FBAB Meetup at Rasta - Kalyan Nagar

I had the pleasure to be the part of the first FBAB (Food Bloggers Association, Bangalore) meetup at Rasta, Kalyan Nagar in Banglore.

Chef Bibhuti Bhusan Panigrahy, he is a very humble and good person to interact. He co-founder of FBAB and a very active member. The other members of FBAB that attended the meetup was Shruti Suresh, Shobana Vijay, Nita Mehta, Rumana Nazarali, Naveen Suresh, Harishankar Camala, Rahul Baskaran and Sujay Krishna. Vikram Raghu is the manager of Rasta who took care of us during the meetup.

Starters

Zucchini Fritters topped with Tomato Salsa was a very good combination, this an excellent dish to have with a chilled beer, make sure that the zucchini is had with the salsa.

Vegetable Rissoles was served with tomata ketchup, this slightly blunt and I would have preferred either mustard, tobasco sauce or the salsa that was served with the zucchini.

Chicken & Cheese Balls with Chilli Aioli, the aioli gave a bitter experience and the same was compensated with the mayonnaise.

Prawn Vol-au-Vent was a treat that by looking at it I got the picture of Keema puffs. The prawn Vol-au-Vent is on a higher side and this a one of ways for people to try prawns for the first time, as the taste of prawns isn't that evident other that for the full prawn topped with it.

Main Course

I choose to have Baked Chicken Parmigiano and taste Grilled Fish Steak with Lemon-Butter Sauce from the others. The baked chicken parmigiano does not look like it would fill you but it will. It had a crispy edges with soft chicken, the dish needs to needs to had soon because the chicken tends to harden too much as it gets cold.

The grilled fish steak with lemon butter sauce was very tasty but it wasn't enough to filled my appetite (if I had the same as my main course).

Dessert

Caramel Fruit Basket, I found the serving portion to be less.

Belgian Chocolate Brownie with Ice Cream, I loved the chocolate and brownie which was slightly on the crispy side.

The Italian festival at Bene, Sheraton Bangalore

I had the pleasure to come back to Sheraton and this time it was Bene again, to try out their Italian menu created by Chef Mori La Greca. He is an excellent person who isn’t that well off with English but he has the spirit in him to communicate with us and most importantly his fellow colleagues.

A few words about the Chef, he started his career in Milano in 2001. He progressed from most fashionable clubs in Milan to a well-renowned restaurant La petit plage in Juan les Pins, France. He is now heading at ll Canneto as master chef at the Iconic Sheraton Milan. He has come to Bangalore to share his delicious dishes with Sheraton’s customers and to prep his fellow colleagues here.

Before I start of, I want to inform you that the portions shown in the pictures are baby portions. We had requested the Chef to prepare baby portions, so that we could taste more of his dishes.

Drink

I requested the bartender to prepare something in watermelon, he made a watermelon mojito. It was a very refreshing drink but I faced a small problem every time when the seeds found its way through the straw.

Antipasti (Appetizers)

Involtini di zucchine melanzane, basilico, pomodoro confit e mozzeralla .. e crosini di pane al parmigiano. This is a zucchini eggplant, basil, tomato confit and mozzarella and crosini bread Parmesan. The eggplant was wonderfully made and in my opinion a person who hates eggplant can develop a taste of the same with this dish, the reason is the blend the slightly burnt eggplant. I loved it so much that I cleared my plate in a jiffy.

Tris di pomodori e caprino. This is a varity of tomatoes with caramelized shallot dressing with seasonal greens and crumbled goat cheese. I am not a fan of goat cheese but in this dish it was the savior. I felt that the seasonal greens left a lasting impression but when you have a spoon full with some goat cheese it become completely balanced. The tomatoes are from "Frist Agro Farm", which are chemical free but rich in taste.

Soup

Green zucchini soup with mascarpone. Kindly do not go by my serving cause it is a cream soup with a good heavy punch.

Pizza

We had the Pizza Margherita with was with mozzarella, tomatoes and fresh herbs. This is as light has it looks but very delicious cause of the simplicity. The pizza vanished inside us in a matter of seconds.

We were served a calzone but I am very unhappy to say that I cannot recall the name. It was hotter than it looked by which I burnt by tongue. It was a good.

