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.

New additions to the lavish menu of HUNAN

Hunan, this Chinese restaurant has some memories with me. I was one of their first guest when they had opened their restaurant, also I did bring in my birthday at this restaurant with their 5-course anniversary meal.

This visit was special as I was part of the preview of the new items on their menu. Hold your breathe, 70 new dishes are included to their menu which are not just healthy but most of these dishes are gluten-free, crafted by Chef Pema Takchung Lepchaand and the owner Jagdish M Menda. We tasted some of these dishes and most were loved by everyone.

Though I missed my favourite soups to start my meal with, I refreshed myself with lemongrass iced-tea which was so different from the usual lemon iced-tea, followed by a Cucumber cooler. Also, we sipped on Jasmine tea.

2 salad's were served - Asian flavor Chicken salad & Thai seafood and rice vermicelli salad. Both were very good and choosing one would be difficult. Asian flavor Chicken salad had fresh ingredients like carrot, red cabbage, shredded chicken, spring onion tossed with peanut butter and vinaigrette dressing while Thai seafood and rice vermicelli salad had rice vermicelli with prawn, fish, squid in delicious lime and sweet chilli dressing.

Next were steamed dishes - Hong Kong styled steamed Seer Fish and Asian Style Stuffed Tofu with Chicken. Steamed Seer Fish was served with vegetables and ginger - coriander broth. I have not been a tofu fan but this dish took me by surprise, tofu was very soft and with a dash of chicken, it was a perfect side dish, cant stop at one.

Next came the starters, Chicken Hot Basil which had finely chopped chicken with bird's eye chilli, basil, garlic, served in a lettuce cup. I am a lettuce fan and despite having bird's eye chilli, it wasn't very spicy but nice blend of flavors.

Salt and pepper silken Tofu & Fried Corn Curd Chili Pepper looked the same but as I loved the tofu in the steamed dish, I preferred the fried corn curd chili pepper.

Fried Chili Prawns with Tamarind Sauce was next served which had fresh red chili, garlic, fish sauce and coriander. Sugarcane skewered Chicken were also done well but it wasn't a dish I tasted for the first time. Shredded Pork Beijing Style wasn't tasted but most of the people who had this did not find this an unusual dish.

For Main course, Raw Mango chili fish which had stir-fried fish with green mango sauce, I enjoyed these with steamed rice ut it was tasty enough that I forgot to click it. Assorted vegetables in chili oyster sauce is one veg dish I enjoyed which had white and black wood ear, bamboo shoot, asparagus, carrot, baby corn, black mushroom in chili oyster sauce.

Next was Lo Han Jai, again a veg dish which had tofu, chines cabbage, vermicelli noodles, mushroom, bamboo shoot, leek sauteed in a shaoxing wine sauce.

You also have 'Meal by itself' option too for single diners or for those who do not want to binge more. Chicken Peking Noodles was enjoyed and the second option was Chicken stew with black wood ear, a classic cantonese style stir-fry chicken with wood ear mushroom served with sticky rice. I loved both and may try the other meal by itself options when I dine again.

Desserts are a must try at Hunan, because Jagdish's mother makes them with all the love. 2 desserts were served, Red-velvet cake which is a must try at Hunan, any one who is not fan of red velvet cake should try it here for them to love it, I am one of the example for it. Second one was Tres Leches, a sponge cake soaked with three types of milk- evaporated milk, condensed milk and heavy cream. Both the desserts take you to a trip of heaven. I can never say no to desserts at this place.

While parting, some chocolates were served which we enjoyed like a kid. You can enjoy the new menu at Hunan which has won 'Times Food Awards' for Best Chinese Restaurant. I am waiting to go back and try some of their other dishes especially when winter is nearing :)

Address: Hunan
#123, 1st Floor, KHB Colony
Opp Black Pearl restaurant
Koramangala 5th Block, Bangalore
For reservations, contact 080-25520154

All day dining at b Cafe, Shangri-La, Bengaluru

Shangri-La doesn't need any introduction but if you are not aware then they have opened their second property in India and the lucky city is our Namma Bangaluru. One of the finest hotels present in India, I was delighted to be part of their soft launch and the launch party. This time, I went for a review at their all day dining restaurant, b Cafe.

