Sunday, April 10, 2016

Food tasting at XII Zodiac for Bengali Food Festival 2016 (on Poila Boishakh)

I was invited to the Poila Boishakh food tasting event held at ‘Twelve Zodiac’ multi-cuisine restaurant housed in the Fern Residency Hotel at Rajarhat, Newtown. The ‘Twelve Zodiac’ is Kolkata’s first Sun-sign based restaurant and it has lined up an array of delicious and authentic Bengali dishes to tickle your ‘bangali’ taste buds on the occasion of this Poila Baisakh, and this occasion is a very special one for all the Bengalis across the globe. 


Though we celebrate the English New Year but Poila Boishakh remains very close to our heart, it is the time to unite with your entire family, spend some quality time with them and also it is the time to celebrate with our loved ones. And having a scrumptious Poila Boishakh lunch or dinner is almost compulsory for us :) So we have a great option here, the Bengali Food Festival at The Fern will offer the Bengali delicacies from April 14th to April 16th this year. At this event we could taste the dishes that will be offered during this period.


Location - - - - - The Fern Residency Hotel is located very close to Chinar park crossing ar Rajarhat, if you are approaching it from City Centre 2 then it will come to your left hand side before you reach the Pipal Tree Hotel, it is just beside the Yokohama showroom. You can park your car inside the hotel premises.

Ambiance - - - - - The hotel has a very classy and urbane interior décor and the Twelve Zodiac restaurant is located there on the 2nd floor. The restaurant has a partition in between, not sure if that can be removed. The furniture is very elegant and the ambiance is pretty relaxed and calm, it takes a lot less time to settle down if you are at a place like this. The colors that dominate the place are blue, white and grey with wooden-finish walls. On this occasion the dishes were all put on display at one side of the restaurant which was very well lit.   

Food - - - - - Age old delicacies from the kitchens of villages of undivided Bengal will be on the menu during the 3-day long Bengali Food Festival. As I’ve said above people loves to unite with their family and loved ones, or rather with their roots during this time, and these items on the menu will surely help them revisit those roots somehow or the other. 

The spread is really awesome and savoring so many authentic Bengali dishes at one shot is a great feeling and indeed very much filling as well :)

So let me just run through the featured dishes – Kumro Fuler Bora, Bok Fuler Bora, Murshidabadi Murgi, Begun Pora, Macher Matha Diye Jhuro, Dhakaiya Murgir Kebab, Pabda Mach Bhaja, Eachor Chingri, Dinaj Purer Kosha Mangso, Macher Matha Diye Muri Ghanto, Basanti Pulao, and many more.


The Bengali Food Festival spread will have loads more than these few featured dishes. On this food tasting event we had the privilege to preview few special items from this huge Food Festival menu. I tired their Mirpuri Badami Sarbat, and Aam Pora Sharbat  among the mocktails, both were very refreshing, if you like your thirst quencher to be bit diluted then you will love these. I have also tried their Bhaja Muger Dal with rice and it tasted good, I could smell the fresh ingredients used in that dal which was thick as expected and very much Bengali to its core, I finished it off even without the rice! 


The Aloo Posto was nice but it was not dry, it had some semi-thickish gravy and tasted good but when I found some onions in it and when I spoke to the Chef they informed they have added some tadka to the Aloo Posto which was bit unconventional according to me. The Chhanar Dalna was fresh and bit tangy with a thick gravy, Executive Chef Mr.Roy informed it just had onion and tomato paste in it that does all the trick. I also tried the Basanti Polao which had subtle flavors and aroma to it, nothing too rich. 


Next I tried the Rajbanshi Murgi which is basically a dish from the Rongpur district and quite spicy to suit the North Bengal palate, it is a chicken curry with garlic, turmeric, ginger and potatoes in that thick stew. The Parshe Maachh er Jhal was nice and fresh, the dry and bit spicy curry was going good with that fresh fish. The gravy was made by grinding fresh mustard and chillies, Chef said the dish had all the flavors from these two ingredients and from their correct proportions. Overall all the dishes tried were good and with a much more extended menu you can surely guarantee a great feast.

Also just wanted to mention that this Poila Boisakh menu launch event was graced by the presence of admired personalities like Tollywood actress Suchanda Vaaniya, and Painter Wasim Kapoor.


Service - - - - - The place has got really prompt and friendly staff. They are courteous and very flexible, the Executive Chef took out the time and was standing there beside me while I had my meal explaining every dish that I was having, really I am thankful for these insight and support. Service plays a very vital part in this industry and I am sure they will do well in this department. 

Overall - - - - - You should try out this new place and specially if you are near/at Rajarhat Newtown area. The business hotel with its urbane décor, and relaxed elegant ambiance of the restaurant will surely make your experience a pleasant one. A great addition to the culinary map of Newtown Rajarhat area. So let’s make this Poila Boishakh really special with the choicest delicacies of Bengal. 


You will get these Lunch and Dinner buffet at INR 899 plus taxes on these three days starting from 14th April. Come and enjoy this lavish spread of delicacies at XII Zodiac, Kolkata’s first Sun-sign themed restaurant where food is served according to one’s sun-sign.


Cheers!

XII Zodiac‬ - The Fern Residency Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato 

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