Across Asia on a platter

If you want to taste the flavours of Asia, step into the South EastAsian night at Westin, Koregoan Park. The food festival serves a broad spectrum of South East Asian cuisine, ranging from the much-loved street food - from Japan, China, Thailand, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malayasia - to some exotic dishes.
Filling us in on the details of the festival, Ray Liew, executive sous chef, Westin, Pune, says, “This is strictly Asian food, made in the traditional way. You can taste a plethora of regional dishes under one roof. The fare is mostly about fish, chicken, duck, beef roast marinated in herbs and spices and then cooked. To add the authentic touch to the spices, we got them from across these countries.”
There's a lot about this food festival that will attract foodies. Francis Purification, Chef, Westin, Pune says, “South East Asian cuisine is simpler, the masalas and the sauces are not overpowering. It's healthier too, as a number of dishes are served steamed or raw. What is a big hit amongst the gastronomes is the simple and easy way it is cooked and served. It appeals to the conservative eaters too.”
The food festival , which is laid out every Wednesday, has three live counters where you can choose your ingredients and have them cooked. The menu for the festival includes soups, starters, served with assorted dim sums made of minced meat, lamb, porks and crab. On the other hand, the salad bar has 13 salads made from quids, octopuses, shrimps and a variety of meats with 20 different traditional ingredients. On the sushi platter comes the teriyaki roll and the crunchy prawn tempura roll. In the main course is a variety of rice and noodles cooked with broccoli, carrots, zucchini and greens. For vegetarians, there is an ample variety of veg items, while dishes like Peking roast duck, roast pork ribs, sweet and sour pork, Vietnamese fish head curry and laksa, Malaysian butter prawns add to the novelty factor.
Another area where the festival scores are the assorted Asian sweetmeats. Desserts like coconut sugo melon, kiwi cakes, green peas pudding, mango pudding offer the perfect way to end this feast. Care for something different and delicious?

A power-packed bite to set it right

Mad schedules, long work hours, hectic lifestyles. How does one keep going amidst the demands of urban life? Super food could be one of the answers, finds Barnalee Handique
With the super fast life style we lead, we are sapped off energy by the end of the day. What we need is super power to wade through the daily grunge and grind. A high dose of super food promises not only to boost the immune system but make you healthy and fit as well. So, incorporate them in your daily diet,and they can change your life forever.
What is super food? Can the super food formula be decoded and applied to our everyday diet? Where you can avail of it? For starters, super foods include fruit, vegetables, grains, proteins that are known to to improve well being and longevity. The list includes blueberries, broccoli, nuts, oats, oranges, salmon, strawberries, tomatoes, soya, low fat yoghurt, dark chocolate, red wine, apples, garlic, honey kiwi, avocado, beans, cinnamon, onions, pomegranates, pumpkin, spinach, tea and turkey. These ingredients are easily available in the local super market. And they are worth looking for!
Explaining the concept of super food, executive sous chef , Ray Liew, Westin, Pune says, “The high concentrations of crucial nutrients present in the food in sufficient quantity, makes a difference to one’s health when consumed everyday. You feel more energised, rejuvenated and invigourated if you include a variety of them in your breakfast, lunch and dinner. The food, besides being packed with nutrients and vital vitamins, is low in calories too.” It has been proven to help prevent, as well in some cases reverse, the well known effects of ageing, diabetes, cardio vascular diseases, hypertension, body pain, cancers and so on.
What could be more welcome and delicious than a warm mug of apple cider sprinkled with cinnamon or cinnamon baked apple with crushed nuts? The cinnamon not only promotes health, it particularly benefits people suffering from type II diabetes. Broccoli, for instance, and its cruciferous sidekicks are among the most powerful weapons in the dietary arsenal against cancer. It also boosts the immune system, build bones, and fights birth defects. Or you can binge on loads of dark chocolates with out any guilt pangs. Explains Liew, “It is a myth that chocolates are loaded with caffeine. If taken in small quantities, it lowers blood pressure, increases increase blood flow, and energises you.”On the other hand, onions are a major source of phytonutrients, flavonoids and the mixture of over fifty sulphur containing compounds that play a significant role in health promotion. Other super foods like tomatoes, oranges, tea, garlic,kiwi, honey pack in a nutritional wallop too.
It is believed that when super food is combined with other ingredients, it adds to the nutritional value. So you can combine different ingredients like sesame tofu, soya and coriander sauce or red lentils, coriander and ginger and cumin. Make some hot tomato soup with coriander, or settle down for a garden green salad with onion,tomato, cucumber served with lemon dressing.
g Super foods are known for being health enhancing and rich in antioxidants and phytonutrients. The key to super food Rx philosophy is ‘food synergy.' Food synergy refers to foods that, when prepared together, are even more nutritious than they are when eaten separately. For example, we can combine spinach and tomatoes, cinnamon and whole grains like oats, honey and yogurt and so on,” adds Lewis. Are you ready to try some?