The Ultimate Foodie Quiz – test your food IQ!

Time and again a quick check on your food IQ is not a bad thing and that’s exactly what was done at the Saffola Masala Oats ‘The Other Side’ meet up. In an earlier post we revealed the exact flow of events that occurred on the day, but among all other interesting things, the foodie quiz was something we wanted to give special focus on, by means of this post.

A bunch of questions were asked to the 40+ group of food bloggers, all experts in their field and not many knew the answers, which showed the level of questions that were asked. Having said that, here go the same questions for you, to judge for yourselves how big a foodie you really are!

1.      The name Beefsteak is given to two ingredients, one is made of beef which is the other one?

(a) Tomato

(b) Onion

(c) Cauliflower

2.      What is that one thing that makes you go red when you eat carrots?

(a)    Carotene

(b)   The fibre

3.      Which is the best vegetable source of naturally occurring sodium

(a)    Apricot

(b) Celery

(c) Sun dried tomatoes

4.      In 1995, which plants were taken into space with the space shuttle Columbia. This marked the first time any food was ever grown in space. Which plant was it?

(a)    Bananas

(b)   Apples

(c)    Potato plant

5.      Which is that one fruit which is more proficient at waking you up in the morning than coffee?

(a)    Apple

(b)   Grapes

(c)    Peach

6.      What is a Spanish Tortilla?

(a)    It’s a Spanish version of the commonly found chips

(b)   It’s a basic Spanish omlette        

(c)    There’s nothing called a Spanish Tortilla

7.      Which edible thing is an ingredient in dynamite?

(a)    Peanuts

(b)   Salt

(c)    Sugar

8.      How many honeybees does it take to produce one tablespoon of honey?

(a)    12

(b)   24

(c)    48

9.      Which is the only fruit which has its seeds on its outer skin?

(a)    Strawberries

(b)   Oranges

(c)    Blueberry

10.  Which was the first fruit eaten on the moon?

(a)    Pear

(b)   Peach

(c)    Banana

ANSWERS:

1(a), 2(a), 3(b), 4(c), 5(a), 6(b), 7(a), 8(a), 9(a), 10(b)

Now tell us honestly how many you got right?

- Compiled by Amit Roy and Karan Bhujbal

Mistral Grill – a must visit South Delhi restaurant

We’re so fascinated with the Olive’s, Mamagoto’s and Smoke House Deli’s of Delhi, that we very often miss out on some gems in the market; Mistral Grill is one of those for us. One afternoon a couple of weeks ago, we very quietly received a mail inviting us to review the restaurant that actually made us take notice of Mistral Grill. We searched for information online, saw pictures and realized that the place looked decent, only why did we not know of the place; we’re foodies! That made us suspicious, that maybe it wasn’t popular because of some odd reason. Anyways, a couple of weeks passed and we did make it to the restaurant. Here goes the complete review.

First impressions

Getting up to the 2^nd floor of Ambience mall in Vasant Kunj, it took us a couple of minutes to spot the restaurant. Unlike an Underdoggs, it didn’t have any prominent branding in the mall, so as to reiterate its presence. But then we saw it at a corner behind Chili’s and adjacent to PVR Directors Cut. Actually getting past Chili’s was tuff, because we know the delights Chili’s can serve.

Ambience

We stepped into the restaurant and the place was as gorgeous as the pictures on the web made it out to be. It seemed very formal too; the kind that’ll require you to come in closed shoes and collared shirts (akin to Kylin at the other corner of the mall); but it wasn’t the case. The restaurant seating is L-shaped. It has a lot of seating capacity; easily can fit 80 people. The seating options were varied too. There were tall bar stool sized seats with round tables; there were well cushioned red sofas, rotating smaller sized purple sofas for 2 people and then regular leveled seating too.

The yellow lighting and wooden flooring gave it a very 5 star hotel coffee shop kind of a feel. The 2 level wine-cellars looked impressive. The separate sections where Indian and Italian are cooked revealed the attention to detail that the restaurant management had.

