Pumpkin tales, Chennai

Sourdough bread with butter- the bread had a lovely sour flavour, and crisp crust...

 Yumm pumpkin soup 

 Spicy Tempeh- Fermented soya bean slices that have been cooked with spices on the grill.. 

 Fermented soya bean slices.. I quite liked the pungency of it.... 

 The mains [Clockwise order]- Mezze platter, Prawn Tacos, Bibimbap [veg] and Mexican bean rice salad[with chicken]

Bibimbap - I had this last year in the US and loved it.. It is basically a bowl that you put together with various ingredients [cooked & raw]. Here we are served it pre plated in a hot hot bowl- it has greens, tofu, sprouts, the Gochujang Sauce (Korean Chilli Paste), rice and few other ingredients. It is fun digging into the bowl and scraping the bottom bits stuck to the bowl... Loved this one as well.. 

 The desserts- Mango Gelato, Tiramisu Gelato with strong coffee flavour, Tiramisu and Pumpkin Pie [ which is one that I dug into and loved]

Ok, now that I have given you something to drool over.. Here is a quick recap of the evening that was. I had seen Pumpkin tales a few times in the passing, but hadn't had the opportunity to hop in and try their fare. So, few days back we decided to head over for dinner. I soon discovered they were 10months old, and had just revamped their menu as well.. 

The brainchild of 3 women entrepreneurs - Chind Vardarajulu [Chindi- who is also the woman behind the menu, thanks to her extensive travels], Raja rajeshwari and Bhuvana, Pumpkin Tales is a place that offers cuisines we havent heard off and dishes that we might have seen only on TV shows or recipe books. The place has a very casual comfortable feel to it, with bright coloured chairs and plenty of space all around. 

They have a store in the ground floor that sells croissants, cookies, breads and other products, worth a look, especially the gelatos..

The menu at the restaurant is quite extensive, with a small explanation beneath the name of the dish. Chindi also told us none of the dishes were deep fried, and they use the best produce available. The tempeh for example- Chindi & Rajarajeswari patiently explained  what it was, how it was made, showed us the raw product and gave a headsup about the strong flavours in it.. For someone like me who is eternally curious and always excited to try new things, this was an eye opener of sorts. The stories behind the dishes excite me more than the dish itself.. and I enjoyed the whole evening immensely cos it had plenty of good food and interesting stories.. Looking forward to going back for their breakfast!! Care to join?  

Address:

37/20, Bheemanna Garden St, Alwarpet, Chennai - 600018

[The road next to Kirtilal jewellery on CP Ramaswamy road]

Ph-  044 2499 5510

Disclaimer: The reviews posted on this blog are based on my personal experience. Also remember these were just my views!! Remember, no two palates are the same. Bon Appétit :-)

Revamped menu at Bombay Brasserie, Chennai

This wasn't my 1st or 2nd visit to Bombay Brasserie, I have been here numerous times and love their food. Infact, not just me but my family too loves the food. And now they have revamped their menu a bit, giving it a new look and feel. 

I was back there for lunch, and it was heavenly as always ... I opted for the melon based drink, it was melon- orange crushed and it had pieces of the fruit which I loved. The other drink was a grape based drink, which came in a small glass bottle.. 

The plate of papdam/crisps came in a pretty tray with four kinds of chutneys, each of them was completely different flavour profile, one was tangy, another sweet, a spicy one & last one was a simple capsicum tomato chutney... 

The starters and main dishes that followed were yummm as well.. The one dish that stood out, I wouldnt mind going back for was the Bombay canteen lunch served with coconut rice wrapped in banana leaf. Oh my God, it was heavenly. The glass jar had a veg curry, topped with a big handful of crisps[ almost like vadam] on the side was the rice [Basmati rice cooked in coconut milk] which was simple yet delicious. Polished it right off the plate, not leaving a morsel behind. 

The meal came to an end with 2 different desserts -one was an Anglo indian bread pudding served with custard and the other was a flavour packed kulfi with falooda on top.. I loved the pudding!! 

If you are looking for a place to go do a relaxed fun lunch at, I would highly recommend Bombay Brasserie.. I know they have another outlet in Adyar, though I haven't been there, if the food standards are what they are in Nungambakkam, you can go with blind faith!! 

Address:

No. 3, College Lane, 

Nungambakkam, Chennai -600034

[Beside The Marina restaurant]

Disclaimer: The reviews posted on this blog are based on my personal experience. Also remember these were just my views!! Remember, no two palates are the same. Bon Appétit :-)

Koramangala Social, bangalore

It was a place like no other I have been to. I rode the elevator to the 3rd floor, and entered the place and was instantly greeted by nothing but plush greenery and plenty of sunlight streaming in through the glass panel windows above. It was such a breath of fresh air, especially for someone who has been to pubs across the country where most of them are dark and dingy. Infact, you don't know where you are stepping in most places.

