7 Reasons you should visit Monkey Bar this December

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As I keep hearing my family and friends say, "I only need reasons to visit Monkey Bar." This time, I won’t state why I made a visit again; instead, I'm going to give you 7 enticing reasons on why you should visit Monkey Bar this December:

 1.      Food Festival for the very first time:
All through December and surely for the first time, Monkey Bar is hosting a food festival showcasing the authentic Anglo-Indian food and also something it is famous for - 'A twist to the original'.

At this food festival, on service for lunch and dinner alongside the regular menu is a specially crafted 'Hobson Jobson Festival' menu. 'Yes' it is called 'Hobson Jobson Festival'. With a wide range of mouthwatering appetizers, mains and desserts on offer there are numerous more reasons to visit Monkey Bar this December. Read on...

 2.       Starters:

The regular menu at Monkey Bar is always there, This month however, you could be totally content and fill yourself up on just the starters alone from their festive 'Hobson Jobson Menu'. Here's what I think you should go have on your table when you head to Monkey Bar for the rest of this month:

Chingree Samosas - Prawn Balchao stuffed in flaky puff pastry - Clearly a highlight of my meal. Only wish the samosas were stuffed with more prawns (chunky prawns for a nice bite)

Panthras - Crepes stuffed with aromatic and spicy minced lamb filling

Chickpea and smoked fish Salad - Love fish and mustard? This has got to be on your table.

 3.       Beverages:

The Hobson Jobson menu has 5 new cocktails on the menu and off these I tried two and absolutely loved both of them. Ask me for my pick from the two cocktails and I'll say, "first have The Pink Gin and then the Oddenino's Hot Punch. 'True that', you've got to try both the cocktails and 'no', Hot Punch is not a warm beverage”. I love Angostura bitters and clearly a drink having Angostura will top my list. These 2 cocktails being concocted at their bar are surely a reason enough to visit Monkey Bar this month.

Oddenino's Hot Punch

The Pink Gin 

 4.       Mains:

While starters can fill you up, mains clearly cannot be left behind. You have got to try the famous Anglo-Indian dish called 'Kedgeree' and 'Dak Banglow Murgi Roast'. Kedgeree is a rice based dish with smoked flakes of fish, parsley, ribbons of egg and spices. You love fish? A lot of fish? Visit Monkey Bar and eat the Kedgeree.

Kedegree - Simple flavors; an absolute delight

'Dak Bunglow Murgi Roast' is skewers of lemon-yogurt roasted succulent chicken served with saffron and coconut pilaf. Love the flavor of caramelized onions? The pilaf is loaded with it. Combine it with chicken and mushy peas stuffed in a baked whole tomato and you have another reason to visit Monkey Bar this December.

Dak Bunglow Murgi Roast

 5.       Desserts:

Railway pudding is a very berry dessert and a big hit among diners at Monkey Bar. While this is a reason enough to visit Monkey Bar another strong contender is the ' Brown Bread Butter pudding'; served with a deadly coffee ice cream is a dessert which I personally love more than the 'Railway Pudding'.

Brown Bread Butter Pudding

Railway Pudding

 6.       Breakfirst @ Monkey Bar – Click here

 7.       A day out @ Monkey Bar – Click here

Note - Hobson Jobson Food Festival is on for lunch and dinner all days of the week at Monkey Bar, Wood Street.

A Day Out @ Monkey Bar - New Introductions

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Needless to say, I have loved their drinks, the vibe, the food; especially the breakfast which I absolutely adore. It's a place I usually love to hang out in a group or just with a companion. I frequent Monkey Bar on weekends and that's quiet evident from my Facebook and Twitter accounts.

Very recently I was invited to review the new introductions on Monkey Bar's all day dining menu. Sunday lunch being the most convenient, I headed down to Monkey Bar with a dining companion. A lazy Sunday lunch is my idea of an ideal Sunday and the moment I entered Monkey Bar, I knew this was it. The music was soft, the place was not packed to the doors, the lighting was bright, families, friends and couples sat relaxed sipping on a few drinks, eating and having a good time among themselves.

