Thinquisitive Bloggers meet & Food tasting @ Palazzo, Alipore

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What comes to your mind when you hear the term palazzo? The uber comfortable yet sazzy & chik pair of trousers maybe? Or if you are a bit passionate about hotels & exotic locales, it may remind you of 'The Palazzo casino & Hotel' of Las Vegas which has won the AAA awards for consecutive five years after it opened in 2009.

Now obviously as a foodie I am not going to talk about the above two, at least not when I'm being nearly grilled to death in the sweltering heat of Kolkata.

Instead I'm going to write about this really cool lounge cum bar which is taking the bar-hopping crowd of south Kolkata by a storm, Palazzo. Its a modern multi-cuisine restaurant cum gastrobar located on Burdwan Road, near Talwalker's Gym, Alipore. I had been eyeing this outlet for quite some time as i commuted past it, even bookmarking it on Zomato & planning for a visit in the near future. In the meantime I got a mail from Thinkquisitive that they are organizing a meetup event for bloggers in the city & the venue of the dinner is Palazzo. This was really exciting.

From outside you can hardly imagine whats waiting for you inside. as you walk through the narrow entrance, you stumble upon a massive 5000 sq ft disc that is perfect for a hangout. The seating is thoughtfully divided into various section. One with leather sofas & a giant projector screen to enjoy cricket matches or music videos. If you prefer high bar stools, ypu will find them at the full bar which is just opposite to the dj station. They even have a somewhat private seating area if you wish not to be disturbed.

As soon as we entered our hosts for the evening Mr. Aishwarya & Ms. Ishita of Thinkquisitive welcomed us. we had a brief chat about what the concept behind thinkquisitive was, how they had started it & how they intend to carry forward the idea of bringing various types of bloggers together.

In the meantime the sheesha arrived along with the drinks.

On inquiring the names of the drinks we were quite surprised. Actually they had named them after various teams of the ongoing IPL series. In fact the special food menu too tries to bring various flavours from the cities after which the IPL franchisee is modeled. This seemed quite innovative & exciting, as we wanted to know which team will win this unique battle of the tastes!

The various drinks served were:

1. Korbo Lorbo:

As the name suggests this one represents our very own home team the Kolkata Knight Riders. A perfect mix of tequila bianco, lemon juice, orange juice, tomato juice & orange liqueur topped with sweet carbonated soda. A balanced tangy flavour which was rather interestingly complimented by the tequila which was infused with jalapeno.

2. Gayle Storm:

'Brace yourself, Gayle storm is coming' the line that'd come to your mind as this perfect mix of vodka, lime, rosemary infused ice cubes knock your tastebuds. Just like the man this drink is named after, its a perfect blend of strength & flavour.

3. Steyn Gun:

Rather an interesting mix of Chocolate Vodka, Lemon Juice, Litchi juice topped with sparkling chocolate water & Oreo cookies. I am not that a fan of chocolate based cocktails, but this one somehow managed to pass the test, & surely enjoyed the oreo mix.

4. Rohit Rider:

A refreshing, in fact rejuvenating mix of watermelon juice, lime juice, cucumber juice topped with white rum & elderflower liquid & garnished with a slice of watermelon. It was the first cocktail I tried & trust me, it was so smooth, on my first sip, I mistook it for a mocktail! A sure winner during this scorching summer heat.

5. Raina hai na:

Mint leaves, lemon wedges, pineapple chunks submerged in a mix of Bacardi white rum & syrup. The presentation was great, as was the smoothness of the drink.

6. Helicopter shot:

Named after the famous shot by the Indian skipper, this one's a vodka shot with a twist. The mix includes raspberry & tabasco whose mutually exclusive tastes gives this one a different height altogether.

7. Redbull Jagger float:

A concoction of redbull, cola & jaggerbomb topped witg ice cream, this one though looked promising, didn't quite hit the right notes, & in fact was disliked by many of the fellow bloggers.

8. Maxwell Mist:

A combination of brandy, white wine & vanilla liqueur, this one was yet another great drink. The combination itself was deadly as was the taste. Surely this one will win many applause.

