Woodstok, Domlur : Restaurant Review

Tucked away in the by-lanes of Domlur service road is Woodstok - resto-cafe. A quaint little bungalow is converted to house this restaurant. Seating is cozy and comfortable and ambiance is straight out of the 70s with the best of retro music playing in the background. 

It has been a while since I thoroughly enjoyed a meal the way I did at Woodstok. Everything we ordered was delicious. And the best part is their happy hours are till 9pm - a double of the cocktails and wine.

Roasted Tomato Zucchini Soup

My only grouse is that they had run out of the bun soup - oh well, next time!

Chacos Nachos

Mexican cottage cheese kebabs

The quality of food is par excellence. Here is what we had.

• Roasted Tomato Zucchini Soup: Decent – typical soup.

• Chacos Nachos: Crunchy & cheesy - served with decent salsa and guacamole

• Mexican cottage cheese kebabs: Now this is something new I'd never tried. Was 
OK - just that I could not figure out how the cocoa powder marination added any value to the flavor.

• Cannelloni: Creamy, heavy and delicious. Their portions are pretty large; one has to keep that in mind while placing an order.

• Vegetable Pot Pie: Crisp and crumbly crust on the outside, soft, cheesy and yummy filling inside. Again - heavy and rich overall.

• Fajita: Tasted pretty similar to the nachos, but then the veggies on the sizzling platter were way too tasty to complain. And the dips of course were awesome.

• Baked strawberry Cheesecake: Just one word to describe it - YUMM!
 

Cannelloni

Vegetable Pot Pie

Baked strawberry Cheesecake

Woodstok wins hands down for fantastic food, quick and courteous service and near perfection in just about everything.

I would not say the menu is priced reasonably - but when you see the quality of food, it’s worth the money spent.

PS: We were totally stuffed after this dinner ….sluggish and satiated J

Verdict: 4.5/5

Europe Travelogue : Part 3

France : Paris

Romance + crème brulee + french wine + fashion + art & history = PARIS

But personally, I found the hype around Paris city totally blown out of proportion. Crazy traffic, dirty metro stations, snobbish and rude people is what we pretty much got.

Of course, the art and history in the city is something that artists and architects will totally love. We spent one full day at the Louvre and maybe almost 2 hours staring at the enigmatic Mona Lisa painting.  Louvre took me back in time to art history classes while in college - paintings through different periods in history, neo classical and gothic architecture, sculptures and fresco.

Louvre

The Notre Dame Cathedral was another place that took me back to art history classes - beautiful fresco on the walls and brilliant stained glass painting! 

Notre Dame Cathedral

 Notre Dame Cathedral

Stained Glass Paintings

We took a 'Discover Paris' walk with a guide in Montmartre Square. The walk was a lovely experience - from the oldest cabaret - Moulign Rouge, to the famous windmill atop the hill, to Picasso's house and the place where Van Gogh first lived and used to buy his breakfast from...loved every bit of it. 

 Montmarte Square

Last, but not the least - the Eiffel Tower. Looked lovely in the evening when it was all lit up. The place was abuzz with activity in spite of the slight drizzle and chill winds. 

 Eiffel Tower

The famous French crepes with chocolate spread is what we had by the Seine river the evening we visited the Eiffel Tower. It was just about okay, although my friends loved the ones with non-veg filling.

Crepes with cheese

Patisseries (French bakery) in France are a delight for people with a sweet tooth like moi. A treat here is the macaroons - light and crisp on the outside with soft natural flavour cream inside. Pistachio flavoured one was yumm. French croissants turned out to be my husband's favourite. He totally sweared by them and said they were the best he'd had till date. Baguette and cheese is something I tasted for the first time and pretty much liked it. The bread is a little hard though, but the cheese spread makes it very tasty. The cupcakes and pastries in general are very tasty in most Patisseries. We had a tough time restraining a friend from entering each and every patisserie we passed. :)

Louis Vuitton store on Champs Elvsee

My friend and I walked down Champs Elysee in the rain window shopping. We passed by the Louis Vuitton flagship store but dint go in as we were soaking wet and shabby! Almost every second person in Paris seemed to carry an LV bag (though most of them I suspect are fake!). I asked the Parisian guide on the walking tour about this and he said it was "a mass luxury" Parisians enjoyed given that LV was a French label. I wonder how luxury can be a mass thing.

