Food Trail 1.0 - The Game is on

Phoenix Market City a pioneer in getting the best together.
A well known Brand who has got Pune lovely names under one beautiful roof. Be it Shopping, Entertainment or the city's love - Food. So it came as no surprise when Phoenix Market city and Carpe Diem (PR) another famous name responsible for taking all the good things closer to people organised a Food Trail 1.0 for some of the best restaurants in Phoenix Market city, getting Pune food Bloggers together for an exciting event not witnessed before in the city. Exploring different restaurants in a fun way and trying unusual dishes.
So on a lovely winter weekend afternoon all the food bloggers assembled at the Liberty Square and thus started the 1st Food Trail.
All of us were supposed to pick chits to chose a restaurant and then another chit to chose one special ingredient. We were now supposed to dine at the Restaurant chosen through the chit and try out an unusual dish based on the ingredient written on it. We were given a voucher of  Rs 1500 for the same.
The air was filled with enthusiasm and excitement. All were ready to embark on this unique challenge and you could actually taste competition brewing in a friendly jovial way. Everyone was eager to start the race and so was I. Fingers crossed anxiously as I waited for my chance to pick a chit whilst others told what they got, some said paneer, someone corn and I heard chillies from another. With bated breath I picked out a chit and ....I was a happy baby I got my favourite ingredient - Prawns and as usual what followed was a little prawn dance in my head. Prawn dance, prawn dance, prawn dance, prawn dance. Well I just had to stop it and return back to the competition (sigh).
The restaurant was Cuba Libre. I hadn't tried this one yet and this indeed was my first time. I was nervous of how things will work out and yet excited.
So I rushed to the third floor along with fellow bloggers who had got the same restaurant. The entrance to the pub looked pretty small.
 I again nervous as a cat walked inside to find a huge bar I had seen in a long time. My hopes rose and I started imagining lovely pub nibbles in this plush bar.

Then started some research as I buried myself in their menu trying to find Prawn things and quite sure that I had hit jackpot.
No sooner than that I was thrown rather pushed from my cloud nine to ground zero.
They had three, exactly three prawn dishes on their menu, in their whole menu. JUST THREE. I was doomed.

Out of them one was the classic and an all time favourite Prawn Tempura. Now nothing is unusual about this dish and everyone knows it thanks to its simple, beautiful, crunchy and sweet flavours.
Now out of the two remaining it was not the case of the best but that of the unusual. One was Prawn chilli which is on their Bar signature menu ( again another favorite ). I decided to take a risk and bet my money on Oven Baked Prawns which was relatively unknown and quite unusual - if I may say so myself.
Game was laid, dice were thrown - So Oven Baked Prawns it was from their Cuban eats.
As we waited for the food to arrive, we used the time constructively in what else but click, click and more click until I ensured everything was clicked what had to be. After I was satisfied and content   there was some more time left still, so we went to trouble our fellow bloggers sitting next door and troubled them good. Competition should be fun na, now don't you agree.
Well troubling colleagues - done and here I waited for the pinky prawns.
and they did arrive. Small succulent pieces waiting to be devoured. dressed in chilli, thyme, basil, other herbs and garlic and then oven roasted to cook them uniformly and yet have that slight crunch. Dusted with Parmesan cheese and served with cherry tomatoes.

Such simple flavours but made the dish so unique and unusualness of this dish were the really simple ingredients and flavours which stood out by themselves and came together in such a delicious way.
The prawns were cooked perfectly had that crunch and yet were creamy. The garlic and chillies added a punch to the sweet juicy prawns.
Excellent Dish.
It wasn't in the rules or anything but I just wanted a prawny meal in my head and the ingredient still was prawns so I requested the chef for some creamy Alfredo Penne pasta with prawns and it was perfect. Chef also added some veggies to it and was I happy. I love my pasta with veggies and some meat and here it was just the way I like. Many people think that prawn makes the pasta smell sea food kinds but honestly when done right - its magic, the juicy sweet prawns in that slurpy creamy pasta anyday. Better than chicken honestly.

Well this was what I ordered along with some lovely mocktails (not cocktails, you see it was a competition and I needed to be sharp na,, what yaar, don't judge me now ).

