New Menu @ Au Bon Pain | Bangalore

bakery

There are a large number of cafes in Bangalore city and in all of India for that matter, out of which most of them have sprung up in the past 1-2 years.

We quite recently visited a renowned cafe, for trying out a few additions they made in their menu and most of these additions are definitely worth a try!

Without further ado, the cafe we visited is none other than Au Bon Pain, which is spread out all across the country now and because of their quality products they are very well known. This outlet is situated in CMH road, Bangalore and the locality has a lot of energy in the air.



Not much to mention about the ambiance because all the outlets have the same decor. The decor is quite classy though and not at all loud. Their staff is very courteous and to be honest the cleanliness of this store in particular is quite appealing.



Coming down to the new items: They have launched a few items called cone-wich, a chicken keema kouign-amann, banana walnut muffin, crème and mango custard Danish, raspberry crème croisbun, croi-mosa, a bagel poha sandwich, cinnamon buns and a few coolers for the summer.



We found the chicken keema preparation to be the best undoubtedly! It looks more like a quiche, but with a puffed head. The head is covered with herbs and a big bite with the herbs and the spicy keema tasted phenomenal! It is quite spongy as well, but slightly oily.

The croi-mosa was very interesting. It is basically a fusion of a croissant and a samosa and they really did a good job! The stuffing was very fragrant, balanced and tasty. The whole thing looks sort of like a croissant but has a crunch like a samosa.

The cone-wich has many variants: one chicken, a mushroom and eggplant and a tandoori paneer variant. We tried the last one and it was a different experience to be honest. The item is served in a cup and the advantage of this cone design is that the stuffing runs deep and you get the real deal till the end. Taste wise, it was a bit too tangy for comfort. It was pretty overpowering and the taste of the paneer was masked. The sweet corns were a good addition though.



The banana walnut muffin was fantastic! It was soft and spongy with the essence of banana throughout and few chunks of walnut deep within. We really liked this one and this is highly recommended.

Both the Danish were pretty similar except for the layers on top. They were flat shaped and very spongy. We liked the crème custard one more as its flavour was more distinguishable.

The raspberry croisbun was a decent addition but it could have been made better. The raspberry jam on top was the only flavour you will get while biting through. If they added something more inside it could have tasted better. The cinnamon buns were small but packed a punch. The sweetness was well balanced and the flavour was not overpowering.



The poha bagel combo was kind of funny but taste wise quite impressive. The presentation was very good and on top of that, the poha was very flavoursome. The bagels were thin, crunchy and had a cheese coating.  

Now for the main attraction in the summers: the coolers! They introduced many variants including the banana yoghurt cooler and the papaya orange cooler.

We tried the papaya orange cooler and it was very refreshing. The flavours were distinguishable and well balanced.

We also tried the frozen mint cooler which is the “old is gold” type. It was even more refreshing!

The new additions are definitely impressive and have a great variety. They are handpicked to cater to the palate of a wide variety of people.

Hope this post helps out a fellow foodie in need!

Hope this menu lasts, because we will definitely be trying some of the items again soon!


Till next time—bon appétit! 
Au Bon Pain Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

The Fisherman's Wharf Experience | Lavelle Road | Bangalore

bangalore

We are always out on a new adventure every time. The most important question we have on our minds is: What do the chefs have in store for us?

Because of this, sometimes we have to move out of our comfort zone and try a variety of food. Although moving out of one’s comfort level is difficult—it pays off for sure! (Most of the time, as long as you don’t regret)

The encounter we have in store for you this time is not moving out of our comfort zone as we have tried some of the preparations before. The cuisine we are talking about is Goan and the restaurant we tried is The Fisherman’s Wharf, which is situated in Lavelle road, Bangalore near to UB city.

Well Goa is quite close to our hearts, because of its beautiful beaches, lovely people and the spicy and different food. (Cheap liquor too ;))

Coming down to the restaurant and their food:

The #LoveScotch Event @Bangalore on World Whisky Day

#LoveScotch

Not many of us get to enjoy scotch with ease due to a variety of constraints, but those who do will always appreciate the beauty of it and of course its sophisticated touch.


We were a part of the #LoveScotch event on World Whisky Day at the Shangri-La hotel, Bangalore and it was an amazing experience from the beginning to the end.

