Showing posts with label dimsum. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dimsum. Show all posts

Friday, 30 October 2015

All day dining at b Cafe, Shangri-La, Bengaluru

Shangri-La doesn't need any introduction but if you are not aware then they have opened their second property in India and the lucky city is our Namma Bangaluru. One of the finest hotels present in India, I was delighted to be part of their soft launch and the launch party. This time, I went for a review at their all day dining restaurant, b Cafe.

Located in the heart of the city, Palace road, Shangri-La Hotel, Bengaluru offer diners an array of authentic cuisines in some of the most spectacular settings in town. B-café is an all day dining restaurant at the lobby level featuring individual ‘open-theatre’ cooking stations and à la carte menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner in a lively, fun atmosphere. People can enjoy fresh, inventive dishes prepared à la minute by a team of international chefs from Italy, Japan, China and India, so basically you dine with the chef's :)



The staff is ever smiling, making your stay at the hotel or dine at the restaurant very pleasurable. The variety of food offered at b cafe is amazing, something which I haven't seen much in Bangalore. Chef Antonio Tardi, Executive chef says you can name any dish and you will be served. Chef Tardi along with Chef Rounak was all set to present us with their selection of lip-smacking food. While we waited for the food to arrive, we were munching on Mezze platter, where hummus, labneh, mohummara, taboulleh was served with assorted pita bread



I refreshed myself with 2 mocktails during my entire dining experience.
























First came ‘Yonaha’s Sushi creations’ and the presentation with spectacular - Prawn Tempura sushi, cucumber and cream cheese sushi, carrot nigiri and Asparagus maki roll were neatly placed in a small bamboo casket, served with soy sauce, pickled ginger and wasabi. All were cooked well and it had the right moisture.



Next was ‘Winter greens chef creation’. It had a baby beet, orange segments, goat cheese and arugula salad tossed fresh with olive oil dressing and shaved parmesan. As Chef Rounak mentioned, arugula tossed well and mixed with right ingredients can be enjoyed as a meal. yes, the baby beet and orange with parmesan did not make the leaves taste bitter, in fact it enhanced the taste of the salad.


Next came 'Dim sums', chicken and pumpkin in non veg, shitake mushrooms in veg, both were served with soy chilli and dragon chilli sauce. Nothing fancy but aren't these supposed to be enjoyed when stuck to simple creation?



I skipped the Orange and Campari Sorbet as it had liquor but for those who had, they enjoyed it while it cleansed their palate.


Well cooked lamb is always my weakness so when Roasted Slow cooked lamb leg, stuffed with spinach and cheese came, I had my expectations built up, especially after having such good food already. The lamb was marinated with house spice mix of herbs served with baby vegetables and rosemary jus. The meat was tender, the spices were just right which gave me my star dish of the night. I could another helping of it, if I did not have to eat anything else. Chef Rounak, job well done.




I did try a taste of Baked homemade potato gnocchi, with cherry tomato and buffalo mozzarella. It was good but I was happy my lamb :) In between, I also had a tasting of pani puri which was served at the chaats counter, how could I miss it?



The last dish which came was Zaffrani murgh dum biryani which was served with mirchi salan and raita, homemade garlic pickle, cabbage pickle, lotus stem pickle and mango pickle. First about the pickle, I liked the collection, lotus stem pickle was my favorite followed by garlic pickle. The biryani was cooked well, the rice was moist, the chicken had the spices on it, none of the spices over powered the other, the spices were evenly spread across the entire biryani and lastly the aroma was tempting enough to clean the bowl of this delish main course. I can return to b Cafe for this biryani.

How can you finish a meal without a dessert? So Dark Chocolate fondant served with Blue cheese and pear ice cream. Delicious and extremely filling dessert which looked tempting enough too. Right balance of taste and looks, must-must try it.


The variety to offer is more and by the look of it, I couldn't think I would ever cover the entire spread. For the kid in me, I did have cotton candy before I left with a smile on my face and tummy being full. This was my second visit to b Cafe, but first time I actually tried the spread which is offered. My fist visit was a brief visit and I had chosen a la carte.

