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:

The New Concept @ Barbeque Nation | Mahadevapura | Bangalore

bangalore
Mouth watering kebabs (chicken, prawns, fish)

We love to eat at all you can eat buffets! We are sure you know that by now, given the number of times we have written about buffets. Recently we wrote about the Dilli walli Khau Gali festival going on in Barbeque Nation. Its time to write about them again!

But this time, we will be telling you about a new outlet of Barbeque nation that opened up with a new vision and concept at The Arena Mall, Mahadevpura, Bangalore. The first thing we noticed was that they had changed their decor, logo etc.

They have maintained the essence of barbeque nation but have added a few more things. You will be provided with the hot barbeque station at your table, you will be given delicious skewers to barbeque, and you will have the flag. And with this you will have a variety of live stations to get your food made according to your choice! Now doesn’t that sound good!?




They have a live Dal station which intrigued us, because you don’t get to see this usually. They have a live stir fry counter for both veg and non veg where one can choose from a variety of meats and veggies and take back a stir fried delight! They have a couple of varieties of sauces too! These are made to order in front of you and according to your taste! They have a variety of meat for non vegetarians, which include rabbit, quail, etc.

Along with this they had a live counter for soups as well, where they served clear soup and added the ingredients according to your choice. We got a clear soup made in a vegetable broth with corn, carrots, mushrooms and prawns. Finished with just a bit of spring onions! Delicious and to our taste!

The starters were up to the mark, like at every Barbeque nation and the service here was also up to the mark! The only disappointment was the live roll counter. We are Bengalis who belong from Kolkata and rolls have a soft corner in our hearts and when it is not done right, we sure get disappointed.

Guess what :P


Shawarma, stir fry, daal and soup live counters

They have a Kati roll and shwarma counter as well, where it’s again made to order. The roll was, like we said, not that good; slightly soggy and chewy, not crisp and delicious. But the shawarma counter made up for it.

Non veg stir fry with noodles (schezwan sauce)

Non veg stir fry without noodles (Indian sauce)

Strawberry and basil mojito

Aam panna

We moved on to the main course after trying all the live counters. The mocktails which accompanied us till here were Gleeche (a litchi and rose drink, absolutely refreshing and fruity) and Strawberry and basil mojito (a mild fruity concoction, perfect to accompany the starters).

They had two types of non vegetarian biriyani, Lucknowi Mutton Biriyani and Hyderabadi chicken biriyani. We obviously went in with the Lucknowi Mutton biriyani and were very happy about it! Lightly flavoured rice and perfectly done meat.

There were also a chicken and a mutton gravy preparation and both were remarkable. One was rich and creamy and the other spicy: common factor being the well cooked meat of course!

Now coming down to the desserts, they had the barbeque nation special Kulfi counter here. I (Priyanjana) usually look forward to the Kulfi here, every time. Loved the kulfi this time as well!

The other desserts were assorted pastries, fresh cut fruits, gulab jamun, different flavours of ice cream and phirni. All of these were up to the mark.

Kesar and Mango Kulfi with the normal accompaniments



The Mutton Biriyani


All in all we really enjoyed the new concept and the live stations. Thumbs up from both of us!

So, if you really love dining in Barbeque Nation and other buffet restaurants in general do give this a try!


In all probability, you’ll love it!

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

Till then—bon appétit!

The Dilli Wali Khau Gali Festival @ Barbeque Nation

bangalore
Malai Kulfi with Faluda and chocolate vermicelli

Buffets are not everyone’s preference. Different people have different likes and dislikes when it comes to food and the restaurant they are visiting. While most people prefer fine dining restaurants, set menus and a la carte in general, there are people like us who have a voracious appetite which can be satiated only by a buffet! [Otherwise we’ll get broke!]

As a tribute to buffets, we bring to you two back to back experiences with Barbeque Nation. The first one being their festival which lasts till 07th August: Dilli Wali Khau Gali” which features Delhi on a platter. The second one involves the launch of a new outlet in Bangalore which is different than the other normal outlets.

Barbeque Nation has redefined the meaning of a Buffet and so they are sort of like pioneers in the buffet sector in F&B. Their customer focus and adaptation to customer’s needs is what made them what they are and now, a buffet lunch and dinner is synonymous with Barbeque Nation!





Now, let’s talk about their festival:

The Freshmenu Experience | Electronic City | Bangalore

bangalore
Pan Fried Chilli Fish

Thanks to our busy lives and schedules we have all resorted to fast food at one point of time or the other. The recent start up revolution has brought many food tech start-ups to our rescue with a variety of cuisine and if we may say “healthier” food!

We have tried the offerings of several of these saviours except for one. So, this time we bring to you our experience of one of the fastest growing restaurants in the food delivery sector: Freshmenu!

These guys have saved many youngsters from starvation at pretty reasonable prices for quite some time.

Our experience was pretty extraordinary starting from the before time delivery to the mouth watering preparations. These guys have a daily changing menu, so if you like something you have tried, you have to wait for quite some time till it is repeated (if it is repeated!)


We had a mini feast which consisted of: BBQ chicken leg burger, Penne in Creamy Bechamel Sauce, Grilled Chimichurri Chicken, Roast Chicken Sandwich combo, Pan fried Chilli Fish, Oriental double fun platter for starters and mains. For desserts we had a white chocolate cake with passion fruit and a chocolate brownie.

Rudra On Zomato

view my food journey on zomato!

The FLB on Instagram

Priyanjana On Zomato

view my food journey on zomato!