Friday, September 28, 2018

Greater Than Breakfast at SodaBottleOpenerWala, Bengaluru!


Dikra and Dikri’s...

I started developing my interest in Gin and tonic very recently. Thanks to an informative Gin session by Magandeep Singh and Gagan Sharma where I was introduced to a new world of Gin. Now the talk of the town is this new brand – ‘Greater Than’ and SodaBottleOpenerWala recently had a Big Bawa Breakfast paired with Greater Than Chai Cocktail. It was like getting all your favorites in one frame. I love going to SBOW, and their food never disappoints me. Last Sunday a bunch of us went for the Greater Than breakfast and we enjoyed a great meal and live-music by Abhijeet. Don't believe me, check out my FB live video - here


When you think about classic cocktails, you can’t avoid the Gin part. If you love your Gin and Iranian tea, then why not a Gin - Chai based Cocktail? While waiting for our food order, we started our breakfast with ‘Greater Than Chai’; a signature cocktail at SBOW made of Gin and Earl Grey tea, mixed with lemonade and secret masala and topped with apple juliennes. Greater Than Gin is India’s first craft Gin produced in Goa. I must say, this was a very refreshing cocktail and I loved it.





Now coming to the food, I liked the ‘Chicken Chilli Cheese pav’ and ‘Mushroom on Khari’ a lot. The famous ‘Egg’s Kejriwal’ (a cousin of sunny-side-up with cheese and mushroom toppings) and ‘Classic Akuri (Parsi style scrambled egg)’ are best to have when it is served hot and while enjoying these dishes I remembered the Masterclass by Chef Anahita Dhondy who taught us how to prepare these popular dishes at home. Go for ‘Pancham Puriwala’ if you like a bit of unhealthy and oily stuff. The Puri and Aloo combination can never go wrong. Kheema pav is something which we can’t skip when at SodaBottleOpenerWala. When you have a piece of freshly baked pav dipped in mildly spiced Kheema, think that you have achieved #Bellynirvana. No wonder this dish is so popular.

Hand Model: Keshav :)

The live music was another highlight of the breakfast. He sang some of the popular Bollywood tracks and made sure that the diners also joined him in singing those favorite tracks. It was totally a fun time. The tracks like ‘Yeh mere humsafar’, ‘Inteha ho gayi’, ‘Dil ko tumse pyaar hua’ created a different feeling, something very nostalgic. A Sunday morning well spent at a favorite restaurant with friends and family.


Now I can’t wait to get my hands on this London Dry Gin and create some nice cocktails for my house parties. If you are a tea lover and when near CBD area, don’t forget to visit SBOW for this Greater Than Chai Cocktail. A special thanks to Swapn, Tarini, Manju, Sneha, and Sankriti and my crazy pals for making my Sunday very special.
Address:

SodaBottleOpenerWala
#24/4, Lavelle Road, Opp Harley Davidson Showroom
Bengaluru - 560001
For table reservations, contact -  7022255299 
 
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Tuesday, September 25, 2018

A feast from Lanka - Sri Lankan Food Promotion (21 - 30th Sep) at Feast by Sheraton Grand Hotel, Brigade Gateway!




I still remember a few years back, in a popular foodie forum someone asked about Sri Lankan food options in Bengaluru and there was none at that point in time. Now things are slowly changing and people are becoming more familiar with global cuisines. Our neighboring country, Sri Lanka is so abundant with picturesque views and traditional food. Feast at Sheraton Grand Hotel, Rajajinagar is having a Sri Lankan Food Festival from 21st – 30th September 2018. So what’s special about this fest? I would say ‘don’t miss this’ as the visiting Chefs from Sri Lanka Chef Ramesh and Chef Keerthisena have brought us the authentic Sri Lankan flavors which one can easily crave for more. The Sambals, Sinhala pickles, Jaffna Crab curry, King Fish Betel leaves curry, fried Anchovies, Buns with different fillings, and loads and loads of Sri Lankan sweets are not to be missed.


Just past the lobby of dripping chandeliers is Feast, where I was welcomed with the aroma of Sri Lankan food. Sri Lankan food is all about richness of fresh ingredients and flavors. There were ingredients which I haven’t even seen before. Thanks to Chef Ramesh who handpicked all the ingredients from Sri Lanka and brought it to namma ooru.




Being from Kerala, I can very well relate to some of the Sri Lankan dishes as we have so much ‘Ceylon’ influence in our cuisine which includes appams, puttu, string hoppers, wattalappam, Sambals etc. I started my dinner with some piping hot fish cutlets, Anchovy fry, Anchovy Sambal, Yellow Sambal with shrimps, Curry leaves fry, and Chilli fritters (with potato filling). The Chef’s special Ring gourd chutney went well the fritters.


What surprised me was the variety of pickles and desserts. Where to start and where to stop, I really got confused. Chef told us that in Colombo pickles are widely available in roadside. Starfruit, berries, eggplant, okra, and shallots were some of the pickles I really loved it.




