Ayubowan-Sri Lankan Food Festival @ Café Mozaic, Vivanta by Taj, MG Road.

Ayubowan meaning “Welcome” In Sinhalese was the Titular representation for the Sri Lankan Food festival held at Café Mozaic @ The Taj Vivanta, MG Road from August 5th through the 15th for Dinner Buffet only. Guests were also treated to traditional Sri-Lankan dance performances by a visiting troupe by the poolside every evening during the event.

Visiting chefs from Vivanta by Taj- Bentota- Kalinga Lalith and M.A. Palitha Chandana joined Executive Chef Ramasamy Selvaraju from Bangalore to bring to life this extravagant feast of traditional Sri-Lankan cuisine spread over an elaborate Buffet.

I started my Sri-Lankan culinary journey with a tender coconut followed by a wide assortment of Salads spread across the poolside. The Curried Potato and the Roasted Mushroom along with Fish Cutlets and Dried Fish were the primary attractions. However, the saltiness of the dried fish takes a bit of getting used to.

Devilled Prawns and Squids in Butter Garlic/ Tomato Sauce formed the live appetisers. The Hoppers and Vegetable and Chicken Kotthu were served next.

The Vegetarian Mains comprised of the Traditional Sri-Lankan Dal with Drumsticks and some Red Rice to go with. The Okhra and Baby Potato Curry were something unique and were cooked in Coconut Milk. The Cabbage Masala was the final contender in this section.

The Non Vegetarian section compromised of the Coconut Rice with Chicken Yellow Curry which complimented each other well. The Fish and the Lamb curry went well with the Red Rice from the vegetarian section owing to its spicy undernotes.

The Dessert section was elaborate and I was able to taste some Inguru Pudding (Ginger Pudding) which was rather an acquired taste. The Kiwi Cake was another winner in this section. The experience was one of a kind and is absolutely a foodie’s delight to explore myriad cuisines so close to our country. My heartfelt thanks to Priyadarshini Nandi, Shahbaz Mamdani and Mukut Chakravarti for this wonderful opportunity.