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

What does Masterchef Australia and The Whitefield Baking Company have in common? - Kate Bracks!!!

Masterchef Australia can be credited with starting a revolution that completely altered that way that anyone approaches food. It has within the span of three years turned the nation (and I mean India here) into a completely food obsessed one. Not that we were not connoisseurs of the good stuff already, but the appreciation and knowledge of a variety of cuisines and techniques definitely stems from there. The regular dal-chawal eating home was now attempting to get a perfect crust on their pie!  Dinner time (the holy thread that bonds us in an Indian family) was moved to an hour earlier, so that we could all sit down to watch Masterchef at 9:00 PM. Who ever heard of a food show being given a prime time slot?

Masterchef Australia Season 3 was one of my favorite seasons.  I don’t think I missed even one episode. I knew each and every contestant by name and followed their escapades in the kitchen closely.  And Kate Bracks - Dessert Queen and  mother of three, took home the title with a sweet flourish! For people like me who live and breathe food – these are our celebrities! So do you think I missed a chance to meet Kate when she came down to Bangalore – no freaking way!!

Signature Tasting Menu @ Peshawari Tandoor by Turquoise (Koramangala, Bangalore)

I have eaten at Turquoise and Peshawari Tandoor a couple of times and have always enjoyed their food. The restaurant plates their food beautifully and after seeing some pictures of the Sunday brunch captured by my fellow foodie Harsha (of the FB group Bakasura) I had to go and get click crazy! The reason I haven’t written about it for so long (almost a year!) has been two fold (a) My forgetfulness – which includes leaving the camera at home and (b) the low ‘mood’ lighting in their Indian restaurant. (It’s done up with multi-hued ceiling to floor chandeliers!). Mood lighting encourages romance but does NOT a good picture make!

So I happily trumped in on Sunday with my camera and my friend Shwe in tow – expecting to go photo crazy on their buffet table. Unfortunately, they informed me that the Sunday brunch has now been stopped L (Lesson learned for being a procrastinator!). Luckily they had a Signature Tasting Menu of all their best dishes and we were more than happy to sample the same. And the best part – they were going to serve each dish at the table, so I could relax and let the party come to me!

I made two small requests – firstly, can we be seated at their sunlight restaurant on the 2^nd floor? and secondly, I wanted a seat next to the large window. Since I mostly eat out at night, I was not going to pass up the opportunity of clicking pictures in daylight! Now that we got the basics of a good lunch in place (I’m a food blogger… what do you expect?), we settled down to be entertained.

Zomato Lunch with Rocky and Mayur (HOMP) @ Bak Bak Bar (Koramangala, Bangalore)

(Pic Courtesy: Ruth and Sudhakar Prabhu)

I was sick with fever last week…so sick that I couldn’t get out of bed. What bothered me more than being sick, was missing the Zomato Food Guide 2013 launch at the Sheraton! And to add to the misery, Zomato had a special treat lined up for food bloggers over the weekend – a lunch date with NDTV’s Highway on my Plate superstars – Rocky and Mayur!! Saturday morning came and my energy was still zero. I hate to go under medication for a regular fever, but this time I made an exception and popped some pills, tidied my act up and headed to Bak Bak Bar! Oh, come on…don’t roll your eyes…how many times do you get to meet Rocky and Mayur???

I had heard about Bak Bak Bar from a couple of foodie friends, but still hadn’t planned an outing. It’s the old Manchester United Bar – refurbished and redone in a new avatar. The co-resident will be mighty pleased, considering he is a Chelsea fan! The place is bang opposite the rear entrance of Forum Mall in Koramangala. Thank the Lord they have valet, because there is no way you can look for parking on that road. Although you might need to get the valet’s attention when you are 100ft away from the venue so that the people behind you in the road don’t clobber you for stopping! I thought the venue was perfect for this lunch. It’s got a comfortable, casual vibe about it and their name implores you to have conversations  or colloquially -  ‘Bak Bak’!

Entered the place and was pleasantly surprised to see familiar faces – Karthik (hugs for inviting me) and Pallavi of Zomato and my other food blogger friends – Monika, Ruth and Sudhakar. After explaining why I won’t be having a drink for about half hour – I succumbed and ordered a beer. A room temperature beer. According to ancient legend (ya right!) – a warm beer can help bring down the temperature when you have a fever. So if my comrades thought I was more boisterous than normal – I’m blaming it on the alcohol and meds!

