There are very few times when you see a Maharashtrian food festival. It seems surprising cause we technically live in Maharashtra. So I was happily surprised when I got a invite from Renaissance Convention Centre Hotel, Powai, Mumbai through the very cool Shanti Padukone from the http://riot-of-flavours.blogspot.in/ .Thank you Shanti. I just couldn’t resist it. I was curious and excited. So I wont go on talking about it too much and just get started.
As you enter the Lake View Cafe you can see the elaborate themed decor and layout to bring out the authenticity and mood for the festival. It instantly sets you in a good mood. The rickshaw at the entrance. Continuing stalls of all our favorite street items like Vada Pav, Pani Puri, Chicken Roll, Ragda, Sev Puri and many many more at one side and the other side had a drink stall.
This Achar section has a array of yummy Achars for you to take home some of the deliciousness from the festival.
To give you a comfortable home made feel garam garam Phulkas and Bhakris were served.
For starters its obvious what we hogged on. First and foremost there were this cute little dabbas on our table filled with Chakli and spicy Chutney.
Sous Chef and the creator of the festival Chef Danish Merchant gave us a perfect tour of the festival.
After our tour and checking out the wide Farsan stall and getting some Chaknas to nibble on from there. We shifted to the big ones. Any Mumbaikar or rather any one from the whole wide world will for sure never ever be able to resistant the temptation to eat –
1 – Sev Puri
2 – Ragda Pattice
3 – Vada pav
4 – Chicken Bhajya
Absolutely delicious is what I will say. Perfectly spiced and authenticated in a paper plate with a plastic spoon. What more can you ask for !!! Only I know how I controlled myself and did not go on eating because there was so much more left to eat.
So after eating all these amazing tasting dishes we shifted to the main course. For main course I went with the Prawn Pulao which though tasted great but lacked prawns. Zunka a besan dish having a soft baby food texture but tasted really good. I seriously loved the mixture of Mutton Kolhapuri and the prawn pulao. The gravy combine with the rice was just pure YUM !
Now time for some desserts which I was waiting the whole time because I absolutely loved the setup here. I cant even remember all their names but there were like easy more than 10 items for desserts.
Yes I tasted almost everything. The Modak and Barfi I wanted to smuggle out in my bag. The Sheera and Halwa was nice. Puranpoli was okay but cold. The Coconut Ladoo was good. But the Peda, Barfi and Modak made my meal perfectly complete. I was on a happy sugar rush.
I would really like to applaud the effort and hard work put in this festival by Executive Chef Sandeep Pande and Senior Sous Chef Danish Merchant. The food is excellent. The buffet is totally worth at it Rs. 1875. The festival is on till the 8th March. I would totally recommend it. It has everything from great quality, a wide spread of delicious dishes at a very enjoyable price.
toxicbaker 