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The Mongolian experience
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The Mongolian Food Festival at Tides, The Leela, Kovalam, is on till October 20
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Photo: S. Mahinsha
Your choice You pick and choose what you want in your dish
Genghis Khan is said to have been a ‘foodie.’ Legend has it that when his armies camped at night, campfires were lit. Atop these hot embers would be the iron shields of the army men. On these, they would stir fry delights. This style of c
ooking later came to be called the Mongolian grill. It is as a tribute to the gastronome Genghis Khan that Tides, The Leela, Kovalam, is holding a Mongolian food festival.
The maitre d’ greets me at the entrance. Seated at a candlelit table, I take in the view. Though it is dark I can see the waves crash against the shore and the flicker of lights in the distance. The fresh sea breeze is invigorating. A crooner in the background sings evergreen numbers.
Catering to tastes
Being unfamiliar with Mongolian cuisine, executive chef Vijayan Parakkal enlightens me. “Mongolian cooking is an innovative way of preparing food. It is easy and fast to cook.The food is usually spicy and the basic ingredients are meat, vegetables and chillies. Our menu caters to people with varied tastes.”
The restaurant has a range of both vegetarian and non-vegetarian items which you can pick or mix and match for your dish. “All you have to do is pick what you want and give it to the chef. He will cook as per your orders in the cooking area (like an open kitchen),” he adds.
Hmm, sounds easy enough, except it isn’t. I mean I’m ready to experiment and all but the list of sauces and ingredients which can be added to the dish leaves me dazed. So, instead of trying my hand at creating a novel dish,(and having to suffer eating it) I decide to play it safe and leave it to the chef. The result, a gastronomic fiesta.
Not much of a soup or salad person, I head straight for the appetizers. The attendant hands me a bowl. A rich display of seafood, meat and greens beckons me. Eight sauces – hot garlic, black pepper, black bean, Sezchuan, red curry, Thai mushroom, oyster sauce and Hoisin sauce are the choice of marinades for the dishes.
I select a bit of prawns and hand them to the chef. What appears from his grill is pure magic – Teriyaki prawns. I can taste the flavour of the sea in the Teriyaki prawns. The prawns are fresh and juicy and the teriyaki sauce lends the dish a sweet tinge.
The Mongolian chicken with hot garlic sauce is lip-smacking. The chicken is crisp yet tender inside and the aroma from the garlic, appetising. Fish in black pepper could have done with a tad more pepper for me though.
A delectable vegetable platter that has cauliflower, broccoli, tofu, asparagus and zucchini tossed in various marinades complements the bed of rice on my plate. Dessert has me helping myself to petite cuts of fresh fruit cheesecake and diced fruits.
A slight drizzle has diners seated on the open beach rushing in for shelter as I leave. This buffet costs Rs. 750 for each person. It is on till October 20.
LIZA GEORGE
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Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Mangalore
Puducherry
Tiruchirapalli
Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
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