Foodie Land Blog | Indian food and restaurant reviews

The August Moon Festival | Memories of China | Vivanta by Taj-M.G Road | Bangalore

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 1^st 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.

Stir fried water chestnut, lotus stem and potatoes in chef special sauce

Steamed eggplant in spicy peanut sauce

cauliflower in a creamy sauce with preserved chilli

We normally try non veg more, but this time we will be talking about veg too!

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The Afghani Food Festival | The Vivanta by Taj - Whitefield | Bangalore

Afghani cuisine

Veg Kofta Preparation

Pretty recently we had a taste of true Middle Eastern food about which we had posted too. The Middle East encompasses a huge land mass consisting of many countries and cultures. This time we bring to you our experience of the Afghan Food Festival at The Vivanta by Taj—Whitefield, Bangalore.

The last time we mentioned that the taste was surreal and mostly the kebabs and preparations had Turkish and Moroccan spices. This time, not only were the dishes different but also all of them had an Afghan touch to it. One can understand this, mainly due to the richness of the preparations.

This is an ongoing festival at the legendary restaurant Terracotta which runs till the end of this month. (Unfortunately, we are a bit late to announce it this time!) The ambiance is very rustic and there is a lot of ambient light in the restaurant.

So, whatever you read and see—if you like it: hurry!

Just joking, you still have some time as some of the dishes in the menu are going to be incorporated in the original menu based on customer response. Now how cool is that?

Now, coming down to this feast of flavours:

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Navroze Bhonu @SodaBottleOpenerWala | Bangalore

bhonu

Different communities have different styles of cooking, secret recipes and also a separate significance behind what they eat, how they eat and why. As mentioned before, our country is home to a variety of people and this time we will be talking about a certain community only: The Parsi community.

Just like any other community, Parsi’s have their specialty when it comes to food and we got a taste of authentic Parsi food very recently at one of the most popular cafe’s in Bangalore: SodaBottleOpenerWala (Now that’s what you call a long name!) and they are located in Lavelle Road, Bangalore.

This is the time the Parsi’s celebrate their new year called Navroz Bhonu to honour India as their new home.

On this auspicious occasion we visited SodaBottleOpenerWala to try out their special menu. Their special menu consisted of two thali’s: Veg and Non Veg including two desserts.

For pretty obvious reasons we tried the non veg thali and the desserts of course. Parsi’s cannot imagine a meal without non veg and the same goes for us so as always great people think alike ;)

Now coming down to the items which were present in the thali:

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

bangalore

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 17^th of August and runs till the 27^th.

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:

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The 2nd Year Anniversary Celebrations @ The Fatty Bao | Bangalore

anniversary celebration

Raindrop cake

We have tried a variety of cuisines in the past and we get excited whenever we get the opportunity to try out something different. Our country is home to diverse cultures and in turn there are loads of different kinds of food to try out, which is a challenge by itself. Now, just imagine the variation of food across the entire globe! It is practically impossible to give your taste buds a taste of all that!

We have recently been to The Fatty Bao, Bangalore for their 2^nd year anniversary celebration (called Fatty's Travel Tales) and we were overwhelmed with love as Fatty loves us to the moon and back! ;) They are an Asian Gastro Bar very well known for their unique preparations and colorful presentation! Headed by their Executive Chef Prashanth they have been in the spotlight for quite some time at least in Bangalore and especially for youngsters.

As a part of their celebration, they have a special menu containing delicacies from the kitchens of East and South East Asia. We were privileged to be a part of the exclusive lunch preview of this limited edition menu. Also, they have tied up with Tiger Air to host a small contest during this special occasion. Every customer gets to fill up a boarding pass which contains a few basic questions about Tiger Air and lucky winners win a return trip to Singapore courtesy: Tiger Air (Who else! :P).

Most of the preparations were very different from what we normally eat and the taste and presentation of the items were exceptional. The Fatty Bao, Bangalore is located in 12^th main road, Indiranagar. Their decor, seating arrangements, crockery etc are all very colourful. They have spacious seating, giving their customers privacy and room to breathe and spread their arms and legs.

