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Nouvelle Cuisine gets a champion in Chef Sumit Batra (Le Jardin, MG Road)

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Delhi, Mumbai, Udaipur, Kolkata, Sri Lanka and New York – Chef Sumit Batra packs all that’s he’s learned across the world and returns to his alma mater at the Oberoi to showcase a new Western menu at Le Jardin. Having worked under culinary gurus like James J. Kent and Daniel Humm who shaped Michelin star winning restaurant Nomad in New York, Chef Sumit attempts to balance simple, fresh produce with complex, new-age culinary technique. We were invited to try his signature tasting menu – a four course journey of interesting flavours and textures.

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What’s for lunch? – EatFresh (Bangalore)

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Online ordering portals that promise a great, well packaged meal, for a competitive price are a dime a dozen these days. The food startup business has spawned many me-too’s and has given an already lazy populace more excuses to stop cooking and just order in. If earlier the fear of preservatives, MSG and unhealthy food deterred most people from ordering in, the current trend of food startups offering Fresh, Homemade, Healthy meals is changed that paradigm. EatFresh seems to have taken a page (or two) out of its immediate competitor’s business model and hopes to get a leg up by offering meals cooked by a network of five-star chefs with an emphasis on Indian Cuisine.

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Dragon Boat Festival celebrations @ Yauatcha (1 MG Road Mall)

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The Dragon Boat festival is a traditional holiday that has its origins in China 2000 years ago. As with most festivals, the focus inadvertently shifts from the original purpose to the rituals of food and drink associated with it. So in present day India at Yauatcha, we are celebrating this festival by eating Zongzi and drinking some cocktails. The festival menu is available a la carte till the 30th of June, so let the celebrations begin!

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Sattva – Pure Vegetarian Lunches @ Cubbon Pavilion, ITC Gardenia (Residency Road)

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Round and round we go, but we always come back to where we started. After world cuisine and exotic eats became hot topics, we are all running back to our roots now. Local produce and regional dishes are gaining prominence over everything ‘phoren’. Cooking with local ingredients is the new sustainability mantra, because, God forbid! we rake up the carbon miles. While some may attribute it to being a fad, I for one am thankful to be getting closer home. Nothing can be more comforting and soul satisfying than a home cooked meal of dal, rice and some stir fried veggies. A papad on the side, some pickle to liven things up and you have all round bliss handed to you on a plate. Cubbon Pavilion goes one step further and brings you Sattva – a plethora of vegetarian, no onion, no garlic recipes in a wholesome Thali focusing on foods abundant in Prana (the universal life force).

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Five great cafes for a lazy breakfast in Anjuna (North Goa)

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Goa for me, has becoming less about dancing at an all-night rave or nightclub and more about enjoying the food and the relaxed pace of life. An integral part of eating out, is the first meal of the day. Breakfast in Goa is more likely to be at a leisurely 11 AM and fortunately most restaurants and cafés oblige the lazy traveler. Anjuna is neither too commercial nor too quiet and I’ve found a happy medium here between doing nothing and doing something. I’ve listed some of my favourite places to grab a bite, sip a latte, read a book and generally start the day right!

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Kale, Banana and Soy Milk Smoothie

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I’m making a conscious effort to eat less meat these days. Which essentially means that I’m reading up a lot more on vegetarianism/ veganism and every other form of ‘ism’ that will help me see the light. It started I think two years ago, with Michael Pollen’s book – ‘The Omnivores Dilemma’. After experiencing the gamut of ways humans can eat and survive – from hunting-gathering to pure industrialized food, he arrives at a simple statement. “Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly Plants”.

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Fatty’s Ode to Summer @ The Fatty Bao (12th Main, Indiranagar)

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I just got back from a mini trip to Dubai and the temperatures there, were lower than in Bangalore *gasp*! Thanks to the rains the past three days, we have all but forgotten the furnace that Bangalore was this Summer. My electricity bills tripled and the general grumpiness that comes with too much heat, has hung around like a sordid aura. We still have a couple of weeks before the official monsoon hits us, so The Fatty Bao stepping in to ease the pain with a Summer menu, sounds just about right. Running from the 20th – 29th of this month, it promises light and refreshing drinks & eats to beat the heat. My only grouse – when you put so much effort into a menu, the least you can do is run the festival a little longer 😛

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The Spring Asparagus Sojourn @ Ottimo (ITC Gardenia, Residency Road)

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The story starts in my house a couple of weeks ago where I had an animated discussion with my German friends on ‘The King of Vegetables’. Their love for Asparagus was evident as they reminisced about harvesting the succulent stem in their vegetable patches back home. In Spring, Asparagus is eaten almost daily, reverently, greedily until they’ve combed through the last standing elegant feathered head. Most of Europe shares this fascination with Asparagus, so much so, that King Louis the XIV officially crowned it ‘The King of Vegetables’. Chef Vittorio has the same adulation and has been instrumental in influencing Chef Sasha to craft an Asparagus Menu for Spring. The resultant degustation is a journey across Italian landscapes made unique by impressive wine pairings.

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