Night Market at The Fatty Bao

2016 is coming to end and with this festival season, The Fatty Bao brings to you Night Market, the year-end, big, bang festival inspired by the diverse street food grills and night market delicacies from across East Asia. While I have been planning to visit different countries of Asia for my travel, it just did not materialise so this food festival gave me an option to enjoy the region's food in Bengaluru.

The place is lit up with fairy lights and acoustic music played throughout while one enjoy hot sizzling grills to magical drinks. Chef Prashant and his team will leave you spell-bound with some amazing flavours from the streets of Asia. A meal with delicious Asian street food and the coolest cocktails, you will experience the diverse styles, flavours and food traditions of the region. 

While I sipped on mocktails from their regular menu sushi's had arrived. Veggies can enjoy Vegetarian Temari Sushi, a thread ball shaped sushi with seasonal vegetables while tuna lovers like me can enjoy Tuna Oshizushi, pressed Sushi with soy caviar. I had started enjoying Sushi from The Fatty bao so this place will always remain close to my heart and tummy.

From the grills, quick bites were served, started with Grilled Quail Eggs with sambal oelek which I enjoyed from the skewer, next was Fire Cracker Chicken Wings stuffed with basil jasmine rice which had a burst of flavors in my mouth. Fried Stinky Tofu with scallion & chilli sauce did not stand out much for me as I am not fond of tofu. Lastly, Chicken Gochi, fried chicken topped with chilli garlic sauce and cheese was a decent quick bite.

They also had Mu Ping- Thai grilled marinated pork tenderloin served with papaya salad and Hashimaki which is a Japanese omelette on chopstick with shredded cabbage and bacon which I did not try as it had pork.

From the Fatty Platters, I tried the seafood platter - Kushikatsu Seafood Platter which had a selection of bite-sized pieces of fish, prawn, squid and oysters, deep-fried and served with a sweet-chilli sauce. This did not suit my taste buds as I do not like deep-fried dishes. There is a Kushikatsu Veg Platter for veggies too which has Lotus stem, eggplant, mushrooms and potatoes.

My favorite from the menu was Mindanao Beef Skewer, char grilled filipino-style marinated beef cubes had the perfect blend of flavors which complimented the meat giving a satisfactory meal. Those who do not beef can try Malay spicy coconut lamb served in a skewer with coriander and peanut sauce. 

No meal is complete without desserts, so for Banana lovers like me, Tokyo Banana is a treat, an airy sponge cake filled with Banana Custard and served with caramelized banana ice cream. Another dessert which is on offer is the Filipino Lokot Lokot, Crispy rice net filled with  jaggery custard served with a lemon ice cream.

Special thanks to the Team of The Fatty Bao to celebrate my win for Best Lifestyle Blog 2016 at Indian Food Bloggers Awards 2016 :)

Some green tea to end the meal

You can enjoy the street food from the East till 1st January 2017, so this festival season if you are not holidaying anywhere and staying in the city like me, head to The Fatty Bao for a night market experience with a meal having flavors of Asia.

Dinner at the rooftop restaurant - By The Blue, Grand Mercure Mysuru

After a royal experience at Hotel Grand Mercure Mysuru and resting in my room, the dinner was ready at the rooftop specialty restaurant - By The Blue which overlooks the pool and the skyline of Mysuru. Now that SILK bar has got liquor license, the dinner was paired with some amazing cocktails.

The table was set with a menu designed for the bloggers table and Executive Chef Mukul Jha took us through the entire menu. By the Blue serves food from the North West frontier. Menu had 'Dal Bhukara' which got me excited and made me interact with the chef as only those extraordinary chefs who have had a stint at the ITC Properties have put Dal Bukhara - the longest cooked lentil in the world on everyone's taste buds. It's a combination of whole black lentils, ginger, tomatoes, cooked over slow coal.

As I do not consume alcohol, I did not try the cocktails and their pairing with the meal cannot be judged by me, I just had a Nitrotini Virgin which was none other than coconut water with lime juice with my meal.

The meal started with Surkh Taal Shorba, fresh tomato broth flavoured with smoked caraway seed, garnished with fresh coriander leaves served with mini Naan. For a cool and breezy evening, this shorba gave the must desired warmth and spice.

Then the appetisers were served, first came Sarsowali Broccoli which had fresh broccoli florets marinated with yoghurt, yellow chili paste Mustard oil and cooked in clay oven. Another dish which impressed me as I could taste a burst of flavors with every bite.

