Bday Brunch
Back in India on a business trip, and took my homeboys Siddesh and Nick to heavily trafficked Bangalore on a fabulous weekend getaway.
I asked our local station chief if we needed our passports before leaving, to which he emphatically replied "No!". Fixing a puzzled look on his face, he seemed to suggest that I needn't ask such a ridiculous question in the first place.
His actions proved not so clairvoyant however, as the hotel staff where we were checking in noticed we were two foreigners, and I could distinctly hear what sounded like "passport" while they were arguing with our guide, Siddesh.
After unsuccessfully booking a room, we decided to go drinking instead at a nearby microbrewery called "Biere Court". The first stop proved the best as we left for what were supposed to be greener pastures, but instead suffered a vain attempt at getting into Sky Bar as we were a 4-stag party.
Forced to regale ourselves at a less-posh establishment, we proceeded to drink until the early hours of 11:30 PM, the time we were told that all the bars in Bangalore shut down. Still feeling a bit frisky, we drove down some back streets until we found a suspicious looking guy on the street. We stopped in front and our driver rolled down the window. He began shouting orders for beer and nips of liquor, and in a few minutes the suspicious looking guy brought out a bulky black plastic bag filled with the contents of our order.
We sulked back to our hotel, fell asleep, and woke the next day to treat ourselves to an amazing brunch, the photos of which are provided below.
Lamb brains
Cold Appetizer 1 (grilled scampi, steamed mussel, braised duck, tuna tartar, salmon tartar, smoked salmon, octopus salad, piece of wheat bread)
Cold Appetizer #2 (roast ham, gorgonzola with berries, sushi, egg flan with fig, mozzarella, tomato and basil)
Break... whew... also had all you can drink sparkling wine.
Cheese Plate (brie, swiss, bleu, goat, parmesean, gruyere)
Entree 1 (eggplant lasagna, grilled chicken and veggies, shepherd's pie)
Entree 2 (beef tenderloin w/ mustard seed glaze)
Entree 3 (grilled chicken, grilled shrimp)
...dirty martinis...
Kiran, the other birthday boy after I guessed that he was 50. He turned 49.
Desert 1 (non-chocolates)
Dessert 2 (chocolates w/ fruit)
Siddesh always giving the staff a hard time where ever we go. Caption: "Where is the design in my foam?"
almost done... fried bananas with raspberry sauce.
Cafe latte to wash everything down.
Our hosts, thrilled to see us finally leaving.
I asked our local station chief if we needed our passports before leaving, to which he emphatically replied "No!". Fixing a puzzled look on his face, he seemed to suggest that I needn't ask such a ridiculous question in the first place.
His actions proved not so clairvoyant however, as the hotel staff where we were checking in noticed we were two foreigners, and I could distinctly hear what sounded like "passport" while they were arguing with our guide, Siddesh.
After unsuccessfully booking a room, we decided to go drinking instead at a nearby microbrewery called "Biere Court". The first stop proved the best as we left for what were supposed to be greener pastures, but instead suffered a vain attempt at getting into Sky Bar as we were a 4-stag party.
Forced to regale ourselves at a less-posh establishment, we proceeded to drink until the early hours of 11:30 PM, the time we were told that all the bars in Bangalore shut down. Still feeling a bit frisky, we drove down some back streets until we found a suspicious looking guy on the street. We stopped in front and our driver rolled down the window. He began shouting orders for beer and nips of liquor, and in a few minutes the suspicious looking guy brought out a bulky black plastic bag filled with the contents of our order.
We sulked back to our hotel, fell asleep, and woke the next day to treat ourselves to an amazing brunch, the photos of which are provided below.
Lamb brains
Cold Appetizer 1 (grilled scampi, steamed mussel, braised duck, tuna tartar, salmon tartar, smoked salmon, octopus salad, piece of wheat bread)
Cold Appetizer #2 (roast ham, gorgonzola with berries, sushi, egg flan with fig, mozzarella, tomato and basil)
Break... whew... also had all you can drink sparkling wine.
Cheese Plate (brie, swiss, bleu, goat, parmesean, gruyere)
Entree 1 (eggplant lasagna, grilled chicken and veggies, shepherd's pie)
Entree 2 (beef tenderloin w/ mustard seed glaze)
Entree 3 (grilled chicken, grilled shrimp)
...dirty martinis...
Kiran, the other birthday boy after I guessed that he was 50. He turned 49.
Desert 1 (non-chocolates)
Dessert 2 (chocolates w/ fruit)
Siddesh always giving the staff a hard time where ever we go. Caption: "Where is the design in my foam?"
almost done... fried bananas with raspberry sauce.
Cafe latte to wash everything down.
Our hosts, thrilled to see us finally leaving.
posted by Alex Cruz at
2:25 AM
1 Comments
