Bellaria Ice creams

When you have an insanely stressful week and more so because of some phone calls and 3 hours at the bank, what you need are some great stress busters in the form of ice creams or cakes. Both my girls - Yalini and Avanthi offered to help beat my stress. Avanthi runs a cute little ice cream store called Bellaria and Yalini runs The Sweet' 'Art.

I was in the vicinity of Bellaria and made a spur of the moment decision to take up Avanthi on her offer. Avanthi is certified in ice-cream making. Bellaria's menu is highly customizable, right from the milk and sugar to the flavors and toppings and are made right in front of your eyes. The ice cream machines are imported and you can see how a simple blended liquid transforms into lip-smacking scoops.

As I waited for her to arrive, a family of 4 including a little girl were ordering their ice creams. And she was so enthralled that she carried the bowl with her to the car and was licking away to glory. It was a cute sight to see her face smeared with chocolate. (It was funny when one member of this family ordered a sugar free gulab jamun ice cream! :P )

I ordered a regular white chocolate ice-cream and Avanthi suggested a small modification. She added 2 spoons of orange juice while making the white chocolate to tone down the milky flavor of white chocolate. I asked for chocolate sauce over it but then she suggested I try it first before the topping. Boy, how right she was. The ice-cream had a mild undertone of orange and left me wanting for more. I just topped it with some dark choc chips and almond slivers. I paid INR 136 for this bowl of 3 scoops + toppings

Avanthi is also introducing some vegetable flavored ice-creams and I had the privilege of trying one. Carrots cooked in orange juice and then made into ice-creams. Loved the texture and the taste. It almost felt like gajar halwa except this is much more healthier. Avanthi is toying with various other vegetables and if you have suggestions, do post it as a comment here or on Bellaria's page.


It's no coincidence that stressed spelt backwards leads to desserts and that's the tag line of Bellaria.

Next stop - The Sweet' 'Art

Aromas of China

It'd been an insanely bad week and I was really looking forward to this dinner. Sometimes, you learn the hard way, to not expect.

Located in the heart of the food junction of Chennai, Aromas Of China boasts some really cool neighbors. The usual CFG gang landed at this place and by 730 we started dinner. The menu was sent well in advance.

Well lit ambiance, white crockery and stylish cutlery are just some positive aspects of this place. The seats weren't that great, especially the sofas and some even compared it to a share auto.

I quite didn't like the jasmine flavored tea that was served.

The eight treasure soup lacked flavor. I couldn't find one treasure in the soup, leave alone 8. The soup was too corny, er, I mean, too much corn flour in the base. (Aarti - your effect is rubbing off ;-) )

The crispy chilli corn pepper was crisp. A decent starter. The vegetable konjeenaro dry was terribly dry, tasteless and crisp. If we were able to manage spoonfuls of any of the above, it was largely due to the chilli sauce. It tasted yum and we almost finished 3 - 4 cups of this sauce.

A veg momo appeared on the plate and I really don't have much to say about this.

As we waited for the main course, we almost lost patience and considered stepping off to Haagen Dazs for some desserts. The chilli butter noodles was decent on the palate while the dumplings in soya chilli sauce and mix veg sichuan chilli sauce left a lot to be desired.

Given that the meal so far was a complete let down, we were hoping the desserts would save the evening and save they did. Hot chocolate rolls, Almond flaked Darshan.. er.. darsaan (Jenny - couldn't help it :D ) and vanilla ice cream were good. The vanilla ice cream though, didn't seem to have any vanilla in it.

Unless I'd lost my olfactory senses this morning, I could neither sense any aroma nor was there any China (except of course the mandarined lanterns and the fact that they were trying to celebrate Chinese New Year of the Snake ;-) ) in this place. And surprisingly, it was full for a Thursday evening.

For the first time, I am going with a rating mechanism here

Food: 1/5
Ambiance: 3/5
Service: 2/5 (I am tempted to say 1, but there were moments when the service was okay)

* This is part of CFG Showcase. Food is subjective and your taste buds are different from mine. 

* A meal for two would cost around INR 1500+ - each dish is priced at 300 upwards

*Aromas of China is on KNK Road, opp Kryptos By Willi.

