Turn Up The Sizzle at Hard Rock Cafe

Hard Rock Cafe never surprises us with their food festivals and this month it's time to sizzle with the sizzlers. HRC, as fondly called, has come with a sizzler's fest, 'Turn Up The Sizzle', for the month of February and you can enjoy it till 31st March.

I tried out this food festival and here I am to share my experience with you. From the general menu, I sipped on Strawberry Basil Lemonade, fresh strawberry and basil muddled together with lemonade while I enjoyed my sizzling dinner.

In veg option, I and my friends tried out Italian Mafia Skillet as my friend is very fond of Italian food. It had crispy spinach and cottage cheese croquette served on a bed of grilled chimchurri veg, served with caprese salad, spaghetti aglio e olio with cherry tomato ragout. I liked the presentation of the sizzler as the sizzler plate was not filled with all ingredients.

I tried the Mexican Chipotle chicken and prawn skillet as I wanted to have something with sea food. My sizzler had smoky chipotle spice grilled chicken and prawn served on a bed of fajita onion pepper which was served with crispy masala fried, tangy salsa and mexcan rice topped with smoked chili cilantro sauce. I enjoyed it and it was very filling too.

Lastly chef suggested us to try Portuguese style chicken skillet which was his speciality and recipe. It had spicy and tangy stewed chicken topped over charmoula grilled onion peppers served with cumin paprika rice and rusty potato wedges. This was the best sizzler of the night.

To wind up my dinner, I relished Oreo cheesecake from the general menu.

There are other options apart from these 3 sizzlers which you can try them at HRC. Enjoy the festival from 1st February to 31st March.

New menu at Alto Vino, Marriott Whitefield

Alto Vino is the Italian restaurant at Marriott, Whitefield. I have visited the restaurant's kitchen earlier but it was for Indian Culinary Route. This time I got a chance to taste all the new menu crafter by Chef Marou. He has joined as the new Italian chef at Alto Vino.

There are new additions to the menu by Chef Marou which will be added to the existing menu. I was part of the Chef's table which unveiled the new additions and I got to taste some of them.

For Antipasti, we had Bocconcini di Buffalo (Caprese salad with Mozzarella Bocconcini in sweet pesto sauce), Strudeli di Melazane (Strudell of Eggplant Parmigiana with light spicy tomato sauce), Bruschette Miste (Toasted Focaccia bread, fresh tomato, zucchini and mushrooms), Fegatini all Sciciiana (Chicken liver, Lemon confit with potato and onion stew), Polipetti alla Mediteranea (Braised octopus, chickpea puree, fresh tomato salad). All he antipasti were cooked well and I enjoyed caprese salad, bruschetta and eggplant parmigiana. I tried braised octopus for the first time and I liked it. I am not a liver fan so did not enjoy the chicken liver.

Next was Zuppa di faro (a vegetarian Italian spelt soup from Tuscany). I have always been a fan of a good zuppa so I relished every spoon.

For Secondi, Ravioli di Asparagi (Asparagus and ricotta ravioli in sage butter roasted pumpkins puree), Risotto al Gorgonzola (Risotto with Gorgonzola cheese and caramelised grapes), Scottata di Branzino (Pan seared sea bass, zucchini salad, shallot compote in terragon sauce) and the last one being Chef's signature dish Stnco D’agnello (slow cooked marinated lamb shang stew with red wine saffron risotto & winter vegetable). The ravioli was very tasty and the roasted pumpkin puree added the twist to it. In Risotto, gorgonzola cheese was very strong in taste and those who do have a taste to it will not enjoy this dish, I did not enjoy it. The sea bass was perfectly cooked and being a sea food person, I enjoyed it. Chef Marou's signature dish was a hit on the table, everyone loved the lamb shanks.

Lastly, for Dolci, Classic tiramisu and Gratineted zabaglione with Fresh strawberry. Both the desserts were delish, Tiramisu being my all time favorite Italian dessert and Gratineted zabaglione which is Italian dessert similar to egg custard with Fresh strawberry.

Overall the new additions to the menu is interesting and if you are around Whitefield and craving for some good Italian food then give Alto Vino a try. Do make prior reservations and make it a poiint to meet Chef Marou during your visit :) Happy eating!

As I was relishing every dish, I missed taking any pic so pic credits goes to @BLRMarriott Twitter

Rocktober fest at Hard Rock Cafe

With Oktoberfest season going on, it isn't a surprise when Hard Rock Cafe has a festival around the same line. But you would in for a surprise that Hard Rock Cafe has a different take on this largest festival. Hard Rock Cafe has brought Rock 'n' Roll during Oktoberfest season, making a fun Rocktober fest for everyone. They have a lot of entertainment coupled with international beers, beer cocktail along with a menu which a rock star would love. The music at HRC just cannot be matched by anyone else with some amazing foot tapping music all the time.

