Something new and nice!

In Bangalore for work, I am forced to stay overnight in the city. Working very hard and burning the midnight oil, I am reminded of my days as a McKinsey consultant, when I would stay in very nice hotels most of the time and keep working away at my computer till the wee hours. But this post is not about that. This one is related to my all time favourite topic - food :-)

I am a foodie. Not in the sense of gourmet, adventurous or even ravenous. It is just that what I like, I can eat and eat and eat. It need not be very tasty, need not be very fresh, need not even be hygenic. I just cannot say no to a samosa, or to chole bhature, or a plate of papdi chaat or aloo tikki. Ditto chicken kathi roll, ma ki dal, aloo paratha.... you get the drift.

It was with trepidation, therefore, that I set foot into this standalone restaurant near MG Road in Bangalore, called Caperberry (www.caperberry.in). Voted the Best Independent Restaurant in India by the Time Out Food Awards in 2011, this restaurant really blew my socks away.

I tried the vegetarian tasting menu, along with a glass of sangria. The sangria was the best I've ever had (and I have had lots at multiple places!), but the food was a revelation. Perhaps it was the fact that I am not accustomed to fine dining, or the fact that I was hungry (which I certainly was). But the 6 course meal, along with the tiramisu at the end was a meal fit for a king.

Beginning with a compressed watermelon with red cabbage gazpacho, moving on to mushroom parfait, then on to some kind of corn cornetto, then a sorbet, then finally the best course - an asparagus and filo stack, rounded off by something called .... I've forgotten the fancy name, but essentially it was some kind of jelly topped with olive tapenade. Finally a tiramisu which the guy actually makes at the table, rounded off with nice petit fours.

The chef came around generally asking how the food was, and I promised him that I would bring my wife to this fantastic place the next time around. The damage to my finances was substantial (approx 3.5k, all in); but an experience to remember!

Highly recommended!