Tadka Talk - A vegetarian's delight

A 2nd visit, in over a month - a perfect time frame to decide if the quality of food has been maintained! The first time was for the food tasting & trials when Shafee had called some of us from Chennai Food Guide. I was impressed, to say the least - the food, ambience, pricing and most of all, the proximity to home.

And when a CFG showcase happened here, I had to be present! Shafee, Chef Jugesh Arora and Chef Deepa Arora welcomed us and we were shown to our seats.

The ambience is simple and clean. There are no distractions. An open kitchen to your left, and the seating to the right. There's also a spacious private 15-seater. The service apartments upstairs are clean and well maintained, mostly taken up by corporates.

The showcase menu was the Chef's Tasting Menu, a sit-down buffet priced at INR 385+tax. 1 soup, 1 starter platter, unlimited main course and 1 dessert is what you get and this is much more than the money's worth. The service is quick and efficient but they let you eat your meal in peace :)

Punjabi home style food (ghar ka khaana) is the USP of this restaurant.

We began with a welcome drink - spiced kiwi and mango. I love the sour taste of the mango and it's an amazing palate cleanser. This was followed by the medium spicy black channa soup (choliya di rassa) - a perfect beginning to the meal.Oh, Raghavander can't eat mango, so the welcome drink was replaced with a kesar badam lassi.  This had just 2 reactions - a big yes and a tentative no. I belong to the big yes group. The tang of the yoghurt with the subtle flavor of the kesar is a winner.

Then arrived the starter platter - Paneer Amritsari, Tandoori Phul and Lahori Seekh Paneer Cholia Te Khumbwali. These are best eaten with the mango chutney. Each dish is perfectly cooked, the paneer with a slight tinge of ajwain.

The plates were cleared. The papad, raita, onions and pickle were arranged. The foodies that we were, we quickly made a dish out of this and crunched into the papad, strewn with some onions on a bed of raita and a small dot of pickle ;-)

As we waited for the main course, Ila and Chinna joined us. The rest of us couldn't wait for them to catch up ;-) We dug into some super soft butter naan and the roti. The breads were complemented by Kadhai Paneer, Aloo Gobi and Rajma. I loved the dal from the tasting and hoped it would be there but the rajma was a good replacement.

The rice dish, lahori sabzi biriyani, was a perfect blend of spices and vegetables. And no, this is not the spicy tomato ricey kind of biriyani that is served in the name of biriyani!

As I licked my plate (and my fingers) clean, the finger bowls arrived. The water was warm and the lemon a decent sized wedge. The bowl was big enough to dip my fingers and clean them, (There, I've reviewed the finger bowls too.. Happy? :-P)

And now for the grand finale. I had an amazing dessert for tasting - some gulab jamun on a bed of gajar halwa and a slice of kulfi and I was hoping the chef would serve the same this time around too! I did get 2 desserts but plated separately. Rasmalai and warm gulab jamun. The rasmalai had an extra bit of rose (gulab) flavor and the chef feels that his halwai might have been thinking about his valentine! The gulab jamun was warm and delicious with the right amount of sweet.

As I wind up, I can only hope they maintain this quality for a long time to come! Three cheers to Tadka Talk!

*This is part of the CFG Showcase.

* Tadka Talk is on Ramgiri Nagar, Opp TCS, Taramani Velachery Link Road (Behind Sony Center)

**Someone please ask Fazil why he was blushing so much.

* 5 month old Arnav, the youngest CFG member, was the apple of everyone's eye here. Sreehari & Aparna's son delighted us by being a very good boy! :) 

The Great Baker Showcase - Season 3 - Chennai - Grand Finale

The day was here, the day that we were all eagerly awaiting to lay our hands on the amazing goodies that we hitherto only drooled over at the pictures the bakers posted on the showcase page on Facebook.

The venue was a fine choice - the huge auditorium at the Asan Memorial Senior Secondary School, Anderson Road, Egmore. The event oganized by The Home Bakers Guild, co-sponsored by Crimson Chakra, Gormei Market and Passionate Baking not to mention the Asan Memorial College of Arts and Science, was a huge hit once again.

