Faasos Navratri Special Royal Meal Review | Saatvik Vegetarian Spiritual Feast | Food Review

On occasion of Navratri, Faasos has come up with royal meals with dishes specific to navratri fasting,ingredients such as sabudana, singhada etc. taking the centre stage after a year long binge feast of pizzas and pastas :D For this review session, I tried their Royal Sabudana Khichdi Meal PLUS Singhada Aloo Paratha Meal. As always, delivery was dot on time, packaging was beautiful and quantity of each meal perfect for 1 hungry person making it value for money.

The meals had everything one would crave for-

SABUDANA KHICHDI- Delicious wholesome healthy mix of Sabudana, peanuts, little bit of coconut too, loved it completely. But quantity could be more. It felt less.

SPICY PANEER-This was semi-dry paneer pieces coated in spicy masala, it was extremely delicious and soft and fragrant, but again quantity was too less :(

SINGHADA ALOO PARATHA - These were 5/5. Delicious, generous portion, aloo was uniformly stuffed, could have had these alone, perfect for navratri or after keeping a vrat.

PANEER MAKHANWALA - Disappointing part of the meal for me. True to its name, it was paneer in makhani gravy but it had extreme amount of oil. It also had a predominantly tangy taste that I am not very fond of. The gravy is supposed to be rich (yes, even without using onions it is possible to make creamy rich gravy) but I basically found it tooooo oily and that was a turnoff. Paneer pieces and taste was decent.

HARE TAMATAR KI SABJI- Tangy gravy of green tomatoes, actually a bit too tangy, but went well with khichdi and dahi, brought a new tinge of flavor to otherwise bland-ish taste. Liked it :)

DAHI- Best thing about Faasos meals, their dahi is really good, not sour at all, appropriately thick and cooling. Need it to really detox. Its quantity was too much :P They could decrease its quantity a bit and increase paneer's quantity and then it would be perfect :D

SABUDANA KHEER- Simple end to a fasting meal, just the way we make it at home. Loved it. Nothing hi-fi, just wholesome homely goodness.

Overall a little tweaking in quantity in each meal (and reducing oil content plus tanginess in gravy) would make it perfect, taste wise it was  all very good and led to a happy burrp by this hungry hippo :D 

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 :) 

Food Journey From Kashmir To Kanyakumari | Tiara Meluha The Fern Powai Mumbai | Indian Food Festival Review

Take a trip to the bylanes and nooks and corners of India from Kashmir to Kanyakumari at Tiara at Meluha The Fern,Powai. This festival of top-notch pan-Indian delicacies from 16th-26th November for dinner buffet is a fantastic reason to head here with family :)

Eco-friendly and environmentally sensitive property this, Tiara is located on the ground floor, classy and classic architecture + earthy colors (with splashes of bright artworks) create THE perfect environment for any occasion be it corporate dining, family meal or even celebrating an engagement party. Right now, it is completely drenched in fabulous multi-coloured traditional Indian fabrics, artworks and motifs for the ongoing food festival.

Absolutely loved the different sections for large groups that also ensure plenty of privacy (and free space for kids to run around, why should adults have all the fun :D) Beautiful bar area and of course a huge buffet spread. Service is exemplary with every guest being looked after with impeccable warmth and genuine smiles, 5 stars for every staff member here, including the Executive Chef himself who loves taking feedback from guests on every aspect of food.

All the starters are must-try, right from the delicious multi-flavoured Blue Lassi from the Ghats of Benaras,

>> To buttery mouth-watering Parathas from Delhi’s Chandi Chowk (in three types – Aloo, Pyaaz & Lachcha),

>> To spicy Kachoris by famous Lal Balti in Lucknow and other lip smacking starters from Chef’s kitchen, like Mushrooms (south Indian style), Mumbai’s bhajiyas (softest and not at all dripping of oil, yet crunchy and tasty), Paneer wrap (with pudina and tomato chutneys) and softest Paneer Tikkas.

>> Also must try is the Tamil and Sri Lankan special Mulligattawny soup, which is made of lentils - thick, non spicy and flavourful – much like liquid Daal Puri

Coming to main course, we tried the following and found them all to be very much homely, hence memorable:

>>Dahi wada, Curd Rice, Chana Chaat and Kachumbar – all simple and healthy

>>Andhra Rice – Tamarind Rice with peanuts and curry leaves – very ‘made by nani maa’ feel

>>Daal (thick, the way we like it), Kashmiri Rajma (perfection), Chilli Masala (stuffed mirchi,ooh la la), Nadir Palak (crispy lotus stems with palak, exotic, must-have), Snake Gourd (something different), Papad ki sabji (yes, papad! It was scrumptious)

After tasting all of the above, there was barely any space left for anything more in our stomachs, but how can one avoid the dessert section!

>>Starting with their MUST-HAVE jelly ice creams in cones,

>>To Kesar boondi,

>>To Jumbo gulab jamuns with coconut shreds on top,

>>To Shrikhand tarts (another heavenly MUST try!)

>>To Thandai pastry (Thandai flavoured with baby gulab jamun on top,could have some more thandai flavour but this one was lip smacking too),

>>FINALLY we ended the night with Malpua and Ada Payasam (we were literally incapable of eating anything more otherwise we would have had another round of these two, they were fantastic)

Also, a special word of appreciation for bartender extraordinaire, Ripu, who took care of our alcoholic and non-alcoholic cravings with his special versions of Cranberry Margarita and White Sangria (with Brandy), both of which you will not find elsewhere!

A perfect journey through special Indian gastronomic delights, that is what Tiara offers us in Food Journey From Kashmir to Kanyakumari, and it is completely value for money for the huge spread + impeccable service + serene ambiance. Will keep Tiara securely in my list of places to revisit with family :)