BENGALURU: From traditional food to gourmet cuisine, food festivals and limited menus are excellent ways to explore the diverse gastronomic choices at restaurants in the city. They provide a great opportunity to sample a variety of new flavours while celebrating everything from regional cuisine to unique ingredients and food categories.
The Taste of Coorg at The Park, Bangalore celebrates the rich Kodava food with visiting guest chef Shimon Nanjappa. Coorg, also known as Kodagu, is renowned for its hearty micro cuisine strongly
inspired by local agriculture and traditional cooking techniques. The native cuisine uses products like jackfruit, bamboo shoots, wild honey, and Kachampuli vinegar along with locally-grown spices like black pepper and cardamom.
Chef Shimon’s home kitchen in Madikeri offers authentic local food based on sustainable food practices which she will recreate at this food festival together with the hotel’s executive chef Arvind Kumar. A few of the dishes available a-la-carte are the sigdi meen barthad (prawn), kummu nallamallu fry (mushroom), koli soup (chicken), koli kari (chicken), kori yerchi nallamallu fry (lamb), pandi curry (pork), kadambuttu (steamed rice dumpling), akki roti (rice flour flatbread) and tarkari palav, all accompanied with a variety of homemade pickles and chutneys. You can round off this soul-satisfying meal with bella paputtu and cardamom custard desserts. This is ongoing until February 5.
To commemorate Republic Day, Shangri-La Bengaluru along with plant-based protein brand Evolved, and conscious retail store and farm-to-table restaurant chain Go Native, have curated a locally-inspired vegetarian afternoon tea at the Lobby Lounge. This Rooted In Nature Hi-Chai brings to mind the long-gone chai nashta evening custom, in which families would gather each evening to enjoy tea, coffee, and savouries. Aloo patta sprout chaatlets, quinoa kerai vada with chutney, ghee roast plant meat samosa, and plant protein masala puffs are just a few of the delectable items on the menu.
Diners can also enjoy Mysore pak cheesecake, thinnai halwa tarts, and Coorg coffee mousse on choux paired with unlimited servings of masala chai, filter kaapi, sulaimani chai masala shikanji, or kokum cooler. This is ongoing through April.
On the other hand, foodies are in for a scrumptious pizza treat at Alba in JW Marriott Bengaluru. The La Pizzeria Limited Edition menu is served by the hotel’s chefs at the Italian fine dining establishment, and it truly embraces our love for this Italian delicacy. Giving a fresh twist, the pizzas will be topped with international flavours like the exotic
Lebanese lamb shish kebab pizza, Japanese Teriyaki pizza, the unique sambal prawn pizza, or even the Indian paneer tikka pizza. Naturally, each of these wood-fired delicacies is hand-tossed with a choice of
a modern New York-style base or a traditional Neapolitan base. This is ongoing until February 12.