As a part of the event there were four celebrities: Canadian supermodel and global brand ambassador of the #LoveScotch movement, Coco Rocha and three well known faces: Mandira Bedi, Dino Morea and Randeep Hooda.

The Fine Dining Experience @ Yauatcha | Bangalore

bangalore


Do you ever feel that you do not want to return after visiting a restaurant? We sure do!

There are a few restaurants, which not only serve food and drinks but gift satisfaction to its customers. The place we are talking about has a simple yet elegant ambiance, extremely courteous staff, balanced cocktails which will leave you longing for more and finally their food which is beyond words. Plus, it is tough to beat these guys in their music sense too.

Like we have mentioned before: Yauatcha never disappoints!

We were invited for dim sum and drinks followed by dinner by Yauatcha, Bangalore and we confess: we actually did not feel like leaving the place. (Not because we were high, but because of the friendly and homely atmosphere they create every time!)

The ingredients they use, the taste of their food and of course their presentation are of a different level altogether.

We tried a variety of items, some of which we have tried before and of course written about as well. The items we tried again: they had the same great taste as before.


The repetitive items were the pumpkin prawns, the truffle edamame dumplings and the cocktails. For checking them out, access this link.

Now for the things which were new and refreshing:

The Seafood Mela @ Bonsouth | Koramangala | Bangalore

bangalore
Grilled prawns

 Some restaurants have people behind them who have a vision and this is what sets them apart from other establishments.

On the same page, the uniqueness of their vision and their willingness to adapt to the customer’s needs are also equally important. Our most recent visit was to a restaurant with a very unique vision and yes their flexibility is something they are known for!

Their specialty: Creating delicious marvels with a twist. The twist being that the food is adapted to south Indian cuisine and hence tinkered with a little. Some might get the wrong impression that they only focus on south Indian preparations, but that is not the case. They emphasize on serving a wide variety of preparations, both veg and non veg but in the south Indian way. The condiments they use, their preparation style, the way they marinate and finally the way they serve is what that differentiates these guys!

Their vision is to uphold the south Indian style of cooking and making it popular among people from other parts of the country.

Without further ado, let’s mention the name of the restaurant: Bon South! ;)

Quite a catchy name isn’t it? It is situated in Koramangala 5th block around the JNC road in Bangalore and it is quite a buzzing locality.

The restaurant has been carved out of an old bungalow and the decor is rustic and rather unique with a modern touch. They have both outdoor and indoor seating arrangements and their seating is quite comfortable. They also have an open kitchen in the middle where the chefs prepare the delicacies which we are about to mention.

Currently these guys are having a seafood festival which runs till the 22nd of this month.

Their seafood preparations are absolutely delightful in the sense that they are refreshingly different!

They have a wide variety of starters and main course and we tried to cover as much as possible!

It is quite rare that the veg starters outnumber the non veg ones, but in bonsouth that is the case so they are veggie friendly as well.

Coming down to the food:

Splitwood at Big Pitcher | Cowboy Theme | Indiranagar

bangalore
Sarava beer at Big pitcher

Bangalore is quite famous because of the presence of a lot of breweries across the city. We have tasted beers at so many places here that now we have started to understand beers in a different way altogether! 

Our last trip to a brewery cum restaurant made it very clear that brews accompanied by good food are all you need to have a good time with your friends! Big Pitcher, Located at Indiranagar, this brewery has six floors and we went to the second floor.

Splitwood is their A La carte restaurant which serves Chinese, Mexican and Indian food. 
The theme of this restaurant is "Cowboy", something you don't get to see every day here!

Dim Sum & Smokin BBQ @ The Shang Palace | Shangri-La Hotel | Bangalore

bangalore


We have been to several places to dine in the past, but very few of them actually give their guests a royal feeling. There is big difference in behaving courteously and literally royal treatment!  There are places which make you feel comfortable, some make you feel like you are in a homely environment and there are places like the Shang Palace situated in the 3rd floor on the Shangri-La hotel in Bangalore!

As soon as one enters, a big gong is struck repeatedly to announce the entry of a guest and combined with the luxurious setup it is guaranteed to make anybody feel special!


People call a special setup as red carpet treatment, so let us tell you that the entire restaurant floor is carpeted maybe because of the same reason.

