Italian Cibo Squisito

Bangalore is the "fooders" as I want to call them (food+lovers) paradise. From Bengali to Rajasthani, from Arabian to Italian. None of your food cravings will go unattended. Sweet to savory are all in this city. Other than Smoors's chocolates and the deserts, Ibaco and Natural's ice cream, Kanti Sweets's Mysore pak, MTR and Airplane's masala dosa there are some best of places to dine.

One of them to name would be the exquisite fine dinning Italian restaurant, Ottimo. This authentic restaurant is situated in heart of bangalore in ITC Gardenia. Those of who are hardcore italian food fanatics and are searching for one lick of that awesome creamy Burrata, then this is the place to be. For those who are wondering what is it, it is a cheese made of mozzarella and cream to be short and simple. Burrata is only available at this place. Burrata means "buttered" in italian. This cheese is made by hand and the taste is fresh.

Ottimo would be on the higher side of your budget but it has its own speciality which is difficult to find in any other italian restaurant. The interiors are quite and perfect for a romantic dinner. The chef Vittorio Greco takes special and personal care of the guests. If you are planning for a family dinner, then you should order for Parmiana de Melanzane which is served in big soup spoon. Once the spoon is in your mouth there is burst of flavors of tomato & aubergine with parmasean and garlic.

Try the pizzas and pastas as they are thin crust and handmade. And to top it all you must try Tota Caprese Con Sorpresa. This dish is as dramatic and romantic as its name. Hot chocolate is poured over the thin chocolate shell encasing a chocolate cake. The whole dish then reduce into a melty gooey sinful goodness. This dish is one of the attractions of the restaurant.

 Altogether a place to be if you are coming to Bangalore or if you are in Bangalore.

Address: Ottimo, ITC Gardenia, No.1 Residency Road, Bangalore. for reservation call (080)22119898

Fog Harbor Fish House

Visiting SFO will not be memorable until you have tasted the sea food trail along the bay area. Among the most popular and high rated will be Fog Harbor Fish House. The restaurant is situated on the first floor of Pier 39 in San Francisco. The menu is of gastronomic delight. The place is always buzzing with people and they serve you beyond lunch time; a kind of all day dining.  In-house people are suave and have a great sense of suggesting food according to your taste. The diners are well dressed always so you can bring your long waited dress and pointed shoes out in the Pier environment. The decor is simple and the view from the large windows is outstanding as you can see the Pacific with a skyline. Catch a glimpse of Alcatraz and Golden Gate Bridge while savoring your food. Fog House is rated very well if you follow Yelp or any such apps for finding good places to eat.

You should click the Yelp link to find out the pictures: www.yelp.com/biz_photos/fog-harbor-fish-house-san-francisco-2

For the all the first timers you must try Clam Chowder..it is delicious and has great creamy texture and melts down in your mouth. Though you can find chowder in any Fisherman's Wharf along the shoreline, you must try this. Do not miss the specialities like Linguini, Garlic Crab to name just few of their hot sales. To end your meal, you must try their creme brulee  served with a biscotti...if you have no sweet tooth you might just grow one. They have varied spread of desserts for the day, you just have to pick it up while they bring you the spread at your table. Interesting?

But to visit this amazing place you should be prepared to dish out an amount of 100 to 110$ for two main course dishes and three portion of desert (because my son chose to have the creme brulee only, thank god!) with drinks. Non- alcoholics must try their fizzy Pinot Noir. For others with special occasion or to strike a conversation with colleague or friends try the bar counter with high comfortable chairs. A good laid back ambience and great finger foods and wide variety of alcohols to choose from.

To reserve a seat near the window, let me help you with their contact:

Pier 39
Ste A-202

(415) 421-2442
San Francisco, CA 94133

Fisherman's Wharf, North Beach/Telegraph Hill

On A Food Trail!

I have been really off the blog for such a long time. Tryst with Bangalore was for sometime but I was unable to venture out the food variety in the city for long as I was pregnant with my baby and whole other things that came along with him. My faith has travelled from Kolkata- Hyderabad- Bangalore to USA!

So guys from now on you will be seeing my post upfront and with great news and cuisine from the ultimate place for wine, cheese, beef, beacon, cake and ice cream...

I will make it sure that you feel at home and at the place when I write about the food trail in America. Right now I am settled in California and for sometime this will be your destination too!

