I just got back from a mini trip to Dubai and the temperatures there, were lower than in Bangalore *gasp*! Thanks to the rains the past three days, we have all but forgotten the furnace that Bangalore was this Summer. My electricity bills tripled and the general grumpiness that comes with too much heat, has hung around like a sordid aura. We still have a couple of weeks before the official monsoon hits us, so The Fatty Bao stepping in to ease the pain with a Summer menu, sounds just about right. Running from the 20^th – 29^th of this month, it promises light and refreshing drinks & eats to beat the heat. My only grouse – when you put so much effort into a menu, the least you can do is run the festival a little longer 😛

The terrace area gets a festive feel with lanterns, origami flowers & butterflies. What makes me happier though, are the two large air coolers that literally blow the heat away. The chic bar offers a selection of specially curated drinks for the summer. The Sunny Margarita catches our fancy instantly. It would be blasphemy if the season went by without using fresh Mangoes in our cocktails everything! Tequila, mango, passion fruit and lime make for a mouthwatering cocktail! I’d be careful with this one – it is such easy drinking that you’ve probably had one too many before you realize it. The Summer Shandy with Indian lager, fresh watermelon and basil sounded extremely promising but I think it needed more beer and a good head to qualify as a Shandy in my books.

It was so hard to restrict ourselves from ordering everything on the Summer eats menu. (And this is often the case for me at The Fatty Bao, which is why I prefer going there in larger groups so that I manipulate subtly suggest a larger order).

I knew the Caterpillar Sushi was going to be gimmicky – s-shaped body, beady eyes, wispy antenna et al.  But, that is exactly why I would order it! The sushi comes with a prawn tempura maki roll topped with some wonderful poached shrimp, dotted with some wasabi and kewpie mayo. Most places do a Dragon Roll with the Shrimp head acting as the Dragon’s face – I think this Caterpillar was way more agreeable 🙂

The Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls are a wonderful way to prime your palate for the rest of the meal. The vegetables shine like multicolored gems from inside the translucent wrap and the citrus-chili (orange-marmalade-like) dipping sauce is seriously addictive. Arv literally emptied the dressing on the rolls!

If you want something hot and crispy with your drinks, the Korean Fried Chicken hits the spot. Spiced Panko coated chicken breasts are deep fried to perfection and served with a yoghurt-mint dip. In another universe, this could also pass off for Chicken Vada with green chutney, but we’ll assume that parallel universe does not exist.

Hainanese Chicken Rice. Yeahhhhhh!!!! No seriously, I love this national dish of Singapore more than most people. The poached chicken slices over deliciously fatty (oily) ginger-garlic flavored rice, served with fresh cucumbers and a chilly dipping sauce are moreishly satisfying. Fatty does a deconstructed interpretation of this classic. The perfectly poached Chicken slices with skin (don’t flinch – it’s necessary) were served with some Chili sauce (needs work to stand out from the generic dipping sauce in Indo-Chinese restaurants) some Hoisin sauce and Cucumber slices. The best part was the mug of broth – mildly flavored, salty and fatty, it’s just what you need to pour over your meal to take it skywards. If there’s any left, I suggest you slurp it up like soup. No one likes a waster.

If the Chicken Rice seems a bit alien to you (just try it…once…you’ll like it…I promise), you could opt for the Malacca Asam Pedas which is a curry with fresh Pomfret and vegetables. A standard take on piquant Asian curries, this one is hotter and tangier! The accompanying fried onions, peanuts, lemon and peanut sauce make each mouthful an explosion of flavors. Also, the simple sell is the Pomfret – for people who adore the fish, ordering this is a no brainer.

Pic Courtesy: Sanjay Ramchandran

The picture above is a clever marketing ploy to make you salivate and run to Fatty to order the Mango Panacotta. I however, resisted the urge to be clichéd and ordered the enigmatic Frozen Rainbow Cake. I will stop at describing it as a layered sponge cake, that involves a fair bit of work by the pastry chef. The only work you need to do, is get yourself to Fatty in the next 10 days to experience this beauty before they take it off the menu.

Adios till next time people. Frankly, I can’t wait till this summer is over.

 

The Fatty Bao

610, 3rd Floor, 12th Main (Above Monkey Bar)

Off 80 Feet Road, Indiranagar, Bangalore.

Phone : +91 80 49652109

Cost : 2200/++ for a meal for two with drinks

Valet Parking available.

All Pictures (except the Mango Panacotta) by Kunal Chandra.