Special Chocolate Sunday Brunch - The Flying Elephant @ Park Hyatt Chennai, Guindy

I’m sure most of us associate chocolate with our childhood memories. The first thing that may come to us would be the chocolate bar which used to be divine to us and even today can bring back old memories. Personally, I’m a big cocoa lover and a dessert without cocoa in some form or the other never completes a meal for me. If this is the case, imagine a brunch completely themed around chocolates. When I came to know about this special Chocolate brunch, I was ecstatic. Couldn’t wait for the Sunday to come by. 

As part of a special promotion, Park Hyatt Chennai and Cocoatrait joined hands together for the first time to bring a complete Chocolate Sunday Brunch. If your guessing how, don’t be amused. The brunch had elements of chocolate across all courses. And the chocolates were paired precisely to the menu that was crafted. The brains behind this Special Chocolate Sunday Brunch were Chef Greg & Chef Vamsi from Park Hyatt Chennai and Nitin from Cocoatrait. 

Place:

The Flying Elephant @ Park Hyatt Chennai – Guindy

The Flying Elephant has been making waves ever since they opened 3 years ago. In fact, even before they opened, it was one of the most anticipated restaurants as it’s the only multi levelled themed restaurants currently in Chennai with the entire restaurant spread across five different levels each offering its own comfort space. Needless to say, the doors never close as after dinner service on weekend nights, it transforms into the most happening place in Chennai.

Ambiance:

The restaurant itself looks very spacious and accommodating thanks to the multi-level seating that it has to offer. Be it next to the kitchen or overlooking the pond or on the balcony or if you prefer a quite space then the top level is your ideal space. Being a Sunday brunch, the restaurant had its own share of entertainment in the form of all staffs dancing periodically along with some fun for the kids with cartoon characters and a Balloon artist keeping them busy. With loads of natural light flowing into the restaurant it was a great place to be on a lazy Sunday. Also the brunch at Flying Elephant is quite unique as most of the dishes are ordered to your table with a hand full of them spread across counters where you can pick them up. This ensures that the food served is always at the right temperature.

Food:

The brunch started with soup which was called ‘Sopa De Abobora E Coco’. Yes, a very long name indeed so much that made a note of it as its too much to remember. It’s a butternut squash & coconut soup topped with some pumpkin seeds and coconut cream cilantro. Are you wondering where the chocolate? The entire soup was garnished with an Award winning pure Ecuadorian Lemon grass chocolate. The soup was just extra ordinary with the flavours of the lemon grass chocolate accentuating a good soup to and awesome one. The soup was followed by some sushi of salmon, prawns and crabs.

(Different Chocolate based Mocktails)

(Sushi)

Next up was another chocolate speciality dish from the charcoal grills section. We were served with a ‘Grilled Polenta Cheese Cake’ which was made using Ghana Dark Chocolate and served with a cute little pomegranate salad and a honey balsamic reduction. The polenta which we are used to seeing in its natural colour gave a very unique appearance in the chocolate form and had a good texture as we sliced into it. However, it was a good dish it failed to wow me. 

(Grilled Polenta Cheese Cake)

When I proceeded with the menu, I was lit up like a flood light as the next dish that I ordered was the dish I’ve been curiously waiting to savour ever since I sat at the table. And guys don’t be shocked for the dish I was waiting for was none other than the ‘Madagascar Dark Chocolate Paneer Tikka’. Paneer and Chocolate, two of my favourite ingredients paired in a single dish, what more could I ask for. The traditional paneer tikka was stuffed with a chocolate filling made of 70% Madagascar Dark Chocolate. One word to describe this creation was heavenly. I couldn’t get over it that I ordered for several repeats. It was just too good to describe. 

(Chocolate Paneer Tikka)

(Chocolate Paneer Tikka)

Once I finally decided to proceed to the next dish on the menu, I couldn’t be happier for it was another favourite use of chocolate in a savoury dish. It was a ‘Chicken Pizza topped with 88% Gold Colombian Chocolate’. Truly outstanding medley of ingredients. Another of my favourite of the day so far. To go along with the pizza, we had also ordered for another speciality dish of the brunch, a chocolate flavoured risotto. The risotto was a ‘Cauliflower & Vanilla Bean Risotto’ with 100% Gold Venezuela Chocolate. The Risotto was fabulous too with the right ratio of ingredients and brilliantly topped with some mint oil and hazelnut to elevate our senses. 

