Wish-Dish: Piri Piri Fries @ McDonald's India

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"Each one of us has a favorite dish that keeps us going back to a specific restaurant time and again."

Extending on this statement, it may also be true that you not only love to relish it when you have a chance but also love recommending it to others. I know it for sure, I'd do that and that's exactly what I do in my Wish-Dish segment.

I love french fries and the portions for me always come in a large size. Sharing fries is usually not my preferred choice but then maybe I'm quite considerate. A couple of months ago, passing through a McDonald's drive-thru, I picked up a portion of their newly launched Peri-Peri fries and was hooked on to them in no time not realizing that this was a special promotion and will soon not be available on the regular menu.

Guess what! The Piri Piri fries are back again.

Have you spotted the below hoarding as you drive through the city? I think the hoardings are all around announcing the relaunch of Piri Piri fries in Bangalore. 

Hoarding as I drive by...

I like this campaign #UnshareMyFries as it make me NOT feel bad about not wanting to share my fries. 'Weird english' but then I know you're getting my point. On noticing the hoarding(s), I rushed to the McDonald's outlet to grab my portion of large Piri Piri fries and the rest of the conversation was between the fries and my stomach. 

Piri Piri Fries - This is how they arrive

What I love about these Piri Piri fries is that the Piri Piri powder mix comes in an accompanying sachet along with french fries, a shake shake bag and each one can balance the mixture to their desired taste levels. Your piri piri fries are ready when you've shaken the bag of fries with the accompanying spice mix. 

Shaken or Stirred? Shaken Piri Piri Fries

Another Shot - Piri Piri Fries

Wondering what's Piri Piri? 

Well, it's an African spice mix made from Bird's eye chili. Yes, It's the same Peri Peri spice mix or sauce you might have got your hands on before. Then why 'Piri Piri'? I don't know and I don't care. All I care about is eating these delicious fries.

What are you looking at? Go get you PiriPiri-licious fries from a McDonald's outlet near you.

Price: Pay Rs. 15 and upgrade to Piri Piri fries

PS: I wont share them with you but I might buy them for you.

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 

mmmBurger Festival @ Smoke House Deli, Bangalore

My tryst with Smoke House Deli began with a friends visit one Sunday afternoon. 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. This was enough to make for a good reason to visit Smoke House Deli again and again.

Burgers have always been successful in tempting me into submission. And this is what happened when I  heard about 'mmmBurger Festival' being hosted at both - 'Indiranagar' and 'Lavelle Road' outlet. One fine evening, I ended up at SHD with a cousin and no points for guessing, it was an evening spend over conversations and burgers.

Menu:

First off, the special Menu - mmmBurger Festival menu. specially crafted by the chefs at SHD. This special menu on offer till 8th June, has an interesting selection for burgers and something for everyone; be it vegetarian and non-vegetarian. In addition to this, their regular menu is also on offer so there is plenty to choose from if you do not wish to go for burgers.

What We Ate:

Burger.. Burger.. Burger.. Yes, we tried 3 of the burgers that evening. It was 'Fried Chicken with Peri Peri Sauce', 'Lucy's Juicy' and the 'South-West Lamb Burger'. We also called for a martini each which we drank while the burgers arrived. All burgers come with a generous potion of french fries and a small portion of side salad. 

The star of the evening on our table was the 'Fried Chicken with Peri Peri sauce'. Do not get deceived by the hint of sweetness as you bite into it because by the time you think of peri-peri, you will then be introduced to the heat that comes from the sauce. What a wonderful transition! If heat is what you love then this has got to be your pick making this festival a must visit. 

'South-West Lamb' was a burger that I looked forward to get my hands on. A first bite into it and I could say the meat was of great quality and cooked perfectly to keep it moist and juicy. What did't work for me though was (in random bites, not all) a mystery ingredient that brought in a distinct flavor. Must have been a one off thing because a few friends who gave a shot at the SHD mmmBurger menu loved this burger.

'Lucy's Juicy' was an interesting take on the original Jucy Lucy, introduced and made famous by 5/8 Club (well, this can be debatable), Minneapolis, MN, USA. The original is a mined beef patty which comes with melted gooey cheese oozing out of the center of the patty on the very first bite. Here, it was the chicken patty with the melted cheese oozing out. This was nice but I'd have preferred the patty to be a minced lamb patty instead of chicken for the sheer flavor lamb meat imparts.

While these burgers will be gone post 8th June, I find solace in the super delicious Lamb burger from the regular menu at Smoke House Deli. I have enjoyed eating this on numerous visits and am glad it is a part of the regular menu.

For dessert, like always we indulged in a White Chocolate and Orange Creme Brulee.

Verdict:

The food, ambiance and service standards here have been quite consistent making me want to visit SHD on a time and again. The burger festival per say has a very interesting menu and some burgers do make their presence felt. A burger meal for 2 without drinks will cost around Rs. 800 plus taxes and charges and is more than sufficient to keep you away from hunger for the rest of the night.

SHD offers valet parking in both the Indiranagar and Lavelle road outlets.

Quick Tips:

This special 'mmmBurger Festival' menu is available only till the 8th of June. Go give it a try; it surely is worth a visit.

Read more about Smoke House Deli Here - SHD Review

Address: Ground Floor, No. 52 & 53, Lavelle Road, Bangalore 560011

Phone Number: +91 80 4127 6272 

Monkey Bar - Indiranagar, Bangalore

Double the Fun... Two's better than One...

