July 2016 - Foodie Land Blog | Indian food and restaurant reviews

The Dilli Wali Khau Gali Festival @ Barbeque Nation

Malai Kulfi with Faluda and chocolate vermicelli

Buffets are not everyone’s preference. Different people have different likes and dislikes when it comes to food and the restaurant they are visiting. While most people prefer fine dining restaurants, set menus and a la carte in general, there are people like us who have a voracious appetite which can be satiated only by a buffet! [Otherwise we’ll get broke!]

As a tribute to buffets, we bring to you two back to back experiences with Barbeque Nation. The first one being their festival which lasts till 07^th August: Dilli Wali Khau Gali” which features Delhi on a platter. The second one involves the launch of a new outlet in Bangalore which is different than the other normal outlets.

Barbeque Nation has redefined the meaning of a Buffet and so they are sort of like pioneers in the buffet sector in F&B. Their customer focus and adaptation to customer’s needs is what made them what they are and now, a buffet lunch and dinner is synonymous with Barbeque Nation!

Now, let’s talk about their festival:

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The Freshmenu Experience | Electronic City | Bangalore

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Pan Fried Chilli Fish

Thanks to our busy lives and schedules we have all resorted to fast food at one point of time or the other. The recent start up revolution has brought many food tech start-ups to our rescue with a variety of cuisine and if we may say “healthier” food!

We have tried the offerings of several of these saviours except for one. So, this time we bring to you our experience of one of the fastest growing restaurants in the food delivery sector: Freshmenu!

These guys have saved many youngsters from starvation at pretty reasonable prices for quite some time.

Our experience was pretty extraordinary starting from the before time delivery to the mouth watering preparations. These guys have a daily changing menu, so if you like something you have tried, you have to wait for quite some time till it is repeated (if it is repeated!)

We had a mini feast which consisted of: BBQ chicken leg burger, Penne in Creamy Bechamel Sauce, Grilled Chimichurri Chicken, Roast Chicken Sandwich combo, Pan fried Chilli Fish, Oriental double fun platter for starters and mains. For desserts we had a white chocolate cake with passion fruit and a chocolate brownie.

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A beau"Tea"ful Experience | Tea Trails Cafe | Koramangala | Bangalore

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Grilled Chicken Steak Platter

Here is a call to all the tea lovers out there! All of us love to drink tea. Initially we were not much into tea but gradually the aroma, health benefits and the rejuvenation hooked us onto it.

We have all indulged in and heard about the “drinking” part of tea, but we were amazed to discover that tea can also mixed in food items and it imparts a unique flavour. We have recently been to a place called The Tea Trails Cafe which opened in Koramangala 7^th block, Bangalore and these guys have done their homework when it comes to tea. They offer unique and various blends of tea and that’s just half the show: They also pair it with food items which go well with that variety of tea and we experienced magic in our mouths for most of the combinations. Plus, their specialty is having tea as an ingredient in their food preparations.

Their ambiance is classy, comfortable and modern. Apart from this, their presentation is also impressive. They serve their tea in special brewers which provides more surface area for brewing and they also provide a card along with the type of tea which contains detailed information about the temperature, time duration for brewing and also health benefits!

Now coming down to the varieties we tried and the food pairings:

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Farzification @ Farzi Cafe | UB City | Bangalore

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Paniyarappams Farzi style!

Food trends keep changing, frozen yogurt used to be "trendy" at one point in time. Now the trendy food seems to be everything that does not look like what it is ! Confused ? I am talking about illusions created by the help of Molecular Gastronomy which we witnessed recently at the newly opened Farzi Café in Bangalore.

What you see is not what you get , here. And That is what is fascinating.

We started with a palette cleanser which looked like a small dollop. Little did we know that the circular dollop was Mishti Doi !

Welcome shot

Then, we started the illusive gastronomic journey for the night. With a Vodka based cocktail, Called Chai Pani. Served like chai with the cinnamon smoke!

No matter how much I try explaining, how the smoke and the quirk of each dish added to the experience, you won't be able to understand till you experience this on your own!

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The Syrian Christian Breakfast Menu @ Karavalli | The Gateway Hotel | Bangalore

5 star food

Egg roast with Malabar Parota

Generally, restaurants create special menus/organize festivals and more for lunch, dinner and sometimes brunch. It is very rare that we encounter a special breakfast offering mainly because of the timing and especially on weekends!

