Thursday, January 31, 2019

A delightful Pan-Asian lunch at China Bistro, Indiranagar!






Last week I have been to the recently launched ‘China Bistro’ for a weekday lunch and had a delightful experience there. The sad part is that a favorite pub of mine- ‘Glocal’ has been closed down and China Bistro (which is from the same management) opened up in this space. Located in one of the busiest roads in 12th Main, China Bistro is a good option for Pan-Asian food lovers; and their VFM buffet menu is something which can grab any customer’s attention. They are going to launch ‘China Lounge’ this week on the first floor exclusively for the party lovers.





My foodie friend and I met over a quick lunch and we ordered food from their ‘a lá carte’ menu. I love the fact that restaurants started exploring more and more interesting ingredients for their bar menu. This not only adds charm to any drink but also makes you feel so good.  I ordered Vodka – Pomegranate drink named ‘Pomme’s cup’ which had interesting Asian flavors. After tasting this drink, I am sure that this place will be a good option for drinks.




Here are the dishes we savored –Spicy Som Tam Salad (ordered veg as my friend is a pure vegetarian), Konjeenaro (Crispy fried vegetables); colorful and well presented Dim sums - ‘Pak Choi and Shiitake Mushroom’ and ‘Ginger Chicken Jiaozi’; Zing Ping Swing Roll (Deep fried Spinach and Cheese roll coated with vermicelli) and Aromatic Crispy Duck Roll from the spring roll menu.







For the main course, we tried the ‘Corn Water Chestnut and Potato, Vegetable Thai Green Curry, wok tossed Prawns in Szechuan Chilli Oil and flavorful Lotus leaf wrapped rice. Both the appetizers and main course were really good that we polished off everything within no time.



For desserts, we ordered a Matcha Green Tea Tiramisu and Darsaan Cheese Cake with crispy honey noodles and vanilla ice cream. Unfortunately, the desserts we ordered were very disappointing. We conveyed the same to the management as well.




The restaurant service was quick and the staffs were very polite. Overall I enjoyed my dining experience (except the desserts part) at China Bistro and would love to visit again as I love Pan Asian cuisine <3
Address:
China Bistro & Lounge
#2986, Ashwini Complex
12th Main, HAL 2nd Stage
Indiranagar, Bangalore
For reservations, contact - 080 33512998


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Tuesday, January 22, 2019

Ingredient of the month - Black Pepper!

Hello everyone,

Hope this New Year 2019 is treating you all well. I started writing about ingredients from end of last year, starting with Bird's eye chili. This month's ingredient is 'Black Pepper' which is from my in-laws place (100% home grown :) ).


Here is some interesting facts about Black pepper -

Black pepper (Piper Nigrum) known as ‘King of spices’ (also known as black gold in ancient times), is one of the widely used spices in the world. 

With the presence of more than 3000 years in the history, this was one of the major reasons for significant spice trades of India with other nations. Explorers like Vasco Da Gama and Christopher Columbus came to India for this spice.

According to researches Black pepper was originated in the Western Ghats of Kerala. With plenty of medicinal values this black beauty is one of my favorite spices and even for a simple cold and cough, the first ingredient we search in the kitchen will be pepper. 

Black pepper is an excellent source of antioxidants, Vitamin K, Potassium, Iron, Calcium, Dietary Fiber etc. Black Pepper contains ‘Piperine’ which combined with Turmeric has wonderful health benefits and act as an antidepressant, reduces bloating, help to lose weight, boosts memory and immunity, helps to prevent diabetes, cancer; reduces cholesterol, bad breath, cough and throat diseases etc. So start adding pepper in your daily diet and home remedies.

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Saturday, January 19, 2019

Grandiose Konkan Katta at Nook at Aloft Bengaluru Cessna Business Park (14th - 25th January 2019)!





