Foodie Land Blog | Indian food and restaurant reviews

The Cafe Full of Life | Zoey's | Bangalore

Pesto Chicken Strips

We have been to many cafes in the past and each of them have a different story to tell.

From our experience, we can say that we have come across a variety of establishment in our food blogging journey but very few of them actually have a “life” of itself. They are basically the manifestation of somebody’s concept, but what we are about to talk about here has a life of itself. Yes, it does sound absurd but you need to experience to believe it.

So, here’s to the Café full of life: Zoey’s in Sarjapur, Bangalore!

This is an open air café which caters to a wide variety of audience. They specialize in all day breakfasts and breakfast items and we really liked what we had.

They brew a mean cup of coffee and is perfect after a hard day of work but that’s not all! Coming to the items we tried and what we absolutely recommend:

For drinks we tried the Lemon Grass Cooler & the Date Almond Oatmeal Shake. The former was very refreshing whereas the latter had a thick consistency and was pretty filling. The Oatmeal shake was well balanced in terms of flavour: dates, almonds and a hint of banana as well.

We tried the All Angrezi Breakfast which had baked beans, toast, sunny side up, sautéed mushrooms, grilled tomatoes, salami and sausages & hash browns. They were all at par and the pricing is pretty reasonable.

Their Waffles are brilliant! Not so soft, but taste great. They’re served with a bowl of Nutella and pieces of fresh, sweet Mango.

Next up, we tried the Keema Omlette, Mushroom on Toast, Pesto Chicken Strips & Spicy Keema on a bed of mashed potatoes.

Dates & Almond Oatmeal Shake

All Angrezi Breakfast

Keema Omlette

Mushroom on toast

The Keema omelette had generous quantity of mutton keema. The 2^nd was delightful and creamy. The mushroom & cheese combination is heavenly without any doubt. Another piece of toast would have done justice.

The chicken strips were spicy and well done. A perfect snack and weighs less on the calorie scale. The quantity was more than enough and the best part is that the chicken retained all the flavours. The keema preparation is legendary and really nothing worth mention. Just try it and relax! The spicy keema and creamy mashed potatoes will surely make you feel better.

Now these are all recommended as they are all high on taste and provide great value for money.

Next up, the best item we tried on their menu: The Chicken Stroganoff! The sauce was insanely tasty and creamy. The chicken is in the form of strips inside the sauce and this is served along with an island of herbed rice.

Spaghetti with Meatballs

Spicy Keema with mashed potatoes @ The Cafe Full of Life | Zoey's | Bangalore

Spicy Keema on a bed of mashed potatoes

Waffles

We also tried the Lamb Burger which was not that great especially for the price. The patty was tasty but thin. Another problem is that the patty breaks down with each bite. Unless the patty is thicker, this is definitely going to happen.

We also tried a Spaghetti with Chicken Meatball pasta which was exactly the way it should be, but this is not that recommended.

We were really full by this time and we tried only one: Mango Pudding.

Well presented, this dessert was a little bit too cold for comfort. Taste wise it was decent and with the chocolate crumble at the bottom: nice!

Lamb Burger

Mango Pudding

That’s all we have to tell from our side! They have comfortable seating both inside & outside with a children play area as well. The place is always full with people thanks to the special attention the owner, Farheen gives to each and every customer.

Their portions are pretty decent but if you are a very large eater, it is better to talk to the owner/who is taking your order before-hand.

Their dishes are really good and you can understand the quality up front. We definitely recommend a visit.

They provide great value for money. Do let us know about your experience if you visit.

We’ll be back soon again with tasty news ;)

Till then—keep searching for great places to eat & bon apetit!

23:38
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The Instagram-Friendly New Cafe In Town | Cafe Felix | Bangalore

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Goan sausage and Prawn Chimichurri Pizza

There are certain things in life which you simply can’t let go of!

We have suffered the same many times in the past but it happened pretty recently again. Re-iterating what we had mentioned at some point of time in one of our posts: Food alone cannot contribute to experience, but it is the entire atmosphere/ambiance which plays an equal role.

In the same line, we were recently invited to Café Felix at 1 M.G Road, Bangalore and no matter how hard we try, we won’t be able to do justice to the experience we had there.

3 words need to be elaborated with respect to Café Felix: ambience, service & food.

First comes the ambience: Loads of natural light, coupled with the décor of the place makes it very picturesque! It also automatically lifts the spirit.

The service is very speedy and everyone wears a smile on their face.

Now for the food:

The presentation of most of the items was gorgeous & appealing. The taste was at par and they make sure every bite counts.

We tried a few items and loved most of them.

From the salads & breads we tried the Prawn & Raw Mango Salad, House Cured Salmon on Toasted Onion & Dill Bagel and the Grilled Tenderloin Burger.

All 3 of them are highly recommended as they are high on taste. The salad had a sweet & spicy aftertaste. The soba noodles along with the dressing went very well. The prawns were fresh & well presented.