(Chicken Pizza with Chocolate)

(Cauliflower & Vanilla Bean Risotto)

Stuffed with all the chocolate inspired dishes, decided to just savour a few others from the menu. The Tenderloin steak is mention-worthy mainly due to the perfect way it was grilled so was the rotisserie chicken which was again grilled to perfection with the chicken retaining all the flavours within it. Skipped most of the other dishes as I wanted to head to my favourite section, the DESSERTS. 

(Cheese section)

(Rotisserie section) 

(Chicken all set up)

How can one miss desserts on a brunch that is completely themed around chocolate. The dessert counter felt like a wonderland for me. The amazing array of chocolate based desserts was fantabulous. The majority of the dishes were based on chocolate barring a few for the minority non-chocolate lovers. The desserts that wowed me were the ‘Silk Log’ made using 70% Madagascar chocolates and the ‘Mocha Macaroons’. A special word of mention for the Mocha Macaroon as this was the closest in all aspects to those that are from Ladurée, which is world renowned for being the best Macaroon in the world. The other desserts that were also equally good were the ‘Chocolate Rasamalai’, a ‘Chocolate Fondant’ made using Italy 66% Prendine and the ‘Banoffee Pie’.

(Chocolate Silk Log)

(Mocha Macaroons)

(Chocolate cake with Sea Salt)

(Chocolate cake with Sea Salt)

(Chocolate Rasamalai)

(Banoffee Pie)

Price:

The Non-Alcoholic Sunday brunch is priced at Rs. 2295 plus taxes with options for both alcohol and champagne also available at an additional cost.

Location:

The Flying Elephant is located at Park Hyatt Chennai in Guindy adjacent to the Raj Bhavan. I would strongly recommend a reservation for meals on weekends.

To be updated on my latest reviews, do subscribe to the feed by leaving your email address in the subscribe section on the top right hand side of this post. If this article interested you, please share it so others may be interested and benefited too!!! For quick reviews, ratings and yummylicious images, follow me on Instagram at @FoodInChennai. Request you to also visit our Facebook page Food In Chennai - Facebook and share the page with a Like amongst your friends and also follow us on our twitter handle at @FoodInChennai. You can also follow us on Google Plus at Food in Chennai-GooglePlus. Please also feel free to g+1 this post so others may be benefited too. 

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Upper Deck @ Vivanta by Taj Fisherman's Cove, East Coast Road

As the New Year dawned over Chennai, the food scene too seemed to be dawning with a fresh lease of life. With loads of new restaurants opening up and existing restaurants getting re-launched, 2016 sure seems to be a year to look forward for foodies in Chennai. With my blog turning a little more than 3 years old, I think the time to give a new style and format to my reviews has become inevitable. And here it begins!!!

Place:

Upper Deck @ Vivanta by Taj Fisherman’s Cove – East Coast Road

Fisherman’s Cove has always been the go-to resort on East Coast Road aka ECR for Chennaities need of a romantic getaway closer to the city. Having been a regular patron with my first visit dating back to the late 90’s, I’ve always been in awe of the setting of the resort per se. In fact, Upper Deck, one of the restaurant in this property has been consistently ranked as one of the most romantic restaurants in India and when I was informed that this very restaurant has had a makeover, it definitely was time to visit. 

Ambiance:

Upper Deck is a signature restaurant of Fisherman’s Cove and is situated at a secluded section of the resort right at the doorsteps of the tantalizing private beach that the resort sits on. With tables set amongst the beach rocks, this is the only restaurant in Chennai that can provide such an ambiance. With a few tables accompanying the beach rocks, a few others are set within a huge gazebo set up on a wooden deck floor throwing in a rustic feeling to the entire place. This restaurant definitely scores top scores in my list of romantic places to dine at.

Food:

The makeover was not just with the ambiance but with the menu as well. The menu has been refined and given a distinct classic European touch with dishes being as original as achievable. The evening started with a great ‘French Onion Soup’, that had all the classic flavours that one would attribute to the original version available in the bistros of Paris. However, I felt that it missed the rustic look an original soup brings with cheese bubbling all over and dripping along the soup bowl. But this is completely understandable as the current setting of the restaurant was not a bistro and they had some strict presentation protocols to follow. 

(French Onion Soup)

The soup was followed by the ‘Roasted Beet Salad’. Off late I’ve been developing a major liking for roasted beet and this was no exception. Along with some arugula leaves, candied pecan and feta, the salad was yum thanks to the flavourful raspberry vinaigrette that elevated the salad. With the soup and salad done, we moved on to the entrees. First up was the ‘Chicken Liver Pate’. Although not a big fan of offal meat, I gave it a go. The liver pate was accentuated thanks to the apple chutney and onion compote that accompanied it. I layered them on the walnut bread and had a bite. The offal did hit me back but the accompaniments were top notch. I’m sure offal lovers will definitely love this dish. The other dish that I took a bite of was the ‘Salad Nicoise’. It was a simple salad with seared yellow fin tuna, boiled egg, cherry tomatoes and some greens.

