Now that 'its the most wonderful time of the year' and you are of course making the most of it because 'its the season to be jolly', you may be ODing on all the goodies that are so intrinsic to this holiday season. But what if I were to tell you that there is something going on in the city that definitely must have your attention? Its a festival, its different and will certainly give you that lovely savory respite your stomach may actually be craving for before C-Day.

The Fatty Bao at Indiranagar is currently hosting a Bao Festival - 14 varieties of Baos to choose from - each of them a treat sandwiched in between soft, slightly sweet baos - 2 to a portion so that you can share with a friend and try more than just the one. Or of course, if you would rather not share, then two can do just the trick! We were invited to a sampling of these baos as well as a few of the new additions on the Fatty Bao menu.

We began with 7 of the baos at one go - a collection of choices from everyone at the table. I had my share of baos accompanied with the Wasabi Drop - a drink that packs quite the punch of wasabi with a nice twist of Gin and ginger juice, with egg white and lemon. A great way to begin the meal. Here is a look at some of the baos that we shared. We also ordered a round of our favorite picks so that we didn't have to share!

The simplest of descriptions often manage to catch our eyes and that is why these two vegetarian baos made their way to the table. Upfront is the Fried Eggplant Bao with finely sliced miso marinated fried eggplant, kimchi and sriracha sauce. I love my eggplant fried to a nice little crisp and with the little twang from the kimchi and the sweetness of the bao, this was one of my first picks. The Cheesy Kimchi Potato is what you see behind and is exactly what the description says it is with a generous dusting of Korean Chilli Powder and Scallions. Without even beginning on the meat options, these were already my two favorites.


Next up was the Roasted Duck Bao - tender, hand pulled duck meat, with the crunch of cucumber and some scallions to finish it off. Because the four of us wanted a taste of each of the baos, we cut each one in half. Every one of them yielded gently to the butter knife without even a hint of a struggle - meat or vegetable filling immaterial. The Roast Duck especially was a delight to cut through and of course eat!

Japanese tempura meets sushi meets bao in this Wasabi Fish Bao that has crispy fried seabass topped off with wasabi sauce, gari (pickled ginger) and fried garlic and Schichimi. While the crispy coated flaky fish was great, it is the crunch of deliciously fried garlic that this bao that superlative kick. Another pick from the lot for me.

The Chickpea and Wild Mushroom Bao - very reminscent of a Falalel in a Bao, but nice. There were a few other baos we tried that certainly call for your attention - The Char Siu Bao with Pork Belly and Kimchi Apples for one. Another one - the Beef Cheeks Bao is melt-in-cheeks soft and needs only your lips to tease away and the Pulled Pork Bao which gets my vote too.

Absolute Vanilla and Kurant with a hint of cardomom and melon is what makes up the Hello Moto which was my second drink


 As if the Baos were not enough, we also helped ourselves to some of the new offerings on menu. My pictures don't do justice to the prettiness of the Tuna Nigiri with Soy and Yuzu glaze. Each mouthful was made better with the soy and yuzu glaze - the tuna could have been slightly firmer, but that did not take away from the taste for me. Be warned, each portion of nigiri is generously lined with wasabi, so you may want to go easy on what is provided on the side. The Brie with Pickled Plum Nigiri (below) was another delightful addition to the Fatty Bao menu.