Chocolate Coins

Chocolate coins, or chocolate money, are gold foil covered chocolates in the shape of coins. They are traditionally given to children as a Christian tradition at Christmas time and Saint Nicholas Day and in Jewish tradition during Hanukkah...

As a Christmas tradition, the chocolate coin giving was thought to be started by the deeds of Saint Nicholas. He was the bishop of Myra in Lycia, which is now considered Turkey. Although there isn’t any written documentation, many legends speak of his kindness to children. He was said to be an incredibly shy person and wanted to give money to the poor children of Myra without them knowing about it. One night he climbed on a roof and threw a purse of money down a chimney, which landed in a pair of stockings that a little girl had hung up to dry. Every year Saint Nicholas would keep giving coins or money to the children of Myra.

Exploring the World

At 6 months, Rohan explores the world through his mouth and the drool just hangs around...

Pat Chapman grills the world at Barbeque Nation

This is what I saw as I entered Barbeque Nation...

Okay, that conversation was my imagination...hah. The celebrity here is none other than UK's Curry King, Pat Chapman.

Pat Chapman is partnering with Barbeque Nation, one of the most successful casual dining restaurant chains in India, to introduce his 14 new marinades across the country and mark the entry of a completely new genre of barbequed food...

Pat Chapman gave a live demo of couple of his new marinades made from flavorful ingredients like Galangal, lemongrass, Basil leaves, fish sauce etc...

Hot Mai Thai Fish being prepared...

Here's the recipe of the Hot Mai Thai Fish...

Barbeque Nation is a pioneer in India to promote ‘DIY’ (do-it-yourself) cuisine with a concept of live on-the-table grill in India...

I think, the charcoal grill on each table is  just perfect for the barbecue experience...

Marinades, sauces and basting brushes are provided...

This is the part where you should be careful. They will keep giving you different varieties of irresistible Kababs, until you say stop. You will surely go on overeating if not careful...

The chicken...

The Prawns...

More chicken...

Grilled Sweet potato, Mushroom, Corn...

Some more chicken...

For the main course, I had Goan Prawn curry, Rogan Josh, Butter Chicken... 

And the Murshidabadi Chicken Biriyani was most tasty...

They have a huge variety of desserts to choose from. This is what I chose...

For the ‘Pat Chapman Grills The World’ Food Fest, 14 new marinades from Chef Chapman’s amazing repertoire will be laid out at the Barbeque Nation. 

From the British Isles come the Yorkshire Marinade, Worcestershire Marinade and the Spanish Valencia Marinade. Pat Chapman’s recipe from the Middle East comprises the Lebanon ~ Arabian Marinade and Persian Marinade. He whips up a fiery bunch of marinades from the Americas with the hot American Texican Marinade, Albuquerque Atomic Marinade, New Orleans Incendiary Marinade, Aztec ~ Mole Poblano Marinade and the Jamaican Jerk Marinade. From Australasia comes the Outback Emu while Pat’s delectable Far East marinades include the Mighty Hot Mai Thai, Chinese Sichuan and Indonesian Bumbukacang recipes.

The new menu of Habanero

I recently visited Habanero, the Tex-Mex restaurant at Koramangala, Bangalore to sample their new menu. It was nice meeting Chef Dan Durkin, a native of Colarado, US who is the man behind the new menu that includes his signature creations as well as Tex-Mex favorites.

Here's a photo tour...

Dan is showing us how to do a Mexican Wave... No, he isn't...

Compared to the other two Habanero locations in Bangalore, I found this more to my liking with more space and lots of natural light..

The live preparation of Holy Guacamole served with warm homemade Tortilla chips...

Zucchini Fritters with Tomatillo Relish...

Queso dip with chips...

Pork green chili stew - a bowl of slow-cooked meaty stew served alongside soft tortillas...

Kiwifruit Margarita...

Fish Veracruz - steamed basa atop vegetables, doused with a tangy, spicy Veracruz gravy - a Mexican coastal specialty....

Stuffed roasted red pepper - sweet red capsicum stuffed with paneer and rice served straight from the oven...

A portion of the stuffed roasted red pepper...

Pork Soft Shell Tacos...

Tres Leches cake - A Mexican dessert made by soaking overnight a cake in three different kinds of milk - evaporated milk, condensed milk and heavy cream...

You can reach Habanero on FaceBook at: https://www.facebook.com/HabaneroTrulyTexMex

Zespri Kiwifruit Master class at ITC Gardenia

Zespri International, the world's largest Kiwifruit marketer, in association with ITC Gardenia conducted a kiwifruit Master class at the Lotus Pavilion, ITC Gardenia, Bangalore...

Kiwi fruit is a nutritious and healthy food. It is a rich source of vitamin C and vitamin K and a good source of dietary fiber and vitamin E.

I was looking forward to have a first-hand experience of putting together some quick kiwi based dishes...

First dish of the day was Kiwi Cheesecake...

Here's the recipe...

The final Kiwi Cheese cake ready to be devoured...

It was refreshing to drink a Kiwi Caprioshka...

Next up was Spicy Kiwi and Avocado Gunkan. Gunkan is a type of Sushi which resembles a Japanese Battle Ship. It is used to serve any type of loose ingredients...

Here's the recipe...

Some more cocktails... 

The third dish was Carpaccio of Kiwi with Prawns, Kiwi and Citrus vinaigrette. This was the first time I ate uncooked prawns. It was little chewy but good...

Here's the recipe...


The Italian chef Vittorio Greco in action...

Zespri Spife - Half spoon and half knife, makes it so easy to cut and scoop kiwifruits...