Prawn Cocktail

Independence day festivity this year at Skyline Solstice saw a lot of events, fun and lots of merry making. Su (the whole event planner) ensured there was participation at every level, right from the toddlers to the boys, the girls and of course 'Us - Women'. So what was it for the women, any guesses on what can get the women excitedly engaged in participation??
Your right it was a cooking competition. The competition saw some fancy dishes being presented to the judges.  More then being a participant, the enthusiasm of the lovely ladies itself was the highlight of the day. So let me get straight to the point and tell you, my entries that were adjudged -  A prawn cocktail, and an Orange ricotta cake...fancy enough eh?!

Ingredients:
Serves - 4
Prawns - 2 cups cooked.
Mayonnaise - 4tbs
Sour cream - 1tbs
Tomato Ketchup  - 1tbs
Lettuce - 1cup shredded
Lime - thinly sliced for garnish
Prawns - 4 large ones for garnish
Boiled egg - 1, quartered
Cucumber sticks - 4 for garnish

Mix the prawns, mayo, ketchup and sour cream into a bowl. Ensure the prawns are well coated. Into 4 serving bowls/ glasses, divide the shredded lettuce, then top with the mixed prawns. Add one quarter of the egg atop the prawns and dressing. Garnish the glass or bowl with the lime slice and finally decorate with the large prawn and cucumber stick for the visual appeal. Serve with a slice of bread.

Tip: The prawns can be cooked in salted water for two minutes and then immediately placed in chilled water so as to retain the colour.

Hard Rock Cafe - Mexican Fiesta, A taste Review

If your looking to rock in style this season, then visit the Hard Rock Cafe situated on bustling St Mark's Road, Bengaluru. HRC brings to you a burst of colour, spice and flavors from Mexico. The cuisine dishes out Burritos, toastanas, tacos, and the legendary burger served with a spicy Mexican Bean mix. Anyone not having tried their hand at Mexican food, then this is the place to hit while it lasts.

Since the girls (Mads, Suma and Geetha) and I made our visit to HRC in the afternoon, the music was slow and gentle, whilst the focus became the food and not the music. We had a quick chat with Chef Vikas Pathak who gave us a run through of the menu. And he promised to give us the best of what HRC kitchen crew skills.

Spicy American Corn and Danish Mozzarella Samosette

The luncheon started off with the 'Spicy American Corn & Danish Mozzarella Samosette' which is a must have on your appetizer list. As cheesy as it can get, the samosette's are crispy phyllo parcels stuffed with sweet corn mix, spices and gooey cheese all in a bite. Served with a roasted tomato salsa, and a pesto mayonnaise which is truly a 'cannot get enough of it' sort of dip.

Seasoned Paneer and Corn Tortilla Tacos

We then moved onto a two dishes, one being the 'Seasoned Paneer & Corn Tortilla Tacos' for the vegetarians. A must try mix of crisp corn tortilla shells brushed with tangy Bbq sauce, stuffed with grilled seasoned paneer, shredded lettuce, tomatoes, olives, pinto beans, seasonings and spring onions.

Bahama Mana Chicken Tender Burrito

Then the Bahama Mama Chicken Tender  Burrito for the only non vegetarian being 'moi'. It's loaded with roasted chipotle chilli  ranch, smoke infused spicy bakebean and corn ragout, chicken tenders, shredded lettuce, mix cheese and jalapeños. One portion of this Big Mama was enough to keep me all good for my lunch!!

HRC Special Texas Beef Chili Toastadas

The next try out dish was the HRC Special Texas Beef Chili toastadas, which is a scrumptious bite of baked thin crust brushed with tangy chilli paste topped with cilantro infused bean and beef chilli mix finished with cayenne pepper, sweet corn, and cheddar cheese. Of course the veggies had their option of the Albequerque Cottage cheese & Veg Burrito and  a BBQ Paneer Toastana.

With dishes being laid out, and our bellies being loaded, the throats required something to slightly ease it all down, so the bartender concocted up some sassy cocktails. The menu hosts 11 cocktails, specific to the Mexican theme, and the stand outs to the cocktails we sipped were the Diablo -  a blackcurrent monin and tequila and the Payback - Kiwi and Tequilla with the Jalapeño pepper hit coming right through.

The other two cocktail were sort of a edgeless in comparison but have subtle personalities of their own, if your not looking for something to have a high, but rather wanting to have a leisured savour; then the Ginger Fiasco- Ginger Syrup, Guava Juice with Teqilla Gold and the Chapala - Watermelon and Tequilla would do some justice.

The legendary burgers then made their glorious way through whilst us Gurls were busy clicking away pictures.  A 10 ounce burger patty patty grilled and topped with smoke infused tangy bake bean mix, chipotle puree and cheddar cheese, with some Spicy Cajun fries. And this became The Meat Lover's Crave for the day - The Legendary Beef and Smoked Bean Burger.

Any meal is incomplete without dessert. So finding some space in our voracious appetite is the Black and White Dessert - Two tone chocolate wafer pyramids spiked with roasted cinnamon and coffee with chipotle sauce and Good Vanilla Ice cream which of course just meltingly and givingly appeased our palates. We enjoyed our feasty fiesta at HRC, thanks to Prachi from Avian Media and Gitanjali the Marketing Officer at HRC for having hosted us bloggers. So for all those who love the spice, the meat, the drinks and the music!!! You'd know where to head to....

Legendary beef and smoked bean burger

My verdict: The samosette's, non - veg burrito, the burger and the beef toastana's get the thumbs up. The vegetarian options are limited to just paneer, making the options minuscule. The play of other veggies in this cuisine is just not seen and done. The cocktails are sharp yet subtle!  The music is all out rocking, but during lunch hours the decibel levels are sort of low, then at 4pm its pumped up to get you in the groove. Don't just wait, just go and get the season's best till September 18, 2011.


Hard Rock Cafe  - 40, St.Mark's Road,  Bengaluru

Tel: 080- 41242222

Working Hours - 12 noon to 11:30pm (Kids Menu and colouring kit on request)

Car and Bike parking available

Black and White