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FLB Bloggers Meet | Winter Hotties @ Au Bon Pain | Bangalore

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.

Dark Lava Meltdown

Positives and negatives aside, we did have a lot of fun. This was our first FLB meet and there are many more to come!

We hope we could help you out in what to try and what not to try from the new Winter Hotties collection.

Do try out the items we recommended and you won’t regret it. Let us know about your experience if you do!

We’ll be back soon with more news on grub.

Till then—stay tuned and bon apetit!

23:53
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Aspect Bon Vivant @ Nimisserie | Bangalore

aspect cuisine

Mutton Sukkad on a dhokla pillow and lemon foam

Winter is coming! Well that said we are now on a roll as the colder it gets, the more one can devour!

This time we bring to you something very different from what we normally try and that is Aspect Cuisine. We were recently invited to try out the new menu at one of the most innovative restaurants in Bangalore: Nimisserie.

Located in Brigade road and on the main road, one can see the restaurant and its beauty from quite a distance. The interiors are quite lavish with an open kitchen and the credits behind the concepts go to Chef Nimish Bhatia who is the main man behind the food.

We tried the new Aspect Bon Vivant 7 course meal and some of the preparations were amazingly innovative, well presented and executed.

We started off this feast with the Amuse Bouche. It serves as a palate cleanser with flavoured bubbles which imparts freshness.

Next up, there was a pretty incredible dish consisting of Feta Cheese and Burnt Garlic in Melon Skin. The melon skin had a smooth texture and along with the other ingredients it was a balanced shot of flavours. It was very interesting and slightly chewy.

Amuse Bouche

Smoked Prawn Salad

Feta Cheese & Burnt Garlic in Melon skin@Aspect Bon Vivant @ Nimisserie | Bangalore

Feta Cheese and Burnt Garlic in Melon skin

After this, we were served a Smoked Prawn Salad again containing a medley of interesting ingredients and flavours. It was cherry wood smoked and contained lavender, marigold, green apple and other garden greens. The salad had a good crunch, was balanced and had a pleasant aroma. The smokiness of the prawns and the crunch of the melon seeds were the highlights.

The presentation of the Paneer Atimati was unique and attractive. Although the quantity was surprisingly less it was served with an Alu Tikki and a Guava Chutney. The tikki tasted normal, but the Atimati tasted brilliant when the chutney was drizzled on it! The Atimati in a nutshell was a homemade taco made of roti and stuffed with paneer.

After this, we were served a soup which blew our minds. It was a Creamed Yellow Corn Soup with Truffle Foam and Shaved Dry Mushrooms. Like the name suggests, it was creamy and had the characteristic aroma of corn. The scent of truffle and taste of mushrooms were an added bonus and added to the experience.

The soup was succeeded by another marvel in the form of a Mutton Sukkad on a Dhokla Pillow and served with Lemon Foam. The mutton was prepared in Mangalore style and was slightly spicy and served on a spongy and soft pillow of dhokla. Presentation and taste were a thumbs up but it was quite insufficient in terms of quantity.

Paneer Atimati@Aspect Bon Vivant @ Nimisserie | Bangalore

Paneer Atimati with Alu Tikki and Guava Chutney

Creamed yellow corn soup with truffle foam and shaved dry mushrooms

Now, after this came two main course items followed by dessert.

The Chicken Skewers served with Multi Grain rice was impressive. This did not have a fancy presentation but was filling with satisfactory quantity of chicken and crunchy rice. The fish 3 ways was disappointing. There were 3 preparations of fish containing one piece only and served with Idiyappam. The only preparation worth praise was the moilee which had a creamy coconut flavour and was mouth-watering! The other varieties were average and considering the price they charge they can use better fish than mahi.

For dessert we tried a number of items. Most of the items looked amazing and fancy but looks can be deceiving. The Mango Cardamom Instant Frozen Dessert was good. It was flavourful and had the right amount of sweetness. Except for this we tried a sparkling wine dessert which was frozen with liquid nitrogen. It would have been better if they froze a bit more of sparkling wine as it was more like a tasteless blob. The other desserts served were also pretty average except for the chocolate tower dessert called the Nimisserie Cruze or something similar. This had certain craftsmanship involved and had a balance of chocolate flavour.

Fish 3 way

Skewered Chicken with multi grain rice @Aspect Bon Vivant @ Nimisserie | Bangalore

Skewered chicken served with multi grain rice

Solidified Sparkling wine dessert

Nimisserie Cruze

So, this marks an end to our Nimisserie experience. The experience was decent but there are a lot of ways to improve: the service needs to be faster and they need to make sure they provide more value for money to their customers as in most cases the quantity was lesser than expected. But it might be that for sharks like us, this is not the place to visit!

If you have a small appetite and like to indulge in innovative cuisine and fancy presentation, then Nimisserie is a must try for you. Moreover, their food is designed to get digested in about 30 minutes so they are of a different league altogether (Do keep in mind that this is not pocket friendly).

If you visit and try out their food do let us know about your experience!

We’ll be back with devouring news soon.

Till then—stay tuned and bon apetit!

22:43
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The New Menu @ Hunan | Koramangala | Bangalore

bangalore

Fried Chilli Prawns with Tamarind sauce

Hunan in Kormangala, 5^th Block is one of the oldest and most famous restaurants in Bangalore for Pan Asian food. But it was our first time visiting Hunan on the occasion of the unveiling of their new menu which features some authentic Chinese & Cantonese food. But the star point goes to them, for coming up with an array of dishes which are specifically for people intolerant of gluten.

Yes, Hunan has come up with dishes like Asian style stuffed tofu with chicken, raw mango chili fish, Tofu summer rolls and much more in their Gluten Free menu. We tried some of the gluten free dishes and the dishes from the new menu and we can say that we are pretty happy with the new menu.

This time, I (Priyanjana) will be giving you guys the walk through, so let me take you through the dishes we tried.

11:51
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MPOC Bloggers meet | Palm oil and its importance

bloggers meet

It has been quite a long time that we attended a meet up/event which educates us about the general crisis we are facing as individuals with respect to world order etc. rather than learning more and more about the thing we know best: food.

There are some serious events happening across the globe related to food security, war, terrorism etc. and it is a sad fact that most multi facet organizations and developed nations use food security as a tool to manipulate countries with huge populations (like ours!).

On the same line, we were a part of a bloggers meet on the topic of palm oil at The Vivanta by Taj-M.G. Road. It was more of an informative session than being a bloggers meet as there were an array of topics discussed revolving around the acceptance of palm oil and strategies implemented to make sure than even though on a daily basis we consume goods containing palm oil, we don’t use it because of the idea of apparent harm attached to it.

The above paragraph sounds paradoxical doesn’t it? It should, because it is! Children are always told that we should have a diet based on natural food mostly ones growing out of the earth. Palm trees most definitely fit the description and the yield of palm oil is consumed by over a million people directly and they are still alive and well. So, the question is what makes us delusional about this topic?

This meet was organized by #MPOC or the Malaysian Palm Oil Council and Malaysia is thriving on Palm Oil because it has numerous advantages over other varieties of oil. Over 70% of Malaysia is now covered with palm plantations which not only give them great yield but also maintains forest cover. There are many reasons behind the adoption of palm oil and a few are as follows: