Checked out the Smoked Meats Menu @ Plan b, Bangalore ?

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With guest for the day arriving and the beer and cocktails flowing in; Thashwin and Chef Daya were quick to get started with introducing the new menu of smoked meats. Meats Smoke the best and here on the menu is a lot of pork and chicken with some beef options as well. Most meats brined for over 24 hours, pork shoulders smoked for 8 hours, chicken smoked for 4.

Doing honours is the nachos with pulled pork and pulled chicken (2 different dishes). BBQ sauce was bloody good and the pork was clearly the preferred meat.

Smoked / grilled chicken wings came served on a board with the plan b signature garlic yogurt dip. The smoked chicken had the basic spice rub marinade and was grilled to perfection. This dish was addictive and we cleaned up numerous boards of chicken wings. I’m going back here for this for sure.

We merrily sipped on to our drinks and we knew our next course was the pulled pork burger and beef brisket burger. Considering we were on a tasting spree, we were served the pulled pork sliders and beef brisket sliders instead (No, sliders are not served on the menu). I don’t eat beef and having eaten the pulled pork burger before at Plan I looked forward to the dish. Today, it wasn’t the best I’ve eaten at Plan b but nonetheless I’d give the pulled pork burger a go again for it has been so very good previously.

Pulled Pork Slider (Read Burger)

For the next course - the mains, the griller was brought out and the meat was Pork Chops. The pork was fall of bone, well charred and glazed. Served with a side of mashed potato this was the highlight of the lunch meal.

From the mains, we also tried the smoked chicken topped with a sweet and sour sauce and with coleslaw on the side. The chicken had a lovely spice rub on it and the meat was succulent and perfectly done.

For the finale there was Smoked Ham and it arrived as a perfect show stopper - whole leg of pork beautifully glazed and was carved at our table for serving. Served to us in smaller portions was sliced ham basted with a Chili-Honey sauce with grilled veggies and choice of sides. The sauce was perfectly balanced and went really well on the ham. Meat was well done but I’d have liked it to be done medium rare. My pick of sides was the corn on the cob and a creamy and rich mac and cheese.

This lunch meal was on invite so we got to try most of the menu. When calling from the menu, you can either have - 

Mains ordered based on individual meat portions which comes with a side of choice

Or 

If you want to go all out you can hit the meat platter where you can choose 4 of the many preparations in meat and 3 sides of your choice. As usual, the portions are very generous so go hungry to enjoy a lovely meal.

This menu is offered in addition to the regular menu and while Plan b offers 1 + 1 on food for Zomato Gold members on the regular menu; this menu of Smoked Meats is exempt from Zomato Gold or any other 3rd party app offer. An average meal for two with a starter, 2 mains or a single platter of meat will cost around ₹ 1500 plus taxes and charges.

Do let me know what you tried and what you loved from the smoked meats menu? 

Address: Plan b, All Outlets - Brigade Road, Shantinagar, 12th Main, Indiranagar, Bengaluru

Phone Number: +91 888002 2737

Exotic Pizzas at Mezzaluna, Movenpick Hotel, Bengaluru

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"Breads are holy to Italians", Said Chef Armando of Mezzaluna at Movenpick Hotel Bangalore in the very first minutes of my interaction with him.

For many, the word 'bread' brings imaginations of different kinds of foods to different ethnic groups across the world. For some it might be sandwiches and burgers, for some - pita bread, bagels; for some pav and so on. Of it all, the most common response will likely be Pizza.

It's a crowd favorite in India too and keeping this in mind, Chef Armando and team has come up with a special menu dedicated to Italian pizzas which is being offered at Mezzaluna; the specialty Italian restaurant at Movenpick hotel. This special menu dedicated to Pizzas and calzones has a listing of 13 pizzas – 6 vegetarian and 7 non-vegetarian; so there’s aplenty to choose from. You have a choice to have it in the form of a pizza or as a calzone. What will you pick? Moving on, to take it a step further with every pizza / calzone ordered, you also receive a house pour of chilled draught beer unlike the usual glass of wine that gets paired at an Italian restaurant when they come to think of food and beverage pairing.

Coming straight from the brick oven are pizzas topped with the soul of Italy expressing in every bite freshness, simplicity and uniqueness in the sauce and toppings. Yet at the heart of it all is the light and thin crust of bread.

While the pizzas were being readied to be plated, we sampled different forms of bread made out of the very same dough but yielding different taste and texture. The bread sampler on the table was soon enjoyed in the company of the traditional olive oil with a Balsamic drizzle. At Mezzaluna, I was recommended to try it with a sprinkling of salt and pepper too in the olive oil and I loved it. Once the tray holding the breads was swept clean, the refills came arrived as if it was tacit. Acknowledging this gesture to Chef Armando, I was explained, “In Italy, a table will always have bread available all through the meal.” I’d clearly love such a table. 

