Friday, December 19, 2008

Restaurant Review: Grasshoppers

It was our 1st Wedding anniversary. Our plan was to go to Goa for a Romantic Getaway but a last minute 'official trip' of Soubhagya got that one cancelled. So we decided to do a romantic dinner in the city itself. During my 'research' on various websites, i came across the review of Grasshoppers on bangalore.burrp. And since i value the website and its reviews, i decided to read all the reviews. Very soon my mouth was watering and instantly i saw myself dialing the number and booking a table for 2 for Dinner on Dec 3rd. 
On the D-Day we got dressed in our fineries... and started the drive to Bannergatta Road. It is a good 10 kms away from Koramanagala (which is where i stay). Since it was mid-week evening, there was traffic, but we were excited! We finally reached the destination. 
The Bright Red gates ushered us into a property which appeared huge and beautiful! It had stone houses and plantations all around. We followed the signs, parked the car and walked up the gravelled stone path towards the restaurant - which looked like the porch of a house. It was breathtaking. There were candles inside lil glass jars that outlined the garden area. There were 8 tables in all - 5 on the porch and 3 outside in the lawn. There were huge bunches of wild yellow and white flowers on each table. Soothing jazz music floated out of the house, which housed a collection of designerwear. 
We took our table at the farthest end of the lawn and the waiter came by to ask us if we were comfortable. The owner was extremely friendly. She walked from table to table asking everyone if they were doing good. We ordered lemonade and Iced Tea and got settled. The waiter came and smiled and asked us to just sit back and relax...coz its time to enjoy the flavours they have to offer! We smiled at the thought of a 7-course meal and the extreme courtesy that the waiter displayed... 
1) Came the 'Beetroot with Sesame Seeds and Cheese Shavings'. It was a mouth-watering blend of the sweet and moist beetroot...the sourness of the cheese mixed with the tangy flavours of the sesame seeds and pepper sauce. It was amazingly tasty..the beetroot was soft, the cheese was perfect and the sesame seeds never tasted better!
2)Came the 'Crispy Asparagus with Parmesan Cheese and lightly fried Mint Leaves'. Now you can just imagine with the name - wat the dish would be. 2 crispy fresh asparagus drizzled with the cheese..topped with Mint Leaves made a very pretty picture. And what was better was the taste. Now Soubhagya and I have never tasted Asparagus, primarily coz its never really used in Indian cuisine, but this was amazingly fresh and light. And after 2 very light starters, i had space for lots more...
3) Came the 'Prawns with Ginger and Seaweed'. Yeah...it may sound weird..but it was yumm. The prawns were succulent, the seaweed was not bad and the ginger gave the dish a very tangy yet sweet taste. It was amazing that the Prawns without any of the 'indian frilly masalas' still tasted heavenly..and i dug into the 2 pieces given to me!
4)With the appetizers over, next came the salad, 'Garden Salad with Oven-roasted Tomatoes'. This was Simple, very light, fresh, and seemed like, the veggies were plucked out of the backyard garden, hours before we came. The oven-roasted tomatoes were just perfectly done! and the dressing seemed very light, i think it was mint and lemon with pepper. ummm...all in all..a very nice, almost perfect salad.
Now was the time of the Main Course. Mmmmm...We could hardly wait. The best part was that our waiter was in no hurry to feed us. in fact after each dish, he would gladly give us 10-15 mins to settle our stomachs...and bring on the next dish..ofcourse with a Smile! We had placed our orders earlier for the 'non-vegetarian' option!... so here we go..
5) Came the 'Chicken with Olives'. Now i am the biggest Olive-lover you will ever find. i eat them from the jar. And my hubby here, hates olives. Therefore i got his share too! :).. Going back to the dish... It smelt yummilicious!.. the chicken was moist and very tender, the olives were sprinkled around and the sauce was very light, nothing very chilli about it! Though Soubhagya felt that the Chicken was a bit weird, but then, he is a fan of the indian masala cuisine..i found the dish perfectly appealing. And i was done with it in no time. 
By now i was stuffed...but there was another dish in the main course..which came next...
6) 'Lamb Skewer'.. This was a huge palate..and i almost knew we wont be able to finish it. yet we gave it a try. The lamb pieces were very well done. Perfectly roasted...the sauce was delicious. Something Soya about it!...the onions were well-fried and made a perfect combo with the lamb. Ofcourse we barely finished one peice each....and were holding our stomachs... but it was delicious!
7) Finallyyy-hy... came the 'Chocolate Truffle Cake sprinkled with some icing sugar' with 2 candles on it...and topped with kiwis and strawberries.. It was complimentary from the owner on the occasion of our Anniversary. We dug into it..and it was the sofftest, yummiest truffle cake i have had!...And before we knew it..our stomachs made space for the cake and it was over! :)
Extravagant...Romantic...Very European...Mouthwatering...Blend of colours..Rustic Setting..Simplistic...Flavours!
This was our 7-course extravaganza that we indulged in on our anniversary. The meal costed Rs. 1500 per person, but i have to say.. it was Worth It! I have never experienced such delicious tastes...amazing combinations...superb presentations..in such a fine setting..ever before! and i was glad that we came all the way to experience a 'Bite Of Heaven'! Grasshoppers has certainly taken its place in my Top 5 Restaurants of all times!..... :)

3 comments:

Ruchi Mann said...

the food 'reads' amazing...give being a food critic a srious thought :)

And yes, wish you a belated happy anniversary..

Tanu Anand said...

hahaha! thanks ruchii...and secretly i always wanted to be a travel and food critic/writer!!! :)...and thanks for the wishes! :)

SMM said...

Congratulations to both of you on completing one year :)

Creative Commons License
Casual Talkings by Tanu Anand is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License
IndiBlogger - Network of Indian Bloggers