Monday, October 22, 2007

Grasshopper, Bangalore - What a dinner that was!!



There are these special occasions which you truly want to make unforgettable. I wanted to do something very special for Aman and after much deliberations and considerations it was Grasshopper where I decided to treat him on his birthday. The idea was to bring in his birthday a la mode!!!

Grasshopper is a Chic European fine dinning restaurant cuddled in a farmhouse. It is at a comfortable distance off city limits. They do not entertain walk in guests. Entry is strictly by reservations at least a day prior where the owner promptly asks you for preferences of vegetarian, non-vegetarian meal and type of meat.
Nestled in a quaint farmhouse, there is calmness about the place that is almost opaque.
We reached the place a few minutes past 8 all set for a leisurely and a relaxed dinner. The entrance itself is quite placid, a graveled path lined with rows of trees with minimal lightning.

We choose the table right in the center of the lawn and well ours was the only table there with 3 candles and a vase full of sunflowers. Moon was playing hide n seek and the Bangalore weather was at its best. Couldn’t have asked for a better evening!!!


Now for the food it is a 7 course affair and they don’t have a menu to choose from, the servings are all predefined based on the preferences. This saves one the trouble of choice and brings in the element of surprise. Our culinary journey started with freshly baked home made breads served with vinegar oil and olive oil which was promptly followed by slices of Zucchini and Spinach in a dressing of Olive oil. A few minutes after we were done with that we were served with a preparation of beetroot with blue cheese and almonds.
This was then unhurriedly followed by prawns cooked with sesame seeds and flavored with ginger.
After we had relished the prawns, we were served with leafy salad made out of cherry tomatoes, raspberry, pears, plums, walnuts and sprinkled with parmesan cheese. The freshness of the fruits combined with the crunchy walnuts was a very interesting combination.
This was promptly followed by Salmon Fish cooked in orange juice and garnished with a slice of orange. It was amazingly tender and the flavor of orange was very prominent. This was one combination I was having for the first time in my life and I can’t wait to have it again.
After fish it was stir fried chicken with loads of herbs and a splash of garlic and olives both back and green. The chicken was perfectly cooked, again with a very little oil.
Desserts were an exotic mix of almond fig and honey ice cream, a lemon cheese cake, lemon grass ice cream and chocolate truffle served with fresh strawberries and kiwi.
One thing that you ought to taste is their Ginger Vodka with a hint of mint in it.
Yes we did eat all of that and finished it with a cup of English coffee and a walk around the farmhouse.

And finally it was time for the cute little chocolate cake. What an amazing start it had been to Aman’s birthday.

Priced at Rs 1200 per person excluding drinks it is a little steep but is surely a value for the experience. This place is a must for all those who love playing with cuisines and flavors. The ingredients, the smack, the aroma and the texture were each clearly distinct. But yes save it for those special moments. Lunch is an equally good idea to enjoy to greens. I have my distinguished favorite and I am not sure if I owe it to the company or the occasion or the food or the place and frankly I don’t care either.

12 comments:

Unknown said...

Wow, that must have been cool. Have been to Grasshopper much earlier and totally loved it then too. It is a boutique restaurant.

For you who may not be aware, the people behind the show are from creative backgrounds — Sonali Sattar, Himanshu Dimri, and Gautam Kalra. Sonali and Himanshu, graduates from NIFT, design clothes and have been doing so under the label, Hidden Harmony, for the last eight years. Gautam Kalra is a regular page-3 fashion afficondo.

Iya said...

yo Nikhil..infact Sonali was herself ushering in the guests...did look around the boutique too and don't need to mention the steep prices (no surprise there)

Masood said...

WOW, knowing how much of a food fanatic I am, reading all this completely stimulated my taste buds! I'd heard tons about Grasshopper while I was in Blore but never got around to go there. Did'nt have an important enough occasion I guess. But now, I have vowed to myself to definitely stop by at Blore on my next visit to India, and dine at Grasshopper!

You might want to put a price for the free publicity they getting through you ;)

Btw, I've been trying to get your office email id but no one seems to have it. And I don't see you online as well!

Anonymous said...

Reading it seemed like you people had a lot fun and I am happy to learn that.

Unknown said...

seem to b very interesting place...
the most attractive part of ur menu was 'the dessert' ,almond fig n honey icecream...uuummmmm...
u have invoked my taste buds,n there is nothin that i can eat...wat an irony

Al Nims Media said...

No photos? Havent heard negative comments on Grasshopper till date...added to my do list nextime.

Priya said...

Well...have heard the first hand experience from you and looks like a "Must Try" to me. Let's see when luck favors. Hope you two enjoy more such pleasures in life, but, dont forget updating us

Whiterays said...

Oh had read about this place but didn't remember it till now..Good review. Now surely got to check it out. :) Got any pics of the place?

Iya said...

Hi Swetha.. Actually just 1 which I have put up already...
The evening was so engaging that we didn’t bother with the camera :)..
The place is worth a visit.. just ensure that the occasion is special enough...

Monika said...

oh this is one place i have always been wanting to go but somehow never worked out... sigh

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