The Cured Salmon on Dill Bagel was extraordinary. The salmon strips were super smooth and distributed throughout the bagel. The bread was tasted & had a good crunch to it. The flavor of cream cheese along with dill were prominent plus a hint of wasabi to spice up the experience.

Prawn & Raw Mango Salad

Smoothies

House Cured Salmon on onion & dill bagel @ The Cafe Felix Experience | MG Road | Bangalore

House Cured Salmon on toasted onion & dill bagel

The burger was a meal by itself. The patty was done medium rare as per recommendation and it was tender & juicy. The caramelized onions along with the cheddar & meat is a tried and tested combination so just take a bite and you know the drill. The overall taste could be tweaked a bit for better results.

We tried a couple of smoothies: The Mixed Berry Yoghurt Smoothie & the Avocado Chocolate Smoothie. Both of them were decent but the former was not well balanced. We could feel the tartness of the berries. The latter was well balanced as it was pretty simple. The characteristic flavors were present and the combo was great too.

By this time we were almost full: Yes we are losing potential, we know!

A Pasta and a half/half Pizza is what we tried next.

The Rigatoni with Confit Lamb & Smoked Peppers did not have sharp flavors but the subtle taste along with the shredded lamb & peppers really tasted good. The sauce was mostly lamb and for any meat lover, that’ll steal the show.

Rigatoni with confit lamb and smoked peppers

Grilled Tenderloin Burger

Mr. Felix Cocktail @ The Cafe Felix Experience | MG Road | Bangalore

A cocktail we tried: Mr. Felix

Now what is a half/half pizza: it is one half of something & the other half something else. We tried the Goan Sausage and the Chimichurri Prawns pizza. The former was simply lip smacking. The onions tasted amazing with the sauce & the sausages. The Prawn pizza tasted good but somehow the cheese did not set properly. One bite and the bread would be naked. We somehow did not like the Prawn pizza because of the sauce. Although the toppings, the sauce and everything tasted great, we might have liked the other pizza a little bit too much.

We also tried a sample of their Mixed Mushroom Risotto & that’s a must try for a mushroom lover.

Lastly, it’s time for dessert:

Dark Chocolate Fondant & the Banana Nutella Cake.

The latter was perfect in every way. Every scoop had distinct flavors of Nutella & banana. (It is another tried & tested combo)

Dark Chocolate Fondant

Banana Nutella Cake

Now for the Fondant: From a distance, you won’t find it great but one spoon & it’ll win you over. The coarse consistency on the outside & the gooiness inside made this even more fascinating. It was spot on with the consistency of the chocolate & the touch of hazelnut!

Now that’s all from our side.

We really loved Café Felix and we’ll definitely revisit: not only because of the food, but also because of the friendly atmosphere. Special thanks to the restaurant manager, Jennifer David for taking special care.

A visit is definitely recommended if you like what you read above.

We’ll be back soon with delicious news!

Till then—keep feeling hungry & bon apetit!

00:13
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My Cousin's Place Version 2.0 | HSR | Bangalore

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Chicken Popcorn

This post is dedicated to our favourite place in Electronic City, Bangalore which is no longer present!

After a long time we went to our cousin’s place and spent some quality time.

So, if you are wondering what we are talking about: Click here

MCP or My Cousin’s Place was undoubtedly the best dining option in a place like Electronic City, but now they have shifted to HSR Layout and so let us tell you about MCP V2.0.

Compared to what they had, there is a lot of space and a homely experience is what they offer. They have indoor as well as outdoor seating arrangements & the outdoors are also covered to protect people from the rain.

About their food: considering their quantity, quality & pricing they offer one of the best deals in town!

We tried a few items this time and they had the same great taste as before.

For starters we tried the Cream of Chicken Soup, a Chicken Salad, Chicken popcorn & Tomato & Mango Bruschetta.

This and a couple of drinks: Mango & Pineapple and Blood Orange & Mint.

The soup was rich & comforting at the same time. It had a creamy texture, good mouth feel & loads of diced chicken.

The Chicken Salad was very well balanced. Each bite had a burst of orange flavour and generous amount of chicken. Everything about the salad was fresh!

Cream of Chicken soup

My Cousin's Place Version 2.0 | HSR | Bangalore

Tomato & Mango Bruschetta

Mango & Pineapple mocktail

The Chicken popcorn was very different from what we have had before. This has chicken popcorn with the same seasoning as popcorn & also real popcorn! Unique thinking and good execution.

The Bruschetta was also very balanced in terms of flavour. The tomato & mango flavours were in sync perfectly. This tastes best when warm/hot. Let it go cold and it won’t be the same!

About the drinks: Both were very refreshing, but the latter had the characteristic flavours. The former was overpowered by the mango flavour and had a big slice of mango which was the attraction as well.

For main course: We tried their Chicken Lasagna and the Lamb Burger with Crispy Bacon.

The former was a sinful delight with layers of cheese & chicken. The meat was well done and the marinara sauce was lip smacking. The layering was well done too. The burger on the other hand could have been better. The bun, the fried egg on top of the patty and the taste overall was fine but the amount of lamb in the patty was less than desirable.