I knew we were moving closer to the pizzas when the Anti Pasto arrived which is also considered the official beginning of an Italian meal. There was the traditional Bruschetta, Aranchi, pickles and more. It was nice but I didn’t want to fill myself up as the starts for the day were slated to arrive next.

It started with a vegetarian pizza – ‘TRINITA’ DEI MONTI – Ricotta, tartufo e olive’. Toppings of truffle, olives, ricotta cheese made for a great combination. The topping as you see in the image was present and surely there but in apt portions to add the required flavor to go along on a bread that was thin, light and perfectly baked to not make it to crisp or soft.

The first one set expectations from what was to arrive next and when it did arrive, it for me was the star from the vegetarian selection of the pizza. ‘PIAZZA DEL POPOLO – Carciofi ed asparagi’ came on bread with a sauce made of asparagus, topped with artichoke hearts, asparagus and cheese. I’m surely heading back to Mezzaluna and from vegetarian this one is gonna be back on my table. I highly recommend to you to visit Mezzaluna and when there this master piece and a few more of the pizzas have got to make it to your table. Read on.

Up next was a pizza topped with linguine pasta. I was skeptical but this one ended up being the best of both the worlds – creamy pasta and a Italian pizza. Need I say more?

Switching gears, we moved on to select non-vegetarian pizzas from the menu. Humble lamb and pecorino cheese arrived topped on yet again a bread that I’m now at a loss of words to write any further. This toppings on each pizza were clearly present to enhance the flavors but still there was not an overload to steal the show away from the bread or make the pizza really heavy like what happens with the New York style pizzas. So is this also the difference between the humble Italian pizza and the overloaded New York style pizza? Leaving you with some food for thought.

‘PINCIO – Rucola, prosciutto e fichi’ swept me off the floor. Read it slow and steady – Parma Ham, Rucola salad, figs and Parmigiano-Reggiano. Again! Parma Ham, Rucola salad, figs and Parmigiano-Reggiano. This combination of freshness from the salad, saltiness from the Parmesan cheese, Salty-sweet profile of the perfectly sliced ham and the sweetness from the fig was magical. The experience of actually eating it is the only way to do justice to this wonderful creation and in the non-vegetarian section, this one is the brightest star of this galaxy named Mezzaluna.

While we had a choice to get a pizza or a calzone on the table, so far it was just pizza’s but the last two for the evening – one vegetarian and the other non-vegetarian were brought in the form of a calzone from the very same brick oven. Vegetarian one was ‘VIA DEL CORSO – Crema di peperoni e zucchini’ filled with cream of bell pepper and zucchini and the non-vegetarian one was ‘FONTANA DI TREVI – Acciughe e gamberi e fiori di zucca’ denoting anchovies and prawns. Crisp bread casing and the gooey stuffing; here’s and image of the non-veggie one.

Dessert was the Italian classic Tiramisu served with a twist from Chef Armando’s kitchen. This one was light and smooth. One of the really good tiramisu’s I’ve eaten in Bangalore.

Moving back to the stars of the evening – pizzas here are excellent with some breaking barriers and creating new standards which can be hard to match up to. I highly recommend you to visit Mezzaluna at Movenpick Hotels; for this kitchen dishes out  an outstanding pizza and the tap pours out draught beer, all of it at a fair price of Rs. 699 exclusive of taxes. I’m going to go back here for their pizzas and I do hope to see you too at Mezzaluna.

Cheers!

Address: Movenpick Hotels & Spa Bangalore, 115, Gokula Extension, HMT Road (Near BEL Circle), Bangalore - 560054

Phone Number: +91 80 4300 1000 


Note: This visit to Movenpick Hotels & Spa, Bengaluru was on invitation but the opinions expressed are solely mine and are absolutely unbiased nor influenced by the brand in any way.

Bangalore's 1st Bombay Irani Cafe - SodaBottleOpenerWala

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Even with a little over 2 months into operations in Bangalore, the buzz around SodaBottleOpenerWala does not seem to die down. SBOW (is the way I will refer & mention henceforth) continues to be flocked by families, couples, friends, work associates and the likes. Open all day, it does not get easy to get a table especially during lunch and dinner hours. Many find the wait for a table worth every minute spent.

This Bombay Irani cafe and Bar had created a strong buzz much before its opening all thanks to it's earlier outlet from different cities in India; not to mention, the legacy of good experiences earned by AD Singh and team. SBOW itself is a tribute to the Parsi community and a concept created to retain the dying legacy of the bustling, chaotic, quirky, colorful and eccentric Irani cafes of Mumbai.

Full of vibe, this Bombay Irani cafe offers an interesting menu which includes the typical/signature Parsi delicacies and some Irani specialties. The menu stretches to Irani bakery stuff and Parsi inspired alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, full-fledged bar menu, teas, coffees and a lot more. Being an all day diner, it's a place you can visit for lunch, dinner or in between for drinks or quick snack with a cup of chai or coffee.

