An Ode to Summer @ The Fatty Bao - It's a Summer Special Menu

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It's been really really long since I wrote about a restaurant in Bangalore and when I heard about the Summer Collection menu at The Fatty Bao; I was really excited and looked forward to it. 

Paying an ode to the summer that's going by leading to the monsoons; The Fatty Bao has sketched out an interesting Asian Summer collection menu of food and cocktails that are refreshing for the summers, fantastic on the palate and easy on the stomach. 

We started with the international sensation Thai Summer Salad which exuded freshness coming from ingredients like fresh watermelon, radish herbs and the fragrant and flavourful dressing of Sriracha, honey, lime, salt and pepper. Very classy, very summery (Is it even a word?) and a perfect start to wet the appetite for the courses to come.

The joy of eating sushi is incomparable and since I love Sushi, it had to be on the table. On this menu was caterpillar sushi. Don't go be the name, it's just the  form of presentation. The sushi roll within contained tempura prawns and was topped with poached shrimp and a dressing of black, wasabi and Chili mayo. This was fresh and the balance of flavours perfect. 

There are a few drinks specially concocted to ease the summer time madness. Our pick was the cucumber cooler, Sunny Margarita and litchi fizz. The cucumber cooler is a gin based drink with cucumber juice and fresh lime which hit the right notes to kick start the afternoon. 

There was a sunny Margharita; a tribute to the king of fruits mango. This was made with tequila, fresh mango, passion fruit syrup and fresh lime. Being a huge fan of mangoes, I was happy to see it on the menu and my pick was made easy. A lovely drink but I'd have preferred the flavor of the mango to be more upfront. The drink looked lovely and through the afternoon it was clear that this was the crowd favourite.  

The rice paper roll came next with a Thai sweet Chili sauce. Dip the roll in the sauce and dig into it; Viola! The balance was perfect, texture crunchy and light on the palate. The sweetness of the Thai sweet Chili sauce to begin with and the spicy notes to finish really elevated the joy of eating a summer roll. For starters, we also had the Korean Fried chicken which did not really appeal to either of us. I thought the breadcrumb casing was either too thick or the chicken within the casing was too little. The flavour profile too was nothing exceptional and something I'll really not recommend you to venture into for the menu has a whole lot of other offering that is fantastic and an experience in terms of flavours and textures.

The third drink was litchi Fizz. I was hesitant to get one for litchi cocktail can many a times be really sweet. This was unlike what I imagined; it was aromatic thanks to the star anise. The favouring was perfect; not so sweet, not really sour and the star anise crept in as though the wells infused with it. 

For the mains, we were pre-decided from the start. It had to be chicken rice which was 'The Fatty Bao's' take on Singapore's famous Chicken Hainanese Rice. This came plated with a salad, two sauces - Hoisin and red chili-garlic sauce, a lovely chicken broth to go along and of course the chicken and rice. Eat just the chicken and rice or with a drizzle of the two sauces, the flavors were bang on and only got more enjoyable as I continued to relish this food. It was a celebration on flavors and it spoke why Chicken Hainanese Rice is considered one of the national dishes of Singapore and the reason for it being among the 50 delicious foods in the world.

Next up was the Malacca Asam Pedas aka 'Hot & Sour Malaysian curry with pomfret and vegetables'. The gravy was rich in consistency, spicy (well, not so spicy) and sour to taste; is best enjoyed with rice. Adding to the flavors and textures were accompaniments like fried onion slivers, peanuts and fries. 

I'm not really a dessert person but I did look forward to trying the rainbow cake only to witness the gorgeous presentation and plating of the desserts usually seen at 'The Fatty Bao'. This was nothing short of expectations. Needless to say, going by the name the cake was colourful, placed on a bed of pistachio and cinnamon crumble and candy floss spread around. In this case, I really enjoyed the dessert as much as I did witnessing the presentation. Why so? Because, it was riot of not just flavors but also textures. The cake was basically layers of flavoured sponge and ice cream. The crumble added a lovely crunch and enhanced the experience of enjoying this plated delight. 

A meal for two with two starters, two mains and a dessert each will cost around Rs. 1800 plus taxes and charges. Add a round of drinks each and you will shell out around Rs. 2500++ which is absolutely fair for a lovely weekend dinner or a pleasant and relaxed Sunday lunch. 

Verdict:

We really enjoyed almost everything we had for lunch that afternoon and I highly recommend you visit 'The Fatty Bao' to try out this special edition Summer Collection Menu that is on for the next 2 days (hoping it gets extended) till 29th May for lunch and dinner. Go there to try out the food that uses seasonal ingredients in a setting perfect for either lunch or dinner. The cocktails are lovely too and do try the limited listing of concoctions created specially to celebrate summer. 

