Baisakhi Food Festival @ Sheraton

Come April and the harvest festival is celebrated all through India under different names. Baisakhi, celebrated in this season by the hearty Punjabis, is a good reason to launch the Baisakhi Food Festival at Feast, Sheraton Bangalore. Now, this is a restaurant that is never dull. While the buffet spread at Feast is always a feast literally to all your senses, the folks do not believe in resting. Several events and food festivals are planned on a regular basis to give their old and new guests new food experiences.

When I was invited to review this event, I agreed, for Punjabi cuisine is known for its robust flavours and great variety as well.

The menu includes all the traditional favourites. The Chefs have not wasted time in tweaking recipes or creating fusion dishes. Baisakhi it is, and Punjabi food, you get! Offering equal choice to both the vegetarians and the non vegetarians alike, pick as the fancy takes you. Among the vegetarian starters, you can enjoy Bharwan Paneer Tikka, Alu Mushroom Tikki, Tandoori Alu, or Rajma ki tikki.  Wash it down with salted lassi, or a pleasantly sharp jaljeera. If I felt the lassi was lightly watered down and not creamy and thick as I would expect, I realised it was a good thing. The drink was just right to whet my appetite instead of silencing it. Of the starters, the Rajma Tikki stood out for its silky smooth texture and balanced spices.

 

It would be wise to head on to the main course before you are filled up with the starters.  For, by no means should you ignore Sarson ka Saag. Set up at a separate station, with befitting accoutrements, this is probably the best you can find outside of Punjab! Bajre ki roti and Makai ki roti lend good support to the Saag. Enjoy the symphony that plays out in your tongue and brain while you are at this.

 

Can Paneer tikka Masala be not around when the cuisine is Punjabi? The folks at Feast do not disappoint. You will also find Dal Makhani, Sabz Masaledar, Alu Saagwala and such typical Punjabi dishes on the menu. Dal Makhani stood out for me for its rounded flavours and a rich, engulfing mouth feel. Steamed rice, choice of breads, fragrant pulao to accompany the entrees, you will find them all.

The live jalebi counter caught my attention. Piping hot jalebis with chilled rabdi is a match made in Punjabi heaven!  You can choose to satisfy your sweet cravings with flavoured falooda with matka kulfi, gajar ka halwa, and even a sugarless lapsi kheer for people with diet restrictions. These Punjabi desserts are in addition to their regular array of baked desserts and Teppanyaki ice cream.

 

This special menu is in addition to the regular buffet spread available for lunch and dinner. With a sleek ambience, sunlight streaming in the day and cosy lighting at dinner time, Feast is a location you must try out. While there, soak in the ambience, enjoy the courtesy of the staff and tuck in into one of the biggest buffet spreads in the city. You will not be disappointed.

I was delighted to find the staff sensitive to special dietary requirements of guests. Be it vegan, vegetarian, Halal, gluten-free, lactose-free, sugar-free or any other needs that you may have are sure to be met with.

The Baisakhi Food Festival is on at Feast, Sheraton Bangalore from 10th to 19th April, 2015. If you can glug 500ml of the lassi at one go, your meal is free! Is that not a great reason to try out?

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Too Maach Bengali Food Festival – Review

Imaginatively named, the Bengali Food Festival and Four Points by Sheraton, Bangalore beckoned a few bloggers last Friday evening. I accepted, for the call of Shukto and Poshto was alluring, not to mention the gollas as well.

Due respect was given to seafood, for it is Bengali food after all. Thankfully, the buffet spread offered more than maach (Bengali for fish) for a vegetarian like me. Apart from the Macher jhol, and Murg kasha,  Nariyel diye cholar dal made its all important appearance. Fragrant with the bay leaves and panch phoron, I was happy to eat a bowl of this iconic dal by itself.

Aloor dum and Panner dalna were comforting. Were they authentic Bengali? Not sure. Were they tasty? Hell, yes. The Shaak bhaja, made with healthy red amaranth reminded you of a Bengali home with Kakima urging you to eat more of healthy greens!

The highlight of the evening was the aromatic, cooked-to-perfection Subz dum biryani. If you like your biryani aromatic, with each grain cooked perfectly, imbued with a bouquet of spices, yet with a restrained use of chillies, then this is the place to find it. You could choose hot steamed rice to accompany the gravies or ask for fresh hot luchi, naans or other rotis to be brought to your table from the live counter.