Now to decide which one is the best among the eight was a bit tough. But all the people unanimously voted 'korbo lorbo' as the clear winner. Whether it being the home team played any role in it, or whether the management had deliberately named the best cocktail after the city's franchisee we will never know, but surely this one drink hit the other seven out of the stadium.

Next we moved on to the food menu. This too, as I said earlier reflected the varied cuisines of the eight cities that are famous in their own rights. These were:

1. The Eden Platter:

As the name suggests this one tries to bring some of the iconic dishes of the city of joy. It includes Kolkata Special Kathi Rolls, Yellow fusion rice & traditional veg & fish chops in a conical makeover. The Kathi rolls had a twist away from the authentic ones yet were far more delicious & less oily. Same goes for the rice too. However the chops were not upto the mark & I for one, surely would have like it more if the outer coating was crunchier.

2. Oriental Royal Challenge:

Though named after the team representing Bangalore, this one is a fusion between Manchurian & Mexican style of cooking. The Egg wrapped Shanghai noodles accompanied by Chef's style Mexican Risotto along with golden fried cauliflower/ Chicken Manchurian. This platter too was quite good & the thin egg wraps were amazing, although the filling could be a tad bit spicier.

3. Nizam e Khas:

Next up was the hyderabadi platter. This includes the famous Hyderabadi style Biryani served on a sizzler platter with a potato & chickpea pattie on top & some raita, salan & roasted papad as accompaniments. The Chicken pieces were cooked to the right degree, the rice in the biryani flavourfull, however the colur was a bit too much for me.

4. Pune Express:

Thia one comprised of Chicken Paw Bhaaji, Lemon rice served along witg papaya salad & a glass of milk shake. Though am sure vada paw would have actually done justice to the name as vada paw from pune is supposedly tastier than mumbai, the bhaaji was really tasty as were the breads soft. The lemon rice aromatic & the salad refreshing. On the whole this one was a balanced selection which would be light on the stomach.

5. Gujarat Lions:

Named after the new team, this one was a thin crust pizza (so thin that you could call it a roti if you want to), topped with chunky pieces of chicken tikka & surang ki galauti kebab other than bell peppers, baby corn. A crispy and tasty one, quite liked the tikka & cheese combo.

6. Master Blaster:
Had to be the Mumbai platter. This one had Vada Paw, Bar B Q chicken & Cilantro Rice. The chicken was amazing, as was the Cilantro Rice. The vada pav too looked great with the presentation. In taste too it did not disappoint.

7. Punjab di Shaan:
Dhaba style daal served with soft amritsari kulcha, Chicken kurchan & Punjab ke kebabs. The shredded chicken pieces of kurchan were finger licking good, the kebabs were average. The daal & kulcha was good too.

8. Delhi Belly:
Am sure the chef wanted to name this dish in tribute to the Delhi Daredevils, but the Bollywood reference is a bad choice since it actually denotes a specific type of diarrhea which am sure no one looks forward to. Anyway the dish comprises of Pilaf Rice with Firangi subzi, Kaali daal makhani with tandoori chicken balls, along with Tawa paratha. The tawa parathas are topped with slices of olives & jalapenos. The pilaf rice tasted good, as did the tandoori chicken balls .

To decide which team won the food war was a bit tough. The votes weren't unanimous as they were in the case of the drinks. Some liked the Punjabi one, some liked Gujarati one. To say the truth I loved the Hyderabadi platter. May be this has got something to do with my absolute love for mughlai cuisines. Am somewhat biased. In any case the others were pretty tasty & enjoyable.

Overall the food tasting session was a great experience. Really loved the concept of naming various cuisines after IPL franchisee cities. The drinks too complemented the food menu.
The ambience had the perfect setting. As good were the screens where the IPL matches were being telecast live. A great place to enjoy an IPL match while enjoying select foods & drinks. You can also order for their regular menu if you want to.
The DJ was hitting the right chords bang on with peppy & groovy music. The service was prompt & courteous.
Thanks Thinkquisitive for the great meetup. Will surely look forward to visiting the Palazzo again.

Till then,
Happy Eating,
Cheers