If you haven’t gotten around to trying vegan cuisine just as yet, this new festival menu, at the city’s fine-dine vegetarian restaurant, 4Cups might be just the nudge you need. The restaurant offers a variety of niche dishes like Dhuandhar Tandoori Tikka Platter, Tofu Lababdar curated specially for the fest. Spread across 3,000 sq ft and a seating capacity of 132, the restaurant hosts a different food festival each month. “We wanted to put together something different this time and since there has been a large footfall of vegan patrons, we decided to host a Vegan Food Festival,” says Arun Kumar, a working partner.
Soulful starters
We were greeted with a refreshing Lemon Terror mocktail. It tasted citrusy, salty and spicy and might increase one’s appetite. The drink was quickly followed by The Mongolian Tofu with Veggies. The fiery starter was a bit too spicy for our palate. However, those who like spicy food might love it. This wok-tossed tofu was hard on the outside, tender on the inside, an interesting mix of textures. Next up, we opted for the Chettinad Pepper Tofu, a vegan replacement for the Chettinad chicken. The dish had that authentic earthy flavour with curry leaves, chilli flakes and the heat from the peppers was complemented by savoury and juicy soybean curd. Even though it wasn’t on the festival menu, Arun recommended we try the Chaar Ranga Paneer Tikka. The signature dish comprises four different types of paneer including saffron, palak, malai and plain cottage cheese, which comes with two types of chutneys like imli and pudina. The well-charred and saffron-infused paneer is moist and pairs well with the house-made condiments.
Souped-up mains
While waiting for our mains to arrive, we notice that paintings depicting the 1800’s decorated the stone walls and even the serving staff mimicked this theme with their uniform. Just then, the delicious aroma of the Almond Rosemary Lemon Crusted Tofu comes wafting in and catches our attention. The dish is spicy and sweet with a dark golden brown exterior and tender tofu on the inside accompanied by sautéed veggies like yellow capsicum, broccoli along with a sweet chilli sauce. For rice lovers, we recommend the Vegan Thai Yellow Curry with white rice that has a unique sweetness, which we think is from the coconut paste. “We use peanuts instead to derive that sweet authentic Thai curry taste,” explains Arun.
Dazzling desserts
Wrapping up our hearty meal, we sample the Crisp Apple with Watermelon Sorbet, which is a
burst of flavours. While it looked spectacular, the taste takes you by suprise. It is bitter-sweet with a mild citrusy hint from the mint leaves. This is offset by the sweetness of the dried crisp apple, and the acidity from the green apple essence completely elevates the dish.
On until October 31.
Approximately `600 for two.