My companion and I glanced through the 'New' all day dining menu to find an inclusion of both food and drinks. We began with an order of 'Reddy's Chicken, Devil Fries and Tempura Calamari for starters and 2 drinks to go with it.

The devil fries made for a great bar snack to go with the drinks and for a more fulfilling companion it surely had to be the calamari and Reddy's Chicken. What clearly stole the show so far was Reddy's Chicken which was packed with flavor and was down right succulent - a first taste and you know this is the very dish I want to go along with some drinks.

Devil Fries

Reddy's Chicken

Tempura Calamari - a preparation I first tasted in Monkey Bar, Indiranagar has made its way into the Monkey Bar, Wood Street menu as well. It's in fact been on their menu for some time and purely out of love, I called for this dish. It just seems like nothing can go wrong with this preparation. The Calamari was fresh, perfectly cooked and wonderfully flavored.

Tempura Calamari

As for the drinks, we had Mandarin Blast; a vodka based cocktail and Kiss-ky Whiskey; a whiskey based cocktail. Mandarin Blast was a very fresh and fruity drink apt for a lovely day with the sun out at its peak. If you love fruity drinks, this has got to be on your table.

Mandarin Blast

What's trending in my human system is a strong liking for Whiskey based cocktails and Kiss-Ky Whiskey is clearly the most recent entrant on my top favorite whiskey based cocktails. It's a drink that's got fantastic flavors coming from Irish whiskey, triple sec and again my favorite Ginger Ale. In the form of 'Kiss-Ky Whiskey'; Copper Monkey has competition!

Kiss-Ky Whiskey

We were quite stuffed with starters and thought of taking a break, meaning head down underground for some fun time playing pool and Foosball. We surely needed more drinks and the next round was a Bull Frog and Monkey Cup. Bull frog has been on the menu and is quite a potent drink with a mix of multiple white spirits to give you the kicks and Monkey Cup is quite an innovative drink of never ending white rum, pineapple, orange, amaretto, cinnamon and a pint of beer overturned. I love this drink and have had this on multiple visits now.

Bull Frog

Monkey Cup

We continued to sip drinks as we played pool and soon followed the mains which included our very own chicken tikka masala with a serving of rice (optional rice / pita bread), chicken katsu burger and banh mi. Chicken tikka with rice made for a really good meal and surely will be a popular hit among those looking for a very Indian and satisfying meal.

Chicken Tikka

Burgers have always been outstanding at Monkey Bar and hence, I did look forward to the arrival of this baby. It came as chicken sandwiched between the softest in-house baked bun and a side serving of delicious slaw, pickled cucumber and a paper cone full of french fries. What more can I ask for? With a lot of starters and drinks flowing through all afternoon, I'll admit sharing the burger between the two of us was also a Hercules task. At the end, deliciousness won and we did take the burger down to the last bite.

Chicken Katsu Burger

We assumed to have had the top picks from the new menu not knowing the dessert would have us floored. It's called 'I Scream Sliders'; a trio of 3 delicious flavors of ice cream - classic vanilla, salted caramel and coffee ice cream; all of them plated as sliders and served along with gooey hot chocolate sauce. I'm sure the picture speaks it all and I highly recommend you leave some space in your tummy for this decadent dessert.

I Scream Slider

A Sunday flew by really fast, yes it did. We nearly spent most of our afternoon at Monkey Bar playing games of pool and Foosball with other guests and savoring food and sipping drinks; lots of them. What ticks with me about Monkey Bar is, while the menu has been seeing new introduction and changes, it has the same old charm and vibrancy which it has retained to this day since it came into being. 

Without writing more, everything else remains the same except for the new menu which offers more reasons to go back to Monkey Bar!

