to alleviate the doom n’ gloom of the long-standing pandemic, the buco team decided to throw a bake sale, as their away to bring smiles and joy in rough times. 6 days of scrumptious food, mesmerizing performances from impressively talented artists & some formidable stalls to showcase more of mangalore’s gifted crowd. i paid visit on the first & final days.
here’s what i had:
1) cappuccino - rs 150
2) jerk chickencroissant- rs 320
3) japanese karaagecroissant- rs 320
4) korean chicken pizza - rs 510
5) cheese garlic bread - rs 300
6) caramel cloud cheesecake - rs 230
7) double chocolatecroissant- rs 150
8) coffee doughnut - rs 150
9) hot chocolate - rs 150
10) hazelnut iced americano - rs 240
11) lemon basil iced tea - rs 125
12) sundowner - rs 220 (review not included)
you folks remember me praising the artisanal coffee blue tokai? well, it would seem that buco has caught onto where the good stuff’s at. they’ve berry-picked the silver oak medium roast of blue tokai to make their cappuccino. now you all know first hand, how i adore blue tokai, & i’ll wager many more of my days will be spent slowly sipping on these lovingly crafted cups of caffeinated joy.
p.s the art work on cappucino has been digitally added
the jerk chickencroissantis straight up, pure joyful fusion. a french pastry with what’s originally jamaican, this butterycroissant(couldn’t exalt this enough) had a slow cooked stuffing of tender chunks of chicken spiced with exotic chilli rub, accompanied by an in-house parsley chimichurri sauce, greens, & some hearty pickled purple cabbage. that’s hispanic & korean thrown in the mix for good measure. each component works with the other delightfully well, boosting each others flavours till this can be termed, simply complete. the best savoury dish to emerge from chishetts kitchen.
japanese karaagecroissantis of a similar premise as the jerk chicken, albeit for the difference in marinated fried chicken used here. the ‘karaage’ that’s wildly popular across japan is thigh that’s deep fried, served with kewpie-esque mayo, some greens, mustard & pickled ginger. it’s mild on the tongue as far as an indian palate goes, but the thrill is in the indulgent crunch & flavour of the poultry. woe be to those who order this for delivery and expect it in prime condition, eat it asap!
korean bbq pizza was another virtual sojourn in east asia. similar to one of koreas modern day culinary treasures “bulgogi pizza”, the meat on this is sweet, sour, smoky and packed with tolerable spice. a burst of exotic goodness on your tongue. need i say more?
a sourdough cheese garlic boat bread. hmmm, what’s not to like about this? i’ll need more than a minute to figure that out, & so might you. the sourdough crust is stuffed with piquant caramelized onions, the mozzarella on this is insta-worthy i.e. so liberally added that it gives a great cheese pull, & if all that amaze wasn’t enough, there’s a chilli garlic oil served alongside. the secret is to dunk the whole bread into the oil, till it’s drenched. thank me later.
their toffee cheesecake was always a graceful star, what with that dreamily nostalgic toffee cream atop the block. now it’s got a new avatar(p.o.w. intended) as it’s a round slow baked cheesecake with an almond biscuit crust. the final salted caramel drizzling really takes the……cake.
the double chocolatecroissantis much akin to one of those rare monthly treats our fathers used to allow us to splurge on. a gooey goodness of dark choco ganache on the inside & a crisp coating of milk choco & cornflakes on the outside. a bestseller, & understandably.
the coffee donut infuses the bitter aroma of freshly ground coffee with the sweet one of just fried yeasty donut dough. if donuts are your calling, for this you’ll be falling.
hot chocolate. everyone who’s been to buco won’t contest the platitudinous claim that the best cuppa’ hot chocolate in town, is found here. generously thick to perfection & cunningly just sweet, the only element missing here is a fireplace & a cozy armchair to snuggle into.
the hazelnut iced americano had a lot going for it, given that it was a ‘dark horse’, handed to me by error. while i found it to be particularly photogenic, the creamy hazelnut addition to the americano ended up too saccharine for my liking.
the lemon basil ice tea had exactly what it mentions in the name, but it’s the ratios of lemon to basil that lit my eyes up. well balanced though, in case you’re wondering if you’ll grimace after every sip.