Page 77 - HHAug-Sep2023

“IT’S A SURPRISE TO FIND A
RESTAURANT IN THE CITY OF
BENGALURU THAT ELABORATES
DEPICTION OF ROYAL
PATRONAGE, REFERENCING
COOKING AS AN ART FORM
AND PRESENTING VERSATILITY
THAT CAN CATER TO EVERY
TRUE AFICIONADO OF FINE
INDIAN CUISINE.”

t Falak, the testament of old
culinary traditions brings
dastaan (story) to the table. As I
sit down for a meal at the Indian
speciality restaurant at The
A Leela Bhartiya City Bengaluru,
the ambience regales the tales of the royals and
an experience that transcends all languages of
quintessential 19th century Lucknowi dastaan
to mimic the oral storytelling tradition,
dastaan-e-goi.
It’s a surprise to find a restaurant in the city of
Bengaluru that elaborates depiction of royal
patronage, referencing cooking as an art form
and presenting versatility that can cater to every
true aficionado of fine Indian cuisine.
The food that arrives confirms that it is one of
the most nuanced Awadhi/Mughlai restaurants
in the Garden City where a 70-year-old chef,
Farman Ali, cooks behind the fiery range of
Falak.
With extreme politeness that marks the old
Nawabi etiquette, the chef asks me, “Ab aapko
kya dastaan sunaye? (what possible tales can I
tell you?)” and instead unfolds an amusing
menu called dastaan-e-goi, which is a 13-course
feast-worthy menu; an uncompromising
culinary tradition like an unravelled story.
As the meal progresses, Tandoori Chicken
marks a culinary precession and is a gourmet
affair defining hues of passion, tradition, and
love. This flavourful blend succumbs to the
greatest pinch as Farman pays close attention to
the minutest of detail from the size of the bird
“more than 1,200 gm per bird” to the bite of the
spice to deliver excellence on the plate.
This is followed by Shahi Nalli Nehari, a
pepper-laced stew of old Delhi’s spice market,
concocted, according to lore, to ward off cold
and flu thought to emanate from the Yamuna

77
www.hospitality-horizon.com AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2023 hospitality horizon