April 16th, 2017
Easter Egg’stravganza – the celebratory brunch at Latitude by Taj Vivanta !!!
An egg’centric meal (no pun intended 😀 ) with easter eggs galore, dotting the food scape, nestling in between the dishes, perching in cocktail glasses, forming a considerable part of the dessert section, including oval gulab jamuns 😀 … and even hiding in the strangest of places, waiting to be detected by enthusiastic children on an Easter egg hunt … a meal ably supported of course, by the vast range of food and drink, that was worthy of a celebration.
I was called to be a part of these festivities, an invitation I was glad to accept, since Taj Whitefield has been one of the places my family used to frequent in the past.
With their uncrowded ambience and warm hospitality, this has always been a good place to visit to enjoy a relaxed meal.
We began with a light mutton shorba that delightfully cleared the path for the rest of the repast.
Once the cocktails were underway, my Orange ginger martini found companionship in the vast number of dishes that were brought to our table. Apart from the lamb, chicken and prawns, the grilled mushrooms, zucchini and corn were also well relished by our ‘all non vegetarian’ group. In fact the vegetarian options tended to overshadow the non veg at times with the cheesy Rosemary roasted red potatoes, the Sliced eggplant and mushroom in chilly soya and a salad counter that held an excellent Creamy spinach and cheese roulade.
The Grilled asparagus with pancetta, gorgonzola and red onion and the Norwegian smoked salmon with chive crème fraiche, also found favor with me.
Easter-centric and other ceremonial breads lined the bread counter with Hot cross buns, Challah and Fruit bread wreaths embedded with colored eggs.
Along with the usual Continental, Asian and Indian spread and several live stations, there were also the Easter specials with roast Pigling, a treat for those who are suckers for a whole Suckling roast 😀
This little piggy actually came back from market instead of going there and found his peaceful resting place alongside the roast Turkey. A veritable farmyard scene albeit of a different kind 😀
The live appam counter promised to produce an escort to the coconut laden Prawn moilee that beckoned the coastal lover in me and despite the non stick appam chatti (pan) used, the appams were worthy of being mentioned (I being of the firm belief that cast iron pans produce the finest appams).
Dessert as I mentioned, was mostly an egg fest with easter eggs of all types and sizes, including those fashioned out of lemon grass mousse and mango jelly yolks that I wanted to try but was too full to.
However, I did manage to accommodate some poached pears in red wine sauce and a luscious coconut gujjia !!!
I also squeezed in a tiny bit of decadent mud pie, while my brain urged me to walk away and not look back, signalling me to – Mud Mud ke na dekh !!!
The other activities included a balloon artist who obliged the kids (read ‘us’) with tiger and flower shaped balloons … but rather Shellfishly drew the line at my request for a Prawn shaped one 😀
Easter comes but once in the year but luckily their regular Sunday brunches come every week 😀 and at prices starting at Rs 1650, they are quite a popular affair.
Apr 16th,2017
For more pictures see My Facebook – Vivanta by Taj-Easter Brunch
