Restaurant Week India 2014 and Republic of Noodles (St. John's Road, Banaglore)

September means Citibank Restaurant Week India!  A whole week of 'food glorious food' and tough decisions (so many places to try, so little time). I was invited for a preview dinner at one of the participating restaurants and chose Republic of Noodles. In all honesty, it was not my first choice but the world works in mysterious ways and I’m actually glad I went there last night. After Indian food, I think Asian food is something that tickles my palate – the complexity of flavors never ceases to amaze me.  

  

Republic of Noodles is located at the Lemon Tree Premier on St.Johns Road. Started in Goa in 2007, this award winning restaurant has slowly made its mark as an excellent destination for food from the regions of China, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Cambodia, Laos and Burma. After alighting from the lift, you walk through a wooden door to step into a space dominated by red and black. The Buddha statues and green plants add the much needed contrast to the heavy colors and in the end it results in creating an intimate and warm dining space.  

The FPD Festival: Hot Rock Grills @ Dublin (ITC Windsor, Bangalore)

There’s something about the sizzle of a grill that brings out the caveman/ cave women in us. The thrill to see something cooking on a hot rock versus a modern day oven is a primitive urge I can’t explain. There are umpteen theories about why this style of cooking results in the most luscious grills. The ones that makes the most sense to me are A. the ability of the stone to retain and distribute heat evenly and B. the retention of moisture and flavor in the food while preventing flare-ups caused in regular grills. Now, not all of us have the privilege of owning hot stones (generally made of volcanic rock) but Dublin at the ITC Windsor brings the excitement of cooking on a hot stone right to our plate, with the Hot Rock Grills festival. The Irish pub comes alive with a variety of sizzlers crafted by Executive Chef Uchit Vohra giving diners an option of healthy, oil free cuisine made from a selection of meats and seafood. Presented on preheated “Rocks” served with an array of rubs and sauces, it’s a festival designed to delight your inner grill monster. 

We tried their offering this Saturday and (I’ll say it even before I finish the post) came away absolutely delighted. There are many restaurants these days that focus on the frills and thrills rather than the food and eventually lose their regular patrons. Dublin need not worry – their commitment to make food the hero, will always hold them in good stead. 

Terrariums and other Surprises @ Ottimo (ITC Gardenia, Bangalore)

It looks like every five star hotel worth its salt, needs to have an Italian restaurant to cater to our new found love of Italian cuisine. You can’t blame them after all, the Indians have taken with gusto to pasta as if it were dal chawal! Ottimo (which means excellent in Italian) has steered away from the carb-heavy renditions of Italian cuisine and bravely presented a lighter fare with emphasis on nutrition and fresh ingredients. Chef Vittorio Grecco has also indulged his love for molecular gastronomy here and his experience in Michelin starred restaurants across Italy has helped him nudge us towards trying something which looks unfamiliar, but in the end is an excellent tribute to the flavors of Italy. 

Ottimo stands in place of the erstwhile West View Grill and has an air of relaxed luxury. The restaurant itself wraps around the main kitchen which displays a row of terrariums (Micro gardens within their own eco-system, sitting pretty within glass containers). While I am not personally a fan of velvet sofas (this one has a coat of arms of essential herbs!), I loved the beautiful pictures of plants and herbs shot by Magda Indigo that hung above it. The red tinted glasses offer a beautiful shot of color in the otherwise subdued theme. However, after sampling the dishes on offer, I was tempted to suggest that the restaurant needed to present a more light and airy atmosphere to go with Chef Greco’s beautifully plated dishes. 

Dining in Style - Riwaz @ The Ritz-Carlton (Bangalore)

A New York style maven once said, ‘Style is a way of saying who you are, without having to speak’. In the matter of The Ritz-Carlton, Bangalore, luxury seeps through every pore of its being! From the awe inspiring driveway, to the elegant and intricate jaali work, to the splashes of gold and the fire and stone décor – you just can’t escape it. Riwaz their North-West Frontier cuisine restaurant envelopes itself in this richness while somehow managing to still keep the décor modern. Chef Ramandeep Kukreja heads the culinary team at the restaurant and is clearly passionate about the cuisine. While I felt this type of cuisine was done to death in all the ‘North Indian’ restaurants in Bangalore, I still could not turn down an invite to sample the new menu at Riwaz. (They make a conscious effort to come out with something new every six months.) Why, some of the recipes are sourced from the chef’s own family and that gave me the necessary incentive to accept a dinner invitation on a weekday. 

