Noodles Mania @ Chinatown - Cathedral Road

The word Chinese cuisine is so synonymous with dimsums & noodles. With the advent of the Chinese New Year, restaurants around the city celebrated the year of the Goat with much fanfare. However taking a cue apart, one of the oldest Chinese restaurants in Chennai, “Chinatown” decided to go a step further. Rather than opting for the regular Chinese celebratory menu, they dedicated their festival to the mighty noodles.  Some of the handmade noodles were also infused with different flavours to bring in the variety.

(Steamed Chicken Wonton with Hot Garlic sauce)

(Vietnamese Pho)

(Noodle wrapped Crispy Prawns with Spice Hoisin sauce)

The evening started with the arrival of the ‘Vietnamese Pho’, a noodle broth comprising of beef. This soup is supposedly a delicacy in Vietnam and had a strong domination of beef flavour. The noodles in the broth made the pho feel like a complete meal by itself. Following the broth, the appetizers that followed were ‘Steamed Chicken Wonton with Hot Garlic sauce’ and ‘Noodle wrapped Crispy Prawns with Spice Hoisin sauce’. Both the starters were excellent with the prawns taking an edge over the chicken wontons thanks to the crusty crispiness of the noodles that transformed as a batter followed by a very juicy prawn inside.

(Handmade Spinach Veg noodles)

(Thai flat noodles with beef in a black bean sauce)

(Prawn Mee Goreng)

(Chinatown Mee Hoon)

(Hunan Chicken)

With the starters done, the hero dishes of the evening were to make their grand appearance. The first of the lot to appear was the ‘Handmade Spinach Veg noodles’. This was a true hero as the spinach is pureed and mixed with the dough before the noodles is stretched giving a completely different taste and feel to the dish. This was followed by the ‘Thai flat noodles with beef in a black bean sauce’ which to me was a pale in comparison to the spinach noodles but nevertheless a yummy tasting dish considering the presence of basil in the black bean sauce which was complemented with the succulent pieces of minced beef. The next noodle dish of the evening was the ‘Chinatown Mee Hoon’ which is a vermicelli based dish. This felt very light in comparison to the earlier noodles and have loads of different veggies that packed the right amount of texture to the play in the mouth. The last noodle was the Indonesian classic ‘Prawn Mee Goreng’. One of my favourite far eastern dishes, the Goreng either Nasi or Mee always gets me excited. But unfortunately this one did not exceed the expectations maybe because I’ve probably had more flavour packed Goreng’s elsewhere. To accompany all the noodle dishes, ‘Hunan Chicken’ was served. This was another surprisingly amazing dish that gelled well with all the noodles that were served.

(Banana Wonton)

(Almond Darsan)

(Coconut Dimsum)

Once we completed our battle with the noodles, it was now time to indulge in some action packed desserts. The first to be savoured was the ‘Banana Wonton’ which was divine. The banana along with the crispy wonton wrapped infused with the honey just made it a wow dish. The next dish to wow was the ‘Coconut Dimsum’ which again was a surprise dish. The amount of coconut stuffing created the right magical balance that elevated the dimsum to a different level. The final lot of desserts was my all-time favourite in the Chinese cuisine, the ‘Almond Darsan’ served with a dollop of Ice Cream. How much can go wrong with a simple Darsan? The darsan was great with the right amount of caramelized honey to accompany it with the Ice cream. 

Chinatown is located on Cathedral Road with the Noodle festival scheduled to be on till the 8th of March. A meal for two should cost about ₹ 1200.

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Kuttanadan Food Festival @ Ente Keralam - Poes Garden, Teynampet

Chennai being a city encompassing people from all across India, there is no void of any particular cuisine in the city. This provides visitors and Chennaities with a vast array of restaurants to choose from when it comes to dining. Although Chennai is home to numerous Kerala cuisine restaurants, it’s a rarity that I visit them as most of the Kerala delicacies are readily available at home for me, thanks to the influence of my extended family members.

