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The Hindu :
With Bangalore’s weather as it is, bright and sunny through the evening with pleasant showers after dark, there’s nothing like a light, outdoorsy meal to buoy one’s spirits. And when you’ve got the kind of plush poolside ambie
nce that the coffee shop at The Grand Ashok does, a lovely Mediterranean meal is the way to go.

And so, Chef Nimish Bhatia has thrown together a selection of Mediterranean grills with a frugal but well-planned spread of cold and hot starters, soup and dessert. “In our hotel, we have the various Oriental and Indian tastes catered to. But we wanted to create something new in the coffee shop, and at this time of year we have lush green lawns and the best ambience for a Mediterranean meal. Also, people nowadays want to eat healthy. And they want to eat grills but without oils and fats. The best option, therefore, is Mediterranean. It’s all cooked in olive oil and has a lot of fresh vegetables,” explains Chef Bhatia.

Certainly, looking at the range of cold starters on offer, one cannot complain about deficiencies in either taste or health. Everything here tastes divine and does so without clogging any arteries. And the spread caters to a variety of tastes, with the options ranging from free-spirited Spanish tapas to rugged Italian antipasti to subtle French canapes to exotic mezze options. Particular highlights include the parma ham, the ricotta in cucumber roll and the bocconcini flavoured with a light and flighty pesto.

Then there is the tatzini, which flavours refreshing cucumber with hung curd and a generous dose of sumak powder, which gives it a mild but definitely exotic flavour. And finally the Lebanese mashed potatoes, hidden so convincingly in the taste of yoghurt that one almost doesn’t realise that one tastes mashed potatoes.

Among the hot starters, the fried calamari is cut well so that there is enough substance in them but they do not…More