Wonderful Evening at Harry's Whitefield

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If you've been to Singapore; Harry's bar needs no introduction for it is the most famed bar back there with 27 outlets in operation. With huge expansion plans in India, Harry's is off to a fiery start here with the 3rd outlet having been launched in Phoenix Market City, Whitefield Bangalore after witnessing success; first in Indiranagar followed by Koramangla. It doesn't end here coz. if I hear it right, 2015 will witness the launch of more outlets across Mumbai and other cities in India.

Taking their expansions very seriously, Harry's has been roping in highly specialized and renowned personalities to spearhead both the bar and kitchen. Right from the first outlet, Shatbhi Basu has set up the bar scene at Harry's India and now, Celebrity Chef Vicky Ratnani has been roped in to head the kitchen for the brand in India. While Shatbhi aims to put the drinks ahead of the food, Vicky strives to put the food ahead of the drinks. In this wonderfully competitive team at Harry's who wins? Well, it clearly is 'We the customers' for we get the best of both worlds - 'Food' and 'Beverages'.

Shatbhi Basu @ Harry's

Me with Vicky Ratnani @ Harry's

In between all this, I got to enjoy the best of both the worlds at Harry's Bar and cafe, Whitefield. Vicky's magic wand has clearly done its tricks. This evening was one delicious evening of enormous spread of fabulous food and amazing cocktails. Marinated olive and feta in a jar was the first to arrive and the flavors were bang on. Asian classic Chicken Satay made an appearance standing in a glass. I loved the delicious peanut sauce and the chicken was so tender; it just melted away in my mouth.

On the vegetarian plate, there was whole mushroom stuffed with ratatouille and cheese. Not a fan of mushroom specially in it's direct for; this dish was my vegetarian favorite of the day. It's weird for me to be writing this but I highly recommend this mushroom plate to be on every table for the vegetarians. Another hit among everyone on our table was the watermelon and feta salad. 

Whole Mushroom stuffed with Ratatouille & Cheese

Water Melon & Feta Salad

Fisherman's basket was a basket full of crispy fried fresh and assorted sea food. This dish is something we munched on pretty much al evening. The batter was seasoned with spices, was really light and crisp (reminding me of the Japanese tempura batter) and the fish, prawns and calamari were soft and fresh.

Fisherman's Basket

Vietnamese spring rolls were light and easy on the palate. They were rice paper rolls with a filling of crisp, light and crunchy veggies, toasted peanuts and chill soy dip. A delicious eat indeed with a nice crunch coming in the end from the tasted peanuts.

Vietnamese Spring Roll

Thus far, every snack served was a fine blend of global cuisine, comfort food, bar snack and gourmet treats. This affair continued as a lot more food came fresh and hot from the kitchen as we continued to sip on some interesting cocktail concoctions. With loads of food, I enjoyed the company of 2 new concoctions - 'Sex on Pattaya Beach' and 'Blood on the Rooftop'. Both the drinks were perfectly balanced; a great example of a good drink where the liquor is not overpowering the other flavors yet giving the required buzz.

Blood on the Rooftop

Sex on Pattaya beach was a wonderful rum and watermelon drink; 2 ingredients when together are hard to go wrong. Blood on the rooftop was a mix of multiple white spirits and topped with red wine; hence the name. The liquor was there and so was the wonderful and subtle aftertaste of the wine. Both drinks are available in 3 sizes - 500 ml, 1 and 3 liter.

Sex on Pattaya Beach

Our quest with food at Harry's progressed with vegetarians flipping on the potato wedges which were beautifully crisp on the outside and soft and mushy on the inside and wasabi cottage cheese squares - wasabi coated cottage cheese, wrapped with spinach and then batter fried. Wasabi is an acid taste and can be a turn off to most but this one was nice and well balanced toning down the strength of the wasabi.

Potato Wedges

Wasabi Coated Cottage Cheese

For us non-vegetarians there also was crispy chili chicken and Pattaya Fish Goujons. Of the two, the Pattaya Fish Goujons hit the right spot in terms of the heat, the flavor, the fish and the crispy texture coming from light coating of the fish. 

Chili Chicken

Pattaya Fish Goujons

Moving on to the mains, I went for the chicken Thai green curry with the fragrant Jasmine sticky rice. Everything that went into the making the Thai curry was prepared in-house which eventually resulted in bowl of deliciousness. Yes, it was a meal in a bowl and perfect for one but can be shared if you've done a lot of starters. I will surely have this back on my table again except for the onions in the curry which gave an unusual bite in an otherwise fabulous bowl.

In desserts, a chocolate volcano was shared between two of us and was a nice finish to a wonderful evening.

The ambiance is unpretentious and comfortable. Guests can pick their preferred space to be seated - indoor, outdoor or by the lovely large bar. An average meal for two with two starters, two mains two drinks and a dessert each will cost about Rs 1800 plus taxes and charges; surely worth every penny for the experience they offer.

I'm going back here for sure!

