"What are you looking for?" she asked as I held the small plate in one hand, the camera in the other and lost face on the head!
"Fork and Knife. Only the spoon is here," I said, pointing out to the table.
"You don't need the fork and knife. The spoon will do," she said with a smirk!
That was Chef Megha behind her live counter that doled out Beef Bourguignon. I looked at her, almost in disbelief, but knowing Megha, I knew she had a point. As it turned out, I didn't even need a spoon. I only had to place the spoon and it cut through the beef like it was butter! That and the baked Brie made up Chef Megha's counter, one that was stunning. Unfortunately, most people including myself had filled our tummies with wonderful food, that retrospectively, we should have had this main course first! Since we have the benefit of 'retrospection' now, I thought that the only reversal was to write about this dish first!!!!
So! Masters of Food and Wine is back. Unlike the previous editions, this time, there was no grand finale. Instead there was the Grand Opening. Same amazing concept, same awesome seasonal ingredients, same theme based dinner, only a change in date! So this time, the theme was Korean with a little Mexican thrown in! Guest Chef, Mr. I-can't-pronounce-his-name, was in and dished out Kimchi Pancakes, Seafood Pancakes and a fabulous Bibimbap! This, with some cinnamon water (which I am not sure was Korean) and Pumpkin soup made up the theme part of the dinner. The evening started, as it usually does, with the introductions, wine, starters and laughter! As soon as the curtains were unveiled, the scenes, were that of a high end market! Food counters everywhere!
We started with what turned out to be a fantastic cured Sea Bass with orange and green apple. The sea bass, not Chilean, but Indian sea bass was heartening! No need to really import sea bass! The Indian one is just as good! Followed this up with some Mexican which had Corn Tamales, a nice crispy Taco and some beans and chicken. Next was the Indian stall where we skipped the biriyani and dived into the Chicken and Turkey Tikki served with Saffron Roti and Makhani gravy! Slurp. Next, a big mound of cheese. Yeah baby! So there were three types of cheese with the kind of dry fruits and bread you need to enjoy a platter. Slurp again.
Chef Greg and the Korean chef were together and we had some awesome Pumpkin soup followed by the list of Korean dishes I spoke about. And then we went to Chef Megha for the main course and had a bite of the fantastic seared Tuna. For the first time, I couldn't think of a single dish in a meal that did not meet expectations!
And we settled on the (few) couches and let the food work its way down and leave some space for the dessert. A super nice Pavlova, a stunning version the Tiramisu and a fabulous Raspberry Ice Cream was all I had the space for! I was full from the toe to the brain! So glad, that we were in my friend's car and I didn't have to drive back! I was sure, I wouldn't have got home! But since this event went on late, we were just reminded of the awesome parties that the Flying Elephant hosts on Saturdays and decided that it was for another day! For today, we were done!
The Masters of Food and Wine, the 5 day extravaganza at Park Hyatt is on till the end of this week!
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