FoodLovers Gourmet City - Le Jardin @ The Oberoi (Bangalore)

Bangalore has been a glutton for restaurant showcases in the past couple of years and every gourmand worth his salt, bookmarks this time to explore and indulge. Le Jardin at The Oberoi played host to us this Thursday to kick start the FoodLovers Gourmet City event. With 20 of the finest restaurants in Bangalore participating this year, it promises to be a celebration of all things food. While value for money has always been the driving theme for restaurant showcases, FoodLovers Gourmet city combines that with a specially curated menu featuring the chef’s signature dishes. Add to that the variety of cuisines on offer, options to dine out at lunch or dinner, choices between a 2 course and a 3 course menu – and you have yourself an event that’s bound to stand out from the crowd. 

FoodLovers takes it a couple of notches higher and ends the showcase with FoodLovers Chefs for Charity. The 20 participating restaurants offer a gourmet grazing experience over lunch on 29^th March, at The Ritz-Carlton, Bangalore.  All proceeds from this event go to Sneha Nilaya, an orphanage run by the Franciscan Sisters Of The Immaculate Society, in Langford Gardens, Bangalore, that looks after the complete well-being of orphans and under-privileged children. We had a chance to meet with Executive Chef of The Oberoi, Bangalore - Amit  Wadhawan and Chef and Director of Caperberry restaurant – Abhijit Saha, who over lunch offered us their perspective of why Chefs for Charity holds a special place in their hearts as well. I’m a staunch supporter of Corporate Social responsibility and when it comes in the form of a celebration, there’s little that I can do to resist. March is also going to be a month of celebrations for me – with seven birthdays, including my own, interspersed with dining at fabulous restaurants and ending with the Chefs for Charity event – all I want for my birthday is an iron gut!

The FPD Festival: Syrian Christian Delicacies @ Karavalli (The Gateway Hotel, Bangalore)

Karavalli has a long standing tradition of training its chefs in the kitchens of traditional homes and still continues to procure ingredients from the original source. As a tribute to household recipes that can be lost in the pages of time, Karavalli makes a conscious effort to bring this back into our memories and taste buds by hosting traditional food festivals. This February it plays host to Mathai Achayan and his Syrian Christian delicacies. 

God’s own country has a host of different communities that call it home and each one of them has a special way of treating local spices like red chillies, coconut, pepper, fresh fish and meats to bring out something completely unique. In Kerala, the Syrian Christian food is a little different from the regular Kerala Hindu Sadya, becaue of the addition of non-vegetarian elements to the meal. The most noted contribution of the community to the cuisine of Kerala has been the hoppers, duck roast, meen vevichattu and the istew (stew). Mr. Mathai hails from the Vattukulam, in Kottayam district, which is the heartland of the Syrain Christian Community. Having trained under his mother and grandmother, he is here to let your experience the traditional recipes from the grand kitchens of Kottayam, Travancore,Kollam, Allapuzha and Chaganassary now recreated at Karavalli. 

A New way of getting High @ HIGH Ultra Lounge (World Trade Center, Malleshwaram)

Yes you heard me right, Bangalore has a new way of getting high. Considering our pours of alcohol last us only till 11:30 pm, we all need something to supplement the evening. Now before your mind goes wandering in directions that could get both of us into trouble – I’ll cut the suspense short and introduce you to HIGH Ultra Lounge. Located on the 31^st floor of the World Trade Center in Malleshwaram, it aims to set the bar ‘high’ for all clubs in Bangalore. At 421 feet above the ground you can’t really help feeling ‘above the rest’! 

We were invited for a special blogger preview of the club, which officially threw its door open to the public this weekend. We were asked to dress warm because of the altitude but nobody warned us that the ride to the top in the glass lift would be nothing short of an adrenaline rush. The dedicated lift takes you zooming up to the 31^st floor in under two minutes and if you have vertigo its best to keep your eyes closed. You will open your eyes to posters of women in red hot lipstick and an escalator takes you to the landing for your entry into the ‘highest building in South, East and North of India’. That itself warrants a visit!