Very recently we visited The Taj Gateway Hotel situated in Residency road, Bangalore for trying out the special Syrian Christian Breakfast menu being served in their award winning, legendary restaurant—Karavalli! The environment of Karavalli is very soothing and relaxing and is guaranteed to help you de-stress. The garden type arrangement, with fountains and secluded seating was quite eye catching. Moreover, apart from their outdoor seating, they also have indoor seating.

Karavalli is one of the most award winning and respected restaurants in our country and on the brink of completion of their 26^th year of successful operations they have decided to add a twist to the normal way of celebration. They normally bring to their customers, the cuisine of different communities, some lost, some forgotten but very much alive!

With this said, this time they decided to bring to its customers a special Syrian Christian breakfast menu dedicated to the rich cultural heritage and cuisine of this special community located throughout Kerala.

The menu contained a variety of items which were very flavourful and light on the stomach. Along with the breakfast they serve sparkling wine to kick start your day a different way!

Serving plates with banana leaf (Authentic style)

Banana blossom cutlets served with ginger chutney and tomato ketchup

There was a mutton stew, meen moily or the fish preparation, a chicken preparation, egg roast served with Malabar parota (otherwise known as Porotta Mutta Roast), steamed rice cakes with black channa in a spicy coconut masala (also known as Puttu Kadala curry), banana blossom cutlets and a fried banana dessert accompanied by aromatic black tea (known as Chayaa Vazhapoo).

The accompaniments in all the cases were a variety of appams.

We started off with the banana blossom cutlets which were lightly fried, mildly spiced and very tasty. Plus since it is lightly fried—not much oil at all!

The egg roast preparation was spicy, mildly sweet because of the presence of onions but the gravy was very tasty and this tasted excellent with the Malabar Parotas. I (Rudra) personally like my eggs roasted/slightly fried. In this case, the dish would have tasted 10X better if the eggs were roasted, I believe!

Apart from the egg, everything else was spectacular! The mutton stew was simply mouth watering: It was mild, very flavourful and the essence of mutton made this exceptional. The potatoes in it also contributed positively. It was served with traditional appams.

The fish preparation had mild levels of spice and had coconut milk, which of course gave it a wonderful aroma and taste. This was served with Kalappams which were soft like bread and had a slight crisp to it. This combo was remarkable too!

The chicken preparation was also very flavourful but it was a tad bit spicier than the others. This was served with idiappams and the combo tasted great, but not as much as the mutton and the fish.

The black channa preparation was spicy and the coconut based masala gave it a very good aroma and taste. It sort of had a Goan touch to it. This was served with brown rice cakes with interleaved grated coconut. The combo did not taste that good, but the channa preparation deserves praise!

Mutton stew preparation

Meen moili

Kalappams

Chicken preparation

Idiappams

Black channa in spicy coconut masala served with steamed rice cakes

The finale was with the fried banana dessert and a very aromatic black tea which had just the right amount of sweetness. The banana had a very light batter coating and it tasted quite nice.

The champagne which was served was of high quality and went well with all the above items.

Special thanks to the executive chef Naren Thimmaia for educating us about this form of cuisine and the roots of this implementation.

This special breakfast menu is available only for this upcoming Saturday and Sunday i.e. 16-17^th July.

If you are a breakfast person who has an adventurous palate: this is highly recommended.

All the items were well prepared and absolutely mouth watering. So, what are your breakfast plans this weekend?

In case you guys visit, do let us know about your experience!

Till then—bon appétit!

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The Superhero Sunday Brunch @ The Marriott | Whitefield | Bangalore

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BBQ fish and lamb chop

Restaurants often organize a variety of festivals which have exquisite food offerings which are not normally available. As always it is the name which strikes curiosity first and very recently we have been to The Marriott, Whitefield for digging into their “Superhero Sunday Brunch”. Now that’s a name which will bring out the inner child in you!

The brunch has an elaborate buffet spread and is hosted in their in house restaurant M Cafe. This is one of Marriott’s signature properties in Bangalore and its grandeur and elegance demands attention. For the Superhero Sunday Brunch, they have indoor as well as outdoor seating. Every week the superhero in the theme changes and we witnessed a Thor themed brunch.

They had two mocktails in their drinks menu named Asgard Fizz and the Thor’s Hammer and the names induced excitement! We tried the former and it was a refreshing green apple drink which acted as a good appetizer.