Healthy Eating at Pumpkin Tales, Alwarpet

Pumpkin is a dish that is seldom given the importance that it deserves. Most restaurants in Chennai do not even have one dish that champions Pumpkin. Being a very versatile ingredient, it can be used in a multitude of dishes ranging from soups to mains to desserts. But if you are that hardcore Pumpkin Lover, Chennai has a restaurant dedicated to Pumpkin amongst others. 

Aptly called 'Pumpkin Tales', this elegant restaurant in Alwarpet is truly a pumpkin lovers paradise. Every course on the menu has at least one dish that uses pumpkin as the core ingredient. To name a few, at Pumpkin Tales you can experience dishes such as P.E.L.T (their take on the well-known BELT sandwiches), Pumpkin Taco and Pumpkin Mutton bowl amongst others. 

We started our evening with some 'Pumpkin soup' and 'Carribean Chicken soup'. Having pumpkin as their hero ingredient, the pumpkin soup was fabulous with a perfect balance of earthiness and creaminess. The chicken soup too was nice in its own ways albeit being a little on the hotter side. We served with some in-house baked sourdough bread accompanied with butter to pair up with the soups.

(Pumpkin Soup)

(Carribean Chicken Soup)

For starters, we tried out the 'Grilled Tempeh' along with some 'Harissa Chicken Wings'. I was personally keen on savoring the tempeh as I've never tried it before. Tempeh is basically fermented soy cakes that are made in-house at Pumpkin Tales. The tempeh was grilled with some chili and cumin and had a crunch in every bite. It was definitely unique and a good alternative to those who are bored with soy. The chicken wings were the usual fare excepting here it was oven roasted rather than deep fried.

(Sourdough Bread)

(Grilled Tempeh)

As for the mains, we decided to try a couple of crowd favorites. First up was the 'Grilled Prawn Taco'. I was expecting a hard taco on the table but apparently, the dish is a soft taco dish. With a sumptuous quantity of prawns on each taco, this dish was refreshing definitely a great health eat. The taco was followed by a 'Mexican Chicken Bowl', just to continue with the cuisine. The bowl was loaded with rice, refried beans, vegetables, and salsa. However, I felt the dish could have been a little more generous on the cheddar and avocado as it definitely highlights the cuisine at hand. Post the Mexican fare, we went Mediterranean and ordered the Mediterranean Lamb Plate. We had a good quantity of lamb that was roasted served with some lemon butter potato, greek salad and a bread. The last main on the table was ordered based on the request from a fellow diner whose favorite it was. It was the famous Korean dish 'Bibimpap' and the variant that we ordered was the Tofu version. The Bibimpap was very close to the authentic one and is definitely one of the best in the city.

(Bibimpap)

(Mains)

With the mains done, it was now time to treat ourselves with some great desserts. We ordered a Mango Sorbet, Tiramisu Gelato, Pumpkin Pie and a regular Tiramisu. Trust me, the desserts were all out of the park and were amazing in their own ways. The Tiramisu can rightly be placed among the top 5 in Chennai. The Mango sorbet was as close to nature as it can get.

(Tiramisu)

(Mango Sorbet)

Overall, Pumpkin Tales is a great place if you want to enjoy soulful organic food. Adding to it, if you are Vegan, then this is the place you need to be frequenting as they have a huge number of dishes that can be prepared Vegan.

Pumpkin Tales is located at Bava Salai, Alwarpet and a 3-course meal for two would cost you about Rs. 1500.

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