Italian food is my biggest weakness, I can gorge on different varieties of pasta and fresh Italian breads all day long. However, in Bangalore, it’s not often that you come across a good Italian restaurant, I would say there are very few that I really like, located quite far apart.
Last week I was invited for a special preview of the Neapolitan Food Festival at Alba – JW Marriott which boasts of a menu specially curated by Chef Nicola Costa from his hometown in Naples.
Chef Nicola educated us on how different the food is as you travel from North to South Italy, southern Italian food is typically characterized by fresh flavors and Mediterranean Influences.
So we started off on our gastronomical journey of the city of Naples in a very Non-Neapolitan way with a strawberry soda of sorts, which was extremely sweet and not a great start to our meal. I’m sure the Neapolitans would be extremely disappointed if they heard of this drink that was served to us, well you know how Italians take their food and wine very seriously.
To make up for it, we were served a delicious Pizza Montanara or fried pizza with tomatoes, oozing with just the right amount of mozzarella.
Next stop, we were treated to a delicious salad of Roasted pumpkin with goat cheese mousse, balsamic caviar and cherry tomato confit. A rather delicate salad, full of distinct flavors and textures, I absolutely loved it.
The next dish to make it’s way to our table was the Marinated sea bass with zucchini stewed in fresh tomatoes topped with olives and capers, this dish was full of fresh flavors that complimented the fish beautifully.
For Primi, we indulged in a beautiful light hand made Parsley Linguine with olive oil and red chilli, topped with some crusty bread that added a nice crunch. What’s Italian food without pizza right? Well we didn’t have an actual pizza, but there was some pizza bread of sorts that was brought to our table, which was simply divine. It takes an Italian to create something this magical with the most simple ingredients. We couldn’t resist but bite into slices of warm bread with a sundried tomato and olive oil spread. Yum.
Coming to Dolci, my favorite. A delectable Fruit Tart, with a delicious buttery base and creamy custard was polished off. For me the lightness of this dessert helped balance out our whole meal at Alba. I love how Chef Nicola has played with different flavors and you’ll be surprised at some of the dishes served at the festival.
So head to Alba at JW Marriott to experience the Magic of Italy. The Neapolitan festival is on from 24th June – 2nd July, you don’t want to miss out on this one.
Price: 2000++Taxes
Website: http://www.marriott.com/hotels/hotel-information/restaurant/blrjw-jw-marriott-hotel-bengaluru/
Address: 24/1, Vittal Mallya Road, Ashok Nagar, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560001