Now, coming down to the food and drinks:

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Ayubowan | The Sri Lankan Food Festival @ Vivanta By Taj - MG Road | Bangalore

bangalore

Lunumiris and egg salad

In the past few months, we have visited a lot of luxurious dining spots mostly covering different festivals from across the world. Some of them were the dragon boat festival, Chinese New Year, generic impromptu festivals and much more. This time we bring to you our experience of a festival we have very recently been to at The Vivanta by Taj- MG Road, Bangalore. This ongoing festival goes by the name: Ayubowan which is the Sri Lankan food festival and it is sure to take your taste buds to a ride further down south!

Geographically as well as on cultural grounds India and Sri Lanka share many similarities and after trying out the food in this festival one can understand the deep connection between these two glorious countries both in terms of rich culture and food!

This festival is running at Cafe Mozaic which is run by their multi award winning Executive Chef Ramasamy Selvaraju. We are not sure whether we will visit Sri Lanka in the near future, but thanks to this festival we sure went on a fabulous culinary trip.

Cafe Mozaic has indoor and outdoor seating. Indoor seating is for people who prefer privacy and a certain degree of sophistication whereas the outdoors is pool side and has a different charm to it. Except for the food factor, this festival also includes Sri Lankan folk dance performances by the renowned Budawatta dance troupe. We really enjoyed the food and the performances just made the experience a whole lot better!

Now, coming down to the food:

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The Syrian Christian Breakfast Menu @ Karavalli | The Gateway Hotel | Bangalore

5 star food

Egg roast with Malabar Parota

Generally, restaurants create special menus/organize festivals and more for lunch, dinner and sometimes brunch. It is very rare that we encounter a special breakfast offering mainly because of the timing and especially on weekends!

Very recently we visited The Taj Gateway Hotel situated in Residency road, Bangalore for trying out the special Syrian Christian Breakfast menu being served in their award winning, legendary restaurant—Karavalli! The environment of Karavalli is very soothing and relaxing and is guaranteed to help you de-stress. The garden type arrangement, with fountains and secluded seating was quite eye catching. Moreover, apart from their outdoor seating, they also have indoor seating.

Karavalli is one of the most award winning and respected restaurants in our country and on the brink of completion of their 26^th year of successful operations they have decided to add a twist to the normal way of celebration. They normally bring to their customers, the cuisine of different communities, some lost, some forgotten but very much alive!

With this said, this time they decided to bring to its customers a special Syrian Christian breakfast menu dedicated to the rich cultural heritage and cuisine of this special community located throughout Kerala.

The menu contained a variety of items which were very flavourful and light on the stomach. Along with the breakfast they serve sparkling wine to kick start your day a different way!

Serving plates with banana leaf (Authentic style)

Banana blossom cutlets served with ginger chutney and tomato ketchup

There was a mutton stew, meen moily or the fish preparation, a chicken preparation, egg roast served with Malabar parota (otherwise known as Porotta Mutta Roast), steamed rice cakes with black channa in a spicy coconut masala (also known as Puttu Kadala curry), banana blossom cutlets and a fried banana dessert accompanied by aromatic black tea (known as Chayaa Vazhapoo).

The accompaniments in all the cases were a variety of appams.

We started off with the banana blossom cutlets which were lightly fried, mildly spiced and very tasty. Plus since it is lightly fried—not much oil at all!

The egg roast preparation was spicy, mildly sweet because of the presence of onions but the gravy was very tasty and this tasted excellent with the Malabar Parotas. I (Rudra) personally like my eggs roasted/slightly fried. In this case, the dish would have tasted 10X better if the eggs were roasted, I believe!

Apart from the egg, everything else was spectacular! The mutton stew was simply mouth watering: It was mild, very flavourful and the essence of mutton made this exceptional. The potatoes in it also contributed positively. It was served with traditional appams.

The fish preparation had mild levels of spice and had coconut milk, which of course gave it a wonderful aroma and taste. This was served with Kalappams which were soft like bread and had a slight crisp to it. This combo was remarkable too!