There were some Tangra dishes to add weight to the buffet such as the Wok tossed noodles, the sweet and sour vegetables, a grilled vegetable with cherry tomato confit. Appetising and flavourful, they lent good colour and gusto to the table. A fresh salad counter and breads enhanced the dining experience.

When there is Bengali food, how can sweets be far behind? Desserts were well represented with the Chaner payesh,  Kamla bhog, Mishti doi, Kala jamun, Roshogolla, and several more! While dessert is called the ‘king of all courses’, the ‘king’ of the evening’s desserts was the Chaner payesh. Creamy, divinely aromatic with the saffron, sweetened just right, I had to fight the urge to help myself to a second bowl of this Payesh.

To sum up, I would have to loved to see some of the famous Bengali chutneys and baaja on the menu. I guess the recipes have been adapted to make even a non-Bengali food lover enjoy the spread. When there, be sure to indulge in the desserts. I can guarantee you will find happiness.

The soothing interiors at ‘The Eatery’ with ambient lighting, comfortable seating, attentive staff willing to serve with a smile are all great positives for Four Points by Sheraton, Bangalore. 

Too Maach Bengali Food Festival is on at Four Points by Sheraton, Whitefield from March 11th to March 22nd. Open for dinner from 7 pm to 11 pm. At INR 749 + per person, it is a good value for money event. Do check it out, folks.

Korean Food festival @ Sheraton Bangalore

Korean cuisine has to be one of the healthiest cuisines in the world. An approach where food is considered as medicine, where medicine is administered only when food does not heal enough. Korean food borrows from Japanese and Chinese cuisines, more from the former, I feel. For the curious, Korean food has a refreshing flavour profile. No single dominant note, rather a judicious blend of several tastes and textures. This healthful cuisine employs ingredients such as fermented soya paste, red chilli paste, garlic, sesame oil, and the now-world-famous kimchi (fermented cabbage). Kimchi is the national dish of Korea and has more than a hundred varieties.
When invited to the preview of the Korean Food Festival currently running at Sheraton, Bangalore, I was curious to know what it holds for a vegetarian. This is what I experienced there.
The Chefs decided to do away with the familiar Korean barbeque. Instead, they showcased a whole gamut of unique dishes from the country.  The menu is cyclic for the duration of the festival, so you could go several times and still have different offerings on the menu.
We began the evening with dainty morsels of Gimbap. Gim – seaweed sheets, Bap – steamed rice. Gimbap is Korean sushi. It tastes different from Japanese sushi though, because sesame oil is used to flavour the rice. Other fillings include mushrooms, fresh carrot juliennes, greens, meats and seafood. While the menu for the evening featured exotic Korean Spicy Squid Soup and Kimchi Soup (both non-vegetarian), the visiting chefs under the expert guidance of the Executive Chef, Martin Kindleysides, took care of the vegetarians by rustling up a soothing warm soup for us too.

The visiting Chef from Sheraton Seoul D Cube City Hotel, Mr. Link Chung, made us all a bowl of Bibimbap. Another gastronomic gift to the world from the Korean Cuisine, Bibimbap is a bowl of rice with fermented chilli paste, fermented soya paste, kimchi, sesame oil, fresh vegetables, oyster mushrooms and more.

We then went on to savour several other distinguishing dishes of this cuisine. Some of the unique dishes I sampled were -
Water kimchi – a winter kimchi made with fermented radishes, apples, rather like a tart-sweet vinegar, potent, cough inducing stuff. Worked well between slurps of the chilled Kong guk su which, by the way, is a bowl of boiled soy noodles topped with creamy soy broth, served chilled. Delicious!
Japchae - Sweet potato noodles stir fried with sesame oil and tossed with black fungus and fresh crunchy veggies. I could have gladly just had several bowls of this faintly sweet noodles, but then, I had the onerous job of tasting all that was on offer. So I pulled myself reluctantly away and moved on. This was my most preferred dish of the evening.
Kimchi fried rice – The vegetarian version of Kimchi fried rice tasted like Pad Thai meets Ellu Saadam/ Ellu Chitranna. good, but not out-of-the world.

