France and Thailand

Recently I went on a culinary tour around the world right here in Bangalore. I am lucky in that my job (writer/marketing for the magazine Travel&Shop) allows me to taste a variety of food at different restaurants. Here are my top two recent finds for the month of March.



Oko-a Pan Asian restaurant @ the Lalit Ashok Hotel Dessert-Thai Coconut Creme with Water Chestnuts
It comes in a little cup with spoon. The coconut creme is so smooth and just the right amount of sugar. Unlike milk, it is lighter on your stomach and quite refreshing. Digging up the water chestnuts at the bottom of the cup is a treat. I haven't had proper vegan dessert since New York. Now I know better.







The French Quarter Bistro-100 Foot Road in Indiranagar
Main Course-Ratatouille
Unless you're used to French food, you might get disappointed that this dish is simply veggies tossed in a tomato sauce. But seriously trust me when I say it is delicious. It comes with some bread (tell staff to not put butter on it) which you can tear up and sprinkle on the veggies. I for one, am in love with the marinara style base they use. Originating from Nice, France it has garlic, onions, zucchini, eggplant, bell peppers, basil, and tomatoes. Maybe there were carrots but I really don't remember.

Traveling

I have been traveling for the last few weeks and have thus been unable to update.

I have so many things to say about the city of Hampi and it's food. I really feel Hampi has created it's own food style. It's just the funniest thing in the world because everything is spelled wrong at all of the restaurants. You have restaurants that have *many* cuisines. I mean they're all global restaurants!! You can get "Maxcican" "Italyan" "Chinese" "Midle Eastrn"....you name it. But don't expect your dishes to resemble or taste like what you are used to. A mexican burrito looks more like a round quiche filled with carrots and peas and veggies. That's the whole charm of it though. You never know what you may get.

For vegans I recommend finding out every ingredient in a dish that you order. I ordered a veg sandwich for breakfast and I told them to take out the cheese. I thought I would be safe but much to my disappointment I got a veg sandwich with mayo :(. I never considered it would even have mayo but I should have been more careful.

When in doubt....order a falafel. I had falafel twice in my two day stay. The hummus was DELICIOUS. The falafel balls were once soft and once stale. The salad was fresh. I probably could have eaten it for all my meals. All dishes will be under Rs. 100.

I miss Hampi. I want to go back.