(Roasted Beet Salad)

(Chicken Liver Pate)

(Salad Nicoise)

The next up was out rightly the best dish of the evening according to me. If a vegetarian dish can earn this repute with me, then I’m sure you can imagine how much of an influence it must have had on me. To be honest, it was the best savoury tart I’d ever savoured in all of my food journey. The ‘Leek Tart with Goat Cheese’ was divine. A simple dish with goat cheese, walnut, leek filling and topped with parsley could be ever so delectable was just not imaginable. This of course is until you bite into the tart crust. Please please do me a favour and go savour this dish. I can’t do justice to it by writing as nothing can replicate even closely my feeling towards the tart.

(Leek Tart with Goat Cheese)

(Leek Tart with Goat Cheese)

For the mains, we started with a portion of the ‘Giant Shrimp Grilled with Sea Salt’, a dish that went hand in hand with the ambiance of the place. The shrimp was grilled to perfection and loaded with flavour. In fact, it was a delight to remove the meat from the open shell without damaging it. The Fettuccini was a perfect accompaniment to the shrimp which by itself was grilled using the basic of ingredients retaining the actual flavour of the meat. However, my only nit-pick would be that the meat was a bit cold when I bit into it. The next up was the ‘Wild Mushroom Risotto’. Risotto in general are a very complex dish to make as they can turn from hero to zero in a matter of few seconds. The risotto here was bit of a mixed bag. The flavours were strong with the sauce being spot on. But an important measure of a good risotto is the crunchiness of the rice. I felt this is to be completely missing. Nevertheless, the dish was close to authentic on the flavour front. The other dish that was presented was the ‘Polenta Skewers’. I just had a few bites and was a bit confused with the flavours so decided to skip it and head to my favourite part of all meals.

(Giant Grilled Shrimp with Sea Salt)

(Wild Mushroom Risotto)

(Polenta Skewers)

With the entrees and mains setting such high standards, I just couldn’t wait to savour the desserts. The first dessert to present itself was the mighty ‘Tiramisu’. Dished up in a nice glass and topped with a lady finger, the expectations were super high till the first mouthful hit the palate. It only had faint traces of coffee as well as lady finger biscuits. Though not disappointed as the main components were available only in traces, I enjoyed the dessert on a whole as it had the right balance of sweetness and texture that made it a great dessert but definitely not a great Tiramisu. The next up was the ‘Apple Tart’. After experiencing the earlier savoury tart, I just couldn’t wait to savour this. However, the tart wasn’t as awesome as the savoury one but it didn’t disappoint as well. I felt the tart to be a little crumbly as compared to the savoury tart while the filling was apt. Not that the desserts disappointed me, I felt that overall the desserts didn’t live up to the standards that the savouries set. I’m sure a little fine tweaking is all that is needed to make the experience a wholesome one as amazing desserts often take home the lasting memory of a meal.

(Tiramisu)

(Apple Tart)

Price:

A meal for two should cost about Rs. 2800 plus taxes without alcohol.

Location:

Upper Deck is located at Vivanta by Taj Fisherman’s Cove on East Coast Road after the Muttukadu Boat house. A reservation is preferable on most days as the restaurant has limited seating and is usually completely booked.

To be updated on my latest reviews, do subscribe to the feed by leaving your email address in the subscribe section on the top right hand side of this post. If this article interested you, please share it so others may be interested and benefited too!!! For quick reviews, ratings and yummylicious images, follow me on Instagram at @FoodInChennai. Request you to also visit our Facebook page Food In Chennai - Facebook and share the page with a Like amongst your friends and also follow us on our twitter handle at @FoodInChennai. You can also follow us on Google Plus at Food in Chennai-GooglePlus. Please also feel free to g+1 this post so others may be benefited too. 

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Companion to assist Low Light Photography - ASUS ZenFone 2 Laser

Returning from a pause in posts over the last couple of weeks, lets start the year afresh with a non-restaurant but food related blog. In this post I’ll be writing about one of the aspects of a food blog that is often missed upon by readers and is usually taken as granted. Apart from tasting and writing about the dishes in a restaurant, a major emphasis also is on the pictures that are clicked which helps the readers to attribute the flavours that are described.