To start with I just happen to plan a burger tryst with not so yummy Carl's Jr on El Camino Real, CA. The place is located on happening El Camino but it is always empty and cold. Though we find quite a number of people to help you at the counter but the burger spot seems pretty ghostly in the night. I had ordered for turkey burger and my hubby beacon. We were satisfied with the burgers as we were very hungry but the crashing came when we tasted the onions ring. They were smelly and had no significant taste to it. The smell was of typical transfat frying oil, which led to a stomach upset the next day.

The burger joint have many offers and coupons to celebrate and enjoy there variety of tastes but few are not-so-good experience food makes me rate it as 5 on the scale of 10, 10 being the best and highest!

Kolkata's Bow Barrack in Bangalore

 Bow Barrack in Indiranagar

Set in the by-lane of the posh Indiranagar, this place is a must visit for people who savour continental/ anglo cuisine. The place is owned by a bengali couple. The food is tasty and neat. Though there is a space crunch as there is very small area for a huge group, a romantic/ official lunch or dinner can be carried of quite swiftly. But a group of 5-6 will fit in well if reached by 7pm. 

Bow Barracks is named after the area in Kolkata, WB where the city's anglo-indian community survive. This has influenced the owner to bring in the anglo-indian cuisine in Bangalore. The menu is meaty and it almost reminds you of the forgotten anglo-indian delicacies. Though the menu found has a dash of english tinge to it. Some of them are Prawn Temperado, Beef Jhalfrenzie and Grilled Rack of lamb. The basket of breads that comes as a quick munch is of good quality. The breads are of variety and very fresh. That's my personal favorite.

The interior is cosy and you will enjoy every bit of the coziness. The owner, Sujoy Das is extremely humble and a polite guy. When we walked in he helped us with the menu and also showed keen interest in our preferences with suggestions, ofcourse. But for all the drunkards, no liquor is available here till now. Though a touch of fine wine would have made it a awesome place.

As the place is relatively new please don't get boggled up with your patience. The starters are served quick but the main dish takes a bit of time. The staff are always smiling and they are quite nice and decent when they are unaware of few menus. 

When you ask for the cheque it might pinch your pocket as the place is little expensive. A meal for two which will include, one soup, two starters, two main course and two desserts and one drink would be Rs. 2000 approx. excluding taxes. But you must visit it if you are in the city or when you visit Bangalore.

For all, I would say you can try the lamb rack and for those who want to be safe like me can try Chicken a la Kiev. Here I will provide you with the look and feel of one of the dishes.

Chicken a la Kiev

Chicken A La Kiev

This is quite a simple dish. the delicate blend of spices with mashed potato and boiled vegetable add to the flavor. The chicken is deep fried and quite light. the savoury crust is excellent and leaves you with a good feeling.Now here is the recipe if you wanna try this at home, but not guaranteed!

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

• 4 (4-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts

• Salt and black pepper

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces

• All-purpose flour

• 1 large egg beaten with 1 teaspoon water

• Fine bread crumbs

Method:

1. Remove fat and any cartilage from chicken breasts. Pound each to 1/4-inch thickness between two pieces of plastic wrap. Season both sides with salt and pepper. 
2. Place 1 piece butter in center of each breast and roll as for an eggroll or burrito. At this point, the breasts can be placed in the freezer for 30 minutes to ensure the butter becomes firm again and won't leak out in the cooking process. 
3. Dredge breasts in flour, then egg wash and then in breadcrumbs. Repeat, double breading the cutlets. Let them dry for 10 minutes before frying. 
4. Heat 1 inch of canola oil in large skillet over medium-low heat. Slowly fry cutlets on all sides, for a total of about 15-20 minutes. Remove from pan, drain on paper towels and serve. Be careful when you cut into these, the butter will squirt out!

(Recipe link: http://easteuropeanfood.about.com/od/polishmaincourses/r/chickencutlets.htm)

Eat, Drink on the Bogey

How about not paying huge sum of money, overcoming all hassle of booking and featuring onto the waiting list which you usually face if you have book a stay at Palace On Wheels. All this can enjoyed at an amazing restaurant in Hyderabad. Ofcourse you will not have the same grandeur like Palace of wheels but trust me n my taste buds you will get the taste of hyderabadi n mughlai khana.
Venue: Sahib, Sind Sultan
SSS is BJN group of restaurant just like Ohri’s in Hyderabad. The restaurant is opened on the 4th Floor of the City Centre mall. There can no place other than this where you spend your special day!
Ofcourse if your rich you can even have dinner at Falaknama Palace taken over by Taj and spending cover charges of 2000 per head.....but i give you more cheaper option and that can be another reason to follow my blog regularly especially for all the Food-oholics!
SSS has a special bogey situated in the the restaurant. you have to reserve your seats before you enter into the first class nawabi train. you can also enjoy your dinner sitting on the platform but i would suggest that you book it in advance. the decor is really beautiful and dishes are rich with flavors.
It is on the expensive side but a dinner for 4 will cost you around 4000+ if you order hard drinks too.