Paris can be passed off as any Asian city. Except for parts around the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame and few other well-known touristy spots, it is over hyped. Also, the city can be unsafe at times – thefts and pickpocketing are very common – mostly tourists are the target. And despite the multi-culture, a non-Parisian is treated as an outsider.

Europe Travelogue : Part 2

Switzerland

Zurich

We flew into a small town called Basel from Amsterdam. The Basel airport is real tiny and manned by the armed forces and shared between Germany, France and Switzerland. From Basel, we took a Euro rail to Zurich. 

 View from the train

Train travel in Europe, particularly Switzerland is an experience by itself. More so, because of the scenic beauty one gets to see all around. Green fields dotted with the trademark yellow buttercups, huge jersey cows grazing in the fields with the Swiss bells hanging from their necks, pretty little cottage-type houses with colourful flowered plants in window sills and snow-capped mountains in the background. A perfect setting for Bollywood movies (YFR? J)!

 View from the train

The city of Zurich is a happening tourist destination and also the biggest city in the country. Numerous art galleries and museums dot the cityscape along with modern structures and a vibrant nightlife. Clubs & restaurants by the quay, the famous station road called Bahnhofstrasse (also Zurich’s fashion mile) and the old town area are the main attractions.

 Zurich by night

The locals in Zurich are pretty cordial and polite and most people speak English, although instructions are in German and Swiss.

Luzern

From Zurich, we headed to Luzern – a city nestled in a valley of snow-capped mountains along the beautiful lake Luzern. This is easily an adventure enthusiast’s dream destination. Water sports on the lake, hiking and adventure trails in the mountains and paragliding for those who want an adrenaline rush. We took a ferry ride on the lake and trekked up to Mt. Rigis, and came down the cable car. A fun hike, with a slight drizzle, some snow and picture postcard perfect scenery.

Chapel Tower & Bridge

For history buffs, there is the old town area with the Chapel Bridge and tower, statue of the injured lion, many forts and cathedrals.

Switzerland is synonyms with chocolates and cheese. We decided to try some of the “real’ home-made Swiss chocolates from what are called “Chocolatiers” – chocolate shops basically – as opposed to the packed branded ones easily available in retail stores world over. 

 Fresh home-made chocolate slabs

 Truffles

There are milk chocolate slabs, roasted nutty ones, truffles, liquor chocolates and fancy decorated ones. We sampled a bit of each variety before buying them and I must say they were delicious!

There are many different types of Swiss cheese in the market. Typically, Swiss cheese is pale yellow with holes. I was immediately reminded of Tom and Jerry type animated blocks of cheese. However, not all Swiss cheese is with holes. Gouda, hard, semi-hard and cream cheese are some of the popular varieties.

My cheese fondue experience was a bit of damp squib. Firstly, I had to literally hunt for a restaurant serving fondue in the old town area of Luzern. After finding one, no one attended to us even after waiting for twenty minutes in a half-full diner. While not blatantly racist, we realised we were being given the jibes and undertones. In a country that thrives on tourism, more so from South-East Asia and India in particular, it was shocking to note that these things still happen. We finally had to walkout, and it seems like that is what they wanted. Ended up having a decent margarita pizza and yummy tiramisu at an Italian restaurant. 

Tiramisu

Next evening, we discovered another joint. Pretty much the same treatment, but for some reason, they decided to serve us just when we were about to walk out. Although the fondue was creamy and rich in texture, it lacked distinct flavour and after a point, even for a cheese lover like me, the cheese smell became sickening. To say the least, the entire experience left a bad taste in the mouth.

Engelberg & Mount Titlis

A quick and picturesque train ride from Luzern to Engelberg brought us to the base of Mount Titlis – Switzerland’s highest peak in the Urner Alps. A typical touristy destination, we were pretty taken aback at the number of country cousins getting off the ‘coach tours’ and “organized tour groups”! Aunties in silk saris, red mouthed paan chewing uncles in safari suits, newlyweds holding mehendi decorated hands – phew! Added to this, at the entrance to the ticket counter is an Indian food stall selling “Indian Masala tea, Vada Pav, Paav Bhaaji” and other savouries! 