One prominent restaurant that has established itself a name for the Kerala cuisine in Chennai has to be ‘Ente Keralam’, which is part of the Oriental Cuisines chain of restaurants. Oriental Cuisines has played an integral part in shaping up the restaurant scene in Chennai by bringing a host of varying cuisines and being consistent in their offerings. So when a fellow foodie asked me if I would be willing to try out the “Kuttanadan Food Festival”, I jumped in as I knew it would definitely be different to the regular fare.

(Tender Coconut Water)

(Kappa Cutlet)

Upon being seated, the very enthusiastic Chef Jayaprakash gave us a brief overview of the Kuttanadan specialities. He revealed that Tharavu aka Duck is the main protein next to fish in this region as it is surrounded on three sides by water bodies. With the pleasantries exchanged, we were served with the signature ‘Tender Coconut’ drink. This was followed by the ‘Kappa Cutlet’, which was the regular cutlet made entirely using Kappa aka Tapioca. I’ve had kappa in many forms including the famous ‘Kappa and Fish curry’ but this was completely different. I liked the way the cutlet had a very crispy coating while the tapioca inside retained its flavour. 

(Karimeen Polichathu)

(Konju Ularthiyathu)

The next up was the ‘Karimeen Polichathu’ which is a signature Kerala dish. The dish being cooked in a clay pot had all its flavour incorporated into the fish and the masala that accompanied it made it a stand out. The last of the starters was the ‘Konju Ularthiyathu’ which was basically jumbo prawns grilled in a stone pot that provides it with earthen flavours. Although mine was a little dry the flavours sure made up for it.

(Kuttanadan Tharavu Mappas)

(Kozhi Curry Kuttanandan Style)

(Pineapple Puttu & Parotta)

(Payasam)

With the starters all done, we ordered for two curries, the ‘Kozhi Curry Kuttanandan Style’ and ‘Kuttanadan Tharavu Mappas’. To go with the curries, the accompaniments were a ‘Pineapple Puttu’, ‘Malabar Parotta’ and ‘Appam’. The chicken curry was rightly spiced and also had the essence of the clay pot incorporated into the gravy and proved the perfect accompaniment for the Parotta while the Duck gravy was perfect for the Pineapple puttu. Puttu being a regular fare at home, the pineapple puttu was different in a way that the flavour of pineapple was completely infused into the puttu. The chef did reveal the secret but unfortunately it shall remain a secret as a mark of recognition to the hard work put in by the Chef and his team. The evening was brought to an end with two type of Payasam. These were from their regular menu as the Kuttanad cuisine provides more importance to the mains rather than desserts.

The Kuttanadan Food Festival is on at all Ente Keralam outlets across Chennai until the 15th of Feb. A meal for two should set you by ₹ 1200.

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Tovo Infusion - RK Salai

When you hear the term infusion, the first thing that hits you would normally be a tea or drink which has been infused with something. This is quite normal but it does definitely become unique when a new restaurant pops up in town and claims to be the first do the same with chicken. We have heard of deep fried chicken, roasted chicken, grilled chicken and even our own famous tandoori chicken but what is this infused chicken. To be honest I was assuming that it would be something similar to roasting where some herbs and masala are used while the chicken is in the oven.

With all these assumptions and curiosity, we decided to visit this new resto called 'Tovo Infusions' as the second choice for the night having had a not so filling meal at an earlier restaurant the same evening. Albeit being located on the main road, they had plenty of parking space which is a boon as this is becoming a trouble at many new places. As we entered, we were seated promptly although we didn't have any reservations. The ambiance looks like a steakhouse but unfortunately no steaks here, just chicken. As we took our seats, the question in my mind about all the infusion was somewhat answered by looking at the plate mats on the table. They had a pictorial representation of their unique method of cooking which was the infusion method. 

The waiter who attended to us briefly explained the concept and from what I could gather was that the chicken is not cooked with any oil or water but is rather secretly injected/infused with the choice of our toppings and is cooked by the water content already in the chicken. This they claimed to be unique and to me was also quite unheard as even for grilling or roasting we use some oil/butter. The waiter also insisted we try their 'Chicken Gourmet Bun'. A friend of mine and myself kept asking him if it was a burger to which prompt came the reply that this is the original version and the burger was the shortened version. We couldn't keep the amuse to ourselves but still gave brownie points to the guy who convinced us to order the same.

