The Fatty Bao

There's only so much of ignorance you can afford when a new restaurant pops up in town. Especially when people start raving about its food, when it is in a convenient location like Indiranagar, and when the man behind it is Manu Chandra, a chef Bangalore loves.

So it was no surprise that my sister and I decided earlier last week that we needed to find time over the weekend to visit Fatty Bao to enter Asian food heaven. The gastro bar opened a fortnight ago in Indiranagar, next door to Monkey Bar (run by the same management). We visited on a Sunday night with no reservation because that's how much of a smart ass I was as I believed Sunday night wouldn't be too crowded at 7:30 pm. WRONG!

We couldn't find a table on the 3rd floor, so we were seated upstairs, in the terrace area. I actually liked this better, the top floor looked much nicer, and while I would have liked to be seated at one of the empty tables (every single table was reserved), we made do with being seated at the bar. I generally don't mind bar seating, I have a strange penchant for bar stools, but that's only when I'm in a let's-get-guzzling-mood, which I wasn't sadly, on a Sunday night.

We had to get started with getting us some Bao (open faced steam buns). In all honesty, the delectable picture of the pork belly Bao that Kunal Chandra had put up on Facebook recently made me nearly cry at work and make me want to visit the place at the earliest. Damn that guy with his amazing food pictures! So, as I was saying, we got started with a meaty Bao, the rolls and the salmon carpaccio. My friend and I ordered a beer while my sister ordered the Micky Ninja, one of their signature cocktails - vodka shaken with muddled fresh orange slices and cucumber with a dash of Jameson whisky. It was fresh and lovely, though I found the cucumber taste to be a little too dominant for my liking, and dash of whiskey would be quite accurate.

Micky Ninja!

We waited nearly 30 minutes for our first dish to arrive, and we were pretty frustrated by then. We were famished, and after half an hour, our first dish, the Salmon Carpaccio finally made its appearance. Delicate slices of salmon with ginger & garlic juice, soy, yuzu and topped with sliced jalapeno and radish made for a pretty sight. And while it was delicious, it was over in exactly 2 bites. I would have liked the carpaccio to be a bit thinner, I personally found the salmon to have a bit too much of body here.

Salmon Carpaccio

Another ten minutes and a lot of bothering-our-server later, our food finally turned up (with the rat race in our tummies and estimating the long wait for our food, we ordered a few more dishes while waiting). First up, the dish that had me drooling at my laptop screen all week - Char Siu Bao, BBQ pork belly and green apple kimchi in Hoisin sauce in a Bao. One bite of this and I had angels singing "Hallelujah!" inside my head. It was THAT good. Pork is my favourite meat, so this may be a little biased, but you won't regret ordering this dish. The pork is succulent, meaty and melts in your mouth. Hoisin sauce also renders it a nice sweet, salty and tangy taste that I enjoy, so I'm giving you the heads up anyway. Also, this is messy. Ensure you're not ordering this on a first date or anything (unless your date would devour this messily too, in which case GAME ON!).

Char Siu Bao - OMNOMNOMNOMNOM!

This was promptly followed by the California Roll - your standard fare of cucumber and crab meat in a Sushi roll sprinkled with Tobiko (flying fish roe). This didn't disappoint, and was light and fresh. And as you may have guessed, disappeared in 60 seconds.

California Roll

My sister and I enjoy duck and since there are not too many places in town that serve good duck, we decided to experiment with the duck-based dishes at Fatty Bao. They had two options - the Crispy Duck Spring Rolls and the pan-fried Bao with duck. We told our server to give us what he felt was the best, and he served us the Sheng Jian Bao (steamed buns pan fried on a cast iron) with duck in Hoisin and spring onion. I will be called the layman here, but these tasted like regular pot stickers with duck meat that failed to leave a mark. That, or maybe my expectations were too high, but I wasn't its biggest fan. With only four Baos, this was the only dish that didn't fly within a minute, with the last steamed Bao being untouched.

