My Place or Yours?

It annoys me a little when restaurants in Bangalore claim to have a Sunday brunch but neglect to have any breakfast items on their menu. Why not just call it a Sunday lunch if that’s what you’re serving? Where are my eggs, pancakes and french toast? Where is the ‘br’ in my ‘brunch’?

When I make plans with friends and say “let’s have a meal at My Place”, I have to then clarify that I’m not inviting them over. Instead I’m suggesting that we meet at the 24 hour restaurant at the Movenpick hotel. Which, as you may have guessed, happens to be called My Place. Eating out can be so difficult sometimes!

A couple of Sunday’s ago, it was my third visit to the above mentioned hotel. I don’t know what it is about the place but everyone working there looks uncannily happy. F&B Manager and part time vocalist, Rahul Korgaokar, claims that the staff genuinely love what they’re doing. “As part of their training they’ve been on the other side, having meals in our restaurants, staying in the rooms etc. They know they have a stake in the success of this place and every one of them wants to play their part in making sure that it happens. Starting with making your experience special.”

And special it was. My brunch joy knew no bounds when I saw the live breakfast station that would make for me eggs every way and pancakes just off the griddle. Brunches have to stretch over hours so you can do justice to all the painstakingly delicious dishes that are laid out. Whether it’s the oyster bar, the seafood salad station, sausages just off the grill or the cheese fondue, everything has to be savored.

I’m convinced that the walls at My Place have ears. I happened to mention to my friend that the fondue wasn’t as good as the one I’d had the previous time that I was there. Ten minutes later, lo and behold, Chef Pravin Bagali sent across a fresh pot of hot melted swiss cheeses at our table, just as delicious as the one I had remembered.

In the balcony were the grill stations. We ate the melt in your mouth lamb chops with a hint of fennel. Chicken, which is not my favorite meat by far, so tender and delicious that I wanted seconds. But I had to be restrained as amidst glasses of champagne and deliciously innovative cocktails, I still hadn’t checked out the ‘unch’ of the ‘brunch’.

Speaking of cocktails, we happened to be sitting close to the bar and as soon as our glasses would get near empty (a rather frequent occurrence) we’d have an orange-basil martini, or a tiramisu martini, or a pomegranate something-or-the-other martini at our table, delivered with a smile. The 3 creative bartenders were keeping tabs, making sure that we never had an empty glass, exchanging smiles, looking for a thumbs up or down (the down never happened though I lean big time towards the espresso drinks). Sukanya and I were feeling horribly pampered.

The lunch consisted of Swiss favorites like the veal zurichoise and rosti, Indian favorites such as mutton biryani and a mean meen curry amongst a variety of flavorful Asian dishes. We were spoiled for choices of delicious fare. There was also a juicy turkey that was carved and brought to our table. By now we had been there for about 3 hours, tried a large variety of foods but hadn’t been anywhere close to the vegetarian options. We thought we should save that for another day (Not!).

I’m not going to spend a lot of time on dessert. Regardless of where I’m eating, nine point nine times out of ten, I’m disappointed. The presentation was beautiful and nothing in the extensive spread tasted bad but was also not especially memorable. Although the carrot cake with a thin layer of royal icing was subtly spicy and quite nice. My suggestion to you, the customer - have an extra lamb chop. My suggestion to the pastry chef, give us some classic European/Swiss desserts. Mini chocolate eclairs with a home made custard filling would be a mouth-watering start!

I can’t end this piece without talking about the wonderful, wonderful staff. Warm, friendly, caring without being overbearing are only some of the adjectives I can think of. Several hugs were exchanged when we left.

For the price, mentioned below in detail, the Sunday brunch at My Place is a steal. But don’t go there because it’s great value for money. Go there because it’s the best. Get there for breakfast and stay on for lunch!

My Place brunch – Rs. 1950 inclusive of tax per guest, includes Sula Brut, Sula red and white wine, Fosters, Smirnoff, Jameson Irish Whiskey, Bacardi and fantastic cocktails.

Mövenpick brunch – Rs. 2450 inclusive of tax per guest, includes Piper Heidsiek champagne, Hardys wines of Australia and Three Peaks wines of Chile, Budweiser, Absolut, Chivas Regal, Havana Club rum and fantastic cocktails.