White Elephant comes home

With the opening of so many new Thai restaurants, I can safely say that Thai cuisine is fast becoming one of Bangalore's favorite food. I was at White Elephant to review their menu over the last weekend.

It's got a great ambiance with lots of space and some delightful curios like the elephant door handle.

Starters include Kai Hor Bai Taey (Chicken wrapped in Pandanus leaves), Pla Yang (Spicy skewered grilled fish), Khao Pod Tod Nam Prik Pow (crispy fried babycorn in rice tartlets), Manfrang Tod Samros (crispy fried potatoes tossed with tri-flavored sauce) and Choop Bong Thod (crispy fried vegetable). I was smitten with the kick of chilli in all the starters. The spice level is slightly higher than other Thai restaurants I have been to. They went well with the Watermelon flavored Margarita.

For the main course, Jasmine rice and noodles were to be had with traditional Thai green curry with prawns (Kaeng Keow Whan) and Thai red curry with chicken (Kaeng Ped). The curries were rich with coconut milk and had some strong but balanced flavors.

To cool down the palates, there are some awesome desserts like deep fried banana, pumpkin custard with coconut ice cream and ice cream with seasonal flavor of Jackfruit.

The surprise highlight of the evening was the magic show at our table by Rakesh Syam. His close-up illusions were brilliant.

I should say that this dining experience was certainly a great composition of spice, flavors, presentation and entertainment.

White Elephant on Facebook

The sublime and exotic

A photo tour from my visit to the Sublime House of Tea...

UB City is bedecked in beautiful wedding finery as part of the ongoing Trousseau Week 2014. 

Sublime House of Tea is present at the Trousseau Week as a Lounge...

At the lounge you can experience their premium range of tea... 

The brew experience is enriched by the live music performance...

Their portfolio of fine tea represents a mix of the classical, the popular and the avant garde...

Seventh Heaven - composed of very select high-grown Nilgiri Black Tea Leaves, infused with natural aromas and freeze dried tropical fruit. The tea thus has a wonderful fruity bouquet and a pleasing aroma.

Pairs well with French Macaroons...

Green Long Ding - a pure Green Tea. Fresh tender tea leaves are carefully processed to minimise oxidation and rolled using a very special process. 

I tried all the tea and loved all. My favorite one is White Tea with Raspberry. White Tea Leaves are the least processed and the least oxidized among all teas...

A tea party can be quite fun...

A big thanks to Malavika and Uzma Irfan for inviting me to be a part of such an informative event...

Visit www.SublimeHouseOfTea.com to shop their entire range.

A beautiful morning in Bangalore

At 7AM, Cubbon Park in Bangalore bustles with activity. Joggers, walkers and elderly couples, all enjoy the first rays of the early morning sun. 

The Tabebuia trees in full bloom adds to the beauty of the landscape.

Spiderman Wannabe

Pretty Poppy

Nando's - A peek into the Peri-Peri world

Nando's is a casual dining restaurant originating from South Africa with a Portuguese & Muzambican theme. I visited Nando's, church street, Bangalore to sample some of their dishes. 

Peri-Peri is the core differentiator of Nando's. Almost all the dishes here are flavored using the peri-peri sauce. Nando's peri-peri sauce is made from African bird's eye chili and the recipe is a closely guarded secret...

The Altogether Now appetizer has Spicy Mixed Olives, Roasted veg dip, warm pita and Hummus. Hummus with a drizzle of peri-peri sauce was my favorite...

We could choose extra hot, hot, mild or lemon & herb peri-peri. I sampled all of them in the 9 Chicken wings...

 Caesar Salad with cos lettuce, parmesan cheese, Nando's croutons, chicken, topped with Nando's unique caesar dressing...

Chicken Livers and Portuguese Roll...

Espetada Rustica is served on a skewer holder and comes with side dishes of your choice. In this case, fries, spicy rice and corn-on-cob. The taste is as special as the presentation...

Corn off cob is easier to eat...

Cataplana (also the name of the copper utensil) comes with peri peri chicken on a bed of spicy rice, bell pepper and chickpeas...

Nothing is complete without eating the Butterfly Chicken Breast meal. The Butterfly Chicken Breast is a unique A-grade, trimmed off excess fat, 24 hours marinated, flame grilled chicken served in your choice of PERi-PERi flavors. The portion of chicken is butterflied and off the bone. This distinctive flame grilled double breasted delight is served with Crispy Wedges, Fresh side salad and a Refreshing Designer Drink...

The designer drinks - Citrus Bliss and Madeira Red...

 Choco cake - A decadent chocolate cake with layers of home made buttercream...

Creamy cheese cake - Dense baked cheese cake with real cream cheese and crunchy biscuit crumbs...

Even with so much crowd, the staff was very attentive and quick...

Verdict: Peri Peri Good!

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.