While other sipped on some amazing cocktails, I enjoyed my spicy mocktail while we ate the lip smacking delicacies on offer. Carnival Feista, which had fries along with cajun spice dusted crispy tangy chilli garlic crust fries topped with bbq spice rubbed hand pulled chicken & smoked chicken frank slices, served with tangy salsa & cheddar cheese sauce. The portion is filling so get ready to share this on the table while you sip your drink.

With the kinda food rock stars eat, get ready to taste a variety of subs and sandwiches. I started with Jamaican Hotty Submarine which had Char grilled smoked chicken frank stuffed subroll, topped jemaican spiced stir fried veg & tangy cajun bbq mayo, served with spicy chilli fries. This was spicy and the first sub was impressive.

Italian Submarine was next which had tangy arabiatta mayo stuffed char grilled smoked chicken frank, chimi churi spiced onion peppers & topped with tangy pesto mayo, served with spicy chilli fries. This was more on the creamy side when combined with chilli fried, adds the twist.

Windy City Sub Roll was next which had classic american smoked chicken frank, cocktail sauce & tangy mustard relish, served with crisp chilli fries. The mix of cocktail sauce and tangy mustard had a tangy twist.

Last was Saigon Fusion Asian Roll which was an Asian bbq sub, flavour packed with grilled smoked chicken frank, crunchy asian bbq slaw, served with crisp chilli fries. This was the best of the night and I was glad I did not skip this.

While I enjoyed the non veg sub, Mexi Cali burger (veg), Mexican mafia submarine and L.A.Confidential veg burger was enjoyed by the veggies of the group.

Had to end the meal with a yummy dessert. To my surprise there was a new dessert on offer, Red Velvet Brownie Cheesecake served with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream. This is a must try at HRC and I really expect them to move this to the main menu.

Overall, the Rocktober fest was a surprise change for my palate and a different menu which Hard Rock Cafe has to offer. You can rock n roll along with some foamy beer, cocktails and lip-smacking subs from 28th September to 8th November 2015.

New Menu at Alba, JW Marriott Bangalore

Alba, the Italian fine dining restaurant at JW Marriott has been one of my favorite places to dine.  I have usually celebrated some of my and my friend's special days here. Some of my favorites have always been Insalata, risotto, ravioli and their desserts.

When I heard about some new additions to the menu, I couldn't resist myself but try them. Celebrating my dad's birthday, I and Mom visited Alba for dinner. Chef Antonello greeted us and presented the set menu which one can choose from or order from the menu. We chose the set menu for the dinner.

I recently had a very bad experience of my memory card getting corrupted and the pics were not recoverable. With some help, I could get some pics which I will upload in this post. Apologies for the one's missing.

We started with Antipasti, while I chose Insalata Di Asparagie Bocconcini Alle Olive, a veg Italian salad with mixed greens, olives, tomatoes, bocconcini, asparagus, extra virgin crouton. I loved every bite of it and will go again for this. Mom chose Coscette Di Pollo Alla Aceto Balsamico, which is grilled chicken with lemon, rosemary, balsamic and caponnata. I had a taste of this too but couldn't make a judgement with a bite.

Next course was Zuppa, I chose Minestrone Alla Contadina, a veg soup with locally sourced vegetables, tomato and basil and Mom had Zuppa Di Cipolle, Finocchietto E Pollo, chicken, baked onion and fennel soup. While the veg soup was very refreshing, the chicken soup was a little sweet. I liked both and couldn't choose one as my favorite.

Next course was Primi, after having vegetarian in the first two course I chose the non veg option. While I had Cotoletta Di Pollo Alla Parmigiana, which was Chicken parmigiana, mozzarella, spagetti pomodoro. I did not enjoy the chicken as I found it hard and dry but I really liked the spaghetti pomodoro. Next time, I would like to have a course of only spaghetti pomodoro. I remember, in my earlier visit too, I never enjoyed the chicken much.

Mom had Triangoli Di Ricotta which was spinach-ricotta ravioli with parmesan truffle cream sauce. Both of us liked this a lot and my love for ravioli remains :)

While I had the main course, I also had a spicy mocktail with a base of guava juice. Now spicy mocktails have caught my attention lately and this one too was liked. I guess I will try making this at home as it tasted refreshing.

I was still hungry for some more food so before heading to the last course, I ordered for some Veg risotto which I and Mom shared and after this, I was contended.

Before we ate our last course of meal, Chef wanted to show me how he made Amaretti define amaretti which is an Italian almond-flavoured biscuits. It was such a treat to watch him make the biscuits and sharing his experiences from Italy while he made them.

And for the last course Dolci, I chose Bonet which had Amaretti on a chocolate pudding while Mom took advantage of me getting busy with the chef in conversation and ate Tiramisu which had Mascarpone, coffee and lady fingers.

The quantity of Tiramisu was big and a huge amount of time was taken to finish the cup full of Tiramisu. Bonet was a different dessert for me to try and I liked the presentation and the taste of it, especially amaretti which was made in front of me.