Sheng Jian Bao

Since we generally like Sushi rolls, we ordered a couple more - the Spicy Tuna Tartare and the Prawn Tempura. Delicious, and also disappeared 60 seconds later. I felt that I could have 12 plates of the rolls and still continue to eat with no shame whatsoever.

Spicy Tuna Tartare and Prawn Tempura rolls

We were almost done, when we decided to order another Bao - with Braised Beef Cheeks, because who doesn't like beef cheeks? Stuffed with pickled radish, pickled red onion and cucumber,  the flavour and texture of the beef cheeks stood out. The richness of the meat with the acidity of the pickled veggies combined very well to create a delicious dish. Having said that, I still prefer the BBQ pork belly Bao to the beef cheeks, but you could give the latter a try if you like to experiment (P.S. Bao take at least about 15 - 25 minutes for preparation, I was told later).

Bao with Braised Beef Cheeks

I think we were finally full (were we?), and the place was packed by the time we left (which was around 10 30 pm) Our bill for all of the above came up to Rs.4000 for 3 people that included 3 beers and a cocktail. While all the dishes are priced between Rs.250 - 400, since the portions are small, they might not exactly 'fill' you up. And well, I guess that comes with being a gastro bar, because the idea is to serve you bar food with bar style portions. I'm a heavy eater, so maybe my opinion shouldn't always apply to the general bar-going crowd. ;)

My rating:
Food - 8/10
Ambience - 6/10
Service - 5.5/10
Verdict: If Asian food is your thing and you like to experiment, then give this place a go. Visit for yummy Baos and meat cooked to perfection, but be willing to patiently wait and settle for smaller portions.

I would definitely visit Fatty Bao again, they've won me over with their food. And I'm hoping my next visit doesn't have such a high wait period. Also, the music is a little too low-key for me. It almost sounds like it's a jazz lounge for the hoity toity, but I'll save my judgment on that. The tempo could be brought up though, since good music is key to a bar's overall ambience.

Fatty Bao is located at: 610, 3rd Floor, Above Monkey Bar, 12th Main, Indiranagar, Bangalore
Phone: 080-4513-3582 (please make a reservation)
Parking: Parking space available in the bylanes of Indiranagar

Four Seasons Gourmet Diaries at ITC Gardenia

Last week, I was invited for the Four Seasons Gourmet Diaries with Swiss chef Peter Wyss from Gstaad Palace. The event was held at ITC Gardenia and it was a small gathering of people that included bloggers, journalists and other members from the media industry.

Four Seasons Wines are famous for chronicling gourmet food pairings with the award winning Four Seasons varietals and French oak cask matured Reserve range. Chef Peter Wyss has created culinary delights at the Gstaad Palace for the last forty years, balancing contemporary influences with the rich freshness of traditional ingredients and recipes. His food draws subtle inspirations from Swiss, German and French, amongst the most revered international gourmet capitals of the world.

Our evening kicked off with a round of delicious breads with Bouvet Brut Rose Excellence (which, by the end of the night, was deemed the best wine unanimously). The lightly salmon pink sparkling wine with a flavours of ripe strawberries and floral notes from the Loire region of France had everyone at the table giving it the nod of approval. It was light, fresh and perfect to kickstart the evening.

The delectable journey of the evening unfolded with our first course, thyme’s light fragrance adding a nostalgic aroma to Champignons Paris, the Cappuccino soup with local mushrooms. I'm usually not a big fan of mushrooms in soup as I think it's a waste of perfectly good mushrooms, but this soup made me change my mind. Firstly, the mushrooms weren't finely chopped, so it wasn't those floating bits that you get but slices of chunky mushrooms, which added double the flavour to the soup.  The foam also blended in quite well.

Champignon Paris Soup

Following this, we had a quick appetizer of Potato Timbale topped with Smoked Salmon. It was a cold appetizer, something that I relished, and the chef said it served as a small serving of a salad. The potato bits were nice and moist and the smoked salmon added a very refreshing touch.

