What is common to the Greek, Moroccan and Spanish cuisine is the ingredients used, and what makes them different is the styles of cooking. So, there is an abundance of olive oil, tomatoes, aubergines, okra, chick peas and meat cuts. The styles of cooking are different, though. The Greeks like to use a very simple style of cooking with few spices, the Spanish and the Moroccan food are similar but tomatoes, rice and corn flour are used more in Spanish food.

Two of the Greek dishes are immensely popular. The Mousaka, layers of aubergine and mince, is popular world over. But the specialty here was the Ntolmadakia vine leaves steamed with rice and onions and spiced with dill, oregano and balsamic vinegar. Very mild, yet tangy. The food was done by two Greek chefs, who are from the Athens Plaza Hotel, who created a variety of Greek food. But sadly they left on February 10. A buffet meal for dinner was priced at Rs 575 plus taxes.

The Spanish food festival (on till February 25) at Le Meridien has an emphasis on regional food from Spain. Spanish food has a lot of chilli peppers and tomato sauce. The four-page menu is a la carte and has many sea food items (Rs 675 for the salted cod fish with tomato sauce and Rs 475 for the roast chicken simmered in red and green peppers and onion sauce). The festival is on at the rooftop restaurant, Le Belvedere.

The Radission's I'Ching restaurant is celebrating the year of the snake (up to February 18). The restaurant has a special menu for the festival. Though this restaurant is not as popular as the hotel's Great Kabab Factory, it offers a good range of Chinese food, spiced up to suit the Indian palate.

The prawn chilli pepper (Rs 650) was really hot, offset by the mild chicken and back mushroom dimsum (Rs 350). The whole steamed chicken in lotus leaf (Rs 750) was also mild but the flat noodles with shrimp and black bean sauce (Rs 275) was spicy.This surely is a gourmet's dream week.

Vidya Deshpande