I initially thought the quantity of the course could not be filling but by the end of the meal, especially Tiramisu I was full. Who would want to leave the restaurant when Chef Antonello starts playing his guitar and sings some amazing songs. Chef started playing his guitar and he was joined by his guest friend and a quick jamming session started while we sipped on some Cappuccino to end the dinner.

It was a fabulous night with amazing food served. Thanks to chef Antonello and Chef Grenal was serving us and treating us so well.

The Italian festival at Bene, Sheraton Bangalore

And I was at Bene again, this time for the Italian festival. My earlier visits have always been great and I was glad to exclusively review the festival. For those who haven't read my earlier blog post, you should read it. The Italian menu is crafted by Chef Mori La Greca from Sheraton Milan.

Chef Moris started his career in Milano in 2001. He progressed from most fashionable clubs in Milan to a well-renowned restaurant La petit plage in Juan les Pins, France. He is now heading at ll Canneto as master chef at the Iconic Sheraton Milan. He has come to Bangalore to share his delicious dishes with the people of Bangalore.

After a conversation with Chef Moris and Chef Marty, executive chef at Sheraton Bangalore, we learnt a lot about the festival. Chef Moris isn't very well off with English but the way he communicated was impressive. he made sure he asked for our preferences and made all our food from the scratch. As the menu was very vast, it was very difficult for me to choose my meal for the evening. I left it to Chef Moris's choice and trusted him completely with my meal.

The pictures of the meal are of baby portion. So do not judge the portion by this blogpost. The variety of choices on the menu is something to watch out for. The non veg section has variety of meat and sea food too. One must try it for a meaty delight. Well, the veggies also have a great option. Pretty happy to see such a menu catering to veggies and non veggies very well. Well, if you are a vegan then inform the chef and he will cook something specially for you.

To begin with, a cranberry iced tea was refreshing after a hectic and hot day. After this I enjoyed a watermelon mocktail during my meal.

Antipasti (Appetizers)

Started my meal with Capesante scottate passito papkrika, crema di lentichhie which was Pan seared scallops with paprika and brown lentil sauce. It looked like an art on the plate. With minimal ingredients, the taste of scallops was enhanced. Did you notice the small flowers used for plating? Chef Marty who loves gardening, enjoys plating with flowers and veggies grown in Sheraton garden. So Chef Moris took his advice on the same.

Insalatina di astice, verdurine di stagione con coulisi di pomodoro piccante which was a lobster salad with seasonal vegetables with spicy tomato coulis was served. Yay I was happy to see lobster on my plate. The plating was done beautifully. Chef Marty informed us that the veggies were chemical free as they were procured from First Agro farms, taking me back to time during my visit to the First Agro farms.

Soup

Minestra di Zucchine was served which was a Green zucchini soup with mascarpone. I wish it was non veg but nevertheless. It was creamy and very filling. I am sure a regular portion can fill a normal person.

Pizza

A simple Pizza Margherita with served which had mozzarella, tomatoes and fresh herbs. It was a clean sweep on the table. It is quite light to eat and a simple pizza. I enjoyed every bite.

A veg calzone was also served. I don't remember the Italian name, unfortunately. It was served hot and filled with goodness of veggies.

Primi Piatti (Pasta Dish)

Cannelloni di anatra, ricotta funghi e crocante di parmigianno. This is a Cannelloni of duck with ricotta cheese, mushrooms and crispy parmesan. I'm fond of trying different meat so I was excited for this. It was cooked perfectly and the meat tasted good. a filling dish, I'm going back for this again.

I Risotti (Rice Dish)

Risotto ai Funghi porcini, this is a risotto with chicken, fresh herbs and truffle oil. I have a taste for risotto so I enjoyed every spoon. The rice was cooked well and the taste of chicken with herbs added to the flavor.

I Dolci (Sweets & desserts)

Mousse di ricotta, cioccolato, limone candito, cialda croccante e crema di pistacchi which is ricotta mousse, chocolate, candied lemon, crispy wafer and pistachio cream. I would like to have this a little more to write about it.

Tiramisu espuma is the Chef Moris style of Tiramisu served at Bene. Chef had all praises for the Tiramisu served at Bene so he gave us the pleasure to try the famous Bene Tiramisu and also his version. I was in love with Chef's Moris's version which is a foamed Tiramisu making a light dessert, I could have another serving of this for sure.

Bene Special tiramisu

Tartino di cioccola, crema inglese vanilla e gelato alla canella was served last which is a chocolate fondant with vanilla sauce and homemade vanilla cinnamon ice cream. A mix of hot and cold on the plate, is always a delight like Jalebi and ice cream? The ice cream compliments the fondant and it is a filling dessert. Chef Moris was very particular about the cream used for plating too.

The Sommelier, Viraj is expected to pair each dish with a wine. The management is expected to launch a four - five course meal, with and without wine soon.

If you are confused with the meal then leave the choices with Chef Moris and tell him your preferences and let him do the magic.

The Italian festival starts on 21st March and ends on 29th March. Make sure you enjoy the taste of Italy in Bangalore during this time. Chef Moris will be glad to serve you.