food festival

It was a cheerful, sunny afternoon, just around Christmas and I was there at ITC gardenia, Bangalore, to review the new menu launch at ITC Cubbon Pavilion. As told by the very warm Gomathi, this was happening today across all pavilions at ITC throughout the pan India. We had a lavish bloggers’ table set for us to dine together. The lazy noon, coupled with the welcome drinks (let me tell you there were more than one) and starters and the great company of Simonti and Gomathi made it wonderful. There were sounds of giggles and laughter, warm food in abundance being served with care and the foodies who are usually very relaxed by nature who endlessly discussed food and places and food culture across India. The sunny cubbon pavilion with its luxurious and friendly interiors, the ITC’s head chef who made sure we knew the detailed nuances of the artistically curated menu, and warmly prepared food made it an exclusive day and experience.

The new menu for the blogger’s table

Festive fervour

The balancing act
Kane rawa fry (mangalorean delicacy)

Fish n chips (it’s intl counterpart)

Nasi Goreng

When it comes to ITC nobody can beat its luxury coupled with warmth and also lip smacking desserts, courtesy the fabelle lounge. ( do read my Fabelle chocolates launch experience here.)

ITC Cubbon pavilion derives its name from the famed Cubbon park of our beautiful garden city, Bangalore. Any Bangalorean would surely take pride and would associate with their own culture which is totally the focal point of Cubbon pavilion, whether it is interiors or food. The Cubbon interiors shows all of the Bangalore’s inspiring architectural focal points, the buildings, in all their glory as they are showcased beautifully in black and white pictures. Thus the menu also makes it sure that there is a local flavour and local cuisine, typical to our bangalore food culture apart from the international taste and delicacies too. This caters to our all the taste buds involved and this norm is followed in all the Pavilions of ITC across pan India. And this, my dear food lovers, is the unique quotient at ITC Gardenia, the delectable, warm and artisitic preparation and presentation of food coupled with local flavour along with the international taste too, adherence to culture and to the responsible luxury. The greens climbing up the walls at the Cubbon Pavilion make sure that any guest or traveller would know and realise that they are in the garden city, Bangalore.

ITC hotels are all eco embedded and they believe in the sustenance and nurturing of our nature, and this is the cornerstone of the ITC ethos – the Responsible Luxury. Hence ITC makes sure that neither earth nor luxury is compromised. Please see my earlier blog on ITC Sattvik food here where I have noticed and written more on this responsible luxury, thereby making ITC’ s initiative unique in itself. It is the first and greenest luxury hotel chains and hence has redefined the fine art of hospitality.

Before I write about the new menu which we tasted that sets off a new start for the year, I want to mention a few things which can’t escape notice if you know what ITC group is all about. This is one of the case studies I have used here to throw more light on the same.

We started with a welcome drink which was served to us as soon as the bloggers kept arriving. We had coconut water with dates mashed n thrown into it. This drink came along with freshly baked breads with sun dried tomatoes and glazed with olive oil.

Buttermilk chicken crisps with mint chutney was served to begin with. The buttermilk lent the little tangy taste to the otherwise usually blande chicken crisps that we eat at other places. The vegetarian counterpart to this was the Molten Brie, and I totally love Brie for its soft texture and flavour. This was served with apple and pear chutney which just tasted as if it was just out of grandma’s kitchen. I need to mention here that I love the chutneys from Itc kitchens for they seem like homemade with personal touch and love.

Chicken crisps with date mocktail n bread

And then the Singaporean laksa was served to us. This had bits of chicken, tofu, eggs with flat noodles and I poured the broth over it and enjoyed the sumptuous Asian flavours. The broth was made out of coconut milk with lovely Asian aromas to it. The vegetarian counterpart of the same was butternut squash and carrot purée.

Singaporean laksa

Then came the chicken burger wherein the bun was again freshly baked and was brown in colour since it was made of whole wheat with rye and sunflower seeds. The burger, was very healthy and the preparation was totally with a twist. It had greens, mushrooms, oats, spinach. This came with salads and potato wedges on the side.

Burger

Now was the time, for the local flavour and hence came the bento tiffin. It had the yummy Maddur Vadas, Mangalore Goli Bhaji, karampodi idlis. This came with the peanut chutney. The non veg counterpart was the Prawn kuli Paniyaram with totamto chutney. I love the local food of mangalore for having travelled and stayed all across Karnataka makes me a lover for local food. And this was the authentic taste.

Tiffin bento

Prawn kuli paniyaram

Then we relished the Pumpkin Ricotta Gnocchi, which had the chopped dates and ‘chironji’ nuts stuffed in giving nutty and cheesy and little sweet flavour here and there and this came with totamto purée was on the plate to add colour and taste to this yummy preparation.

Ricotta gnocchi

Finally we had the most amazing Milk Chocolate Parfait as dessert. It had Darjeeling tea infusions for fresh flavour. It comes with raspberry sorbet so the little sour taste makes up and balances the sweet chocolate syrup which is poured over on top of it. This is served on a bed of sea salt. The mint acted as the palette cleanser.

Dessert

The ITC crew is always very warm and it just feels like home. The food bloggers were welcomed by the very sweet Gomathi with a Kanchivaram shawl. We all were almost five and it was a fun afternoon, as we all sat down and the great hospitality kept us engaged in tirelessly tasting and gorging on the delicious spread of food which was served along with the information regarding what all had been thrown into it, thereby giving each delicacy the distinct flavour it had. It always is the best experience at ITC Gardenia and this added to another of my many cherished experiences at ITC Gardenia. This is my first post of this year and incidentally the launch of Fabelle Chocolates was my first ever blog as I had just started my journey as a blogger then. Hence ITC Gardenia holds a very special place in my blogging life. Here’s to ‘set off a new start’, cheers !!!

=ITC Gardenia=

Date of launch- 23 Dec 2016
Hospitality partner- ITC Gardenia
Written and experienced by – Anuja Pandey