Yauatcha, Kolkata is celebrating the Dragon Boat Festival till the 26th of June. And to join in the festivities, I went there last week, to try out the festival menu, on an invitation. The menu for the festival has Sticky Rice Dumplings and some rather interesting wok dishes, apart from the brilliant dessert. 

As the story goes, the Duanwu Festival is a commemoration of King Qu Yuan, and is celebrated by activities such as dragon boat racing, wearing perfume pouches and eating Zongzi. Now Zongzis are basically sticky rice dumplings, made of glutinous rice filled with various fillings, wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves, and tied with stalks or silken threads. We tried a number of the simple yet delightful Zongzi variants on offer, and my favourite was the Pork Belly Sticky Rice. 

The Wild Prawn Curry with Almond and Water Chestnuts was brilliant. 😍The perfectly cooked, soft prawns with the crunchy  water chestnuts in a silky, aromatic gravy was an instant hit at the table. And being the good girl that I am, I never ignore my vegetables. And thank God, I don’t because the Stir Fried French Beans with Shiitake Mushrooms are not to be missed.😀

Now the beautifully plated desserts at Yauatcha have always made me go weak in the knees, so I had very high expectations from the Mango and Wine soaked Water Chestnut Cake with Sauvignon Sorbet. And this pretty little dessert plate did not just match them, but exceeded my expectations by miles. The rich cake, with the sweet mango cubes and the tart sorbet over a chocolatey soil was a head mix of contrasting yet complementing tastes and textures and is again something I would personally recommend.

And thus went the evening with happy people and happier tummies 😎.