Cafe G, Holiday Inn's all day dining space are trying their hand at street food from across the world! Since I'm generally a street food kinda person this event was interesting and I got to try Cafe G's offerings on an invite. Here's the lowdown on this particular festival and the dishes we loved to watch out for! If you want to read just only about the food, scroll to the section preceded by asterisks (********) below.
Location
It's right at the junction of OMR and Tharamani road. The building is shaped like a ship and is easily noticeable from a distance!
Ambiance
Cafe G has a well-thought out, spacious layout on its 2nd level overlooking the OMR stretch. It's a decent view in the nighttime but nicer during the day owing to the natural lighting pouring in. There's tables for larger groups interspersed with tables for couples and everything in between. Dining area is punctuated by the main buffet area and a standalone dessert section. Yes, they have an entire special permanent station for desserts; one of my favorite things about this place!
About the fest
It's a fest showcasing street foods from an eclectic range of locations like Egypt, Spain, Italy and Japan to name a few. Rather than have separate stations for each cuisine, dishes from these cuisines were found placed amidst the staple buffet items. So you won't need to move to different stations to try each cuisine's dishes; they are mostly in the central spot. There are few street food stations too with chefs manning them serving desi street food like chaats, freshly made jalebis and even French toast or Masala paal (milk)! You can either request a waiter to bring you a particular dish from these stations or go in person and tell them your order.
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| French toast station |
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The Food!
Soup
Started off with soup, Tom Kha Gai from Thailand. Known for its intense flavours, the pungent aroma and sharp taste from galangal and bites of lemongrass stalks made its fresh presence felt very strongly. It definitely woke me up in a New York minute!
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| Main Buffet section |
Streety Starters!
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| Erra Vada |
Next up were the starters and the staff offered to bring their recommended dishes to the table. Requested them to bring small portions of each for tasting. In a few minutes we were served Erra Vada (Prawn cutlet), Tangri Mumtaz (Masala coated chicken legs stuffed with mutton kheema and grilled!) and Popiah rolls (Veg Spring rolls) accompanied by thick mint chutney, thai sweet sauces and mayo. These were fresh and tasted just right flavor-wise. One could taste the prawns (Erra) in a familiar tasty masala while the Tangri was tasty too. Would have been even more delicious if it was served hotter.
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| Kozhi Idly |
In a few minutes we were surprised to find a plate-full of Kozhi Idly placed right in the center. This was pretty yummy too. The idly was soft and the fresh moistness from the yummy chicken gravy made the dish feel nice and home-made while the tiny minced chicken meat gave it that chef's touch.
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| Tofu and Paneer skewered |
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| Fish and chicken skewered |
The other starters being prepared were skewers of chicken, fish, tofu and paneer! A thick smooth peanut sauce also accompanied them. This was fresh-made and tasted good.
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| Dirty Burger - Chicken |
There were also "dirty" burgers on offer along with hotdogs! This seemed interesting; I was eager to try it! Asked the chef what the difference between this one and a normal burger was. She said a dirty burger is one that isn't shy to mess you up while eating it. :D And she was quite right, since taking a clean bite of this fella was quite hard, ingredients going all over the place (this was predicted)! Looked compact on first glance with a fat chicken patty coated with melted cheddar cheese, topped with a gently fried egg with runny yolk(!mmm) and thinly sliced jalapenos n tomatoes. Simple and deliciously done like a good burger should be. I gobbled it up even though I was planning to have only a bite!
Main Course Options
Main Course is composed of very many dishes since there was focus on quite a number of cuisines. There was Vegetable Tagine from Africa, Paella from Spain, Fish n Chips from England, Ginger Lo Mein Noodles from China with Choy Sum Vegetable curry to accompany.
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| Vegetable Tagine |
From the desi pot, there was Muthu Patty's Nenju Elumbu Sutta Curry which is basically a roasted masala Mutton breast dish! Looked perfect in the pan and tasted great too. The meat peeled off easily and the "dry" masala coated every cranny of the Nenju elumbu (rib-bone).
Served myself a small portion of some of these dishes to taste. Fish n chips were nicely done with a delicately crisp exterior. Paella was hearty. No surprises there, while the Murg curry was tasted out of habit. They serve fresh breads like naans and more on order as part of the buffet too.
Another plate full of continents worth of cuisine were loaded on. This one had a lovely veg eat; ladiesfinger which I am usually unenthusiastic about in a super crunchy flavourful avatar! It was coated in Bhindi masala and fried to crispness. Unexpectedly mouthwatering this one with flavors of dried mango coming through in the masala.
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| Ham and Pork Cheese |
I even took a portion of Ham, Pork and Cheese sandwich which was superb. Cafe G's breads are usually lovely (from the last visit during its inauguration) and this was no different. A bite revealed the tenderly crunchy bread giving way to slices of buttered ham and pork whose flavors need no mention for meat-lovers. Could snack on those all day!
From the salads section, the Balsamico al Fungo Insalata was tried for novelty sake and relished.
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| Biriyani sizzler! |
Now I was almost filled to the brim and the waiter comes and says he has a special dish to be tasted- the biriyani sizzler! Now this was different mainly for the theatre involved, it was cooked Chicken biriyani wrapped in a flour-wrap and further cooked for ten minutes. The biriyani was tasty with very tender meat and plenty of topped fried onions that accompanied each spoonful. Only issue was trying to get a decent spoonful without the wrap interfering.
Desserts
Finally it was the turn of the desserts and although being dangerously full now, made a valiant effort to try many items. Cafe G's cakes were excellent last time and they maintained that yummy standard with the superbly moist, German chocolate cake with lots of buttery cream. The white chocolate eclair (real name was different) were a few melting bites while another superb dessert was the again, indulgently moist Date cake that I carved the first chunk off. Top this with the warm caramel sauce for unbridled deliciousness! There were also ice creams available in their own spot along the counter. Dessert section is self serve so you can pig out in peace without judgment! One of the stations were churning out fresh hot jalebis which I tried too. This was very juicy and crunchy just the way I like em!
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| Fire paan setup brought to table |
Service
The service towards us was very good indeed but since we were on an invite, that isn't surprising and needs no special mention however every guest was attended to in the same manner I noticed. Same goes for the food.
Price of Buffet: 1199 plus taxes.
Festival duration: 22nd Sep - 2nd Oct, 2017 (Only dinners)
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General Disclaimer:
Please remember that tastes and experiences are subjective and it's possible that even the same dish may taste different to you during subsequent visits to a restaurant. Chefs aren't machines and make mistakes too. Hence it is advisable to read multiple reviews from various sources to note the customers average satisfaction levels before deciding to eat at a location for the best possibility of having a great meal as per your tastes. Cheers!
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