Palate-pleasers for the season

It’s the time for indulgences. But instead of going overboard at the mall, I’m saving up my spoiling for the top-of-the-line food festivals in town.

Eatalian Odyssey: The best of seven years of i.t-ALIA is on offer at ‘Celebration Week’. I loved the pear, walnut and rocket salad with parmesan and tagliolini with porcini sauce and truffle oil, followed by angel hair pasta with crabmeat, lemon and dill and a truffle-scented parmigiana. And, of course, the signature dessert of baked fresh figs with mascarpone cheese.
Italian food festival. Till October 24, lunch and dinner. At i.t-ALIA, The Park, 14/7 MG Road, Bangalore 42. Tel: 25594666. Meal for two: Around Rs 3000.

All at Sea: Everything’s fishy about this one at the Lido, and the cuisines came from nearby Kerala to faraway Singapore. I tried the shrimp-and-baby octopus salad and the crab-and-spring onion wontons, but my fave were the fried calamari rings. The Malabar prawn curry and kari meen were perfection, so was the Singapore chilli-and-garlic crab and the pomfret fillet with lemongrass. I’m going back for the seafood brunch on Sunday, featuring exotic salads, entrees and grills.
Seafood festival. Till October 26, only dinner. Hotel Ista, 1/1 Swami Vivekananda Road, Ulsoor, Bangalore 8. Tel: 25558888. Buffet: Rs1000 per head.

Bang for the Buck: Bengali food isn’t all that uncommon, but Bangladeshi? Dawat-e-Dhaka offers surprising twists on the familiar, with the Dil-khush Kobab (chicken and cheese kebab), Padma mach tikka (fish tikka) and beguni (aubergine pakoda). I loved the maachher morich tenga (red Barisali-style fried fish in a sour tomato masala) with kishmish pulao (rice with raisins). For dessert, of course, there was sandesh and rosogolla.
Bangladeshi food festival. Till October 26, only for dinner. Royal Orchid Hotel, 471/ Manipal Centre, Dickenson Road, Bangalore 42. Tel: 2558 4242. Buffet: Rs 1000 per head.