#ZOMATOMEETUP @ BOMBAY BRASSERIE

I have been indulging in quite a lot of Indian food recently. or rather much more than my usual average. Following my visit to Moti Mahal, I recently attended a #ZomatoMeetup at the charming Bombay Brasserie in Kensington. 

Opened in 1982 (before I was even born!), Bombay Brasserie has been an iconic restaurant destination, well known for its authentic, eclectic Bombay and Indian cuisine. 

We started off with drinks at the stylish Bombay Bar - I ordered an innocent Passionate Sparkler which was really sweet and fruity with plenty of crunchy passion fruit bits.

We then followed Chef Prahlad Hegde's lead into the kitchen prep room where he conducted a little private masterclass before us. He explained a bit about the use of different spices in his cooking and gave a short demonstration of the starters that we were to be served that evening.
We were then given a brief tour of the kitchen, which was actually quite large - I always feel like I'm 'intruding' during kitchen tours, as I try not to knock over hot plates of food with my massive bag. We were shown the tandoor oven where the naans are baked and the chef even gave us some freshly baked naan to try which tasted delicious on its own.

For dinner, we were seated in the lovely, spacious conservatory area, decorated with plenty of greenery and hanging plants, which gave a bit of a tropical feel to it. 

I tried a couple more cocktails later on that evening: Lychee Martini (because I love lychee) and the Queen's Necklace (because it sounded pretty fancy...).

I was quite pleased when they brought out a sharing plate of mini poppadoms - we had passed by a huge pan of mini poppadoms whilst on our 'tour' of the kitchen area that I eyed at hungrily and was tempted to swipe a handful of them in my state of hunger...

Each of us were also served an amuse bouche: Sev batata puri, a crunchy mouthful which consisted of wheat crisps topped with Peruvian potato mix, gram flour straws and chutneys.

We were then able to try the dishes that was demonstrated by Chef Prahlad during the masterclass: Crispy prawns with trio of peppercorns, Tulsi chicken tikka and Lamb Seekh Kebab. All three of them beautifully marinated and full of flavour. I really liked the side of Palak patta chaat, which was crispy fried baby spinach topped with yoghurt, date and tamarind chutney.

Next came the larger sharing dishes with some naan and rice to go with them. The Tandoori raan (braised lamb shank marinated with cinnamon, black cumin and vinegar) was slightly dry for me, but I enjoyed the Kasundi monkfish, coated in mustard from Calcutta which had a nice, meaty texture.

I love a good bowl of dal, and I helped myself to generous spoonfuls of the rich Dal makhani to have with my olive naan bread. I also thought that the Aloo roast looked quite cute and tasty - roasted baby potatoes coated with ginger, lime and spices.

Pumpkin soup with truffle oil

And finally for dessert, was a trio of chocolate samosa, chocolate raspberry and mango fig ice cream. A pretty plate of mini delights which was just enough to satisfy my sweet cravings.

Another excellent venue that I would recommend if you're looking to satisfy your Indian food cravings. The Weekend Brunch Buffet also sounds rather intriguing which may tempt me back for another visit.

  Check out their website for more details.

The Cheekster, signing out x

#ZOMATOMEETUP AT CHOTTO MATTE

Just a few days ago, I attended Zomato's final #ZomatoMeetup of the year 2014. 

Chotto Matte specialises in Nikkei cuisine - a merging of Japanese and Peruvian, both cuisines of which I love.

I headed there straight after work, closely missing the rush hour crowd, so I was the first to arrive, and sipped away on some champagne whilst waiting for the rest to arrive.

I was also quite hungry (as usual), and started nibbling away on the canchas (Peruvian corn puffs) and the sweet potato and cassava chips...

The event was held at the Lava-stone cocktail bar on the ground floor, known for its pisco and sake cocktails. Surrounding this bar is a mural created by critically acclaimed graffiti artist Tom Blackford, aka Ink Fetish. Our evening was hosted by the lovely Head Bad Chef, Fabiano Latham, who kept us entertained with some cocktail masterclasses. 

The drinks that were demonstrated included: 

Pisco Sour - Pisco, lime, sugar, egg white, Peruvian bitters

Cuatro Uvas - Pisco, sake, elderflower, red grapes, lime & celery bitters

Chicana de tonka - Pisco, cucumber, lime, tonka bitters & ginger beer

Some of the other bloggers also had the opportunity to go behind the bar and shake up some cocktails, however I was too distracted by the food section so I didn't participate...

Sweet potato and cassava chips with guacamole and burnt yellow tomato salsa

We later moved on to the food part where the chefs cooked up some tasty dishes for us to sample. Some of my favourites were the Eggplant Nigiri and the Nikkei Sashimi.

There was a lot of blow-torching going on...

 

Heritage tomato Aburi tostaditas

Nikkei Sashimi: yellowtail sashimi, yuzu truffle soy, purple potato crisps, jalapeno, coriander, cherry tomato

Padron Peppers: den miso and sea salt

Towards the end of the evening, we were given a little tour of the restaurant, which included the  exposed Robata grill, serving smokey Nikkei BBQ, and the Nikkei sushi bar, where Chef Kaito Sato creates his magic!

 The menus for the Robata grill and sushi bar have been specially created by Executive Chef Jordan Sclare (ex-head chef at Aqua Kyoto and Nobu) alongside Chef Michael Paul. 

We ended the evening with a sweet glass of Perfecto Amor - Peruvian wine fortified with Pisco and aged in sherry casks. After a few group photos, we each grabbed our goody bags and went our separate ways...

For more photos of the event, click on this link for photos taken by the lovely Alexandra.
Mischevious KS (aka the eating machine!) had a little play around with Alexandra's camera and surprisingly took a decent photo of Angela & I.
That man has skills...

If you ever do visit, don't forget to go down to the lower ground floor where you can see the captivating UV artwork from Houxo Que. That's also where the toilets are, which are pretty high-tech - just go in, even if you don't need to (!)

This was my first time at Chotto Matte, and after a pleasant evening, I am now tempted to go back to have a proper sit-down meal and get the full Nikkei experience.

 

Thank you, and well done again to Alexandra, Sarah, and the rest of the amazing Zomato team for organizing another fun and enjoyable event. And to all the other bloggers, old and new, it was nice to meet you all - looking forward to more exciting times in 2015!

The Cheekster, signing out x