Reviews Posted by: Ruth |
| 57 Reviews |
 |
|
|
|
| "Chocoholics paradise" |
09 Jan 2010 |
| This chocoholics nook is small place in the same line as Mulani Opticals in Jayanagar 3rd Block. It is just before Sapna Book House and Nandhini. This brown little place of choco sin peddles its wares from what used to earlier be a handicrafts store. A little chit-chat with the owners brought out the fact that handicrafts had been their earlier venture.
The place is small and is packed with all forms of chocolate. I wouldn't say that they have chocolates that you won't find elsewhere, but they do have a lot of different chocolates under the same roof. Every mentionable foreign brand has found its way the shelves here. Foxes, Hershey's, Lindt, After Eights, Ferrero Rocher and so many more.
There is also a whole range of Ooty chocolates which you can pick up by the kilo. You have them in mixed flavors of chocolate in combination with others, sugar-frees, those that have strawberry or mint or orange or nuts in the centre.
There are also chocolates in a whole range of shapes and sizes. Chocolate bouquets are available starting from Rs 800 and going up. There are also gift tiles which with few days notice can be customized to spell out your name or the name of a loved one. They also spell out wishes for birthdays and anniversaries.
There is also a whole range of lollipops and other kiddie favorites. The couple in charge are a portly pair and not really the types who know how to sell the stuff they have. They are courteous and will answer all your queries, but its up to you to find a good deal. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| "Making a convert of me" |
09 Jan 2010 |
| I have this thing about cuisines such as Italian and Mediterranean being vegetarian. I can't digest the fact that these predominantly non-vegetarian foods can be made any other way. Thus when Eurasia opened up in Jayanagar, I was still skeptical. As we entered, the decor got a couple of oohs and aahs from us. Airy and full of natural light, we decided to sit downstairs rather than on the terrace.
Starters was a battle over Pita bread with hummus or Pita bread with muttabel. Muttabel won. The dish looked really cute when it come with pomegranate seeds decorating it. The muttabel tasted good, quite close to what is served in the Gulf (born and half brought up there, so kinda know). The olive oil was not really there, but the black olives made up for it. Nice and amply sufficient for two people.
We next opted for the mixed platter of starters which was batter fried capsicum, onion rings and corn fritters. While the descriptions on the menu were varied, all three veggies were batter fried and served with tomato salsa. All three were really batter fried and not with channa batter like my prejudiced mind would expect. They really went well with the tangy salsa. But honestly wished they hadn't sprinkled a truck load of chaat powder on the dish.
Main course time I just had to try the pastas. They have a good range of toppings as well as pastas in terms of penne, spaghetti, fusili, farfelle and even gnocchi. I opted for the Matriciana in spaghetti. This was tomato sauce, soya mince, cheese, onion, chilly and basil. It was topped off with shavings of parmesan. The quantity was excellent and the taste - well, it was my big step into believing that vegetarian Italian can actually be really good. The sauce was rich without being overly so, tangy and very very yummy.
Hubby decided to go in for a Mongolian Wok-Talk - This is a stir fry where you get to choose your ingredients, the sauce and the type of noodles you want it tossed in. He went for the Yakitori sauce which seriously should have a dangerously spicy sign next to it. Our spice levels are really high but even this one had us reaching for the water glass one too many times. In this sauce was tossed onions, zucchini, broccoli and red and yellow capsicum. This dish came to the table steaming hot and was good right down to the last bite.
To wash these down we had two drinks. Hubby had kiwi and green grapes and mine had strawberry, orange juice and a little bit of something else. Both were cool and refreshing.
Dessert we settled for the most common of desserts from a rather yummy sounding list - caramel custard. What came was perfectly shaped and delicious to boot.
To round up - I am definitely going here again - to try more starters, salads, pizzas and hopefully the barbecues. Money wise - the meal came to Rs 1100. But while the main courses were decently priced at around Rs 220 - Rs 250, the starters and the desserts however were on the expensive at Rs 125 to Rs 150. Service is good and thankfully the staff know what their menu is about.