'Old Monkey, New Tricks'

Address: Woods Street, Ashok Nagar, Bangalore

Phone Number: +91 80 4111 6878 / 79 

#Hotel Review - Comfort isn't Complicated @ Four Points By Sheraton - Now in Bangalore

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Bangalore has been witnessing the opening of a lot of new business hotels. Each very different from the other. What's common is that they belong to the 'Starwood' brand. In July, we saw the opening and launch of a quirky, trendy, vibrant, playful and tech savvy Aloft Hotels at Cesna Business Park and now is Bangalore's first Four Points by Sheraton which believes and lives by the motto - 'Comfort isn't Complicated'.

A group of bloggers were invited to experience this new business hotel in Whitefield and what better way to do it that to plan a stay over in the very middle of the week. Located in Whitefield, this Four Points by Sheraton (FPBSBengaluru) is in close proximity to ITPL and the surrounding IT/Business parks.

All I knew about this hotel was it's location and everything from there turned out to be a surprise; a good one indeed. Wow! 10 minutes drive from and to work? Awesome! I was pretty excited. I drove from work to arrive at Four Points by Sheraton at 6 PM.

Welcomed by the staff, and the necessary security check, I was guided through the lobby to the check-in desks. The lobby was very simplistically done, architect-ed to make the best of natural day light, lots of free floor space and with all this exuded an elegance of sorts. The check-in was quite fast and required no forms or what so ever to be filled; yet ensuring the security protocols (Valid ID card) were followed.

The Reception

Library Lounge @ The Lobby

The room is where comfort begins and aptly named, it was 'Comfort Room - King Bed' for me. It was well equipped right from a well stocked bar, safety locker, a work desk, iron board, tea/coffee maker, in-room service, alarm clock to wake a sound sleeper and a lot more. The overhead wall of the bed has beautiful wall paintings of places of prominence and importance around Karnataka.

Overhead Canvas

Life outside the room was quite interesting as well. Additionally to meet the business needs, #FPBSBengaluru also houses meeting spaces to host either board meetings or banquets for events; all of which come equipped with latest audiovisual technology.

The rooftop at the hotel houses a well equipped gym, a lovely pool on the rooftop on one side and an open terrace on the other being readied to provide guests with an exclusive offering and experience. Unfortunately, we'll have to wait for a while to hear about what's in store for us.

 The first floor houses 'The Best Brew' - a pub that boasts of a vast selection of lager beer (#BestBrews) from across the globe, some very interesting beer cocktails and of-course the classics. Again revolving around the theme of Karnataka, munchies like muruku, kodbelle, nippat etc are served along with the drinks on every table. 

Famous Snacks from Karnataka

Karl, the man behind the bar does a fabulous job of showcasing and concocting some wonderful beer cocktails. The food that kept beer / beer cocktails company was delicious as well. For the non-vegetarians it was the spicy and delicious chicken tikka and a fried prawn starter that was perfectly cooked to leave the prawn moist and juicy. 

Karl concocted some fabulous beer cocktails

We juggled in and out of this place until it was last order. As the cop came chasing us down (not literarily) to place our last order it only meant a round of shots to make a grand finish. Open to both resident and non-resident guests, 'The Best Brew' is a nice place to unwind after a long day at work.

On the other side of the floor is their multi-cuisine restaurant 'The Eatery' which serves both a-la carte and buffet for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Here, we got to experience the masterclass by none other that Chef Michael Swamy and Chef Kurley. At this time, we not only got to hear the sizzle of the preparations but also the clicks of camera that kept going, as did the masterclass. It was an overload of starters, hence I settled for just Mutton Bhuna Ghost and an oriental fish dish with naan and noodles for dinner from the buffet spread. The food was quite good.

Chef Michael Swamy

A fabulous Prawn dish by Chef Kurley - 'Dehekte Ginger Jhinge'

Mutton Bhuna Ghost

Post dinner, it was time to call it a day and what better than an inviting #FourComfortBed - a signature mattress customized for FourPoints world over to ensure a good nights sleep. With temperature set at the right temperature, I dozed like a log knowing that I had an additional hour to sleep with office in the vicinity – A rarity for me who travels for over an hour to work. Yippee! Good Night!

