PoshVine Blog

Just do dessert

Sinful, to-die-for, tempting… These are the terms that frequently describe the sweet ending to a meal. Surprising is what you might say if you taste the desserts which Olive Beach is serving at O Fudge, its dessert-only menu from October 5 to 15. You can reserve a table for post 9 pm, walk in and linger over a three-dessert indulgence, ordering coffee or liqueurs on the side, if you wish.

I went to a preview of this dessert event and came away most impressed. Young Chef Girish Nayak is supremely talented and bursting with new ideas in pastry. Don’t even think of crème brulee and tiramisu. So 2010.

It’s time now for dessert menus that list the main ingredient or flavour. The amuse bouche is Berry – a strawberry consommé in which sits a quenelle of yoghurt sorbet with the faintest whiff of basil. It’s fruity and refreshing. Then there’s Citrus – orange meringue filled with passion curd and served with lemon sorbet and sesame palmiers. Chef Girish tells us it’s a deconstructed lemon meringue tart and his take works beautifully, offering intense flavours and textures with each small mouthful.

For `main course’ you could order Pineapple – pineapple upside down cake, roasted pineapple sorbet, mascarpone cream and red wine gel. I especially enjoyed Chocolate- a chocolate smores tart, served with oatmeal Anglaise and cinnamon toast ice-cream. The ice cream was a revelation – delightful. Toffee is equally playful and enjoyable, caramel pot de crème served in an egg shell with milk chocolate maple cream and smoked vanilla foam. The egg shell sits on a bed of crunchy praline and cookie crumble.

This one’s definitely for the dessert lover and a whole new way to approach sweets. It’s priced at Rs 550.

Continental and comforting

by Priya Bala | Editor, PoshVine

Cilantro is one of Koramangala’s better-kept secrets, tucked away as it is into the Halcyon serviced apartments. This is a vast, airy space with skylights brightening it by day. There’s a show kitchen where the team of chefs is at work, adding a bustle to the restaurant.

Breakfast is a buffet, catering mainly to the serviced apartment guests. At lunch and dinner you can order from the a la carte menu. All the Indian favourites are on offer, but it’s the European that Cilantro claims as its speciality.

Don’t expect fancy flourishes, barely perceptible dribbles of sauce or other noveau touches. What Cilantro serves is food that pleases and satisfies and comes in hearty portions. No-nonsense cooking and familiar flavours are the key here.

You could start your meal with the well-made salads such as the Caprese with mozzarella and cherry tomatoes and a zesty touch of pesto or the horiatiki. Cilantro also serves a very pleasant seafood risotto, creamy and rich and packed with shrimp, squid and white fish. There’s a selection of pasta, too.

The grilled meats and seafood are a must-try here. Basa is, you may have noticed, the new John Dory in town, and Cilantro’s pan-fried versions come with a delicious lemon-butter sauce or with a cilantro pesto. These are faultless.

The chicken in red wine jus is a popular order here. There are tender lamb chops, steak and pork chops as well, all cooked competently and served with robust sauces.

Round off your meal with the restaurant’s perfectly made crème caramel. Yes, a pudding from the past, but like all things familiar, it has a comforting quality to it.

Chinese Cooking Workshop

This workshop was the last of its kind in an Oriental cooking theme organized by PoshVine in association with Ginseng, Royal Orchid. Chinese food is considered as comfort food for most Indians. The spices, rice, meat and vegetables are cooked in a non-complex technique. Getting the correct steps of preparing the dish is the trick! Chef Raj was very entertaining and patient, answering all the questions and queries, no matter how small. The demonstration began with a simple Kimchi where the sauce is very important, lending a spicy and sour tang.  Next was Sweet Corn Soup, as simple as it may sound a few key steps in preparation made a world of difference.

Kung Pao chicken is a spicy stir fry chicken and the base spices are so versatile that it can be used for even Hong Kong Chicken and many other kinds or Chinese starters. The highlight of the day was when the Chef gave the recipe of a signature chicken dish in the restaurant. The ladies enjoyed learning this recipe and enjoyed even more when they got a taste of it.

Hakka Noodles and Stir fry vegetables was next with clean flavors. Chef Raj was very helpful and even showed the packets of noodles which they use to prepare all their dishes. The last item on the menu was “Darsaan”, it is a thick noodle which is fried in pure honey, and it still retains its crunch. It is topped with black sesame seeds and complemented well with vanilla ice cream. It was a very interesting session and the ladies left very satisfied.

Have a monstrous appetite?

Restaurant Review| Bakasur| Priya Bala

Bakasur, An Indian restaurant named after a demon from the Mahabharata, and one with an epic appetite at that. Is that a cool idea or what! That the mighty Bheema slew the monster in a less-than-menacing encounter adds to the enjoyment of the Bakasur story.

