Marché: A unique marketplace restaurant

Location: 313 Somerset, Orchard Road, Singapore

This Friday, we went to a really great place at 313 Somerset, Singapore. I had been wanting to visit a Marché restaurant and I got my chance this weekend. And what an experience it was!

Marché stands for healthy nutrition and offers food that is cooked right before your eyes. This is a chain of restaurants serving freshly cooked Swiss cuisine. The place is built in the form of a European marketplace along with European style seating and interiors. The place is thoughtfully created and offers a warm and cozy ambiance.

This is how the system works. You queue at the entrance - the host hands you cards which will get swiped for your purchases within the market restaurant – you then follow the Maître de who takes you to your table - once you are seated he/she will place a ‘reserved’ sign on it - now you are free to roam around in the restaurant, make your purchases and enjoy them at your table - once done you again queue up at the counter, pay the amount accumulated in the restaurant card and you are done.

It offers a wonderful variety of beverages, antipasti, rostis, pizza, pasta, crepes, salads and desserts. You get to choose your ingredients and watch the chefs create magic with them right in front of your eyes! And need I say about the quality and taste? As stated by the restaurant itself the ingredients are all very fresh. And the food was delicious, full of brilliant flavors and served with appetizing sides. I had a great first experience at Marché and I’m now a big fan of this place. The concept of a market place restaurant is unique and that is what greatly enhances the whole experience. I loved it! Of course one visit is not enough to try all that you want to and I’m definitely going back there again.

Here is a splash of the place and the food we tried:

Remember the bells from DDLJ?

The Dessert counter

Plain Potato Rosti with sour cream

Vegetable & Cheese Savory Crepe

Tea & Coffee counter

My cappuccino and some weird tea from Egypt for wifey

I'm so happy... ain't I? Great food has that affect on me!

So what do you think about this place? Have any of you been to Marché or similar concept restaurants? Do share your experiences/thoughts.

Cheese Corn Balls

You Need (Makes 8-10 balls):

• 1 Cup Sweet Corn
• 1 Cup Processed Cheese (Grated)
• 1-2 Green Chilies
• 2 Spoons Maida (White Flour)
• 1 Spoon Cornflour
• Salt, Pepper to taste

Preparation: Boil the corn for 2-3 minutes. Put the corn in the mixer and give it a very slight grind (just run the mixer for like 2-3 seconds, 1-2 times) so that you have the corn in small chunks.

In a bowl, add the cheese, maida, corn flour and seasonings to the corn. Add some water and mix it all well, so that you have a doughy kind of a mix.

Spread some oil onto your hands and roll the mix into small balls. Fry in heated oil on high flame.

You are done! Serve hot and yummy cheese corn balls with some sauces and enjoy!

Do share how they turned out for you. Also, share if you have similar simple snack recipes.

Sa-nook: The Thai Express

Location: Clementi Mall, Singapore

We were just strolling around in our neighborhood Clementi Mall and spotted the Thai Express restaurant. A blown up menu of its special offerings on the restaurant glass made us realize that it did serve vegetarian options. (Here is a selection of their veg. menu). Impromptu, we decided to give it a try.

Here is what we tried from their vegetarian menu:

Tom Yum Hed Nang Fah (Tom Yum oyster mushroom soup)

This was hot 'n' spicy! But they had the freshest mushrooms and cilantro in there and the broth had this lemony tang and the zest of lemon grass. The aroma was just so pleasingly oriental ... almost calming to the mind. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Spageti Phad Kee Moa Kaab Pak (Thai-style stir-fried spicy spaghetti with vegetable, tofu and Thai herb)

As stated on their menu this was spicy!!! Actually way too spicy but it did have delectable flavors. It opened up the taste buds with the hotness and after a time I started to enjoy it while my taste buds ignored the hotness. They served the dish with powdery sides of chilli flakes and groundnut which was something new for me.

