Aadil Bandukwala's Blog

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Dessert

Desert Goodness at Monkey Bar

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Lemon Cake at Monkey Bar, Bangalore

 

Some people have a sweet tooth. Me, I have sweet teeth. I happened to visit Monkey Bar at Indira Nagar in Bangalore with my office colleagues for some after office fun. While we savored the Crab Rangoon, Shaami Sliders, Tiger Beef, Butterfly Chicken and even gorged one some scintillating Berry Pulao, but what I loved the most about Monkey Bar was their desert.

We ordered for a humble Lemon Cake. When we were served the Lemon Cake, all the humility instantly evaporated if you will. The above picture will tell you why. It was this gorgeous sponge cake with a tinge of very subtle lemon flavor that was helped with a generous portion of lemon curd. The lemon curd added the zing required to turn that sponge cake into a winner.

But that’s not all, the fresh mangoes served along side, gave it the much needed balance that would have other wise been an absolute sinner. We weren’t complaining though. Didn’t stop at one. Had to repeat the order four more times till our cravings were satisfied. 🙂

The Most Amazing Raan Biryani Ever!

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Raan Biryani at Shalimar, Mohammed Ali Road, Mumbai

So yours truly was visiting Mumbai for just about 36 hours. Fly in – in the evening – do business meetings the next day and fly out immediately. While I was planning my trip, I had to plan a foodie evening in Mumbai. So I called up a close friend – Mahesh and asked him if we can plan something. The foodie that he is, Mahesh’s answer was – but of course! 🙂

Mahesh suggested we do Mohammed Ali Road and in particular Shalimar Restaurant near Kalbadevi. I jumped at the opportunity and so did other folks from our Mumbai Office in the form of Manish, Ketaki and Jyoti. No sooner did I land in the evening, I went straight to our office at BKC in Mumbai, picked them up and off we were to Shalimar.

If there was one thing that was super good at Shalimar, it was the Raan Biryani. The portion was generous, the red meat extremely tender, the rice cooked just about right, the fragrance from the spices – was an aroma that has lasted with me even today. To top it all, the fried onions served along side called Brista just made the Biryani even more delectable.

But then the Raan Biryani wasn’t just the only thing we had. Before indulging into the gastronomical delight, we also savored the galactic Nawaabi Chicken Gravy with Reshmi Paratha [Deep Fried Indian Bread], had Bheja Masala to go with it and washed it down with the yummy Shalimar Special Faalooda. An evening that all of us, will cherish for long!

Churros at Chocolateria San Churro

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churros

 

A trip to Mumbai is never complete without indulging in food. I have a thing for deserts. [Actually, I have a thing for all things food ;)] This particular day after having a wonderful meal at Caravan Serai at Bandra West, Mumbai with my colleagues, we decided to cross the road and walk over to one of my favorite desert joints Chocolateria San Churro.

The one thing you *have* to have at San Chrurro Chocolateria is Churros. Churros are normally referred to as Spanish Doughnuts. Essentially there are a fried dough pastry ala choux served with your choice of chocolate dips. The one I’m talking about is called Churros Medio. Churros Medio serves six pieces of churros along with two melted chocolate pots – milk chocolate and white chocolate.

How good is it? When I say you have to have it, you have to have it! It is beyond amazing. We also tried the Red Velvet Cupcake and Opera Cake which are seen in the background but they turned out to be damp squibs. The Churros though – the stuff we went to have – muah! Delicious! 🙂

The Belgian Waffle Dream

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Haagen Dazs

 

Last week I was in Chennai for work on Thursday and Friday. Thursday was a busy day – so much so that I didn’t get time to grab lunch. By the time I was done with work, the clock struck 6 pm and I began to question who’d give me lunch at that odd hour. 7 pm and restaurants open up for dinner but I was so hungry that I couldn’t wait and wanted something then and there.

While I was walking around Khader Nawaz Khan Road in Chennai, I stumbled across Haagen Dazs and the heart instantly knew what it wanted. Walked into Haagen Dazs, went through the menu and decided that my lunch was going to be an amazing Haagen Dazs desert. Oh yes! 🙂

So went ahead and ordered something called The Belgain Waffle Dream. This was a scoop of pralines and cream ice cream, dulce de liche, warm Belgain waffles, butterscotch sauce and freshly whipped cream. The ice cream was majestic! The Belgain waffles – supreme. The butterscotch sauce – macho! And the freshly whipped creme – nice and light! Kudos Haagen Dazs! I’m coming back for more soon! 🙂

Tiramisu at California Pizza Kitchen

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Tiramisu at California Pizza Kitchen

 

In one of my earlier posts I mentioned that I’d dined at California Pizza Kitchen and when I wrote that post I knew that I had to write one about CPK. CPK in Bangalore has three outlets located at Indira Nagar, Koramangala & Phoenix MarketCity.

My favorite CPK Outlet is the Indira Nagar one. A few things that I really enjoy on the CPK Menu are the Chicken Thai Crunch Salad, Santa Fe Pizza and Shakey Prawns. But most of all, I love their desserts. In particular I’m a big fan of their Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese.

What I enjoy most and go time and again to CPK for is their Tiramisu. CPK’s Tiramisu is one dish that makes me salivate instantaneously. It comprises of rich mascarpone cheese and espresso soaked lady fingers with a touch of Kahlua topped with house made sabayon sprinkled with freshly grated dark chocolate. Life is good! 🙂

Shahi Tukra!

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Shahi Tukra

Jiski khusbhoo se mehek utthe fizza; Jiski rangat se bhi aa jaye maza;
Ho nafees aur lazeez har luqma, zaiqa iska ho har ek se juda;
Kha ke ho jaye jehvan kushk mehman, hum bechaate hain wahi dastarkhan!

The above is an old couplet by Rizvi. And something that I precisely experienced at Kebabs & Curries Restaurant at ITC Gardenia in Bangalore recently. The service is par excellence, the food is absolutely majestic and the ambiance – la jawaab!

What I enjoyed most as part of my dinner was this exquisite desert called ‘Shahi Tukra Asal’. This magnificent dish is a combination of delicately produced milk poured over crisp home made bread sweetened in  saffron syrup garnished with silver leaf and fine pistachio. If you have a sweet tooth, this is luxury you must experience!

Oreo Cheese Cake – Ooh La La!

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Oreo Cheese Cake at Spiga, Bangalore

 

Spiga at St.Marks Road, Bangalore is one place the wife and me love to frequent. The service is good, ambiance nice, but the best of all – quality of food served. If you’d ask most of my friends how I like to start my meals, they’ll all jump up and say – he starts with desserts.

Quirky – i know. Weird – i agree. Strange – yes.  Surprised? – You should be. But then, that’s me – I’ve always loved starting my meals with desserts. And one of my all time favorite desserts in Bangalore is the Oreo Cheese Cake. I have no idea the magic that the Oreo Cheese Cake at Spiga spins at me, but it is this one dish that keeps getting me back there time and again.

If you like Oreo Cheese Cakes though, there is this one more place at Cunningham Road in Bangalore you must hit. Its called Dolci. I’d rank their Oreo Cheese Cake #2 in Bangalore – right after Spiga. Bon Appetite!