Located in the heart of the city, Palace road, Shangri-La Hotel, Bengaluru offer diners an array of authentic cuisines in some of the most spectacular settings in town. B-café is an all day dining restaurant at the lobby level featuring individual ‘open-theatre’ cooking stations and à la carte menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner in a lively, fun atmosphere. People can enjoy fresh, inventive dishes prepared à la minute by a team of international chefs from Italy, Japan, China and India, so basically you dine with the chef's :)

The staff is ever smiling, making your stay at the hotel or dine at the restaurant very pleasurable. The variety of food offered at b cafe is amazing, something which I haven't seen much in Bangalore. Chef Antonio Tardi, Executive chef says you can name any dish and you will be served. Chef Tardi along with Chef Rounak was all set to present us with their selection of lip-smacking food. While we waited for the food to arrive, we were munching on Mezze platter, where hummus, labneh, mohummara, taboulleh was served with assorted pita bread

I refreshed myself with 2 mocktails during my entire dining experience.

First came ‘Yonaha’s Sushi creations’ and the presentation with spectacular - Prawn Tempura sushi, cucumber and cream cheese sushi, carrot nigiri and Asparagus maki roll were neatly placed in a small bamboo casket, served with soy sauce, pickled ginger and wasabi. All were cooked well and it had the right moisture.

Next was ‘Winter greens chef creation’. It had a baby beet, orange segments, goat cheese and arugula salad tossed fresh with olive oil dressing and shaved parmesan. As Chef Rounak mentioned, arugula tossed well and mixed with right ingredients can be enjoyed as a meal. yes, the baby beet and orange with parmesan did not make the leaves taste bitter, in fact it enhanced the taste of the salad.

Next came 'Dim sums', chicken and pumpkin in non veg, shitake mushrooms in veg, both were served with soy chilli and dragon chilli sauce. Nothing fancy but aren't these supposed to be enjoyed when stuck to simple creation?

I skipped the Orange and Campari Sorbet as it had liquor but for those who had, they enjoyed it while it cleansed their palate.

Well cooked lamb is always my weakness so when Roasted Slow cooked lamb leg, stuffed with spinach and cheese came, I had my expectations built up, especially after having such good food already. The lamb was marinated with house spice mix of herbs served with baby vegetables and rosemary jus. The meat was tender, the spices were just right which gave me my star dish of the night. I could another helping of it, if I did not have to eat anything else. Chef Rounak, job well done.

I did try a taste of Baked homemade potato gnocchi, with cherry tomato and buffalo mozzarella. It was good but I was happy my lamb :) In between, I also had a tasting of pani puri which was served at the chaats counter, how could I miss it?

The last dish which came was Zaffrani murgh dum biryani which was served with mirchi salan and raita, homemade garlic pickle, cabbage pickle, lotus stem pickle and mango pickle. First about the pickle, I liked the collection, lotus stem pickle was my favorite followed by garlic pickle. The biryani was cooked well, the rice was moist, the chicken had the spices on it, none of the spices over powered the other, the spices were evenly spread across the entire biryani and lastly the aroma was tempting enough to clean the bowl of this delish main course. I can return to b Cafe for this biryani.

How can you finish a meal without a dessert? So Dark Chocolate fondant served with Blue cheese and pear ice cream. Delicious and extremely filling dessert which looked tempting enough too. Right balance of taste and looks, must-must try it.

The variety to offer is more and by the look of it, I couldn't think I would ever cover the entire spread. For the kid in me, I did have cotton candy before I left with a smile on my face and tummy being full. This was my second visit to b Cafe, but first time I actually tried the spread which is offered. My fist visit was a brief visit and I had chosen a la carte.

The various live counters at b Cafe can be seen below.

If you are looking for a restaurant to satisfy your taste buds for cuisines like chinese, asian, indian, japanese, salads, chaats, desserts, etc then b Cafe is your destination. They are aptly priced throught the 7 days of the week but the spread increases on a Sunday so I'm waiting to head to b Cafe on a Sunday to try their other offerings. By now if you are hungry, then head to b cafe :)