Pizza's starting from Rs. 245 at California Pizza Kitchen

I have been to California Pizza Kitchen (CPK, as it is fondly called) many times. Sometimes to celebrate International Pizza and Beer carnival, a regular at celebrating Mexifornia or simply when few new pizza's are introduced. I have never been disappointed at CPK, during every visit some dish touches my heart and becomes my favorite. The pizza's start from Rs. 245+, comparatively to the notion of CPK being expensive. Read on to know what I tried during this visit and what became my favorite.

For some mocktails, I had Mango mint ecstasy which had mango juice, mint, lemon topped with soda is my usual favorite. Mango tango which has Mango juice, orange juice, passion fruit syrup and lime juice was also enjoyed. I did not Aloha much which had apple juice, lime juice and strawberry juice. Make sure you have chilled mocktails eor else you may not enjoy them. These 3 mocktails are priced at Rs. 210

As it was raining, I wanted to try their Chicken wild rice chowder, it is their secret recipe of shredded chicken, roasted peppers, corn, wild grain rice in a cream base and other spices, its more than soup, its a chowder. Do not expect hot soup, here the soup is warm but tasty. This is priced at Rs. 155

For appetizers, I have usually had full portions of a particular dish, this time I made an exemption and tried the Non veg combo platter which had Spicy chicken supreme, Crispy fried sonora and Barbeque wonton rolls and Hummus with pizza pita bread. This could be enjoyed with one veggie friend who could eat the pita bread ;) Spicy chicken supreme is my usual favorite. The platter is priced at Rs. 645

I couldn't resist but have Lettuce wrap with chicken, it has wok seared shiitake mushrooms, water chestnuts, carrots and green onions tossed in soy ginger sauce along with chicken. It is served with spicy ginger sauce and iceberg lettuce cups. The lettuce cups are always fresh. This is priced at Rs. 525 and is my usual favorite.

Time to try the pizza's. As the pizza's are starting from Rs. 245, I had to try the Traditional Cheese pizza, traditional crust with home made pizza sauce, fresh basil and lots of cheese. Simple and yummy, especially the hint of basil.

Next was Roma Basilico, traditional crust topped with home made pizza sauce, fresh basil, red onions and sliced roma tomatoes, keeping it simple yet exquisite. This was my most favorite pizza of the evening.

Roasted Mushroom & Pepper, another new addition pizza which has a traditional crust topped with Spicy Baja sauce, mozzarella cheese, red onions, roasted mushroom & bell peppers, I chose this with chicken. But as I am not a mushroom fan, I did not enjoy this pizza. 

Florentine was served next, a thin crust pizza with a mushroom pesto spread with melting mozzarella cheese complementing the fine taste of fresh garden spinach, cherry tomatoes and garlic. Spoilt for thin crust, I like this pizza.

Garden Veg was the last pizza for the night. It had Garden greens, spinach, green peppers, Anaheim chillies & mozzarella cheese on a thin crust, as per my request with freshly made green chilli sauce. I felt like Popeye while having this, just greens.

I have always enjoyed the veg pizza's at CPK more than non veg. Time for desserts, Tiramisu, 3 hours preparation time which gets wiped out in 3 minutes. Sticky toffee pudding, my most favorite dessert was enjoyed again. 

American butter cake was a new dessert which I tried, rich american style butter cake combined with delicious Philadelphia cheese topping, served warm with vanilla ice cream and toffee sauce. I liked this dessert too. 

Red velvet cake was also had but I enjoyed the other desserts more. I never noticed their home made ice creams, so I gave Roasted hazelnut scoop a try which was good. The desserts at CPK have always been good and filling. They are priced between Rs. 225 - 405. I enjoyed my meal and the experience of dining was great.

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FBAB Meet at Rasta One

Food Bloggers Association Bangalore (FBAB) had a meet with few bloggers and food reviewers at Rasta One Place SO2EO1 in Kalyan Nagar. I have been to Rasta earlier during their launch so I was excited to pay them a visit to check what is new on the menu.

Conversations before the food arrives

Zucchini Fritters topped with Tomato Salsa was served first. We were told to have the fritter along with the salsa to get a spicy taste. I liked it though I found a slight taste of egg in it, I was told that there was no egg.

Vegetable Rissoles was served next. It was creamy and cheesy so I would prefer a spicy salsa/sauce to compliment this dish instead of tomato ketchup.

Chicken & Cheese Balls with Chilli Aioli was served, the presence of lemon zest gave a bitter experience but with mayonnaise it did not taste bitter, rather it tasted very good.

Prawn Vol-au-Vent came next on the table. It was a different way of serving prawns. The first look gave me a feel of a puff. It did surprise me with the taste. I am sure I can eat this again, during my next visit.

I enjoyed some refreshing mocktails as it was a sunny day while others enjoyed their drink :)

For main course, I opted for grilled fish steak with lemon butter sauce. I could have chosen Baked Chicken Parmigiano but my love for sea food was not allowing me to. Fish fillets do not usually fill my tummy but I still prefer having it. The lemon butter sauce was slightly more but that was the taste I was looking at. I tasted the chicken and I was happy with my choice ;)

Grilled fish steak with lemon butter sauce

Baked Chicken Parmigiano

To end the meal and the conversations at the meet, Caramel Fruit Basket was served. I have not really had this earlier so I was surely surprised. I liked the fruits served in a edible bowl made of caramel.

Belgian Chocolate Brownie with Ice Cream was also served which was a heavier dessert compared to the fruit basket.

A good meal with loads of conversations ended on a happy note.

Happy faces after a happy meal :)

I love the meet for reasons that I met new food reviewers and learned different point of views and had loads of healthy and amazing conversations.

Foodie talks

We meet again!

Girl Power at the meet :)

With Vikram, Manager of Rasta One Place

Foodies with Chef of Rasta

Be part of FBAB on facebook now :)

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