FIRE at THE PARK, CP has launched new freshly farmed authentic menu from across the country in contemporary style......

FIRE at THE PARK……location of course is the plus point as it is in the heart of the city i.e. CP, but this is not the reason we were there recently, basically it is the new menu they have launched which is freshly farmed authentic menu from across the country in contemporary style. The best part about this menu is that the fifty percent of it is organic and they are trying to take it to hundred percent. On top of it they are growing some of the veges in house which is incredible and for the other ingredients they are relying on suppliers and artisans who are practicing sustainable techniques to offer food with no pesticides.

Exec Chef Abhishek Basu and his team worked very hard for months on this and crafted the new seasonal menu for the guests. We relished some of the exotic dishes there.

Started with the SALAD…..made of Burrata, Arugula, tomato, the famous Father Michael’s Cheese, Organic Rocket leaves, Baby tomatoes, Curry leaves and Mustard seeds…..never had such fresh salad to be honest.

YAKHNI SHORBA……Mutton shorba along with Multi grain toast with Bheja fry and fresh coriander. It is a delight for the coming season.

BHUT JOLOKIA PRAWN STIR FRY…..The Tiger Prawns from the coast of Gujarat cooked with ghost pepper , the spiciest chilli grown in Assam…..awesome. MURG METHI MALAI TIKKA….perfectly marinated was creamy. BROCOLI FENNEL TIKKI……delicious soft tikki made with Brocoli which is sourced from Himachal.

KARI SUKKA……This is Tamilnadu style made mutton with curry leaves and madras onion was served with Virudhnagar Parotta, the deep fried layered parotta. MALABARI FISH CURRY…..the coconut based fish curry was awesome, creamy and mouthwatering with the aroma of the fresh spices was served with rice. ACHARI RISOTTO……Risotto with distinct flavour.

For the dessert , it is a again a delight….magnificent dessert , the Mysore choco mousse, Chilli mascarpone quenelle, Purple basil and thandai panacotta, Kali mirch truffle.

The hard work and the perseverance of Abhishek Basu and his team is definitely going to pay off !

GOA....Beaches & Beaches all around, basically a tourist destination with a laid back attitude....just to relax an unwind

Beaches & Beaches all around, basically a tourist destination with a laid–back attitude. People go there to relax and unwind with a care free mind. Happened to be in Goa to attend the Goan Chef Awards held at PARK HAYTT GOA.

South Goa, a quite and calm place, Panjim is a hub of all the business and the North Goa is a place with all the hustle and bustle of the city.

Stayed in South Goa at KENILWORTH BEACH RESORT & SPA, a magnificent property spread in huge area with lush green lawns and just six minute’s walk from the beach. Had a wonderful stay except that the warmth was missing there.

Then moved to North Goa and stayed in LEMON TREE AMRANTE BEACH RESORT is a beautiful small resort with sixty five rooms with a few heritage rooms as well. With lots of greenery around it is just five minute’s walk from Candolim Beach. The GM, Nikhil Sasidharan extended all the courtesies and made our stay comfortable.

Had an excellent experience of Candolim Beach and a few restaurants like CANTARE at Saligao famous for Monday night for their live Jazz Band, SOI…had some amazing Goan food, FAT FISH….again relished some goan delicacies with Feni.

Went to Panjim for lunch at CASA MODERNA, where we had some excellent Mangalorean dishes crafted by Sunitha Shetty, the home chef now running her own outlet, who was awarded five awards in different categories at Goan Chef Awards held recently at GOA

Enjoyed the trip to Goa thoroughly !!

SOI , an authentic Goan Restaurant in North Goa, reviving the traditional Goan recipes that have been lost in recent years.....

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SOI, a very decent and classy place to have an authentic Goan food in North Goa, easy to locate, right on the road.  On first floor, with the glass walls on two sides, the place is bright with natural light. Colourful painted wall depicts the culture and festivals of Goa with the long Bar Counter with ample stock adds to the lively ambiance. Bright red scooter, which is prevalent with goan lifestyle is placed near the entrance. The wooden floor again gives the feel of goan lifestyle.

We were in Goa recently so went there for lunch and enjoyed the traditional goan food.

STUFFED SQUID….a very popular seafood delicacy with goan’s done with goan spices, vinegar, onion, cook the Squid and stuffing separately then filled and cook for few minutes was relished thoroughly. STUFFED BHENDI…..stuffed with grated coconut and spices.

TAMDI BHAJI…..red spinach cooked in goan style. PRAWN KISMOOR….Dry prawns done with coconut and spices.  GOAN FISH CURRY with RED RICE….Goan style fish curry made with fresh coconut, tamarind and spices was delicious. XACUTI  VEG…..a popular curry in goan style with loads of spices, coconut, red chillies.

For the dessert we had BEBINCA……A layered goan pudding made with coconut milk, flour, sugar, egg …..was served with Ice cream.

Had a wonderful experience with the Goan Food at SOI with a courteous team to attend to.

CASA MODERNA, a restaurant in Panjim, Goa run by SUNITHA SHETTY, a passionate culinary expert.....

SUNITHA SHETTY, a very sweet and talented lady, basically from Mangalore, South India, settled in Goa for many years now. She has a passion for cooking, not trained from any Institute, learned the art of cooking all by herself.

For almost three years, she is running her own restaurant, CASA MODERNA in Panjim, Goa. A very basic restaurant with the focus on food, located at a very prominent place.