Food

Food has always been and will continue to be the make or break of your food experience. While at the restaurant, looking at everything that was great we were anticipating the food to be a downer, but even here we were proved so wrong.

For starters, there was a complimentary serving of white bread with a garlic dip and white vens sauce.

In main course we ordered a chicken and cheese burger. This contained a grilled chicken thigh with cheese, bacon, tomatoes and tartar sauce. The burger buns were soft, yet didn’t crumble. The chicken patty with bacon was meaty and quite a mouthful. The tomatoes were a great partition between the buns and the patty, as it helped the burger be juicy.

Next in line was the ‘Venezian’ wood oven pizza. It had mozzarella, red onions, capers, kalamata olives and pine kernals. It was crisp and tasty. The red onions were a magic ingredient because they consistently gave that sweet caramelized taste, which works well for me.

We finished main course with cream and cheese fettuccini with sautéed pancetta, fresh parsley, french cream and pecorino cheese sauce. This was a very simple dish, well made and if you’re having a hard time selecting what to go for, this is a very good choice.

In dessert we tried the granny smith apple and blueberry crumble with vanilla ice-cream and sugar free. The taste was lip smacking again. However, despite having a sweet tooth, it was a wee bit sweeter than what it should have been.

A major point to highlight was that the portion size of all dishes was great. It was actually refreshing to see this.

Price

The place is very reasonably priced, in comparison to other fine dining restaurants. With all that was ordered above, we could say the average price for a meal for 2 (without drinks) would be approx. 1200.

Conclusion

It was a delight to have visited Mistral Grill and we’re sure to return soon. 1 visit put all our apprehensions to rest. The ambience, food, service and price, have just one thing written all over it – it’s a must visit restaurant in South Delhi.

- Karan Bhujbal, contributing author

The healthy and tasty Saffola Masala Oats ‘The Other Side’ event

There are events which are good, there are events which are great and then there are events which are GRAND! Saffola Masala Oats presented ‘The Other Side’ of healthy food to us and the event was grand- not because of the sheer number of attendees or the aura of the celebrity chef (the Michelin starred Vikas Khanna), but more so because of the cause - Giving the healthy food, a dash of Masala and a whole lot of twist and taste.

The Saffola Masala Oats ‘The Other Side’ began with a regular e-mailer invite. But what followed, was a super-innovative super-surprise! Who could have imagined that the prelude to a ‘delicious’ day would have made out of a couple of brinjals, a Tinda (Apple Gourd) and a Karela (Bitter-gourd) put up in a nice and bringht yellow box. But the best was yet to come.

Came the Judgement day!

The event kick-started on a high with Samyukta, the host for the day and THE Vikas Khanna taking the centre stage with their funny one-liners and a promise for a delicious day ahead. What amazed and amused the gathering the most was the more than just a ‘touch’ of Desipan in the star chef. He is, as it seemed very evident, a true ‘Ambrsariya’ and it showed. Amidst the flourishing career in the States, he has managed to keep the desipan intact and it was indeed a spectacle to see him display every bit of it. From the choice of cooking ingredients to his quick anecdotes from his mother, India was written all over him.

The Philips induction cookers went off on the stage as Chef Vikas stirred and tossed his magic in the tinda and made ‘The Gourd of small things’ out of the boring and bland vegetable. A superb display of how healthy can be made tasty, and easily so!

What followed was nothing less than a back-to-school experience. Chef Vikas turned to a quiz master and asked 6 interesting questions to the audience, only to hand-pick 6 contestants for the contest that followed. The challenge was given out in a single statement, “make a dish out of the bland and boring vegetables, and make it tasty.”

It was really a great experience to witness the spacious and spunky place be full of smoke and smell of sheer delicacy. Ekta Khaitan was the lady of the hour as she cooked her way to glory making the bestg dish in the first round. It was indeed heartening for a foodie to see all the glorious dishes being made out of what we generally consider “Yuck!”