The FPD Photolog: Aquafest 2013 @ Karavalli (The Gateway Hotel, Residency Road, Bangalore)

One of my favorite restaurants in Bangalore – Karavalli at The Gateway Hotel, runs a seafood festival every year. This year’s Aquafest runs from the 15^th to the 30^th of November and is truly a gastronomical delight. For those of you who have never heard of Karavalli (face turning blue), it is an award winning restaurant that focuses on home-food recipes sourced from the coastal regions of South West India. (Think Mangalorean Bunts and Konkanis, Kodavas from Coorg, Malayalees, Calicut Muslims and Syrian Christians of Travancore, Havyaka Brahmins of Vitla and the Portuguese of Goa). The only restaurant in India to feature in the Top 50 list of The S. Pellegrino Asia’s Best Restaurants, Karavalli has always lived up to its legacy of creating fantastic food and amazing memories for me.

Last week I had the chance to dine with the most affable, humble and accomplished Chef Naren Thimmaiah during the preview of the Aquafest menu. I have to thank dear Monika Manchanda of Sin-A-Mon Tales, for taking me along as her date for the night. And what a fantastic date it was ;) Natasha and Nitin were our other partners in crime and this night turned out to be the best! (P.S. We didn’t even drink a drop of alcohol the whole night and all of us were buzzing with the food high!). Chef Naren kept popping in and out of the scene to enliven the night with the most fun stories. It was like dining in an old friend’s house and that made the experience so much more special. Somehow I stay away from writing about my favorite restaurants, because I don’t want to be judged about my obvious love for them. Or for the simple fact that I will take up cudgels with anyone who dares say anything negative about them. But Karavalli cannot disappoint – it’s just in their lineage to be amazing. So I proudly present to you – Aquafest 2013.

Zen and the Art of Lounging @ Tao Terraces (M.G. Road, Bangalore)

After reading mixed reviews about the Tao Terraces, it was time for me to check it out myself. I have always visited their gorgeous terrace lounge bar for a couple of drinks and to enjoy the best house music in Bangalore. Even through the restaurant on the 1^st level looks like a setting out of an opulent Thai mansion, I’ve always headed straight up for the views and the wonderful Bangalore weather. This time I was determined to give their Pan-Asian restaurant a try as well, especially since I realized that they served Japanese, as well as Burmese cuisine.  

Situated on the 5^th floor of the 1MG mall, it’s not hard to find. The hostess will guide you to the big red door that opens into the lavish and distinctly Asian setting. We headed up to the lounge first for a couple of drinks before our dinner reservation downstairs. One thing the Tao Terraces can boast of is having space! The terrace is made up of Thai style open cabanas, water bodies and little lamps. Overlooking MG road and Ulsoor it makes for a pretty picture. My only grouse is that they serve only drinks and a limited selection of starters and dim sums at the lounge – for the full menu you need to head back to the restaurant. (They also have something called the meal in bowl option – but I’ll save that for a quick lunch day). 

Amiamo La Pizza - Fall in love with Pizza @ Mezzaluna (Movenpick Hotel & Spa Bangalore, BEL Circle)

Pizza! Not the rolled-out-of-your-backyard Pizza Hut one, but the really good Italian, wood fired thin crust, topped with fantastic cheese and fresh herb variety! I mean seriously, how can you not fall in love with that one? That’s exactly what 'Amiamo La Pizza' means and that’s exactly what I did – fall in love with it! I generally reserve my opinions till the end of the post, but this one deserves special mention - it blew my mind and captured my heart (not to mention the little pirouette my taste buds did!).

La Tagliatella and a Girls Night out (Indiranagar, Bangalore)

A dinner date with the girls is never just a dinner date. It a rambunctious event! When eleven women meet for dinner, rest assured that’s where the party is! We chose La Tagliatella - the Italian chain restaurant. 100ft road Indiranagar (where else?) houses the first one in Bangalore and the second one in the country (Delhi’s Vasant Kunj was the first). I had already dined at their Barcelona outfit and was prepared to make space for huge portions and home style hearty Italian food. What I was unprepared for was completely missing the restaurant next to Sony world and driving around in circles. (That’s your hint – it’s next to Sony World!).

All that glitters is not... Azure @ Taj Vivanta (Yeshwanthpur, Bangalore)

Generally I avoid being the bearer of bad news (In ancient Rome you were killed for it). So I write this review unwillingly. We were invited by Taj Vivanta, Yeshwanthpur as part of the Bangalore CaL Bloggers table, for a night of drinks at Shimmer (their new lounge bar) and dinner at Azure (their Mediterranean restaurant). I had sampled the wares at Azure just a week before and was mighty pleased with the experience. Unfortunately this time the Food Gods did not shower their blessings on Azure. Forget shower – there wasn’t even a drizzle of benevolence.