Pre-Christmas dinner at Melange, Park Plaza

This was my first visit to Melange, Park Plaza. Melange is the 24 hour dining restaurant which serves fusion food. I was recently invited to be part of their Pre-Christmas celebration and a 4 course dinner menu was crafted by the executive Chef Narender who won the ‘Hotelier of the Year Award 2015’ for being the Best Chef. So this became the double celebration at the hotel.

I started the meal with a soup, Chicken, Mushroom, Porcini cream soup with truffle foam with a dash of basil oil served with leeks and tarragon bread. This was a different soup of all the soups I have had which tasted good very nice. I wouldn't mind another helping of the same.

Salmon Mousse with herbed garlic baguette. The plating of the dish was simple and the salmon mousse was very creamy. A chicken finger in this dish was simple but gave the desired crispiness.

Over the course of meal, I tried 2 mocktails which were refreshing and cleansing my palatte.

Next was Maple glazed roast turkey and steamed broccoli with garlic, water chestnuts and parmesan. the maple glaze made the dish sweet and my excitement to have turkey for Christmas was fulfilled. I was so excited for main course that I missed clicking a picture. Oh, the dish was very well presented.

Plum pudding with cognac sauce was for desserts along with strawberries and kiwi served with ice-cream. I did not taste the pudding as it had alcohol but I enjoyed the fruit glass and ice-cream.

The love with which Chef Narender and his team cooked the dinner reflected in the flavors and the taste. After this meal, I know why he was honored with Beft Chef award :) I am looking forward to visit Melange again to experience their food and also the different restaurants at Park Plaza.

Hope you enjoyed reading my review, do let me know if there is any must-try's at Park Plaza and do share your views too :)

Lingering Lunch at Shiro with GourmetItUp experience

Mid week blues hit me and I wanted some change in my routine. Shiro was at my rescue service. I was invited by GourmetItUp for a review of the Lingering lunches at Shiro. I have been to Shiro many times and I knew my afternoon is going to be good with Chef Priyank taking care of the menu.

A little bit about GourmetItUp, it creates and curates customized food experiences. They are in their third year currently and have a strong hold in Mumbai, Delhi and Pune, entering the Bangalore market. They help in creating unique and exclusive dining experiences for its members, from off-menu meals to tasting experiences.

You must be wondering on how GourmetItUp works? Here is the answer: Diners register at GourmetItUp.com and browse through an extensive set of exclusive dining experiences. Diners can make a reservation at the click of a button and payments are made directly at the restaurant. Each experience clearly displays the menu, pricing and table availability and the GourmetItUp concierge can be easily reached via a call or live chat to answer any questions about an experience or to suggest experiences that best fit the occasion. 

I starter my meal with a refreshing mocktail names Orange and min virgin mojito. This is also Chef Priyank's favorite and has been on my order every time. It is refreshing and pairs my food well. During my meal I also had a mocktail with watermelon and soda.

The lingering lunches have 2 options for unlimited food apart from ala carte service. One can choose from Unlimited dim sums special and Unlimited Sushi and Maki special, both priced at Rs.850 plus charges and taxes. 

I started with the assorted veg dim sum platter which had Zucchini and coriander dumpling, spinach and corn dumpling, celery and pepper mushroom dumpling and chi chow dumpling. Can you believe that I enjoyed all the veg dim sums? I was very amazed with the taste and authenticity of the dim sums that I loved every bite. Without any dip, I enjoyed all, you can try with soya sauce or chilli paste which is served with it. Even I find it hard to believe that I enjoyed a veg platter more ;)

Next came the assorted non veg dim sum platter which had Celery and prawn dumpling, sui mai, hargau and chicken gyoza along with steamed chicken and shitake mushroom. I personally did not like marinated steamed chicken and shitake mushroom much. But the dumplings were amazing. As a prawn person, I loved hargau which had marinated prawns and steamed inside a translucent wrapper. While Sui mai had minced chicken and prawns and shitake mushroom steamed in a wonton wrapper. Given any weekday, I would prefer a dim sum special and have unlimited dims sums which floored my taste buds.

Steamed chicken and shitake mushroom

Next was Sushi and Maki Special. Starting with Veg sushi, I tried the cucumber, asparagus and shitake mushroom. I enjoyed the cucumber and asparagus sushi more than shitake mushroom. In non veg, I tried the red snapper sushi. I do not have taste buds for non veg sushi so I was hesitant to try tuna, spicy tuna mayo and salmon sushi.

Veg Maki and Veg Sushi (Left to right)

Non veg Sushi

Then came Maki. I have had Maki many times earlier but nothing tasted as good as Shiro. In veg, Crispy spicy avocado, vegetarian spicy California and Kappa maki was served which tasted exceptionally well. In non veg, california maki, tuna maki, prawn maki, new york maki, spicy chicken with shitake maki was served. I have developed a strong taste for Maki. I never knew they could be tasty especially when Chef Priyank has got his innovations too.

Non veg Maki

Ended my meal by having a cup of green tea which was very refreshing. I rarely have enjoy a good cup of green tea but Shiro did a fabulous job in bringing this lunch together. 

I had an amazing lunch taking my mid week blues out and raring to enjoy the weekend.

You can check the menu below for lingering lunch (ignore the spelling error in my name)

New Sweet, Smoky and Hot Menu at Chilis

On my recent to Chilis, I came across that they have come up with a new menu which is Sweet, Smoky and Hot which show off the chef's best flavors. I visited the Indiranagar outlet on the 100ft road and I am very happy that they have moved closer to my place. The utilization of place is done perfectly.

The variety of cocktails and mocktails served by them have really got my standard of tasting mocktails to a higher level. I had a Strawberry Margarita on my visit which was a traditional margarita with the flavors of strawberry while my friend had my favorite Minty Melon. Preferably have the mocktail the way it is served, without ice, the entire fun of having the mocktail doesn't remain the same.

I also tried the traditional Triple Dipper which is from the regular menu but cheated with 4 appetizers which had cheese poppers, chicken crispers, boneless chicken wings and pannier quesadilla. Cooked perfectly, presented well and these are my favorite at Chilis, I would anyday ave these options over the rest.

I had the Smoked Salmon Salad which is a cold salad having smoked salmon, diced avacado, cilantro chilli sauce, fresh cilantro and feta served over red pickled onion slaw mixed in honey lime vinaigrette. This was served with crispy tostada chips. This was mildly spicy but full of flavors. One of the best salad's I have had so far.

I have never had a pasta at Chilis so this time I tried Spicy Smoked Shrimp Pasta. It had smoked shrimps along with pasta mixed with spicy Alfredo sauce, corn succotash, topped with Jack cheese and panko breadcrumbs. Citrus chilli sauce and fresh cilantro were used for garnishing. It is a good for 2 quantity.

Dessert time, it was time I tried a new dessert at chilis so this time I tried Southern Peach Bread Pudding. Fancy looking dessert was wiped out in few minutes. Sweet peach bread pudding topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, walnuts, sprinkles of cinnamon and drizzled with some passion fruit syrup surely ended my meal on a very sweet note.

Pic credits: Indrani

Special anniversary menu at Sanctum Club - Chic Tapas Bar

Thursday can become fun for me if I have been invited by a restaurant to celebrate with them and also try their new dishes on the menu. This time it was Sanctum club - Tapas bar at The Chancery Pavilion located on Residency road. They were celebrating their first anniversary and also introduced new dishes on their menu. I was very excited to try out the Spanish delicacies.