Chinese New Year Menu at Shao - Park Plaza

Shao is an Oriental fine dining restaurant at Park Plaza, Bangalore. To celebrate the Chinese New Year, Shao has curated a special menu that includes many authentic Chinese New Year delicacies. 

Here's a photo tour...

 

This year marks the Year of the Monkey. The Monkey is the ninth of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac.

The main celebrations of the festival include the family reunion dinner. Shao has a perfect setting for one. I like the dining tables with rotating center tray...

 

The place is artfully decorated with very elegant looking curios... 

 

A big thumbs up to the interior designer of Park Plaza. They have some pretty neat settings that form great backdrops for photographs...

 

A wall with the most beautiful frying pans...

A nice lady serves the drinks...

 

 The Raspberry cooler was really refreshing and lush...

 

Crispy apple was a tasty thing to start with...

 

Prawn crackers are so addictive. They are the perfect snack, you can munch without filling your stomach...

 

Lung Fung soup with chicken and prawns was served with steamed buns...

 

The soup was silky and perfect with minced chicken and some Chinese herbage...

 

I would like to make a special mention of the Steamed Buns that were served with the soup. They were amazing...

 

Taiwanese High Mountain Oolong tea is served between courses...

 

 The tea is light and enjoyable all through the meal...

 

You can watch the chefs at work in the live kitchen...

          

The team is directed by Chef Narender Singh, the celebrated chef who has received numerous international awards. He has even been awarded by US President...

 

Pan seared Gyoza with scallops, tiger prawns and Dragon Chicken with pepper sauce...

 

Vegetable rice paper roll was interesting...

 

Traditional Chinese Whole Fried Fish with vegetable Schezwan sauce. Fish is usually eaten or merely displayed on the eve of Chinese New Year. According to Chinese traditions the fish is served to the head of the family. The head of the family portions the fish for everyone at the table. Some of it is left behind as a sign of surplus for the whole year. In our case, I did the honor of making the first incision...

 

For the main course there was Roasted Lamb slices with Bokchoy...

 

Ka Saun Tofu... 

 

Stir fried vegetables...

 

Stir fried Soba(Buckwheat) Noodles...

 

Steamed Jasmine rice...

 

Stir fried long noodles. In Chinese tradition, long noodles symbolizes long life...

 

My plate also contained Hunan Styled chicken with assorted peppers. Chicken is served because it is figured that any family, no matter how humble their circumstances, can afford a chicken for Chinese New Year...

 

The little co-diner ate the dishes with such obvious relish. Children give the most honest reviews...

 

Fresh fruit rolls with ice cream and lychee didn't photograph well but was delicious. The rolls were crunchy and perfect for dipping into the Vanilla ice cream...

 

The meal was awesome and I would definitely want to come back here. Leaving you with the lovely smile of a pretty lady at Shao...

           

Cocktails and Lunch at The Studio bar

Orion Mall in Bangalore is a beautiful and convenient place to shop and dine. It has many fine dining places and the other day I was in one of them. Here's a picture tour from my visit to the Studio Bar, featuring their signature cocktails and food...

 

 Ambiance is of a typical lounge bar with very comfortable seating...

 

Cinema inspired theme...

Some tables have beautiful cover photos of CineBlitz magazine...

 

The bartender at work...

 

First cocktail of the day is All About Eva. A beautiful concoction of Tequila, Vermouth, Triple Sec, Lemon Juice and Cranberry juice...

 

Next is Sotally Tober made from gin, fresh apple chunks, cilantro, sugar syrup and peri peri salt all blended in a blender. After drinking I was sotally tober...

 

    

Bahama Mama - a delicious cocktail of coffee liqueur Kahlua, white rum, dark rum, Ouzo, apple juice and lemon juice...

 

Electric ice tea - Combination of Vodka, Tequila, white rum, gin, blue curacao, lime juice and sprite...

 

Some flaming shots with brandy, Baileys, Kahlua, Blue Curacao, Tequila, gin, white rum and Grenadina...

 

Appetizers included Peshawari Murgh Tikka - morsels of chicken with aromatic spices and garlic, cooked in a tandoor. It was tangy and nice. The chunks were little bigger for a bite than I would have liked it...

My favorite of the day was Barbecued Pork Spare ribs...

Melt in the mouth pot roasted pork spare ribs were so tasty...

 

Jog's Chicken Wings - spicy chicken wings  with hot and sweet sauce...

 

Beef Steak -  Mustard and rosemary marinated tender beef fillet served with melange salad. The beef was slightly more well done than my liking but the flavors were delightful...

 

Creamy Pesto was amazing with the basil flavors...

 Napolean Chocolate bomb - an imploding chocolate filled dessert...

Aftermath of the implosion.... 

The Studio Bar experience left me very satisfied. Leaving you with the lovely smile of one of my co-diners...

Kababs and curry at Saffron

Last weekend, I was at Park Plaza, Bangalore for the CK Menu launch at Saffron. Saffron is a North West Frontier Cuisine fine dine restaurant at Park Plaza and CK stands for Curry & Kabab. I was sufficiently excited as I love curry & kabab. Here's a picture tour...

 
The new menu included some delectable selection of curry and kababs, handpicked by Chef de cuisine Ishtiyak. Remembrance of an ancient route that once ran between Old Delhi and Lahore... 

The ambiance gives the feel of the old world while providing the modern sophistication... 


 Artistically folded napkins...
 

While we waited for the food to arrive, it was nice to have a conversation with Chef Narendra, Director F&B...
 

Soup arrived. Kharoday - Paya Ras. Lamb trotters simmered in aromatic broth. It was perfect to ready my palate for the appetizers...


Soon, the first platter of Kababs arrived. Saufiyana Murgh Tikke is succulant chicken pieces marinated with fresh fennel leaves and char grilled in clay pot. The pieces were dewy and soft...
 

 

If not careful, this dinner could easily be a heavy affair. Shami Kabab made from shoulder meat of kid lamb simmered in lentils and whole spices, stuffed with fresh pomegranate , hung curd and pan fried. They were irresistibly tasty...

Sizzling wonderfully is Jhinga kali Mirch Sarson. Tiger Prawns marinated with yoghurt, crushed peppercorns and homemade Indian spices, delicately cooked in clay oven. The prawns melted in my mouth. One thing I liked about all the kababs served was that the spice level was modest and allowed the meat to be the star...

 

All the kababs were served with Missi Roti...

 

For the mains there was Bhati Chowk da Nalli Ghosht - delicacy from the streets of Lahore, Lamb shanks cooked in rich onion and yoghurt gravy flavored with saffron. Then there was Safed Makhan ka Chooza Makhni -  young chicken cooked in homemade white butter with satin smooth tomato gravy. Anarkali Bazaar de Bater was Quails cooked in Punjabi Style. All the curry went perfectly well with the assorted Roti...

 

Maah di Dal - delicacy of whole urad dal, tomato puree and garlic simmered overnight on tandoor, enriched with cream and served with dollop of butter... 

Saffroni Murgh Biryani - Long grain Basmati rice cooked in Dum with marinated chicken flavored with saffron. The chicken pieces were tender and the rice was fragrant and good...
 


 

The dessert platter had Kulfi Falooda, Kesar Rasmalai and Gajar Ka Halwa. Who cares for calories when you already had Biryani...

Paan shot is a digestive after meal drink made from betel leaves. It is delish and refreshing...

 

Overall, I was quite happy with the meal and the hospitality. Leaving you with the smile of the doorman, Nityananda. If you are unable to see the smile hidden under the thicket, you can definitely see it in his eyes...