Harry's of Singapore fame and Shatbhi Basu, of well, Shatbhi Basu fame - two reasons to brave rain, very bad traffic snarls on a Friday evening and head on over to Indiranagar for an event. We were promised an evening of brilliant cocktails, handcrafted by Shatbhi. There were also a few classic ones from Harry's Singapore that would be served as well.
Shatbhi with her very lovable persona, got right down to business soon after the interminably long video filming around her was temporarily done. A little table was set up around which we surrounded her and watched. Shatbhi has an easy-going flow - of handling liquor and a smooth conversation at one go. She expertly poured a bit of this, a little of that, a squeeze of something more and finished every drink with a delicate flourish.
Shatbhi Basu
All set!!
A tall glass of ice for the Singapore Sling that would soon be made
Singapore Sling - Gin, Cherry brandy, pineapple and lime come together in proportions that Shatbhi has got down pat - making for a spectacularly delicious tall glass of potent goodness. Once we managed to maneuver around the omni-present TV crew and sip out of the glass, the painful toes from all those tripods being slammed down unceremoniously were worth it.
The Singapore Sling - a Harry's signature now available in the city
Next came the Bell pepper-Pineapple Margarita - a Shatbhi creation - bell peppers in green, yellow and red, manually pulverised to bring out the flavors - pineapple chunk meets the same fate - all the ingredients of a classic margarita go in, shaken and you have what you see below.
The Bell pepper Margarita
And we go back to a Harry's classic, The Harry's Old Fashioned - Orange Peel and Caramel with Scotch on ice - am not a whisky fan and so this do not appeal to me, though whisky drinkers at the table did have nods of approval.
Another of Shatbhi's creations - The Caramel Popcorn - Am a sucker for Bailey's and this one really hit the spot for me. Its a thick drink - makes you reach out for a spoon too. A drink I loved.
Four dishes came to the table during this event - the first was the wasabi paneer which was a fabulous innovation. The wasabi dip was quite potent and the dish came together brilliantly with Shatbhi's cocktails
Wasabi Paneer
The Thai Green Curry pizza was another fabulous innovation (couldn't take a photograph, because there never seemed to be an entire pizza on the table for even a few seconds). Thin crust pizza with a beautifully flavored Thai chicken gravy topping. Totally a good one to have. The Margarita pizza, chilli potatoes and the chicken drumsticks though filling, did not have much of a recall factor.
Margarita pizza
Chilli potatoes
Chicken Drumsticks
From the small preview of Harry's we got, it is a place that is on the list of places to return to - to check out more of the food and the drinks. While Shatbhi's creations were flawless, it will take some practice from the bartending staff to hit the really high benchmark set by her.
Address: 1st Floor, HAL 2nd Stage, 100ft Road, Above Copper Chimney, Indiranagar, Bangalore
Phone: - 9620813000
Cuisine: American
Cards Accepted: Yes
Parking: Valet
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