I went for the pre-launch dining experience organized by PoshVine last evening, had a fab time.

The theme of the Bakasur restaurant in Bellandur is similarly likeable. It is reflected in the scale of the place – a vast 170-seater terrace that’s open on the sides, a super long bar and another space at the lower level with a show kitchen for kebabs and rotis. Bright colours and stylized Bakasur motifs are used in a judicious combination with muted tones and well-crafted furniture to create a setting that smacks of style rather than kitsch.

The kebabs are the thing to start with here. And on opening night I had a remarkably good vegetarian pudina seekh, with nuts adding texture and a nice balance of sweet and hot flavours. Bakasur may have wanted more meat on his mutton chops, but they were well marinated and tender. The everyday murgh malai kebab gets an aromatic twist with cinnamon and is most enjoyable.

My pick of the curries would be the Bihari mutton curry, listed on the menu, in somewhat intimidating fashion, as Asur Mans. It was a home-style curry with simple spicing, tender meat and large chunks of potato, which is always lovely in a mutton gravy. There was also an unusual dish of chicken cooked in milk with lots of black pepper – creamy, fragrant and very tasty. The tandoori ragi roti is a nice change from the regular selection. It combined beautifully with the mutton curry.

After a meal fit for Bakasur, it would be hard to fit in sweets. If you do succumb, the jalebis fried in ghee will have you abandoning your resolve. The many-textured kheer is delicious, too.

Portions here are huge and, given the sensible prices, the food is excellent value for money. It’s a great place families and large groups, for all the dishes are meant for sharing – unless you have a Bakasur appetite, of course.

I notice that teen lingo these days has replaced `awesome’ with `epic’. And that’s quite an apt description of Bakasur I should think.

Thai Cooking Workshop

This workshop was the third of its kind in an Oriental cooking theme organized by PoshVine in association with Ginseng, Royal Orchid. Thai food will always interest Indians because of the similarities in flavours and spices. The lovely ladies came with an open mind and notepads on the ready to take on this workshop. Chef Neeraj was welcoming as always and began the demonstration with a delicious Thai Soup, called Malai Laksa Lemark was fragrant and so simple to make! The colours in the bowl were so vibrant and inviting, making you want to swim in a large tub of it. There were several garnishes of vegetarian and meat kind you could add to cater to your own tastes.

Som tam is a healthy, light and easy to make salad with papaya, peppers, carrot with a  sweet and tangy dressing. This was a huge hit with all the women! Thai Green Curry is the easiest way to sneak plenty of vegetables to someone who detests it. It is a perfectly balanced dish was relished with a bowl of steamed rice. Pad Thai was the last item to be made and can be very tricky to make at home since the right techniques need to be used for cooking the noodles. The Chef was very helpful and answered several queries and had very effective demonstrations.

After this came the moment of truth as different ladies took turns to don the chef’s hat, quite literally and recreate the same dishes. It was a smashing success and almost as good as the one’s made by the chef himself! It was all in all a very educational session with the women barely having room for the luxurious lunch spread. 

Cheers to the weekend: I’ll drink to that!

As yet another weekend rolled around in the city of pubs this event seemed apt as most people would want to try new kinds of drinks and learn basic bartending skills. Causing them to brag to their friends and have themselves (and the drinks of course) be a raging hit at future parties.

The Cocktails and Bar Bites Masterclass was aptly named so because of the stellar panel of chefs, Anuj, Manjit and Madhu Menon. Held at Herbs and Spices in Indiranagar, the setting was perfect and commodious for all the participants. Every participant felt at ease with such an interactive session. There were “ooh’s and aah’s” as the event started and the flask was tossed in the air.

Several cocktails were made, none being the least bit conventional! One is “Absolut Howl” which was made of Jamun, crushed ice, lemon and Absolut Vodka. The hit of the evening was “Mango Crush”, consisting of mango pulp, brown sugar, lime and of course vodka. Since it is never good to drink on an empty stomach, to go along with all the cocktails were scrumptious bar bites of the vegetarian and meat variety.

As the sun set and last few clinks of glasses were heard, an amazing workshop came to an end with all the participants leaving very satisfied with their newly acquired knowledge.

The BBQ Bootcamp Experience

Recently, PoshVine organized an Art of grilling Workshop in partnership with Weber Grills and Starvin Marvin. A 5 hour extravaganza featuring workshops, competitions and awesome food, the experience was a huge success. Following is a photo journey of the event. 

Keep following www.poshvine.com for more such curated experiences and awesome culinary trails.