Address: 2nd Floor, Phoenix Market City, Whitefield, Bangalore

Phone Number: +91 80 6726 6646

#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

A Maharashtrian Gem in Bangalore - Suryawanshi

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Rewinding back in time to August last year, I was introduced to Maharashtrian food by my cousin in Nagpur. Technically speaking, it was an introduction to one of the cuisines called Saoji cuisine; specific to the Saoji community. Known for its simple but really spicy non-vegetarian food, I was in love with it the very moment I got my hands on it. So more about it in another blog post.

Returning from the past to the present, I was quite excited when I heard the buzz in social media about the opening of a restaurant that served Maharashtrian food. What I was even happier to hear was that, "It is located in Whitefield very close to Satya Sai Hospital." Well, that's where my office is which means, I could walk from work to this restaurant for lunch. Going by this thought, I headed to this restaurant a fortnight ago with a colleague from work.  

Menu:

The owner mentioned the food was specific to Kolhapuri cuisine. The menu is quite nice and presents options to diners in the form of thalis. So going by the obvious, the menu had a lot of thali options to choose from for the non-vegetarians like a solo or gala chicken thali, gala chicken and mutton thali, splendid gala mutton thali to name a few. The vegetarians on the other hand have a very limited listing to choose from. 

Apart from the thalis, the menu at Suryawanshi also offers an a-la carte selection of individual dishes that come as a part of either of the thalis. In all, if you are a non-vegatarian you might loose you way into the menu for the sheer variety that is on offer.

What We Ate:

We started with vegetarian and I must tell you, this was the only vegetarian dish on our table post which we feasted on non-vegetarian food all through. Why the exception? Of course, it is the popular or celebrated Maharashtrian dish - 'Misal Pav'. Needs no introduction, this was a good way to start. Misal was well spiced and came with buttered pav, chopped onion, lime and a small cup of curd. The curd acting as a nice coolant. This was shared between the two of us and we were glad we did.

Soon arrived 'Seer fish fry' which is bought by the owner himself only if he is satisfied with the quality and freshness factor. Clearly evident as we dug into it, the fish was well spiced and shallow fried in a pan. It was cooked to a nice moist consistency with the freshness evident from the moist yet flaky texture. My friend a Mangalorean; who know his fish well was quite happy and content with this dish. Served up with lime and sliced onion, the only thing I missed to keep this company was a mug of chilled beer. Needless to say, I loved it too.

As we consumed the fish, two lunch thali arrived. The fried mutton thali comprised of chapathis, Kolhapuri fried mutton, mutton curry, egg curry, Tambda rassa, Pandhra rassa, Sol Kadhi, masala rice and a slice of onion and lime. 

Both Kolhapuri fried mutton and the mutton curry were delicious at its best. Do not get deceived at the start of you meal on the spice levels as they do get on to you slowly. I enjoyed every bit of it. Both fried mutton and mutton curry are best eaten with the chapatis served. The masala rice is best enjoyed with tambda rassa while Pandhra can be consumed as a soup. Sol Kadhi acted as a coolant for all the heat generated through the spice levels in the dishes presented as a part of the thali. Describing the thali in a word - 'Scrumptious'

Mutton Fry

Mutton Curry

Tambda and Pandhra rassa are unlimited and make for a delicious drink all through the meal. Tambda is a spicy red curry made with mutton stock, red chilies and more while pandhra is a more soothing curry made again with mutton stock, cinnamon, coriander and coconut milk. While both were delicious and rich in flavor coming from the mutton stock, I enjoyed Tambda rassa for its higher spice levels. Pandhra and Sol kadhi worked by provide the much needed cooling to bring down the heat level from Tambda rassa.

Another thali on the table was the fully loaded 'Splendid gala mutton thali'. Similar to the 'Fried Mutton Thali', the only difference being egg curry was not a part of this thali. Instead, there was another mutton dish - Mutton Keema. Loaded with all goodness of mutton,  this is a thali for a true mutton lover with an appetite.

In between the first visit and posting this review, I visited this place again and this time I tried the 'Gala chicken and mutton thali'. This thali comes will a delicious chicken gravy, the ever lovely mutton curry and the usual like egg curry, Tambda rassa, Pandhra rassa, Sol Kadhi, masala rice and a slice of onion and lime. The chicken was very well cooked and succulent. It went very well with the spicy gravy it came in and was a delight to eat with the chapatis served.

Verdict:

With 2 visits made thus far to Suryawanshi, I have enjoyed every bit of the meal here and I know there are going to be many more visits. The ambiance is really simple with nothing much to write about. Located on the 2nd floor of Santosh towers very close to Sathya Sai Hospital, this place surely is a delight for the non-vegetarians.

The egg thali starts at Rs. 110, the chicken and mutton thalis start at Rs 210 and go up to Rs. 370 which is the cost of a fully loaded 'Splendid Gala Mutton Thali'. The meal here is definitely full filling and satisfying. 

