Matsuri...... A festival of food

Matsuri is a Japanese word for a festival or holiday.  Matsuri Restaurant at The Chanceory Hotel, Lavelle Road precisely goes with the name as it is a festival of Japanese Cusine.  I was invited by them  to taste their food. The interiors were in sync with the Japanese culture.

               

                              

We started over with some beverages and they were quite tasty and promising that the is more fun with food ahead.

                          

                            

As Joe Moore said  "Appetizers are the little things you keep eating until you lose your appetite" and we were appeasing our thirst. 

                              

Yakitori momo tare, (choice of skewed chicken with sweetened soya sauce), Ten Don ( rice tossed with tempura prawns and vegetables served with tempura sauce, grilled fish with sweetened soya sauce and chicken wings were among the starters served.

The other starters we got to taste were grilled squid rings, Ebi no Tempura ( batter fried prawns), Dashi Maki Tomago (sliced Mirin sweetened roll omelette); they were quite variant.

                             

     

And for the vegetarians there were not many choices. The one which I liked the most was Kappa Maki ( rolled cucumber sushi)

                           

                            

And in the main course we had customised food prepared by the chef for us. Vegetable Noodles, chicken noodles and vegetable garlic fried rice were served to us; the flavour was definitely unique.

                     

                            

    A food voyage worth a visit.

My rating is 4/5

Address : The Chancery Hotel, Lavelle Road, Bangalore 

Ph no 080 41188888, 080 22276767

Timings :12 noon to 3 PM and 6 PM TO 11.00 PM

Head over heels for Espetada

South African casual dining restaurant chain Nando's specializes in flame grilled Peri-Peri Chicken. Peri Peri is a hot and fiery sauce from the Afro-Portuguese cuisine. It is made from Piri Piri, a type of bird’s eye chili from Africa. 

                          

Nando’s sells chicken livers, Espetada (a large stand with a skewer of chicken thighs and grilled peppers) and Cataplana (a chicken and rice dish served in a traditional Portuguese copper dish).

                         

Nando's Espetada Carnival adventure was an international campaign launch and Father's Day celebrations were roped in as a part of the Espetada Carnival itself as it fell during the campaign time.       

            

Espetada carnival meal is Flame grilled peri peri chicken thighs stuffed with garlic, parsley and feta skewered with mixed peppers and served with a side of butternut squash and grilled corn, PERi chips and mango sangria. The dish served presented on a skewer which hangs from a hook on a stand. 

                       

                              Paneer (veg version of Espetada)

   

Mango Sangria was served to go along with it.  We just loved the combo.  I tried Espetada for the first time and fell head over heels for it. An array of Mocktails were served to us to relish. Citrus Bliss, Madeira Red, Poncha Zura, Refresh Mint and the list goes on.

                            

                         

The vegetarian menu looked very promising and I give a thumbs up for it as they have got apeteasers, Peri Veg, Salads, Pitas, Burgers and Wraps.

Nando's Brand Manager Sambhavi and I exchanged our views on food as she took me and my fellow blogger friends through a journey about their brand.

I recommend this place for a spicy yet delightful experience with a lovely ambiance.

My rating is 3.75/5 

Address 

1 A, Off Brigade Road,Church Street, Bangalore

Teppanyaki -- The hidden tradition

Teppanyaki is a style of Japanese cusine that uses an iron griddle to cook food. The word teppanya is derived from teppan, which means iron plate, and yaki which means grilled, broiled, or pan-fried. In Japan, teppanyaki refers to dishes cooked using an iron plate, including steak, Shrimp, okonomiyaki, yakisoba and monjayaki.

I was invited by Teppan, Japanese Grill and Sushi Bar at Ulsoor to try them. I was trying Japanese cuisine for the first time and I didn't want to eat sushi as I always felt it was bizarre to eat raw food.  Chef Joseph promised us that there is lot more than sushi in the Japanese cuisine.

                        

                                Peach and Orange, Passion fruit Cranberry

We started off with sparklers like Peach and Orange, Passion fruit and cranberry without alcohol; they were absolute delight.  The restaurant ambience goes well with the cuisine it is serving.

We were recommended to try Teppan specialities like Meat lover maki, Tuna Batera Maki, Crispy California. As I am a big fanatic of chicken, I loved the Meat lover Maki; crumb fried chicken rolled with sushi vinegered rice.

                          

                                 Meat lover Maki

Chef June was introduced to us and we were told that he is proficient in Teppanyaki; he wrote his name on the iron griddle with egg which was amazing and soon began to juggle with his knives, a bit scary though but we enjoyed it.

    

                           

                                  Chef June juggling with his knives

The other items on the menu that we tasted were Garlic egg fried rice and assorted grilled vegetables with noodles; the taste was distinct and appetising.  

                           

                          

                                 Assorted grilled vegetables with noodles

Garlic egg fried rice is not a complicated dish. The basic ingredients are Japanese steamed rice, tonnes of garlic minces, egg, spring onion and of course their secret sauces. The taste was palatable and mouth watering.

              

                            

                                 Garlic egg fried rice

We ended our meal with some Japanese desserts.

                              

   It was a good experience and the dinner session was quite interactive with the chef.

My rating is 3.5/5 

Address : 2nd Floor, 1/3, Ulsoor Road, Ulsoor, Bangalore.

Ph no 080-32569029

Timings :12 Noon to 3 PM, 7 PM to 11 PM