Primi Piatti (Pasta Dish)

We had the Cannelloni di anatra, ricotta funghi e crocante di parmigianno. This is a Cannelloni of duck with ricotta cheese, mushrooms and crispy parmesan. The best part is the duck, it looked yum and tasted way better. A treat that all duck eaters that cannot miss.

Gnocchi di ricotta con fonduta blu e nocciola, this is ricotta cheese gnocchi in blue cheese sauce and hazelnut. This dish hit the spot. This is slightly on the cheesier side with a good balance to it but it can fill you up very easily.

I Risotti (Rice Dish)

Risotto ai Funghi porcini, this is a risotto with porcini mushrooms, fresh herbs and truffle oil. I was full and this dish did become a challenge but it tasted so good, due to which some space was automatically made in me. This is a very pleasant delight.

I dolci (Sweets & desserts)

Tartino di cioccola, crema inglese vanilla e gelato alla canella. Which is a chocolate fondant with vanilla sauce and homemade cinnamon ice cream. This is a perfect example of a hot and cold dish that complemented each other. The chocolate fondant would fill your mouth and completely occupy all corners of you mouth, the cinnamon ice cream does the trick of cleaning it all out, so that you can enjoy the chocolate or if you are a fan of cinnamon ice cream then vise versa.

Mousse di ricotta, cioccolato, limone candito, cialda croccante e crema di pistacchi. Which is ricotta mousse, chocolate, candied lemon, crispy wafer and pistachio cream.

Tiramisu espuma is the Chef Moris style of tiramisu. We had the pleasure to have the actual tiramisu and frankly both are really good. If you have the room to have both then do have it, if you don’t have too much room then you cannot miss Tiramisu espuma cause this is on the lighter side which is equally tasty.

The original

Chef special

If you want a homemade ice cream made in any flavor you want, then do give them a 4-5 hours heads up. They do take it if they can do it.

The Sommelier is expected to pair each dish with a wine. The management is expected to launch a four and five course meal, with and without wine.

Sheraton does a weekly buffet on the Saturday night (depending on the weather) where the east meets west, here the buffet includes the Italian dish, Persian and Indian dish.

The Italian Food festival has started on 21st Mar and it is expected to be open till 29th Mar. If you have the taste for Italian Food, do visit to have authentic taste.

Sheraton website : http://www.sheratonbangalore.com

Republic Of Noodles - Lemon Tree, Bangalore

I had the pleasure to visit this Pan Asian Cuisine. I am personally not a fan of noodles but this time I was very eager to have it, I heard that this place has the best noodles in town and its true. Let me first tell you about this huge, good, different and wonderful place. The place is decorated in red and the light is just enough bright to rich the place, then make the place glittery. The place had a good Asian feel to it and the table set up was a standard setting and to add to the decor a Dev Wine was placed in most of the tables

Drinks

Firstly I had a Lemon Tree Citrus Martini with black olives, this was a first time that I had with black olives due to which the drink actually did not hit the spot. I finished the drink and repeated the order with green olive, the made the difference and hit the right spot.

One of the other blogger had ordered the Lemon Tree Rum Cooler, which was surely the best rum cooler that I liked. The rum content was consistent all throughout the drink (heard from her).

Starters

Firstly we were served Fried Wonton, which looked rather small but the punch that carried with it was wonderful. I was glad that Chef Surajit had sent this dish first.

The Crispy Water Chestnuts with Bamboo shoots was served, I liked chestnut is very less quantity but this dish change my taste toward it. I had a very good quantity of it and enjoyed every bite of the same.

Then Banana Leaf wrapped Grilled Fish was a treat to me in so much, I made sure that I had four of the same. I loved the way fish was cooked and the ingredient that went into the dish, it was simply yum.

The Steamed Tofu with lime chilly dressing did interest me for the small amount of after taste of lime. I like the was it match properly with my martini.

Thai garlic pepper prawns was the next to be served. I usually prefer prawn cooked than fired due to the fact that the prawn loses its taste. In dish the taste was lost to some extent, even thou the dish stood up for the matter of fact seasoning.

The Pot Roasted Spare Ribs really hit the spot, they were cooked good and it gave a slight sweet after taste to it. This is a good heavy starter.

Were served Veg Vietnamese Roll and a mushroom starter

Soup

The Tom Yum Goong Soup was something that I felt that was made just to my liking. I loved the prawn treats in the clear soup. This was something that I really had to have only one serving as I was filled with ribs to the extent that I can have some main course and little dessert.

