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The Italian Road Trip @ ALBA | JW Marriott Hotel | Bangalore

Home-made pappardelle, duck ragout & smoked duck

So what do you guys think of a road trip?

Ok, then how about an Italian Road Trip?

This road trip is probably not the same which crossed your mind. In fact, this Italian Road Trip is about an ongoing culinary trip through certain regions of Italy namely: Piedmont, Sicily & Tuscany. This Italian Food Festival is running at one of the best restaurants for Italian Cuisine in Bangalore: ALBA at the JW Marriott Hotel.

They have an elaborate a la carte menu for this but we tried a set menu consisting of Antipasti, Primi, Secondi & Dolci.

We had the following items:

Milfoil with slow cooked chicken with roasted bell pepper, charcoal onion and garlic and anchovies sauce: Beautiful presentation, perfectly cooked chicken, light smoked onions and a mouth-watering sauce were its highlights!

Home-made pappardelle, duck ragout & smoked duck: The highlights were the smoked and juicy strips of duck along with the ragout which not only blended well with the pappardelle pasta but tasted phenomenal! The pasta was al dente.

Chilean Sea Bass with Trapani style Couscous and Ghiotta sauce: Even magnificent does not come close to how well the fish was done. It was juicier than any sea bass we tasted before. The texture of the couscous along with the sauce complemented well with the fresh fish.

Milfoil with slow cooked chicken with roasted bell pepper, charcoal onion and garlic and anchovies sauce

Chilean Sea Bass with Trapani style Couscous and Ghiotta sauce

Cacao, Amaretti & caramel pudding with blueberry: It was mildly sweet with well-defined layers and soft too. A scoop of this with the blueberry alongside and enjoy the magic! There was a lot of cacao in it which also gave it a bitter after taste.

Now that’s a very short snippet of what we thought of this lip smacking Italian Road Trip.

We tried two other items: A ravioli preparation with ricotta and eggplant ragout and another dessert called the fruit cannolo which was very heavy.

All the items we tried were high on natural flavours and brilliantly executed.

Cacao, Amaretti & caramel pudding with blueberry

Fruit Cannolo

It is the culinary expertise of Chef Matteo which made this possible.

This is on till the 12^th so do try & plan a visit to experience these masterpieces!

Do let us know about your experience.

Till then—stay tuned and bon apetit!

15:00
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The North Italian Food Festival @ Alto Vino | Marriott Whitefield | Bangalore

Alto Vino

Potato Gnocci with lamb ragout and cream of parcini

We, as in those who love food think about Cuisine in general but rarely do we think about the regions involved especially when it comes to foreign Cuisine. For us, there is North Indian, South Indian, Punjabi, Bengali etc. so the same applies for other Cuisines too!

So, this time we were invited to Alto Vino, Marriott Whitefield’s specialty Italian restaurant for experiencing their one of a kind North Italian Food Festival, specially curated by Chef Marou who himself hails from Northern Italy.

Although Italian Cuisine has the same base concept, different regions use different herbs and ingredients and techniques so there is a lot more involved than it seems.

We had Mr. Viraj Sawant with us for dinner who is a well-known sommelier and he talked a lot about the wines which he had chosen to pair with the food. We had two white variants and a red. The first one was citrusy and acidic, the second variant called Gavi had mellowed notes. Lastly the red did not have the kick we expected but had the correct amount of tartness.

We tried a set menu which was specially crafted for wine pairing. Let us take you through the highlights of our North Italian meal:

19:41
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Glimpses of Italy @ Sphyre | The Gateway Hotel-Residency Road | Bangalore

bangalore

Fried Calamari

So what cuisine are you guys in the mood for?

We know that we have been craving for Italian food for quite some time and finally we received the chance to fulfil our craving! We have recently been to the ongoing Italian Food Festival at Sphyre, The Gateway Hotel-Residency road, Bangalore. So, are you guys ready to take your taste buds on an Italian trip?

Whatever your answer is, do read on ;)

We have been to this property before and although it is not huge, it has a separate charm of its own.

For the current festival, their Sous Chef Tushar prepared some extraordinary authentic Italian delights. It was indeed a pleasure being a part of this as the food was of a different level altogether.

So, coming down to the food:

The menu is very elaborate and so we tasted bits and parts as recommended and served by Chef Tushar.

First up, we were served the Minestrone and Lentil soups and both the soups were super appetizing. The best part was that all the flavours were individually distinguishable. The consistency was perfect, with fresh ingredients and a touch of herbs!

Aranchini

Then we tried the Aranchini and the Fried Calamari. The Aranchini had a good bite to it and the cheesy Arborio rice was well balanced and delicious. The fried calamari was crisp fried with a uniform colour. The calamari was well cooked, slightly chewy and this was a perfect snack.

Next up, the pasta: Tortellini Chicken in Tomato Sauce and the Penne a la norma.

The tortellini was excellently made: the shape, the minced chicken stuffing with cheese and herbs and of course the sauce! Be it garnishing, the consistency of the sauce or anything else it was absolutely perfect.

Chicken Tortellini

Pasta a la norma

The Penne a la norma was as expected. The pasta was Indian al dente and it was a good dish overall.

The Pumpkin Risotto deserves praise! The Arborio rice was perfectly done and the creaminess of the pumpkins was absolutely delightful. The combo is definitely something to relish.

We tried two pizzas: spinach and eggs for non-veg and mushroom and olive for veg.

Pumpkin Risotto

Egg & Spinach pizza @Glimpses of Italy @ Sphyre | The Gateway Hotel-Residency Road | Bangalore

Egg and Spinach Pizza

Mushroom & Olive pizza |Glimpses of Italy @ Sphyre | The Gateway Hotel-Residency Road | Bangalore

Mushroom and Olive pizza

Both the pizzas had a thin crust with loads of Mozzarella. They were not overloaded with cheese and toppings as originally that is not the purpose. The toppings were generous and both the pizzas stood out. The eggs served in the pizza were sunny side up and it was great to see and to eat!

The mushroom and olives is a tried and tested combination and tasted the usual.

After this we tried the Grilled Salmon with Traditional orange sauce and the desserts.

The salmon was fresh and grilled to perfection. The sauce was slightly sweet and acted as a perfect palate cleanser before dessert. The orange sauce was absolutely lip smacking and added a citrusy zest to each bite. This dish is definitely a must try!

Grilled Salmon@ Glimpses of Italy @ Sphyre | The Gateway Hotel-Residency Road | Bangalore

Grilled Salmon is traditional orange sauce

Glimpses of Italy @ Sphyre | The Gateway Hotel-Residency Road | Bangalore

We forgot the name: It had layers of Aubergine and parmesan

Gnocchi in Blue Cheese Sauce@ Glimpses of Italy @ Sphyre | The Gateway Hotel-Residency Road | Bangalore

Gnocchi with blue cheese sauce

For dessert we had the Tiramisu and the Ricotta Cheese cake. The Tiramisu had a delicate touch of coffee, as expected. The best part was that no flavour was overpowering. The sweetness, layering and the taste was perfect.

The Cheese Cake looked like a thick slice of pizza but was soft. It was mildly sweet and had a creamy finish.

We finished our Italian meal on a happy note.

Apart from the above mentioned items, we were also served a gnocchi with blue cheese which was out of which world! It was super creamy and melted in our mouths. The blue cheese sauce was indescribably amazing!