THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Sharing some good food with friends and family is undoubtedly one of the best weekend plans. Connoisseurs in town can now have a bite of a myriad of continental and fusion flavours at the newly-launched BLND Restobar on the NH66 Bypass near Technopark. The quaint, spacious interiors offer a cosy space for foodies to try out a mix of continental delicacies and native dishes.
The multi-cuisine restaurant by SFS Homebridge opened around a month ago. The Quilon Beef Roast on Crostini is one of their must-try fusion dishes that the spot is now getting famous for. The starter is made homestyle with roasted beef pieces on small crostini slices. BLND also offers a wide variety of international cuisines like Vietnamese rice noodle rolls, a traditional dish from Vietnam. The resto-bar has a separate bar counter and dining area. The counter offers a line-up of wines — rose, sparkling, red and white. Cocktails and beers are also part of the menu.
Get together
BLND’s private eating spaces provide privacy to customers who come there to wine, dine and socialise, says Byju S Nair, the food and beverage manager of SFS Homebridge. The menu has been set accordingly too. “Among starters, I would recommend the Tandoor Mixed Grill Platter comprising chicken tikka, fish tikka, lamb seekh kebab, salad and mint chutney. It is served on a wooden board and can be shared by three people. All the unique salads, soups, main courses and desserts have been carefully picked out by executive chef, Bitto Mathew. For our fitness enthusiastic customers, we have a range of healthy salads too, like the pyramid farm which has tomato, corn, lettuce, peppers and sprouts with a drizzle of raspberry vinaigrette. You can customize it with chicken. Vegetarians can go for interesting offerings like the ‘sundal on papad’, which is a mix of white and black Bengal gram and peanuts tempered with grated coconut carvings on a papad base,” he explains.
Rice and shine!
The main course has more non-veg varieties served with rice and bread of the customer’s choice. For spicy traditional food lovers, the chemeen mulagau thakkali served with steamed rice or kallappams will be a satisfying choice for lunch or dinner.
If you wish to go continental, go for the Quarter N More, which has grilled chicken breast and thighs served with mashed potato and sauteed veggies. The chef’s signature dish, sliced quick fried beef with oyster sauce and black pepper served with yan chow fried rice, is sumptuous by all means.
Last but not the least, BLND has also lined up a variety of desserts. Tiramisu pastry and candied ginger creme brulee are among the European- inspired sweet delicacies. From the desi basket, the Mitai Bake — a fusion dessert where carrot halwa, gulab jamun and puff pastry are baked and garnished with ghee and dry fruits — is the best seller.
Thirst corner
BLND has around eight signature mocktails to choose from. Out of the lot, Purple Garden made using butterfly pea flower syrup, rosemary herb and slices of lemon and cucumber is a refreshing one. Kvass, a probiotic drink from Russia, tastes great and also helps stimulate digestion. The passion fruit and lemongrass martini is yet another best seller at their bar.