They say ‘Good things come in small packages’ and in this case the pleasant surprise and the good thing was an invite to celebrate the 2nd Brand Anniversary Celebrations of the LaLit Suri Hospitality Group at Lalit Ashok Hotel. What was even more surprising, was a Bangalore Bloggers meet along with the Food Tasting event at their Pan Asian Restaurant ‘OKO’. This big event through a small package in the form of an email:)..
It sounded fun..the very thought of meeting new people who share a common interest-FOOD was even more exciting. Suma of Cakes and More and Madhuri of Cookcurrynook were the leading ladies who helped Tinky, the PR executive of Perfect Relations in organising the meet. Thank you girls for actually making the bloggers meet happen and Thank you Tinky for providing a platform for this event. I knew Madhuri earlier through college and I was meeting rest of the food bloggers for the first time,whom I knew through their blogs. All of us finally met and got introduced.
So here’s all of us:(L TO R- Suma (cakes and more), Shubhada (Shubhada123), Madhuri (cookcurrynook), Ramya(Mane Adige) and Geeta (The Fragrant kitchen).
THE BANGALORE FOOD BLOGGERS..
OKO is a roof top Pan AsianRestaurant. The ambience was very exotic. We were graciously greeted by a statue of Buddha with a serene smile, and I knew instantly that I would love this place.
BUDDHA WITH A SERENE SMILE..
The whole restaurant was beautifully decked with fresh flowers, lovely aromatic candles, soft lighting and the thing that struck me the most was a breath taking view of our very own ‘Namma Bengaluru’ from its roof top. I could see the beautiful shimmering lights displaying the city skyline from a small cutout..it was truly spectacular. The lounge seating was very well spaced out with softly lit tables, comfy seats and a sweeping white canvas roof kept the chilly Bangalore breeze away. The whole space looked very lively and cozy with accents of dark colored wood for furniture, which added a lot of warmth to the interiors.. I could go on and on, on its decor, can’t let go the architect in me 
..
THE ROOF TOP RESTAURANT
We were welcomed with a lovely assortment of cocktails, mocktails and some fresh fruit juices. The bar tenders showed off their talent by arranging a small impromptu show in their flair routines and literally ‘ breathed fire’..It was a lovely spectacle to watch. They also presented us with the special Lalit cocktail.The staff was very prompt in their service and made sure that we were ‘FULLY FED UP’:)..
BEAUTIFULLY LIT BAR..
The cuisine was Pan Asian and I was quite a novice at understanding a few names of the dishes, to add to it we were all vegetarians. We requested Tinky and the Chef to organise something vegetarian for us. The Chef promptly and efficiently arranged a vegetarian spread for us. Many thanks to Chef and Tinky for obliging.
For starters we had a lovely choice of Char Grilled Okra in Teriyaki sauce which was a huge hit amongst us, we also tasted some sushi and tofu marinated in vietnamese sauces which I felt was tad spicy for my taste buds. We were served with some Tom Kha Phak which was a Thai style soup with coconut milk, flavored with kafir lime leaves. I was feeling quite full after the starters, so avoided the soup and directly ventured into the main course which was some lovely fried rice , wok tossed noodles and some Nasi Goreng. To sign off the evening we had some lovely variety of dessert served which had cheesecake, pastries, sweet Azuki bean jelly and some seasonal fruits. It was a lovely evening, I only feel that there should have been more options for the vegetarians as majority of people in Bangalore are vegetarians. The desserts could have been more authentic Pan Asian.
It was a memorable evening and we all had a blast. I would like to thank the Lalit Group, Tinky for inviting us and above all the food bloggers who made this event fun and enjoyable.
THE LALIT