I've been here twice to date and want to go back to try stuff I still haven't been able to get my hands on. Before getting there, here's what I've loved from my previous visits -

'Spicy Mushroom on Khari' - a twist to the popular khari biscuit that comes topped with mushrooms, chili and cheese,

'Eggs Kejriwal' - egg on toast with cheese in between and a generous sprinkling of cheese; a dish made famous and originated in the Royal Wellington Sports Club of Mumbai,

'Kolmi fry' - a simple dish of prawns fried with onion slivers/ rings around it. Mope it up with the mint chutney and it seals the deal,

'Bohri Style Keema Pav' - Everytime I visit SBOW, this dish will surely make it to the table. It's mildly spiced but really rich in flavor mutton keema served with pav made in the in-house bakery. I don't know if this qualifies to be in the starters though as it is a meal in itself and enough for me make a meal out of this.

'Mutton Dhansak' - Comes packaged in a tiffin box with 3 containers. One contains the mutton Dhansak and the other holds caramelized rice and kachumber. Nice, but not the best Dhansak I've eaten.

'Berry Pulao' - This comes in veg/chicken/mutton variants. I personally love both chicken and mutton but given my meat preference, will recommend the mutton berry pulao. Berry pulao is fragrant rice and meat combination topped with fried onion and berries. The fried onions and berries add a nice hint of sweetness to this preparation but the flavoring is really elegant to allow for the sweetness to take over.

'Parsiana' (Cocktail) - A connection with Bangalore indeed. Old Monk based rum cocktail with plums and orange muddled in. A very well concocted drink indeed.

'Caramel Custard' - I love caramel custard and this one surely leaves it' mark. You've gotta try this.

Perfect for the chai time or an evening snack are also 'Vada Pav', Shrewberry biscuits, Mumbai special 'Kandha Bhajji' in the company of some 'Irani special chai' or 'Masala chai' from the Irani Chai Bar menu.

In all, SodaBottleOpenerWala has an all day dining menu with something suiting the time and purpose of your visit. The beverages are very competitively priced and the food for two will cost an average of Rs. 1300 plus taxes and charges.

I have been here twice so far and will surely go back to get my hands on the 'Bacon Keema Macaroni', 'Irani Falooda', 'Sali Chicken / Mutton', 'Bheendi Bazaar Sheek Paratha', 'Mawa Cake' and more.

Note: All pictures in this post are representative and only tasting portions. Actual portions served are much larger and hearty.

Address: 25/4, Lavelle Road, Opp. Harley Davidson Showroom, Bangalore

Phone Number: +91 70222 55299

Celebrate #BaisakhiAtJW with Chef Jolly @ JW Marriott, Bengaluru

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It denotes celebration of harvest and also a celebration of their New Year. A celebration with pomp, festivity and rich gourmet indulgence can be none other that Punjab's very own; rich in tradition and heritage Baisakhi festival.

Though thousands of miles away from Punjab; this vibrance of colors, the liveliness of the streets of Amritsar and a culinary indulgence of the state of Punjab has been recreated by Chef Jolly and his team at JW Marriott Bengaluru's pool side restaurants - Spice Terrace.

Hailing from Punjab himself and emphasising on the importance of keeping it authentic; Chef Jolly spend time in Punjab to bring the nuances of the masters themselves. There's no shying away from the fact that Punjabi's love their food rich and scrumptious but what surprised me was that a sizeable chunk of the population in Punjab are vegetarians. Okay! what if I said 'Majority'?

Moving on it was a long evening that started with a Roohafza shikanji a twist to well, the roohafza itself. It was sweet, had a nice lingering flavor of lime and mint with the crushed ice added to it just adding a perfect marriage of flavors, crunch and temperature.

Over to food, it Punjabi indulgence and it's got to start with a nice and fresh Amritsari Macchi which is a fish coated with a seasoned batter and fried. Soon followed was also one of the stars of the day - Lamb chops. This was no fancy New Zealand lamb but was our very own desi lamb which was perfectly marinated to have the spices and flavor seep into the meat.

For vegetarians, there was sheekh kebab, rajma ki tikki, paneer and lots more. There was so much to eat that I decided to stick to non-vegetarian. Bhatti da murgh was succulent and flavorful. Tandoori Jhinga were juicy and perfectly crunch prawns marinated with tandoori spices and cooked in a tandoor. I could have eaten more but knew mains would follow soon.

In mains, no guesses required - baingan da bhartha, tawa chicken, mutton keema kaleji,  and of course the maa di daal.  I loved the simplicity of the baingan da bartha followed closely by the taw chicken. All of this was accompanied by assorted breads but right from the beginning, I had my eyes and mind set for the Amitsari Kulcha. When it was time, I did not deviate. It surely made for a lovely combination for the mains.