Quick Tips:

If you love Maharasthrian food, this is the place to visit in Bangalore and if you haven't tried this cuisine yet, Suryawanshi is the place I'd recommend you to visit. 

PS: I'm in love with this cuisine and would like to explore more of it in Bangalore until I make a travel to Maharashtra. If you know of places in Bangalore to visit for Maharashtrian food, do drop in a comment below.

Address: 2nd Floor, Santosh Tower, EPIP Industrial Area, Whitefield, Bangalore 560066
Landmark: Near EPIP Busstop

Phone Number: +91 97380 19048

Tiffin Box etc, Bangalore

Working in Whitefield, Many of us are in a lookout for a quick meal and buffet lunches fit the bill for the following few reasons:

- No hassle of reading through the menu, 

- Waiting for the food to arrive post preparation,

- Covers various meal courses.

What becomes difficult is to find the right balance between spread and pricing. Most of the times, the spread is too large for what can be enjoyed in a quick meal or the pricing is too high for the spread that is being offered. 

Being in close vicinity, I decided to give 'Tiffin Box Etc' located inside 'In Orbit Mall' a shot and must say, "I am happy to have dined there." It is a fast paced restaurant offering delicacies from various regions of India. The emphasis lays on the Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western specialties represented by major cities of the regions. In addition it also has a focus on Brimingham which is famous for Chicken Tikka Masala.

Menu:

Tiffin Box Etc boasts of being the first of its kind restaurant that offers novelty tiffin box options like Bangalore Tiffin Box, Kolkata, Mumbai and Delhi tiffin boxes on the menu. Each of these boxes contains delicacies specific to the respective regions. In addition this, there is a fair listing of A-La Carte selections and a lunch buffet that offers diners a fair spread at decent prices.

What We Ate:

We mostly focused on the buffet but also called for two of the tiffin boxes to get an idea of the offerings in it. The lunch buffet available Monday to Friday, includes a fairly sufficient spread of both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. This spread includes a soup, a few salads, pickles, an appetizer each for both the vegetarians and non-vegetarians, mains, breads, rice and desserts.

Like always, my focus remains on the non-vegetarian food but based on the recommendation of my friends on the table, I tried the soup of the day, some papdi chaat and moongfalli vada from the buffet.

On the non-vegetarian front, I relished 'Chicken Tikka' - an appetizer was a nicely marinated boneless preparation from the tandoor. It was soft, juicy, succulent and went very well with mint chutney.

In the mains, it was 'Chicken Kohlapuri', 'Mutton Korma' that were delicious and were best enjoyed with fresh and hot butter naan which is served on the table.

Desserts offered on the buffet were blueberry cheese, caramel custard and butterscotch ice cream. Simple yet classic offerings. My favorite of the lot was the butterscotch ice-cream and the caramel custard.

While this was all about the buffet, in between we also tried a vegetarian Delhi and non-vegetarian Kolkata tiffin box. The Delhi tiffin had paneer butter masala while the Kolkata thali offered 'Kosho Mongsho Mutton' in the mains in addition to the rice, chapatti, yellow dal and gulab jamun which come with every tiffin. 

I absolutely loved the Kolkata signature; tender mutton in the 'Kosho Mongsho'.The flavor of the mustard with the other spices was bang on. The food was very much like home cooked food and the portions in the tiffin box were more than sufficient for two (may be with a side call of a few more chapatis).

Available on the a-la carte menu, the Nalli Nihari was another wonderful preparation from the kitchen of Tiffin Box Etc. Slow cooked mutton fell of the bone effortlessly and the gravy was rich in flavor. This makes for a delicious meal in the company of steaming hot white rice.

Verdict:

The buffet was really nice and did not go overboard in terms of the spread. Having said this, "I'd have loved to round of my mains with a serving or two of chicken or mutton biryani which apparently was not on the buffet that given day." Being an ardent lover of biryani, for me this was the only negative point in the buffet spread. The a-la carte presents some interesting dishes and the tiffin box concept is really nice and makes for a nice fixed meal menu for 2 in the company of some additional phulkas or chapati.

The ambiance is very simple yet very attractive with a lot of wall art, tiffin box lighting and more setting or representing the whole theme of TiffinBox etc. Very thoughtfully placed is a take away counter on the food court side of the restaurant where folks can do a quick grab and go lunch.

The buffet is priced well at Rs. 350 and an average a-la care meal for 2 will cost anywhere about Rs. 750 both exclusive of taxes and charges.

Quick Tips:

- Buffet is a great option for a quick meal with a nice spread to keep you content. 

- A-La Carte is available only for dinners on weekdays and both lunch and dinner on weekends. 

- Tiffin box is a great concept and the portions are large enough to share between two.

- Stay tuned to hear about the door delivery service of the TiffinBox meal...

- The counter in the food court is a nice option for a 'Grab N Go' meal.

Address: 1st Floor, In Orbit Mall, EPIP Industrial Area, Whitefield, Bangalore 560066

Phone Number: +91 80 2802 9599