The August Moon Festival | Memories of China | Vivanta by Taj-M.G Road | Bangalore

12:19


Have you guys ever heard of something called the August Moon Festival?

Whatever your answer is, do read on as we got to know about it recently and celebrated this auspicious event at none other than Memories of China, Vivanta by Taj—M.G Road, Bangalore. This festival is regarded as the second grandest festival in China and is also known as the mid-autumn festival.

It is called the August Moon Festival because at this time of the year the moon is at its brightest and roundest. The festival is associated with family engagement, traditional Chinese food and moon cakes.

They have a special menu for this festival and it kicked off from the 1st of September. The menu has a great balance between Vegetarian and Non Vegetarian items but does not have any desserts. So, if you have a dessert craving then the main menu will come to your rescue.

We tried almost the entire menu, but we will be talking about the highlights only. As the preparations are Authentic Chinese, there are chances that some might not be palate friendly.


Stir fried water chestnut, lotus stem and potatoes in chef special sauce

Steamed eggplant in spicy peanut sauce

cauliflower in a creamy sauce with preserved chilli

 We normally try non veg more, but this time we will be talking about veg too!


We started off our special dinner with water chestnut, lotus stem and potatoes in special chef’s sauce. It was a fried preparation which had a beautiful crunch in every bite and was mildly sweet.

The stir fried four treasure mushroom in dark soya did not seem so special at first, but if you consider that certain varieties of mushroom were stir fried and just cooked in soya it was pretty impressive.

The cauliflower preparation was also deceptive at first. It seemed like boiled cauliflowers, but when eaten with the creamy sauce and preserved chilli it was exceptional. It was creamy, crunchy and slightly spicy to top it off.

We tried two more items: the steamed eggplant with spicy homemade peanut sauce and the traditional moon cakes.



The eggplant preparation was commendable as it was well done and actually tasted good. The moon cakes were a bit too dry for comfort. It might be that they are supposed to be that way. They were of the size of dumplings and looked similar but were hard. The inner stuffing tasted good and had the right amount of sweetness.

Now coming down to the part which we actually like ;) (Just kidding!):


Chef special sauteed prawns

Staple veg noodles

Minced Pork Pattie

The chef special sautéed prawns grabbed our attention immediately. Both the presentation and the taste were splendid! The prawns were big, juicy, and fresh and not to mention absolutely lip smacking.

The mixed seafood schezwan style was a slight let down. It was served in a clay pot and the sauce was excellent but the quantity and variation of seafood was not impressive. There were prawns and fish but the scallops were lacking in number. Apart from this, it was a traditional schezwan preparation and delightful!

One of the best preparations in the menu was the Shandong Style Steamed Chicken. It was served in a dim sum basket and we were clueless that chicken was being served. The preparation was hot, slightly spicy and had chunks of chicken throughout. It was truly mouth watering with a delicate aroma and tasted great with the veg noodles served as staples.

If you are a pork lover, don’t miss out on the Minced Pork Pattie Shanghai Style. This preparation was beautiful. The pork was perfectly minced and in the shape of hemispheres. They were moist and served with a thick brown coloured sauce which was appetizing and slightly sweet. This was brilliance on a plate.

The Stir Fried Shredded Lamb with Preserved Veg Pickle tasted different and many might not like it. The shredded lamb pieces were juicy with the good old essence and taste of lamb. The pickled vegetables added a sharp taste to the dish. The presentation was great but the vinegary taste killed the beauty of the lamb.


Staple veg fried rice

Honey Chilli Grouper

Mixed seafood schezwan style and served in a clay pot

Stir fried butter garlic prawns

Lastly, there were 3 sizzlers in this special menu: Silken Tofu, Butter Garlic Prawns and Honey Chilli Grouper.

The sizzlers were presented in clay pots and as expected there was a decent sizzling sound. The fish sizzler had fillets of Grouper and the sauce was remarkably well balanced. The fish was well done and the flavours went it properly. This tangy, sweet and spicy sizzler was the best of the lot.

The Silken Tofu Sizzler was interesting especially in terms of the texture of tofu. The tofu was so soft that it was breaking with the slightest touch. This was incredible and apart from this the preparation was decent, nothing special.

Lastly, the Stir Fried Butter Garlic Prawns touched the end of this fantastic meal. This preparation is a classic and it was implemented the same way. The sauce was thick and had the characteristic flavours. The prawns were sweet, well done and tasted remarkable with the sauce.

Now that’s all from our side about the festival menu and the must try’s, the do try’s and the can try’s!

We had Ferrero Rocher dumplings and coconut ice cream for dessert which were from the main menu. The former was excellent whereas the latter did not quite cut it. It was sweet and bland—the coconut flavour was lacking.


Ferrero Rocher dumplings

This is the second festival we have experienced at Memories of China and we must say that we are impressed with the way they execute festivals and bring out natural flavours in their preparations without too many additives.

This special festival menu runs throughout September (most probably), so we definitely recommend planning in advance and indulging in these magnificent preparations. (Provided you have a flexible mind and love for Authentic Chinese food)

That’s all from our side. We’ll be back soon with delicious news!

If you guys visit, do let us know about your experience.

Till then—bon appétit!

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