Fire Monkey - Flaming Fatty, The Chinese New Year Celebrations At The Fatty Bao

Starting February 8, 2016, is a Year of the Fiery Monkey on the Chinese calendar. To celebrate this, The Fatty Bao, Bangalore, welcomes the Chinese New Year with a flaming special menu and some truly fiery cocktails. I was invited for a preview of ‘Fire Monkey- Flaming Fatty’ their special Chinese New Year Festival from February 8-14, 2016 exclusively for lunch and dinner.

Started the meal with Dragon Sushi which is believed to be symbols of power, dignity, fertility, wisdom and auspiciousness, dragons are used in dance to bring luck too. The vegetarian version had Avocado, cucumber, pickled carrot and spicy mayo and non vegetarian version had Spicy salmon, avocado, tobiko, crab meat, spicy sauce and tenkasu. I am not a sushi fan but this was the best sushi I ever had and asked for another helping of the same. These were my favorite from the menu.

Next on the table were Jiaozi which are dumplings. binged on some chicken and asparagus jiaozi while the vegetarians were taken care with broccoli and almond jiaozi. As I don't eat pork, others on the table enjoyed Baozi, smoked BBQ Pork, which were very cute looking piggy faces and made it straight to everyone's tummy.

Next were golden fried crispy Spring Rolls served with a homemade dipping sauce. While I ate the veg version which had wild mushroom, vermicelli, spinach and tofu, others enjoyed spicy minced lamb, black bean and mint spring roll. The rolls were crispy and crunchy, cooked to perfection.

Cantonese Sweet and Sour Chicken was next which we had with steamed rice. Crispy fried chicken with pineapple and vegetables made the dish a little sweet.

Ramen Noodles was served in a fat round pot, the uncut Ramen noodle in an aromatic duck broth with fresh coriander, soft boiled egg, crispy garlic and poached duck meat was delish as I enjoy duck meat.

Lastly, Steamed Red Snapper, a whole fish steamed with Chinese black vinegar and chilli sauce and served with stir fried vegetables. I savored every bite with steamed rice. As this signifies increase in prosperity, one can enjoy this with full family.

No meal is complete without dessert and similarly no Traditional Chinese New Year is complete without the ‘Moon Cake’, they had their version of moon cake which is served with strawberry compote and black sesame ice cream.

We couldn't leave without having Fatty Hill which is from the regular menu, yes I had my own guilty pleasures.

Few refreshing mocktails which is not part of the festival menu.

Some refreshments after I end my meal.

So head to The Fatty Bao (3rd Floor # 610, 12th Main Road, HAL 2nd Stage, Indiranagar, Bangalore- 560 038), wish them Nian Hao between 8th Feb and 14th Feb for lunch and dinner and relish this festive menu before they take them off.

Shang palace, Chinese experience at Shangri-La Bengaluru

Shang Palace is Shangri-La's signature Chinese restaurant perched on level 3, offering authentic Chinese cuisine presented by a brigade of Chinese expatriate chefs. It has indoor and outdoor seating. For a more intimate dining experience, guests may dine in either of the two traditional private dining rooms, Bengaluru’s first of its kind, catering to 12 and 8 guests. I had a walk through the restaurant during the launch of the property but I was recently invited to enjoy a Shangri-La experience at Shang palace along with other few bloggers.

At level 3, as you enter Shang Palace, you will have to walk a long ramp to head to the dining area. Chef Lin Lin Yang and his team greeted us to a private dining area where we experienced some of the best dishes along with conversations. Started the evening with some refreshing Chinese tea while everyone warmed up for a gastronomical experience. I love authentic chinese food so I waited with waited breath for every dish to be unveiled.

We started the meal with some appetizers, Crispy lotus stems (lotus stems tossed with chilli and hoisin sauce), Chinese cucumber salad (cucumber with yellow bean sauce, banana chilli and coriander), Chongqing chilli chicken (Wok fried chicken with dry red chilli and schezwan pepper corns) and Roasted crispy pork belly. I did not try the pork belly. But I loved the cucumber salad which had a tangy twist to it, at times I am fond of veggies too ;) I'm not a fan of lotus stems but hoisin sauce twist to this dish made the difference and I liked it. Chilli chicken was very spicy, clearing my throat and the taste of chilli was left on my throat for a long time.

After some yummilicious appetizers, it was time for some dim sums. Pan fried mushroom bun (Fungus, shiitake and spring onions in a pan fried bun) and Prawn hargau (Traditional cantonese prawn dim sum) was served. I have always loved prawn hargau and this tasted good too. Though I am not not fond of mushroom, but pan fried buns have been my favorite but in lamb. Mushroom bun with the sauces available was delish. I am waiting to try Barbecued chicken puff when I visit next.

How can I miss having Crabmeat soup when its on the menu? With asparagus and egg drops I enjoyed every spoon of it. It is a must try here.

I sipped on a refreshing mocktail while I ate some finger-licking food.

For main course, Mapo tofu (Tofu tossed with bamboo shoots and shiitake mushrooms in chilli bean sauce) and Stir fried chinese greens (Seasonal green tossed with garlic) was served with Yangzhou fried rice with egg. I am not fond of both the dishes but gave tofu a try as it was praised for tofu being very soft.

For non-veg, Hunan style steamed fish (fish with pickled chillies and fragrant soy sauce) was served with Yangzhou fried rice. This tasted exceptionally well. Also, Gongbao prawns (prawns fried with dry chillies and peanuts) with the fried rice was relished. I could also eat the prawns by itself.

