Malaysian Foodfest @ The Market, Ritz Carlton - Bangalore

A Recipe has no soul. You as the cook must bring soul to the Recipe - Thomas Keller Last evening I was invited by fellow food blogger, Mudra Keswani @ TheSuperChatori, to a special blogger table for the preview of the Malaysian Food fest at The Market, Ritz Carlton. Now, one would wonder why would someone simply name the restaurant this way? The whole theme is surrounded to invoke the spirit and to breathe in & savour the gastronomic delights of a Pan Asian Cuisine that a mortal palette simply cannot justify. Walk through the live kitchens dishing up exquisite culinary aphrodisiacs which is a feast for the eyes and the belly.

There is a lot of detailing that one can observe as you pass by the different areas that display the food. Right from the crockery that is employed for the dishes on the buffet platter to the overall layout of the spread has a lot of thought into it.

What’s more noteworthy in the interiors is the elegant display of the simple ingredients used in the dishes of the cuisines offered across every live kitchen. The "hero" of every dish has its own limelight to shine on and entice you with the presentation, that surely wont let you take your eyes off it

If the pre-cooked dishes does not excite your hungry tummy, don't worry you have the chef at your beck and call to get you something off the menu as well.

I had the honor and pleasure to meet India's only Michelin Star & Ritz Carlton's Executive Chef Anupam Banerjee and guest chef for the event, Raymond Seik from Shenzhen, Malaysia.

Yes, I'm an avid Baker myself and anyone could be allured by the sight of these baked beauties but I held myself back to relish the Malaysian cuisine.

Since this was my first visit to the Ritz, Mudra was kind enough to take me for a floor walk and you would notice that, every restaurant at the Ritz has its very own wine cellar to suit the cuisine it serves .

Now lets talk about....THE FOOD, since the table is all set!!

The 5 course meal menu ..

The Lemongrass marinated Chicken Satay with the peanut sauce , was like a match made in heaven marrying all the delicate spices. Yet the flavours were so intricate that one could savour them all in the very first bite. I am definitely going to hunt for the lemongrass skewers now. Bamboo skewers ... step aside please.

The white wine served had refreshing citrus and floral hints that heightened the overall meal's experience.

The Gada Gada was the show stopper for me... leaning through a candle lit food eclipse as it blossomed into the harvest concoction of vegetables, salad sauce and oh wait.... I'm just going to let you drift into a the Malay trance now. Ssssh

For the main course....yep its a Papad that you see camouflaging the tender roast lamb rack behind it. Malaysian cuisine is an eccentric medley of Chinese, Indian and Malay - the building blocks of its present population.

The tomato rice was nothing like the tomato baath that a contemporary Indian can relate to. One must taste it to feel the flutter of the flavours on your palette along with the lentil gravy.The lamb rack was cooked to Medium rare, with a simple yet flavoursome mint sauce.

And finally to end it all on a Sweet note was the Mango pudding layered with Papaya slices and passion fruit.

Sehingga kita melihat lagi .... selera makan bon !!!