JOIN USThe dilemma a food lover always faces at a popular restaurant is: what to order from an elaborate and tempting menu. Even though he would like to taste at least their signature dishes, it is humanly impossible to do that in one visit. To address this, city’s ten best restaurants are offering a comprehensive menu of 16 small plates of their signature dishes – savoury and desserts as a part of Small Plates Week – an initiative of Cellar Door, the team behind culinary events like Restaurant Week.
We decided to head to The Fatty Bao, a quirky dining space which has already raised the bar in the city when it comes to Pan Asian food. We began our food sojourn with ‘Minced Vegetable Dimsum’ and ‘Hainanese Chicken and Spinach Dimsum’. The portion size, as expected, was small and hence we were served two dim sums from each dish. The stuffing in both dishes was generous. However, what we loved the most was the crunchy veggies in the former and succulent chicken stuffing in the latter.
This was followed by ‘Malabar Spinach Gyoza’ and ‘Fish and Black Bean Dimsum’.
The pan-seared crispy covering of Gyoza gave the dim sums a lovely flavour and the filling of minced fish was flavoursome in every bite.
According to executive chef Prashanth, they have selected signature dishes from the menu, along with the ones that have been popular among guests for this menu. “We have always encouraged offering small plates as it offers more of our dishes from the length and breadth of the menu,” he says.
We then tried their ‘Green Mango and Papaya Salad, which was not only refreshing, but also generous in size. Then came the charcoal coloured ‘Three Cup Chicken’ made with soy and sesame oil. Well coated in sauces, juicy chicken was the hero of the dish.
But what we liked the most was ‘Baked Wonton Cups’ – the crunchy cups were stuffed with a filling of corn, chestnut and bell pepper, and together they represented a wholesome snack.
We also tried their ‘Fatty Lotus Root’ – the fried lotus stems were draped in a coating of honey and sugar, which unfortunately added too much sweetness to the dish. We also found their ‘Kam Heong Calamari’ a bit oily and chewy.
For desserts, we opted for ‘S’mores Bar’ and ‘Zen Forest. While the former is a haven for chocolate lovers, the latter is best suited for those who love theatrics when it comes to food. Green tea miss has been used innovatively as forest shrub, chocolate has been turned into thin tree barks and the beetroot sorbet added colour to this green composition. It was a winner for us.
Having said that, it is important to mention that the portion sizes the restaurant is offering in a price of Rs 1200 plus taxes is a steal. Not only are they filling, but give diners a variety of options to choose from.
Small Plates Week begins from October 14 to 23 and participating restaurants are Ek Baar, The Hungry Money, Ziu and Perch, among others.