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!

Souza Lobo (Calangute Beach, North Goa)

Like every self respecting yuppie Indian, who was exposed to the wonderland that is Goa at a young age, I come to consider it my second home. A Goan may frown upon this notion or ignore it altogether, but for me the feeling of belonging in Goa is so complete that, I in turn frown upon the ‘other’ tourists. So leaving this merry-go-around of who the state belongs to, let me get down to business to talk about one of my favorite places to eat while I’m there.

I generally avoid the Calangute side of the beach like the plague because it is so packed with tourists at any time of the year. Hordes and hordes of buses will dump their beach hungry populace there and to cater to their needs the area has become a densely populated commercial hub. But I must trudge my way through the fat man in a baniyan and the lady with the wailing kid and the beggars who plead with interesting British accents and the Romeo’s basking in their ditty underwear to reach the sand covered steps of solace that is Souza Lobo.

Souza Lobo has been around since 1932. (The restaurant, not the lady – bless her soul). By the number of locals as well as tourists who eat here, they seem to live up to their USP of ‘Traditional recipes live here’. They are open from 11am in the morning and continue dishing out succulent seafood and Goan delicacies till midnight. And if you intend to come during rush hour – be prepared to wait in their patio till your number is called out. No, Seriously. In the ten years that I have been coming here, I have spent considerable time and consumed innumerable drinks in the patio, waiting for my turn to eat. No Regrets! 

DELIZIOSO - Italian Food Festival @ Bene, Sheraton Bangalore

I was invited by the Sheraton for a preview of their Italian Food Festival – ‘Delizioso’ last Friday. Their signature Italian restaurant Bene, was playing host to celebrity Chef Enrico Fiorentini from 9^th -18^th Nov. (That’s the duration of the festival by the way!). Last year Bene did a Truffles festival, but this year because of the weather in Italy (No good rains), availability of good quality truffles was a dicey affair. Hence they decided to showcase ‘Lombardy’ cuisine. Now when we say Italian food, the two things that immediately spring to mind are Pasta and Pizza. But that’s not all Italian food, is about. (Same as Indian cuisine is not equal to Garlic Naan and Chicken Tikka Masala!).

Milan is the major city of the Lombard region and is bordered by Switzerland to the north. Lombardy cuisine primarily consists of hearty fare with rice being a foundation. (South Indians rejoice!). Apart from being famous for its fashion, gastronomically the region is associated with Risotto. Now does Risotto ‘Milan’ese, ring a bell?  Dairy products also rule the roost (close to Switzerland darlings) and you can find the best Gorgonzola cheese here as well.

I made a mental note to myself that the acid test of the festival would be whether Chef Enrico could turn out a perfect risotto. If the executive chef from the award winning Sheraton Milan can’t do it, then who could, right?

Chinese Food Festival at Feast, Sheraton Bangalore

Monday was an eventful day. I finally drove all the way to the other side of town to experience authentic Chinese delicacies. Now this would have never been done, if not for a blogger friend of mine who invited me to come along with him to Sheraton. He was invited as part of the Chef’s table and I was going to be his happy sidekick.

Feast, which is the all-day dining restaurant at the Sheraton Hotel, Bangalore was playing host to visiting Chinese Master Chef Thi Gang. Chef Thi Gang is from their award winning restaurant Li Bai at the Sheraton Saigon, Vietnam and was here to showcase the rich and diverse culinary heritage of China. Like India, China is vast country with unique regional cuisines and showcasing all of it can be a gargantuan task. So the Chef had handpicked some interesting dishes to help us savour a taste of China, if you will. The chef is a tiny man with a big smile and speaks very little English but his mastery was evident as we tasted the food. Anyway, we had Executive Chef Bela Rieck who was happy to indulge us with some fun conversation and cuisine facts. 

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!

A Bloggers Meet and Four Seasons Wine Tasting

What is a good way to spend a Sunday? Couple of friends sharing a good meal over some great wine by the poolside on a cheery afternoon - pretty much hits the spot! So that’s what I did, this Sunday. I was invited to a Bloggers Meet at the Royal Orchid which was hosted by Four Seasons Wine. The invite promised a live cooking demo, wine tasting and food pairing and a chance to catch up with fellow bloggers. What’s not to like?