I also tried their Paneer satay and Chicken bbq Pizza which were a bomb and extremely delicious. (These were ordered by fellow bloggers for the competition.)
So meal done after a lot of pictures from every angle and lot of posing and bytes for the Phoenix Market city and Carpe Diem Press ;p We were actually feeling like celebrities.
Don't forget all the teasing and troubling the rival teams had to undergo.
Amidst all this I had a fantastic time and my very first ever food trail in any form. I loved it, excited for more, much more after all yeh Dil Mange more na. (one odd prize in some category, I hope you are listening ;p) It was a Happy Fun Day.
On a more serious note a big thanks to Phoenix Market City and Carpe Diem for having me over for the Food Trail and congratulations for pulling off such a fun event with success and utmost ease.

Another big thanks to the judges for keeping up with my random rant.

Check out behind the scenes and all the gossip here -

Until we meet again.
xoxo
Bhakti

Singapore Diaries - Must eat Food.

Singapore is a foodies paradise.

With so many cultures residing together, the food culture is rich and predominant.

Singapore is one of the most expensive cities in the world, so do keep that in mind before allocating a expenses for food during your stay here.

It's a way of life to enjoy food which is easily seen in n number of food streets, hawker centres dotting the city. 

The street food is really popular and aptly so. 

Inexpensive, delicious and a huge variety, no points for guessing that it is ingrained in the culture of Singapore.

Food chains of Mc Donalds, Subway and other big wigs are conveniently placed throughout Singapore and they are always around so it is never difficult to locate them.

However out of all we found Subway and Mc Donalds the most popular with locals as well as tourists. Both these places are completely and incredibly tasty and superbly vfm.

One can have a cheapest and the most filling meals over here.

Amazingly delicious and so filling.

One of the best ice creams. We literally used to have a couple of these every day.

Yes its a completely Grown ups life.

Chicken Laksa

Flat noodles in rich coconut curry.

It was very very good . The soup/curry was nice spicy and tangy and extremely delicious. We licked the bowl clean. We didn't know how to eat with chopsticks at that time and there were no forks. It was quite a task to eat the slurpy noodles with a soup spoon however we managed with excellence baring a few spills.

Now do keep in mind that Singapore is extremely hot and you have to bear the scorching sun as at all major attractions one needs to walk a lot in the open outdoors.

The local people beat the heat in style and taste with yummy concoctions of drinks located at all kiosks, street shops, food markets and every where possible.

So join the bandwagon, stay hydrated and enjoy your vacation. 

Snapple being my all time favourite - this was completely utterly delicious.

Milo iced - we literally lived on this in Singapore.

This is available everywhere at all nook and crannies, sold on the street in plastic bags however our favourite one was at

89.7 Supper Club. Nice, tall, dark and strong glass of milo goodness. 

This was one brilliant drink to stay hydrated. This actually had natural coconut water with chunks of coconut and it was so refreshing and fresh with natural sweetness. Too good. 

Satay by the Bay

Must go when you visit Garden by the Bay.

The food stalls have a good variety, tasty food and very economical with an romantic setting and beautiful breeze.

Take a look at these cute tables.

such an amazing setting.

We completely loved the experience.

Rice with a Chinese chicken preparation which was brilliant.

The food was some serious tasty stuff.

Chicken Satay with peanut dip and another sweet spicy dip served with onion.

Lip-smacking.

We were so tired walking all over the Garden by the bay and extremely tired.

This experience was heavenly for our tired aching soles as well rumbling hungry stomach parched in the heat of Singapore.

A light gentle cold breeze, coupled with the Bay and amazing food. We nursed our tired feet and stomach back to reenergised health.

89.7 Supper Club

Next stop on the list is where we dined a couple of times.

Every time it was equally crowded and the food was always yummy.

It is a completely vfm place on the go.

Kung Pao Chicken with Rice I loved it. 

Murtabak

Stuffed Pan cake or pan fried bread. 

More or less a Muslim delicacy very similar to the Indian paratha. Yummy and comforting. It was very filling, it came with a fish curry and dal preparation both were amazing and very good (especially the dal).

Curly fries so good with shawarma roll which were completely different. We also ordered chicken chilly which was also very different ( more like Goan chilly) nice they were. 

We wanted to try the local star dish which is Hainanese chicken rice. 

We had ordered half a chicken which was like boiled chicken with skin served with stock rice and garlicky dip. 

It wasn't to my taste. However I was zapped as my hubby who doesn't really have a very good appetite (both of us for that matter - small eaters) ate the whole chicken single handedly. I was zapped 😳😱 really.... 

This was one of the most yummiest thing that we had at the Singapore zoo. 

Chicken gravy in sour dough bread bowl. 

