Welcome Change

A Mediterranean food festival at Buzz brings a different side of the world on a platter.

Chandigarh residents do not like to experiment much with their food tastes. So we were pleasantly surprised when Buzz,a restaurant lounge and club in Sector 17,chose a Mediterranean menu for their latest food festival. We were anxious to know what was on offer so we arrived for an early weekday lunch. As we took in the warm winter sun in the clubs balcony area we liked the way the lounge offers interesting seating plans we scanned through the menu carefully. One requires a healthy dose of patience to read the menu,as the names of the dishes can be tad confusing. Thankfully,the management has detailed descriptions on the menu in most cases,

and that helped us make our selection easier.

The menu traverses through Turkey,Libya,Morocco,Greece,Egypt and Italy and while you do come across familiar dishes such as fattoush salad,falafel,mezze platters,souvlaki and the likes,there are many lesser-heard names. Like the Greek salad,yunan salatsi or the Turkish specialty,Menemen. The latter makes a debut in the city and you will realise that it could well be a long-lost cousin of the Punjabi bhurji (scrambled eggs). The Mezze platter comprising a smorgasbord of dips served with grilled foccacia is a good place to start and for those looking for something to warm you up,try the Corbasi Libiya,a classic stew-like meat and mint soup.

The dishes are an interesting mix and choosing the main course can be a tedious exercise. Preferring white meat over red,we opted for a fish tagine paired with vegetable cous-cous. It took a while for the grand dish to arrive,but we were in no hurry and even decided to overlook the slight blandness in the tagine for the well made vegetable cous-cous. For those who are looking to attempt Mediterranean cuisine,the fish (sole,in this case) curry makes for a subtle start. Otherwise,theres always the chicken shawarma. The menu also introduces a selection of wines and for desserts,theres baklava,though we skipped it for another visit. The festival ends on December 8.

Meal for two: Rs 800

Location: SCO 45-47,

Sector 17 A,Chandigarh

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