The way you order your meal is what the infusion is all about here. So first you choose what Mains you prefer and then the original infusion sauce from a choice of Buttery, Chilli Peppery and Cheesy Herbs followed by the toppings from a choice of Chettinad, Kashmiri, Mogul & Hyderabadi spice. The next customization was on the level of seasoning and it varies from Low to Top Notch. With so much combinations available it was quite a task to do the order but eventually settled for a 'Chicken Gourmet Bun', 'Quarter Chicken' & 'Chilli Garlic Rice Crepes'. 

(Chilli Garlic Rice Crepe)

(Quarter Chicken)

The first on the table was the rice crepes, which we ordered on the advice of a fellow foodie who was here for the second time. This was sooper spicy and will hands down win any Andhra meal with loads to spare. In fact the other two of us were just gulping down water to cool the heat. The next up was the chicken of which the combination we had ordered was Buttery and Hyderabadi spices. For once we thought the chicken was not cooked well because we noticed a few pink spots but upon close inspection it was all ok. At most places the meat is white and dry inside void of any flavour but here it was the opposite. The insides were moist and flavoursome just as they claimed with credit to their unique concept. The chicken can be tricky at times so its best to check it twice and be assured that it is well cooked. And most importantly make your selection of toppings with care, as it can make or break your palate.This aspect has lead to a lot of mixed reviews about their chicken.

(Chicken Gourmet Bun)

Having tasted their core dish, we were looking forward to find out what the Gourmet Bun was all about. It indeed made a grand appearance as we could spot the burger leaving the kitchen from the far end of the restaurant. It was humongous, most probably the biggest, meanest and juiciest burger I've ever seen. I leave the picture to do all the talking. If getting dirty with your hands is your way of appreciating good food then this is all for you. It took me two full hands and a mouth opened as wide and as high as possible to take a bite of this yummylicious burger. Straight forward one of the best in the city today. Again it all depends on the combination of toppings but the chance of it going wrong is much less with the burger. The burger was so great that I made another visit to them before writing this review but unfortunately was slightly let down as they served it a bit cold. But the taste was the same and I brushed it off as an one off day for the folks at the kitchen.

(Praline and Butterscotch Smoothie)

With the mains down and the gulping of the enormous burger, we needed something sweet to wash down the guilt. What better way to kill guilt with another guilt and so we ordered for a Butterscotch and Praline Smoothie. Yes, a smoothie with loads of indulgence. The smoothie was precisely what we wanted as it had a delectable amount of praline that made it more like a divine butterscotch milk shake rather than a healthy smoothie *pun intended*.

This is definitely a place that I would visit again for their burgers and the smoothie but the chicken still gives me a scare that I may get a wrong combination and spoil the show. The total bill for the starter, two mains and dessert came to about ₹ 850/- inclusive of taxes. 

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Grand Siam - RK Salai *A CFG Showcase*

The 2nd Thursday of the year 2013 comes and like a well practiced drill exercise, CFG bloggers & photographers assemble at the venue of our next showcase event. This time the CFG Showcase was at the recently opened branch of Grand Siam at RK Salai. Having already been to Grand Siam on an earlier occasion and being really impressed with their food and service, was eagerly looking forward to this showcase. As I had to drive down straight from work, I reached Grand Siam much much earlier than the rest of the folks. It was a matter of fact that I was even earlier than most of their staffs not that their staffs were late but I was there by 6 PM. Having a lot of time to spare, I began wandering around the restaurant looking at the intricate interiors that made the restaurant and also the tremendous seating that they had. A short glimpse at the kitchen revealed that they took cooking serious as the kitchen was very neat and organized. Maybe the training passed down the generations as the current chef is the 4th generation in the business. Chef Murali and his brother Jegadish run the restaurant under the guidance of their father who is also a renowned Chef in the industry. 

Slowly as the pack started to arrive, we were served up with the welcome drinks. A fancy looking drink was brought up to us and we were all excited to see a Shark stirrer in the drink. Well for the drink itself, it was a  fizzy drink made up of 7-up and some strawberry crush at the bottom. Although nothing superficial about the drink, it was more of a passable welcome drink. The drink was followed by the traditional Thai way of welcoming diners, the Mein Kheim. Nothing could really go wrong with this as it can be customized to your preferences. 