Chicken Lasagna

Lamb Burger with Crispy Bacon

Mirror Glaze Chocolate cake

The patty had a lot of herbs and tasted good. A little bit more lamb and it would have rocked even more. The crispy bacon added an element of surprise in each bite.

Lastly, we had the Mirror Glaze Chocolate cake which was spot on and exactly the way it should be. The glaze was perfect!

That’s all from our side and what you have to know about My Cousin’s Place.

We definitely recommend a visit because their food will impress you!

They do not accept cards: only cash & paytm.

We’ll be back very soon!

Till then—sit tight & bon apetit.

00:31
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FLB Bloggers Meet | Winter Hotties @ Au Bon Pain | Bangalore

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Chocolate Monkey Bread

We have visited tonnes of restaurants in the past couple of weeks and it was high time to take a break. Since we need to be surrounded by food at all times the only choices were gaming parlors and café/bakeries and we chose the latter!

This was officially the first time we organised a bloggers meet and it was a mixture of excitement and nervousness but thanks to everyone for joining in and bringing out the best in us! Since winter is actually here and Christmas is approaching it’s time to change focus from the restaurants to bakeries and Au Bon Pain has come up with a whole new range of items in its menu fitting the occasion.

The new range of items have been named as the “Winter Hotties” and if you have dual thoughts: good for you!

There are about 14 new additions to their regular menu which include bakery items, sandwiches, drinks and desserts and we’ll let you know which ones to try for sure and which ones you can do without.

It’s time to start off with our views on the Winter Hotties ;):

We started off with the Monkey Bread, Chocolate Monkey Bread and the Double Chocolate Croisbun.

The Monkey Bread was fun to look at because although it had a more or less constant shape, it had designs on top which were random. Taste wise, it was like a normal bread like the name suggests but it was a bit stiff, slightly chewy and dry. The Chocolate version of this tasted a lot better. First of all:

Chocolate and then the stiffness and chewiness was not there so we would choose the chocolate over the non-chocolate Monkey Bread any time.

The Double Chocolate Croisbun also looked good. It looked like a muffin with 3 sectors topped off with chocolate cream. What more: there is a separate chocolate layer inside as well which can be experienced only if you have it. The fresh Croisbun was spongy and was complemented with the chocolate inside-out. If you try this out, do insist on a fresh piece as otherwise it loses its charm.

Double Chocolate Croisbun

Monkey Bread

Next up, the drinks and the “wiches”:

Their new menu consists of two varieties of Bubble Tea: Passion fruit and Strawberries, Mulled Wine and a Toffee Latte. Out of these 4, 2 exceeded expectations and the other 2 need improvement. The mulled wine is brilliant: it’s non-alcoholic but tastes similar to wine. It also has a tarty after taste like red wine, has a rich dark red colour and is a warm drink. It sure hit the spot and is definitely a must try!

The bubble tea concept is becoming quite familiar as most cafés and tea joints have this item. It is a pretty refreshing drink with fun bubbles which burst in the mouth and release the flavour of the drink. In this case, the passion fruit tea had the characteristic flavours and tasted great but the strawberry was not quite up to the mark. It did not taste like strawberries first, and second the flavour really doesn’t go well with these drinks. The Toffee Latte is a coffee based drink with caramel. The whipped cream and caramel had the good old taste but the drink itself was quite watery. Taste wise it is the way it should be and if they cut down on the water, this has potential!

Start-Wiches!

Bubble Teas@Winter Hotties @ Au Bon Pain | Bangalore

Strawberry and Passion fruit Bubble Tea

Mulled Wine

Toffee Latte

Now they have 2 types of sandwiches: Start-Wich and Flavour Burst sandwiches.

The Start-Wich has two variants: vegetarian and with egg. We tried the egg variant and it has a good mouth feel. It has roasted vegetables, eggs and mozzarella. The egg start-wich has poached eggs in it which complements well with the mozzarella. The usage of more cheese would have been it even better. The Flavour Burst sandwiches were brilliant. The Chicken and the Paneer both were extraordinary and lip smacking. Chicken and Paneer were in abundance and along with the beautifully caramelized and flavoured onions, this deserves nothing less than a thumbs up. The nomenclature is perfect as well because with each bite you get a burst of peri-peri.

The last two items were presented well but the taste told a different tale. The Harvest Chicken & Veg Salad was very well presented. It had a good crunch of almonds and pumpkin seeds along with fresh greens. The feta cheese added a bitter element and overall it was well balanced. The salad dressing however ruined the salad as it was too pungent and not suitable at all!

Peri Peri Flavour Burst Chicken Sandwich@Winter Hotties @ Au Bon Pain | Bangalore

Peri Peri Flavor Burst Chicken Sandwich

Harvest Salad

Lastly, the Dark Lava Meltdown was the only dessert item in their new menu. It looked very appealing but had a similar problem like that of the Harvest Salad. The chocolate cake tasted good but there was no lava oozing out. The edges were a bit too hard and there was molten chocolate in the centre but no lava. Except for these, it did taste good but the whipped cream on top was tasteless and its texture did not go well with the main thing.