Made In Punjab - Extravagant Punjabi Fare

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Coming from the celebrated family of Kalra's the launch of Made In Punjab was much awaited and when it did it was with all pomp and show in true Punjabi ishtyle. Invited to experience the offerings from their menu, a friend and I headed one evening for some hearty Punjabi fare.

We started off with the legacy tandoori champ which were succulent lamb chops in a special house mix of spices. The evening surely did kick start on a really high note. Soon giving us company on our table was 'Bhatti  Ka Murgh' which was perfectly spiced tender chicken leg.

Appetizers continued to flow in with a melt in mouth 'Paneer Barrel Tikka' which as the name goes resembled barrels with an in between filling of spinach and cheese. Not usually a fan of mushrooms, the restaurant staff did insist we try 'Jau Mushroom Chakli' and it sure did have us asking for more. It was deep fried parcel with a filling of barley, minced mushrooms mildly seasoned and came served with a mustard-garlic chutney.

Punjabi evenings are never sober and hence the liver got it its fair share of job to perform. We had some interesting cocktail concoctions which had fancy Punjabi naming conventions. In order of preference I loved the 'Nayaa Zamana' which was MIP's take on the classic 'Old Fashioned' cocktail which concocted with a base of bourbon whiskey, caramel, citrus and apple. This was closely followed by 'Nashili Chai' a concoction of various white liquor and in house tea infusion.

Nayaa Zamaana

Nashili Chai

Heading to our next course 'Main Course' I had to have the much talked and heard about 'Nalli HardKaur'. It was a visually pleasing sight and even more enjoyable to eat; all the way through the last morsel of the intense lamb shank and finally sweep clean the plate to not leave a drop of the silken curry. The meat was cooked to fall of the bone consistency and exuded intense flavors.

I can go on about 'Nalli HardKaur' but let's move on to 'Luxury BC'. Let's cut the thinking, this is the luxury butter chicken; succulent chicken chunks in an ultra rich and delicious gravy. Both the dishes were best enjoyed with the traditional Punjabi breads like butter naan, paratha, tandoori roti and likes.

Finishing with a dessert, we tried the dates Rasmalai. The dates added a nice flavor to this dessert but for me this dessert lost out on the texture for it was too spongy unlike the traditional rasmalai which usually just melt in mouth. As I said, "this did not work for my palate but my dining companion relished this dessert."

An average meal for 2 at MIP will cost around Rs. 2000 ++ inclusive of food and a beverage each. I know I'm going back here often for delicious Punjabi fare and kick-ass cocktails. The menu is vast with some extravagant offerings and apart from repeats I look forward to trying more off their menu.

Address: Made In Punjab, UB City, Bengaluru - 560103

Phone Number: +91 81309 55899

Note: This visit to Made In Punjab was on invitation but the opinions expressed are solely mine and are absolutely unbiased nor influenced by the brand in any way.

The Shiro Collection - DimSum Festival, Bangalore

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Some of the top brands of restaurants, pubs and lounges are an offering of JSM Corp. Right from Hard Rock Cafe, to Ginger Tiger, California Pizza Kitchen, Shiro are just to name a few. DimSums are my favourite and it's rarely that I make a meal out of dimsums. On till the 7th of July is this lovely showcase of 'The Shiro Collection' of DimSums.

With over 40 DimSums on the specially designed menu, there is a plenty on offer for both vegetarian and non-vegetarians. Elevating the experience is the beautiful setting/ambiance, service and the variety of tea served complimentary. The evening for us was an elaborate affair that started with two wonderful variants of the mojito; one was orange and the other was fig mojito. At first I was skeptical to try a variant for previous not so good experiences around Bangalore but here, both the mojito variants were really refreshing, no bottled flavors were added and the marriage of the flavors was beautiful. These are a set of cocktails I will definitely repeat on my future visits.

