New Pizza's at California Pizza Kitchen

I visit California Pizza Kitchen again, you can read about my last visit here. This time, CPK, as it is fondly called has introduced 6 new pizza's which are 9 inch pizza which one can enjoy at Rs.249 plus taxes from Monday to Friday. Head to CPK before this limited offer.

Let me write down some of the pizza's which I tried along with their starters and my favorite desserts. I had some of my usual quenchers during my visit.

























I have to mention this, Lettuce wraps with shrimps, is a must try for me. It had wok seared shiitake mushrooms, water chestnuts, carrots and green onions tossed in soy ginger sauce along with shrimps. It is served with spicy ginger sauce and iceberg lettuce cups. A little sweater to taste but taste best with the lettuce.

Spicy chicken supreme was next and was recommended by the chef too. It had panko coated boneless chicken strips fried and tossed in their special tangy wing sauce, served with crispy tortilla salad and herd ranch sauce. It was a hit on my table which the order being repeated. Surely the best selling dish at CPK.

Chipotle grilled chicken was the last starter served. It had a smoky chipotle peppers marinated chicken strips, grilled and served with house salad and herb ranch dressing. It was juicy and liked by all. I preferred the other two starters over this.

Then came the pizza's. I mostly tried the non veg pizza's along with my favorite Kasundi pizza which I had earlier during my earlier visit.

Tijuana chicken pizza was first to be served on the table, it had an albuquerque sauce on a regular crust with mozzarella, grilled onions grilled chicken & sliced jalapenos in the style of tijuana. Garnished with cilantro. Regular crust aren't my favorite but it is filling, jalapenos gave a tangy taste to the otherwise bland pizza.

Apollo pizza was next which had garlic marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese, roasted peppers, sliced mushrooms, grilled onions and marinated chicken. Good combination on thin crust pizza caught my attention and tasted good too. I preferred this over the previous one.

Spicy cilantro pizza was served. It had chicken with onion tomatoes and capsicum marinated in fresh coriander pesto and baked atop a thin crispy crust with mozzarella and cheddar cheese. The taste of the pizza's served got better with every pizza coming on the table and this was my favorite of the night. The coriander pesto did the trick. I hope this retains in the menu as I would enjoy this pizza upon my every visit.

I indulged in a little bit of Kasundi paneer pizza which is/was/will always be my favorite. It has makhani sauce, kasundi flavoured paneer, roasted peppers, tomatoes and onions. This pizza is little tweaked to the original pizza served earlier but this variety is also excellent and my favorite veg pizza at CPK. I'm glad that they retained this from the International Pizza and Beer festival menu.

Time for desserts and yes, this time I tried something more than the usual tiramisu.

Red velvet cake, is layer of moist cake with creamy vanilla cream cheese frosting and white chocolate curls. I have had better versions of this cake so this did not stand out for me but was tasty for sure.

Tiramisu, is the layer of rich Italian mascarpone cheese and espresso soaked lady fingers with a touch of kahlua topped with house-made sabayon and sprinkled with freshly grated dark chocolate. I just love this and enjoy it at almost all restaurants so here too I did like it.

White chocolate strawberry cheesecake, is one of the signature desserts, it is a mile high New York style cheesecake with an Oreo crust and swirls of sweet strawberry and white chocolate served with fresh whipped cream. Try this when you crave for something apart from chocolate or coffee. It does not have much of strawberry so do not hesitate.

Sticky toffee pudding, is topped with a rich and buttery caramel sauce, this toffee flavoured British style "pudding" garnished with pecan nuts just made a way to my taste buds instantly. I think my taste buds were waiting for a different taste which was provided from this pudding. I have visited CPK again just to try this dessert.

Chocolate banana cake, is a two flavours that were destined to be together. Rich and moist chocolate cake layered with banana cream and topped with a decadent chocolate ganache. A squiggle of banana creme sauce completes the dish. If you have a taste for banana then try this but do remember that this is a filling dessert. I enjoy banana and chocolate combo but this dessert fills my appetite when I have less pizza's.

From this visit, my favorite's are - Lettuce wraps with shrimps, Spicy chicken supreme, Spicy cilantro pizza, Kasundi paneer pizza and Sticky toffee pudding and Chocolate banana cake. What are your favorites?

All new Pan-Asian menu at Tim Tai

I have visited Tim Tai earlier so I have my favourites. This time I was invited to try their all new Pan Asian menu. I enjoy the dim sums and desserts at Tim Tai and was excited to visit the place again.

With dim sums, Chicken Hargao, Shanghai Chicken, Spicy soya & basil, and Shrimp Hargao was served. I enjoyed all the dim sums and also had another serving of it. The meat was cooked well and tasted well with the dips which were served.

Next, Banana Leaf Wrap Fish with Balinese Spice, Stuffed Chicken Wings with Glass Noodle and Water Chestnuts was served. I have always enjoyed Banana leaf wrap fish and has been regular order at all asian restaurants and therefore enjoyed this here too, you should try it. I was so busy eating this that I do not have a pic of it. Stuffed chicken wings did not impress me. I had few bites of crispy baby corn which was tasty.

For main course, Tim Tai Special Chilli Coriander Noodle, Hakka Noodle, Garlic & Broccoli Fried Rice, Malaysian Family Style Chicken and Vietnamese Spicy Prawn with Lemon grass was served. Tim Tai Special Chilli Coriander Noodle was my favorite and even Hakka noodles tasted very well. I had Garlic & Broccoli Fried Rice with Malaysian Family Style Chicken and also with Vietnamese Spicy Prawn with Lemon grass. Prawn was an instant hit on the tables and the order was repeated, while Malaysian family style chicken had the usual pan asian taste.

For desserts, Water Chestnut Rubies with Coconut Milk, Apple Fritters with Blue Berry Compot and Natural Ice Cream was served. Water Chestnut Rubies with Coconut Milk is my usual order here but this time the sweet consistency wasn't there. I had Apple fritters with blue berry compot for the first time and this was surely a sugar rush for me, I would choose to have this along with a scoop of ice cream. Natural ice cream was served - chocolate chilli, orange lemon grass, Kaffir lime and Vanilla.

Pan shots is a must before you leave the restaurant.

A well deserved meal at Tim Tai and I do like the new menu, especially with some favorites retained on the menu.

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