I found my friend seated in a table with a mix of chairs, I chose the sofa and it was damn comfortable. I got a view of the place and the one thing that hit me was the wide open spaces, the funky kitsch furniture, the overhead hanging plug points [you can pull em down if you wish to charge any device] and ofcourse the cool gear worn by the staff, very military style. 

There was a small aluminium bucket of sorts on the table that held the different menus [ they resemble the newspaper], a tissue roll with funky quirky words on it and cutlery alongside the same. I was in love with the place. Not to forget the girls whose company I always enjoy. We must have spent about 4 hrs there, and could have gone on for few more.. When I walked in, friend was drinking chai, there was a tall glass with tea, a small cutting glass with milk that said "cutting" [in hindi]. I instantly ordered one for myself. Similarly, I noticed that most glasses had a hindi word on them [paani=water, and so on]

Now coming to the food and drinks, I loved all that we ordered. I enjoyed my tall glass of Long Island Iced tea [ 500ml that came in a tall narrow glass with a long straw- it was made well] .. As for the food, the presentation is a big part of the experience- the plates, bowls they were served in and the flavours as well [except for the Laksa which I felt was different from what we expected and was tad spicy as well] 

We ordered pretty much everything on the menu, starters to desserts and were happy campers at the end of the meal. We tried the Khao Suey  [which was good,but the sauce felt a lot like what was served in the Laksa], the Paneer in a box [ it was served in a Chinese box with chopsticks], the Bhel puri and ofcourse the trio of desserts - Ramesh Suresh [ deep fried 5 Star chocolate served with vanilla ice cream in a metal box], the date sticky toffee pudding and chocolate explosion of sorts [ forgot the name, it was just an overdose of chocolate]

The damage [the box that contained the bill had this word printed on it..lol] was around 3k, but well worth the price...  The place has options for working, bring your laptop sit and work away; plenty of greenery which adds to the whole charm [apparently the other Social outlets are different and this is the largest of them all- 13000 sq ft]. Spotted quite a few groups with kids and babies as well. 

Address:
118, Koramangala Industrial Area, Koramangala 7th Block,
Bangalore
Ph- 080 40515253

Yakiniku, pop up restaurant, Hyatt Regency Nov 14 - Dec 10

Hyatt Regency in Teynampet has come up with a new concept, one that is quite interesting.. They have introduced for the first time ever in Chennai, a pop-up restaurant by a five star hotel that will deliver extraordinary Japanese fare at "Yakiniku".

 Biscotti, their pastry shop has been converted into a Japanese restaurant, from decor to staff to the food and even the cutlery..  They even had a few origami pieces on display... 

Video- making the sushi..

It is where you get to taste some amazing Japanese dishes, all made with ingredients that are as Japanese as they can get. Some of the options available are - Niku Tofu (Sliced beef, tofu, dash stock,

green onion, chili powder), Takoyaki (Octopus dumplings, tonkatsu sauce, mayonnaise, seaweed),

Salmon Chanchan Yaki (Salmon, cabbage, onion, mushroom, carrot, sweet miso), Nasu Dengaku (Fried Eggplant, miso sauce, sesame seed). Also, available would be Sushi and Sashimi live stations. 

I also spied the staff working on Vegetarian and non vegetarian Tempura. Oh and they have a few options in soups as well -- Miso and Potato & crab meat soup...  While the menu was conceptualised by their in house Chef Subrata Debnath, a Japanese chef was brought in to teach the authentic methods of cooking and serving. Apart from the food, the decor too will feature heavy Japanese influences. "We want the diners to have the feel of being in an authentic Japanese restaurant," says the chef.    We also got the opportunity to witness Chef from Grand Hyatt Guam make sushi, and damn he was fast! 

The list is endless.. While I was there for the launch, I got to try Japanese Beer- Asahi and a few vegetarian starters- The Sushi and Nasu Dengaku, both of which left me curious for more... I am not someone who enjoys Brinjal but the sauce and the way it had been cooked was amazing, had me asking for a 2nd helping!  The Sushi was delicious, and quite filling, I had it with a good dollop of wasabi, soya sauce and pickled ginger as well. 

When you are done trying out the starters and mains, do keep some space aside for their desserts- Green Tea Tiramisu, Jelly Soup, Rice  noodle, brown sugar syrup, vanilla ice cream to name a few! 

Well, if that doesn't have you drooling, I don't know what will.. All I would say is make a visit to the pop up restaurant before December 10th.. 

Experience Yakiniku from 14th November to 10th December 2015. 

Open only for dinner (7pm to 11:30pm)

For reservations and more information, call 044 6100 1234 or +91 9962000619.