Shortly arrived two baskets of assorted dumplings - one vegetarian and another with non-vegetarian dumplings. It was a great way to go ahead with tasting the offerings on the menu. The non-vegetarian basket came with the following dimsums -

 - Chicken Gyonza: Lovely stuffing of minced chicken and herbs offering a mild flavor enough to really savor this classic Chinese preparation.

 - Har Gao: Simplicity is at the heart of this har gao; good chunks of prawns and brilliantly light and translucent casing to hold them all together. The prawn filling was perfectly cooked and filled in good measure to allow to be eaten in one go.

 - Chicken & Sichuan Pepper  Dumpling: Clearly the Sichuan pepper was the star addition to this dumpling giving it the a nice lingering after taste of the Sichuan pepper. 

 - SuiMai: Prawn Sui Mai was delicate and flavors were well balanced. The filling was fabulous and generous.

 - Prawn & Asparagus Dumpling: This was a very light and refreshing combination with both the prawn and asparagus adding a nice crunch to the delicate texture of the dimsum wrapper.

The flow of dimsums didn't seem to end but at this time we thought of pairing them with Sublime tea which has partnered with Shiro in curating a wonderful Yum Cha experience of sorts. Brilliant aroma on the nose, crisp notes and a lingering finish were traits of two varieties (Rose in Bloom and Jasmine Mandarin) of Sublime tea that we sipped for the rest of the evening in the company of more dim sums. I loved the tea and have ordered my quota of the tea bags from Sublime's website.

Our date with dim-sums continued with the arrival of some new entrants- 

 - Phoenix Eye Dumpling: A classic prawn dumpling seasoned with chilis and fish sauce and topped with Edamame. 

 - Prawn Nest dumpling: It was art on a plate that required the technique, talent and skill to prepare. The casing was like fibre; a result of the use of potato and starch fried with a prawn filling. This was really heavy and I could not afford another one for the sheer spread of dim-sums that were yet to arrive. The XO sauce came as a condiment which was well prepared too.

 - Chicken Pearl Dumpling: This was a chicken dumpling flavoured with the five spice powder and oyster sauce. Rolled as a ball with Sticky Jasmine rice, this was my least preferred dumpling by taste due to the over powering essence and taste of the star anise and the missing flavor of the oyster sauce that I love.

To my surprise, the vegetarian dumpling too had a host of selection to choose from. From the various we tried, what my dining companion enjoyed the most were-

 - Chi Chow Fried Dumpling

 - Pak choi & Water Chestnut Dumpling

 - Vegetable Nest Dumpling

Our evening continued with 3 steamed delicacies- 

 - Silken Tofu with Mustard XO: Steamed slices of silken tofu topped with a delicious mustard sauce was a delight combination of texture and flavor.

 - Prawn with Thai herb sauce: The succulent prawns were steamed in and quoted with a Thai herb sauce. Indeed succulent and flavourful.

 - Pork ribs with sweet chili and black bean sauce: Easily the best pork ribs I have ever eaten. The pork itself fell of the bone without second thoughts. It was so soft that the bone remained clean and clear effortlessly. The smokiness of the pork married fabulously with the sweet chili and black bean sauce.

Not very fond of desserts that too after a scrumptious dim-sum meal we were in no mood for desserts  and instead continued to sip the 'Jasmine Mandarin' offering from sublime tea. It was a meal that had us really content and left us feeling easy even after an overload of dim-sums. The menu also includes steamed fish wrapped in lotus leaf, steamed bao and the likes.

For those who'd love to try a varied range of the dim-sum offerings at Shiro can go in for a basket of 9 varieties of dim-sums which is priced at Rs. 1900 plus taxes and charges. The portion is good to be shared between 2 - 3 diners and can be enjoyed with portions of Sublime tea which come complimentary to complete the Dim-Sum experience. On till 7th July, do head here if you'd love to have a YumCha experience.