Mandu – steamed dumplings. Could not sample them as they had meat fillings that day. The festival has a cyclic menu through the duration, so if you were to go, I am sure you would find vegan/vegetarian Mandu too.
We were served this hot balmy Korean Tea at the end of the dinner. Said to aid digestion, the tea was fragrant with cinnamon, and a whiff of cardamom!
Apparently, the Koreans do not have much of a sweet tooth. The desserts were very mildly sweet, if so. All save one, were rice-based. While the South Indian in me liked that, I could relish only the Songpyeon –a half moon shaped rice cake with a filling of fermented soya paste. Does this remind you of the Ganesh Chaturthi modaks?

It is noteworthy that barring the seafood and meat dishes, Korean food is vegan!  It is easy to alter the mostly carnivorous cuisine to vegan requirements.
I returned with a new appreciation for a relatively unknown cuisine in India. I am certain that Korean Food will entice Bangalore with its huge expat population as well as the adventurous well-travelled Indians who live here.
The Korean Food festival is on at Feast, Sheraton Bangalore Hotel, at Brigade Gateway. Visiting Chefs Link Chan Jae Chung and Shane Yun-Gi Hong, from Sheraton Seoul D Cube City Hotel, have gone to great lengths to bring authentic Korean food to our city. If you needed more reasons apart from the cheerful ambience and the humungous spread at Feast, this food festival should help you make a decision to treat your self and family there!
Dates – 13th February to 25th February, 2015.
Frequency – Daily lunch and dinner.
Price – Lunch @ Rs. 1395+taxes and Dinner @ Rs. 1545 + taxes.

Awadhi Food Festival @ Feast, Sheraton Bangalore

What’s in an Awadhi food festival for a vegetarian like me? This was my query when I was asked to review the Awadhi Food Festival running currently at Sheraton, Bangalore. After being assured that I would not suffer for lack of choices, I agreed, with residual misgivings though.
I need not have worried. The entire F&B team at Feast along with Visiting Chef M Rehman, had plenty in store for all – vegetarians and the non-vegetarians alike.
The Dal–Dalchini Shorba set a good expectation of what was to come. Delicately flavoured as a good shorba should be, with just that edge of cinnamon to whet the appetite. Starters followed soon enough. One with paneer and another with potato as main ingredients, finished to doneness in the tandoor. Good but not spectacular. However, the Veg Seekh Kabab was extremely well done. Fragrant, flaky, evocative of Nawabi cuisine. The Badam Doodh was refreshing, with ground almonds and notes of honey.
A basket of the amazingly fragrant Sheermal Roti and Awadhi Naan arrived. Hot, flaky, fragrant, they were delicious. It seemed a sacrilege to combine the roti with any other main dish. The Sheermal begged to be enjoyed as is.
Of the mains, I cannot talk enough about the merits of the Nawabi Baingan Bharta. While the greenish golden hue piqued my visual sensors, the sublime flavours had to be savoured to fully appreciate this masterpiece. Are you surprised that I mention elegant, sophisticated and brinjal in the same breath? Then you must try this Nawabi Baingan Bharta and you would not be! The Dal Makhani only shared its name with the famous Punjabi version. The texture, aroma were quite unique. Quite unlike any I’ve tasted so far. Another dal made with whole white urad was creamy and interesting too. The Paneer Begum Bahaar looked elegant but did not appeal to my palate. The Subz Dum Biryani was refined as well. Deft layering ensured it delivered wonderfully on flavours.


Shahi Tukda and Anjeer Halwa were among the other Awadhi special desserts of the day. At the risk of sounding redundant, I have to mention that the Shahi Tukda was distinctive.
The Awadhi Food Festival is on till the 19th of October at Feast, Sheraton Bangalore. #sheratonbangalore This food festival runs along with the restaurant’s standard buffet. Coupled with the exemplary hospitality offered by staff of Sheraton, this royal feast will pamper all your senses. Be warned that all your weight loss plans will go for a royal toss. There is nothing in it for the calorie conscious. However, if you are in a mood for celebration or indulgence, would like to feel like a Nawab, do visit for this gustatory experience fit for the kings.