Chinese Maid-Autumn Festival at Baan Tao will take you on an unforgettable Chinese and Vietnamese culinary sojourn
After you have tested your body with fasting, it’s time to taste some heavenly dishes and have a feast! Head to Baan Tao, Hyatt Pune’s Pan-Asian restaurant, for a delectable Chinese and Vietnamese spread to enjoy the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival.
Celebrated by the Chinese and Vietnamese, the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival is a harvest festival and feasting is a major part of the merriment. Now, you too can enjoy the feast as Baan Tao brings the festival to town.
The award-winning restaurant’s ambience sets the mood for the innovative and authentic dishes prepared by chef-in-command Sunil Joshi and the six-course meal includes something even for the purest of vegetarians.
The variety to choose from will blow you away. It’s a stunning experience to have world-class food brought to your table, cooked with extreme care and eye for detail.
The line-up to gastronomical nirvana begins with appetisers and moves on to dim sums, salads, soups, main course delicacies, and finally ends with a bang with a dessert.
A good start
Watch out for the double-cooked prawns in Qing Hoi Honey (specially sourced from China) and burnt garlic. Sesame Chilli Honey Pumpkin Chips is a refreshing addition to the appetisers’ menu. Soft inside and crunchy on the outside makes you wonder why you never thought pumpkin could be so much fun.
Another knocker of an appetiser is the braised Edamame and Chicken, delicately rolled in Vietnamese rice paper rolls. Edamame is a green shelled soyabean which is used in many East Asian cuisines and has immense nutritional value.
Joshi used this green bean in the Edamame Mushroom Crystal Dumpling as well which is the only vegetarian one in the Dim Sum section. He explained it’s called ‘crystal’ because the casing is so thin and transparent that one can actually see the stuffing inside it.
The other two dumplings — Chilean Sea Bass Asparagus Dumpling and Basil Chili Chicken Crystal Dumpling — will simply blow you away with the blast of flavours steamed to perfection and rolled with skilled precision.
Salads and soups will cleanse your palate for what lies ahead.
Main course
The scrumptious main course has an array of dishes to choose from, which includes Wok Tossed Chicken with Cashews, Har Mok Talay and its vegetarian version Har Mok Phak, Black Tofu Beans, Stir Fried Kale and chef’s favourite Pork Belly tossed with dry chili sauce.
Har Mok Talay is a mixed seafood curry, which is cooked in a coconut shell, which gives it that extra punch of freshness and unique taste.
With a variety of noodles and rice staples to choose from, the main course puts you in festivities’ fourth gear with a satisfying Pan-Asian experience.
Dessert delight
Finishing it off with flair was Chef Parag Kandarkar’s White Chocolate Coconut Panna Cotta stuffed with ruby chestnuts. Just digging into that cool white dome was a delightful experience as rose flavoured juicy pieces of chestnuts oozed out of it.
Another cracker of a dessert is the Darsan. It is the traditional sesame flat noodles, dipped in honey and served with vanilla ice-cream. A typical Mid-Autumn festive dish, the traditional Mooncake is a great way to polish off the extravagant meal.
Joshi revealed that he took extra care in keeping the dishes on the ‘healthier’ side for the ones who watch what they eat. “Focus has been more on steaming the dishes, instead of fried items, because we know how much people like to eat healthy these days,” he said.
ST Reader Service
Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival at
Baan Tao, Hyatt Pune, adjacent to Aga Khan Palace, Nagar Road, Kalyani Nagar, till October 12, lunch 1.30-3.30 pm and dinner 7.30-11.30 pm
