No matter that Bangalore's nightlife shuts before the Cinderella hour, you will find that a new watering hole in town is still welcomed with open arms. "We've Just Raised the Bar" is one of the taglines for this classy dance, drinks and Asian food establishment and with good reason - they have raised the bar, quite literally, all the way to the 31st floor of the World Trade Center at the Brigade Gateway. We were warned that the event will be primarily outdoors and hence to come a little wrapped up.
Bangalore traffic saw me and a fellow blogger a half hour late and so we missed the official tour of the space. But to give you an idea - the ride up is almost a minute and a half and for people who love to look down, the view is quite mesmerizing. Out of the lift, you walk down a curvy, pathway that is psychedelically lit, but you hardly notice that because you are taking in the view from the glass wall to your right!
Enter the bar area, which will also double up as a dance space and that is where all the action is. Guru, manning the bar is out to please with a range of concoctions. Forgive the pictures, it was a night of enjoyment and while the ambiance lighting was perfect for the weekend mood, it did not really help with the pictures.
This was Guru's Love Potion - a nice, fizzy alcoholic beverage. The downside of arriving late is that I missed what was in the making of this drink. Suffice to say it was good enough to ask for a second!
This was a litchi based cocktail with an interesting punch from those little silver orbs you find in paan... An acquired taste though for me
Whiskey lovers should try this cocktail which has a smoky whiskey blend with Rose vermouth and sours, topped off with vanilla. Potent, but quite the enticing drink. There were quite a few other drinks making the rounds which elicited vigorous nods of approval. I refrained - weekday mixing of alcohol is not a good idea for me.
Above the Bar area
When the chef came out and was taken aback by the number of pretty women he saw!
Discussing the pan-Asian offerings at High and announcing an interesting competition where a hot and cold vegetarian starter was served and we were to guess the ingredients. All bloggers pretty much nailed the basic ingredients and lost out on the specifics of particular ones.
The first starter for the competition - a cauliflower and tomato one
With the competition out of the way we led to the dining area, where our table was beautifully set . This is the view you get to look down on.
While the Bangalore skyline is what you get to look down on one side, this wall of artificial greenery, with flowing water down below is right behind you. There is also a helipad, above this space which may be set up for romantic dinners if so desired
Our table for the evening
We began with a miso soup - absolutely spot on for this chilly evening. As much as I loved my bowl of warmness, I stopped myself half way through - there was a lot to get through on the menu set out of us that evening.
Sweet Corn with Coriander butter with a really generous dollop of butter, peking duck rolls which were nice from the perspective of the meat - not chewy and gently yielding - but perhaps a rice paper cover would have done it better justice. What you see in front is a Fried Chicken with Mint and Thai Basil
The sushi served that evening was a mix of vegetarian and seafood - well rolled, well packed and perfectly portioned. There was also crab stick tempura which was crispy and will always go down well with any good cocktail or wine
The fried snapper with Thai Sauce (and this picture does it no justice) stood out as well
Main course highlights were the thai green curry, stir fried noodles, assorted vegetable with sambal Oelek, a chicken stir fry. What you need to know is that there was nothing on the plate that would not satisfy. Each dish is uniquely flavored, nothing generic which sometimes is the norm.
Here is a video link to our evening. Click here
Address: Rooftop, World Trade Center, Brigade Gateway, 26/1, Dr, Rajkumar Road, Malleshwaram
Phone: 45674567
Cards Accepted: Yes
Parking:
Parking:
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