Valentines Day Special @ Vivanta by Taj - Yeshwantpur | Bangalore

bangalore
Valentines Day Special @ Vivanta by Taj - Yeshwantpur | Bangalore

It has been a while that we posted something related to luxury dining and we missed bringing them over to you apart from missing the food as in almost all cases the food makes us go crazy.

We have visited many Taj properties in the past and we were pretty sure that we have been to all of them (In Bangalore). Unfortunately, we were wrong and this time our visit to the Vivanta by Taj- Yeshwantpur for a preview of their special Valentine’s Day arrangements.

So, for those who want to make it special on the upcoming 14th of Feb, here’s what you can expect if you decide to celebrate this special day of love at this luxurious property:

A fabulous selection of food which look & taste delightful & a lot of hearts!

They have a special A.I package (INR 5999) for couples on the big day and they have appropriate plans to make the couples fall in love all over again: heart shaped chocolates, balloons, strawberries dipped in chocolate and much more.

So from the food point of view, here are our views:

Sattvik Bhojan at Masala Klub | Taj West End | Bangalore

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Pure Vegetarian Sattvik Thali at Masala Klub, Taj West End Bangalore
Being Non Vegetarians we hardly have food that has no meat in one meal, let alone a pure vegetarian meal. So, when we were invited to taste the food at the Sattvik food festival going on at Masala Klub located in Taj West End, we were happy to give it a shot. Sattvik Food is often called as the cuisine of Gods. Originated from the Holy Land of Varanasi, this cuisine is made with great care for the Kashi Naresh till date. The Royal chefs have to perform a series of rituals even before beginning with the preparation for the food. 

Sattvik Bhojan is not only pure vegetarian food, but is also calming for your body. So, let us take you through what the menu at Masala Klub has to offer from this cuisine. 

The Mangalorean Food Festival | Jamavar- The Leela Palace | Bangalore

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Luxury dining is something which we would like to call an acquired taste. In the recent past, we have had our share of luxury and fine dining and at first it did not seem so special. However, with repeated encounters one can realize the true beauty of the experience. Although luxury comes at a price, it is something to indulge in because we do need to pamper ourselves after the hard work we do!

On the same page, we recently visited The Leela Palace, Bangalore situated in Old Airport road for their Mangalore Food Festival and the property is majestic. It is not surprising if someone is awestruck by the grandeur of the interiors and especially in and around their Indian specialty restaurant, Jamavar. This festival is running at Jamavar from the 12th of September to the 21st.

They have miniature rocky waterfalls with greenery everywhere. Jamavar has indoor as well as outdoor seating. The indoors give you a regal feeling whereas the outdoors are breezy with picturesque surroundings.


Now coming down to the food:

The Middle Eastern Food Festival @ Mynt | The Taj West End | Bangalore

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Mahalabia
We have visited many Taj properties in the past, both in Bangalore and in our home town Kolkata. Each hotel has its own unique significance and a story behind their existence. Each hotel has a different charm, beauty and set of specialized chefs.

Very recently we have been to the oldest Taj property, not only in Bangalore but also in the entire country—The Taj West End. It is located at the heart of the city in Race Course Road and its grandeur is simply astounding! The lobby was exceptional with medium sized trees and dim lighting. The property was earlier meant to be used by British soldiers when India was not independent. Afterwards, it was taken over by many a group and currently it lies in the hands of the Tata group which cares about this property and beautified it beyond brilliance.

Now moving on to our objective: We were privileged to be a part of an exclusive dinner preview of the upcoming Middle Eastern food festival at Mynt which kicks off from the 17th of August and runs till the 27th.

The adept chefs at Mynt with their executive chef Sandeep Narang crafted this special menu which aims to bring certain Middle Eastern delicacies to the table of all customers of Mynt. 

The menu we tried was elaborate but during the festival the entire menu will not be served to the customers but it will be on a rotational basis.

Now, coming down to the food:

The Fine Dining Experience @ Yauatcha | Bangalore

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Do you ever feel that you do not want to return after visiting a restaurant? We sure do!

There are a few restaurants, which not only serve food and drinks but gift satisfaction to its customers. The place we are talking about has a simple yet elegant ambiance, extremely courteous staff, balanced cocktails which will leave you longing for more and finally their food which is beyond words. Plus, it is tough to beat these guys in their music sense too.

Like we have mentioned before: Yauatcha never disappoints!

We were invited for dim sum and drinks followed by dinner by Yauatcha, Bangalore and we confess: we actually did not feel like leaving the place. (Not because we were high, but because of the friendly and homely atmosphere they create every time!)

The ingredients they use, the taste of their food and of course their presentation are of a different level altogether.

We tried a variety of items, some of which we have tried before and of course written about as well. The items we tried again: they had the same great taste as before.


The repetitive items were the pumpkin prawns, the truffle edamame dumplings and the cocktails. For checking them out, access this link.

