Turn Up The Sizzle at Hard Rock Cafe

Hard Rock Cafe never surprises us with their food festivals and this month it's time to sizzle with the sizzlers. HRC, as fondly called, has come with a sizzler's fest, 'Turn Up The Sizzle', for the month of February and you can enjoy it till 31st March.

I tried out this food festival and here I am to share my experience with you. From the general menu, I sipped on Strawberry Basil Lemonade, fresh strawberry and basil muddled together with lemonade while I enjoyed my sizzling dinner.

In veg option, I and my friends tried out Italian Mafia Skillet as my friend is very fond of Italian food. It had crispy spinach and cottage cheese croquette served on a bed of grilled chimchurri veg, served with caprese salad, spaghetti aglio e olio with cherry tomato ragout. I liked the presentation of the sizzler as the sizzler plate was not filled with all ingredients.

I tried the Mexican Chipotle chicken and prawn skillet as I wanted to have something with sea food. My sizzler had smoky chipotle spice grilled chicken and prawn served on a bed of fajita onion pepper which was served with crispy masala fried, tangy salsa and mexcan rice topped with smoked chili cilantro sauce. I enjoyed it and it was very filling too.

Lastly chef suggested us to try Portuguese style chicken skillet which was his speciality and recipe. It had spicy and tangy stewed chicken topped over charmoula grilled onion peppers served with cumin paprika rice and rusty potato wedges. This was the best sizzler of the night.

To wind up my dinner, I relished Oreo cheesecake from the general menu.

There are other options apart from these 3 sizzlers which you can try them at HRC. Enjoy the festival from 1st February to 31st March.

New menu at Alto Vino, Marriott Whitefield

Alto Vino is the Italian restaurant at Marriott, Whitefield. I have visited the restaurant's kitchen earlier but it was for Indian Culinary Route. This time I got a chance to taste all the new menu crafter by Chef Marou. He has joined as the new Italian chef at Alto Vino.

There are new additions to the menu by Chef Marou which will be added to the existing menu. I was part of the Chef's table which unveiled the new additions and I got to taste some of them.

For Antipasti, we had Bocconcini di Buffalo (Caprese salad with Mozzarella Bocconcini in sweet pesto sauce), Strudeli di Melazane (Strudell of Eggplant Parmigiana with light spicy tomato sauce), Bruschette Miste (Toasted Focaccia bread, fresh tomato, zucchini and mushrooms), Fegatini all Sciciiana (Chicken liver, Lemon confit with potato and onion stew), Polipetti alla Mediteranea (Braised octopus, chickpea puree, fresh tomato salad). All he antipasti were cooked well and I enjoyed caprese salad, bruschetta and eggplant parmigiana. I tried braised octopus for the first time and I liked it. I am not a liver fan so did not enjoy the chicken liver.

Next was Zuppa di faro (a vegetarian Italian spelt soup from Tuscany). I have always been a fan of a good zuppa so I relished every spoon.

For Secondi, Ravioli di Asparagi (Asparagus and ricotta ravioli in sage butter roasted pumpkins puree), Risotto al Gorgonzola (Risotto with Gorgonzola cheese and caramelised grapes), Scottata di Branzino (Pan seared sea bass, zucchini salad, shallot compote in terragon sauce) and the last one being Chef's signature dish Stnco D’agnello (slow cooked marinated lamb shang stew with red wine saffron risotto & winter vegetable). The ravioli was very tasty and the roasted pumpkin puree added the twist to it. In Risotto, gorgonzola cheese was very strong in taste and those who do have a taste to it will not enjoy this dish, I did not enjoy it. The sea bass was perfectly cooked and being a sea food person, I enjoyed it. Chef Marou's signature dish was a hit on the table, everyone loved the lamb shanks.

Lastly, for Dolci, Classic tiramisu and Gratineted zabaglione with Fresh strawberry. Both the desserts were delish, Tiramisu being my all time favorite Italian dessert and Gratineted zabaglione which is Italian dessert similar to egg custard with Fresh strawberry.

Overall the new additions to the menu is interesting and if you are around Whitefield and craving for some good Italian food then give Alto Vino a try. Do make prior reservations and make it a poiint to meet Chef Marou during your visit :) Happy eating!

As I was relishing every dish, I missed taking any pic so pic credits goes to @BLRMarriott Twitter

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?