Roasted Beijing duck (duck meat carved and served with scallion, cucumber, sweet bean sauce and pancakes). They made rolls by adding all ingredients and served. This dish was a little sweet compared to all other dishes and this completed my entire meal, of course dessert was pending ;)

Almond milk jelly (almond milk jelly served with papaya) with Cinnamon ice-cream was the dessert for the night. Papaya over powered the milk jelly which anyway did not have much taste but cinnamon ice-cream was very good. I'm not very fond of asian desserts much too.

Overall the experience was brilliant where almost all dishes were loved which is a rare thing I face. When I had a look at the menu, there were many other dishes which I could like to try in my other visits. I couldn't help but admire all the chandeliers in the hotel. Yes I am visiting the place again for the brilliant service along with exceptionally tasting food. The prices of the dishes are also reasonable making it a must visit place. You can also enjoy this experience while having a hearty lunch (from noon to 3PM) or a healthy private dinner (from 6:30PM to 10:30PM).

The Italian festival at Bene, Sheraton Bangalore

And I was at Bene again, this time for the Italian festival. My earlier visits have always been great and I was glad to exclusively review the festival. For those who haven't read my earlier blog post, you should read it. The Italian menu is crafted by Chef Mori La Greca from Sheraton Milan.

Chef Moris started his career in Milano in 2001. He progressed from most fashionable clubs in Milan to a well-renowned restaurant La petit plage in Juan les Pins, France. He is now heading at ll Canneto as master chef at the Iconic Sheraton Milan. He has come to Bangalore to share his delicious dishes with the people of Bangalore.

After a conversation with Chef Moris and Chef Marty, executive chef at Sheraton Bangalore, we learnt a lot about the festival. Chef Moris isn't very well off with English but the way he communicated was impressive. he made sure he asked for our preferences and made all our food from the scratch. As the menu was very vast, it was very difficult for me to choose my meal for the evening. I left it to Chef Moris's choice and trusted him completely with my meal.

The pictures of the meal are of baby portion. So do not judge the portion by this blogpost. The variety of choices on the menu is something to watch out for. The non veg section has variety of meat and sea food too. One must try it for a meaty delight. Well, the veggies also have a great option. Pretty happy to see such a menu catering to veggies and non veggies very well. Well, if you are a vegan then inform the chef and he will cook something specially for you.

To begin with, a cranberry iced tea was refreshing after a hectic and hot day. After this I enjoyed a watermelon mocktail during my meal.

Antipasti (Appetizers)

Started my meal with Capesante scottate passito papkrika, crema di lentichhie which was Pan seared scallops with paprika and brown lentil sauce. It looked like an art on the plate. With minimal ingredients, the taste of scallops was enhanced. Did you notice the small flowers used for plating? Chef Marty who loves gardening, enjoys plating with flowers and veggies grown in Sheraton garden. So Chef Moris took his advice on the same.

Insalatina di astice, verdurine di stagione con coulisi di pomodoro piccante which was a lobster salad with seasonal vegetables with spicy tomato coulis was served. Yay I was happy to see lobster on my plate. The plating was done beautifully. Chef Marty informed us that the veggies were chemical free as they were procured from First Agro farms, taking me back to time during my visit to the First Agro farms.

Soup

Minestra di Zucchine was served which was a Green zucchini soup with mascarpone. I wish it was non veg but nevertheless. It was creamy and very filling. I am sure a regular portion can fill a normal person.

Pizza

A simple Pizza Margherita with served which had mozzarella, tomatoes and fresh herbs. It was a clean sweep on the table. It is quite light to eat and a simple pizza. I enjoyed every bite.

A veg calzone was also served. I don't remember the Italian name, unfortunately. It was served hot and filled with goodness of veggies.

Primi Piatti (Pasta Dish)

Cannelloni di anatra, ricotta funghi e crocante di parmigianno. This is a Cannelloni of duck with ricotta cheese, mushrooms and crispy parmesan. I'm fond of trying different meat so I was excited for this. It was cooked perfectly and the meat tasted good. a filling dish, I'm going back for this again.

I Risotti (Rice Dish)

Risotto ai Funghi porcini, this is a risotto with chicken, fresh herbs and truffle oil. I have a taste for risotto so I enjoyed every spoon. The rice was cooked well and the taste of chicken with herbs added to the flavor.

I Dolci (Sweets & desserts)

Mousse di ricotta, cioccolato, limone candito, cialda croccante e crema di pistacchi which is ricotta mousse, chocolate, candied lemon, crispy wafer and pistachio cream. I would like to have this a little more to write about it.

Tiramisu espuma is the Chef Moris style of Tiramisu served at Bene. Chef had all praises for the Tiramisu served at Bene so he gave us the pleasure to try the famous Bene Tiramisu and also his version. I was in love with Chef's Moris's version which is a foamed Tiramisu making a light dessert, I could have another serving of this for sure.

Bene Special tiramisu

Tartino di cioccola, crema inglese vanilla e gelato alla canella was served last which is a chocolate fondant with vanilla sauce and homemade vanilla cinnamon ice cream. A mix of hot and cold on the plate, is always a delight like Jalebi and ice cream? The ice cream compliments the fondant and it is a filling dessert. Chef Moris was very particular about the cream used for plating too.

The Sommelier, Viraj is expected to pair each dish with a wine. The management is expected to launch a four - five course meal, with and without wine soon.

If you are confused with the meal then leave the choices with Chef Moris and tell him your preferences and let him do the magic.

The Italian festival starts on 21st March and ends on 29th March. Make sure you enjoy the taste of Italy in Bangalore during this time. Chef Moris will be glad to serve you.