Italian food festival at Vivanta by Taj, Trivandrum

Yesterday I got an opportunity to explore the Italian food fest going on at Vivanta by Taj in our capital city. It was a chance for me to try out some Italian cuisine. My expectation was not much. Italian, well it would be Pizza, Pasta, Spaghetti, and of course the regular spread of buffet. 

Was pleasantly surprised to see the range and spread of the variety of Italian food I got to see at The Fifth Element Restaurant at the Vivanta by Taj - Trivandrum. We reached the restaurant a bit early and got to meet the Chef who was ensuring everything was in place and ready for the live counter for Pizza and Pasta. So I got a chance to check with him what all variety is available and what will be his recommendations. 

I was told that main three dishes are Pasta, Pizza and Risottos. They have Arancini and Fritti for starters. He suggested spicy Mushroom and Mozzarella Arancini and Fritto misto fried Prawns and Squids. He also recommended White Wine to go with this. Fritti looked very bland but one bite on prawns; it was crispy juicy and lovely flavour of salt and pepper, the freshness of prawns in forefront. Same with squid - I have never had such crispy and juicy squid! Our Chef gave the secret out - mix of corn and refined flour dusted and fried and perfect start for our adventure with Italian food!

Soup section had vegetarian Minestrone and non-vegetarianr Zuppa Toscana which is Italian sausage and potato soup. Must say both looked so tempting but I decided to pick up the main course. I did not even go for Pasta and Pizza side as I was in this adventurous mood of trying out things which I have never tried before. But before I could go the main course section one glance on the salad section and something really beautiful caught my eyes - ‘Tenderloin Steak with grilled Apple’. My previous adventure with Steak was not so great, so was not too sure if I wanted to try this, but it was so beautifully presented that I just could not resist – and another good thing about the dish was the steak piece were relatively small. Just took one helping and wow it was just amazing! The steak was juicy, well done and the sweet and sour grilled apple was the perfect accomplishment with the meat. A must try.

Moving to the main course – oh there was so much to choose from, and everything looked so delicious, and the best part was there was good number of vegetarian dishes - 

• Polenta Al Farmo (Baked creamy boiled cornmeal with lot of vegetables – absolutely delicious and melts in mouth) 
• Italian Potato - Country style roast potato wedges with Italian herbs and Parmesan
• Mulafatti - Spinach dumpling in tomato base sauce – dumplings a bit hard and does not have any spice, but has flavour of Parmesan cheese, but has strong taste of Spinach, goes well with tomato base sauce. 
• Risotto with assorted mushroom (Button and wild mushroom) in cream – creamy, with distinct tastes of mushroom.
• Steamed vegetables

On the Non Veg side there were some really yum dishes -

• Baked mozzarella chicken on plum tomato sauce – well cooked boneless chicken with tomato base sauce 
• Fillet Di Manzo Parmegiano (Tenderloin stuffed with Parmesan) and steamed crisp Broccoli  
• Rissotto - asparagus and chicken - this rice dish is full of flavours of cream, asparagus minimal spice but you can make out every flavour in your mouth – just like the flavour even the texture is smooth and creamy.

Dessert section was again very extensive - with Tiramisu, Cheese cake, Lime pie, Cherry Pie, Blanc Mange , but for a change I was blown away by the main course and just wanted to have the flavours of Polento and Tenderloin linger on.

Now if you are wondering how did I manage to eat all this ;) You can guess the food was really good! I took one serve of the dishes which is pretty small quantity, secondly the wine helped in enjoying each dish and the flavours (recommend wine with your Italian meals).

We spend neat 2-2.5 hours there, in a quiet corner, enjoying two very private birthday celebrations, one wedding anniversary celebration and the wonderful company of live music by Mary (Live music is available only on Fridays) .

Summing up, I would recommend this Italian food festival, especially for people who want to explore European cuisine and also to celebrate their special occasions in a quiet place. The fest concludes on September 04, 2016. The buffet tariff is worth the ambiance and the excellent food.