Potato Timbale with Smoked Salmon

For our next course, we had the Simmered local Sea Bass medallion with asparagus crust and tomato marmalade paired with the zesty, fresh and herbaceous Four Seasons Sauvignon Blanc. While I found the sea bass  to be perfectly cooked, I felt it was a tad too bland for my taste and felt it needed more seasoning. The mashed potatoes were of a lovely, silky consistency, but again a bland pairing with the fish.The fruity acidity of the Sauvignon Blanc made up for my fish, so I wasn't complaining.

Sea Bass with Asparagus Crust & Tomato Marmalade

For the main course, we tried the Roasted Lamb rack with Espelette pepper jelly, Barolo sauce with shallots, Spätzli with wild garlic, served with Seasonal vegetables. The lamb was done a perfect pink, just the way I like it, and the pepper jelly added a whole new dimension of flavour. The Barolo sauce wasn't overpowering and the Spätzli was a little too dry for my liking. The lamb was served with French Oak Cask matured Four Seasons Barrique Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. The complex aromas of this wine with blackcurrant and spices heightened the senses with lamb, yet, not too spicy to dominate the flavour of the jelly and Barolo sauce.

Roasted Lamb Rack with Espelette Pepper Jelly

The pièce de résistance of the night was the dessert, that we couldn't wait to try. Chef Wyss
presented a magnificent dessert prepared with Lindt bitter chocolate sweet with lemon mousse and raspberries and raspberry ice-cream and natural yoghurt. While I was a bit skeptical about there being a bit too many flavour profiles, one bite of this dessert made me change my mind. The bitterness of the chocolate, sourness of the lemon mousse and sweetness from raspberries all worked well in harmony. The ice-cream had an intriguing, yet a pleasant taste. The dessert was paired with Four Seasons Blush that beautifully accentuated the contrasting flavours of the dessert. I ended up going for seconds for dessert and one (maybe two) more glass(es) of wine.

Lindt bitter chocolate sweet with lemon mousse and raspberries

Petit Fours

Post dessert, we concluded with a delightful batch of Petit Fours that we couldn't stay away from. 5 minutes down, all the plates were clean. Overall, we had an amazing night with good food and good wine. The food and wine pairings were excellent, and the chef and the management took exceptional care of us, especially to those of us who were firing questions by the minute. Also, The Four Seasons Bouvet Rose is now officially in my wine collection. I would love to experiment with it for different kinds of food pairings. Can't wait! :)

New Year's Eve at Portland Steakhouse

Happy New Year to all you wonderful people! Hope your year is full of good food and fun. :) (I know I'm a whole 10 days late, but there's no such thing as a late wish, is there?)

Every year on New Year's Eve, I decide to go to one of those parties where I end up paying a bomb and get nibbles of food to eat, if the hordes of people give us a chance. One party, they ran out of food. Another, there was a queue so long, that I don't remember whether I reached the end of the line or not. Once, there was almost a stampede at the food counters.

So this year, we decided to do food justice and indulge in a good dinner instead of those measly bites. Many restaurants were offering some great menus, but after researching, I decided to go with Portland Steakhouse. The restaurant is located centrally and I've never had a disappointing experience so far, so that helped finalize my decision. They offered a 4-course meal along with a glass of wine for Rs.1649/- inclusive of taxes, which sounded like a good deal to me.

We walked in early to have enough time to devour our meal through the night. The restaurant was partially full, and to our pleasant surprise, the staff members had lit a bonfire outside (it's like a verandah just away from the restaurant) and it seemed to generate a lovely warmth through the air.