For desserts, I tried the badam da halwa, gulab jamun and jalebi with rabdi. My personal favorite of the batch was the gulab jamun.

What I tried was just a small segment of the buffet which is priced at 1599 plus taxes and charges. With just 2 days to go I recommend you head down to JW Marriott Bengaluru till 19th April to celebrate #BaisakhiAtJW with Chef Jolly.

Address: 24/1, Vittal Mallya Road, Bangalore - 560001

Phone Number: +91 80671 89999

Many More Reasons to Visit Smoke House Deli, Bangalore

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It's been raining new menu introductions and this time it is none other that my favourite restaurants in Bangalore - Smoke House Deli. Smoke House Deli is a national brand and what's special about this newly introduced menu is that the new introductions are driven, crafted, and integrated completely based on the needs of the Bangalore market. It might be for the first time at Smoke House Deli that a menu is introduced in Bangalore and will be taken to the other cities and adapted there on.

The new menu has over 40 new dishes in categories like appetisers, soups, salads, sandwiches and burgers, pastas and risotto, mains, desserts and beverages. Phew! Without much ado we started with Wine Cosmopolitan in the company of a magnificent bread basket and an overload of assorted cheeses that came as a part of the SHD cheese platter.

Giving cheese platter a break, we moved on to the next round of drinks and it was SHD's twist to the classic mojito. In it's new avatar, the rum is replaced with bourbon whiskey which exudes a nice fruity and smokey taste and aroma . I enjoyed a couple of rounds of Jimi's mojito in the company of some starters which went well and kept good company for the drinks coming my way. Of the starters that arrived on our table, my pick was the 'Cheesy Chicken Triangles', 'Prawn Fritters with Mustard Aioli'.

The goodness of food only kept increasing from here with the arrival of two soups - a vegetarian and non-vegetarian. The vegetarian one was 'Full of Goodness Minestrone + Barley Soup' which was think and dense in texture and the flavors stood out beautifully. The non-vegetarian one was SHD's take on the Asian 'High Street Chicken + Noodle Soup' light and thin in texture with an equally good and aromatic broth. Dependant on weather I want a light or dense soup on my next visit, I'll pick one off the menu but on that day; I enjoyed the vegetarian one.

In the burgers, for the lamb lovers there is a South-West style lamb burger with sautéed onions, beans and chili as the works. This introduction is a testament of love from fans who enjoyed this burger during the burger festival a few months ago. Another burger that reads goodness is the Pulled Roast Chicken burger that come topped with Béarnaise sauce and a double cheddar melt. Mildly flavoured, this burger is for the ones who are limited to meat options.

From the salads and sandwiches what also well received were the 'Salad of Pear and Mango Chili Emulsion with Flax Seeds' and a 'Popcorn Shrimp & Chipotle Mayo Sandwich'.

From the very start, my brother and I knew we wanted to try the 'Coriander Crusted Basa with Saffron Coconut Rice' and the 'Chicken Schnitzel with Caper Sauce'. When it was time, we did exactly as planned. Each dish was wonderfully plated and was portioned generously for a person.

The fish had a lovely crisp and light crust, came topped with Veloute sauce (a french tomato based sauce) all placed on a saffron coconut rice base. It was indeed a medley of wonderful flavors and texture.

'Chicken Schnitzel with Caper Sauce' was crisp on the outside and gooey on the inside. Served in a cylindrical form like a bread roll, the chicken schnitzel was served on a bed of slides and roasted veggies. A nice wholesome meal in a plate it was.

Another main that we did sample from a friend was the slow cooked Brazilian pork belly that came with kimchi apples. What a fat chunk of belly it was! I'm not a big pork eater and to me this cut of pork belly was the biggest and the thickest I've ever seen. Loved it and if you love pork belly, this mean plate of pork can really mean a lot. What am I saying? I don't know.. Just get it on your table.

Now to the last course of our lunch; many await this and claim to have an additional stomach dedicated for the required sugar rush - Desserts. We tried 4 of them, each was better than the other but the top of the lot for me was the 'Oats and Caramel Tart' which was a real surprise package. This was followed closely by the 'Warm Apple Cake with the Vanilla Cardamom sauce' and 'Bitter Chocolate & Hazelnut Feuilletine'.

An average meal for two without alcohol will cost about Rs. 1500 plus taxes and charges. The new menu at Smoke House Deli is exhaustive and comprehensive in terms of offering to both vegetarians and non-vegetarians and also the alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage drinkers. For me, it's many more (new) reasons why I must keep visiting Smoke House Deli and so I believe will be the case with you once you've given their new menu a try.

Address: 1029, 100 FT Road, Indiranagar, Bangalore

Phone Number: +91 80 2520 0899