Ondhu Foodie Travels

Zomaland Bengaluru was a mix of both ups and downs. Zomaland was conducted from March 1-3 of 2019 at White Orchids near Manyata Tech Park. The dates were announced a couple of months back and the tickets were rolling out probably a month before the event. The event is the brain child of Zomato and the concept of a carnival/festival was used.

The first day was a major disappointment as the show was a complete disaster. The food festival was off to a great start but then there were certain performances that were scheduled for later in the evening which did not go as per the plan. All the performances were called off due to various reasons, some say it is because the organizers did not obtain the permission from the local authorities on time, while the others say that there was a lack of crowd present on the first day and the performers backed out. Whatever the reason maybe, it truly shed a bad light on the things to come and I was nervous about what to expect on the second day.

So, I went to the location at around 1 in the afternoon and it was not much of a task to get in. The parking was easily available for the four-wheeler, the security check was smooth and did not take much time either. The entire place was beautifully setup, with amazing décor, the food stalls all around us and a giant Ferris wheel right at the center of everything. The line up for the day was fantastic, I have never attended any live shows of these artists and I was eagerly waiting to experience it all.

The food was brilliant, it may seem pricy and the quantity may be lesser but at the end of the day it was all worth it. The biggest obstacle was the Sun, it was scorching hot and there was no escape from the rays of the sun as it was all in the open. This kind of drained my energy as there was nothing to be done or to look forward till 5 in the evening. So, I had a few snacks from the stalls at the venue to keep me going for the rest of the day.

Chicken Tikka Roll from Tibbs Frankie was tastier than ever. The roll was crispy from the outside, the chicken was well cooked, and it was spicy as well. This was a good start to give me energy for the next couple of hours. They are available at many places in Bengaluru and they are indeed one of the better rolls to have as well compared to many in the city of Bengaluru.

Aglio Olio by Via Milano was my next choice for the day. The Spaghetti was perfectly cooked and finely balanced in olive oil, with all the necessary ingredients that goes to in preparing the perfect Aglio Olio.

My last snack before the beginning of the performances was the Peri Peri fries by Leon grill. Leon Grill is known for their Peri Peri dishes and the fries were crispy and cooked perfectly, and with the right amount of the Peri Peri powder this surely gave my taste buds something to cherish for.

For Dinner, we shared a Prawns Biryani. The Biryani rice was cooked separately, the prawn masala was served separately. The masala was not too spicy, the rice on its own was bland and could not have had it without the masala.

Fish Tikka was cooked well, was not too thick on the outside, the inside was soft, and the spice levels was not too spicy either. It was provided with mint chutney, onions, and lime.

We ended our food journey by having the Jalebi. Soft and crispy, juicy and tasty, nothing could have been better than this after a tiring day.

The first performance of the evening was by When Chai Met Toast. I honestly had never heard of them and never listened to a single song, but I was grooving along to their music in no time. It was a while since I had seen a live performance and it felt good to be back among the music lovers.

Along with them, I got the opportunity to listen to The Shubham Roy Collective, who had their own version of the desi songs. Sitting among everyone on the lawns and listening to them while the sun was setting was indeed an experience I will never forget.

Along with music, a little bit of humor was required as well. So, there were two segments, one by Shankar Chugani, and the other by Rohan Joshi. Both their sets were hilarious and had very interesting take on certain subjects. It is rare to see them all at the same place entertaining everyone, but it was worth every penny.

The highlight had to be Divine performing. Apna Time Aayega was sung by everyone in the crowd as he entertained everyone with his songs, old and new. Having not known much of his work, thanks to Gully Boy I had read up about him and knew some of his songs. The night concluded with a set by Ritviz who made us dance to his trippy visuals and music.

Zomaland was a success even though there were many failures, but this looks like a beginning of an amazing concept. Hope this returns in 2020 as well.