Marrybrown Chicken festival

I have heard of Marrybrown but never really had or tried to visit them. Recently I got to know that they are having a Chicken festival. So I thought I should give it a try.

When I received the Marrybrown Chicken festival hamper, I found many things in it with some different flavors. Some fusion Moroccan with spicy Peri Peri along with tangy Brazilian flavors were introduced for our taste buds.

I love wraps more than burger so I started with Moroccon wrap followed by Peri Peri wrap then Brazilian wrap. I loved the Moroccon wrap and the spice in me loved Peri Peri. Brazilian did not suit my taste much compared to other wraps.

Then it was time for some burgers. I tried the Hotouch Chicken Burger in Moroccon flavor, a Fish burger for the seafood lover in me and Veg Burger in Peri Peri flavor. I can never imagine liking a veg burger more than non veg but I truly loved it. Global flavors in the wraps and burgers gives a tongue a ride around the world.

You can also have some Fried chicken, Chicken Drumstick along with Chicken poppers, chicken strips, Chick-a-bomb, Buffalo wings, Chicken lollypop, Cheese corn nuggets, Veg fingers, Potato wedges, French fries, etc from the festival menu. Food is served hot and you better have it hot :)

Marrybrown Chicken festival is on till 15th January and they have introduced over 40 new items in their menu. Head to the nearest outlet and try the one you like.

Yauatcha - New additions to the menu

Yauatcha is an asian/chinese restaurant which serves great cantonese food which is one of the Eight Culinary Traditions of Chinese cuisine. Yauatcha, might sound very different but it is actually wordplay on the Cantonese phrase ‘Yum cha’, which means ‘to drink tea’- traditionally. Not for today though as I was here to have a tummy full dinner.

They have some new additions to their menu due to which I was very excited to try them and also have some of my old favorites from the menu. I went to Yauatcha for my Christmas dinner with Arjun. Read on to know what I had and how did I find it.

Well stocked bar

I started my evening with Tokyo Sunrise, a combination of lemongrass, raspberry, guava juice, peach juice and elderflower syrup. It tasted well and a little sweet, just as I like. I have had this earlier too so I preferred this again. While Arjun had Orange & chilli mocktail which had a combination of orange juice, lemongrass, palm sugar, chilli and mint. A choky and spicy flavor settles with every sip.

Now, the dimsums were arriving, one after the other, the best one's. Started with Beetroot and celery dumpling followed by Pan fried Charcoal Lamb Bun which became my favorite. I wouldn't mind having another round of it but saved my tummy for other dishes. This could be had as an evening snack or even morning breakfast as I loved it.

Beetroot and celery dumpling

Pan fried Charcoal Lamb Bun

Crispy duck roll was served next where I did not get much taste of the duck meat, just a hint of it was felt. Then, Sugar chicken roll was served. As I took the first bite, I felt the presence of sugarcane which was firm and holding the entire chicken while fried. I found it innovative.

Crispy duck roll

Sugar chicken roll

Prawn and seaweed dumpling was served. While my love for seafood is obvious in my blog, this dumpling had the perfect taste of seaweed and prawn, it blended well and none of the ingredients over powered the taste. I requested for Sesame Prawn Toast which is my favorite. Minced prawn on a toasted covered with sesame seeds. I do not like sesame seeds but I prefer it in this dumpling only as juicy minced prawn on the toast is my comfort food.

Prawn and seaweed dumpling

Sesame Prawn Toast

I was absolutely hesitant to try Spicy squid cake as I feel nothing much can be done with squids except for frying them golden brown. With no expectation I tried this dumpling by which I was taken aback. The meat is mixed well with the batter, not giving me those onion rings type of taste or feeling. I am sure I will never ever miss this. I am glad that I did give this a try as this was the best squid I have ever had.

Spicy squid cake

Next, Wrapped chicken with black pepper was served. It was my choice as it was cool and breezy night. I wanted to have something with black pepper. A simple dish but full of its flavors. I can surely ask for one more as every bite was worth having.

Wrapped chicken with black pepper

Ok to much on non veg? Next I tried Vegetable yin yang dumpling. This dumpling was dipped in a sauce and served. Veggies aren't that bad too.

Vegetable yin yang dumpling

Don't judge me now. I asked for some soup. I chose the Hot and Sour with shredded chicken. Hot soup with chicken can be best had on a cool night. A little extra soya sauce was felt but I cannot complain as my tongue felt it right. Arjun had some Sweet corn soup with chicken where corn and chicken was minced. I would preferred mine soup more.

