Launching 'The FoodPorn Diaries'

After pondering over many moons, I've decided to separate my recipe and restaurant reviews.

Food for Swaps has always been about documenting the recipes that are dear to me and work in my kitchen. Or the ones that have failed miserably and I never want to try again. Photographing my escapades in the kitchen and sharing them with you, so that you can have tried and tested recipes to fall back on! And i'd like to keep it that way. Fair? ... I think so  :P

So I'm moving all my restaurant reviews to my other blog - 'The FoodPorn Diaries'. This will be an exclusive place to share my experiences of eating out - whether they be in Bangalore or outside. I'm on a quest for lust worthy food! 

And to give you a preview of what’s in store, here’s an excerpt from the latest entry:

Conversations over Coffee

When The Serai invited eight bloggers to celebrate Woman’s Day at their lovely resort in Chickmagalur I did a double take. Really? I was swamped with work that week. I quickly asked for the names of the rest of the bloggers. I didn’t know anybody. (My interest was fading). They wanted me to come and spend two days getting fawned over and pampered. (Interest awakened). Have a look at the website, they insisted. I peeked into it reluctantly. (Wow, Desire generated). They called me back. There was a spa treatment involved, Will I be able to make it? (Resolve weakened). I cancelled my meeting. I was going to the Serai!

We met at the Café Coffee Day Square on Lavelle road. (Serai and CCD are owned by the same parent company). After introducing ourselves and tucking into the breakfast at CCD, we got ourselves into a minivan and drove out of the city. It’s amazing how ten women who have never met before can talk till their jaws drop. No need for introductions, thank you very much!

If that peaked your interest and you want to read more…here's the link to the new blog. Bless it by visiting it! :)

http://thefoodporndiaries.blogspot.in/

You can also ‘Like’ the Facebook page to get regular updates on What's hot ... in the food world obviously!

http://www.facebook.com/#!/thefoodporndiaries

Thanks for stopping by … love as always ... FoodforSwaps J

Bloggers Table - Blue Terrain @ Novotel, ORR, Bangalore

My first Bloggers Table. Actually make that the ‘first ever’ edition of the Bangalore Bloggers Table! Was I excited? Yes!! The feisty group of women (we’re still looking for that elusive male to be a member of the group) had all been interacting on facebook for a month now, but chatting over a martini is always more fun! We were hosted by Novotel, Bangalore and were lucky to be invited to the opening of their new poolside bar and barbeque restaurant – Blue Terrain.

Poolside dining and barbeque seems like the perfect fit for us laid back Bangaloreans. Bangalore is one of the few cities that enjoys the luxury of being able to offer under the stars dining for its residents. The weather as we all know is brilliant. Natasha still warned us to carry something warm to wrap ourselves in, as it’s still ‘winter’ here. (Yes, I can see all the non-locals rolling their eyes, considering the temperature is a toasty 20 degrees!)

Asian Grill Festival @ Shiro (UB City, Bangalore)

UB City has become one of my favorite places to hang out. The open air cafés and restaurants, the dancing fountain, the easy relaxed pace in the evening under the stars – I always feel like I’m out of Bangalore. Sunday brunches at Shiro – the pan Asian restaurant, is an indulgence that I often dip into. The Zen like ambience with the giant statues and the serene Buddha never fail to get me into a happy and peaceful mood. So when Shiro invited me to their Asian Grill Festival, I was more than happy to pay them a visit. Bangalore winters have started, so we chose a table inside right next to the Buddha. I was feeling good already!

Mangrove - Restaurant.Cafe.Wine Tavern (Kalyan Nagar, Bangalore)

I live at a point where going to Indiranagar or Koramangala or MG Road is the same distance. I know, lucky me! With so many food options scattered at my doorstep, I hardly travel beyond these areas for a quick bite. But after a point it becomes same old same old and this weekend we decided to travel to the beyond. Ok, that’s Kalyan Nagar near H.R.B.R. layout for you. We took the Bypanahalli route because the GPS on the co-resident’s phone said it was the shortest and fastest route, but we din’t know it would lead us to a defunct railway crossing! After a few more adventures, we reached Mangrove. It’s a new American cuisine restaurant that’s opened its doors, to entice the sudden population burst towards Manyata Tech Park and ORR. There is a big sign painted on the entrance wall so that you don’t miss the restaurant on the quite road. J

We expected to find the restaurant under a Mango tree, but realized that the young couple who run the place came up with the name when they were scuba diving in the Andamas (which you know is also famous for its Mangroves). The lady also runs a bakery called Oven Treats and after being in the business for 8 years thought the time was right to step it up. The restaurant/café/wine tavern offers all day dining from 11am to 11pm, but you still have to wait for a while longer to have your meal with some wine. (The license is on its way). The space is split into two areas – the ground floor being more casual and café like, while the top floor acts as the more formal dining space. (The co-resident fell in love with the wooden chairs, but unfortunately it’s not something we can buy here. The restaurant had them tailormade and shipped from Pune L)

French Macarons and Amande Patisserie

There has been a flurry of activity around the Macaron in Bangalore. Suddenly home bakers have taken to trying their hand at churning these pretty treats out, Taj Vivanta has a Macaron festival, patisseries are selling them hot off the mint and  there has even been serious discussions on a popular food group around their spelling! Adding to this is Masterchef Australia – I don’t think there’s been one season where the contestants have not tried their hand at impressing the judges with a fancy macaron. I guess we’ve reached critical mass for the Macaron in Bangalore and Amande Patisserie has come in at the right moment!

Before you read any further, I have a few things to profess. When I first came across Amande, I was just a happy customer. Being a click crazy person, of course I had to take pretty pictures of the Macarons and cry out to all and sundry on Facebook on how much I loved them. Owing to this evangelist behavior Amande’s customer list included people from my friend list as well! Amande’s owner was tickled pink that a few pictures could get him a larger fan following. (They don’t have a retail outlet yet..only home delivery by ordering online.) So he asked me to click a couple of more pictures for his website – to showcase new flavors. I happily obliged (which food photography obsessed geek wouldn’t?). So now that Amande is a photography client, (P.S. As of now, none of my pics are updated on the website yet. Will let you'll know when they are) Would it be wrong of me to write about them?  I did think of this for a long time and finally decided – I love their macarons irrespective of shooting for them and it would be a great disservice to you guys if I didn’t talk about it here. Besides, if I’m telling you upfront about the circumstances, so I'm sure you guys would understand. (P.S. I got paid in kind in Macarons and wine, so that lessens the promotional angle :P)

Veggie Chic Menu at Caperberry, Bangalore

I like my chicken and my bacon and my pork and mutton and prawns and …you get the drift. So when I excitedly signed up for the Veggie Chic menu created by Chef Abhijit Saha of Caperberry, many eyebrows were raised. Is she turning vegetarian? Is she just coming there to mock us with terms like Ghas Phoos? And finally has she not read the menu? My answer to all the dear veggies – I just thought the Veggie menu looked exciting and why should I pass up an opportunity to be entertained by a culinary genius just because the menu didn’t have anything that walks, swims or clucks! Now that we have resolved the mystery of my presence at the dinner, let’s move on to important bits – the restaurant and the food!

Caperberry means provocation of desire in Hebrew. It’s also really a berry as well – green and tart… but the earlier definition is more in tune with what the restaurant wants to achieve. Caperberry is located at the Tanishq building on Dickenson Road. You have to literally search for the name board before you enter, but a restaurant of such repute hardly needs to shout out from the mountain top! The restaurant is know as much for its food (molecular gastronomy), if not more so for its celebrity chef Abhijit. After this experience, I think he deserves the adulation!