South African Food Festival at Cafe Pondichery at Sofitel - BKC, Mumbai.

Food festivals are becoming quite a thing in Mumbai but surely people must be tired of the same old Middle Eastern, Iranian, Indian and Asian food festivals. I know I am. Its rare to see continental African and South African food in Mumbai for a change.

Rising up to the occasion, Sofitel Mumbai has hosted yet another exotic food festival from a land whose food we Indians do not know much about. It is indeed time to take a break from the same old cuisines and try out something new.

And unlike the previous Turkish food festival, this one is more than just food. There are African drummers playing tribal music, face painting and hair braiding kiosks. All in all, the mood feels very African. To celebrate the Rainbow nation's fiftieth independence day, Cafe Pondichery has rolled out a South African food festival.

The South African food is specially prepared by a trio of pleasant chefs flown in from South Africa.
Chefs Vasathan Moodley, Mavis Netshituka and David Aobakwe Phagane will be joining Sofitel's resident chefs for the event period till May the 7th, 2017.

The South African food stand is a welcome addition to the already huge multi cuisine buffet platter of Cafe Pondichery. There were two stands this time, one for the mains and another one for live food near the restaurant's entrance.

Do note that the dishes rotate in the buffet everyday and the things mentioned here may not be found on the day you visit.

Live Music to drum up your spirits.

Kiosks for kids and the occasional adults ha.

Here are some of the things that I sampled. The live counter had offerings like Bunny Chow which has surprisingly originated from the South African Indian community. It has been quiet popular in town but somehow I have not quite bought into the idea, preferring to have the curry and bread separately. There were two options available - Lamb and Mushroom curry. The Lamb curry felt very familiar to the Indian flavors that I am accustomed to. I assume that it comes from the Indian origins behind the dish. The live counter also had a few desserts like Lemon Tarts and Koeksisters(more on this later).

Tilapia and Leek soup. Though Tilapia cooking is often attributed to West African cuisines. It has been brought into the Rainbow nation's culinary sphere and adapted to the native palates. The result over here was a flavorful concoction. It was quite an experience to have a fresh water fish other than Basa. Again a soup you would rarely find in Mumbai. Tilapia is only found in African rivers.

Pap and Sheba was a South African favorite that was adjusted for vegetarians. Made with a fluffy polenta like white cornmeal preparation called pap and served with "Tamatiesmoor" or Sheba which is a South African tomato and onion gravy. It was an easy on the palate, satisfying dish that anyone could eat. The gravy had a very addicting flavor.

Pork Casserole had a subtle flavor. The texture of the stew felt a bit rough on the tongue. The flavor had a frontier feel to it.

And as last time, Cafe Pondichery has an amazing dessert platter. It was mostly different from last time and I pounced upon it like a ravenous gourmand.

But sticking to the South African theme, lets revisit the live counter for Koeksisters.

Image Courtesy : Food.com

Koeksisters was a South African dessert which was made of fried dough strips shaped like braids and infused with Maple syrup. The flavor was delectable and this was the first time that I have had this. It was a wonderful first experience. Adds to my list of Fried Dough based desserts like Jalebi and Churros.

Combined with the impressive multi cuisine platter, the experience at Cafe Pondichery is always an amazing one for me. The buffet servings are some of the most satisfying that I have had anywhere. Its real value for money. With an appetite like mine, the buffet is a food paradise.

Do note that the festival concludes on Sunday, May the 7th, 2017. However, the complete buffet experience at Cafe Pondichery itself is worthy of a visit for any food lover.


The Captain's Score : 8/10

Map Co-Ordinates
Pondichery Cafe,
Sofitel Hotel,
C 57, Bandra Kurla Complex,
Mumbai



-I was invited to sample the event menu by the Restaurant. My review however remains objective.-

Pondichery Cafe at The Sofitel - BKC, Mumbai

They say that sometimes there is magic in the air. I was surfing through the web looking for a good Turkish fare in Mumbai. I needed something authentic and not simply a deconstruction of North Indian food being passed around as Turkish Kebabs. And that is when I heard about the Turkish food festival at Pondichery Cafe in Sofitel. Maybe it was providence that the prize to my quest was found so easily.

Sofitel by Accor Hotels provides one of the best experiences in luxury dining. And I have experienced the same at Artisan and Tuskers. Pondichery is the general purpose restaurant area within Sofitel which serves a mix of all cuisines from around the world. So it makes an ideal place to host any kind of food festival. This area had a lot of decor and references symbolizing Turkey. The event's principal sponsor Turkish Airlines is well known for its elan worldwide and it had done its part in providing an authentic Turkish experience.

Two young chefs from Turkey had flew in to make sure that the food was authentically Turkish. Chef Emre and Chef Ramazan could not speak English but were fluent in the language of food. Teamed up with Sofitel's resident Chefs, they provided the guests a great Turkish experience. The only thing that disappointed me is the ephemeral nature of food festivals. The festival will end on the 27th of March, where will I find my Turkish fix then?

This was the first day of the festival and I was told that the platter will change every day. Cafe Pondichery is a multi cuisine restaurant meant to cater all patrons of the Hotel. However, anyone interested in the Turkish Food could promptly head over to the Turkish food stations and grab some grub. I started with a bit of Turkish yoghurt, soups and Kuzu Tandir.

Kuzu Tandir were delectable Lamb nuggets with a salty and savory flavor. I also picked up a bit of Turkish Sote which was made out of non animal ingredients to suit Vegetarians.

Tavuk Kanat reminded me of the delectable Chicken wings which I first had in Dubai. These Turkish chicken wings had the flavors of Central Asia. The flavors felt rather close to Indian Kebabs and these were smaller in size as compared to American wings.

Then there were Turkish salads too like the Acili ezme Salatsi, one cannot find this in a place without Turkish chefs. Try Googling that and you won't even find a single English link for it. This was specially prepared by the Turkish chefs and this was something one would rarely find outside Turkey. Yayla Corbasi was a delectable Turkish Yogurt soup with a strong flavor of Tahini in it.

Then there was the subtle flavored Teryagli Pilav which was far milder in taste than India Pulaos. This rice dish paired well with other Turkish mains.

There were two Turkish desserts available at this time. I managed to sample one. Mahalabia is a smooth and pleasant flavored pudding. The consistency of this was very much like a custard. The flavor felt familiar. I was a bit disappointed that Baklava or Kanafeh weren't available as I was looking forward to both. I felt that there could have been more Turkish desserts but Pondicheri's Dessert section is so huge that one rarely has room for complaints ha.

And I filled in my sweet void with a bunch of desserts from the huge platter. Pondicheri definitely has one of the best dessert platters that I have seen within Mumbai's Five star properties.

Pictured here(L to R) are Chef Emre, Chef Manav from Sofitel, Chef Ramazan and Chef Singh from Sofitel. The four chefs who made the evening grand.

As this was a buffet, this was mostly a self serve affair so I cannot comment on the service. The pricing is high as this is within a five star property. But given the rich buffet with so many choices, its well worth the spend. Turkish food is but a part of the entire buffet. There were also Indian, Chinese, Japanese and Western cuisines to choose from. The entire experience was good and this was definitely one of the better buffet spreads that I have seen.

The festival concluded on the 27th of March, 2017 but Pondicheri Cafe is famous for its food festivals and another one could just be around the corner. It still has a great buffet spread and can be visited at any time of the year.


The Captain's Score : 8/10

Map Co-Ordinates
Pondichery Cafe,
Sofitel Hotel,
C 57, Bandra Kurla Complex,
Mumbai



-I was invited to sample the event menu by the Restaurant. My review however remains objective.-