Recently she participated in Goan Chef Awards conducted in honour of Late young Chef Boris do Rego and got five awards in five different categories and became the second runner up in Restaurant’s categories as a whole.

Had the opportunity to relish some of the delicacies crafted by her and for that she makes her own spices with fresh ingredients which one can realize once you have the food there.

PRAWN GHEE ROAST…..a popular Mangalorean dish with distinct aroma and red in colour was awesome. CHICKEN URVAL…..again a Mangalorean dish with fiery red colour was rich in taste. PANEER TIKKA with Veges…..was perfect.

KORI GASSI CHICKEN…..Coconut based gravy fiery red in colour made with red chillies was served with Rice crispies. Delicious with aroma of fresh ingredients.

CHICKEN CURRY with RICE…..perfectly done with succulent juicy chicken .

Whenever in Goa, one must visit CASA MODERNA to relish the authentic and fresh food !

LEMON TREE AMARANTE BEACH RESORT, in North Goa is a beautiful resort with lots of greenery around.

In North Goa is the LEMON TREE AMARANTE BEACH RESORT with sixty five rooms with a few heritage rooms as well and lots of greenery around.  From the front one can’t make out that it’s such a beautiful Resort as it is right on the road. With all the modern amenities the Resort is just five minute’s walk from Candolim Beach.

Rooms are very decently done up with nice colour combination upholstery and the best part was there were number of lights and lamp shades in the room, so we could brightly lit the room.

The GM, Nikhil Sasidharan is managing the Resort very efficiently for last two years.

Although we did not have time to taste the food there as was already planned elsewhere, but had the buffet breakfast at Citrus Café, had Masala Dosa, Idli, Pan Cake, Muffin and were quite okay.

The Team here was very courteous and prompt to attend.

Had a wonderful stay there !!

KENILWORTH BEACH RESORT & SPA , a luxury property spread in huge area with all the amenities of a five star resort......

What a magnificent, a luxury property spread in huge area just six minutes walk from Beach Utorda in Salcette, the KENILWORTH BEACH RESORT & SPA. Lush green landscape with around hundred plus rooms overlooking greenery with all the amenities of a five star resort.

Happened to be in Goa recently to attend the Goan Chef Awards, so stayed in Kanilworth Resort. Enjoyed some delicacies crafted by Exec Chef Sudeep Singh who has won two awards in two different categories in the competition at the Goan Chef Awards.

RAWA FRIED PRAWNS……well marinated prawnsthen fried with rawa and rice flour mix was served with peri peri sauce. CHICKEN TIKKA, LAMB SEEKH, FISH TIKKA, all were perfect with balanced spices.

AQUA MOJITO and KIWI MOJITO…..refreshing with lemon juice, mint with beautiful colours.

THAI CHICKEN CURRY….perfect with aroma, creamy and tasty. VEG XACUTI….a very popular goan dish  made with goan vinegar, coconut oil, xacuti masala, tamarind and kokum served with rice. GOAN POMFRET GRAVY…..Pomfret a delicacy which is the pride of goan cuisine was made with red masala with the gravy was devine.

GULAB JAMUN and RABRI for the dessert were delicious. Rabri particularly was excellent as I rarely find such perfect with thickness, taste, colour.

Although it was a short stay, but the warmth was lacking at the resort.

JASHN-E-FATEH is being celebrated at Eros Nehru place from 1st Sept to 10th Sept, 2016, the journey of Sardar Hari Singh Nalwa's incessant victories.

Jashn-e-Fateh is being celebrated at Eros, Nehru Place from 1^st Sept to 10^th September 2016, the journey of Sardar Hari Singh Nalwa's incessant victories, who was Commander-in-Chief of Sikh Khalsa Army in 1791 and was amongst top ten world conquerors.

After lots of research and trials the Team Eros has brought some great delicacies with the flavours of Punjab and Peshawar here.

Every now and then Eros celebrates Food Festivals and I have attended a number of them and were always properly decorated according to the theme, only this time they were lacking in giving the feel of the festival at the entrance, inside was good with rich and nice colour combination and brightly lit.

Sharbat-e-khas was offered as welcome drink made with milk, coconut milk, sugar, almonds, poppy seeds, rose syrup……

HARIPUR KATWA GOSHT…..a traditional meat curry cooked in earthenware pot from Chhachh Valley with a unique eating tradition by putting kulcha in the pot and adding the gosht curry, is a meal in itself.

From the PESHAWAR NAMAK MANDI SIGRI BAR-BE-QUE, the meats and veges cooked in Sigri in style of PASHTUS from the street food of Peshawar,  GOSHT KI CHAP, MURG SAAJI, PANEER TIKKA, SURKH MUSHROOM…..all were well done with mild spices.

KASHMIRI KALAAHARI KULCHA…….This is the pan grilled bread stuffed with cow’s milk cheese of Dogra community and served with spiced chickpeas, tasted awesome.

PASHTUNI GOSHT PULAO, CHICKEN HANDI, TAMATER TEHRI, KASUNI PANEER MALAI, DAL KANDHARI, BENDAI,  PAHARI ALOO PALDA, PESHAWARI CHOLEY are also there to relish.

From the desserts CHUKANDER KA HALWA stole the show for me, I had it for the first time, was delicious.

Kudos to the Team Eros for the hard work and for their passion.