Breakfast at Cafe Mozaic

I'm a sucker for continental breakfasts and love having the luxury of time and a world of an appetite for a lazy breakfast on a weekend. Which is why when I was up surprisingly early on a Sunday morning with a "I'm so hungry, I can eat a Hippogriff" kind of appetite, I decided to indulge in a breakfast buffet that would calm my stomach down.

I've tried the typical fare of all weekend breakfast places - Hole in the Wall, Cafe Terra, Ants Cafe, Pecos (yes, they do serve continental breakfast along with a delicious Chicken Stew with Appam) and was frankly, looking to get more on my palate. Which is why I decided to go to Taj Vivanta instead. I've been to Taj for breakfast only once before, and found it lovely, and I decided that it was worth the indulgence this time as well.

We walked in by around 8:30 a.m. to a half-full Cafe Mozaic and I wanted to sit by the pool side, but was informed that it was closed. I was irked with that, because nothing speaks bliss like a glass of orange juice on a Sunday morning by a serene pool side and stuffing your face with pork sausages and strips of fatty bacon.

Anyway, I dived straight in to the buffet - they have 101 items on the table, so it's a LOT to take in. They really do have everything from Indian to Continental to Asian food. You'll find live counters of Masala Dosas, Appams and even Paranthas. Idlis, chutneys, Puris, were all nicely served up. First things first, I packed my plate with a couple of pork sausages, bacon strips, ham slices, hash brown, baked beans, mashed potatoes, grilled veggies, some cheese and toast. Not too much, I like keeping it simple.

First round of the breakfast buffet

The sheer number of options for the breakfast buffet is overwhelming. If you love food as much as I do and are as Indian as I am, you are likely to hop around every counter and get something on to your plate not just because you're hungry, but you feel that this is your money's worth. And it is. *evil parsimonious grin*

Poached eggs on toast.

Love at first slice.

I think the bacon here has a halo and is blessed with divine light. Hallelujah!

Grilled Tomatoes and lovely Hash Browns

The spread also included a lovely chicken stew for your appams, smoked salmon, cut fruit counters, endless cereals along with fried rice and noodles with accompanying sauces (I never went to any of these counters, btw, because I can't digest the idea of rice for breakfast, and why on earth am I at Taj to eat fruit and cereal?).

Cheeses from around the world.

The fruit counter that I stood far away from.

The Indian side of things.

Slowly and steadily, I began to stuff myself by eating whatever my stomach could take. I took little breaks in between, and then resumed my buffet devouring session. After no more space for bacon that could give me a heart attack, I settled on a simple waffle with chocolate chips. My friend was already too full (and he ate less than half of what I did, what a pity), and he wasn't even willing to take a bite out of the waffle.

Waffle with gooey chocolate chips

The waffle was nice and warm and I liked the idea of gooey chocolate chips inside the waffle. Topped with maple syrup, this completed my Sunday breakfast beautifully. I wish I had more space to have also tried their pancakes, but I was certain that I would have burst if I had tried anything more.

To sum it up, the breakfast is pretty darn awesome and I love the wide variety of food offered. The quality of the food here stands apart, well, because they're the Taj, but they rank high in taste of food, service and ambience. I do wish they would have served more cold cuts though - nothing like meat, cheese and fruit for a great start to your morning.

Food - 8/10
Service - 10/10
Ambience - 8/10 (it gets a 10 when I'm allowed to sit by the poolside)
Verdict: For the love of food, go already.

The breakfast at Cafe Mozaic is priced at Rs.800 per head (all inclusive of taxes). This is totally worth it, especially for the price point. The breakfast buffet is available from 7:30 - 10:30 a.m. on weekends.

P.S. Apologies for the crappy pictures. I was lazily clicking them with my phone, but my priority was to eat, rather than click.

