Saturday brunch at Cafe Azure - Vivanta by Taj

I was invited to Café Azure, the Mediterranean restaurant at Vivanta by Taj, Yeshwantpur, for an exclusive Saturday Brunch, Mou Taverna. 

Here's a photo tour of the delectable spread and an array of exciting activities...   

The place is most suitable for a laid-back Saturday when you just want to curl up with a good read and let laziness wash over you...

I started the brunch with a small bite...

You can stroll around the interactive counters for more small bites. There's pork sausage, lamb chops, beef and chicken...

What do you dip in the Hummus?

A variety of breads...

The choices at the interactive counters are endless...

You can order a customized pizza...

Or some Prawn fritters...

And they do serve Champagne with your brunch...

More starters served on the table. Cheese fingers...

Stir fried chicken...

Poached pears...

Grilled Zucchini...

Special mention for the Shawarmas prepared in tiny pitas...

The seekh kababs were most awesome...

Such awesomeness that you feel like skipping the rest of the foods and eat just this...

But, there are other delicacies that won't allow you to skip. Pork Pepperoni...

There's live music too...

Meat loaf...

Bruschetta...

More meat loaf...

A variety of salads...

Grape leaf Dolmas...

Caesar salad...

Prawn cocktail...

The main course was even better. Although I was pretty satisfied with just the starters, I decided to have the main course. 

The vegetable stuffed spinach crepes were neat, beautiful and tasty...

Avri Meshwi made with cottage cheese...

Roasted pork belly...

Char grilled chicken...

Jambalaya was perfect too...

Lamb scallopini...

Tournedos of tenderloin...

Mushroom risotto...

Seared Himalayan trout...

Spiced artichoke sun dried tomato croquette...

My plate at one point of the great time...

There were a range of tempting dessert treats...
Bavarian cake...

 Black Currant delight...

 Cherry Parfait... 

 Cherry pie...

Cherry cheese colli...

Con Cade...

Creme Brulee

I don't remember the name of this beautiful thing...

 Nor this...

Nor this...

 Fresh fruit Gateaux...

 Lessafi...

Egyptian Mahalabiya. I loved it more because this was sugar free...

Mango Mousse cake...

Orange Gateaux...

Red velvet mango cremeux...

Strawberry Mousse Cake...

Sultan dream...

Chocolate teapot filled with creme...

Triangular Mousse...

My plate with desserts. Yes, I took two sugar free Mahalabiya...

There is a fun menu for kids as well as activities like caricature drawing to keep them engaged...

Dazzled and replete, I finished my meal. I was pretty happy to have a full stomach and some of the dishes were really great...

Sizzler festival at Cafe Mangii

The best time to have crackling hot sizzlers is when the monsoon is at its peak, there’s a slight nip in the air and mood is all dreamy and blue. Café Mangii celebrates the August and September months with its annual Sizzler Festival. I got an exclusive peek into the exciting menu. Here's a photo tour...

Here are some of the Sizzlers I sampled from an array of nine delicious sizzlers that are handcrafted pieces of delight by Café Mangii’s expert chefs.

I started off with Grilled Cottage Cheese and Pepper Steak with roasted pimento coulis which is a nice option for vegetarians. I liked how they combined the nutritious pearl barley pilaf into the dish. I would eat this again, if I decide to turn vegetarian... 

Strawberry Guava Cooler...

Chicken Sausages and caramelized onion in barbeque sauce...

Herbed Risotto and the mildly flavored soft sausages served with a medley of vegetables was very delish...

Prawn Skewers...

The prawn was succulent...

Sambal Oelek gave this dish the much needed spice...

Mojito...

Charcoal grilled New Zealand lamb chops...

The lamb was juicy and cooked for just the right amount of time. The pairing was set out perfectly by the rosemary jus which combined everything together...

Sizzling brownie with ice cream!

Loved it...

The pretty host...

Head to your closest Café Mangii (Khar, Powai, Orion & UB City) and indulge in some delectable gluttony! 

The Sizzler festival will continue till end of September.

Holy Cows of Bangalore

Cattle are venerated within the Hindu religion of India. According to Vedic scriptures they are to be treated with the same respect 'as one's mother'. 

In Hinduism, the cow is a symbol of wealth, strength, abundance, selfless giving and a full Earthly life. 

In Bangalore, we can see very often men and women who take along with them decorated cows and oxen and visit homes where believers touch the cattle for good luck.

The decorated ox is called Gangireddu(also known as basava), and its master is called Gangireddollu. 

Gangireddollus are people of nomadic castes like "jangam" from the Andhra-Karnataka region who receive old oxen from farmers after the oxen become unfit for farming. 

The gangireddollus walk from door to door begging for old used clothes. They play nadhaswaram (a trumpet like musical instrument) to entertain the people whose house they visit. 

They visit houses where people would come out to offer food to the ox and take blessings as the oxen and cattle as a whole are regarded as holy. 

The gangireddullus after receiving the oxen take out the metal shoes and sell them. They take care of the oxen until the death of the animal and then sell them to the Brahmins (priests) and Chamars (castes who tan animal skin).

It is, in my opinion, a very innovative and self sustaining idea to help protect and take care of unproductive cattle.

Tasting session with MasterChef Judge George Calombaris

I was invited to an exclusive tasting session with MasterChef celebrity judge George Calombaris in a one-of-its-kind event hosted by Zomato and Gold Rush Entertainment at JW Marriot, Bangalore.

The session started with the unveiling of  "The GC Collection" on Zomato, an enviable list of restaurants across 12 cities globally, with a mix of favorites and those that George can't wait to dine at...

After a small entertaining chit chat with the audience, George headed to the open kitchen to create some of his signature dishes...

His talk was insightful and laced with humor as he took the questions from audience who looked like his ardent fans...

George and his team pampered the audience with a luscious spread. Ouzo cured Indian seabass was the first...

Miso Eggplant, Celery and herbs with the fish was a fantastic combination...

For vegetarians he created the dish with rice stuffed pepper replacing the fish...

The dish of the day for me was the Soft Shell Crab Souvlaki. A wrap with deep fried soft shell crab with greens and drizzle of Honey lime...

It was so delicious that I could not help taking a second helping....

Yes George, I am really loving this meal...

For dessert, George's team created the Salted Caramel Rice Pudding with Almond biscuit and Rice Icecream. Again, it was a great combination...

The GC Collections are available on the Zomato app and website in major global cities that boast great dining experiences - Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Brisbane, Adelaide, Auckland, Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, London, Dubai and New York.

Leaving you with the lovely smile of one of my co-diners, AK...

Playtime... in pictures