Cocktails with Shatbhi Basu @ Harry's, Bangalore

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It was two evenings back to back when I got to meet Shatbhi Basu. On the first, it was an evening when Shatbhi introduced us to American Whiskeys and on the next evening, it as an introduction to the signature cocktails of the recently opened Harry's . Yes, the very same Harry's; one of the most popular bar from Singapore opened doors in Bangalore on Indiranagar's bustling location - 100 FT road. 

The evening started with us munching on some starters which included Margarita Pizza, Thai Chicken Pizza, Wasabi Paneer, Spicy Potato Chilli and Fried Lollypop Singapore Style. Of these the Thai Chicken pizza and the Wasabi Paneer was a big hit for its innovation. I tried some vegetarian stuff and liked the potato chilli starter and the classic margarita pizza. 

As we munched on some starters, we also got set to witness India's most renowned mixologist and beverage consultant Shatbhi Basu create some of the most famous cocktails that trail down all the way from Harry's Singapore. 

Coming from the legacy of Singapore, the first drink we witnessed being concocted was the ever famous Singapore Sling. This blush pink drink is a gin based cocktail and was originally know as 'Gin Sling' before getting its current name 'Singapore Sling'. This cocktail served on ice nicely brought out the flavor of gin, cherry, pineapple, lime and vermouth; some of the key ingredients.

The next drink was quite interesting. It was a tequila based drink which gets its prime flavors from pineapple and bell pepper chunks which were muddled and shaken with the other ingredients. I loved the complex flavors of this spicy and mildly sweet drink. Oh! What is it called? 'Pineapple & Bell Pepper Margarita'

The other cocktails that we tried on this evening were 'Harry's Old Fashioned' and 'Caramel Popcorn Matini'. 'Caramel Popcorn Martini' was a nice twist to the age old classic caramel popcorn. It had a lovely balance of flavors and vodka. 

Harry's Old Fashioned is a twist to the classic. The recipe is again flown down from Harry's Singapore where this was originally made at first. For me what gives a kick about this drink is the Cinnamon sugar rim with orange zest.

While this event was more about the mixology session with some good starters keeping company, I'd definitely want to revisit Harry's to be able to try some of their signature food which includes their Fish N' Chips, Nachos and the likes.

Address: No. 2006, First Floor, H.A.L. 2nd Stage, 100 FT Road, Indiranagar, Bangalore

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

BBQ Workshop at Weber Experience Center, Bangalore

Grilling and Barbeque sessions are always a fun activity. Weber organized an Independence day workshop at the Weber Experience Center. Having always fancied cooking outdoors on a grill, I jumped at the opportunity to attend this workshop.

The day complimented very well with the session by presenting us the perfect weather to be cooking outdoors.  With a round of introductions we jumped in preparation and cooking mode. Over the course of the next 4 - 5 hours, each of us participants shared responsibilities and got working right from preparations like kneading the dough for the pizza, slicing and dicing of vegetables, marinating the meat, assembling the desserts, grilling, baking and more.

With Neetha leading and guiding us through her recipes, we ended up cooking and eating the following:

Multigrain Pizza –Thin crust & Cheese Burst Pizza

Paneer Tikka on Skewers

Gooey Choco Lava Cake

Malabar Stuffed Chicken - A whole chicken stuffed with seasoned veggies

Herbed Grilled Chicken Tikka Sizzler with BBQ sauce

Apple-Walnut Pie

Yes!!! All of this was prepared on the Weber Grill.

At the workshop, I got to meet some lovely people with a common connecting factor - Food. In addition to meeting people, grilling and eating a lot of food, we also learnt:

1. Grill basics such as lighting charcoal, maintaining grill temperature and grill safety

2. Marinating techniques

3. Grilling meats & vegetables

4. Use of grill accessories

5. Baking on the grill

In all, the workshop was very informal, gave me a hands on experience, was very educative and a lot of fun. At the end of the workshop, I was left with a happy and overloaded tummy, an experience and a lot of learning to take away.