Hello, Good Morning!

The bathroom was well equipped with the necessary personal care products and plush bathroom fittings. The day saver for me was the presence of a dental kit which I had missed including in my baggage.

I could have slept more but it was for the love of breakfast that I was up and running. Breakfast can be ordered to the room or like I did; head down to The Eatery for their breakfast buffet. It surely was a great way to start the day with a nice coffee, eggs made to order, juices to go along (both fresh and canned), cereals, fruits, breads, breakfast desserts and more.

All right, time for quick and hassle free check-out. After this wonderful experience at the youngest business hotel in Whitefield, I was all set to head to work close to ITPL which was less than a 10 minute drive away.

Address: 43/3 Whitefield Main Road, Bengaluru - 560066

Phone Number: +91 80 4030 1212

'BreakFirst @ Monkey Bar', Bangalore

Breakfast is considered to be the most important meal of the day and considering the food scene in Bangalore, there is a world of option available for us foodies. In Bangalore, it can be a simple South-Indian affair or an extravagant affair involving global offerings. Depending on the cuisine and preferences, it can be eaten on either the street side, the neighborhood garage, or the restaurants housed in the numerous star hotels and everything in between.

But how about having breakfast at a pub? I stand corrected; at a Gastro-Pub?

Yes and this is exactly what my wife and I did. We kick started our weekend with ‘Breakfirst @ Monkey Bar’; known to be India’s first Gastro-Pub.

Well, what is a Gastro-Pub? It is a space that has the essence of a pub, but is backed by excellent food and service at accessible prices.

Menu

Monkey bar, on weekends only runs a special a-la carte breakfast menu starting 9 AM to Noon. The listing includes delicacies spanning across cuisines from the western hemisphere to the eastern hemisphere; but with a twist. The breakfirst menu introduced earlier this year, now has some new dishes introduced as a part of the Breakfirst menu offering gourmet options for vegetarians, eggitarians and non-vegetarians. Here is a glimpse of the ‘Breakfirst @ Monkey Bar’ menu.

The menu not only caters to the eggitarians (The eggs came first), the health conscious, or the ones with a serious appetite (The Big Bang) but also to those who believe only a ‘breakfirst’ cocktail can cure a hangover (Well, that’s a just a reason to drink). Yes, Monkey Bar serves signature breakfast cocktail 10:00 AM onwards.

What we ate:

Our breakfirst was really king sized with a lot of dishes making a visit on our table. It started with the 'Mutton Keema Bao', 'Eggs Benedictine' and 'Eggs Florentine' arriving first.

Bao is a Chinese steamed bun stuffed with either meat or veggies. It is something I ate first during my travel to US a few years ago and since have longed for a good one in Bangalore. I’d assume the picture speaks for itself; the bao was stuffed well with a spicy mutton filling and enjoyed best when eating steaming hot with the accompanying peanut- chilli sauce and the hot mutton broth served in a shot glass.

On request, our portion was split between an Egg Benedictine and an Egg Florentine. Benedictine, listed on the menu since start contains ham between the poached egg and the English muffin while the new addition ‘Florentine’ replaced the ham with creamy spinach. You may have noticed that my preference usually inclines towards the non-vegetarian option but Florentine was a winner this time. What worked was the marriage of the texture and flavor of the creamy spinach, the poached egg and Hollandaise sauce.

Soon to follow was a portion of ‘Eggs in a Blanket’ and ‘Toast to France’. ‘Eggs in a blanket’ was a fabulous preparation of egg stuffed between a flaky and light paratha served with mutton keema. I kept asking myself, “Could Breakfast get any better?”

Mention 'Toast to France' and I will always be reminded of the ‘French Toast’ that is served at Monkey Bar. It is a sweet and heavenly preparation of Jewish Challah soaked with numerous ingredients like egg, orange zest, cinnamon, milk and more. This was served along with maple syrup which takes the toast to another high.