A new monkey is in town... Indiranagar holds the crown...

Yes, you may have heard the buzz or read the words - Monkey Bar opened doors of its 2nd outlet (3rd in India) in Bangalore earlier this month. If not for the crazy schedules for the last 3 weeks, Monkey Bar was my go to place to enjoy a piece of Bangalore Nightlife.

Unlike any other weekend, this specific Saturday was different, I was at Monkey Bar, Indiranagar not at night but at noon. No, it was not for breakfast either. There was a bloggers event organised where we got to tour the venue, and indulge in some lovely eats, drinks and monkey business.

What We Ate:

It was a day out for us friends in the blogging community. There was too much of everything - be it food, drinks or fun. I got to try various drinks over the course of the next few hours which included the fantastic 'Copper Monkey' - a whiskey based drink, my drink for most of the day - 'Ginger Roger' which is a gin based drink with peach syrup and ginger ale. This was not all, there was also a vodka based 'Red Riding Wood', an interesting 'Wild Leaf' cocktail; which is a subtle drink and a new favourite of mine. How can one miss the Monkey special Mangaa!

Giner Roger

You know this.. It's Mangaa

Wild Leaf (Photo Courtesy: Kunal Chandra - Monkey Bar)

For food, there was a never ending menu or it at least seemed to just go on and on right from starters to mains and finishing with dessert. While the menu lay emphasis on the non-vegetarian food, there was sufficient for the vegetarians to savour too.

As you may suspect, it is true that my focus remains on the non-vegetarian section of the menu. In starters, I thoroughly relished the 'Pirogies', 'Crab Rangoon', 'Devilled fish' and 'Tempura Calamari' the most. The pirogies are pan seared dumplings which come with various of vegetarian and non-vegetarian options. I absolutely loved this preparation especially the one with a filling of chicken, celery and jalapeños filling.

The crab rangoon is a New York classic wonton filled with crab mean and cream cheese. Pop one in your mouth to enjoy a burst of textures like crunch from the fried wonton wrapper, the freshness of the crab meat and the generous proportion of cream cheese.

Crab Rangoon (Photo Courtesy: Kunal Chandra - Monkey Bar)

Devilled fish is a Thai inspired stir fried fish which got its flavors from the Thai spices, galagal and lemon grass and Tempura Calamari was a preparation having very subtle tasting notes. Both these dishes exuded the use of fresh ingredients and were thoroughly enjoyed. If not treated well both the fish and calamari can be a total disaster but in this case they seemed to be treated with a lot of love and care in the kitchen. We couldn't keep our folks off these preparations.

Tempura Calamari (Photo Courtesy: Kunal Chandra - Monkey Bar)

The Goan Chorizo Pav was very nice too. In vegetarian, the only dish I tried was the lovely roasted beet and orange salad.

This doesn't end it all at all, there was pork sliders and Sloppy Joe. From the two, my vote undoubtedly goes for the barbecue flavoured shredded pork in between the buns and all the works in between and alongside it. Yes, that's Sloppy Joe.

For the mains, there was the Monkey Bar classic Pandi Curry and Pita, the Parsee orderlies' mutton curry and rice and berry pulav - an Iranian berry pulav with chicken in it.

The mutton curry and the coconut rice creates for a fabulous whole some meal for an individual and the Pandi curry with Pita is a crowd pleaser. If you love pork; the coorgi style, Pandi curry with Pita Bread has gotta be on your table.

The berry pulav is a classic preparation at Monkey Bar and is always a delight to eat. It has morsels of chicken kabab and shredded chicken in an Irani berry pulav with flavours also being contributed by saffron, fried onion and potato salli.

Berry Pulav (Photo Courtesy: Kunal Chandra - Monkey Bar)

In desserts, there was 'Chocolate Pot De Creme with salted caramel' and a 'Lemon Cake'. It's hard for me to pick one as I liked both the desserts. On our table though, there were many who were not big fans of the Lemon Cake; but for me - it was a thumbs up.

Lemon Cake

Chocolate Pot De Creme with Salted Caramel

Verdict:

In between all these food and drinks, we enjoyed a few games of pool and foosball available on the mezzanine floor. After senior monkey, the new Monkey Bar did set high expectations and very well lived up to it.

Is the new Monkey any different from the old? My answer would be a 'Yes' and a 'No'.

Yes, it is different -

 - The new Monkey Bar on the 12th main road of Indiranagar is more spacious than its predecessor.

 - The new Monkey Bar has new introductions on its menu

 - It does not have a basement like the one in Ashok Nagar. But, fret bot my friend; it has an equally amazing mezzanine floor.

No, it is the same -

 - It has the red scooter too. (Manu, what's the story behind the scooter?)

 - It's got the same feel, the open brick walls, the rustic interiors like a New York style pub

 - It lays emphasis on natural lighting

 - The menu does have the Monkey Bar classics

 - A foosball and pool table.

 - Buzz speaks fun, food, drinks and monkey business.

Quick Tips:

Head here for pure monkey business. I hear a new cocktail has been introduced in the last few weeks and it's aptly called 'Kalabandar'. I' won't say more about it, but here's a picture to leave you with.

Drink responsibly & most importantly eat well as you drink.

Cheers!!!

Address: #610, 12th Main Road, HAL 2nd Stage, Near Crosswords, Indiranagar, Bangalore

Phone Number: +91 80 4411 4455

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