The chicken preparation was also very flavourful but it was a tad bit spicier than the others. This was served with idiappams and the combo tasted great, but not as much as the mutton and the fish.

The black channa preparation was spicy and the coconut based masala gave it a very good aroma and taste. It sort of had a Goan touch to it. This was served with brown rice cakes with interleaved grated coconut. The combo did not taste that good, but the channa preparation deserves praise!

Mutton stew preparation

Meen moili

Kalappams

Chicken preparation

Idiappams

Black channa in spicy coconut masala served with steamed rice cakes

The finale was with the fried banana dessert and a very aromatic black tea which had just the right amount of sweetness. The banana had a very light batter coating and it tasted quite nice.

The champagne which was served was of high quality and went well with all the above items.

Special thanks to the executive chef Naren Thimmaia for educating us about this form of cuisine and the roots of this implementation.

This special breakfast menu is available only for this upcoming Saturday and Sunday i.e. 16-17^th July.

If you are a breakfast person who has an adventurous palate: this is highly recommended.

All the items were well prepared and absolutely mouth watering. So, what are your breakfast plans this weekend?

In case you guys visit, do let us know about your experience!

Till then—bon appétit!

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A Stay To Remember | Grand Mercure Hotel | La Uppu | Mysuru

FAM

In our blogging journey so far we have been to numerous events, launches, previews and to restaurants for reviewing. We end up having loads of fun and meeting new people every time! This time however it was an experience unlike any other and it not only impressed us and was worth remembering but it also touched our hearts!

We went on our first FAM trip with a few fellow bloggers to the heritage city of Mysore (Presently known as Mysuru). There were two parts to this: the road trip part which included travelling from Bangalore to Mysore and the staying part. We stayed at the Grand Mercure Hotel, Mysuru and it was inspiring how the culture of Mysore was ingrained in the ambiance, decor and even the service of the hotel!

The road trip was fun with a variety of conversations and breakfast on the way. However, it was only after reaching Grand Mercure that the real deal started. We were welcomed with garlands and a welcome drink. The welcome drink was superb and marked the perfect beginning to our stay. This entire visit was due to the special occasion of Ramadan and the chefs crafted a special menu for the same.

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The Dragon Boat Festival @ Memories of China | Vivanta by Taj | Bangalore

bangalore

We have been visiting many starred hotels lately for food festivals, launches and of course events. Most of them have amazing grandeur and their decor is a level above. But very few of them actually serve good food! Most of the times their grandeur, decor and service fetches them good ratings but in reality they do not deserve it food and taste wise!

On the same page, we recently visited Memories of China @ Vivanta by Taj located in M.G Road, Bangalore for trying out their special Dragon Boat Festival Menu. We visited this restaurant for the first time and we believe it should be judged only after having a complete meal.

From the outside, it might not seem impressive but if a step is taken forward, the vision changes. It has authentic Chinese decor and it also serves authentic Chinese cuisine! An attractive feature is the presence of rotating tables.

Now coming to the special menu, it is a complete menu with a huge variety of items so we could not try everything. This menu has been created or better to say crafted by their Chinese master chef Lai Hin Tong William who has over 43 years of culinary experience. We had the pleasure of meeting him as well and he was a charming personality.

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Chinese New Year Menu at Yauatcha | Bangalore | Year of the Monkey

chinese

So, our food blogging journey began almost a year ago and since then we have come a really long way.

We have visited street food joints, cafes, fine dining restaurants, barbeque joints and of course in general buffet joints. (And more as well ;))

So, now we mark a checkpoint in our food blogging journey with our first Michelin star restaurant visit. It is a renowned name the world over for the Chinese and pan Asian cuisine they serve, but they are even better known for their beautifully crafted desserts. They provide what we would call a supreme dining experience which is luxurious and is guaranteed to wake up your taste buds!

So, the name of the restaurant (You must have guessed it by now) is Yauatcha , which is located at 1 MG road Mall, Bangalore.