But the biggest enemy I face as a food blogger is the low light conditions in 8 out of 10 restaurants that I visit. Yes, aesthetically it is best for a restaurant to be dim lit or lit in dark colours but it’s a photographer’s nightmare. First and foremost, the use of a flash becomes unavoidable and this raises a lot of eyebrows on the adjacent tables. We do understand that at times it touches the borderline of disturbance to the other patrons but we are left with no other choice. Another issue with using flash is that the dark colour ceiling often absorbs majority of the flash and we still end of with a half baked picture that needs to be colour corrected. Only other option to avoid this embarrassment of using a flash is to use the camera on the mobile phone. Agreed, it won’t be as perfect as a DSLR but mobile pictures have their own advantages such as being able to instantly sharing on social media.

However again here the issue becomes of clarity and resolution. Only high end smartphones on the lines of Apple iPhone & Samsung S series are capable of handling low light photography. Nevertheless, the situation seemingly is changing with manufacturers emphasizing on better camera features even on mid segment mobiles. One such manufacturer is ASUS. As part of testing their new ZenFone 2 Laser range of mobile phones, I was provided a test mobile by ASUS India to evaluate and understand the phone camera’s performance.

To begin with, the standout feature in the ZenFone 2 Laser has to be the laser focussing that it uses as against the conventional contrast focussing other mobiles use. This not only enables a quick and better focus, it helps a lot under low light conditions as the laser is independent of ambient light and can provide the sensor with an accurate focus. The next feature that I felt was outstanding was the Low Light mode. Although this brings the resolution down to 3MP but it can really brighten the image. If you can hold your hand steady, then this mode can do wonders. With about 16 camera modes in total, the variety of settings ensure there is a mode for all needs. One thing that really helps for semi-pro photographers like me are the full Manual mode. When it comes to clicking food, having control over ISO & Depth of Field can catapult a low light image from zero to a hero.

Considering the overall speed of the phone interface and the possibility of having an external memory card along with a sleek design, makes the ASUS ZenFone 2 Laser a perfect companion for restaurant reviews along with my professional camera kit. ASUS also has a cute little LolliFlash that combines a dual flash and can be skinned with three skins that provide either a white, red or blue tint to the image.

Some of the images shot using the ASUS ZenFone 2 Laser are below,

Street Food & Low Light Photography just became much much easier.

P.S: This is not an advertisement nor is it a paid review. I was only provided with an ASUS ZenFone2 Laser mobile phone to evaluate its performance and capability.

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Awadhi Food Festival @ Vivanta by Taj - Connemara, Chennai

If one was to define Indian cuisine and the dishes that constitute it, I’m sure it would be a colossal effort. For Indian cuisine is not as simple as it may sound. To put in simpler terms, Indian cuisine is more a collective term and in true essence significance should be in mentioning the varying regional cuisines that are prevalent within India.

But if there was to be one such regional cuisine that has created an identity of Indian cuisine in the western world, then it’s got to be the Awadhi cuisine that originates from the Lucknowi region of Central India. The Awadhi cuisine is not completely indigenous to India as it was brought to India by the Mughal rulers from Persia. But over the centuries, the cuisine has adapted itself to its new found land.

The common saying goes that the true essence of Awadhi cuisine can only be felt in two places – one the kitchens of the royal family descendants and the other in the streets of Lucknow. Unfortunately, I still haven’t managed to gain an audience at either of the places. But luck struck when I was told that Awadhi Cuisine was going to make a stopover in Chennai. But being the food snob, I wanted to check it out only if it was going to be authentic. But when it came to my knowledge that it was being hosted by none other than Vivanta by Taj – Connemara, I knew it could possibly be the closest I can get to Lucknow.

The Awadhi food festival at Vivanta by Taj Connemara is spearheaded by Chef Shamshad Ahmad from the famed Oudhyana restaurant at Vivanta by Taj – Lucknow along with Chef Jaffer, Executive Chef at the Connemara. When I heard that they had flown the chef from Oudhyana, I knew for sure that the authenticity of the cuisine could be guaranteed. The festival takes over the complete menu and is in the form of a buffet spread with starters and soups served on the table as is the custom.