For more pix - http://onruthprabhusplate.blogspot.com/2009_11_01_archive.html#2260137324408849370 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| "Not bad, but not great either" |
10 Jan 2010 |
| The first thing that impressed us about French Quarter was the decor. Mangalore tiled roof each embedded with a rectangular glass that allowed a lot of natural lighting in. Day time does not require any artificial lighting and I can just imagine how beautiful it will look during a downpour. There is also a wonderful coconut palm growing right through the restaurant.
Now to the food. The blackboards have the plat du jours which are set meals of soups/starters and main courses. The menu is relatively small but since it had the French names and the English explanations, it took us a while to get through it. We decided to go for a full course meal and started with the Potage or soup. Veggie friend and me split a Soupe au pistou, which was described as Provencal soup with vegetables, pasta and flavored with pesto. This was really nice and hit the spot well. It was slightly tangy thanks to the pesto with the veggies delicately sliced.
Husband went in for the French onion soup which was Beef consomme with baked cheese croton. While the soup was nice, the croton was a bit unsightly.
The starters we had the Poulet Goujons which was crumb fried chicken fingers with honey mustard sauce. This was five strips of chicken that was crumb fried and served with the sauce. It was basically honey with a dash of dijon mustard. It did not really pack the punch of mustard and tasted more honey. The chicken strips could easily have been fish, such was its plain"ness".
We also Potato Sarladaise which was described as diced roasted potatoes that have been spiced. Again it was just that, a plain explanation to an equally plain dish.
Time for the main courses. I asked for a meal that was part of the day's specials. They were kind enough to make the dish for me despite it being part of a package deal. So Roast chicken in red onion sauce with veggies and mashed potatoes it was for me. What came was a fillet of chicken that had definitely not been roasted, because it looked and yielded to the knife just like shallow fried fillet. The sauce was obviously onion based, slightly on the sweeter side. The mashed potatoes were decent and the veggies few.
Friend 2 had the French Quarter with three peppercorn sauce. This was red, green and black peppercorns. On first look, we both felt that my dish was repeated. The sauce had the same look and consistency as did the veggies and mashed potatoes. The only thing that distinguished it from mine was that it had peppercorns of the three colors. Decent
Husband had the Chicken with 40 cloves of garlic. This was chicken baked with veggies and whole garlic. And despite the 40 cloves you won't be left with breath that will ward off Dracula. The dish was nice.
Veggie friend was disappointed with her Fish Orly which was batter fried fish with tomato salsa and pommes frittes which turned out to be batter fried potato sticks. The dish was like the chicken strips we had as starters. 4 fish strips and 4 potato strips formed this measly meal. Nothing exceptional about the taste.
Drinks were Flying Tigers (Five spirits of gin, rum, vodka, tequila, grenadine, cranberry juice and coconut milk). Super tasting and equally potent was the verdict by husband. I had the Cosmopolitan which started tasting of vodka only on the last sip. Friend 2 had the whiskey sour which tasted odd enough to be left aside.
Desserts were creme brulee and banana chocolate crepes which were utterly atrocious. The creme brulee only had a fired outer crust and once the spoon went in, it was a watery mess. We sent it back to the kitchen and were apologised to with the sentence "Oh it was not frozen". Creme brulee frozen??
The banana and chocolate crepes was this exactly - dosa filled with sliced bananas, topped off with sliced bananas and chocolate sauce. Imagine the taste and you have the verdict.
Overall, the ambiance is nice. But the food completely lacked soul. For a bill of Rs 2800 for the 4 of us, we did not come away feeling completely satisfied. The staff are slow and time between order and actual arrival of dishes at the table is vast. While some can be termed good, others are downright bad and nothing is exceptionally great. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| "Standing tall" |
10 Jan 2010 |
| I visited Infinitea a long time ago, when the concept was first introduced in Bangalore. A place where tea and not coffee took precedence. And when I say tea, it is much much more than the milk and sugar variety. When I first went to Infinitea all those years ago, they did not have much a of menu when it came to food. But this time round was really different.
We decided to sit on the mezzanine floor at a comfy corner table. The tea menu was given to us separately much like a bar menu. Husband, a staunch coffee drinker decided to try the strong flavored pomegranate ice tea. It was really nice ice tea with a reaaallly strong flavor of pomegranate. I decided to have one of the bitter teas - Enigma. To me it looked like scotch on the rocks and was really nice to sip on.