Photo Credit: Kunal Chandra

By this time, we were stuffed but were not willing to give up without trying the newly introduced ‘Cinnamon & Toffee Pancakes’. This came as a stack of 3 fluffy cinnamon pancakes topped with sweet toffee and vanilla pastry cream. Of course, there was maple syrup too. Again, this was delicious and easily the best pan cakes I have eaten here in Bangalore. All thanks to its goodness, we managed to get through half the stack.

Photo Credit: Kunal Chandra

How can I miss to mention, all the food we ate was in the company of their ‘Monkey recommends’ – ‘Red Riding Wood’ – vodka based cocktail and a healthy smoothie ‘Green Goddess’. ‘Red Riding Wood’ was served in a mini vodka bottle with the plum and apple pulp floating in it. This drink exudes lovely flavors of fresh plum and apple juice. ‘Green Goddess’ failed to make its mark due to the over powering flavor of Banana. We wished the flavors of banana, peach, orange; kiwi and cucumber were well balanced.

Verdict:

Ohhh, what a wonderful way to kick start our weekend!!!

Monkey Bar with ease makes you believe that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and they take no time to do so. We loved every single dish that came on our table. As we drove back home after the hearty breakfast, we spoke about what we liked the most. For my wife it was ‘Eggs Florentine’ and the ‘Cinnamon & Toffee Pancakes’ and for me it was ‘Egg in a blanket’ and ‘has to be ‘Toast to France’. Bao – something I love; was good too but missed being at the top only for the lack of sweetness in the steamed bun which makes a lovely contrast to the spicy mutton keema filling.

The ambiance was welcoming and warm. Interiors are rustic and wood finished yet well balanced. Monkey bar does receive a pleasant amount of natural light through it windows which is a plus for me when I’m going for breakfast. The music was on with the sound levels maintained well for a morning visit. It was quite a contrast to how you will find Monkey Bar post evenings. The basement has a pool table and a foosball table.

What will be an average spend for a ‘Breakfirst @ Monkey Bar’ without alcohol and taxes? And What about parking?

Parking is the owner’s responsibility and can be done on the roadside. The breakfast at Monkey Bar averages about Rs. 1200 for two. Post this visit; I’d rate this sit down breakfast way over the extravagant but standard breakfast fare at numerous star hotels. Well, at least I do not want to walk around with my plate across a large buffet hall when I can have lovely delicious food brought right to my table.

Quick Tips:

‘Breakfirst @ Monkey Bar’ rocks! It was not just a meal but the whole experience that we loved. Where else do you get to sit in a NYC style diner and enjoy a gourmet breakfast in Bangalore?

Signing off with a collage of some general info on ‘Breakfirst @ Monkey Bar’

Address: Woods Street, Ashok Nagar, Bangalore

Phone Number: +91 80 4111 6878 / 79 

Smoke House Deli, Bangalore

"When are we meeting?" was a question one friend asked. Almost instantly, the others replied, "this weekend."

The conversation ended here for the rest of the week. Come Saturday and we go all around Bangalore before we all strike a chord for our lunch meet up..

Where?

The much heard and talked about restaurant currently - Smoke House Deli.

Menu

We usually are at least 8 of us and an extensive menu of food and drinks always excites us. Smoke House Deli has one such Menu - An extensive listing of both food and beverages. 

The food menu includes varied cuisines primarily European and Continental while the beverages menu is very impressive too. It holds a range of very interesting cocktails like smoked pineapple mojito, smoked melon martini etc. They also have an additional placard style menu for the appetizers. Both vegetarians and non-vegetarians are well thought out for by Smoke House Deli and this can be said from their menu listing.

What we ate:

It was a lovely Sunday we spent over a couple of drinks, loads of fabulous food, fun and conversations. Being a good number of us on the table, I think we covered every section of their menu, well if not everything, it has to be pretty much everything. Let’s go over a pictorial review of what we ate at Smoke House Deli and what we think about it:

The Customary Start: Assorted Bread Basket

Breakfast Section: Yes, they have a section on their menu listing breakfast dishes like cereals, pancakes, scrambled eggs, range of omelet, French toasts etc. The good news, all of this is available all day long.