Overall, the hotel as well as the restaurant setup is luxurious and grand and if you are visiting for the first time like we visited, you are bound to be impressed.

We were invited to try out the new launch of dim sum and BBQ at the Shang Palace and it was sure a grand devouring session!

 They are also introducing their executive chef, Chef Lin from Beijing who specializes in Chinese cuisine.

There is one thing which deserves mention: the tables were decorated so beautifully that will help one gear up for a hearty meal!

There were so many varieties in the dim sums that we lost track of them! On the same page, the barbeque items were also of large variety.

We were served some iced tea followed by red/white wine to drink and the feast started.
First let us talk about the dim sums: They were delicate, piping hot when served and very impressive taste wise. We found the prawn hargau to be the best dim sum. It had a whole prawn as its stuffing, which was perfectly cooked and soft. The sweetness of the prawns really heightened the experience.


The mushroom bao had a thick and soft outer covering with cooked mushrooms inside. It was similar to the char sui bun and this was also slightly sweet. The mushroom stuffing was well cooked, slightly spicy and very tasty.

The radish buns were unique and pretty amazing. Highly recommended for vegetarians as it was well cooked, had equal consistency and the bun was well baked.

The veg and corn dumpling was very well crafted to say the least. It had a transparent coating which was negligibly thin and the stuffing was well balanced. This was very light on the stomach as well.

The lamb pancake was decent, but could have been a lot better. The lamb stuffing was tasty and was minced properly but the cakes were perhaps over fried and the essence of lamb was killed.

We were also served a chicken bao preparation. The chicken stuffing was ample and this was also good to have, although some of the other preparations were better.

There were some more varieties as well but these were the highlights and must haves!
Moving on from the dim sums to the BBQ preps and snacks:


There were a couple of varieties of snacks which were served out of which the Chongqing chilli chicken stood out. This was an authentic style chilli chicken without the usage of much sauce which is normally available in restaurants. The preparation had a fresh fragrance of coriander and the chicken pieces were bite sized. This was really something different from what is normally available so a must try!

Apart from this, the grilled items were on skewers and there was a pure bhetki grilled fish preparation which was wonderful! There were also some other varieties and they were pretty good too!

The best of the lot were the lamb skewers! They were juicy, had the same great essence of lamb and there were traces of fat which after grilling made it even tastier. This was truly delightful. The chicken one on the other hand was not so special. The chicken was soft and well cooked but the taste could have been better. The fish was brilliant. The skin was intact and probably the fish was grilled on the skin which imparted a slightly burnt flavour which was excellent. Most importantly the fish was fresh, juicy and grilled perfectly. Normally bhetki does not have great taste by itself but this prep was great! Moreover, this is a big attraction for Bengali’s since Bhetki is loved by almost all Bengali’s.

On the vegetarian side: the silken tofu skewer was definitely something! It was chewy with mild sweetness and the smoky flavor. Even a non vegetarian would love this. The oyster mushrooms were great too. They were so juicy that it proves the person grilling them had a different level of expertise!


A special mention would be the chicken wings served which were delicious indeed. Slightly smoky and spiced and mouth watering! These were one of the highlights of the BBQ menu.


There were also veg fried rice and veg noodles which were normal as they were served as accompaniments. The noodles were quite tasty nonetheless. The rice used was sticky rice and it was very mildly flavored and a treat for your palette. 


Lastly, this memorable feast ended with a unique and mildly sweet marvel. The honey comb cake turned out to be something unexpected. It was served steaming hot and the porous cakes had a beautiful glaze to them. The pores were similar to a honeycomb and hence the name. It had great consistency and sort of a muffin like texture.


Overall, this experience was nothing short of awesome!

We would definitely recommend this to both non vegetarians and vegetarians as they have almost equal varieties for veg and non veg, which is pretty rare as normally non veg dominates the scene!

The ambiance, soothing tunes, royal treatment and the food of course contribute to making ones dining experience special!

We will be posting about our other similar experiences as well so stay tuned ;)

And do try and visit this place and let us know how you feel!


Till next time—bon appétit! 

Italian Brunch @ Via Milano | Koramangala | Bangalore

bangalore

It is quite rare that we come across an eatery which somehow seems to please us in a different way and we cannot stop thinking about it. Sometimes it is the ambiance, sometimes the courtesy of the staff, sometimes the food of course and sometimes we actually do not know but we are attracted!