Interested? Does Weber organize these workshops on a regular basis? Do you wish to enroll?

Yes, there are 3 types of BBQ workshops that are organized at the Weber Experience Center:

1. Introductory Weber BBQ Familiarization Workshop (Free)

2. Intermediate Weber BBQ Workshop (~ Rs. 1500 per person) * this is the one I attended*

3. Advanced Weber BBQ Workshop (~ Rs. 3000 per person)

For more details or to enroll for the Weber BBQ workshops, you can contact them either on phone, email or follow them on their FB page to stay updated.

Phone Number: 9900027067 / 080-42406666

Email: customercare@weberindia.com

Follow Weber India on FB, click here.

Address: 11/2, Haudin Road, Ulsoor, Bangalore 560042

The Grill House, Bangalore

It’s been long since I wanted to visit the much heard about ‘The Grill House’ and finally on one weekend of April, 3 of us decided to visit the restaurant for a Tex-Mex dinner.  The restaurant has a very rustic feel with a lot of wood used in its décor. Thought being located on a very busy road, being inside the restaurant seems like an escape from the city’s traffic filled noisy roads.

Menu:

Specializing in Tex-Mex food, the menu was vast with a very good range of starters, salads, steaks, sizzlers, Mexican delicacies, burgers, sandwiches and desserts to choose from. The menu has separate sections of listing and caters well to both the vegetarians and the non-vegetarians. The Grill House also boasts of a well-stocked bar which we did not explore on this night.

What we ate:

Our food comprised of one vegetarian – Cottage Cheese Shashlik, non-vegetarian included a chicken steak and a king fish steak; both of which were requested to be served as a sizzler.

All sizzlers come plated with butter-boiled veggies, Mexican flavored rice and mashed potato. Both fish and chicken sizzler arrived on our table at the same time. At first, the lack of/minimal sauce on both the sizzlers took us by surprise leaving a puzzled look on our faces. The restaurant staff was quick to answer the puzzle. The very next moment, the pepper sauce for the chicken steak and an herbed lemon butter sauce for the king fish steak was brought in sauce boat (meant for serving sauces). Apparently, this is how it is served at The Grill House.

The chicken steak sizzler was quite nice. The sauce had a nice flavor, the rice was mildly flavored with Mexican herbs, mashed potatoes and boiled veggies were fresh and moist.

The King Fish steak sizzler was 2 big pieces of sear fish and rest of the works. This dish was quite disappointing for (1) the herbed lemon butter sauce was quite tangy to taste with an over powering flavor of lemon, (2) the fish which per the information from the staff was supposed to be boneless had its fair share of bones and (3) the fish didn't seem fresh and was also quite dry possibly due to over cooking.

The cottage cheese shashlik too failed to excite our taste buds. O.M.G! An overdose of vinegar in the barbecue sauce smothered over the cottage cheese cubes.

Verdict:

Apart from the initial glitches in service; I must admit that the service was quite nice. The staff was quite responsive, attentive and prompt in service. They were knowledgeable about the food being served and willing to help with suggestions.

While the portions of food are humongous the taste was fine but far from the WOW Factor!! Some interiors required attention to address the wear and tear; especially the sofas we sat on.

With no sign board visible, we parked the car ourselves. Only after dinner did it come to our knowledge that valet service existed with the sign board placed on the side of the building. Poor placement I must say.

For what we ate; accompanied by a non-alcoholic beverage we ended up paying around Rs. 1200.

Quick Tips:

Go if around Ulsoor.

Address: 8/6 Kensington Point, Ulsoor Road, Opp. Gurudwara, Bangalore

Phone Number: +91 80 40977011

Barbeque Nation, Bangalore

Barbeque Nation; a couple of months ago opened its 3^rd outlet in Bangalore in Ascendas Park Square Mall, Whitefield. This restaurant will undoubtedly be the most preferred and frequented restaurant among folks I know at my work place.  My most recent visit was for lunch with 10 other friends from office. This lunch finally happened after a month long push due the festive season; which along with fun, frolic and joy also brings in restrictions of consuming meat.

