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When desserts become the main course
Painted Platters: Catering to cosmopolitan tastes. - Photo: Sampath Kumar G.P.
PAINTED PLATTERS is a trendy joint that promises to cater to lovers of good food and art. It is Bangalore's latest exclusive dessert parlour that serves interesting alternatives to the standard Black Forest pastry. The duo which started Painted Platters — Rahila and Joe — aim to make five-star desserts available to customers at affordable prices.
"We believe that cooking is an art form. Food has to taste good but it is also important that it looks appealing. We eat with our eyes before we feed our mouths, and aesthetic appeal plays an essential part while dining," explains Rahila.
Joe worked with the Oberoi for 12 years and was a faculty member at its school for catering, while Rahila, who "always wanted to be involved with creative cuisine", has a diploma from the New York School of Catering.
Why the name Painted Platters? Because, the plates used here are actually "painted" with chocolate sauce and syrups. The plates also double as interesting conversation pieces as they have funny one-liners scribbled across their rims. Sample the wisecracks: "That was Zen. This is Tao", "Want to date a pretty nurse? Be patient", and "One tequila, two tequila, three tequila floor!"
However, the art in Painted Platters is not restricted to plates. Its space is open to exhibiting artwork such as ceramics, pottery, paintings, and photographs. These will be displayed here for free. "We promote art of every sort," adds Rahila.
The décor, with bright coloured walls and fun furniture in the limited space, is warm and friendly.
The menu offers the unusual Fruit Gratin (fresh fruits in an orange liqueur flavoured custard), an appealing combination of warm fruits and ice cream. For the less adventurous, there is a range of sundaes to choose from. Rocky Road, Expresso Love, and the American Banana Split are some of its eggless ice creams topped with a choice of dessert sauces. In addition to these, Painted Platters offers a selection of pastries and cakes that changes everyday. So boredom and lack of variety is no issue when it comes to making decisions.
For chocoholics, Rahila recommends the Mississippi Mud Pie, a rich chocolate mousse loaded with almonds, served with ice cream on a biscuit base. There's also the classic Italian Tiramisu, which is a homemade coffee sponge in creamy cheese.
The lighter desserts include the Crème Brulee (baked custard served with orange-scented caramel sauce), Kir Royal (a champagne flavoured black currant mousse), and Chocolate Charlotte (a ring of chocolate biscuit filled with a light chocolate cream).
Most of the portions here are generous and it is makes sense for customers to bring someone along and share a particular delicacy, unless, of course, one prefers to treat himself with a main course of chocolate and syrups. The calorie conscious will be disappointed because everything served here is rich and filling, so eating here would mean an extra half hour on the treadmill.
Painted Platters has become one of the busiest joints in the City merely through word-of-mouth. The specialty here is Joe's and Rahila's personal interaction with the customers. Rahila stresses that if anyone wants to improvise on any of the desserts on offer, the changes "will be graciously adapted to suit the tastes of the customer".
The average cost of a dessert here is around Rs. 55 with the exception of Tiramisu, which is priced at Rs. 90.
Rahila and Joe plan to open a few branches in the City and start a world cuisine restaurant "as Bangalore is cosmopolitan in terms of tastes".
The dessert parlour is open from 1 p.m. to 11.30 p.m. on weekdays, and from 11 a.m. to 11.30 p.m. on weekends. It is located on CMH Road, Indiranagar, and can be contacted on 5274711.
SOMIKA BASU
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Bangalore
Chennai
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