BENGALURU: It’s wonderful to have you all be part of this historical day,” said Takayuki Kitagawa, the Consul-General of Japan in Bengaluru at the second edition of the Japan Food Fest, which was held on Sunday at Shangri-La Hotel. The fest, organised by the Consulate-General of Japan, saw around 1,500 hungry Bengalureans turn up in their Sunday best to feast on Japanese delicacies at the 25 stalls that were serving up some authentic recipes and ingredients. From gyoza to sushi to ramen to matcha ice cream, Japanese restaurants at the city’s five-stars, restaurants and bakeries who had stalls at the fest, were buzzing with activity.
The reason Kitagawa said ‘historical’ was to highlight a special contest happening at the fest, which he said was their way of taking Bengaluru to the world. About two months back, the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Bangalore (JCCIB) decided to host a contest that would give the city its own special sushi roll. Like the famous California roll, found in Japanese restaurants world-over, the idea was to conceptualise rolls that are inspired by the city and the cuisine of Bengaluru. “Fifty six ideas for veg (Banga Roll) and non-veg (Gamba Roll) rolls were thought of by members of the JCCIB, which were then taken up by restaurants here to showcase at the fest. The first hundred visitors to the fest were handed vote cards, on which they could choose the roll of their choice,” said Kan Asaine, senior vice president, Finance Division, Toyato, who is also a member of JCCIB.
“There were 42 veg ideas and 46 non-veg ones in total. A total of nine restaurants participated, and each prepared 100 pieces of sushi for guests to sample and vote for. The most popular rolls won,” added Asaine.The ballot system would then reveal a winner in the two categories. These rolls, would then feature in restaurants here, and hopefully, become regulars at Japanese eateries across the world. For example, 1Q1 Kitchen and Bar on Queen’s Road, prepared a Gobi Manchurian roll to represent the city, which also had okra and coriander puree. Suzuki, owner of Sakae in Shanti Nagar, said they prepared a Fried Noodle Roll, which was topped with a south Indian curry powder.
Japanese restaurant Harima, which is supposed to be the oldest in the city (started 15 years ago), took home the prize in the Gamba roll category. Talking about their entry, Rithwik Chinappa, assistant manager at Harima, said their roll was all about the Indian flag colours. Their salmon, whipped cream and avacado roll was popular among visitors, despite the ingredients not directly related to Bengaluru. “Though salmon is not native to India, avacados can be found to be growing all over Karnataka,” said Chinappa.Newly-opened Sarasa Japanese Kitchen in Subash Nagar took home the prize for the best Banga Roll, which represented the Karnataka flag with beans and red and yellow paprika.
“There are 1,400 Japanese nationals living in Bengaluru currently, and 509 companies in total. We want to show the world how happy we’ve been living here. This is the second time we’re hosting this fest, and didn’t expect such a big crowd to show up (last year, around 600 people attended),” concluded Kitagawa.