(Welcome Drink)

(Mein Khem)

The next up was the Tom Yum Goong, which is the famous Tom Yum Prawn soup. Having enjoyed the soup the last time I was here, I personally felt the soup this time to be a bit too hot while at the same time a little more diluted than usual. Would have really loved it if they had the same consistency. This was followed up with the starters. To my surprise, the starters were cleverly planned out and everyone was served with an assorted platter of either Non Veg or Veg starters. The Non Veg starters had the renowned Gai Hor Baiteay, Fish Satay and Grilled Prawns. The Gai Hor Baiteay or better known as Chicken wrapped in Pandan leaf was full of flavors and tasted great when hot. Some fellow CFGians felt the chicken to be a bit hard but I guess it could be attributed to the chicken going cold as we bloggers spend more time clicking pictures than that of actually eating. The Fish Satay was neat and what mattered the most to me was the smell of seafood was not there. The Grilled Prawns were full of flavor and grilled to perfection but at the same time it raised a lot of questions too. Was it really a Thai dish as most of them felt it to be very similar to our very known tandoori prawns. The offerings on the vegetable lovers received a much controversial ratings. As I did not taste the vegetarian starters when they were hot, I honestly will not be able to tell about their flavors and will have to go with the reviews of my peers. The veg platter had Corn Tartlets, Spring Rolls and Grilled Mushrooms. The Grilled Mushrooms was the most controversial with almost everyone having the same opinion that the mushroom didn't seem fresh. Not to forget, the yummiest raw mango salad that was served with both the platters.

(Tom Yum Goong)

(Non Veg Starter Platter)

(Veg Starter Platter)

Once the starters and relevant discussions were over, the mains started to arrive. We were first dished up with Bamme Phad Prik which was a variant of the noodles family. This was followed up with the Battered Fish in sauce and Burmese Chicken curry. The noodles with the battered fish in sauce was a good combination and had a balance of flavors which was not the case when the noodles were had on their own. Just as I was wondering what the Burmese Chicken curry was doing with a rice, the waiter brought in the much hyped about rice dish in Thai cuisine, the Jasmine Rice. I must say and this was also the opinion of most of the peers during the evening that the Burmese Chicken curry was the star dish. It was perfectly flavored and had nice juicy and tender pieces of chicken in them. But yet again it raises the question as to how is it associated with Thai cuisine. 

(Noodles)

(Battered Fish in sauce)

(Burmese Chicken Curry)

(Jasmine Rice)

When it was time for the desserts, as anticipated we were served with the famous Thai dessert, the Tub Tim Grob. Well nothing much to talk about this amazing dish as there is virtually nothing that could go wrong. I felt it was the same as the last time I was here and they have maintained their consistency on it. 

(Tub Tim Grob; Picture from earlier visit))

Although the showcase event did not wow the CFGians at that evening, I'm sure Grand Siam has a much better offering since they did infact send me home with a Big WOW factor the first time I dined in here. Albeit some small tweaking's on the service front and on the flavors, they can still give a good competition to other Thai stand-alone restaurants in the city. 

They are soon going to introduce a set menu and some of the offerings in the showcase was part of it. For more on my earlier experience at Grand Siam, visit Grand Siam - RK Salai

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Don Pepe - Cathedral Road

 

With the weekend setting in and with absolutely no plans in the making, was wondering how to pass over the weekend. Just then get a buzz on Facebook from my oldest pal saying he is visiting Chennai (Yes, oldest!!! Our friendship dates to more than 18 years now). Asrar and I are friends since 2nd standard when I was studying in Saudi Arabia. I was more than excited at the prospect of meeting him as it was more than 4 years since we last caught up with each other. He was off to Germany to pursue his Ph. D  Yup folks, he is a Scientist in a leading research laboratory there. Yay, one of my best buddy is a Scientist. Cutting short on the history, it was agreed to meet over lunch on Sunday and have a hearty talk. 