It was fun having the main course as most of us loved the Jaffna Crab curry and hogged like anything. It was a very messy affair, but who cares when food is so good. The local red rice served with the curry was so light and tasty. I loved the Red Sambal which was like our ‘chammanthi’ (coconut chutney we make in Kerala), Kohila tempered (Lasia leaves with yam), Cashew nut and green peas curry, Malu Miris Kukul Mas (Chicken dry preparation using Sri Lankan spices), Lump rice (Mutton), and Pork Kalupol Malu (a special Pork preparation made of black color powdered spices). The creamy King fish curry with Betel leaves was something new for me and it was so damn good.



The desserts reminded me of my nostalgic childhood were we used to eye the glass jars in local shop filled with milk toffee, ginger toffee, coconut mittai etc. Here at Sheraton, options were outstanding (almost 15-17 Sri Lankan sweets along with their regular desserts). That’s what I call, ‘spoilt with choices’.





My plate was filled with Milk toffee, Coconut Pancake, Bibikkan, Konda Kewan (a rice – jaggery sweet made in the shape of ladies hair bun), Kokis (Rose cookies), Ashmi, melt-in-mouth sweets like halwa and Kalu Dodole (like the Kerala jaggery halwa), and the classic Watalappam. I missed a few sweets as I was so full. I am extremely thankful to Chef Keerthisena who created these traditional desserts for us. I felt like I was in a Sri Lankan house than in a 5-star restaurant.



After having another wonderful experience at Feast by Sheraton, I have decided that when I plan for an international trip, Sri Lanka will be definitely on the list. The Chefs from Colombo were really sweet and created a storm for us and we loved it. This was their maiden trip to India and I hope they go back to Colombo with loads and loads of good memories. The Sri Lankan Food promotion is on until 30th September (only dinner) and do give it a try, I am sure you will have the same experience as mine. Thanks to team Sheraton, Chef Anthony, and PR team for inviting me to the preview.

Address:
Feast - Sheraton Grand
26/1, Dr.Rajkumar Road,
Brigade Gateway
Bengaluru
For more information, contact - 080 42520133

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Wednesday, September 12, 2018

From the land of Nawabs and Kebabs - Awadhi Food Festival by Chef Rehman at Feast - Sheraton Grand Bengaluru Whitefield Hotel!



Last weekend was so much fun. My Friday started with a ‘feast’ at Feast restaurant at Sheraton Grand Bengaluru Whitefield Hotel. They are having an Awadhi Food Festival by visiting Chef Rehman. Chef Rehman did a great job by bringing the royal flavors, rich ingredients and age-old recipes together for the buffet spread. The modern fusion cuisines will stand in one side in front of this exquisite Awadhi cuisine; one of the finest cuisines which Mughals gave us.

Lucknow, the capital of state Uttar Pradesh (also known as the city of Nawabs) is the origin of Awadhi Cuisine. Awadh means indestructible. British people used to call it ‘Oudh’ for Ayodhya region. Awadhi Cuisine is famous for its melt-in-mouth kebabs, bread, nihaari, pulao, and biryani.
Feast by Sheraton Grand Bengaluru Whitefield Hotel is having a daily changing menu for this exclusive festival and the day I went I got to try some of the best dishes from Awadhi cuisine. The Zaayka (taste) of Awadhi food is as beautiful as Urdu lafzon (words).



While strolling with a plate in my hand, I was literally pulled towards the aroma coming from the Kebab counter. I started my lunch with Sheermal (rich bread made of milk, sugar, saffron and clarified butter), along with Boti Kebab and Galouti. The Galouti/Galawati Kebab originated 150+ years back when the last Nawab Wajid Ali Shah couldn’t enjoy the kebabs after losing his teeth and the lingering taste of Kebabs made him ask the royal Chef for a melt-in-mouth Kebab and hence the Galouti was born. Galouti means melt-in-mouth and it is prepared using mashed meat and other spices. The aroma and taste of ghee was totally different from what I had in restaurants till now (asli desi ghee ka kamaal) :)



For starters, I had the Murgh Chowranga Tikka, Mahi Fish Tikka with mustard flavors, Rawa fried fish, Laal Mirch ke Paneer tikka, and Pineapple Bhaji (Pineapple fritters) and the flavors were so amazing that I didn’t forget to take a second serving.
 






The veg and non-veg spread were equally good. For the main course, they had Achari Paneer, Lagan Ki Bhindi (the utensil used for making this dish is called Lagan), Bharwan Tamatar, Gosht Dopyaaza, Ithar Ki Dal, Yakhni Pulao etc. I tried a few dishes and loved it. Surprisingly they had South Indian dishes like Beef Gojju, and Coconut Rice as well in the buffet counter.




For desserts, along with the usual suspects, they had festival special Apricot Kheer, Anjeer Ki Kheer, and Shahi Tukda. Garnished with nuts and dry fruits, these desserts were so rich in flavors and so filling. Chef also mentioned us about the Mirchi ka Halwa which is made of Capsicum. Isn’t interesting?

A special thanks to Chef Rehman for spending time with us, explaining each and every dishes and transporting us back to a different era. The festival is on till 16th September and please don’t miss this feast. The buffet spread is available for lunch and dinner and it’s priced at ₹1499/-

Address:
Feast at Sheraton Grand Bengaluru Whitefield Hotel & Convention Centre
Prestige Shantiniketan,
Hoodi, Whitefield
Bengaluru
For table bookings, contact - 08071008223
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