Next was Kalonji Wala Mahi Tikki, fish cubes marinated with green chilies, mint, and coriander, smoked mustard oil and cooked in clay oven. Each dish was better than the previous one making me eager for the next one.

Then came Galouti Kebab, a melt in the mouth specialty of double mince mutton cooked with Indian spices, served a top warqi parathas and lehsuni dahi. Good galouti has always been my weakness and this was one good experience for my taste buds.

Mugewala Kukkad got me curious as the chicken were marinated with Indian spices, coated with egg yolk and cream cooked to done in clay oven. This was the highlight of the appetisers and I have never tried as innovative as this chicken dish ever.

Then the main course were served. Veggies enjoyed Paneer-e-Lukhme Rattan, combination of spinach fresh fenugreek and cottage Cheese flavored with Indian spices. This was a unique combo and tasted well but I was saving for the non-veg dishes.

Kundan Kaliya, diced mutton steeped overnight in whole spices, ginger garlic paste, pot, roasted and perfumed with cardamom was relished with naan's while Kashmiri Narangi Macchi Curry which had fresh Orange juice scented Kashmiri style fish curry was enjoyed with rice. Both the dishes had burst of flavors and were really rich. I also tasted some lip smacking veg dishes.

Not a biryani fan, but Pardha Nasheen Dum Gosht Biryani did linger the taste buds as this slow cooked Lamb pilaf preparation which is scented with whole spices was cooked to perfection.

And finally, my tummy had space for Dal Bukhara, slow cooked black Lentil preparation infused with fresh aloo bukhara finished with butter and cream. I could eat this all by itself and all day.

For desserts, yes I did have some space for desserts despite eating the most delicious and rich meal, Kesari Phirnee and Pan Ki Kulfi with Magahi pan shots was served.

The experience at By The Blue was so perfect that I can always head back to Mysuru just for a dinner at this restaurant. Food was delish, flavors blended well giving me a gastronomical experience. A must visit to those in Mysuru and also those passing-by Mysuru to stop by and enjoy the food and the ambience while you overlook the pool and skyline of Mysuru and also enjoy candle-lit dinner :)

Staycation at Hotel Grand Mercure, Mysuru

Grand Mercure is one of the premium 5 star hotels that is part of the AccorHotels chain within India. It has been amazingly accepted by tourists & business travellers across India & foreign countries. Accor Group of hotels which is a France based company has been around for nearly 20 yrs in the business and have nearly 39 hotels across the world.

What better place to choose for my staycation than the historic place of Mysuru which has a rich history and tradition of its own, and Hotel Grand Mercure promising to give me an experience rather than just a stay :) I decided to getaway a weekend to experience the stay, dinner at By The Blue and the Sunday Brunch at La Uppu at Grand Mercure. A bunch of bloggers were invited and we headed to Mysuru from Bengaluru and had our favorite pit stops at Maddur for some maddur vada and coffee and reached the property by evening.

Hotel Grand Mercure believes in "Bringing stories to life" and this reflects in their decor, it's not just royal but also reflects the culture and history of the location, not to forget promoting the artisans and their work. After a Royal welcome at the property, the General manager, Sachin Malhotra took us around the property showing us the latest addition and also gave us a sense of 'local connection of Mysuru and Karnataka’s culture' which the Hotel showcases. One can also see Gandaberunda - "two headed eagle" which is a royal emblem of Princely state of Mysuru. The reception has patterns of silk saree. After looking through the property depicting the rich culture and history - Travel desk, Ball room, 24/7 coffee shop and multi-cuisine restaurant - La Uppu, Pool side restaurant - By The Blue, Gym, Spa, Pool and the rooms, I rested in my room :)

Grand Mercure Mysuru has 146 spacious contemporary rooms and suites and is located convenient to all major tourist attractions. My room had a lovely edible "welcome note" with some sweet and my midnight cravings were also taken care. And yes, a lovely goodies bag made me happier.

Some of my friends shared their experience while I was staying at the property that they loved the stay and their clients were also staying with them which gave them a good experience. Now that made me happy that not just a blogger but other customers also feel the same experience which I felt during my stay.

Separate post on Sunday brunch at La Uppu and dinner at By The Blue will be posted. Special thanks to Khusbhu Nair and Sachin Malhotra for taking good care and yes, Rohan Srinivasan, Derek and Anuradha for this experience and tolerating with the mad bunch of bloggers :)