My first Bloggers Table. Actually make that the ‘first ever’ edition of the Bangalore Bloggers Table! Was I excited? Yes!! The feisty group of women (we’re still looking for that elusive male to be a member of the group) had all been interacting on facebook for a month now, but chatting over a martini is always more fun! We were hosted by Novotel, Bangalore and were lucky to be invited to the opening of their new poolside bar and barbeque restaurant – Blue Terrain.
Poolside dining and barbeque seems like the perfect fit for us laid back Bangaloreans. Bangalore is one of the few cities that enjoys the luxury of being able to offer under the stars dining for its residents. The weather as we all know is brilliant. Natasha still warned us to carry something warm to wrap ourselves in, as it’s still ‘winter’ here. (Yes, I can see all the non-locals rolling their eyes, considering the temperature is a toasty 20 degrees!)
Novotel Bengaluru Techpark is situated in the new IT hub of town – Outer Ring Road, Sarjapur. The design is contemporary with a focus on luxury and comfort. Considering it caters to the jetsetting business crowds, it offers a multitude of dining options like The Square (global buffet and live cooking), Chez Nous (French café and lounge) and Delice (24 hr gourmet cake shop). With the addition of Blue Terrain, it now offers a place to unwind after a hard days work as well!
The al-fresco restaurant is an oasis of soothing water sounds and calming blue lights. Sitting next to the beautiful waterfall, under a starry sky and enjoying the wonderful smells wafting through the air – I knew that ‘Tonight’s gonna be a good night’!
We started with a toast to the first ever Bangalore Bloggers Table. Nothing like a round of drinks to get into the mood right? I found the beverage menu really fascinating. Some of the more interesting ones being the Lady Saffron (Saffron infused vodka, White chocolate Blanc and Single Cream with saffron strands) and the Mango Konnexxion (Vodka, Mango juice, Salt, Pepper, Worchestershire Sauce, Tabasco and Green Chilli)! I opted for a Coco Bongo – a lemon, coconut and lychee combo. I was the designated driver of my car and being such an outstanding citizen, chose to keep my drink sattvic! (Ok, truth is … I was a recovering from flu and didn’t really want to play Russian roulette with the tablets and alcohol! 😛 )
After a brief chat with the chef, we decided to leave the menu selection for the night in his capable hands. And he in turn decided to just spoil us silly! If you see the amount of food that was brought to the table that night, you could easily think it was a party for 16 instead of just 6! For once, the three veggies in the group Nandita, Chinmayie and Suma got their due. The veggie grills were fun and tasty and everyone was impressed that the ubiquitous potato had not made its appearance! So what did they eat? There was Maple Roasted Pumpkin, Tandoori Broccoli (which I loooved), Honey Glazed Carrots, Chatpata Paneer Tikka, Vegetable and Paneer Brochettes with Pimento marinade and an amazing Moong Dal Sheek- which in my opinion was the best. The Mediterranean grilled vegetables were great as well, though some of them din’t really like the sprinkling of cinnamon on them. The Grilled Eggplant and Onion Pizza was beautifully made and it’s surprised me with it’s simple but effective flavor combination.
The advantage of eating anything and everything is that I get to sample the best of both worlds. So while I happily chewed on a glazed carrot and grilled pumpkin, the chef kept sending kebab after kebab to keep my tastebuds excited. Grilled Barbequed Shrimps, Badami Tangdi Kebeb, Hot Chicken Wings, Haryali Fish Tikka, Peri Peri Prawns, Lamb Sheeks and Jack Daniel Glazed Beef Brochettes! There was a Chicken Tikka Pizza, but I’m not a fan of Indian toppings on my pizzas – give me a simple Margherita with fresh tomatoes and basil anyday! So I gingerly side stepped this one and gave room in my stomach to more of the good stuff – the succulent and perfectly cooked Tangdi kebab and the lovely fish tikka! Nandita, who’s trying to turn pescetarian, snuck a few bites of the the fish tikka and declared it was yummy and unfishy! For a new entrant into the wonders of seafood – That’s a win in my books!
By now the chatter had gotten loud and boisterous and cheeky. Natasha decided to enthrall the group with her dare devilry. No seriously, that’s exactly what drinking a flaming shot out in open air is! The Bangalore breeze took the risk factor of downing the shot from a 5 to a 9. After a good five minutes of us hooting and freaking out in turns, Natasha raised the shot glass to her lips. Just as she was going to drink the shot, there was a huge gust of wind. The flame got so large that it looked like she was breathing fire! Stunned silence. But Natasha (take a bow..clap clap clap) did it like a pro, she recovered and gulped the shot down! Woot woot woot! (Can’t wait to meet this group again!)
The chef arrived and tried to cajole us into getting some main course – burgers and their famous Beer Can Chicken. Unfortunately we were so stuffed that we couldn’t really eat another morsel…a morsel of food that is. Dessert on the other hand – everyone had space for! An exquisite ending to a fabulous night – we got all four desserts on offer!
Each of the desserts were plated to perfection and looked absolutely gorgeous. A Baked Apple Cake with Caramel Parfait, Grilled seasonal fruits with Toasted Almonds and Rum Ice cream, A Baked Cheese Cake with Yoghurt Sorbet and Berry Compote and finally the piece de resistance – Kilimanjaro! Apart from the fact that it was the only chocolate dessert – the Kilimanjaro was plain poetry. A rich chocolate mousse on a wonderful crunchy chocolate pastry base covered with a tuille pastry case and topped with gold leaf. Served with a berry drizzle – It was sublime! We literally attacked this one and didn’t stop till the plate was licked clean!
A fine drink, tasty bbq, fun conversations and brilliant dessert – Blue Terrain definitely didn’t disappoint! With a nice balance of both vegetarian and non-vegetarain offerings, I can see the place getting becoming a regular hangout for the office crowd or even someone who wants a lovely romantic setting. I know I’m definitely going back there when I want to relax and indulge in a mean martini!
I would like to thank Novotel for making this experience worth our while and also a big shout out to Abanti, who being the awesome lady she was, spent her Sunday evening ensuring we all had a fab time! And ofcourse Natasha – thanks for getting us all under one roof (or no roof in this case) – the first ever Bangalore Bloggers table rocked!
Meet my fellow bloggers who rocked the party:
Natasha Ali – Chef At Large
Suma Rowjee – Cakes and More
Chinmayie Bhat – Love Food Eat
Neha Mathur – WhiskAffair
Nandita Iyer – Saffron Trail
BLUE TERRAIN
Novotel Bengaluru Techpark
Opp. RMZ Ecospace Business Park,
Marathahalli – Sarjapur Outer Ring Road,
Bengaluru.
Ph: +91 80 6670 0600
Website: http://www.novotelbengalurutechpark.com/
Parking: Valet Available
Opp. RMZ Ecospace Business Park,
Marathahalli – Sarjapur Outer Ring Road,
Bengaluru.
Ph: +91 80 6670 0600
Website: http://www.novotelbengalurutechpark.com/
Parking: Valet Available
The FoodPorn Diaries 
Thank you 🙂 Only you can make up words and act like they actually exist in the oxford dictionary! 😛
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awesomistic pics swap….
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