The Ant Blog

Our Shiro trip was far from impromptu. Ever since we had heard about their Sushi brunch menu , we were dying to go! And we finally landed up there on a Sunday few weeks ago. To anyone who has visited this place, they know about Shiro’s lovely ambiance. It almost has a surreal old-world appeal to it. Due to the very dim lights, I could only manage to snap one of the ceiling lamps, which looked great. Ceiling lamp, below stone carving depictions at Shiro We began with servings of Chicken and Vegetarian dumpling . I loved the vegetarian dumpling with the wasabi  paste. Chicken and Vegetarian wasabi dumplings For the drinks, we ordered a Red wine Sangria and a Green Apple martini . Honestly, I was disappointed with my Sangria . I never expected a place like Shiro to serve me a Sangria with just a hint of wine in it. It almost tasted like a fruit mocktail! I love my Sangrias and can swear by them, so it was a let down. On the other hand the Green Apple martini, I tried ...

  It had been a while since we had visited TGIfridays .   What with all the new eateries in the city, there is always a new destination to experiment food in. And even the thought of doing so is exciting. However, we have had many a happy memories associated with this place. We reached here  quite late, by when most of the restaurants were closing for lunch. It was relatively empty as the peak hours were over. I ordered a November Seabreeze. For starters we ordered Loaded Potato skins topped with bacon. The dish was at it’s greasy best (but of course it was all fried!) but I let myself enjoy this rude boy lunch. The bacon gave the potatoes a nice salty aftertaste.                                          Loaded Potato Skins topped with Bacon at TGiFridays Although we wanted to try a few more with a side orders, I knew I wouldn’t have space for my m...

It was a Saturday evening, and I was catching up with my BFF after  many weeks (read ages). So I had this place in mind, as I hadn’t been there before and also because of it’s proximity to where we met up that day. At 7:30 pm this place was 80% occupied, playing eighties rock music and had an upbeat vibe.                                                                                           Nachos with tomato salsa at BBC We stepped in, and got ourselves seated. Meeting after long calls for celebration, so it was cocktails all the way! She ordered a Appletini  and I was in mood for a Cosmopolitan   ! Our drinks came in, with a side order of Nachos. This place has a great many kind of beers to offer, and a lively decor. ...

It is in recent times that my husband has developed quite a palate for Japanese food. I have a great fondness for the cuisine too. So we often scout for new  Jap  hang-outs. We visited Kofuku a couple of weeks ago on a Friday night. When we entered, the place was roaring with laughter and chatter of young crowd. Since we planned it at the end moment, we did not get a regular table and instead got a place over the sushi bar. I like facing the kitchen directly since I get to see the goings-on in there, so I was happy. We quickly ordered our Sake and a plate of non-vegetarian Maki Boston Roll to go with that.      Sake at Kofuku                                             Boston Roll (non vegetarian Maki) at Kofuku The Maki was well made. Next we ordered a plate of Okonomi Yaki, which is a form of non-vegetarian pancake. We ordered our...

For a weeknight, which was bordering on boring, I found a very simple and inspiring recipe to perk my mood up. I rummaged my freezer, and found legs of Chicken. The dish comes out really well with breasts though, but I gave it a shot with what I had. This dish is inspired by a recipe of the very famous and one of my fav Chefs, Jamie Oliver! So, I slit the flesh, and rubbed the chicken with cloves of garlic, sea salt, black pepper, and thyme. Also squeezed a lemon and rubbed everything together. After heating the griddle, added butter and placed the legs to cook on grill. After a good 15 -20 mins, turn it over. Note here, that since this chicken has bones in it, it will take a longer time to cook. However, chicken breasts would cook faster.                                                                  Chicken legs ...

This dish happened to us, on a weekday night! I say so because we were very happily surprised with the outcome of my little experiment on that evening. With some left over minced Chicken and about 200 g of Prawns in my freezer, I could make nothing out of them. Then I thought of blending the two together and balancing the flavors, and it did turn out to be quite palatable.  So to begin with, I threw in the Chicken and Prawns in the blender, with 1 chili, 1/2 inch of ginger, 1 teaspoon of garlic, for the binding 1 slice of bread (cut into pieces) and some salt. For some added color and heat one can also add some Red chili powder (optional). Within seconds, this blitz was ready. I removed the contents in a mixing bowl and added 1 egg, and mixed the ingredients together. This mixture needs to be slightly firm and form lumps, in the form of balls or mini cakes. The Minced Chicken n Prawn mini cakes in all their glory! Ingredients for  Minced Chicken n Prawn mini...

As surprising as it may sound, I was not fond of sweets as a child. I feel sorry for myself now to think that I have missed out on all the home made sweets that my mother used to make and everybody used to adore. Now, i do not miss out on any such sweet or desserts. This one is a famous and a very favorite Indian dessert made with Carrots or  Gajar . This recipe is as simple as it’s flavor is gorgeous! Inspired by the famous Indian Chef late Mrs Tarla Dalal, below is the recipe. In the Making: Gajar ka Halwa Ingredients for Gajar ka Halwa: 2 cups grated Carrots 1 tbsp desi Ghee 2 tbsp Milk 4 tbsp Sugar 4 tbsp Mava (khoya) 1 tbsp Raisins 1 tbsp chopped Almonds 1/2 tsp Cardamom powder Procedure for Gajar ka Halwa: Heat the ghee in a pressure cooker; add the carrots and sauté on a medium flame for 4 to 5 minutes, while stirring continuously. Add milk, mix well and pressure cook for 1 whistle. Transfer into a broad non-stick pan, add the sugar, ...

It had been long since we had eaten at a Goan or Mangalorean restaurant. These coastal cuisines can be a delightful treat. So I was surfing through the internet one day, when I came across this quaint little place in Malad. Now that is really far from where I stay, but I kept a mental note of trying it out when we plan to head that side. And so that day came along a month or so later. We had a little difficulty finding the place, as the restaurant’s signage could not be located from the road while driving. It is a small rooftop eatery. But it has its loyals, even on a late weeknight people had come over to dine there. We were quite hungry by then and we began by ordering a plate of Spicy Squid batter fry, and Pork Chops BBQ. Spicy Squid batter fry at Mangoes The squids were very good, they went well with the dip. Also the Pork chops were delish. Full of spices and cooked to a nice brown hue. The quantity was humongous. We were instantly doubtful, as we had come a long w...