World Food Festival @ Cafe Wanderlust

Cafe Wanderlust is one of my favorite places to go when I'm in the mood for snacks that are tasty and homey and unpretentious. So when I saw an update on their Facebook page, about the World Food Festival being presented by Cafe Wanderlust, I made a mental note to myself to go. As luck would have it, Disha, the ever gracious owner of Cafe Wanderlust, seemed to read my mind and connected with me about coming over and tasting their festival menu. How could I refuse?

So off I went and dragged the hubby along (not that he needed much convincing since he is an even bigger fan of CW then I am). While we were munching away, Disha explained to us that this time, rather than trying to replicate international classics, they decided to give their own twist to things... Here's what we tried...

First up was chaat... it was really good... there was a competition between 

the hubby and I on who could guzzle it down fastest :)

The platter consists of a veg doner kebab, tacos (with the shell made in-house), 

Pyaz kachori & Kashmiri rot

The accompaniments... chutneys, aloo curry & a deliciously rich peanut dip

Meetha chilla and laal rabri, this is a favorite from the Banarasi 

food festival that they had earlier this year... I just loved it!

Tea with scones, jam and cream

The highlights

My favorites were... 

The Chaat which was full of chatpata warmth and comfort ... 

The pyaaz kachori which is an all time favorite of mine...

The Kashmiri rot which was sweet, salty and moorish and I loved the sesame seeds that added a little nutty flavour to this bite sized morsel of biscuity deliciousness...

Meetha chilla and laal rabri... soooo good... can't say more really... & I can see why it's a favourite.

The tacos, which while not authentic, had an interesting Indian twist that I liked, although I would have liked the shell to be a little crispier...

Things that could have been better...

The Doner kebab which was a combination of mushroom and soy granules, was good, but the kebab itself was a little dry and needed more flavour. I think this is something that could definitely be worked on to make it a great dish...

The scones, and I'm being ultra critical here, because I love scones with a passion that borders on craziness, while tasty, needed to be a little lighter and more buttery. 

So rounding things up... if you're in the mood for some delicious international classics with an Indian twist, that remind you of your mom's cooking... hop over to Cafe Wanderlust and experience their World Food Festival which is on till 22nd October. There are also some interesting travel talks, comedy open mics and movie screenings that can liven up a dull day. 

[All images- Shalini Pereira. Please do not use without prior written permission]