Overall, it was a perfect ode to summer and trust me you'll love it.  

Address: #610, 3rd Floor, 12th Main Road, HAL 2nd Stage, Opp. State Bank of India, Indiranagar, Bangalore

Phone Number: +91 80 4411 4499

Note: This visit to The Fatty Bao was on invitation but the opinions expressed are solely mine and are absolutely unbiased nor influenced by the brand in any way.

Care for a Bubby Bento or Sushi?

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My neighborhood is known to host some of the best hotel properties of Bangalore. I may sound over-confident but that doesn't change the equation. Very recently, I visited this beautiful and sophisticated Pan-Asian rooftop offering tucked away in possibly one of the most expansive hotel properties in Bangalore. Driving into the property itself is an absolute pleasure. This rooftop restaurant is also an apt place to lounge and soak in the wonderful weather Bangalore has to offer especially around this time of the year.

You possibly have guessed it by now, "I am speaking of none other that 'OKO'". I love the concept of Bento meals which offers personalized portions of multiple meal courses allowing you to explore a cuisine of interest. Going a step ahead, sometimes it also allows for customization of what goes into the Bento meal. 

Being served for lunch at OKO it is called 'Bubbly Bento'; for the bento meal comes with a glass of bubbly to savor. Here one can choose a bento meal being offered for 3 cuisines - Japanese, Thai and Chinese. Interestingly, it is also possible for you to customize the box to include more than one cuisine if you may wish.

Each of the cuisines are available in vegetarian and non-vegetarian options. My Bubbly Bento meal was customized to offer a mix of Chinese and Thai dishes. Here's a look at a wholesome Asian meal:

The above box was a nice mix of the somethings Chinese and something Thai. The soup was 'Tom Yum Kai' was fragrant Thai with Thai spices and exuded distinct hot and sour flavors. Lemongrass, Kaffir lime leave and Galangal were clearly felt and contributed to a lasting after taste. In the salad it was the Thai classic 'Som Tam Thai'. It's a salad that can easily go wrong but when it's right it has the potential to kill your appetite for the remaining cuisines you may have planned for your meal. The flavors were bang with an interesting medley of flavors and textures like sour, chili, sweetness, crunch and so on.

The bento meal also comprised of delicious and succulent 'Szechwan La Ji'; a delicious and succulent preparation of chicken with chili bean sauce. The flavor was distinct and the chicken was melt in mouth. The stir fried Chinese greens were light on the stomach and perfectly blanched to retain the much required crunch. Both the chicken and the stir fry greens were best enjoyed on their own or with the accompanying Thai jasmine rice. 

The meal was enjoyed in the company of a lovely glass of Sula Brut sparkling wine; the buttery texture and the complex flavors of which best complimented the milder Asian dishes. 

I'm in love with sushi and given a chance I'd be more than willing to make a complete meal out of it. Unable to resist the temptation, I gave an assortment of sushi a shot. There was 'Maki sushi' (rolls), 'Nigiri sushi platter' (Meat on a lump of sushi rice) and 'Sashimi platter' (just meat). Describing the ingredients as top quality or fresh will be an understatement and this clearly reflected in the taste.

Maki Sushi

Sashimi Platter

Nigiri Sushi

It was time to call it a meal and having chosen a mix of Thai and Chinese bento, the dessert of my choice was the obvious 'Tab Tim Grob' - water chestnuts in coconut milk with a heap of shaved ice. It's the best way to end a meal at any Thai restaurant and for me it did make for a perfect ending to a lovely meal.

Continuing the indulgence on sushi, Chef Tenzin brought out her signature that was rightly kept for the end - 'Chocolate Sushi'. This was rich and indulgent with a chunky stick of chocolate ganache stick used a s filling and melted dark chocolate to coat the sushi rice. In short it was a burst of richness in the mouth.

The bento bubbly meal is very well priced at Rs. 899++ for vegetarians and Rs. 999++ for non-vegetarians. Here's leaving you with more reason to visit OKO. For table reservations please call +918030527777.

The Lovely Bar Counter

DimSums

Restaurant Seating

Bon Appetit!

Address: Oko, Hotel Lalit Ashok, Kumara Krupa Road, High Grounds, Bangalore

Phone Number: +91 80 3052 7777

New Menu @ The Fatty Bao

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Normally, innovation is something you don't expect in most cases but with Manu Chandra, innovation is the least you can expect. The bar set by him is already high and yet you walk out post a meal which has easily surpassed these expectation. When 'The Fatty Bao launched last year, I was excited to visit this restaurant and again at this time of the year I was really excited to get to preview the new menu that was recently launched.

