25 March,2011 07:35 AM IST | | Amrita Bose
It's all about using your touch and senses at Touche, a new restaurant in Indiranagar
It gets as simple as touching what you want to eat and the food arriving on your table at Touche, a new restaurant that has opened doors in Indiranagar. Well not exactly the dish but the virtual version of it, for this eatery claims to be Bangalore's and perhaps India's first Touch Table Diner-Bar. Every table comes with its own screen much like an iPAD and is sensitive only to the touch of your forefinger. The live, interactive screen is a bit of a magnet and you will find yourself playing around with the menu and admiring the technology behind it.
Touche
Food: good
Service: efficient
Ambience: novel
Chargrilled Prawns Pics/ Satish Badiger
Soon enough you can change the view according to the position you are sitting in and then touch your way through the menu which is neatly divided into sections like soups, starters, drinks, mains and desserts. Once you touch any category more choices pop up such as meat, seafood, poultry and vegetarian followed by specific dishes. We had a field day, gleefully touching the screen and checking out every item on the menu.
Children especially will be glued to this one. Once we had settled for starters like Bacon Wrapped Chicken (Rs 225) and Char grilled Prawns (Rs 425), all we had to do was touch and a panel appeared that asked us to add the number of dishes we wanted and it showed up the price. A waiter came by with an electric tablet in hand to confirm the orders before it went over to the kitchen. Neat!
While we were waiting for our drinks and starters, we had the choice of playing games, checking out funny jokes and quotes on the touch screen. Owners Shodhan Shetty and Jiby Mathews assured us that this was just the beginning. The screen will get as interactive as possible soon with you even being able to send a message to patrons on the next table and a wifi connection. The decor at Touche, which is French for touch is also done in a futuristic, The Matrix meets Inception-like design. Black slats of wood jut out and look like they would morph into another form with a touch, live screens that reflect the day's World Cup match on the huge glass windows add to the atmosphere.
Chunks of chicken came wrapped in hot crispy bacon and the smokiness of the bacon had permeated deep into the tender chicken making it juicy and simply delicious. The prawns had a tangy aftertaste and were grilled just enough to let the juices ooze out. Both were served with herb and garlic and mint flavoured butter.
After finishing our entrees, we went nuts again choosing the mains. By now we had become experts at the right touch, since the screen reacts only if you touch it correctly. The Pork Chops served with Parmesan Polenta (Rs 420) was a combination of herbed, charred chops with the fat crisp and ready to be bitten into.
One bite and we were in piggy heaven. The polenta, an Italian dish of boiled cornmeal combined with parmesan was not really required with the chops. They held on their own. We also ordered a Spaghetti Alio Olio Seafood (Rs 425) which came with squids, prawns and other fish meat tossed up with olive oil, chilli flakes, basil and lots of garlic. The Eggplant Parmesan (Rs 365) was dunked in too sweetish a gravy, a combination of parmesan and tomatoes. We found the eggplant a bit soggy.
Dessert came in the form of a Vodka Mousse (Rs 160), a deadly combination of whipped cream, lime zest served in a dark chocolate cup and garnished with cinnamon and spiked with a good dose of vodka. The whipped cream was sweet, had a hint of bitterness from the alcohol and tangy aftertaste from the lime. More than the diner style, or continental food here, the touchscreen is sure to keep you occupied and the novelty factor will draw in the crowds in hoards. Touche we say.u00a0
At: Touche, 762, Third Floor, 100 Feet Road, HAL, 2nd Stage Indiranagar
Call: 25210777
Meal for: Two Rs 2,000
