An ongoing food festival at Bene, Sheraton's Italian restaurant in Bangalore, the Festa Della Sensa is named after Venice's symbolic ceremonial marriage with the sea and this symbolism carries over to the food as well with each dish containing a mix of land and sea elements. Invited to a media table with an al carte menu specially curated by Chef Giuseppe Lioce of Westin, Pune , the festival boasts of the simplicity of Italian food with great importance on quality. Additionally, the selection contains loads of seafood and fish which is a definite bonus for non veg lovers.
 |
| Carpaccio di Tonno |
We started off with the Carpaccio; for the vegetarians it was the Carpaccio di Funghi which had a flavour of lavender and lemon masking the smell but not the taste of the mushroom. It was evident from the preparation that Chef Giuseppe had gone great lengths to prepare the dish. Though I'm not the biggest fan of Carpaccio, I liked the non vegetarian Carpaccio di Tonno made with thin sliced tuna with Italian dressing and served with rocket leaves and rock salt.
 |
| Carpaccio di Funghi |
Capesante Mare e Manti was the highlight amongst the antipasti, symbolising the union of the land, sea and the mountain in accordance with the theme of the festival. A wonderful gastronomic combination of scallops (representing sea) with wild mushrooms (representing mountain), pumpkin puree and crispy ham (representing land), the dish was polished off the table in a matter of seconds with great praise for usage of truffle honey.
 |
| Capesante Mare e Manti |
Italians, unlike Indians, give great importance to their soups which go hand in hand with their freshly baked bread and sides. Spelled as Zuppa and pronounced with a roll of the tongue, we were treated to a vegetarian and non-vegetarian soup. The vegetarian soup, Zuppa Di Fagioli was a thick, parmesan and cannellini bean based soup served with Focaccia. Though the soup was at its creamy best, the addition of mushrooms would surely enhance its taste . The non vegetarian soup, Zuppa Di Pesce was a seafood lover's delight with cockle shellfish, squid and prawn being used in a wonderful tomato based concoction with fish stock.
 |
| Orecchiette Alla Barese |
Amongst the pastas, my favourite was the Orecchiette Alla Barese, a tomato and cherry tomato based shell pasta with the goodness of Pecorino cheese and broccoli. The others served included a black pepper preparation of the Tonnarelli Cacio e Pepe and a pistachio pesto based Paccheri Mare e Monti prepared with calamari and prawns.
 |
| Branzino Livornese |
Due to shortage of time, we could only try the Branzino Livornese and the Stracotto Di Agnello for main course. The Branzino Livornese was essentially sea bass baked in tomato sauce with crunchy fried pollenta to go with it. After a comparatively bland selection in the pastas, the sea bass hit all the right taste buds making it an enjoyable meal.
 |
| Stracotto Di Agnello |
Even though we went gaga over the sea bass, it was quickly overshadowed by the Stracotto Di Agnello which was absolutely terrific and a must try here. Slowly cooked for over 9 hours, the North Italian preparation of the lamb was extremely soft and came off the bone quite easily. It was marinated with rosemary and red wine and is served on a bed of truffle mashed potatoes.
 |
| Millefoglie |
Finishing off with the desserts, we were treated to the chef's take of the French Mille Feuille, which is called the Millefoglie, a blueberry based puff pastry served with Italian custard. The scrumptuous puff was soft and its combination with the custard and vanilla ice-cream just melted in the mouth. The dessert was such a big hit that it had to be ordered a second time to satiate everyone's sweet tooth pangs.
 |
| Pasticciotto |
An innovative approach, the Festa Della Sensa takes you on a culinary tour of Italy, celebrating the marriage of the land and sea elements in all its gastronomic grandeur.
Festival Dates : 15th May, 2015 to 23rd May, 2015
Cost : Rs. 3000/-
Address: Sheraton Bangalore Hotel at Brigade Gateway,
26/1, Dr.Rajkumar Road, Rajajinagar,
Malleshwaram, Bangalore
Telephone : 080 42521000
A mouth-watering post :)
ReplyDeleteThank you Ravish :)
Deletenice
ReplyDelete