For our first course, our options were spread across 3 soups and 2 salads. Not being in the mood for the tried and tested tomato soups and clear chicken soups, we decided to go for the salads instead. While my friend ordered the Caesar Salad with Prawns, I opted for the Watermelon, Feta and Cucumber Salad. The Caesar Salad was lovely, fresh Romaine lettuce leaves tossed with Caesar's dressing, croutons, prawns and Parmesan shavings. I would have liked a little more dressing, but my friend didn't seem to mind. My salad was fresh and bursting with flavours. The watermelon, feta and lettuce were coated beautifully with a strawberry vinaigrette dressing that I loved. The cucumbers were sliced lengthwise too thinly, and I didn't enjoy them too much. I would've liked more texture too - crunch of walnuts, perhaps.

Caesar's Salad with Prawns

Watermelon, Feta and Cucumber Salad with Strawberry Vinaigrette Dressing

Our second course had a lot more options - a total of 10 to choose from, which made us argue a lot over what to order. We eliminated the vegetarian options instantly, and after more such eliminations, we finally agreed on the Pasilla Chilli Beef and Melba Toasts with Salmon. I was quite excited about the Pasilla Chilli Beef - I had the Pasilla Chilli Chicken Wings at a bar in New York, and it was one of the spiciest dishes I've ever tried. The beef here didn't disappoint either. It was quite spicy, and balanced well with the sweetness of the bell peppers. The Melba Toasts were our favourite though. Smoked Salmon over cream cheese with dill spread on toasts make for quite the delicious, light appetizer. Also, say goodbye to table manners when you wolf down this one.

Pasilla Chilli Beef

Smoked Salmon with cream cheese on Melba Toasts

The third course was what got excited us from the very beginning - again, there were a total of 10 dishes to choose from, and it seemed to be quite a meaty affair. They had the Rib Eye Steak and New York Strip in the mains, but since we'd already tried both the steaks here earlier, we decided to try something else. Our other options were Lobster (for which you had to pay Rs.250 extra), Christmas Day Chicken, Duck and Turkey.

My friend picked the Roast Turkey with Gravy with baked sweet potatoes and cranberry sauce, and I ordered the Crispy Duck with Chilli Plum sauce. I thought the turkey was a little dry and could have done with some gravy, and then we had someone from the management who offered to top the meat with more gravy (without us asking for it); so they definitely scored brownie points for service. My duck wasn't as crispy as I imagined it would be. I expected fried, crispy pieces of duck, but while the outer skin of the duck was a little crispy, it was doused with too much sauce, softening the skin and meat by the time I tried it. Yeah, one dish had no gravy, and one had too much. :) Other than that, I thought the sweet potato mash and cranberry sauce really stood out.

Crispy Duck with Chilli Plum Sauce

Roast Turkey with gravy, baked sweet potatoes and cranberry sauce

As you may have guessed, we were pretty stuffed by the end of our third course, yet there is always some space for dessert in my tummy. I ordered the New York Style Cheese Cake while my friend ordered Haroon's famous Apple Pie. The apple pie tasted yum and had a nice crunch to it. Though I think it lacked a little cinnamon and sprinkling of castor sugar to me. The cheese cake was beyond delicious, and had a consistency accompanied with that perfect tang to die for. Their apple pie is their signature dessert, but the cheese cake was the clear winner for us that night.

New York Style Cheesecake

Haroon's famous Apple Pie

We ate to our heart's and stomach's content, and couldn't have imagined a better meal for NYE. Maybe they should feature this menu more regularly, they might just have more takers.

Overall, my rating for this special dinner at Portland Steakhouse is:

Food - 7/10
Ambience - 8/10
Service - 10/10
Verdict - They treat meat with respect, and don't disappoint in desserts either. It would take a lot more to convince the vegetarians though.

Portland Steakhouse has a great menu and is easily my favourite place in the city for good steaks. They understand what "medium rare" actually means and the meat cuts (Rib eye, Chateaubriand, New York strip steak), delicious sides and a variety of sauces really makes them stand out from the rest of the steak joints. If you haven't visited this place yet, I suggest you do at the earliest. You won't be disappointed. :)