Saffron Trail Food Times Edition 02

It's turning out to be quite a task to keep track of the food scene in Bangalore. New restaurants are opening almost every week. Restaurants are coming up with the idea of food festivals and new menus to introduce their patrons to new flavours. Here are some of them being featured in the second edition of my food news post.

Some of foodbloggers were invited to a chef's table at Saffron, Park Plaza, famous for its kababs & cuisine from the NWF Province for a tasting from their new menu.

Bhunee chaat, palak shorba, chutneys & condiments, raw papaya launji

 The menu for was planned meticulously by Chef Mohd. Ishtiyak, who is fondly known as Master Chef – India of the restaurant. Right from the condiments platter which had pickled shallots, raw papaya launji, mint chutney, hung curd chutney among other mouthwatering items, his deep Indian traditions and attention to food preparation was evident.

Panchrattan seekh kabab, Blueberry cocktail, Mutter aur corn ki shammi

 The aim of the menu was to showcase Indian spices- a few preparations had over two dozen spices ground for the marinade. The simple style of preparation, whether meat, seafood or vegetables marinated and cooked in the clay tandoor at high temperatures was the hallmark of the menu. This focus on rustic cuisine preserving the flavours and ingredients can be experienced at this restaurant. The Bhunee chaat (using a mix of fruits & veggies) and the panchrattan seekh were my favourites!

Bread basket-Bhutte tamatar ki subzi-Subzi Abir

Saffron, Park Plaza, 90-4 Outer Ring Road, Marathahalli, Bangalore.

Meal for two - INR 2000 plus taxes

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 And 100 ft Rd Indira Nagar gets one more restaurant. This is La Tagliatella, an Italian restaurant chain from Spain which opened its first Indian outlet in Ambience Mall, Delhi. Their focus is on cuisines from the regions of Piamonte, Liguria, and Reggio Emilia of Italy.

 Their portions are quite large (serves groups of 4 well) and their salad is actually a 'big' salad too. While the pricing seems somewhat steep at first, one look at their portions and quality ingredients used, they seem to be justified. Almost all ingredients such as flour, cheese, tomatoes etc are imported to maintain the same quality across restaurants in all countries. We tried this place pre-opening and I can say it has a lot of scope. Their pizzas are made in Morello Forni pizza oven which simulates the wood-fired oven & is very eco friendly as compared to the wood-fired oven. The decor totally transports you from a high street shopping place in Bangalore to a quaint cafe in Italy. A word of caution-make sure you leave sufficient space in your tummies for dessert-their tiramisu & Mascarpone-cream are truly sublime.

766, Amrest Bunglow, HAL 2nd Stage, 100 feet road, Indiranagar, Bangalore

Meal for two-Around 1800 plus taxes | Valet parking | Only wine served

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A couple of ongoing food festivals are the Beer & Burger festival at Windmills Craftworks, a microbrewery-restaurant and a jazz theatre with live performances on weekends. You'll find a range of vegetarian, beef, pork, chicken and seafood burgers paired with beer of which you get a complimentary 1/2 pint glass. 331, Road No. 5 B, EPIP zone, Whitefield, Bangalore, India 560048, (80) 2569-2012, +917259024652

St.Marks hotel is celebrating a Maharashtrian Food Festival, vegetarian food buffet at 499 per person. It's on until 5th May, so hurry if you are a fan of regional cuisines. My friends tried this yesterday and have given it a big thumbs up. They are open for lunch and dinner. 
Curry with a 'K', St. Mark's Hotel, Lobby Level, Plot No. 4/1, St.Marks Road, Bangalore.
+919019150966

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SaffronTrail Food Times Edition-01

This is the first edition of the SaffronTrail Food Times, where I'll try and share food news in and around Bangalore- be it new restaurants in the city, food workshops that enthusiasts can participate in, food festivals hosted by restaurants and so on. I'm thinking of having this a fortnightly or monthly column. If you have anything interesting for me to share here (Bangalore based), do mail me at saffrontrail [at] gmail. Please understand that I shall use your information at my discretion and cannot promise to post everything that comes my way.

SAFFRONTRAIL FOOD TIMES EDITION-01

Weekend Breakfasts in Bangalore

We found two breakfast places which couldn't be more different from each other. 

