloo was a savior.

After the seafood therapy, dessert was the main highlight of our meal. Rasta Chocolate cup made of dark chocolate mousse, rum and coffee was yum. There was no aftertaste of rum, so this dessert was perfect for the lunch.

Another favorite was the Vanilla and Saffron Panna Cotta. It passed our ‘jiggle test’ and tasted amazing. Saffron and Vanilla pod combo is tricky and if anything overpowers another one, then the entire taste will get spoiled. Both the desserts were brilliantly done and I loved it.

I tried their Goan special beer – King’s Premium Pilsner. No doubt that this beer is good but I guess it’s not worth the hype I heard all these time.

I had a relaxing time at Lady Baga and this is what I was looking for since some time. A meal for two would be ₹ 1200/- (approximately). This time my lunch was in a hurry, so missed checking the menu properly. I am sure I would definitely visit again soon to try some more favorites which I couldn’t try this time.

Address:

Lady Baga

#25/4, Level 1 & 2

Above Sodabottleopenerwala

Lavelle Road

Bengaluru

For reservations, contact - +91 9108934177

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Pre-Valentine's Day special lunch at Pavilion, Comfort Inn Insys, Yeshwantpur

It’s high time I change my perception of food joints and restaurants in North and West Bengaluru especially when it comes to non-vegetarian food.  Sometimes when you expect the least, you will get the most wonderful experience. When hubby and I had the plan to dine around Yeswantpur area after finishing some personal work, we decided to visit this new hotel – Comfort Inn after seeing some posts online. Comfort Inn Boutique Business Hotel is a part of a popular brand called Choice Hotels. They have hotels across the world. This information I came to know on my visit to Comfort Inn’s All-day dining restaurant – Pavilion. Pre- Valentine’s Day celebrations were in full swing when we went to this restaurant for lunch.

Located in HMT Layout, near Yeswantpur Railway station this hotel is hardly a year old. They have four F & B outlets in the hotel - Pavilion Restaurant, The Crust Factory, Chameleon Lounge, and a rooftop barbeque place called Cinders.

Pavilion restaurant is known for its small space with beautiful décor. I love all their wall paintings which match the grey furnishings. Just before you enter the restaurant don’t forget to have a look at the beautiful lobby area.

Once we got our table, without thinking much we opted for their non-veg buffet. We started our lunch with a simple and spicy non-veg soup. I usually prefer soups with a thick consistency and this soup won my heart with its taste.

While we were waiting for the starters, the Executive Chef Abhijit spoke to us about the ongoing fest and the idea behind to celebrate the uncommon love story of a common man – Manjhi, the mountain man (Check out my Instagram post here).

On busy working days, their buffet menu consists of two veg and non veg starters each. The simple yet super delicious starters make it a perfect option to start with. Deep fried fish cooked in oriental flavors were so addictive. Then we tried Valentine’s week special dish – Gulabi Paneer. The pink color and the flavors of this starter were awesome. Except for very few fine-dining restaurants, most of the places serve Paneer which can be hard as a rock. Here at Pavilion restaurant, they select fresh and best ingredients for every dish that comes out from their kitchen. I was so happy with the texture and balanced flavors of Paneer.

Another starter, Malai Chicken tikka was cooked to perfection and the highlight of this dish was creaminess from the tikka with mild flavors of spices. There was no accompaniment with this and I didn’t mind it much as I enjoyed tikkas with Basil Pesto Mayo. That dip was given with the veg croquettes. Veg croquettes were just okayish for my taste.

For drinks, I ordered a cocktail; ‘ Sex on the beach’ which is vodka-cranberry-orange drink and whiskey lover hubby just had his fav drink. My drink was good with the right balance of alcohol, sugar, and juice.

On the day we visited they had 8 varieties of salads and I loved their Kimchi salad, Cucumber ring salad, and egg one. I like the fact that they serve salads and desserts in small portions, so it’s easy for diners to have the right quantity without much of wastage.

While exploring the options near the main course counter, I saw the label of seafood biryani and that was the first dish to get a place on my plate. Then few other gravies and I was good to go. Seafood biryani was very flavorful and I enjoyed it with saag chicken and roasted potatoes.

I can’t miss my daily dose of sweet intake nowadays and for desserts, there were enough options. I had the White Chocolate brownie, Cheesy hearts (Valentine’s special mousse) and Gulab jamuns. Everything was polished off in seconds.

The staffs were very polite and helpful. Overall I enjoyed a good buffet at the Pavilion restaurant and would definitely recommend this place to foodie friends. Their buffet is priced at ₹499/- and it’s totally worth for the price. Do check out this restaurant.

Address:

Pavilion at Comfort Inn Insys

#46, 1st Main Road

Gokula 1st stage, Mathikere

Yeshwantpur, Bnagalore

For table reservations, contact - 080 46468000

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