Another round of cooking by Chef Khanna, but this time it was ‘crostini with peppy tomato’; a simple-as-hell recipe involving majorly just bread and Saffola Masala Oats. One of those dishes which would save you from all the tiring cooking if a bunch of kids decide to drop by.

A similar module was followed again. The quiz, the contestants and the cooking! This time the ingredient was Saffola Masala oats and it was nothing less than eye-popping to see Koftas, upmas and pizza bases being made of the oats. 

As the event came to a close, we had one final jump of joy. A basket-full (literally) of Saffola Masala Oats and the Khanna-Sutra (Chef Vikas Khanna’s recipe book) was distributed to all attendees.

It was nice to see bloggers giving a good feedback on the event:   





Indeed a delightful day for a foodie. Thank You Saffola Masala Oats!


- Amit Roy, Contributing Author

*Disclaimer: FOODATHON partnered with Saffola for organizing this event. 

Participate in the #SaffolaMasalaOats Twitter contest now!

Health or taste, sometimes you may sway to one side and sometimes to the other! There may even be cases where you may yearn to gain both. With that in mind, Saffola Masala Oats, a meal filled with wholesome, lip smacking goodness, invites the twittersphere to share their perspective on ‘Health ya taste, which side do you sway most of the time?’

All tweets need to be accompanied with #SaffolaMasalaOats and the contest lasts only for today; so HURRY!

For any queries on the contest, please drop a line in the comments stream below.

All the best!

A STEAK-HOUSE, FOR A STEAK WELL-DONE – BOONDOCK BISTRO

Located right within the hustle and bustle of a busy Whitefield, Boondock Bistro has a benefit of contrast, as a place where one looks forward to laze and spend a slow weekend morning. With countless windows, natural light and plenty of ventilation, the two month old restaurant seems to offer a pleasant ambience – whether for young professionals looking for a working lunch or for couples looking for a relaxed and romantic dinner -  all the same. With illustrations of Paul Fernandes adorning the charmingly done interiors, and some cool comic-strip laminations on dining tables, it is not easy to overlook the thought and effort behind this steak house’s setting.

The menu and the kind of food served is a near-perfect attempt at making an American diner style offering. The weekend all-day breakfast is a big hit, with fresh slices of bacon served as part of the American breakfast platter. The pancakes are not quite out of the world, but work well nonetheless. All meat is fresh, thanks to a regular supplier.

The chicken has some good variations and manages to make you yearn for more. A must-try on the chicken menu is the slow-roasted chicken steak that is served with a choice of sauces; we recommend the pepper sauce that goes perfectly fine with the crispy roast. The Texas T-bone steak could be the next weakness for beef lovers. If you do, however, like your steak well-done, make sure the chef gets it through and gives it to you, as you like it. The chef also recommends the curry pasta – a curry flavored rendition of the Italian white sauce.

Desserts are in their nascent stage. The sinful chocolaty sizzling brownie is our favorite, while the apple cheese cake is a bit on the sweeter side, and has its fans amongst the regulars.

While the service is not lightning-quick, the fact that the owner shares a casual conversation with visitors gives the place an overall feel-good.

In all, Boondock Bistro is a bang for your buck. With menu prices inclusive of all taxes, they make sure you don’t end up selling your kidneys to pay VAT.

Quick Bites:

Best time to visit: Weekends for the ‘All-Day Breakfast’

Timings: Tue-Fri 12 pm to 10.30 pm; Sat-Sun 8am to 10.30 pm; Monday Holiday

Most Popular Item on the Menu: Sizzling steaks and home-style hamburgers

Must Eat:  The Texas T-bone Beef Steak

Average cost per meal: Vegetarian: Rs. 250/- | Non-vegetarian – Rs. 350/-

Home delivery: To be made available shortly

Follow Boondock Bistro on Facebook: www.facebook.com/boondockbistro

-Priyanka Tadipatri, Contributing Author