Comfort food = Soul Food

Today I was musing about what are my comfort foods: Foods you crave for when you are low, or tired or ill and by eating them, you instantly feel better. Some people call these soul foods.

Most of our comfort foods come from our childhood memories of Mama whipping up these delicious foods for us. Interestingly, my experience is most comfort foods are from the carbohydrate families. There must be a scientific explanation for that which I must look up some time.

For me, comfort foods start with all the delicious rice dishes: Tamarind rice (Puliodorai), Curd Rice, Lemon Rice & my relatively recent addition BBB or Bisi Beli Bath. I actually discovered BBB only 4 years ago on a trip to Bangalore where I had it twice and now its a fave. all the others I have grown up eating. Tomato rice is nice but not as high a favourite as the others.

I would also add Aloo Parathas with curds and pickle to the list.

In Italian cuisine, it would be Pesto Pasta (again only started eating it over the last 8 years but just love it) & an occasional aglio olio or white sauce baked dish macaroni.

Warm freshly baked bread always qualifies and I miss my breadmaker which used to make my house spell like a bakery every week.

Maggi Noodles also qualifies for hostel memories of waiting patiently in the saucepan queque for the single hot plate to be free.

The rare hot mushroom capuccino soup, the strawberry and fresh cream, a good cheesecake are all instant mood uppers and GJs (gulab jamuns) and ice cream sometimes is nice.

The moment you eat your comfort food, the world rights itself, all things are in perspective and I am happy again:-)

How do your comfort foods impact you? and what are they? Share them here.

Italia calls at Toscano

Sunday lunch saw us back at UB City for an Italian meal at Toscano. I had been here in November and loved it so it was very much on my food list. Toscano is an outdoor indoor restaurant with a nice dark wood and black and white pics ambience. But it isnt a great choice in sweltering May for lunch and believe me Bangalore is also sweltering in May.

My drink was a delicious non alcoholic grape sangria.

I ordered a Penne Gorgonzola pasta- Blue cheese, radicchio, cracked pepper, and parsley with my usuals of mushrooms, jalapenos and sundried tomatoes which was super delicious. Their complimentary bread basket comes with a herbed butter and a chilli dip. I think my fave accompaniment is still Olive Oil & Balsamic vinegar though.


The dessert was a beautifully presented creamy Tiramisu. Dont miss the mango & strawberry syrup eyes. Lovely food presentation for most dishes. I think this is a firm favourite and will hopefully be on my list every time I am in Bangalore.

Not too much masala at Masala Klub

Saturday Night saw us dining at Masala Klub at Taj West End: another firm favourite for my bro and sis in Law. We originally planned to check out Blue Ginger for Vietnamese cuisine but changed our minds and hopped across to Masala Klub with a little help from our friends at the Taj as it was close to the last order.

Masala Klub is a concept by Chef Hemant Oberoi to reinvent Indian cuisine: Using masalas judiciously to complement rather than overshadow the other ingredients &  to recreate flavors in international cooking styles using olive oil. The food is delicious, light on the stomach & flavourful.

I ordered Spring Onion Kulcha & a Button mushroom dish which was really delicious. Dessert was a tasty kulfi though personally I didnt like the rose syrup they served it with. To drink, I dediced to try a Spicy Martini with vodka, capsicum and chilli. Very interesting flavour. My bro and sis in law had their favourite Apple Jacks (whiskey based cocktails)

The ambience is nice because its outdoor seating amongst many leafy trees.

Rooftop Bars with a view: Mumbai, Singapore, San Francisco & Bangalore

Who doesn't like a great view and when you get a Rooftop Bar with great music, ambience and a great view, it is a great mix. I unfortunately don't have handy pics of all the Bars with a view I have been to but plan to start collecting them when I visit again.

I will start with my first Revolving Bar Experience at San Francisco at the Hyatt. My coz took me there a few years ago and I really enjoyed the experience of sipping on a vodka martini and watching the sea front go by.

My next experience was in Mumbai with the Dome Bar - a really romantic rooftop Bar / lounge on the Intercontinental rooftop which lets you look down the length of Marine Drive. Note to self must go there soon, its been years.

My third experience was in Mumbai again at Aer at the Four Seasons for their sundowner party and I was lucky enough to watch the sun set. It overlooks the sea and a large part of central Mumbai.

My fourth experience was in Singapore at the Marina Bay Hotel. Their bar on the 57th floor has a view to die for.  All of Singapore Harbour is below you.

My most recent experience was last night at the Skye Bar at UB City in Bangalore. Very nice and you can see all of Chinnaswamy stadium.