Engelberg

From here, a ride in the revolving Rotair, an aerial cable car that provides an awesome 360-degree panoramic view of the snow-covered valleys, glaciers, lakes, and mountains delivered us to the mountain top. It was truly an exhilarating experience! Once on top, there are loads of adventure activities such as snowboarding and skiing.

But the noisy crowds, endless queues to use the bathroom, to click filmy photographs in certain places and even grab a quick bite were a total putt-off.  The artificial snow cave is rather silly, the resort is not well maintained and the restaurant serves pretty bad food – including cold and stale Indian food! 

However, the beautiful mountains and the cable car ride make-up for everything else that is not great at Mt. Titlis. Switzerland is a beautiful country with one of the best country sides, clean cities, great infrastructure and no visible poverty. The only sore point of our stay here was the racial undertone we experienced at the fondu place.

Europe Travelogue : Part 1

Traveling in a train from Paris to Amsterdam via beautiful Belgium is what I am doing as I chronicle my two week Western Europe vacation covering the Netherlands/Holland, Switzerland and France in a three-part series.

Netherlands/Holland: Maastricht, Utrecht & Amsterdam

Maastricht: 

The culture capital of the Netherlands, this is one of the oldest cities in the country. Centuries of German, French & Roman influence has added a lively cultural overtone to the little city. Museums, forts and cathedrals dot the romantic city, as do the famous picturesque squares & cobbled streets.

Dutch Wooden Clogs

Utrecht: 

My favourite city in the Netherlands, this is a university town that houses the biggest university in the heart of Holland. Again, although Utrecht is a very old city, the modern cityscape reflects the old world architecture and manages to preserve the local character. The compact city centre, numerous canals, waterfront restaurants and the hustle-bustle of the student population cycling away or studying under the trees in parks gives Utrecht an almost village-like feel.

The landmark of the city - the Dom Tower, is a church tower standing 112.32 meters tall on a huge square, now called the Dom square. Shopping streets, bars and restaurants surround this landmark.

Dom Tower

Dom Square Canal

While we stayed at the Grand Karl V in Utretch, the chef in the restaurant was very friendly and obligingly whipped up a decent vegetarian pasta in white sauce garnished with rocket leaves (a popular green herb used all over Europe). I dint particularly warm up to the taste of rocket leaves as it has a very weird after taste that I’m unable to describe.

The friendly chef at Grand Karl V

Pasta in White Sauce

Strawberry Cheesecake

Grand Karl V is a heritage hotel and the building is more than 500 years old. The dining area, the kitchen and the restaurant have preserved some of the old dungeons.

Dungeon

One of the many canals

I fell in love with this city as tradition & history blend beautifully to offer a unique big-city life with an old world feel.  The student population lend a young, energetic and dynamic feel to the growing city.

Amsterdam:

The capital of Netherlands and the biggest city in the country, it was named after a dam was built in the river Amstel that flows through the city. A bustling and lively city, there are loads of touristy places such as the Ann Frank house, red light district, Van Gogh Museum, Keukenhof Tulip Gardens and historic canals.

This is one country that is very tolerant towards the use and sale of marijuana and it is actually legal. It is interesting to note that such drugs are available in “coffee shops” and if one is in need of caffeine, then head to a “café”.

Most Dutch food is predominantly non-vegetarian. Therefore, my choices were pretty limited to regular fare such as sandwiches and salads. However, we gorged on hot Dutch waffles with maple cream – absolutely yumm.  One evening, we decided to try something different from the breads and walked into a Turkish restaurant. Baked aubergine with tomato and cheese, and some sweet Turkish wine – a nice hot dinner on a cold windy evening!

Dutch Waffles

A chance discovery near the Ann Frank house was a lovely little bakery selling cake-pops – round balls of cake on a stick – much like the lollipops. It was absolutely delicious and rich with different attractive frosting and decoration. Some of them looked so pretty we hesitated to bite into them! 

Cake Pops

Amsterdam

Beauty. brilliant colours, bulbs and flowers of various sizes, shades of green I’d never seen before -  that is the famed Kuekenhof  Tulip Gardens of Holland. A fantastic visual treat!

