Mango Tree, Hampi

It’s been a little while since I’ve updated my food blog – largely since I’ve been traveling a bit internationally which makes scheduling food reviews hard and have been caught up with work, and also since I haven’t eaten anyplace really worth writing home about. Until now. When I visited Hampi. While the lovely Mango Tree restaurant isn’t in Bangalore (the theme of this blog), it’s stirred me enough to pen this piece.

Turn right at the Virupaksha temple at the end of Hampi Bazaar, head towards the river, turn left by the bathing ghats and walk about hundred yards down and you’ll see the little hand painted sign of the Mango Tree restaurant on a tree. Walk down the little mud pathway through the banana plantation and you enter a little house with a thatched roof. Park your sandals by the side, wash your hands at the nearby basin and you are ushered inside the lovely restaurant facing the spectacular Tungabhadra river.

The open air restaurant offers seating on straw chatai on granite slabs pleasantly spread across multiple levels like steps in an amphitheater that eventually descend down to the river. A large mango tree towers above the restaurant, offering shade while still providing splendid views of the river. A lovely swing tethered high up on the tree hangs down – an idyllic rocking chair which at full swing reaches out dreamily into the expanse of the mighty river.

The restaurant itself is quite modest, providing simple low seating with reclining support on sloping walls, gas lamp lighting, and basic furnishing. But the sheer beauty of the place offers an ambience that is sensual, lively and vibrant while still being relaxing and refreshing. A natural and unassuming ambience that few 5 stars hotels can hope to provide, and far less can achieve.

While my expectations of food were quite low, I was quite delighted by the excellent thali offered (Rs. 30). The menu offers a range of continental dishes, with a variety of interesting variants like nutella chapatti (inspired by crepes?). When you consider how remote Hampi is, and the lack of qualified chefs, the range and quality of the dishes served up was highly commendable.

If you are headed there at night, plan on taking a torchlight along since the streets leading to the restaurant are not well lit. Also, you may want to know that alcohol is not served at establishments in Hampi since its a pilgrimage center. But then, in such an ambience, you can be assured - your spirits will be high nevertheless.

Cost: Rs 50-250
Cleanliness: Excellent
Quality: Good
Service: Good
Ambience: Terrific
Bottomline: If you haven’t been to Hampi, make it your next holiday hop. And when in Hampi, plan on a lazy afternoon at the Mango Tree.

Belgian Waterzooi and Witloof

As most of you know, my wife and I have been in Belgium for the last several months and have been doing some traveling within Europe, and of course, sampling local dishes as we go along. I thought I'd deviate slightly from the Bangalore centric nature of my blog to write about two lovely Belgian dishes I've been fortunate to have tried - Waterzooi and Witloof.

We ate dinner at the famous brasserie Au Vieux Saint Martin, which is located in Place du Grand Sablon, nearby world famous chocolate maker Pierre Marcolini and the confectioner's Wittamer.

Waterzooi, captured by my wife in the picture below is a "a traditional Flemish soup come stew which was originally prepared with freshwater fish and vegetables but the best known version is with chicken. Waterzooi also works well with a variety of seafood or with rabbit.", according to BareIngredients.

Chicken Waterzooi

Here is an easy-to-cook and easy-to-serve contemporary recipe from celebrity chef Julia Child, who claims this is "the most interesting recipe she ever clipped"

• 2 large carrots
• 2 medium onions
• 2 tender ribs of celery
• 2 medium-sized leeks, white and tender green parts only
• 1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon
• Salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste
• 2 1/2 pounds cut-up frying chicken, legs or thighs or breasts (with bone), or a mixture of these
• 1 1/2 cups dry white French vermouth
• 1 1/2 to 2 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 6 egg yolks
• 3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley.