Hot and Sour with shredded chicken

Before main course was served, I tried Nara Iced tea which had Chilli vanilla sugar, cinnamon, passion fruit juice and jasmine tea. This was suggested by the server and I can trust his choice next time too. I love iced tea but this was different. the combination gave it a new feel to the tongue.

Nara Iced tea

I was still hungry, ok I have a good appetite especially when the food is very tasty. So it was time for main course. Stir-fry prawns in home town chilli sauce was served with Steamed Jasmine rice. Sweet in the beginning and spicy towards the end, this was the taste of the dish. Hints of cucumber, carrot, capsicum, cherry tomato along with prawns was exceptionally tasty.

Stir-fry prawns in home town chilli sauce

Steamed Jasmine rice

Stir-fry kam heyong lamb with steamed jasmine rice was next. I cannot choose which main course was better. Lamb was juicy and delish too. Jasmine rice did not have much taste of jasmine. I was too engrossed in prawn and lamb gravy.

Stir-fry kam heyong lamb with steamed jasmine rice

After long gap, dessert was served. Selection of macarons was served which had orange, chocolate and pista flavors. Raspberry delice was next, an amazing looking dessert which had Raspberry insert, dark chocolate mousse and hazelnut brownie served with raspberry ripple ice cream. I was too busy admiring the dish and did not feel like disturbing it, yet I had to else Arjun would have finished it. It was good and I prefer it having it with ice cream as it neutralizes the sweetness.

Selection of macarons

Raspberry delice

Next, Mango mascarpone gateau was served which was feuilletine crunch, parline (sugar candy) mascarpone (cheese) cream, litchi sorbet. Another superb looking dessert and every bite was cheesy and hints of crunchiness too.

Mango mascarpone gateau

Lastly, Religieuse was served which I have had earlier too. A chocolaty and filling dessert in true sense. It was a chocolate choux pastry with hazelnut cremeux, chocolate praline ganache (sauce) served with ginanduja (sweet chocolate) ice cream. One yummy chocolaty dessert it is and extremely filling too.

Religieuse

I was still standing on my feet after having all what was mentioned. It's very difficult to point out the mistake in any dish. My goodness, I can never ever get enough of Yauatcha. I am waiting to go back and try their other dishes too. Let me know which is your favorite.

Yummy

Amrut Whisky Tasting at The Glass House

I was recently invited for Amrut Whisky tasting session at the Glass house, Bangalore. As I do not consume alcohol, I took along Arjun from  http://evaluatedpirate.blogspot.in/ along with me for the alcohol tasting while I enjoyed the food at The Glass House.

Amrut whisky is based in our very own Bengaluru, an Indian brand single malt whisky. They have reached international market and already been sold in over 30 countries across the world. Amrut Fusion has been rated at No.3 by Jim Murray from over 4,000 whisky he had tried from across the world, with a score of 97/100. Amrut whisky actually started out as a MBA project of Mr Rakshit Jagdale, this project has put India in the whisky market shocking everyone across the globe.

Mr. Ashok Chokalingam, Mr. Rakshit Jagdale and Mr. Vikram from Amrut took everyone through the blind whisky tasting. This was a blind whisky tasting, where there were just six glass with whisky without any identification of the brand. The tasting session was taken forward by Mr Ashok Chokalingam who was the Whisky Ambassador for the year 2012, voted by the Icons of Whisky. He explained us the various aspects of whisky that can be briefly explained as nosing, tasting, balancing and finish, along with guessing the age and origin.

Arjun rated the below whisky according to what he found the best:
1. 22/40 for Glenmorangie
2. 30/40 for Amrut Classic Malt
3. 26/40 for Black label
4. 31/40 for Jim Beam
5. 34/40 for Amrut Fusion
6. 32/40 for Amrit peated

Do note that one man's whisky might not be liked by others. But the manner of whisky tasting sessionwas very impressive where many learnt new ways of appreciating whisky.

After the whisky tasting, chef at The Glass House served us few of his signature dishes. We were served with Stuffed mini eggplant roulade, Goat cheese lollipops, Margarita pizza, Chicken fire cracker, Beef carpaccio and Lamb sliders The chef used very less ingredients in his dishes to enhance the flavors.

The Chicken fire cracker had a mix of mango puree and mustard which was an interesting combination and the tender chicken blended well with this combination. A tangy twist suited my liking.

If you like goat cheese then you have to try the Goat cheese lollipops. I do not like goat cheese much but did give it a try. The saltiness in the goat cheese and the dates and jalapenos stuffing was liked by many but not me.