People make a country – and this is so true of beautiful Netherlands/Holland. The Dutch are such a warm and friendly lot. From personal experience I can say that they do not hesitate to help tourists, always have a smile and ever ready to chit-chat!

Another thing I loved about this country is that it is very pet friendly. Being a pet owner myself, I was delighted to see dogs pottering all over with their owners – on the trains, in buses, in cafes, in malls and supermarkets…just about everywhere!

Also, it is an English speaking country, so for people who do not know a foreign language, it is an added advantage. Would love to come back here!

Jij Bin Mooi Netherlands.

Turquoise Restaurants, Koramangala : Restaurant Review

Hello people, I'm back to the blog world after a small hiatus! Blame it on work, some travel and a little bit of laziness :) The scorching Bangalore heat has jolted me out of my slumber and here I am - back to doing the rounds of Bangalore restaurants.

One Saturday evening, twelve of us friends landed up at Turquoise Restaurants in Koramangala quite by chance. The restaurant has two sections, The European and The Indian. With majority in the mood for cheesy delectables and pasta, the group headed to The European.

The vegetarians started with Messe - Cold Starters and Salads served with Pita Bread. The Pita bread tasted like under cooked set dosa. Some of the dips were just about fine - hummus was average and salsa tasted flat - no zing or punch. Rest of the dips are not even worth a mention.

Crostini Misti

The non-vegetarians chose Ali di Pollo - Baked Chicken wings marinated in herbs and Barbequed Shrimps. My sibling and hard core foodie Shashank says – “The chicken was definitely leftovers. Tasted like rubber. We even told the bearer. In any other place, they would have immediately made amends by asking to choose something else. But nothing remotely close to that here. The Shrimps were bland, tasteless and well, I can say I’ve tasted better. We then ordered more chicken from their Indian menu and I must say that was quite okay”.

Another veggie starter, Crostini Misti with an assortment of toppings was passable. The herb ricotta cheese topping was decent and the bread was grilled just right. The rest of the toppings were pretty bland and insipid. I understand that European food cannot have Andhra spice, but - the flavour has to be wholesome and tasty. The only starter that really had any taste/flavour and was actually passable was the Baked Auberguine with Tomato Confit, Cheese.

Mozzarella Fritta con Balsamico

The ball started rolling, and quite literally (in the stomachs), when the Mozzarella Fritta con Balsamico (cheese balls) came to the table. On the first bite, we thought the taste was rather odd (maybe stale cheese?), but we dint make a fuss about it as we were a big group of friends bonding and having fun after ages... After about 15-20 minutes, my friend and husband both complained of a queasy stomach and uneasiness. By then, it was pretty late for us to move out to another restaurant. With two friends who are expectant mothers, we decided to play safe and switch to Indian food.

Baked Auberguine

Another round of starters included the basic Tandoori Fish and Tandoori Ghobi. Decent enough, but nothing to write home about. While the queasy stomachs continued, we requested the bearer to organize some basic curd rice to settle the stomachs. It was flatly refused. We requested to speak to the owner, who again sent word with his man Friday that curd rice was not happening. Since requesting politely to speak to the owner did not work, a firm holler did the trick (really - does it take such a lot to get the owner to a guest’s table???) We told the owner about the queasy stomachs and requested for some curd rice with tadka. This is what the owner said - "We don’t have curd rice on our menu. We don’t do curd rice. Or let me put it this way - my cooks are not South Indian." He told us this with an arrogant sarcastic tone - not at all becoming of a restaurant owner talking to his guests!

It’s not like his cooks are from Europe or something? Any cook worth his salt who makes all sorts of North Indian dishes should be able to put curd and rice with a dash of tadka. It’s not rocket science and nor do you have to be a South Indian to do so. And probably because the European cook was away, the starters were so tasteless!

We were so disgusted by this attitude that we skipped dessert although I was pretty tempted to try their Baklava (but who knows, probably the Greek cook was in Athens or something!).

Bad Food with an Attitude + A total rip off + Arrogant Owner = Turquoise Restaurants.

Verdict : 1/5 (only for the Indian)