Much to the delight of the foodies, the City is hosting food fests galore at various destinations. While Pakhala Festival is on at Empires, The Crown has brought the lip smacking Bengali cuisine on the platter to be followed by an Odia festival and the Chinese food festival at Swosti has spread scrumptious dishes to draw the gastronomes. City Express takes a tour of the hotels to smell the flavours.
Bengali bowls at The Crown
Hosting the festival till April 14, Hotel Crown is showcasing typical Bengali multi variety delectable delicacies.
And Bengali cuisine sans fish is unimaginable. It is something all Bengalis devour, so here one can start with Hariyali Fish Tikka and as the pangs of hunger rise, order Shorshe Maach, Mete Charachari, Chatu Sorisa Rai, Dhua Munga Dali with Ghee Bhato. Bandha Kobi with Machhar Matha is an added attraction. Now that one has titillated the taste buds enough, it’s time to wind up with something sweet and here too there are many choices like Payas, Mishti Doi and Rasgolla. As soon as the Bengali food fest gets over on March 14, Crown will be offering Odia dishes the next four days as a part of the Odia food fest.
Chinese special, Swosti
Be ready to lift your spirits with the colourful ambience and the tasty food as the ongoing Chinese food festival at Swosti brings the best of Chinese cuisine at Galeria. Available on the veg platter, that costs Rs. 250, are a number of dishes that include Burnt Ginger Garlic Fried Rice, Butter Garlic Noodles while the non-veg options that starts at `350 have Fish in Ginger Chilli Wine Sauce, Lat Mai Kai Chicken and Drums of Heaven, Hong Kong Style. Those with an insatiable appetite for chicken can gorge on Chicken Satey, Five Spice Chicken with Crispy Spinach and Crispy Chilli Chicken. One can relish sea food items like Singapori Chilli Crab and Pomfret Butter Chilli with Oyester Sauce. The icing on the cake are sweet dishes like Apple Toffee and Date PanCake. The festival will end on April 13.
Pakhala at Empires
An Odia can always vouch for the deliciousness of the good old Pakhala (rice soaked in water, a little fermented), particularly during summers. If you are one of those who loves it or maybe one who has not tasted it with the right combination, it is time to visit Bandhej restaurant at Hotel Empires in the city.
The chef along with the team has taken extra effort to dish out the delicacies to the visitors at a nominal price. The food fest showcases an elaborate range of vegetarian and non vegetarian food from the Odia kitchen that gels well with Pakhala. The taste and aroma of the vegetarian meal that has salad, saaga bhaja, mashed potatoes, badi bhaja, papad and pickles will linger on your tastebuds while an array of non-veg dishes like mashed fish fries or prawns will keep you asking for more.
And if that’s not tantalizing enough for you then you can treat yourself with sweet dishes after the main course.
The vegetarian dishes are available at Rs. 349 and the non-vegetarian dishes at Rs. 450. Our chefs have worked hard to bring the authenticity of flavours and to understand the minutest details for making the best thali that suits the Odia palate, said the F &B manager of the hotel.