Masala Omelette

Appetizers - These are listed on a placard placed on every table. Our pick included:

Chicken Fritters: Dry and chewy meat; Can be avoided

Three Cheese and Jalepeno Toast - Gooey cheese and crunch bread. A good pick

The Cottage Cheese and Chicken skewers were delicious with chicken being juicy and tender and the cottage cheese - melt in mouth.

Spiked Cottage Cheese Skewers

Coriander Chicken Skewers

I am not very fond of mushrooms, but the mushroom lovers on my table liked the Mushroom crostini.

Mushroom Crostini

Moving on from appetizers, we decided to go with 2 Italian dishes, 1 burger and 2 Smoke House Deli signature mains. In Italian, for us it was the Ravioli that stole the show. 

Spinach & Ricotta Cheese Ravioli

Do not recollect the name of this dish

The cottage cheese steak was nice and crunch on the outside with well seasoned and minced cottage cheese on the inside. Ratatouille provided a nice blend of flavors and texture to this dish. 

Cottage Cheese Steak with Ratatouille

The Lamb burger was delicious and was all eaten up without ever being placed back on the plate.

Fish 'N' Chips - another SHD special was fabulous. The fish was flaky and moist; perfectly cooked with encased in a really light and crispy fried batter coating. 

Desserts – We were over stuffed with a lot of food and drinks but were in no mood to settle without desserts. We thought we could do with 4 desserts to share but the decadent looks got us calling for 5. The best we liked was the White Chocolate and Orange 'Creme Brulee' closely followed by the 'Hazelnut Mousse Flan'. The 'Raspberry and Oreo Cheese Cake' was nothing exceptional. Oreo only constituted to the crumble base. To our surprise, the 'Molten Chocolate Cake' was a total disappointment. The melting chocolate or the cake lacked any trace of flavor and sweetness.

Hazelnut Mousse Flan

The super delicious White Chocolate & Orange 'Creme Brulee'

Raspberry and Oreo Cheese Cake

Roasted Almond Ganache Torte

Molten Chocolate Cake

Verdict:

It was an afternoon that left each of our stomach and heart very well satiated. The food was fabulous; most of the dishes hit the good notes be it the appetizers, the burger, Italian or continental. Desserts provided for a perfect end to a fantastic meal. The only disappointment being the molten chocolate cake. 

The cocktails were a disappointment with Bellini being an exception. The smoked drinks like the melon Martini lacked any smoked flavor; the smoked pineapple mojito was not very refreshing and also lacked any flavor of pineapple.

The ambiance was really captivating. We got to sit by the lovely glass facade that provided for natural light. The interiors are done up in all white adding to the brightness. The service started off on a weak note but caught up really well for the rest of our visit. The staff seemed well informed about their menu. They were quick to suggest when asked for an opinion. Everything we ordered was served well in reasonable time. The food and desserts were well plated too. The portions are well sized and more than sufficient to feed a very hungry person.

A worry on a busy 100 FT road has to be Parking space. You need not work, Smoke House Deli provides for Valet service.

Two diners can have a good and relaxed meal at an average cost of Rs. 1500 (without alcohol) plus taxes.

Quick Tips:

To me, Smoke House Deli definitely qualifies to be one of the restaurants I’d love to visit again and again. I’ve already been here 2 weekends back to back and look forward to visiting them soon.

The menu is extensive but from what I've eaten so far, here are my recommendations for when you are at Smoke House Deli –

Spiked Chicken Skewers, Smoked Lamb Burger, SHD Fish ‘N’ Chips, Spinach and Ricotta ravioli, House spiced smoked Chicken with 5 spice Jus. To give a perfect end to a lovely meal, do not miss the White Chocolate and Orange ‘Crème Brulee’.

Address: 1029, 100 FT Road, Indiranagar, Bangalore

Phone Number: +91 80 2520 0899