14 talented bakers played to their key strengths and displayed an array of cakes and savories and the customers were spoilt for choice. Keeping up with the tradition, the first baker sold out in an hour. Karthika Shravanti of Bakeman Begins was the first one to sell out and she had plenty time to go around the stalls and indulge. Slowly the rest of the bakers were also selling out. The biriyani and fish pickle brought by Tasneem Aunty sold out in under 15 minutes. And Sara and Girija Menon were not to be left behind. The citrus drizzle cake and the other items from the Soul Food Sisters vanished in no time. I was pure lucky to get my hands on the choicest pieces!

Ayeesha and Divya Ninan followed suit and sold out. Gazeenasulu also cleared her table along with Meghana Karthik and Veena Sakthi. Priya, Nanditha, Yalini and Suzie had hardly a few pieces remaining.

Bakers - Take a bow - You surpass yourselves every time and set a new standard!!

The venue would have seen over a 1000 people drop by to fill their bags :)

This event was a total sell out and part of proceeds go to charity. And I am extremely proud to have been associated with this event right from day 1.

I also had the opportunity to meet and interact with Zenobia Currimbhoy and Dr. Richa Agrawal - Asst Professor - Marketing, IIT Madras. As I went around, I met Rashmee, Anusha, Linu, Sangeetha, Ayesha (Ma Baker) and a load of other bakers who have now become good friends!

This event would not have been successful without the effort of all the volunteers - who put up posters all over town, who helped the bakers set up the table and running around asking if anyone needed help and help pack the bags. There's one special volunteer that I would like to mention here - 8 year old Nayonika. She's Rashmi Ramakrishnan's daughter, the ever-smiling and ever-helpful little darling. Nayonika blogs at http://kidscenter.wordpress.com/ - Do check out her blog and her amazing photographs!

KP Balakumar - Do take a bow - you have done it again! Look forward to the next one.:)

Please look up my Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/Foodandall for the rest of the pics!

Meet the Bakers - Ayeesha Riaz

As the Showcase nears, here's a post from the pearl city, Tuticorin!

A little tête-à-tête with Ayeesha:

D: Pearl CDC?
A: Yeah, I hail from Tuticorin. Hence the name Pearl and CDC denotes cakes, desserts and cookies :)

D: So how did baking happen?
A: I got married right after graduation (BE EEE) and moved to UK. That's where the culinary journey began. Along with the basic cooking like rice and curries, I also had some interest towards baking.  I always enjoyed the cooking shows in UK, watching Celebrity Chef's, the way they cook, mix, using different kitchen gadgets, their techniques just wowed me.  That's how my interest towards baking started.  As long as I lived in UK I didn't try to make that a business, it was always for friends and family.  I have also baked for charity.

D: There are some amazing photographs on your blog!
A: Taste Of Pearl City is my own blog in which I blog about food, food, food so it's about food only.  I started that blog only for my passion for cooking, which opened up so many new windows for me like food photography and now this home baking too.

D: What is your favorite when it comes to cakes?
A: If there is any special occasion,  Chocolate fudge cake is a must there, it's nothing but moist chocolate cake layered with rich chocolate cream and topped with ganache.  With tea, it's always been carrot cake.  My husband's favourite would be Cappuccino Slices.  Something which I liked the most from my baked goodies would be Japanese Cotton Cheesecake and I always love the smell of freshly baked bread especially when it has garlic and cinnamon.  Oh My! That aroma is magical.

D: Your thoughts on HBG?
A:  I have to say it's a great platform for bakers with a wealth of thoughts and ideas.  I always enjoyed the discussion in HBG, like the doubts they get in baking or how to deal with the customers. Simple conversations like these would help beginners in home baking.  HBG has created a space and a recognition for home bakers.  I'm glad to be part of this lovely group.

Watch out for Ayeesha's specials only at the Baker Showcase!

Darios - Cook with Love!

A vegetarian's delight - and when I say that, I mean a vegetarian who wouldn't even touch egg! To start with, none of their dishes have egg - not the pasta, not the desserts. And, they can customize your dishes to not include garlic.

This 130-seater restaurant located in one of the poshest localities of Chennai, boasts of a Sicilian cuisine and already has 2 outlets in Pune.

We were seated outside and surprisingly there were no mosquitoes.

