Shiro’s UB city, Bangalore

The mesmerizing world of “The Collection” is ever welcoming to anyone who spoke luxury brands but to me, more than the brands, the restaurants were more friendly and warm. Every time I went, there were imaginary hands waving at me to come and take a peek at their restaurants. I felt the greatest pull towards Shiro when one fine day I decided to make my imagination come true and walked in through the doors of this restaurant or rather should I say – A piece of culinary heaven.

As you walk in, you leave behind a hotchpotch of crowded open restaurants and you enter a realm of peace and tranquility. The first thing you notice is the massive Buddha bust sitting in the middle, which is the source (according to me) of their great ambiance. It is indeed a very well executed meticulous interior planning that led this restaurant to be spoken well of.

Before I give my insights about the food, I would like to say some kind words about the staff. The restaurant has excellent staffs who work very hard to maintain the good name that it has created over the years and they deserve to be mentioned in this writing. I think a good restaurant is not only about food but is mostly about the service. Courteous, warm and friendly service compelled me to think about Shiro as one of the best restaurants in town.

Coming to the food, the menu was a delight. Everything felt like an enchantment that they would conjure up happily for you. I decided to order sweet chilli potatoes and a non-vegetarian platter of makimono that included tuna, California and chicken with shiitake. A vegetarian spicy California makimono was also ordered too. I must say the chilli potatoes were the best I have ever eaten anywhere. It was sweet and spicy at the same time but none of it was overpowering. The balance of flavour was delicate and the equilibrium was well maintained. However, I would have preferred it to be a little hotter than the temperature it was served at.

The non vegetarian makimono was equally delicate and lusciously mouth-watering. My favorite among the three was the tuna and the California. The chicken with shiitake was, however, on the not so favorite list as it was not as well balanced as the others and it had more seasoning than I would generally like. I think the soy dipping was also a little too salty for my taste. But that was minor and I would still go back to Shiro’s any day for Sushi again. The vegetarian California too was up to the mark yet I would like to point out that the rolling of the sushi for this particular one was not perfect. As soon as you would pick up a piece, everything fell apart. So, some serious work needs to be done for that. Apart from the salty soy and the falling apart, everything was very satisfactory.

Pad Thai and a teppanyaki mixed noodles were for main course. The Pad Thai was not the best one I ever had but it definitely was one of the few good ones I had. It was flavorful and every morsel gave a subtle hint of the beautiful aromas used in this dish. However, for me, addition of a little more peanut would have been wonderful. The crunch and the nutty taste were missing due to fewer peanuts. The teppanyaki noodles were an absolute joy. It was a well balanced palatable dish and it oozed out the restrained yet fine flavors of the chicken. A little less seasoning was what I would prefer but entirely it was a good main course.

We decided to skip dessert when the wonderful service again managed to get our full attention by presenting us with complimentary desserts. There was a coconut and pecan tart with vanilla ice – cream, trio of cheesecakes (coffee, chocolate and lemon) and a chocolate volcano.

The tart was satisfactory. I would have liked a proper tart shell with it being crunchy. The coconut flavor in the tart was not so pronounced and the pecans needed to be little crunchier. The ice cream was very smooth and delicious. I was extremely impressed with the cheesecakes – the flavors were true and very clean. Bite from each of the cheesecakes proved to be scrumptiously delightful. My favorite was the coffee. The chocolate volcano was true to its name. As I cut into it, it oozed out liquid goodness from its belly. Every bite was a burst of chocolate flavour in the mouth. However, I would like to suggest that the dessert menu should be a little more innovative and Shiro should try and add some Asian dessert to it – A Pandan sponge or perhaps a coconut pudding.

Overall, an excellent experience and I am sure to visit Shiro’s again very soon. I am grateful to Shiro for that amazingly flavorful and deliciously lip smacking evening.