Cafe Mozaic is located at Vivanta By Taj, 41/3, MG Road, Bangalore - 560001

The Tuck Shop

I love checking out new places to eat in the city, and have recently been on a hunt around town for good burgers. So when a new cafe called The Tuck Shop that specialized in burgers and all day breakfasts popped up in the city, it definitely piqued my interest and I decided to check it out. Located in Koramangala, the place is run by two alumnus of Christ University, Mayank Agarwal and Ahmed Sharif. They graduated in Hotel Management only this year and already had their business plan ready about the Tuck Shop when they gave their final exams.

Barely 3 months old, The Tuck Shop has nice, warm feel to it and is frequented by loyal customers who come from all around the city. They're famous for their hearty breakfast, delicious burgers and simple and lovely desserts. A friend and I decided to check this place out for brunch on a weekday, as I was really craving for some good burgers.

I loved the idea of spoon as the oscillating pendulum for this cute clock!

It was already past 1pm when we got there and somehow, neither of us was in the mood for an English breakfast. My friend decided to order a chicken steak and I wanted to try a spicy beef burger. Which is when Mayank came over and told me about the Chilli Lava burger they were planning to introduce soon, but wasn't on the menu yet. I decided to try that instead. I chose a coleslaw salad and a side of onion rings.

The Chilli Lava burger was bloody brilliant! The beef patty was juicy, moist, and had the perfect spice rub. The heat from the chilli was perfect as well. I devoured it in minutes. The coleslaw was decent and I found the onion rings a little too greasy for my taste, but my friend loved it for precisely that reason. :)

Chilli Lava Burger - the highlight of our meal.

The steak, called The Chicken that had a Threesome, was a pan seared chicken breast topped with a mushroom, garlic and black pepper sauce. The sides we chose for this were mashed potatoes and salad of the day (which was red cabbage in a honey vinaigrette). My first thought when I saw the chicken steak was that the fillets looked very small and were very thinly cut. By which I mean there was nothing to really 'cut' the steak. The mashed potatoes were a little grainy and the salad was okay. I preferred the coleslaw.

The Chicken that had a Threesome!

Not entirely full with the steak and the burger, we decided to order another burger as I really enjoyed the beef one I had earlier. I ordered the Baby's Day Out, which was a lamb patty blended with a special spice rub topped with BBQ sauce, along with a side of potato wedges. I was expecting a burst of flavours with the spice and the BBQ, but on my first bite, I was met with a very strong hit of cheese. It was a very massive slice of cheese that overpowered the entire taste of the lamb burger, and I didn't quite enjoy it. I finally peeled off the cheese from the patty and ate the burger, but didn't get too much of a spice rub. The wedges were outstanding though.

Baby's Day Out burger. Super cheesy.

We thought we'll finish by ordering a plate of plain ol' waffles, and chose Nutella and maple syrup as our toppings. The waffle was perfect in terms of taste and texture and I don't see how anything can go wrong with a dish when you add Nutella to it. :) They have more toppings that include caramelized banana and a honey sauce, but I wished they also had whipped cream/vanilla ice-cream. It's a brilliant topping on waffles, especially with Nutella.

Warm waffles dusted with castor sugar.

Topping the waffles with maple syrup. Yum!

I spoke to the owner, Mayank Agarwal and gave my feedback about the dishes. He took it very well and
also discussed how consistency was being an issue for them because of the vendor problems they're facing since they're very new in the business.

Overall, I had a good time at The Tuck Shop, playing board games, listening to some good music and gorging on yummy food. They need to tweak some of their dishes and ensure that the consistency is delivered across all dishes. Did it actually help you relive school memories? I'm not quite sure, because my school's tuck shop never served burgers and waffles, but this was a good experience nonetheless.

Oh, I also forgot to mention that they make a whole lot of things in house, including bread and ketchup. Pretty cool, huh?

My rating:
Food - 7/10
Service - 9/10
Ambience - 8/10 (they definitely need an AC during lunchtime though)
Final Verdict - Beef burgers FTW! :)

The Tuck Shop is located at  98/A, 17th B Main, 5th Block, Koramangala.