1. Trim and wash the vegetables and cut them into julienne matchsticks one and three-quarters inches long and one-eighth inch wide. (This should come to about five cups in all.) Toss them in a large mixing bowl with the tarragon and a sprinkling of salt and pepper.
2. Wash and dry the chicken pieces and set aside.
3. Using a casserole large enough to hold the chicken and the vegetables comfortably, layer in the following order: one-third of the vegetables, half of the chicken, half of the remaining vegetables, the rest of the chicken and the remaining vegetables. Pour in the vermouth and enough chicken broth to barely cover the chicken. Up to this point, the recipe may be prepared several hours in advance. Cover and refrigerate.
4. When ready to cook, bring to the simmer, covered, and cook slowly 25 to 30 minutes or until the chicken pieces are tender and, when pierced, the juices run clear.
5. Strain out the cooking liquid, degrease it and adjust the seasonings.
6. Blend the cream and cornstarch in a small mixing bowl. Whisk the egg yolks in a large bowl and stir in the cream mixture. Slowly whisk in the hot cooking liquid. Pour the sauce over the chicken. Set over medium-low heat, swirling the casserole gently, until the sauce is warmed and thickens slightly, but do not bring to the simmer or the egg yolks will curdle.
7. To serve, ladle the chicken, vegetables and sauce into large warm soup bowls and sprinkle each serving with parsley.
8. Serve with boiled potatoes, noodles, gnocchi or just good French bread.

Yield: Four to six servings.

I've tried waterzooi several times in Belgium and it has never disappointed - hope you enjoy it!

As for Witloof, my experiences have been a bit mixed, but I was not disappointed at the Au Vieux Saint Martin. Here's a bit of history on Witlook from a blog online:

Legends and facts :
1830 Schaarbeek (nr Brussels). A man called Jan Brammens, who was one of the many farmers, who had to escape from the violence in Brabant, before the independence of Belgium. Before he left, he quickly cut some chicory roots for his surrogate coffee. He threw them in his cellar and to prevent them from drying out he covered them with some soil. When he arrives back at his farm he discovers that the roots had sprouted many conical blanched hearts, which to his mind tasted very nice indeed.

A more accepted version however is about Franciscus Bresier, who worked at the Royal Gardens 'Botanieken Hof' or Kruidtuin'. Planning to grow loose leaved chicory, he kept the roots stacked one closely next to the other in the mushroom cellars and covered them with composted down horse manure. He also watered them regularly to give the plants a head start for when he wanted to plant them out.
To his amazement he noticed the blanched hearts that looked like Roman lettuce appearing on the roots.
During the next two years he did a trial with roots , covered with soil and roots that he left uncovered. Again, the covered roots produced this lovely vegetable.
The 1834-1835 winter is to be the official year that chicory or 'witloof', as we know it now, was discovered.
The way the chicory got out and famous is still a mystery, but a fact is that the first harvest made it's way to the market in Brussels in 1846. From 1840 till then the growing of chicory was a public secret that more and more farmers tended to cultivate. The cultivation then spread to the rest of Flanders, to the Netherlands and France.

Witloof with mashed potatoes

Dinner in Seoul, Korea

I loved this little restaurant in Seoul, Korea so much that I'm deviating from the theme of my food in Bangalore blog to write about it. Sadly, I didnt note the pronunciation of the name of the place, although I've taken a picture of their menu :-)



While the ambience was fairly typical of most East Asian restaurants with mood lighting, wooden flooring, low tables and seating on rugs on the floor, the meal was quite a new experience. In addition to the usual kimchi, bibimbap and soups (which incidentally is eaten straight from the table in Korea, unlike China and Japan where you pick up the bowl), we ordered a special main course where meat is cooked in the center over a grill and shared at the table. While this is common at the many 'Korean BBQ' restaurants outside of Korea, what was special was how the meat is cut into small pieces and wrapped with fresh lettuce leaves, rice, a bud of garlic, a piece of chopped chili and a few other seasonings (see picture).



The leaf is then wrapped and eaten. The tender pork and the fresh spices in the juicy lettuce was absoutely delicious and was the highlight of the meal.