It was awesome. The curry was coconutty (Indian) with loads of spices, potatoes and big chunks of chicken served in the bread bow. We finished it within seconds. 😍👍🏻⭐️

The variety of food you get at the night safari is not that great and I was disappointed. The food is really expensive over here. 

We had a hot dog roll and a barbeque roll the price of which were equal to a three course meal. It was ok nothing great to write about. I love the candle though and I got my cocomax. 

Yum food at the universal studios in the mummy section. 

Keep slurping on slushes and ice creams ❤️❤️ and stay hydrated. 

Food in China Town is to die for. Be it Indian, Chinese or any other. Take my word it's amazing. Look out for the ratings on the street food carts/stalls at the china town food street. It's almost authentic Indian, we loved this Indian platter of chicken curry, biryani, papadam and a big leg of chicken whilst sipping on the tiger beer. 

The best sweet and sour chicken I have ever had. 

The food street on the Arab street is must visit. 

One of the best hummus. 

Curly fries made to perfection. The portions are so super huge. We were completely full. 

We went to Durwish Turkish- the place is popular, the food is awesome though on the expensive side, the portions are huge. There are many other options to chose from.

Pakistani food - kheema with white peas ( we had it for the first time and it was amazing ) chicken tikka was melt in the mouth, juicy and super soft. - GOOD STUFF 👍🏻⭐️ This was in one of the food centres - Balestier market food court. 

The food courts in malls are super crowded and dish our amazingly tasty food for reasonable rate. So eat whilst you shop. This Indian thali was completely yum. We had this in the Takahimaya Food Hall food court.

Save the best for the last. 

I searched for this ice cream uncle in the entire Singapore and unexpectedly ran into him outside Ion Orchard.

Small makeshift shop on his bike. 

Chose your favorite flavour of ice cream and then either chose the original rainbow bread or a wafer. Nothing like I have ever had. Actually sandwich ice cream - bliss is this 😍👍🏻⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

To put the whole thing in nutshell. Singapore is a foodies paradise, experiment with your food, try the local joints and delicacies, visit the street food centres and eat to your hearts content and you are sorted. Look around and everywhere you will see some delicacy or the other in this food lovers country.

You must try out the Newton food centre, geylang food serai, China town street food and all other yummy hawker food you can lay your hand on.

You can find complete information about Chinatown here - Singapore Chinatown - Food, shopping and more
check the video here - Chinatown Singapore vlog

check out Singapore in a nutshell

I hope this was of some help, do let me know in comments.

Until we meet again, stay happy and cheerful !
Lots of Love

xoxo
Bhakti

Offbeat Goan Food

I love to walk the path uncommon, to explore the unexplored, and to do things which are not well known... 

I love to do and experience new things. Though Goa remains a constant every year however my quest to discover the Goa which is untouched and still innocent and pure carries on. I love to see places in their natural beauty and true roots. 

This Goa trip was nothing new, the urge to explore something new, got us to the quaint side of Goa, where few tread and that's what I like. 

Places and food which still has its authenticity and simplicity, For me that's pure beauty.

Exploring the small and homely eateries and bakeries and losing myself in the overly tasty and yet simple Goanese cuisine just kept me craving for more. 

Goan food is not only Vindaloo, Xacuti, Goan curry, Bebinca but so many other things and mouthwatering dishes still to be relished. 

Have a look yourself, a small glimpse in the treasure trove of Goan Food. 

Rassa omelette 

A simple yet hearty breakfast- Egg omelette topped with a curry made of coconut and local spices. Creamy, spicy and a coarse taste along with a fluffy omelette garnished with a generous helping of onions and a good squeeze of a juicy lemon relished with Goan buns. 

 

 

Usal pav 

A gravy made of white chic peas, the base is water and just simple spices. The consistency it gets is entirely from the peas savored again with Pav or sweet Goan buns. 
 

 

 

Banana fritters

Mixture of mashed Banana in flour, deep fried. What you can expect is a thick puri kinds. Break it and you will get a nice soft, smooth, mushy texture. Lovely and dissolving in the mouth. They are creamy, mildly sweet. So good. Taste superb with tea. 

 

Do try the local delicacies like these which are available at small joints and homely eateries. The taste and the goodness of the food makes up for the ambience. The true essence of the place indeed.

Share any such local goodies you love on your travels with us and get featured on the blog. 

Happy Travelling and relishing food!! :) 

xoxo

Bhakti