The menu that Suresh, CEO, Darios, had put up for this showcase was quite extensive. I was the first one from the group to reach the place, and got a quick view of the rooms and the open kitchen. Suresh promised a kitchen tour but I guess we were too busy eating :-)

While at this, I must say that the Moroccan Mint tea was absolutely stunning. This simple clear hot liquid not only cleansed the palate but also soothed the stomach. Please make this your must order when you visit this place! Highly recommended.

I go on to mention the dishes, in no particular order (as at this point, I don't quite remember in which order they came)

Starters:

Funghi Darios: Whole Roasted Mushrooms with lemon, garlic, parsley and extra virgin olive oil. This one was brilliant, but I really couldn't quite catch the citrus flavor as the garlic overpowered everything.

Polpette Di Spinaci E Formaggio: Spinach and fresh cheese balls served with a spinach cheese dip. If you love spinach and if you love cheese, go for this one! However the oil smelt a little funny today. (May be just a one off?)

Antipasto Siciliano: Sicilian platter with cheese, olives, sundried tomatoes, roasted peppers, pickled onions, roasted aubergines and home made bread. The chilli stuffed olives are a spice lovers delight. The gorgonzola cheese (an acquired taste perhaps) was a tad salty but hey, it was just too good to be eaten on its own! The bread was soft and fresh, and made for a perfect accompaniment.

Assorted bruschetta: My pick was the goat cheese and roasted zucchini. The sun dried tomato pate was a tad strong and spicy for my liking.

Salad:

Aranciazola: Mixed salad leaves, fresh orange, gorgonzola, olives and herbs - A fresh salad with a hint of citrus from the orange but what makes this a killer salad is the gorgonzola.

Verdure Grigalate: Warm mixed vegetables (potatoes, zucchini, bell peppers, onions and carrots) - This was yum on its own but again, a hint of gorgonzola and it just elevated the flavor of the vegetables.


Pizza:

Carduni: Mozarella, artichokes, mushrooms, garlic, olives, broccoli and sun dried tomatoes.I absolutely loved it, more for the fact that it had a good amount of those bright green broccoli pieces :D

Stromboli: Mozarella, red chilli, spinach and tomatoes: What I really loved about these thin crust pizzas were that they didn't stoop or sag or become soggy. They held their head high and were crunchy till the last bite.

Risotto and Pasta: 

Risottoragli Asparagi: Asparagus, cream and cheese - By far the best risotto I've eaten. It was slightly high on garlic but if you love a good risotto, then this is the one!

Risotto Siciliana: Tomato sauce based risotto with aubergines, red chilli, oregano, capers and cheese - Not my favorite!

Risotto Al Funghi Porcini: Mushrooms & garlic cream cheese - If you love a good mushroom, this is one to pick!

Ravioli Kamarina: Home made ravioli stuffed with spinach & cheese, served with tomatoes, chickpeas, rosemary, smashed peas and cream. By this time, we were stuffed and could only take spoonfuls to taste.

The other dishes in this category included Fussili Vitale (Fresh tomato, garlic, sun dried tomato and mushrooms), Tortellini formaggi and funghi (pasta parcels stuffed with mushrooms and cheese), crespelle al funghi (baked pancakes with mushrooms, garlic, tomatoes, cheese and peas). The baked pancakes were good but attempting to taste the sauce alone didn't do too much good. It has to be eaten along with the pancake.

And finally, it was time for dessert. How much ever you eat, there's always space for dessert and I mean always!

Desserts

Eggless tiramisu - very low on alcohol and coffee - not exactly a tiramisu but let's say a decent variation of the actual!

Pannacotta - Typical :) The crunchy slices of apple on the side added a nice texture to the dish!

Lemon cheese cake: My pick of the lot - The mild tang of the lemon and the soft cheese cake, when eaten along with the lemon rind - is a different experience altogether.

Erupting chocolate and chocolate brownie served with chocolate ice cream - Now I thought that would be a chocolate overdose but surprisingly it was quite pleasing on the palate!

As we stood up, completing a wonderful meal, I sure gained a few pounds! The love in their cooking certainly shows :)

** This meal is part of CFG Showcase. 

** A meal for two would cost you around INR 1200.

** Darios is off Kasturi Ranga Road, Near Aswini Soundra Nursing Home, Poes Garden.  - http://www.darios.in

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