Must Try: Mutton Rib Korma, this is my all time favourite. The taste is rich and it has a strong flavour. But you can’t go without trying the Galouti Kebab. Your taste buds will be tantelized with the flavour of mace, garam masala and red chillies. It is so smooth that it dissapears once the salvina touches it............OMG my mouth is watering!

Try Your Hands:
Ingredients:
1 kg lamb very finely minced
1 tbsp ginger paste
2 tbsps garlic paste
2 tbsps butter
4 tbsps raw papaya paste
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/4 tsp mace powder
4 tbsps bengal gram flour, lightly roasted
Salt to taste
3 tbsps oil/ghee to fry the kababs
Preparation:
Add all the ingredients (except the ghee) to the lamb mince and mix well.
Refrigerate the whole mix for 1 hour.
Remove the mix from the refrigerator and form into patties.
Heat the ghee on a heavy-bottomed skillet (on a medium flame) and fry the kababs till golden on both sides.
Cool on paper towels. Serve with Mint-Coriander Chutney.

Savor the American Flavor

When you want to dig your fingers into the barbequed pork ribs and chicken in Jack Daniel sauce there is only one place you can think about...TGIF ( Thank God Its Friday). Many of you who have visited the western hemisphere..this is not the post for you. This post only will be read by the people who still wants to be in this part of the world and savor the western delights.....hic hic

No other place in Hyderabad has this kind of restaurant. Though the cost is too high for even a plate of burger but you think of your pinch pocket later for a plate of barbecued Pork ribs especially imported.

Trust me the sight of the dish itself is mouth watering. ummmmmmmmhh...

So for the first timers in Hyderabad here comes the place and the way to it. TGIf is situated in cinemax. “The R.K. Cineplex , Hyderabad restaurant can seat 153 people, and is open for business between 12 noon and 11:30 pm. This restaurant will offer Friday's® exceptional experience along with Friday's® Fun loving relaxed sporty decor, mouthwatering food and efficient service.”

The place: T.G.I. Friday's™
R.K. Cineplex, Banjara Hill,
Road No. 2
Hyderabad
For reservations call:
Tel: +91-40-4015 1925/ 6

The food here is filling and i bet people who have low apetite for me please don’t order a palte for yourself, couple decide on a menu and order just one plate. The food is extremely rich and absolutely no no for the health conscious. If you want to indulge inthe sinful act of having loads of french fries, red meat with different types to cheesy sauce then this is the palce.
My suggestion do try the: Chicken platter with Jack daniel sauce and prok ribs.

Nawabi Splendour

Venue: Tansen

This place just took my heart away. An elegant restaurant by Ohri’s, situated on the Necklace road; Hyderabad. It has a large spread of authentic nawabi food. The décor is astounding with a mild indian music playing in the background, live. A must for any type of grandeur celebrations. If you want to impress some one then you cannot miss this out.

The rates are little too high if compared to the road side restaurants and less if compared to the five starrers. Over all it is a great place to be with friends, family or the special some one.

Must Have: Galouti Kababs, they are rich spicy tenderly mashed lanb meat kababs. When put into your mouth they just melt away leaving the rich flavour of the Indian spices used. So much so, you munch once you would not like to share the plate with none. Not convinced? Why don’t you try out and leave a comment on my blog to prove me wrong.

Try your hands:
Ingredients:
• 800 gms Lamb
• 2 Ginger
• 2 Garlic flakes
• 2 tbsp Butter
• 4 tbsp Papaya paste (raw)
• 1 tsp Red chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp Mace powder
• 4 tbsp Bengal gram
• Ghee for frying
• Salt to taste

How to make Galouti Kebab:
• Mince the lamb.
• Grind ginger and garlic to make a paste.
• Add ginger garlic paste, papapya paste, red chilli powder, mace powder, mace powder, butter and Bengal gram.
• Mix them well.
• Keep it for cooling.
• Form patties from the mixture.
• Heat the oil and fry till golden brown in colour.
• Serve hot.
Source: http://www.indobase.com/recipes/details/galouti-kebab.php