The Platter Fest at California Pizza Kitchen

This sports season, California Pizza Kitchen has come up with a new pop-up menu 'The Platter Fest'. Enjoy the T-20 games with the 3 platters on offer and one can enjoy the same with delectable mocktails and cocktails.

There are 3 platters on offer, A veg platter, Non-veg platter and a Combo platter. Each platter has 6 different appetizers and can be shared by 2 or 3 people. I tried the Non-veg platter which had Chipotle grill chicken, Sonora chicken roll, Cilantro Baked fish, chicken nuggets, fish finger and delicious chicken basil bruschetta. The platter is served with a bowl of sasla, sour cream and chilli cheese dip.

The fish fingers were crisp and tasted well with the chilli cheese dip. Sonora chicken roll was good to taste with Salsa or chilli cheese dip. Cilantro baked fish was a salty to my taste but the taste was mellowed with sour cream. Instead of chicken nuggets, I had chicken wings on my platter which tasted delish with chilli cheese dip. Chicken Basil bruschetta and Chitpotle grill chicken became good appetizers for my mocktail.

The 3 drinks from the pop-up menu had mocktail and cocktail option which can be combined with the appetizers. I tried the mocktails - Orange Mojito which was a refreshing drink with fresh oranges, Orange juice, lemon and mint. Mango Ecstasy which was my favorite and contained fresh Watermelon Chunks, Mango Puree topped with sparkling Water. My least favorite was Electric Blue which was very sweet for my taste Fresh Malta Orange, orange juice, Ginger Ale, with a hint of Lychee topped with Blue Curacao.

For the Combo platter, chipotle grill chicken, chicken wings, Cilantro baked fish, chili cheese toast, Margherita roll and spicy garbanzo fritters was served. The veg options on the platter was impressive, I have always been a fan of chili cheese toast and Margherita rolls and they were delectable even without a dip. Spicy garbanzo fritters were spicy but dry so this had to be had with a dip.

While, I did not try the Veg platter, you can try them next which served Mediterranean roll, Mexican quesadillas, Corn Baja croquettes, Spicy garbanzo fritter, Chili cheese toast and vegetable bruschetta. So head to CPK, as it is fondly called, and enjoy the platter before you enjoy their pizza's and pasta's for main course and not to forget their lip-smacking desserts. The option is limited for platter but then they have some platters on their regular menu too. Have the platter when served hot as you would not enjoy the appetizer when it has turned cold.

You can enjoy The Platter Fest from 7th March to 31st March 2016 at your nearest California Pizza Kitchen while you watch some amazing T-20 games.

RedCooker: Relish gourmet food and home-style food with a click

Too many app's bring to you restaurant food but how many actually get their own kitchen cooked food for you? On this idea Rohan Patnaik, Amol Patil and Raghunandan B came up with RedCooker, a start-up which aims at bringing gourmet and home-style food to everyone’s door-step with a click.

These days people like to experiment different cuisines and gourmet food but at the same time, do not want to make a hole in the pocket or eat restaurant food. Now with this choice, we hardly have any choice to make. So here, RedCooker steps in which will serve both home-style and gourmet food. This will be done with the aggregation of housewives in each locality and on-boarding master chefs with years of experience in 5-star hotels respectively, all this at an affordable price.

For now, they are only delivering in and around 5 Kms to Industrial Area, Whitefield and Outer ring road. It plans to operate in few more locations in Bangalore and extend to all the Metros and tier 1 cities in the next six months.

I was invited to the RedCooker's kitchen in Whitefield to experience their food and have a look at the hard work they put to bring us the yummy food we desire. Upon entering the kitchen, I was surprised that the entire kitchen was well organized with cleanliness maintained, no much noise and the smell of yummy food everywhere.

I'm sure you would want to know what I ate? Well, Crispy Fish Fingers, Paneer Kathi Roll, Pasta in red sauce, Paneer Methi Malai, Coriander pesto grilled fish basa, Mutton Rogan Josh and Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani came on the table one after the other. While I did not really enjoy pasta in red sauce and Paneer Methi Malai, I really liked the rest which was served.

The Coriander pesto grilled fish basa was everyone’s favourite. It was a simple dish filled with flavors but it was ordered umpteen times till we left the premises. It didn't look like the one you see in pic below but it was tasty.

Next personal favourite was Mutton Rogan Josh. I am very particular when it comes to mutton as I have had mutton almost all my life. While I was eating, I couldn't think if this was home cooked food or was I eating this dish away from home. Tender mutton pieces with gravy full of flavors. You should eat this to believe it.

I also enjoyed the fish fingers, paneer kathi roll and Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani, it was cooked to perfection and my taste buds were asking for more. The quantity served for every dish is also good for one person. For the amount you are paying for each dish, the food is worthy. If I'm getting such delish looking and tasting food at affordable prices then the restaurants surely have some tough competition. 

Launched in August 2015, they are already in the business with receiving over 100 orders a day only in Whitefield. Their android app with the name 'RedCooker Food Ordering' has a current overall rating of 4.3 which is good. I hope they maintain their food quality and quantity with time and as they grow this would be their biggest task.

So what are you waiting for? Download the app from your google play store and get your hands on some delicious food cooked and served with love. I'm waiting for their iOS and Windows app :)