JOIN USThe best of French cuisine
ALBA at JW Marriott Hotel in Bengaluru has a ‘délicieux’ offer for Bengalureans this entire week - a five-course long delectable French dinner. Specially crafted by Chef Roxanne Lange of a luxury hotel in Bankok — ‘The Reflections’ at The Athenee Hotel — the menu caters to both vegetarian and non-vegetarian foodies.
As we walked into Alba, the chic interiors set the mood for the French dinner that was waiting for us. Alba’s seating areas are like personalised compartments that give you the luxury to enjoy your food and drinks in your personal space. Amidst the occasional clinking of wine glasses and pretty cutlery, we were served the appetizer — fine French bread with tomato salsa.
The bread, with a whiff of herbs, prepared us for the dinner ahead. Our first course of the evening; tomato with gazpacho, balsamic and goat cheese; was then served in tiled black plates. I mention the texture of the cutlery here because the food by Chef Roxanne was not just a treat to our taste buds but also a delight to our eyes.
Like my fellow diner quipped, “This is too pretty to eat”.
Chef Roxanne explained the heirloom tomato and creamy gazpacho was from a memory of her mother. I could taste her nostalgia in the rustic and fresh flavours of the ingredients.
Our next course was seabass with mushroom, onion and truffle. A cubic dish with caramelized onions and fresh fish, it is perfect for seafood lovers. And so is the lobster-carrot-pumpkin-orange (part of the a la carte menu).
The vegetarian version had a rich pumpkin flavour to beat the non-veggies’ juicy lobster.
Both were good, but I felt nothing could beat the lobster and pumpkin combo.
The next dish in the course was a unique combo — duck liver and apple. When I heard of it, I panicked. I had never had duck and could never imagine eating meat with apple, especially the liver of a bird. But what I did not know is that duck liver melts in your mouth. I also learnt that liver is perfect with slivers of apple and apple sauce. My vegetarian friends can try out the equally wonderful combination of couscous and asparagus.
Right before dessert, we were served another pretty dish — lamb rack with bell pepper, sunchoke and lamb jus. Covered with crispy pepper and herbs, these cubical meat pieces were filling and juicy.
Then came the dessert; a classic combination of strawberries, yoghurt and vanilla with a twist. The crispy sugary beecomb-lookalike added a subtle sweetness to the dessert. It did not manage to stay for a long time on my plate though!
The French Food Festival celebrates the uniqueness of the French cuisine and offers the best of flavours. If your holiday to France is taking some time to materialise, maybe this food festival is the place you can borrow some inspiration from.
Date: From April 12 – April 20
Venue: ALBA, Lobby Level 1, JW Marriott Hotel Bengaluru
Timing: 7 pm – 11 pm
Cost per head: Depends on what you pick. Set menu dinner starts from Rs 2499.
For details, call 88849 44330.