The various live counters at b Cafe can be seen below.








































If you are looking for a restaurant to satisfy your taste buds for cuisines like chinese, asian, indian, japanese, salads, chaats, desserts, etc then b Cafe is your destination. They are aptly priced throught the 7 days of the week but the spread increases on a Sunday so I'm waiting to head to b Cafe on a Sunday to try their other offerings. By now if you are hungry, then head to b cafe :)


Friday, 7 August 2015

K3 - JW Marriott, New Delhi

My love for JW Marriott, Bangalore is very evident, from Farm to fork with the chef's to enjoying the Tangra food festival, getting delighted at the Bangalore Baking Company to enjoying the new menu at Alba or just enjoying the food straight from Amritsar at Spice Terrace with the Baisakhi menu  I have always dined there, celebrated my special days, had long conversations over mid night buffet and the list goes on.

By far, I enjoy having a good lunch or dinner buffet at JW Marriott, Bangalore and I thought no other property could beat this. While I was enjoying the the Chaat food fest at JW Kitchen, I got to know about K3 in JW Marriott, New Delhi. What got me excited was that they have 3 different live counters serving 3 different cuisine which is managed by 3 different chef's specialized in that cuisine. Doesn't it sound fantastic? Normally, in restaurants you find live counters serving little bit of varieties but they are not usually managed my chef's specialized in that cuisine. For me, it was like 3 different restaurants under one roof :)

I was visiting Delhi on my personal visit and made sure I dropped by JW Marriott, New Delhi before I return back to Bangalore. Any hotel can be good with their service but they should never go wrong with their food and beverage. I made my way to the Hotel during a sunny afternoon while I had an evening flight. As the property is close to the airport, I could enjoy my meal with leisure. I took a tour around the property which was so beautiful. I have always been a fan of the chandeliers used in JW Marriott property. The open space with loads of greenery is a space I would like to chill for a romantic evening.









The Oval bar offers its guest a range of premium wines and spirits. The Delhi Baking Company or DBC, which is the hotel patisserie, specializes in a wide range of grab-and-go gourmet products, perfect for those rushing to the airport or to the city. I have heard that their hot chocolate is pretty famous, will try it the enxt time I'm at DBC. The JW lounge is designed beautifully, it is an integration of the lobby, reception and the lobby lounge. It is designed like an exclusive living room with an exciting array of food and beverages.

The Oval Bar


Akira Back, panning across two levels of the hotel, Akira back specializes in Japanese cuisine with a Korean essence. The restaurant distinguishes itself with an eight-metre tall sake wall which houses some of the finest sakes and wines. It is open for dinner only.




Now to K3, the all-day dining restaurant has been fashioned like a food theatre with three LIVE kitchens displaying three distinct cuisines: North Indian, Cantonese and Tuscan. Each kitchen offers authentic cuisine, specially handcrafted by our three specialty chefs. The restaurant also has a special al fresco service with an open bar that serves as a juice bar in the morning and a wine bar in the evenings. It's a 24 hour restaurant. The variety which is served here is amazing and hard to believe. But there are more live counters added for a Sunday brunch which surely makes it an experience to relish and cherish. Truly, worth every penny you spend.









With an awesome company, Nikhil, I enjoyed the salad's from the salad counter following by the appetizers from all the 3 live counters, my main course was specially made by the chef heading Oliva (Tuscan cuisine). Dehelvi, is the live counter which serves North Indian food, mostly inspired from Mughal or Dilli 6 food. Cantonese cuisine's live counter has lots to offer too, not just dim sums. Basically, one can choose a particular cuisine and have a tummy full meal from there as it serves appetizers and main course. I particularly enjoyed the sea food at K3. Not all restaurants make finger licking sea food dishes in Delhi and I couldn't resist but enjoy them at K3. I did not feel that I was enjoying a meal in Delhi, as the sea food was amazing.






The dessert section is always my favorite, I'm sure lots of others like it too. I wasn't disappointed at all with the dessert section as it lived up to my expectation. Various desserts on offer where you can choose to indulge in your favorite's.










I would like to thank Nikhil for giving me an amazing time for my lunch and conversations, Chef Girish Krishnan, executive chef at JW Marriott New Delhi was welcoming me and making sure I was taken care of and all the head chef's of the live counters who made sure I tried some of their best dishes.

Those people who usually have to choose between Indian/Chinese/Italian cuisine will never have to do the same once they enter K3 as you can relish all the 3 cuisines under one roof. I would surely visit K3 again. But I would like to try Akira back too :) If you are in Delhi or around, make a visit to JW Marriott and you will never regret :)