Address: UB City, 4th Floor, Piazza Area, Lavelle Road, Bangalore
Phone Number: +91 80 4173 8861

Oodles of Noodles @ Sing Kong, Bangalore

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Around the same time last year, Bangalore witnessed the opening of two highly spoken about restaurants. The objective of each the very same - 'Desire to recreate an international fine-dining experience for the people of Bangalore'. Both these restaurants cater to cuisines world apart, I mean - Pan-Asian at one and Mexican at another. 

Celebrating one year of operations in Bangalore, a special menu has been curated for both the restaurants. Special menus always excite me for it gives me an added reason to visit / revisit a restaurant and also has the potential to elevate even the finest of the experience I might have had at the very same restaurant. 

The past week, I was invited to Sing Kong the Pan-Asian restaurant housed UB City's ambient, ever vibrant and bustling Piazza area. Opting for seating on the outer deck, a cousin and I settled in to experience 'Oodles of noodles' a specially crafted menu available only till the 14th of May. As the name suggests, it was all about noodles right from soups through to the dessert.

We started with tasting portions of two different soups. One was 'Slow poached chicken and egg clear soup' which exuded subtle flavors and the other was the spicy and full of flavor 'BBQ Pork & Udon Noodles Soup'. It's a very personal choice on your preference because I loved both the variants for that day; my pick was the 'BBQ Pork & Udon Noodles Soup'.

As we savored our soups, chef Shiva paid visit with a plate full of the numerous types of noodles on offer at this food festival. Not in the slightest of my imagination did I know of the various forms of noodles that existed. Every noodle marks a difference in taste, texture, shape, flour used and country of origin to say the least.

We were pretty excited and looked forward to the rest of the meal. While various mains (read noodles) were being stirred up in the kitchen, we decided to try the 'Jasmine Tea Mojito' and 'Citrus Sling'. Pan-Asian being the theme, these cocktails as the name suggest had an Asian touch in terms of flavor driven by the ingredients. The Mojito had a nice and subtle Jasmine tea flavor with a freshness of mint leaves and balance of zing and sweetness from the muddles lime and sugar. 

'Citrus Sling' was a gin based cocktail with kaffir lime leaves to impart the Asian flavors. It was good in flavor but lacked the punch of the Kaffir lime leaves though present in good measure.

Mains began with Char Kwe Teow Prawn noodles. This dish was clearly my personal favourite for its fresh ingredients and a simple and really mild flavors. Followed soon was a dish which is comfort food to me Kung Pao Chicken with egg noodles. Clearly a contrast to the prawn noodles, this dish was packed in flavor coming from black bean, SambalOelek and oyster sauce.

If it was really good thus far; I was floored by the complex flavors of the next noodle dish.  Every bite had a melange of flavors that took my palate by surprise - Sweet to start, followed shortly by tang and ultimately leaving wonderful spice notes. Clearly a contribution of the oyster garlic sauce and the red ginger chilis; this was Bakmi Goreng.

Moving to the vegetarian segment, it was a Thai favourite; Pad Thai. Made with flat noodles made of rice flour; this preparation came with a good mix of tofu and exotic veggies like pokchoy, shiitake, beans sprouts and Chinese cabbage. Tossed in a sauce containing tamarind pulp and palm sugar to say the least it was really nice on the palate. Plated on the side were roasted peanuts and lime allowing a little customisation. Well, this is how a good Pad Thai is served traditionally.

The last of the mains we tried was Crispy noodles plate with sesame garlic vegetables. It was a chopsuey of crisp fried noodles topped with delicious sesame garlic vegetables. The best way to describe this will be 'Comfort Food' and this is the very reason why this dish also makes itself a part of the menu at Sing Kong's Oodles of Noodles festival.

Dessert was a Chinese classic - Organic honey tossed noodles drizzled with roasted sesame and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. This was light and flavourful; definitely a perfect dessert to end a fabulous Pan-Asian meal.

