All posts filed under: Restaurant Reviews

There’s a Dragon in your Cafe – Coffee on Canvas (ST Bed Layout, Koramangala)

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Prost is not open at 10 AM in the morning, apparently. So we walked across the street to Coffee On Canvas. This was not my first visit to the place and the last one did not go down well with my finicky friend. The Toast, you see, was not warm and the Honey Chilli Chicken acted all dicey and only spicy with me – so there goes. So my second visit was more out of circumstance than choice. But the dragon turned it around and so I decided to sing.   The last visit was at night and I must say mornings compliment this place a lot more. Airy and filled with light, the potted plants and creeping vines give the impression of a large, fun balcony in an old friends house. And then there is the Dragon. You don’t notice him at first – sly and shy that he is, hiding behind the windmill bookcase. And then you notice a tail, then a claw and then finally his face. I think I have a …

Sunday Brunch @ M Cafe (Bengaluru Mariott Hotel Whitefield)

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The FoodPorn Diaries dictionary (yes, it exists…if only in my mind!) defines ‘Brunch’ as nothing but copious amounts of Booze + Lunch, generally consumed on a Sunday, to arm yourself for the travesty of work on a Monday. Since most of us run the corporate rat race during the week, (which gives us just enough time to drag ourselves to bed every night), what better way to spend a weekend afternoon than by overcompensating? I generally don’t bother reviewing brunches because, let’s face it – everyone has the same offerings. Indian, Chinese and European cuisine served with loads of alcohol and bubbly, edging you to consume in one afternoon what you probably should be eating over a span of a week! But since so many of us are in the quest for the holy grail of Sunday Brunches, I decided to take a dive and do it for you. Starting with the brunch at M Café in the Mariott, Whitefield. I am forced to look at the Mariott everyday because my work desk faces the large window that …

Citibank Restaurant Week – Szechwan Court (The Oberoi, Bangalore)

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Restaurant Week is a week of indulgence for me. But excesses of the excellent variety are always welcome in my books! This is the second year for the Citibank Restaurant Week India (RWI) in Bangalore (23rd Sep to 2nd Oct) and reservations open for Citibank customers today. Everyone else will have to wait till the 18th of September to get a chance to dine in the finest restaurants of Bangalore – think Olive Beach, Szechwan Court, Dakshin, Caperberry and a whole lot more! RWI runs twice a year in March and September, simultaneously across Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. The prix fixe menu allows the restaurants to showcase their signature dishes in each category and diners get a chance to experience this at an unbelievable price of Rs.750/-++ in Bangalore. You need to make reservations online before you can dine – so having a fast broadband connection and the gumption to beat the hundreds of others vying for a dinner slot helps. I was offered a preview dinner for RWI at the Szechwan Court a week …

Hot Chocolate Shots @ Jus’ Trufs (Jakkur, Bangalore)

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When we think of indulgence, the first thing that comes to mind is smooth, dark, rich chocolate. Anything from a dull day to a roaring bad mood can be instantly remedied with a bar of chocolate. No wonder that it’s called the food of Gods! “A” likes his chocolate dark and dreamy and I like my chocolate rich and creamy – so between the both of us, we pretty much have a good collection. Dark Chocolate, Milk Chocolate, White Chocolate, Chocolate with Nuts, Fudge, Mini Truffles…ok, the list kinda goes on! So when I walk into a Chocolate Cafe, you can bet your bottom dollar I’m going to go crazy! Jus’ Trufs call themselves ‘customized chocolatiers’ and have been crafting premium truffles since 2001. Chenddyna Schae is the lady behind the brand and her love for fine chocolate easily translates into a beautiful end product. While the focus all these years has been on corporate clients and event based gift boxes they have recently opened a lovely Chocolate Café to let people come and indulge …

Togarashi and The Bento Box @ Monsoon (The Park, Bangalore)

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Japanese cuisine is so varied that to even fit the basics into one post would be a gargantuan task. So I will restrict myself to what I tried as part of the new Bento Box introduced by Monsoon at The Park Bangalore. The Bento Box is ahem…a box (sheepish grin), that holds a single portion meal of rice, cooked fish or meat along with pickled vegetables. It is the Japanese version of our lunch dabbas, albeit carefully prepared and presented (as is with everything Japanese)! The Japanese have created an art form, even with something as simple as a lunch box. Bento’s can range from the simple arrangement of food to the more complex ‘Kyraben’ where the items are arranged to look like popular Japanese cartoon figures or ‘Oekakiben’ where the food is arranged to form a picture. The Bento boxes itself can range from beautiful black lacquered boxes, shiny metal boxes to the more modest and convenient disposable microwave boxes. Japanese homemakers spend a considerable amount of time making Bento’s for their kids and …

Who wants to eat at The Tuck Shop? (Koramangala, Bangalore)

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If you studied in a school in Bangalore your most likely hangout would be the canteen or what we convent-educated kids liked to call it, “The Tuck Shop”. This was one place that you would rush to, as soon as the Tea break or lunch break was announced with a loud bell. The place where you would buy fryums and samosas and wolfed down cutlets and burgers (if you were lucky and feeling rich) even wash it down with a milkshake. So of course this little eatery will pull at your heartstrings with nostalgia! Started by two young (really young) entrepreneurs and hotel management graduates Mayank Agarwal and Ahmad Sharif, The Tuck Shop tries to help you re-live your fondest school memories. The ambience is one of a spruced up garage made pretty with creeping vines, casual seating and fun paintings of crazy kids in a school bus. Though the target audience is college goers, surprisingly the place has an equal number of office goers and families that throng the all day diner. Being in …

Searching for the elusive Albert Bakery and other Iftar Tales (MM Road, Bangalore)

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It’s the holy month of Ramazan and I could not have been further from pious. My days were filled with longing for the many delicacies that dotted the stretch from Mosque Road to MM Road in Frazer town. The original planning party placed a covenant for meeting on Saturday, with a rider ‘depends on the weather’. But I was determined come rain or shine, that I will be there at 5:30 pm at the elusive Albert Bakery to start my journey to food heaven. I say elusive because even though Alberts is a very popular landmark in Frazer Town, we missed it last year during our Iftaar (breaking of the fast) walk. It’s quite a nondescript little hoarding, placed slightly inside the actual line of shops on Mosque road and it closes as soon as it’s goodies are sold out. But this time, since we were planning to meet early (Iftaar generally starts at sun down), I was hoping we would be lucky to taste their famous Khova Naan – a ramazan speciality! I give …

Sussegado – Goan Food Festival @ LIDO (Hyatt, Bangalore)

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My love for seafood is a direct result of Goan cuisine. There’s nothing I like better than good prawn curry rice or a pomfret recheado or a kane rawa fry. I’m not Goan by birth…not by a good 485 kms 567 kms, but I love that place and it’s sussegado (laid back) culture like my own! So when a friend invited me to the Hyatt for the Goan Food Festival, it was hard to say no. Especially because the delicacies on offer were from the kitchen of Chef Edrige Vaz from Casa Sarita at the Park Hyatt, Goa! My biggest grouse that night was the mood lighting. Apart from the fact that I wasn’t with my better half, it also didn’t make for the best photographs! (Sorry S…it’s the truth J) But I shall choose to regale you with my tangy tale nevertheless. Amuse Bouche was a Rissois de Camarao – a beautiful half moon shaped fried dumpling. Filled with a mildly spiced prawn mixture and served with a smudge of chilli sauce, it was …