Universally, the celebration of a festival is centered around a lot of good food. After all what better to bring a family together than a wonderfully put together meal. Festive food is usually in keeping with traditions and the history of the festival itself. The great thing about Bangalore's Restaurants, especially the specialty ones, is that we, right here in the city, get to savour some of the best festive food around without having to get out of the country. 

The month of June is dedicated to the Dragon Boat festival in China and is celebrated to commemorate the life and death of Chinese scholar Qu Yuan (Chu Yuan). Dragon Boat racing is an integral part of this national holiday of China. It is said to have originated when boats were taken out to look for the body of the scholar who reportedly drowned in the Milou River. Legend has it that packets of rice were thrown into the river to ensure that the fish did not eat the scholar's body. And thus the origin of the tradition of eating zongzhi, along with rice wine developed.

We were invited to Yauatcha to sample the the Zongzhi - steamed rice, layered with meat and vegetables. Each of these are wrapped in leaves and brought to the table in bamboo steamers. They are they unpacked right before you and the steaming goodness is all that is needed to whet the appetite. 

The menu has been designed by Chef Wang Yixuan, Head Chef of Yauatcha, India. The festival is currently underway and will be on till the end of the month. There are six versions to choose from, 2 vegetarian and 4 meat based. We sampled each of six offerings. Here is a look at what we had.

 

 Photo courtesy - Yauatcha - the Sticky rice in lotus leaf with asparagus