Baja Beach Break at Habanero

Habanero has been my favorite place to enjoy Mexican food in Bangalore. The entire year, Habanero will give us a tour of Mexico by showcasing a special menu every month from various Mexican regions. From Feb 8th, the pop-up menu for the month, 'Baja Beach Break', is named after a popular beach 'Baja Beach'. I was recently invited for the preview of the pop-up menu at Habanero, Indiranagar.

Mexico's Baja Peninsula is a popular beach destination for tourists, and is known to be one of the best beaches in the world. Sun worshippers, surfers and paddlers flock to this beach for the water, sun and sand, and the beach resorts are also famous for serving sumptuous coastal Mexican dishes dominated by seafood items and lime flavors. American Chef Dan Durkin took us through the menu along with stories of Baja beach while we munched on some Nachos.

As summer is nearing, it would be the best time to enjoy some tropical drinks and from the pop-up menu, I enjoyed Virgin Pina Colada, they have a cocktail version too but the mocktail was an instant hit on the table.

Then came the starters, Lime lacquered chicken skewer. The dish was on the sweeter side. Next was my favorite starter, Seer fish Ceviche, it is a seafood dish popular in the coastal regions of Latin America. The dish is typically made from fresh raw fish cured in citrus juices and spiced with chili peppers, seasoned with vegetables. I am not a raw fish fan but this tasted exceptional.

For mains, I tried Garlic Shrimp Soft Tacos which was presented well and delish too. Beans and rice placed separately along with shrimp on 2 taco's. Taco and Mexican food lovers will enjoy it. Veggies have an option for Grilled eggplant soft taco.

Next was my favorite, Big salad with grilled pineapple, Mojito vinaigrette with choice of either grilled eggplant, grilled chicken or grilled seer fish. I tried chicken and fish, and I savored seer fish thoroughly.

Without dessert, I can never finish my meal. Coconut flan with home made chocolate truffle was on the menu. The flan has coconut milk to give it a Caribbean twist while the homemade chocolate truffle is extremely tasty and a bite of it along with strawberry completed the meal on a sweeter note.

The pop-up menu is very interesting and those who enjoy seer fish, should try the seer fish on the menu along with Pina colada and the delicious dessert. You can enjoy this menu till Feb 28th at Habanero.

Republic of Noodles at Lemon Tree Hotel

I was invited to a Pan Asian restaurant in Lemon Tree by the name Republic of Noodles. Over a year, I have developed a good taste for asian food. It a cosy restaurant with dim light and low roof with bright color seating with standard seating across the restaurant.

For drinks, I started ,my evening with Sunshine in the evening which was refreshing and thirst quenching followed by Apple Frappe but twisted to a refreshing drink. I preferred the former over the latter.

Fried wontons came on the table first. Portion could have been a little more is what I felt. Fruits with wontons was had by me for the first time.

The Crispy Water Chestnuts with Bamboo shoots was served next. Not really fond of water chesnut starter, hence did not enjoy it much. The starter was filled with herbs which is why I could try it.

Banana Leaf wrapped Grilled Fish was next which excited me the most. Basa was cooked well and the taste of banana leaf was also present. It was simply delish and had an extra serving of it.

The Steamed Tofu with lime chilly dressing came next, not fond of tofu actually, but this came as a surprise to me. I actually liked tofu with lime chilly dressing giving it a pungent taste in every bite. Full marks to this.

Thai garlic pepper prawns which were fried and seasoned with herbs was good. I usually have sauteed prawns. But this was crispy and with the seasoned herbs it gave a flavor in every bite.

Grilled mushroom was served and by now you would know that I have not been a big fan of mushroom and especially in starters so I gave this a miss after tasting one.

Veg Vietnamese roll came along and this surely is something I would like to eat a little more. I like veggies in such roll with minimal ingredients to enhance every flavor.

Soups came in next, Tom Yum Goong soup was my choice. It was made to my taste, a clear soup with boiled prawns. One should try this during their visit.

The Veg Indonesian Soto Vegetable soup looked heavy and creamy with loads of vegetables in it. I just had a spoon of it and cannot write much.

Time for main course, I started with Phad Thai noodles. I don't like peanuts but it complimented the noodles very well and at least 1 peanut came in every morsel.

Another commendable dish was Green curry of prawns with Steamed Jasmine rice. Earlier I thought, green curry went really well with noodles but green curry with prawns tasted better with rice.

Some of the other served dishes which were served were Cambodian Chicken curry, Malaysian Family style chicken, Thai Fried Rice with chilli and basil, Tofu with exotic mushrooms, and Sri Lankan Curry fish. etc but I will try these the next time, esp chicken curry.

To end the meal, I was really waiting for this, Water chestnut rubies and longan in coconut milk was served which I thoroughly enjoy at every place so did I enjoy at Republic of Noodles too.

























Coconut jelly with mango cream sauce was served. Coconut pudding tasted good and refreshing and the mango cream complimented it.

Natural flavored ice cream platter was the last on table with various flavors on offer. Tamarind, Kaffir lime, Choco Chilli, Wasabi, Lemongrass and Green Tea were on the platter. I tried Tamarind and kaffir lime for the first time and was mighty impressed with the taste. Wasabi, which I avoid most of the time, was not very strong hence I could eat it. Green tea and lemongrass are always refreshing along with choco chilli which gives a spicy after effect while having chocolate.

I enjoyed my meal at Republic of Noodles and will visit again to either try new dishes or try my favorites again. Hope this helps you to decide your dish during your visit to RON :)