These days I never go to VR Bengaluru or Phoenix Mall unless absolutely necessary because of the Metro construction and the consequent traffic chaos on that road. However, when there is an invite from Karen Anand or Café Noir, I consider it an absolutely necessary trip to make.
Café Noir is one of my absolutely favorite places to hang out during my off-time (personal favorites that I revisit when I am not blogging – which reminds me I need to share that list on this blog some time).
Anyway, the invite was for us bloggers to taste some desserts made using superior California Walnuts. Café Noir is offering these desserts for a limited time only (April 14-April 28), and they wanted us to spread the word.
Here’s what we tasted.
I am still drooling thinking about this caramel walnut tarte. The caramel was perfectly salted, and the combination with the walnut and the crust is something out of this world. I probably will be visiting this place once more before April 28 to demolish this tarte all on my own (no food blogger samples this time 😀 ).
Other items I tried were these perfectly baked muffins and this delicious chocolate-walnut pastry.
What I love about Café Noir is their absolute commitment to freshness. Their baked goods are baked fresh every day in limited quantities. What gets left over is sold at discounted prices in the evening to avoid wastage. This means is that you will never get a stale product from them, ever.
Do make a visit to Café Noir to sample these dessert offerings. They will be available at all outlets till April 28.
Karen Anand’s Farmer’s Market
After gorging ourselves on these desserts, Karen Anand personally offered to escort her around her farmer’s market. It’s a bit unusual to have a farmer’s market in a mall, but I must say VR Bengaluru has done an excellent job hosting it. The huge open area in the basement is spacious enough for the number of stalls. I spent a pleasant half hour browsing the stalls and came back with quite a few goodies.
Karen Anand herself has a stall there and I used the opportunity to grab myself a jar of her Singapore Chilly Garlic sauce, which is one of my all-time favorite sauces of hers. You can pick up some from here if you are interested.
I also sampled this excellent honey infused with orange blossoms come all the way from Meghalaya.
This honey was absolutely delicious, and I would have picked it up except for the fact that I had a near-full jar of honey from Meghalaya from my travels there.
I did buy this tube of avocado cream from Kanai.
I loved how this moisturizer felt against my skin. It’s very light (so perfect for summer), but at the same time heavily moisturizing. The best part is that it is paraben and phthalate free, and does not have any SLS or silicone.
I loved the way the moisturizer felt on me. If you are interested, you can buy a tube from Amazon. It’s a bit pricey, but just a little of the moisturizer goes a long way, and I easily expect this moisturizer to last me for at least three months.
So that was my great evening with Karen Anand and Café Noir. Hope you liked reading about it, and if you are ever in the vicinity do try to attend her farmer’s markets. They are a real treat.
