When I am super excited about something,
especially when it is to write about an
experience, I will end up with a temporary writer’s block. This time it’s about
the ongoing Kerala Food Festival by visiting Chef Saji P Alex from Marriott
Kochi at Feast – Sheraton Grand Hotel. All I knew about him was that, this is
the same Chef who served a wonderful breakfast spread for MasterChef Australia
Judges – Chef Gary Mehigan, Matt Preston and Chef George Calombaris and Gary’s post on
Kallapam (Appam which contains toddy) and Meen Moilee became so popular all
over the internet. It was a proud moment
for Chef Anthony Huang’s team, who then was working with JW Marriott. Being a
Malayali girl, I was happy to meet Chef Saji who comes from my place – Kochi.
On the first day of the festival, a few
of us were invited for a sneak peek of this
festival and my experience in one word would be ‘delightful'.
Kerala is the land of cultural diversity.
We have a long history of heritage and spice trading. An array of exotic spices
like cardamom, pepper, star anise, nutmeg, cloves, etc are grown here and
traded from this small state. The food from different regions of Kerala has
always amazed me. Feast by Sheraton has done
a great job by showcasing different cuisines of Kerala and to name few, Malabar,
Backwaters, Syrian, Thattukada, and Plantation cuisines will be the main
attraction.
The first day we tried the incomparable Malabar
cuisine which has got Arabian, Persian and European influence. The northern part of Kerala is known as Malabar
area and the food prepared here is not that spicy as compared to the central
part of Kerala. We started with Chef’s special Ginger drink which was non-alcoholic
and refreshing. We got to try some of Malabar style Seer fish curry, Meen
Mulakittathu, Idiyappam (string hoppers) and Paratha (Porotta as we mallus call
it) from live counters, Beef varattiyathu,
Thakkali muringaka
curry (Tomato- Drumstick curry), Veg & Mutton Kurma, Nei choru (Ghee rice), Chicken Chukka, Kozhi
Biriyani (Chicken Biriyani) and loads and loads of condiments, pickles and
snacks. Surprisingly the usual suspects like Avial and Fish Molee were not there (Thank God!). We can have a
festival with only the pickles he made. It was so damn good. Most of the Keralites
say ‘Kurachu chorum, ithiri, acharum
, oru pappadavum mathi ooninu’ (just a small portion of rice with pickle and pappad is enough for lunch).
Happy me after a hearty meal :) |
The Chef’s choice of buffet spread was
sublime and flavors made me homesick. While talking to Chef Saji, I understood that
he believes only in serving authentic flavors and he kept it as homely as possible. I
truly enjoyed the meal I had at the Kerala Food Festival. Thanks to team
Sheraton for coming up with Kerala Food Festival, which is close to my heart. The
festival special spread is only available for dinner (6.30 – 11.30 PM) and
priced at ₹1700 + taxes. #Yougottatryit
Address:
Feast - Sheraton Grand
26/1, Dr.Rajkumar Road,
Brigade Gateway
Bengaluru
For more information, contact - 080 42520133
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For any queries or feedback, call +91-9886771173 or send a mail to afoodiestrail@gmail.com
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