Starters was Dragon Puppets which was fritters of mashed potatoes and chicken, crumb fried and served with a tangy salsa. There was an equal proportion of mashed potatoes and chicken, which you don't really find in places that offer these kinds of dishes.
For main course, I ordered the first thing on the menu, Chicken a la Kiev. It was just too tempting to pass by. The description of garlic encased in chicken, served with mashed potatoes and garlic bread was too wonderful to let up. What came was a wonderful crumb fried case of chicken, mashed potatoes and garlic. Once the knife went through, there were rivulets of seasoned butter flowing out. The case was a little tough on the knife but overall the taste was fantastic.
Husband ordered the Pesce Florentine which was fillet of fish spread on spinach mashed potatoes and topped off with a garlic white wine sauce and baked in cheese. Absolutely and sinfully fantastic.
Dessert was the Italian trifle jam sponge which was custard creme topped off with chocolate shavings. I am assuming it was heavenly because junior polished it off to the last morsel.
To round off the meal we decided to have a pot of Pearls of the Mountain. These are teas that are fermented and rolled into balls that unfurl when they are dropped in boiling water. The boiling water and an hour glass is brought to the table and the pearls are tipped in, in front of you. You can actually see them open up and all the color and flavor spread in the pot.
Infinitea, in my opinion stands tall among all the coffee places in Bangalore. It has that little something that seems to be missing in all the places that peddle the same type of coffee under different names. Service is quick and competent. The bill came to Rs 1100 which was well worth every penny.
For more yummy pix - http://onruthprabhusplate.blogspot.com/2009_12_01_archive.html#4564801556777328020 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| "Merging quality and quantity" |
12 Jan 2010 |
| Asean's claim to fame is its Thai, Malay and Indonesian cuisine. We decided to do a complete Thai meal on the day we visited the place with P and Pretty P.
For the starters we went in for the Chicken Satay with peanut sauce, Chicken drumsticks with black bean sauce and vegetarian momos with red chilli sauce salad for our temporary vegetarian Pretty P. P also wanted to indulge in some soup as well and so Chicken thick soup with noodles it was.
The Chicken Satay tasted great, but the peanut sauce was a disaster. It tasted like something that was picked right off an andhra leaf meal from a Nagarjuna. It was a total mismatch. The Chicken drumsticks were great and the black bean sauce was absolutely delicious. Just the right amout of salty-spiceness. It was good enough to ask for another bowl of it.
Am not one for vegetarian momos and maybe it is something to be relished by pure veggies since none of us thought much of it. The Chicken thick soup with noodles was just that... thick and full of noodles and chicken. Skip this soup if you are not that hungry.
For the main course Pretty P opted for her favourite Thai red curry in veg and a steam rice. We went in for Thai roast garlic and basil noodles with chicken and Kara Kambing or Lamb Indonesian curry. The noodles were soft and moist with the garlic roasted to a crispy toast. The noodles can make for an meal by itself. The Kara Kambing was great, a coconut base with strips of boneless chicken. However, it was a wrong choice to go with the noodles and would have been better with the steam, which is eventually how we finished it.
It would have helped if the waiters around knew how to pair dishes or at least offered an opinion when customers seem to get it wrong. Finally for dessert we went in for the Rum and raisin mousse flan which was absolute heaven in our mouths. You could most definitely taste the rum and the mousse was a creamy delight. The flan was just the right toughness that allowed one to easily cut a slice without struggling too hard. These desserts are made by the owner's wife and son. However, we were among the last few to savour these delights. Management of the restaurant has changed now but I hear the desserts are still as good.
Service on the day we went, which was a Saturday was quite slow. But weekdays are faster. This entire meal cost us Rs 1100, which I thought was great. The portions are large, so take it easy when ordering.
For more pix - http://onruthprabhusplate.blogspot.com/2009_06_01_archive.html#6382610137734420690 |
|
|
|
|
|
GRUBHOGS.COM © 2008-2012 , All rights Reserved