Main course

I was waiting to have the noodles and I had just enough place in my tummy to try the noodles. I stuffed myself with Phad Thai noodles to extent to have only the dessert due to the taste, I loved the way that at least one peanut came with each morsel.

I was full but had enough place for desserts, this changed for when I had the Jasmine steamed rice with prawn green curry, the combination was so great really did not mind not having the dessert for the same.

Some of the other served dishes are Shredded chicken, Thai Fried Rice, Yellow Curry Fish, Tofu and mushroom curry, and Sri Lankan curry fish.

Dessert

Yummy Chestnut dessert, exotic flavoured ice creams and Coconut jelly. I tasted the ice creams and they were yum. I had to restrict myself to just a spoon of each of the ice cream (you can never say no to ice cream), they were Tamarind, Kaffir lime, Choco Chilli, Wasabi, Lemongrass and Green Tea

GourmetItUp experience at Shiro for Lingering Lunch

I had a well-deserved break from my busy schedule all thanks to Shiro, which came to the rescue. I was invited by GourmetItUp for a review of the Lingering lunches at Shiro. This is my second time here and I was looking for my yummy treats from Chef Priyank.

A little bit about GourmetItUp, it creates and curates customized food experiences. They are in their third year currently and have a strong hold in Mumbai, Delhi and Pune, entering the Bangalore market. They help in creating unique and exclusive dining experiences for its members, from off-menu meals to tasting experiences.

You must be wondering on how GourmetItUp works? Here is the answer: Diners register at GourmetItUp.com and browse through an extensive set of exclusive dining experiences. Diners can make a reservation at the click of a button and payments are made directly at the restaurant. Each experience clearly displays the menu, pricing and table availability and the GourmetItUp concierge can be easily reached via a call or live chat to answer any questions about an experience or to suggest experiences that best fit the occasion.

I had a wonderful cocktail which was rum based with figs and it was an excellent combination for the food that was served. I had the same drink throughout my experience at Shiro.

The famous Rum based cocktail

The lingering lunches have 2 options for unlimited food apart from ala carte service. One can choose from Unlimited dim sums special or Unlimited Sushi and Maki special, both priced at Rs.850 plus charges and taxes.

I started with the assorted veg dim sum platter which had Zucchini and coriander dumpling, spinach and corn dumpling, celery and pepper mushroom dumpling and chi chow dumpling. I usually do not like veg dim sums, as get very little variety of taste. This view of my changed with each dim sums that I had. I personally loved the chi chow dumpling and the Zucchini and coriander dumplings, they gave a unique taste and they were good without the dip as well as with the dip. I could not find anything more refreshing with eager for tasting each of them. If you like veg dim sums, then you cannot miss these. Each dim sums have an unique taste of its own and they are well balanced

Veg Dim sums

Next came the assorted non veg dim sum platter which had Celery and prawn dumpling, sui mai, hargau and chicken gyoza along with steamed chicken and shitake mushroom. Hargau has marinated prawns and steamed inside a translucent wrapper. While Sui mai had minced chicken and prawns and shitake mushroom steamed in a wonton wrapper. The Hargau was yum, this did look simple but it tasted extraordinary. The non veg dim sums also had a unique taste and it was also well balanced. The chicken gyoza along with steamed chicken and shitake mushroom looked very raw, the chicken tasted good but I did not try the mushroom.

Non Veg Dim sums

You can have the dim sums just like to get the proper taste of each dim sum, also each with the chilly dip and soya sauce to play with the taste of them also.

Next was Sushi and Maki Special. Starting with Maki, this is my first time having Maki. In veg, Crispy spicy avocado, vegetarian spicy California and Kappa maki was served which tasted well. The Crispy spicy avocado is made to excellence, cause I loved it and developed a taste also. In non veg, california maki, tuna maki, prawn maki, new york maki, spicy chicken with shitake maki was served. The rice was filing my tummy but I did developed a taste for Maki. I like the tuna maki and prawn maki.

Non Veg Maki

Veg Maki and Sushi (left to right)

Then Veg sushi, I tried the cucumber, I enjoyed it to some extent but the dish as such is very authentic. In non veg, I could not try the same as I was full. They looked good but I cannot comment on the same.

Non Veg Sushi

My meal by having a cup of green tea which hit the write spot.

My green tea

From this experience I came to know that I have not developed a complete taste from Maki and Sushi but I could eat the same when required.