What are your favourite rooftop bars. Tell me about them so I can check them out.





 

A toss of the trunk to Rogue Elephant for the great food

I am in Bangalore this weekend spending time with my bro, sis in law and their dog. Along with spending time with them, am also checking out some of Bangalore's nice food places. My first discovery was a cute Italian  restaurant called The Rogue Elephant: The Terrace Bistro. Located on the first floor, this open air place serves starters, salads, pastas and has a wine menu.

Friendly service from waiters who can actually make reccomendations, delicious food and a pleasing ambience makes this place a sure fire spot on a foodie's trail. We ordered Sun Kissed Ice Tea (They let the tea brew in the sun), Innocent Mojito (delicious and minus the alcohol) & a Barman's special to drink and each was quite delicious.

Our starters were Mushrooms Burgundy Style, delicious, mildly flavoured and presented with 4 toasted triangles. My bro ordered the Smoked Salmon with Cream Cheese & Dill  which he says is delicious and the Fig Salad (a firm favourite for the two of them).

My main course was Pasta A La Rogue, mushrooms & sundried tomatoes in a tomato based vodka sauce. They didnt have any Jalapenos though which the staff pronounced with a J. My bro and sis in law ordered a Hummus and Pita Veg platter.

The staff continued to check on every dish to see if we enjoyed it, asked us if we needed drink top ups and see to our comfort thru the meal. Nice as in many restaurants, you lose your waiter once your order is served. and when I told them I want to blog about it, they took down my blog url.

We went to the Koramangala branch but there are a couple of others. Do check it out on your next visit.

Quench your thirst at Bandra

On the Reclamation food trail, we checked out Quench and actually my friend was aldready a fan. at the end of the evening, I was a convert too. Friendly service, nice retro music, good food and interesting beer themed graffiti on the walls. and snakes and ladders on the tables.

Ordered a paneer steak with Paprika Sauce and since I am not a beer drinker, the Quench Mocktail. Both were really good. It can get a little crowded and I would imagine weekends are packed. Must check out this place again soon...

A little bit of Paris at Chez Moi

Loving the response to the blog and that folks are reccoing restaurants I should try and review. A couple of days back, heard great reccos for a restaurant a stone's throw from my house and if I had a giant catapult, I could possibly be launched there from my window:-). But I dont and my window has grills, so got there the conventional way walking.

Chez Moi is one of the 5 or 6 restaurants which is makin the Candies lane at Reclamation a food hub to rival Pali Naka / Carter Road / KFC lanea. The good news is most of the food places are casual dining and hence VFM. I had noticed Chez Moi for a while but the exterior didnt impress. The interior though does and actually tries for a french cafe vibe with art to complement.

Had an interesting drink there Basil Lemongrass Mojitos (virgin) as they serve only wine and then a plate of assorted Tapas. The drink was very good but I guess Lemongrass being a bit sour is an acquired taste. The Tapas were a mix of good to fair. I didnt really like the fig flavour.

Their Menu is actually presented in the first few pages of a lifestyle magazine that made for quite an interesting touch. Even the bill is presented in a cigar case.

Though mid week, it was reasonably crowded and people kept pouring in. Their service could do better though as they forgot about my main course order. We decided not to order again as we wanted to check out Quench also in the same lane.

Dipping delight: Delicious Dessert at San Churros

Having eaten Delicious Churros (a donut like cylindrical spanish / mexican dessert) a couple of times at Amusement Parks in California, I was really excited late last year to discover Sanchoz served it on their menu. http://alllaboutfood.blogspot.com/2011/03/viva-la-mexicana-at-sanchoz.html#links

I absolutely love it made hot off the oven / though some folks deep fry it too, dust it with sugar & serve it with white or brown liquid chocolate dip. Thats how its served up at San Churros on Waterfield Road, Bandra and its absolutely delicious.

They call themselves a Chocolatier and serve sandwiches coffees and a few other desserts. But as you can see from the name, they specialise in Churros. There are diff serving sizes depending on whether its an individual or a sharing dessert. I absolutely love it having been there twice - pre and post lent:-) I didnt really enjoy their coffees or sandwich. So recco you drop in either post a meal or at tea time.

Their service isnt the greatest and you may need to remind them about what you ordered. They goofed twice - brought me brown chocolate instead of white and grilled my sandwich when I wanted it plain.

One of my fave discoveries of the year. Go down Waterfield and its opp Red Box. Easy to find, nice ambience, enjoy!

Share your experience here if you like....