The August Moon Festival | Memories of China | Vivanta by Taj-M.G Road | Bangalore
12:19
Have you guys ever heard of something called the August Moon
Festival?
Whatever your answer is, do read on as we got to know about
it recently and celebrated this auspicious event at none other than Memories of
China, Vivanta by Taj—M.G Road, Bangalore. This festival is regarded as the
second grandest festival in China and is also known as the mid-autumn festival.
It is called the August Moon Festival because at this time
of the year the moon is at its brightest and roundest. The festival is
associated with family engagement, traditional Chinese food and moon cakes.
They have a special menu for this festival and it kicked off
from the 1st of September. The menu has a great balance between
Vegetarian and Non Vegetarian items but does not have any desserts. So, if you
have a dessert craving then the main menu will come to your rescue.
We tried almost the entire menu, but we will be talking
about the highlights only. As the preparations are Authentic Chinese, there are
chances that some might not be palate friendly.
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| Stir fried water chestnut, lotus stem and potatoes in chef special sauce |
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| Steamed eggplant in spicy peanut sauce |
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| cauliflower in a creamy sauce with preserved chilli |
We normally try non
veg more, but this time we will be talking about veg too!
We started off our special dinner with water chestnut, lotus
stem and potatoes in special chef’s sauce. It was a fried preparation which had
a beautiful crunch in every bite and was mildly sweet.
The stir fried four treasure mushroom in dark soya did not
seem so special at first, but if you consider that certain varieties of
mushroom were stir fried and just cooked in soya it was pretty impressive.
The cauliflower preparation was also deceptive at first. It
seemed like boiled cauliflowers, but when eaten with the creamy sauce and
preserved chilli it was exceptional. It was creamy, crunchy and slightly spicy
to top it off.
We tried two more items: the steamed eggplant with spicy
homemade peanut sauce and the traditional moon cakes.
The eggplant preparation was commendable as it was well done
and actually tasted good. The moon cakes were a bit too dry for comfort. It
might be that they are supposed to be that way. They were of the size of
dumplings and looked similar but were hard. The inner stuffing tasted good and
had the right amount of sweetness.
Now coming down to the part which we actually like ;) (Just
kidding!):
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| Chef special sauteed prawns |
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| Staple veg noodles |
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| Minced Pork Pattie |
The chef special sautéed prawns grabbed our attention immediately.
Both the presentation and the taste were splendid! The prawns were big, juicy,
and fresh and not to mention absolutely lip smacking.
The mixed seafood schezwan style was a slight let down. It
was served in a clay pot and the sauce was excellent but the quantity and
variation of seafood was not impressive. There were prawns and fish but the
scallops were lacking in number. Apart from this, it was a traditional schezwan
preparation and delightful!
One of the best preparations in the menu was the Shandong Style
Steamed Chicken. It was served in a dim sum basket and we were clueless that
chicken was being served. The preparation was hot, slightly spicy and had
chunks of chicken throughout. It was truly mouth watering with a delicate aroma
and tasted great with the veg noodles served as staples.
If you are a pork lover, don’t miss out on the Minced Pork
Pattie Shanghai Style. This preparation was beautiful. The pork was perfectly
minced and in the shape of hemispheres. They were moist and served with a thick
brown coloured sauce which was appetizing and slightly sweet. This was
brilliance on a plate.
The Stir Fried Shredded Lamb with Preserved Veg Pickle
tasted different and many might not like it. The shredded lamb pieces were
juicy with the good old essence and taste of lamb. The pickled vegetables added
a sharp taste to the dish. The presentation was great but the vinegary taste
killed the beauty of the lamb.
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| Staple veg fried rice |
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| Honey Chilli Grouper |
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| Mixed seafood schezwan style and served in a clay pot |
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| Stir fried butter garlic prawns |
Lastly, there were 3 sizzlers in this special menu: Silken
Tofu, Butter Garlic Prawns and Honey Chilli Grouper.
The sizzlers were presented in clay pots and as expected
there was a decent sizzling sound. The fish sizzler had fillets of Grouper and
the sauce was remarkably well balanced. The fish was well done and the flavours
went it properly. This tangy, sweet and spicy sizzler was the best of the lot.
The Silken Tofu Sizzler was interesting especially in terms
of the texture of tofu. The tofu was so soft that it was breaking with the
slightest touch. This was incredible and apart from this the preparation was
decent, nothing special.
Lastly, the Stir Fried Butter Garlic Prawns touched the end
of this fantastic meal. This preparation is a classic and it was implemented
the same way. The sauce was thick and had the characteristic flavours. The prawns
were sweet, well done and tasted remarkable with the sauce.
Now that’s all from our side about the festival menu and the
must try’s, the do try’s and the can try’s!
We had Ferrero Rocher dumplings and coconut ice cream for
dessert which were from the main menu. The former was excellent whereas the
latter did not quite cut it. It was sweet and bland—the coconut flavour was
lacking.
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| Ferrero Rocher dumplings |
This is the second festival we have experienced at Memories
of China and we must say that we are impressed with the way they execute
festivals and bring out natural flavours in their preparations without too many
additives.
This special festival menu runs throughout September (most
probably), so we definitely recommend planning in advance and indulging in
these magnificent preparations. (Provided you have a flexible mind and love for
Authentic Chinese food)
That’s all from our side. We’ll be back soon with delicious
news!
If you guys visit, do let us know about your experience.
Till then—bon appétit!
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