The new menu has a lot of interesting and innovative stuff. While I really love things from their old menu; I kept focus on just the new offerings. And the good news is; there's plenty of new stuff on the menu and even better there's plenty for the vegetarians as well.

Puja and I visited one Sunday afternoon and unlike my prior visits, we chose to take a table on the 3rd floor instead of the Rooftop bar. We walked in pretty early to just find a couple of tables taken and in no time we realized the restaurant was packed to full capacity and the wait list began to grow. Bringing focus back to the food and drinks, we spent a leisurely afternoon over loads of great food and a few drinks.

We cruised through the menu starting with Sushi rolls - 'Spicy Salmon and Dill roll' for me in non-vegetarian and 'Asparagus Tempura and Cream Cheese Roll' in vegetarian for Puja.

Next up was Bao - Sheng Jian Bao which was first steamed and then seared on a cast iron pan. On the vegetarian pan it was the 'Spicy Tofu and Spring Onion Bao' and on my non-vegetarian side, it was the 'Lamb with Oyster Sauce Bao'. The bao's both tofu and lamb were so delicious; we reserved the last piece of it for the end of the meal.

We tried two new dim-sums off the menu - 'Spicy pumpkin and Radish dim-sum' and the 'Prawn and Garlic Chive dim-sum' from the non-vegetarian segment.They came served in small steamer baskets in the company of an assortment of dips which included the black bean dip, soy with herbs dip and spicy tomato dip. The dips made for really nice accompaniments but neither the bao not the dim-sums needed them to be enjoyed. They were so good all by themselves.

Drinks always kept company as we ate, I tried the 'Green Kimino' - A drink of Absolut Pepper, fresh pineapple blended with curry leaves and lemongrass and garnished with a celery stick which added to the freshness in flavor. A very Asian drink taking me down memory lane to a recent holiday in Asia. 'Ho Gin Min' has been on the menu since the start and the combination of Aniseed and ginger did not really appeal to my palate. 'The Fatty Sour' is a twist to the classic ad I've always enjoyed this Jameson Irish Whisky drink.

We also tried a mocktail called 'Señorita Sangria' which was a cranberry based drink with fruits soaked in it.

I love Baos right from the time I ate them for the first time in US way back in 2007. In Bangalore, I am confident that the best bao available is at 'The Fatty Bao' followed by 'Monkey Bar'. After some great dimsums, we were back at eating bao. This time, it was the open-faced bao with a filling of 'Miso-Eggplant' in one and 'Chicken Katsu' in another. So yes, one was the vegetarian and the other non-vegetarian. Both were scrumptious and specifically in the non-vegetarian Char Sui Bao takes the top spot. But if pork belly is not your preferred choice of meat the Chicken Katsu is clearly the way to go. Like I've said it earlier, this bao is best enjoyed in about 3 mouthful bites.

In small plates,  it was 'Stir Fried Pork Neck' that I really enjoyed. It was stir fried with Asian greens, ginger and basil in chili bean sauce. The sauce was well balanced and married well with the succulent pork meat without really trying to over power it.

Ramen at The Fatty Bao have been a delight in my previous visits. This time, we tried a vegetarian and a non-vegetarian ramen which clearly are meals in a bowl. Puja enjoyed the 'Stir Fried Kimchi Ramen with Spicy Tofu' and for me it was 'Lamb Tsukune Ramen'. Just going by the description of 'Lamb Tsukune Ramen' on the menu; I looked forward to relish this bowl of ramen and when it arrived, it had my favorite right on top - minced lamb meatballs. It was a Miso-Korean Chili paste broth with works like sauteed spinach, sweet corn, sprouts and pickled egg. Portions are great and a bowl of ramen is best shared among two especially if you have gone in for various courses.

Having eaten so much, we did not have any space left for either trying anything from the large plates section or desserts and decided to skip it during this meal.

It was a fantastic Sunday afternoon with the atmosphere at The Fatty Bao filled with a wonderful vibrancy and loads of new dishes on the menu for both vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike. Cocktails here are interesting with 'The Fatty Sour' being my favorite here since my previous visits followed by Green Kimino which I tried on this visit. A meal experience for two including food and a cocktail each will average at Rs 2500 plus taxes and charges.

Whether you are looking for a quick lunch or spending a leisurely afternoon or an evening with friends over some after-work drinks, a fun Asian rooftop bar; The Fatty Bao is the perfect destination.

Address: #610, 3rd Floor, 12th Main Road, HAL 2nd Stage, Opp. State Bank of India, Indiranagar, Bangalore

Phone Number: +91 80 4411 4499