Year: 2015

Edo turns five and how! @ Edo (ITC Gardenia, Residency Road)

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The name Edo is inspired by the erstwhile title of the ancient city of Tokyo. It brings alive the Japanese Izakaya style of dining (casual after work watering holes) with sake, wines and whiskeys to savor alongside sashimi, sushi, robatayaki, tempura and scrumptious desserts. Edo has been enthralling and delighting Bangaloreans since its inception and has created an exalted space for itself in the culinary landscape of Bangalore. Voted the ‘Best Japanese Restaurant’ five years in a row – Edo is quite the overachiever! As Edo turns five, it has a new Masterchef in Nariyoshi Nakamura from Tokyo and a new menu to boot. The competition better pull up its socks… I had the pleasure of experiencing a Kaiseki style meal on a lovely Saturday afternoon (yes, they are open for lunch on Saturdays). Japanese Kaiseki is your equivalent of haute cuisine where the chef uses fresh seasonal ingredients to prepare a sequence of dishes or courses. Each course is artistically presented on carefully chosen tableware that aims at enhancing the final dish. Edible garnishes …

Bao Chica Wow Wow @ The Fatty Bao (Indiranagar)

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Tis the season to be jolly, but for a whole different reason! A Bao festival at The Fatty Bao can only multiply your Christmas cheer. Fourteen different Bao’s compete for your attention till the end of this month. A mix of old favourites and new dazzlers, the #baowowfestival showcases why Fatty won Best Pan Asian Restaurant at the Times Food Awards two years in a row!

Donne Biryani – Bangalore Style

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I’m not certain we can call this Biryani in the purest sense of the word. But the debate on what constitutes Biryani has been raging for decades and I don’t have the time or the inclination to delve into its subtleties. For me, Biryani will always be a one-pot meal of rice and meat cooked together with spices, served with aplomb on a Sunday afternoon. Sundays would be incomplete without Biryani in our house, though logically it had no place in Andhra-Karnataka cuisine.

No Knead Artisanal Bread

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There was a certain phase in our married lives that the co-resident was bent upon buying a Bread Machine. His very macho Columbian Boss had nonchalantly stated that he bakes his own bread every day in his nifty bread machine. The co-resident was immensely impressed (or was trying hard to impress his boss) and insisted that we get one as well. Considering our staple diet at home is rice, I successfully steered his mind away from such frivolities using endless arguments hard logic. After a couple of years though, I wish I hadn’t thwarted his grand plans.

Shang Palace – China on a Plate (Shangri-La Hotel Bengaluru, Palace Road)

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It should come as no surprise that the newly opened Shangri-La hotel in Bangalore, would choose to have its crowning jewel – Shang Palace, as one of the restaurants. With a heritage of serving authentic Chinese cuisine for 42 years, Shang Palace ensures its patrons get a taste of Cantonese, Shanghainese, Bejingese and Sichuan flavours. A five star restaurant with a focus on value for money and classic Chinese cuisine, Shang Palace is a game changer.

Salad Pizza – for real!

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It’s an oxymoron, Salad Pizza. But seemingly disparate things do seem to find a place in my heart and my kitchen. I can’t really take credit for this pizza idea. I chanced across this in a darling little pizza joint that’s opened close to my house. (Review soon enough…). Tomatoes and Arugula on a Crisp Pizza base! With the recent bumper luck of arugula availability at my door step – it’s also super easy to make.

Yauatcha – Anniversary Limited Edition Menu (1 MG Road Mall)

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Yauatcha, the holy grail of perfect Dim Sums, is celebrating their Anniversary all this month of November across their outlets in India. Anniversaries call for special celebrations and popping of some champagne – Yauatcha has done this in their own special way by introducing a limited edition set menu. We were invited last week to join the celebrations.

Bisi Bele Bath – Comfort Food

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Bisi Bele Bath – the Kanndigas answer to dal kichidi, but with so much more pizzaz! As a Bangalorean, you can’t escape this dish – every Udupi restaurant or darshni worth its salt, will inevitably list it on its menu. There is nothing more satisfying or comforting that digging into a plate of steaming hot (bisi) lentil rice (bele bath). The accompanying chips, mixture or boondi just adds to the heavenly experience. And to top it all off is Ghee…the mother of all flavour enhancers and my personal favourite fatty item 🙂