Menu:

What we noticed initially on our table was a hoisted flag of Barbeque Nation and a placard listing the spread on the buffet. This restaurant serves only buffet. During lunch one gets to choose from 2 buffet options; One is a 5 starter buffet which includes 3 Vegetarian and 2 Non Vegetarian starters and another is a 10 starter buffet which includes  5 vegetarian and 5 non vegetarian starters. Irrespective of the buffet chosen, the spread of main course and desserts remains the same for all diners. For dinners, patrons only get the 10 starter buffet.  

What we ate:

A hoisted flag means the 'starters can keep coming'. It was time we pay10 starters buffet is the one we opt for usually and this time too it was no different. This includes chicken (2), mutton, fish and prawns for the non – vegetarians and paneer, aloo, grilled veggies and more for the vegetarians. 

All of these starters are served on the table; with most of them placed on the personal barbecue set up on ones table. I like this part where, I can roast the starter further to suit my preferences. There are a variety of sauces placed alongside the barbecue allowing diners to cook the starters with the sauce of choice and personal preferences.

A star at our table was the tawa pepper mutton which was brought to our table as a special starter in addition to the ones listed on the menu. The meat was tender with the fat content left on the meat adding to the taste. The service has always been efficient with the starters been served consistently until the flag goes down. Yesss… you read it right.. Until the flag goes down because a flag down indicates 'we are done with starters'. 

The main course does have a whole lot of options from Indian (usually North and south, may be more), Chinese, Italian, and more… Usually, I am happy with the whole lot of starters served, but who can resist a biryani? At least I can't… So I head to the main course buffet for some biryani (mutton or chicken) and probably some crab curry (served only during dinner) with some Indian bread served hot on the table.

Desserts… There have been numerous times when I skip main course and head straight to the dessert counter. A good spread to choose from – fresh cut fruits, ice creams, toppings like nuts and sauces, pastries, Indian desserts like gulab jamoon, phirni and more again…. The desserts are excellent to taste. A winner to me personally is the phirni served in small or mini clay pots.

Verdict:

I have been to this place numerous times and must begin with saying that, "experience at Barbecue Nation has been overwhelming each of these times, both during lunch and dinner." Food spread is fantastic, service has always been outstanding. The staffs are very pleasant to interact with. The most recent visit is one we will always remember for we in true sense felt pampered. The service is very quick and efficient. The barbecues are refilled with starters of your choice constantly until the flag goes down.

The ambiance is very good, making it suitable for a family/ friends/business dinners. This place can sometimes get too noisy for business dinners. There are live performances in Indiranagar branch where on some days of the week live band performs while in Whitefield branch the staff gave us a performance on the latest sensation…. Gangnam Style. Reminded me of Hard Rock Café where the staff perform on Y.M.C.A.

Being situated in a mall, the restaurant does not offer valet parking service in this outlet. While the other 2 outlets – One at Indiranagar and another in Koramangla provide this service to its patrons.

Pricing of the buffet varies during lunch and dinner. The 10 starter buffet at lunch is charged at about Rs. 525 for the vegetarians and Rs. 580 for non-vegetarian while the same at night is charged at about Rs. 750 – Rs. 800.

Quick Tips:

I recommend making a table reservation before visiting this place. Reservations open 4 days in advance and is best made at least 2 days prior to the planned visit.

For unplanned visits, do not be disappointed for usually 70% of the seating capacity is max limit to the reservation are taken in advance meaning 30% of the seating capacity is left for walk-ins on a first come first serve basis.

Address: Ascendas Park Square Mall, ITPB, Whitefield, Bangalore

Phone Number: 9900080401