A nip in the air, winter woollies and Christmas cheer all around – the holiday season is finally in swing. The Fatty Bao after bagging the “Best Pan Asian Restaurant 2017” at the Times Food Awards, has one more reason to celebrate! They are closing the year with a bang and letting us in on the festivities, with the Night Market Festival. This feast from the east will let you relive your Asian holiday shenanigans in Indirangar. The carnival atmosphere adds to the charm and gets you in the mood for some street food, grills and innovative ‘Root to Fruit’ cocktails.
Pic Courtesy: Kunal Chandra
Your classic cocktails get a makeover by the bartenders who decided to use not just the fruit to create a heady concoction but muddled pods, leaves, stems and seeds as well! The BigBamBoom uses a chamomile gin topped with soda and wasabi syrup to kick up the heat. The bamboo glass it is served in adds to the fresh flavor. The Mi-So-Happy will make a vodka lover giddy with the addition of miso mustard, ginger and lime to their tipple. If you want some drama to your regular pick-me-up, try the Popcorn Sour – your whiskey sour is infused with popcorn and livened up with chamomile syrup, earl grey bitters and lime.
Street food treats are best served on a stick and you will have more than enough choice to rev up the evening. (The festival is on for lunch as well, but the place looks so pretty at night!). The Veg Temari Sushi is a striking plate of thread ball sushi wrapped with glistening slices of colorful vegetables. A real treat to the eyes as well as the mouth. I suggest starting with the sushi plates so that your palate is still open to subtle flavours, before you assault it with the crumb fried indulgences that follow.
Your heart might do a little summersault when you see the perfectly Grilled Quail Eggs at the table. Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside and that gooey yolk – such a delight! You probably can’t stop at one skewer but save your appetite for the rest of the menu. And by that I mean the Fire Cracker Chicken Wings! It’s not the spice that’s the surprise – the wings are stuffed with jasmine rice and you get an enjoyable bite of chicken and fluffy rice in one mouthful. We ordered seconds. Enough said.
If anyone has tried and loved Okonomiyaki, they will instantly fall in love with the Hashimaki. This Japanese style omlette comes wrapped around cabbage and bacon, looking like an ice lolly! Topped with kewpie mayo and a variety of sauces, it’s a fun way to get your protein and veggies all in one bite! The famous Osaka Kushikatsu also finds itself on the menu with a Seafood platter to share with your friends (or not!). Bite sized pieces of squid, prawns, fish and oysters skewered, breaded and deep fried for your eating pleasure. While traditional kushikatsu restaurants discourage double dipping in the communal sauce, this platter comes with your own portion, so go ahead and be inappropriate.
If you’re not stuffed to the gills, you can always order a main course from their regular menu. But whatever you do, you’ll need to save some real estate for the festival desserts on offer. We tried both, because how else will I tell you about it?! The Filipino Lokot Lokot is a crispy rice net filled with silky jaggery custard served with a beautiful lemon ice cream that offsets the fried nets and jaggery. The Tokyo Banana stole my heart, not just the cleverness of it all, but because of the bang on flavours. The fluffy sponge shaped into a banana held a banana custard inside and was served with a wonderfully smooth caramelized banana ice cream! Pistachio crumble and slices of caramelized banana slices had us fighting over who would get the last bite. A delicious way to the end our street food sojourn.
The Night Market Festival is on till the 1st of Jan, 2016 for lunch and dinner.
All Pictures Courtesy: Sanjay Ramachandran for the The Fatty Bao
The Fatty Bao
610, 3rd Floor, 12th Main (Above Monkey Bar)
Off 80 Feet Road, Indiranagar, Bangalore.
Phone : +91 80 49652109
Cost : 2500/++ for a meal for two with drinks
Valet Parking available.
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