Disclaimer: The reviews posted on this blog are based on my personal experience. Also remember these were just my views!! Remember, no two palates are the same. Bon Appétit :-)

Cafe Noir, Bangalore

What do we do .. what do we do... Shall we head out to Orion Mall?, it is a bit far, but a nice one at that.. is how the morning dawned... Told friend not to drive and we hailed a cab to the Mall. I know of the traffic chaos & parking woes that one faces in Bangalore and that is why I suggested this option. Glad I did.. Friend would have been pissed off by the time we reached, for it took us a good hour and a half to reach the place. 

It is a huge mall, but like everything else in Bangalore opens late... When we walked in at 11am, most shops were just dusting their window displays and getting ready to open full fledged. I noticed Landmark, but they hadn't opened yet.. So we decided to wander about, check out if there were any movies available... As we walked around the place, friend mentioned there was a cafe here which was very good and we could do lunch there. I said "Ok". We spent a good half hour in Landmark, explored the so called Caravan- flea market on the top floor[which was quite sad] .. No other store really stands out in my mind. Am not a mall person, and I go there only for the book stores and movie theaters. 

Clocked ticked away, and it was 1pm. We made a beeline towards Cafe Noir [ 3rd floor if am right]. The place was fairly empty, we took a seat in the table at the far end. The one next to ours was occupied by a group that looked like they were celebrating a kid's birthday. 

I noticed they served alcohol as well. It is a new thing for me to see booze alongside food -  esp since we do not see it in Chennai.. :-) We skipped booze and went ahead and ordered up starters and mains. For starters we went with Stuffed mushroom which was sinfully yumm & a portion of bread with hummus... We also ordered a plate of fried which friend's son insisted was his.. we packed it home. 

As for the  mains, we had pasta- i had penne and friend ordered Fettuccine.. We opted for the Mexican pasta which came with Artichoke, olives and sun dried tomatoes. The food was the perfect portion size and flavours were amazing. I loved the balance of spices..  Friend did find it tad spicy. 

For the little one, we ordered a pizza with onion, olives and capsicum [along with coloured bell peppers] as toppings, which he polished. 

Onto desserts, friend said lets go take a look. And that is when it struck me there was an entire dessert counter near the entrance and each of the dishes in there was such a visual treat. From that lot, I picked the Strawberry tart while friend opted for a multi layer chocolate based . Her son on the other hand had other plans, he wanted the peanut butter dessert. Since we had ordered two, we decided to pack his dessert which he polished off later at home. My dessert was fresh, creamy and out of the world- fresh strawberries, creamy custard and beautifully baked pie crust. I was in heaven.  

The bill came to about Rs1100 per pax.. Well worth the money I would say~!! These guys have an outlet across the city, including one in the International Airport & UB City. 

Address:
Food Court, Orion Mall, Brigade Gateway, Dr. Rajkumar Road, Near Yeshwantpur, Malleshwaram, Bangalore

I & Monkey, Bangalore

I was in Bangalore for the weekend, chilling out with a friend who has recently moved there.. Hadn't told a lot of people I was there [becomes tough to meet and I am exhausted by the end of the trip]. I called another friend to check where she was and if we could meet. So, that Sunday we decided to meet for lunch. The topic of where then came up, and after a bit of debate we settled for I & Money on 12th main road, Indira Nagar.  I knew I had seen the place but couldn't place it and it was only when we drove down the road did I realise I had walked past it during the earlier trip.. 

The walls were white, light fittings were black and quite clean decor. The walls near the bar had a whole lot of jazz players sculptures and the walls had photographs of famous jazz musicians. But the music played in the restaurant was random english pop... We chose to sit in a table outside and started glancing through the menu card while waiting for the friend to arrive. They don't have an extensive menu, but do offer a range of food & drinks [ alcohol included]. I ordered a Fresh lime soda salt along with which we ordered 2 veg starters - one was potato pancakes of sorts and the other was stuffed mushrooms. Friend arrived, and she proceeded to order  non veg starter and we started yapping, while waiting for food.

The Potato pancake was delicious and so was the stuffed mushroom. The sauce that came with friend's prawns were yumm- spicy but one of those that makes us want more.. :-) 

Two other tables were occupied, one with child that was happily jumping about and the other with a couple who were fairly quiet. We then got down to ordering mains. I opted for a dish that had herbed rice and mushroom side- both go which was good and the portion was quite huge. Friend ordered pasta and the other one went for prawns again... 

The food was good, but portion size as I mentioned was quite large. We were full and decided to skip dessert, asking for the check. 

The bill worked out to Rs1400 per pax... Not really my kind of place, but was a good experience nonetheless... 

I & Monkey

968, 12th Main, HAL, Indira Nagar 2nd Stage, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560038

Phone:080 4092 3656

Disclaimer: The reviews posted on this blog are based on my personal experience. Also remember these were just my views!! Remember, no two palates are the same. Bon Appétit :-)