Being a Sunday, the usual lazy waking up was customary. As my buddy was held up with some work, he informed me that he will communicate to inform once his work is done. This happened close to 2:30PM and all hopes of going to a restaurant for a lunch buffet came tumbling down. We met up near Citi Centre and were contemplating where to go to catch some grab. Me being the foodie amongst us, it was up to me to decide. Taking into account the locality, I suggested Mexican and his reply was "Kewl, lets do it!!!". Well if its Mexican and on Cathedral road, then it has to be Don Pepe.

Don Pepe though not new to me, have been here on earlier occasions predominantly for their amazing nachos. So was always wanting to find the right opportunity to try more from their menu and voila today was the day. We drove down straight and on entering Don Pepe, was completely taken aback. Something which is not at all expected from any restaurant leave alone one that is of the category of Don Pepe. They were in the middle of their power cut schedule and didn't have a backup generator. Result - No Air Conditioner. Only a fan to keep the place cool. Checked with my friend if he still wanted to continue??? Both of us being hungry and a slight hint that the food might be good, we decided to stick on (Must admit the temperature was pleasant so the necessity of the air conditioner was never really felt). 

(Mexican Dips)

Although it was close to 2:45PM when we entered, the place still had a decent crowd and people were still dropping in. As our hunger pangs were puncturing us, we instantly asked for the menu and started on the starters. What better starter than the famous nachos. We ordered a Chicken Nachos for the starter and were contemplating on the next course. After a good amount of discussion munching on the Chicken Nachos, we zeroed in on our Mains too. Talking about the Chicken Nachos, folks shall not get confused with the Nachos at Satyam/Escape Cinemas. The Nachos here are different and represent the original Mexican food. The Nachos are layered with chicken fillings and a delectable level of cheese. This is finally topped up with some veggies to provide the right amount of balance in the dish. We were also served with the traditional Mexican dips which included a Salsa dip, Cream Cheese and Sliced Jalapenos. Both my buddy and myself wiped the dish clean.

(Chicken Nachos)

(Chicken Nachos)

We were catching up with old stories and how the world has changed so much over the years alongside laughing over the frolicsome we did while we were kids. Our talks were briefly paused when we saw the mains coming. The mains that we had ordered were Chicken n Nut Sauce and Chicken Fajita (pronounced as /fəˈhiːtə/ or in simpler terms fa-hee-ta). We were wowed at the sheer brilliance of the dish and how colorful the dish and its accompaniments were. To start with, the Chicken n Nut sauce was perfectly flavored with the dish being not too spicy while at the same time not too bland either. Served with Crispy Potato Wedges and Mexican rice, the dish was a palate filler. A palate filler and at the same time nice and light too. 

(Chicken n Nut Sauce)

(Chicken n Nut Sauce)

My buddy was surprised on his dish. He was under the impression that the dish would be served as fajita wraps but to our surprise the fillings were served on a plate so we could customize the fajita wrap as per our liking. Once I completed my interruption of his lunch by clicking the dish, he instantly got into making the wraps. He also explained to me the proper method of wrapping a fajita. The fajita fillings had a sumptuous amount of chicken, along with a minced chicken tart, crispy potato wedges and Mexican rice. Three tortillas were provided in a sort of clay box. Based on his opinion, he seemed to have enjoyed the wraps and was too full to have rest of the accompaniments on his plate. Being best buddies, I for once did not hesitate jumping into his plate. The tart had the same chicken that was served in the nachos and served as a good quick bite.  Being too full for anything else, we called it a day and skipped the desserts. 

(Chicken Fajita Fillings)

(Chicken Fajita Fillings)

(Tortillas)

(Chicken Fajita Wrapped)

I would be of the opinion that the food served at Don Pepe truly resembles what I have known so far as Mexican food (haven't been to Mexico so have never really had the opportunity to taste authentic Mexican Food till date) and does justice to the quantity of food served as against pricing taking into account the dearth of Mexican restaurants in Chennai. If only they had their ambiance in order that day, it would have passed off without any disappointment. But overall, a good place to have Mexican cuisine and a meal for two shall not cost more that Rs. 1500.

Don Pepe is located on Cathedral Road just along the flyover. It is located on the same building as that of Hot Breads adjacent to Copper Chimney and Zaras. 

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