Magic of Malaysia Food Festival | Pondicherry Cafe Sofitel BKC Mumbai | Malaysian Cuisine Feast | Food Photography

Multiple visits to Pondicherry Cafe over past year have confirmed that these guys are absolutely fantastic and easily my favorite buffet destination in Mumbai. This time, it is to review their Magic of Malaysia i.e. Malaysian Food Festival. Kudos to them for such exotic food festivals that help us acquaint with unique global specialty cuisines. Chefs Hamedy & Syamsyul have brought authentic Malaysian dishes and the experience of feasting on them is made better by the traditional dance performances by Malaysian dance troupe. Check out this food festival till 4th March 2018. 

Walk in on the ground floor of the luxurious Sofitel at BKC, enter the plush Pondicherry Cafe through 'Petronas Towers' and take a moment to soak in the ambiance. Brightly lit environs, rich colors all around, beautiful view from the french windows, an array of food counters, including a special Malaysian set-up to welcome us all. Mostly look forward to fresh seafood and enchanting flavors of coconut, tamarind, chilli, soy sauce etc. 

Non-vegetarians seem to have more options than vegetarians so a little bit more variety of dishes would be appreciated. But actually this is expected because Malaysian cuisine does not have a naturally large swathe of veg dishes. Here they have at least brought 4-5 veg dishes for us which gives a decent look at their food preparation techniques. 

I really liked everything I tried since the flavors are not overpowering the core ingredients and seem simple but linger long on the taste-buds. They are also changing the menu a little bit everyday to include as diverse roster of Malaysian dishes as possible. 

Starting off, VEGETABLE CLEAR SOUP was just perfect with its warmth and wholesomeness of corn, cauliflower and broccoli in a mildly tangy broth. 

ACAR JELATAH was my personal favorite- Veg Salad with crunchiness of onions + carrots co-existing with tangy pickled cucumbers + pineapple slivers. Tasty yet healthy :) 

KOBIS MASAK LEMAK - Cabbage in Coconut and Chilli, this was a mild curry that went really well with steamed rice, think of it as a very well behaved cousin of the strongest Thai Curry you ever tasted :D 

KWAY TEOW GORENG - Malaysian Fried Noodles, absolutely lovely, Flat Noodles stir fried with Veggies and Soya Sauce, I added a little bit of sweet chilli + vinegar and it was exploding with flavors. Had 2 rounds of these. 

BUBUR PULUT HITAM -Black Gluten Rice dessert made with palm sugar and coconut milk, sticky rice is a distinct flavor and when sweetened, it becomes an acquired taste. I liked it though :) 

BUBUR KACANG MERAH- Red Beans Porridge made with coconut milk and palm sugar (this one reminded me of Gud ki Kheer made by nani), another authentic Malaysian dessert that I was happy to taste. 

ROJAK BUAH BUAHAN - Fruit Salad, this one was surprising. We are used to having fruits slathered with milkmaid or honey as dessert. Here we had assorted fruits getting a spicy + mildly tangy kick with sweet soy dressing! Never had anything like this before, glad to have tried this very unique flavor. 

Non veggies had a lot more to feast on. Apart from all this, for those who want to stick to tried & tested/conventional fare, in Indian, Continental sections, this buffet has plenty of options for them. 

From among the vast choices, I would recommend- 

PANEER LABABDAR (spicy accompaniment to normal naan/kulcha/tandoori roti), 

Smokey TULSI PANEER TIKKA, 

Marvelous HONEY GLAZED CARROTS, 

Filling VEG CHEESY TARTS, 

Delicious SPINACH CORN CURRY, 

Fresh SPINACH STRAWBERRY & ASPARAGUS SALAD, 

Refreshing FRUIT SHOOTER (Mango & Pineapple)

They also have SUSHI, DIMSUM, HUMMUS but honestly this time I did not find them any great. Veg Sushi was extremely dry, they ran out of Dimsums very soon and the solitary piece I had was not good (very thick exterior). I stuck to Indian dishes and my mom also agrees that they have very tempting and delicious Indian food spread, it has consistently been flawless. 

AND the whole dessert section deserves repeat visits, hands down one of the best dessert spreads in the city, especially recommended are - 

Rasgulla 

Chenna Toast 

Kesar Barfi 

Apple Crumble Pastry 

Chocolate Brownie 

Caramel Delight Mousse 

Not to forget UNLIMITED LONDON DAIRY ICE-CREAMS! Especially love Praline & Cream and Mango Sorbet. 

Quite value for money looking at the quality of the buffet, the excellent service from beginning to end, very polite staff and our delicious experience here. Malaysian Food Festival gives a glimpse into an exotic cuisine and the exquisite Pondichery Cafe buffet provides enough choices to rejoice for everyone :)