Margarita pizza was a thin crust pizza which was repeated on the table. As I love sliders, Lamb slider was thoroughly enjoyed. The lamb patty was juicy and cooked to perfection.of the food.

A hint of The Glass House will surely take me to the restaurant again.


For more information on Amrut Whisky or for distillery tour, you can contact them at:

Sales inquiries:
Ashok Chokalingam ,General Manager – International Operations, Amrut Distilleries Ltd,
Tel:+44(0)191-233 6316 Fax:+44(0)191-233-6346
E-mail: info@amrutdistilleries.com

Head Office:
Amrut Distilleries Ltd, (N.R.Jagdale Group), # 41/1, 72nd Cross, Rajajinagar 6th Block,
Bangalore, 560 010, India.
Tel: +91 80 23100402, 380, 379, 389, 23503860 Fax: +91 80 23351542
Web Site: www.amrutdistilleries.com www.amrutwhisky.co.uk

The Hobson-Jobson Festival at Monkey Bar (Wood Street)

Monkey bar always been a place to visit to chill out with my friends. This time, I was invited for the preview of The Hobson Jobson Festival at Monkey Bar on 29th November, 2014. Chef Varun has designed an Anglo-Indian menu so if you are craving for some tasty Anglo-Indian food then head to Monkey bar between 1st December to 30th December, all days of the week.

I started my afternoon with a mocktail, The Royal Bombay Yatch Club East India having a mix of cherry, orange, pineapple with a twist of lime in it. It was a refreshing drink to start with. Later had a traditional mocktail to refresh my taste buds.

























For appetizers, I started with Panthras, crepes stuffed with lamb mince which is pan seared instead of deep fried and served with mint chutney. They make a veggie version with peppers, mushrooms and carrots in spiced tomato chutney. It was as delicious as it looks, rather much more tastier.

Next was Chingree Samosas, prawn balchao and fried brown onions stuffing was nice but less in the baked somasa. Served with mango chutney, but have this without the chutney else chutney taste with over power the taste of the samosa.

I tried very little of Pui Saag and cheese souffle which had a baking of spinach and cheese custard served with toast wedges and tomato chutney. I hate spinach but I wouldn't mind having this again and again. Its excellent.

What tempted me was Chicken Souffle, chicken cakes on a brioche (a light bread) with Mornay sauce and egg salad. It tasted good with the nut and raisin stuffing and I would choose this over the veggie version.

The best was saved for last. Chickpea and smoked fish salad is a delight. A non-salad lover will also enjoy this. Chunks of smoked betki is drizzled with Kasundi (mustard) and lime over organic arugula (rocket leaves), these rocket leaves aren't bitter at all and I strongly suggest Chef Varun, to move this salad to the regular menu for me to have this at anytime ;)

Main course looked interesting, I started with Jalfrezi which had chilli marinated roast beef with baby potatoes, onions, green chillies served with parantha. The beef was perfectly cooked, tender, juicy and spicy to the tongue. It would be the best food to be had on any winter day. I would just make my meal out of this, the next time I visit the festival.

I gave Dak Bungalow Murghi Roast, chicken skewer marinated with spice, lemon and yogurt served on a bed of saffron and coconut pilaf with baked tomato stuffed with mushy peas and roast baby potatoes. Chicken was mildly spicy and the pilaf taste the best due to fried onions. I liked the baked tomatoes the most though.

The veggies tried the Hot Pot, a brown curry with cauliflower, carrots, beans, potatoes and onions served with coriander droppies. The droppies (pancakes) are very cute and taste very well with the coconut curry.

The last main course I tried was Kedgeree, a wholesome meal of long grain rice with smoked fish, ribbons of egg and parsleys and spices. Well, I had this post having a dessert and I would have surely missed something if this was not ordered. A yummy bowl of rice with fish and eggs, squeeze some lemon and you are good to go.

After all the yummy food, my tummy will have some space for dessert. I tried 3 dessert from the menu. Railway Pudding to start with, baked vanilla cake with some Monkey bar homemade jam, cherries, jelly and tutti-frutti, get your childhood back with this sweet dessert.

Next was Brown bread butter pudding, wheat brioche with some vanilla cinnamon custard, tasted best with the ice-cream served.

Plum cake with Vanilla sauce is a killer, warm plum cake, pistachios and brandy butter. Don't have this and drive as it might contain more alcohol than your drinks. I did not try this but the others loved it.

Last dessert was Flagstaff House Chocolate Eclairs, yummy dark chocolate ganache cream could be any day comfort food for me.

You can try these Anglo-Indian dishes at Monkey Bar, Wood street ONLY for which has valet parking too.