And, a chilled glass of iced tea to cool off some of the hotness. Again this had the lemon grass flavor which made it different from what you get in India. The refreshment it offered was worth my money.

Vegetarians: Here is another veggie option for you in Singapore! Has anyone tried Thai Express anywhere? Do share what you tried...

Sugar, Spice and Everything Nice

Hi All,

Introducing 'Sugar, Spice and Everything Nice', a short personal documentary compiled by Astha Prakash.

Hope you all Enjoyed it! :-)

Cooking with Leftovers - Part II

I recently tried out something new with leftovers; which I wanted to share here. As is the case usually, I had some leftover vegetables - Paneer and Gobi sabzi along with a couple of rotis from morning. As evening dawned I felt like munching something light. I considered it for a few moments. Here is what I did:

I chopped some onion and tomato and stir fried it. Added the leftover vegetables, lightly frying it along. Added a helping of the paneer sabzi masala from the what was leftover and mixed it all together.

Then I took my rotis, applied ghee on both sides and heated them on the tava till they turned a warm brown and slightly crispy.

I then spread out the sabzi mix onto the rotis and rolled it up into a nice looking kathi roll look-alike. I cut it into equal halves and ... 

... A great snack materialized in just about 15 mins.

If you have ideas on leftover food preparation, I’d definitely like to hear from you. Feel free to type out in the comments section below!

Also check out my earlier post on cooking with leftovers here.

La Mesa at Koramangala

Location: Koramangala (Bangalore)

I wanted to try Mexican last night. The only caveat … I didn’t want to spend too much on places like Habanero; which are good but come at a high price.

I filtered for Mexican restaurants in Bangalore on Zomato and Burrp and this placed called ‘La Mesa’ in Kormangala, popped up. I had not heard of this place before. What made me curious about this place was that burrp suggested only Rs. 250 for an average meal for two here. I quickly read through the reviews. Although there were only a few reviews  people were raving about the food. I settled on giving it a try.

The place is small and non-ac, QSR. Doesn't offer an ambiance  They have a decent Leb-Mex menu along with dine-in and home-delivery options. They don’t have a drinks menu but serve soft-drinks at mrp. The food is they serve is good! Some things are great while others are ‘not bad’. Here is what we tried:

Burrito Bowl with with Beans and Vegetables

 This was the best thing I tried there. As i started to dig in, the flavors gradually sinked in. The sour cream and cheese topping made it even more flavorful.

Pita with Hummus and Falafel

This was just okay! A mish-mash of too many flavors and I couldn't get the distinct taste of hummus I was looking for.

Quesadillas with Cheese Beans and Vegetables

Again this was a good preparation! The filling was nice and a great sour cream served alongside added so much to the taste.

All this in just Rs. 255/-. The pricing and reviews were correct! Great mexican taste and value for money sums up this small, relatively unknown joint.

People not looking for a fancy place but in search for great taste ... do give it a try!

Pind Balluchi

Location: Bangalore, MG Road (Garuda Mall)

Pind Balluchi was my favorite punjabi food spot in Noida. I used to frequent it often with my buddies and was never once disappointed with this joint.
Today while strolling around in Garuda Mall, I just happened to pass by it. The familiar big red neon sign with the sardar ji sitting under it with his lathi, activated my dormant taste buds.
Seeing one of my fav joints right in front of me made me crave for its food. I stood there reading its menu at the door. Just then a set of customers walked out of the restaurant ... I caught a glimpse inside; of the familiar sights, smells. Just then, at that moment the deal was sealed! I went right in and asked for a 'table for two'!

Here's a splash of the splendid meal we had:

A warm welcome! 

Confusion written across face. Kya order karen? Everything looks splendid!

Rubbing hands together with glee. Eager to get started!

Getting started with 'Dahi ke Kebab'. Really Really gooood

A closer look. Great preparation ... what an amazing invention this is

Kadai Paneer with Roomali Roti

Aam Panna concocted to perfection

A dash of colors to celebrate the food!