(Mutton Shammi Kebab)

(Murgh Gilafi Kebab)

(Paneer Tikka Hariyali)

(Khoya Khubani ka Kebab) 

The evening started of with a ‘Murg ka Shorba’, a mildly spiced chicken soup. The depth of flavours in the soup was immaculate and paved the way for a great meal ahead. The first of the starters to make way were from the non-vegetarian stable, with the ‘Murg Gilafi Kebab’ which was the followed by the ‘Mutton Shammi Kebab’. The Gilafi kebab was a variant of the sheek kebab with a mix of exotic Awadhi spices. One thing that was a standout was how rigid the kebab was in spite of taking the shape of a sheek as sheek has a tendency to break down to pieces once we begin cutting into it. The Shammi kebab on the other hand was equally delectable with a good texture. This was followed by the vegetarian kebabs with the mighty paneer making its way in the form of ‘Paneer Tikka Hariyali’. But the highlight of the evening has to be the ‘Khoya Khubani ke Kebab’. This was a combination I’m hearing for the first time. I’m sure most of us know the famous Hyderabadi delicacy, Khubani ka Meetha but a kebab made of Khubani (Apricot)? Well it turned out to be the star dish of the evening. It was loaded with flavours and had a very soothing textural effect on the palate. I loved it so much that I don’t even remember how many servings I’d had. If you happen to chance upon this dish anywhere in an Awadhi environment, please do not miss it.

(Chicken Awadhi Biryani)

(Dum Kofta Biryani)

(Rumali Roti)

(Nihari Gosht)

(Murgh Korma)

With the starters taking a major portion of our palate, there was very little room for the mains. So I settled in for some Rumali Roti along with ‘Nihari Gosht’ and some ‘Murgh Korma’. The Nihari Gosht was perfectly cooked with the meat falling of the bone effortlessly. The curry had a very aromatic taste thanks to the special secret spice mix that goes into it. On the other hand, the Chicken korma too was delectable but the Gosht was a clear winner. To take in some rice, I’d requested for some ‘Chicken Biryani’ and ‘Dum Kofta Biryani’. The Chicken Biryani was in true Awadhi style and was a marked contrast from the Muslim household biryani that I’m very accustomed to. But Biryani being biryani, no two cooks can cook the same style of Biryani. I liked the infusion of saffron and how the masala was light with the rice being unevenly coloured between white and yellow. The Kofta biryani was also very similar to the Chicken biryani barring the fact that the chicken was replaced by fried kofta which added another textural element to the dish.

(Dessert Platter)

To bring closure, we were served with the Awadhi desserts that shared space with their regular dessert spread. The desserts on the platter were a ‘Shahi Tukra’, ‘Sheer Korma’ and ‘Zarda Ananas’. The Shahi Tukra is a dessert that finds its place quite often in Muslim households during functions. It is a dessert made using bread which is soaked in ghee, fried and topped with dry fruits and nuts. The Sheer Korma resembled our kheer quite closely excepting it had a Date flavour to it. The Zarda was a saffron and pineapple flavoured sweet rice which was neither too sweet nor too dull. But comparing to the grandeur that is expected from Awadhi cuisine, I felt that it could have been upped a bit more.

The overall experience was quite frankly exhilarating as this was the closest we could get to being in Lucknow. However, there was one thing missing and I just couldn’t control myself from asking the Chefs present there about it. If you have guessed what it might be by now, I’m sure you have either read my reviews consistently or a great admirer of Awadhi cuisine. Yes, how can an Awadhi festival be complete without the mighty ‘Galouti Kebab’. It was then that the chefs confided in me that an important ingredient was not available matching to their high standards and as a result, they decided to leave it out for that evening. However, I was not to give up. Couple of days later, two other food buddies and I made a visit again just to savour the galouti’s made by a true lucknowi chef. And boy did we not regret for coming back again. Although mildly spiced, the galouti was bite sized and when combined with the Shirmal (Saffron flavoured Sweet Bread), Onions and some Pudina ke Chutney, it was just mind boggling. A perfect combination of flavours and textures exploding in the mouth with every gnaw. I just couldn’t resist and could have easily gulped down about 5 mini rolls.

(Galouti Kebab - Pic Courtesy: Chennai Foodie)

This experience has once reiterated the belief that the Awadhi cuisine can rightly be termed as India’s Royal Cuisine as it delivers to that title on every bite. The Awadhi Food Fest at Vivanta by Taj – Connemara is up until the 26^th of October, 2015 at their all day dining restaurant ‘The Verandah’.

Vivanta by Taj – Connemara is located in Egmore between the iconic Spencer Plaza & Ethiraj College with the buffet priced at Rs. 1500 plus taxes per person.

To be updated on my latest reviews, do subscribe to the feed by leaving your email address in the subscribe section on the top right hand side of this post. If this article interested you, please share it so others may be interested and benefited too!!! For quick reviews, ratings and yummylicious images, follow me on Instagram at @FoodInChennai. Request you to also visit our Facebook page Food In Chennai - Facebook and share the page with a Like amongst your friends and also follow us on our twitter handle at @FoodInChennai. You can also follow us on Google Plus at Food in Chennai-GooglePlus. Please also feel free to g+1 this post so others may be benefited too. 

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