Konkan cuisine is vast and beautiful just like the Konkan coastal belts covering three major states – Maharashtra, Goa, and Karnataka. It’s high time we should celebrate our local and regional cuisines of India. Having said that, Nook at Aloft is having a ‘Grandiose Konkan Katta’ from 14th – 25th Jan 2019 and I was invited for a fabulous dinner here recently. The coastal cuisine is predominately about seafood and that’s the main highlight of this festival along with the popular vegetarian Konkan dishes. Though the taste of seafood fiesta I had at Kochi is still in my mind, this was refreshed with best of best Konkan dishes created by Chef Amit Rane and Chef Aniket Das.






What I loved most – I couldn’t stop eating the Kolombi Bhaat (Prawns rice), and ‘Prawns and Potato curry’. The other favorites includes - Kothimbir Wadi, Kelyache Kaap (Raw banana fritters), Bharlela Paplet (Stuffed Pomfret fry), Tallelli Mandelli (Rava coated crispy fish fry), Kombdi Vade with Malvani Chicken curry, Kurlya che kalwan (Crab curry), Malvani fish curry with Ghavne (Neer Dosa), Bharleli Vaangi (Stuffed brinjal), Jhunka Bhakar, Haldikolyanche Patholi (Sweet rice dumplings steamed in Turmeric leaves). We finished our dinner with a glass of refreshing Sol Kadhi.











For desserts, we tried Modak, Gulab jamun, and Sev boondi. The taste of colorful sev boondi reminded the days where we used to buy sweets for ₹1/-. 




Overall I had a great dinner and would love to visit again before the fest gets over. Guys… if you are in and around Cessna Business Park, then please don’t miss this mouthwatering Konkan spread with amazing seafood dishes. The buffet is available for lunch and dinner and it’s priced at ₹1150/- + taxes (till 25th Jan 2019).

Address:
Nook at Aloft Bengaluru Cessna Business Park
Outer Ring Road
Bengaluru
For more information, contact - 080 45101033
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Saturday, January 5, 2019

Winter in Bengaluru calls for a bowl of Ramen noodles at Pot-O-Noodles, Indiranagar!




If you’re looking for a bowl full of nourishing, satisfying and ‘best for winter season’ kind of food, then head to Pot-O-Noodles at Double Road, Indiranagar. Pot-O-Noodles stands out for the oriental food they serve and also for their modern décor with quirky elements. Till my recent visit to this restaurant, I was not a fan of ‘Ramen noodles’ (a popular Japanese street food). To my surprise, this place offers a lot more than just Ramen noodles.





We were a group of four who happily shared veg and non-vegetarian dishes. I loved their poached wontons with minced pork and ginger filling, Prawns and Mirin Gyoza, Lumpia rolls with chicken and cheese filling, crispy fried tofu with chili and burnt garlic, Japanese Panko fried Prawns with Katsu sauce and wasabi Mayo, Lumpia rolls with spinach and cheese filling. The Tofu Karages could have been better and the Sriracha Mayo served with it had very mild flavors.

'Summer Cooler' Mocktail







For the main course, my friends ordered a ‘Roast Pork Belly Donburi’, ‘Shiitake, napa cabbage, beans in mushroom sauce’ and I ordered Thai curried ramen with Chicken and veggies’. The Thai Curried Ramen was so tasty and an extra dose of bird’s eye chili worked well for my palate.


Apple and Cinnamon rolls with tender coconut ice cream
If not for any other dishes, I would definitely visit this outlet for their ‘Apple and Cinnamon rolls’ with 'Matcha' ice cream. Matcha flavor cannot be everyone’s favorite, it’s a very acquired taste and I just love anything with Matcha.


Overall I had a great meal at Pot-O-Noodles and would love to visit again for some of the dishes which I am craving for. A meal for two would be ₹1000 /- (approximately).
Address:
Pot-O-Noodles
#201, Double Road
Next to HDFC Signal
Indiranagar, Bengaluru
For reservations, contact - 080 - 43747204

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