It was a fantastic meal with nothing on the table which did not catch our attention and surely goes beyond a fantastic meal. There clearly are aplenty reasons to have me revisit Sing Kong which includes at the top - 

 - their delicious and mouth-watering lovely Pan-Asian delicacies, 

 - a couple of nice cocktails or chilled beer,

 - a wonderful and a long lunch session,

 - Worth every rupee being spent at an average cost of Rs. 1400 for  with out drinks and taxes and charges.

 - Bangalore weather playing great sport, 

 - Piazza at UB City, and

 - a special menu; this time being 'Oodles of Noodles'

This specific food festival and a celebration of food is on till just the 14th of May; that leaves us with just a little less than a fortnight. 

Do not miss it!

Address: UB City, 4th Floor, Piazza Area, Lavelle Road, Bangalore

Fava, Bangalore

FoodLovers Magazine has been hosting a series of contests on their Facebook page and in one of them; I won a lunch voucher for 2. The lunch certificate entitled us to a 2 course prix fixe meal each which is served only during the weekdays. This was a good enough reason for us to break the work day monotony and catch up for a weekday lunch.

Menu:

The last 3 pages of the menu at Fava are dedicated to the Prix Fixe 2 or 3 course lunch. There is an array of dishes - both vegetarian and non-vegetarian that one can select from. The food mainly comprised of Mediterranean, French and Italian cuisine.  The listing was well classified between the first course, the second course and the third course – desserts and we were given an option go with any two of the three courses.

What we ate:

Having been given an option to go with any two of the three courses, my pick was Turkish Fish cakes from the first course and Crabmeat, Coriander and chili risotto and Puja chose to go with Balsamic Grilled Vegetables and mozzarella Panini for the mains and Kahlua flavored espresso and praline mousse.

While our food arrived, we were served Lavash with a tomato based sauce. The Lavash was nice and crisp and the sauce was creamy (thanks to the parmesan cheese) with the sweet and spicy flavor coming clear from the sugar and Moroccan chili used in its making.

Turkish Fish cakes arrived with a basket of 4 mini pita breads and plated with seasoned salad, Moroccan chili sauce and mint Labneh. The fish cakes were delicious and enjoyed best in the company of pita bread, the mildly spiced chili sauce and the very refreshing mint Labneh. A special note on these sauces that exuded such fine flavors that we couldn't help but ask for more.

Balsamic Grilled Veggie Panini was built with very simple ingredients and was packed with flavor of the grilled vegetables and the balsamic vinegar dressing. On the side with the Panini were served French fries and a salad.

The Crab-meat Risotto arrived with the aroma enough for anyone to assume that this dish was sea food based. What I loved about the Risotto was its flavor and creaminess but missed the crab-meat which I felt was sparingly used.

We felt quite full from what we had eaten so far but looked forward to our dessert – ‘Kahlua flavored espresso and praline mousse’. Did we get this? Of course, we did along with a complimentary bowl of chocolate truffles. The mousse was really nice and well balanced in terms of its sweetness for the dessert and the flavor of the coffee.

Chocolate truffles were gooey creamy balls of dark chocolate rolled over and coated with coffee powder dusting. We totally loved this and must admit that there was no better way that this to end a delightful meal at Fava.

Verdict:

We had a great time lunching at Fava. The food was simply fabulous. The portions were really generous and more than sufficient for a single person. The service was attentive, quick and prompt. The staffs were very courteous and polite.  They knew their menu and food well and can be depended upon for making a choice, if needed. We are definitely heading back here soon.

Being located in a mall, Fava does not offer valet parking or a private parking space. Parking is available on a paid basis in UB City.

We did not have to pay for this Prix Fixe 2 course meal. However, a scrumptious meal like this is a steal at Rs. 425 + taxes.

Quick Tips:

Go here for a relaxed meal, amazing Mediterranean fare and desserts. Mediterranean cuisine is really diverse and one of the ways to get started and sample this would be to try their ‘Tasting Meze Platter’. 

Address: #203, 2nd Floor, The Collection, UB City, 24 Vittal Mallya Road, Bangalore

Phone Number: +91 80 22117444