This happens to every individual no matter how aware they are! We recently visited a restaurant specializing in Italian Cuisine and we were captivated with the entire setup.





The restaurant we are talking about is Via Milano, situated in Koramangala 1st block Bangalore and it is a very quaint joint with a sober and soothing ambiance. From the outside, one can feel the European design with outdoor seating arrangements. The interiors were also fascinating with wooden tables and chairs.






They serve an assortment of breads with garlic butter at the table along with three varieties of oils: olive oil, chili olive oil and the third we forgot :P

We tried out their brunch set menu and it was fabulous to be honest! It was a three course brunch with starters, main course and desserts. We also tried some other items apart from this brunch menu which we will be talking about as well.

For starters we were served chicken lollipops in barbeque sauce, chicken parmesan fingers and smoked chicken salad. The portions were decent and perfect for a delicate meal.

The lollipops had the typical hot and sweet flavour of barbeque sauce and were covered with herbs which gave it a distinct taste like we never had before! The chicken was perfectly cooked throughout and we honestly wanted to have more. The chicken parmesan fingers were unique. The fingers were crispy, had the aroma of cheese throughout and had parmesan cheese sprinkled all over. This one is also guaranteed to make you want more!

Lastly the smoked chicken salad was very well balanced. The chicken slices had a delicate smoky flavour along with red and green lettuce. The combination was slightly bitter and the cherry tomatoes provided a hint of sweetness which balanced the salad perfectly. This was a great palate cleanser too.

Moving on to the main course items:

There were 3 items: one grilled chicken, red snapper with parmesan and penne arrabiatta with chicken.

The pasta was delicious with a tangy flavour and had small chunks of chicken distributed. The snapper was well done and was very tasty. This is the first time we tasted snapper and we really liked it. The fillet was topped off with parmesan and herbs and it was superb!

Lastly the grilled chicken was wow! The chicken was cooked throughout and was slightly sweet. Some portions of the chicken had the skin on and after grilling it tasted fantastic. It was also light on the stomach at the same time indicating that it was a very simple yet marvelous preparation.

After this we were supposed to end our Italian brunch but we thought of gorging some more ;)

We tried the seafood risotto, grilled prawns wrapped with bacon and chicken pesto baked with mozzarella and crushed potatoes and asparagus.

The seafood risotto was the only disappointing dish. The Arborio rice was well made and tasted good but it could have been a bit better. It was slightly bland and the quantity of octopus and prawns could have been more.

The prawn preparation consisted of jumbo prawns including the head wrapped with strips of bacon. It tasted different when had together and tasty of course. The prawns were delicately grilled so that the juiciness was intact and the stir fried bacon went well with it.

The pesto chicken was unique and was lip smacking. There were two huge chunks of chicken, cooked with herbs and baked mozzarella on top. The chicken was so tasty that if we had more stomach space we would have made more! There was also a separate potato, asparagus and olive pie kind of thing served which had a very sharp taste and many might not like it. We felt the problem was with the strong flavour of olives which needed to be balanced better.

This brunch affair was definitely something! Only the sweet dishes left:

There were three desserts served: Mango panna-cotta, semi fredo and the chocolate lasagne.

The panna-cotta had an even consistency throughout and was topped off with mango jelly. It had the right amount of sweetness and was topped off with a mint leaf. The semi fredo was a sandwich shaped mixture of almonds, crème and butterscotch. It tasted heavenly and had an amazing smooth consistency along with the crunch of the butterscotch.



 The chocolate lasagne was a wonder! It had dark chocolate as its base, then white chocolate with crème, then milk chocolate with crème and topped off with chocolate sauce. The best thing about this dessert was the chocolate overload and its smooth texture: Great stuff!!

So, finally our lunch was complete. The desserts gave a perfect ending to a near perfect lunch.

Now time for the scores:
Food/Taste: - 4.5/5
Quantity: - 4/5
Ambiance: - 4.5/5
Service: - 3/5

We really liked this place and are thinking of making it our Italian destination.

So, if you are in the mood for some Italian food of great quality and a good price you can definitely give this place a shot!

Till next time—bon appétit!

  
Via Milano Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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