Zomato Restaurant Guide 2012 - A Review

The kind people of Zomato sent me the “Zomato Restaurant Guide 2012” (Bangalore) this week. Considering this is their first attempt at publishing a physical food guide and my first attempt at writing a book review - let’s hope the Gods will be kind.

I buy food guidebooks religiously every year - even though I place them on a bookshelf and use them as paperweights once I’ve read them cover to cover. (Yes, I do read a guidebook – just like a cookbook it can transport me to a food wonderland). The reason for ignoring them after aquring them (just like men and the chase!), is that - searching online for a restaurant is so much simpler. (brunch+indiranagar+continental >hit enter). The reason most guidebooks are cumbersome, is because they are not ready-answer-providers. They are directories, with tiny little lettering that one has to frown over with a microscope to get your pick. So has Zomato solved that riddle? Let’s find out.

First impressions – the book looks good. The paper quality is nice and glossy (compared to most other review books where the pages are so thin you can see through them - reminds me a lot about yellow pages!). Zomato is associated with Citibank for this book and it’s only obvious that a few pages will be dedicated to Citibank promotions and restaurants tied up with the same. (But who’s complaining when someone highlights discounts?).

After a quick note about Zomato.com (They claim it’s the largest electronic restaurant guide in the country serving more than 3 million users every month) and another one pager from the editor about how this book aims to “distill the best of the website in an innovative and user friendly form” – I was ready to dive right in.

When you are deciding on which restaurant to visit, the general areas of elimination and deduction are cuisine, price, location, Veg/Non-veg (just thought about my veggie friends) and if it serves alcohol. (Legally or illegally!) If you are leafing through a guide book, you would go to the index and then narrow down choices by cuisine and then keep flipping back and forth to figure out the rest of the details. This is where the Zomato folks have done a clever thing to differentiate themselves from the pack. The first few pages are like a ready reckoner of frequently asked questions when we start to look for a restaurant. They have 22 categories (Eg: Beer in a Bar, Catching Up, Sunday Brunch, Kid Friendly etc.) and restaurants tagged to those. Next to each restaurant name is a bunch of logos which will give you more details about the cost, whether they accept Credit Card (Citibank darlings!), whether they serve alcohol or they have home delivery. I might not readily agree with their choice of restaurants in most of their categories, but at least they are headed in the right direction!

 

 

The rest of the book is the standard fare of restaurants listed from A-Z and further details. This irks me because there is no grouping by area or cuisine. Even the index fails me here, because it’s just the exact list from the body of the book (minus details) with page numbers next to it! Huh??? The purpose of an index is to cross reference – so give me some intelligence in this area! Maybe the next edition will have a split by area (CBD, Kormangala, Bangalore North etc.) which will make it much simpler to navigate the 100 odd pages. What I would really like though is a split by area and then cuisine! I can hear the Zomato folks groaning here. Ok, ok I get it … I’ll hit the website for such detailed distillations!

Now that I battered them with the stick, its time to offer the carrot. Other guide books shy away from giving restaurant’s ratings or recommending the best dish there, in order to appear impartial. Zomato, I see, has no such qualms! That’s because they’ve used the user’s ratings from their website and this absolves them of all sin. The users are not the Big Bad Corporation, but people like you and me. Now, we can always go into a lengthy debate about sample size and quality, but at the end of the day - I like to gauge the general opinion of a place before heading out. Another helpful inclusion from Zomato is their ‘Don’t Miss’ box. It gives you a list of the must try/ most popular dishes at that restaurant. And now my favorite feature - I love the fact that they have a QR code next to every restaurant listed! What’s a QR code you ask? Well it’s a nifty little code that lets smart phone users scan it and view the restaurant’s menu on the Zomato portal. So geeky cool! *clap clap clap*

So would I pay 200 bucks to buy this off the shelf? For a comprehensive listing of every restaurant in every nook and corner in Bangalore – No. For a friendly nudge from a group of fellow foodies to try something that they have, and loved – Yes. And the QR code doesn’t hurt either!

To buy the book from Flipkart click here. Here's the link to their website http://www.zomato.com/