One serves up the Full English Breakfast, cocktails you can feel less guilty about over drinking in the morning, absolutely sinful Red Velvet waffles and thick French toasts. I don't know if you've guessed, we're talking about the 'Breakfirst' at Monkey Bar. Apart from eggs, waffles and toasts, vegetarians have a few other choices like the Handwo, Chilli Cheese Vada Pao and a really big croissant called the Mobar Maxi Croissant. There's a Big Bang breakfast specially for vegetarians called the Garden City which comprises of gratinated vegetable crepe, feta stuffed mushrooms, hash browns, grilled tomato, baked beans and jumbo toast. Mobar has tied up with theindianbean.com to serve up a specially formulated single estate coffee blend, so you can be sure that you're in for some good coffee.

Expect to be put behind by INR1500 for two people. There's good music and the company of breakfast loving enthusiastic morning crowd and one must give them points for innovation (Red Velvet Waffles, Pita with Pandi etc.). The good part is you can skip lunch altogether and have a long snooze after filling up here.

Monkey Bar, 14/1 Krishna Manere, Wood Street, Richmond Road, Ashok Nagar, Bengaluru - 560025. Phone: 080 41116878/ 79 | www.mobar.in

Weekends 9 am-12 noon

The other breakfast we loved was the all you can eat spread at Kamat Yatri Nivas (Hoodi). The  South Indian breakfast serves all the usuals. The Masala dosa, vada, kuzhi paniyarams are freshly made in small batches. The other items served are masala idli, puri-chana, khara-baath, bisi bele baath, mangalore buns, akki rotti, watermelon juice, fruits, rosogulla, coffee/tea. They also had bread, butter, jam and some other things I may have missed. The buns were delicious, and our friend said that the kuzhi paniyarams were as good as the ones he had eaten at a small eatery in Coimbatore. I don't think there's any other breakfast in Bangalore that can beat the 'VFM-ness' of this one. If you live in and around Whitefield, don't miss this. It is a steal at INR 125/adult, 75/child. 

Kamat Yatri Niwas, Graphite Road, Hoodi Circle, Whitefield. Phone: 080-28459075 | kamatyatri.in - Weekends 7am-10am, no reservations required.

CBTL celebrates 50 years with a new menu

Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf has introduced a new menu with more focus on healthy and gourmet options. 

We liked their Japanese Cherry Green Tea and Swedish Berries Tea, both made using loose leaf tea bags. These are a perfect choice for those who want to spend time in a cafe without loading up on calories. For those who like their high calorie drinks, they also have a Hot Double Chocolate  with Caramel Swirl and whipped cream :)

Among their healthy eating options, I liked their Roast Vegetable with Hummus. Their Greek salad however was a disappointment because of tons of fake feta. Even if it was paneer, it was a stale one. Their muffins are the giant American size, I'd recommend it be shared between 3 people! Their Chocolate Chunk muffin was loaded with chocolate chips. Try their signature Ice Blended coffee in your favourite flavour. 

http://www.facebook.com/TheCoffeeBeanIndia

Branches: Koramangala, 1MG Rd Mall, Inorbit Mall (Whitefield), Phoenix Market City

A cozy cafe inside a mall- Plus 91

Photo courtesy: Aravind Balakrishnan

Newly opened at the buzzing Phoenix Market City mall at Whitefield, they are the modern upmarket version of a multicuisine restaurant with a bar. From chaats to steaks, they have it all on their menu, along with an extensive alcohol and drinks menu. Theirs is a cozy ambience of a street corner cafe, with a little outdoor section. The indoors nearly makes you forget you are in a mall. The fact that they have a jukebox gives them extra points from my side. We were invited for their pre-launch Sunday lunch and they were playing vintage disco for which I'll give them two thumbs up. We tried the radga patties, a modified version of sev puri (using baby papads instead of puri), paani puri, frankie, paneer tikkas and the sizzler. While the penne pasta in tomato sauce was perfectly made, the chaats needed some help from the roadside chaatwala in terms of textures and flavour. The feedback was passed on and I hope they'll get better in that department. As they have an extensive appetisers menu, I think this will be a good place for a couple of after work drinks and small bites, for those working in and around ITPL. Their dessert menu is limited to three items. In case you're wondering about the origin of their name, it indicates India's phone code :)

Plus 91, Phoenix Market City, 1st Floor, Mahadevpura, Whitefield Road, Bangalore-48.

Phone- 80-65995666 | https://www.facebook.com/Plus91India

Hours: 12 noon-11.30pm, walk-ins welcome

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