I readily agreed to review
the Goan Food Fest along with a friend last week at the Hyatt, Bangalore for two
reasons; Vegetarian Goan food is a challenge, and I wanted an afternoon of suseg
– meaning relaxation in Portuguese.
The outdoor terrace seating
facing a water body, palm trees, a beach shack-like grill and catchy
Goan/Konkan music created the perfect setting on a cloudy/windy Bangalore day.
Chef Edrige Vaz from Park
Hyatt, Goa was at the helm of the Goan spread. There was a dinner buffet with a
variety of seafood and an a la carte menu for lunch. For us, a special three
course menu was served by the Chef.
For vegetarian starters,
there was home style crisp vegetable cutlet, a cheesy croquet and mushrooms in spicy
peri peri masala. The cutlet and croquet were decent – nothing Goan though. The
mushrooms however, were delightfully spicy and cooked right.
Moving on, for the main
course we were served two varieties of rice and curries. Regular white rice and
the boiled Goan rice. The yellow pumpkin curry was slightly sweet, with a
tempering of mustard seeds, curry leaves and onions in thin coconut milk gravy
garnished with a generous helping of fresh grated coconut – relished the wholesome
and delicate flavour along with Gaon rice. The mixed vegetables in red curry –
Tarkarachem Hoomand, had an over dose of masala and was rather pungent.
The dessert platter included
three types; Bebinca - the traditional layered pudding, Dodol – a halwa kind of
sweet made of rice flour, black jaggery and coconut milk that I enjoyed and a
payasam/kheer made of sago and channa daal. The kheer could have cooked a
little more and a scoop of vanilla ice cream with the bebinca would have completed
the dessert.
Summing it up, it was a decent experience for vegetarian costal cuisine,
although the menu was limited.
Verdict: 3.8/5
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