Now for the things which were new and refreshing:

Dim Sum & Smokin BBQ @ The Shang Palace | Shangri-La Hotel | Bangalore

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We have been to several places to dine in the past, but very few of them actually give their guests a royal feeling. There is big difference in behaving courteously and literally royal treatment!  There are places which make you feel comfortable, some make you feel like you are in a homely environment and there are places like the Shang Palace situated in the 3rd floor on the Shangri-La hotel in Bangalore!

As soon as one enters, a big gong is struck repeatedly to announce the entry of a guest and combined with the luxurious setup it is guaranteed to make anybody feel special!


People call a special setup as red carpet treatment, so let us tell you that the entire restaurant floor is carpeted maybe because of the same reason.

Overall, the hotel as well as the restaurant setup is luxurious and grand and if you are visiting for the first time like we visited, you are bound to be impressed.

We were invited to try out the new launch of dim sum and BBQ at the Shang Palace and it was sure a grand devouring session!

 They are also introducing their executive chef, Chef Lin from Beijing who specializes in Chinese cuisine.

There is one thing which deserves mention: the tables were decorated so beautifully that will help one gear up for a hearty meal!

There were so many varieties in the dim sums that we lost track of them! On the same page, the barbeque items were also of large variety.

We were served some iced tea followed by red/white wine to drink and the feast started.
First let us talk about the dim sums: They were delicate, piping hot when served and very impressive taste wise. We found the prawn hargau to be the best dim sum. It had a whole prawn as its stuffing, which was perfectly cooked and soft. The sweetness of the prawns really heightened the experience.


The mushroom bao had a thick and soft outer covering with cooked mushrooms inside. It was similar to the char sui bun and this was also slightly sweet. The mushroom stuffing was well cooked, slightly spicy and very tasty.

The radish buns were unique and pretty amazing. Highly recommended for vegetarians as it was well cooked, had equal consistency and the bun was well baked.

The veg and corn dumpling was very well crafted to say the least. It had a transparent coating which was negligibly thin and the stuffing was well balanced. This was very light on the stomach as well.

The lamb pancake was decent, but could have been a lot better. The lamb stuffing was tasty and was minced properly but the cakes were perhaps over fried and the essence of lamb was killed.

We were also served a chicken bao preparation. The chicken stuffing was ample and this was also good to have, although some of the other preparations were better.

There were some more varieties as well but these were the highlights and must haves!
Moving on from the dim sums to the BBQ preps and snacks:


There were a couple of varieties of snacks which were served out of which the Chongqing chilli chicken stood out. This was an authentic style chilli chicken without the usage of much sauce which is normally available in restaurants. The preparation had a fresh fragrance of coriander and the chicken pieces were bite sized. This was really something different from what is normally available so a must try!

Apart from this, the grilled items were on skewers and there was a pure bhetki grilled fish preparation which was wonderful! There were also some other varieties and they were pretty good too!

The best of the lot were the lamb skewers! They were juicy, had the same great essence of lamb and there were traces of fat which after grilling made it even tastier. This was truly delightful. The chicken one on the other hand was not so special. The chicken was soft and well cooked but the taste could have been better. The fish was brilliant. The skin was intact and probably the fish was grilled on the skin which imparted a slightly burnt flavour which was excellent. Most importantly the fish was fresh, juicy and grilled perfectly. Normally bhetki does not have great taste by itself but this prep was great! Moreover, this is a big attraction for Bengali’s since Bhetki is loved by almost all Bengali’s.

On the vegetarian side: the silken tofu skewer was definitely something! It was chewy with mild sweetness and the smoky flavor. Even a non vegetarian would love this. The oyster mushrooms were great too. They were so juicy that it proves the person grilling them had a different level of expertise!


A special mention would be the chicken wings served which were delicious indeed. Slightly smoky and spiced and mouth watering! These were one of the highlights of the BBQ menu.


There were also veg fried rice and veg noodles which were normal as they were served as accompaniments. The noodles were quite tasty nonetheless. The rice used was sticky rice and it was very mildly flavored and a treat for your palette. 


Lastly, this memorable feast ended with a unique and mildly sweet marvel. The honey comb cake turned out to be something unexpected. It was served steaming hot and the porous cakes had a beautiful glaze to them. The pores were similar to a honeycomb and hence the name. It had great consistency and sort of a muffin like texture.


Overall, this experience was nothing short of awesome!

We would definitely recommend this to both non vegetarians and vegetarians as they have almost equal varieties for veg and non veg, which is pretty rare as normally non veg dominates the scene!

The ambiance, soothing tunes, royal treatment and the food of course contribute to making ones dining experience special!

We will be posting about our other similar experiences as well so stay tuned ;)

And do try and visit this place and let us know how you feel!


Till next time—bon appétit! 

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