Get transported to the land of the red dragon as you taste some chow at the vegetarian buffet in the Chinese food festival being held at Hotel Aanand, Sanggeetha restaurant in the city.
Priced at Rs. 165 per head for adults and Rs. 95 per head for children aged below 10, the food festival is on from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. till August 18. The prices are inclusive of taxes. A special aspect of the festival is a discount of 5 per cent for students who display their identity cards. A complimentary chopstick is given to all gourmets.
An arch with a red dragon welcomes you into the restaurant where paintings of women in traditional Chinese attire adorn the walls, Chinese lanterns hang from the ceiling and waiters are dressed in red, the colour of China. The ambience is befitting for a Chinese food festival and the fare is decent with traditional varieties available for good measure.
Kim chi salad, tom yum soup, crispy fried vegetables with garlic sauce, red bean fried rice, sweet and sour vegetables and hakka schezwan noodles were among the different varieties of vegetarian Chinese delicacies on offer at the festival. Varieties of mocktails, fried rice, noodles, and desserts are featured on the menu which is changed on a daily basis to induce novelty.
The restaurant was packed with families and students enjoying their tryst with Chinese cuisine, among which a group of South Korean tourists were prominent.
“We checked into the hotel this evening, when we were informed about this festival and decided to give it a try. Though the food is vegetarian, the taste is authentic and it is as tasty as non-vegetarian Chinese food. The staff is very courteous and helpful which has made our experience memorable,” said Tooeum Park, who hails from Masan in South Korea.
“Since people usually associate China with non-vegetarian food, the challenge lies in making vegetarian Chinese food attractive and tasty for them,” said I. Khan, manager, Hotel Aanand, Sanggeetha restaurant.
Since the restaurant is better known for south Indian tiffin, they wanted to experiment with different cuisines.
