Ramadhan Iftar Special - Haleem @ Pista House

With another year gone by and the Holy Month of Ramadan setting in, I’m back with the Iftar specials. Being much focussed reviews, I’ll be following a different evaluation system that will focus on Quality, Price and Packaging. For the first time I’ll also be following a rating system as I consider these to be individual products rather than an experience.

Gone are the days when Iftar meant Conjee and samosas. Of late the most trended product is the ‘Haleem’. To begin the series, which better savoury to start with than ‘Haleem’ from the famous ‘Pista House’ of Hyderabad.

Until last year, Haleem from Pista house used to be flown in everyday from Hyderabad. But this year, they have set up a kitchen in Chennai and are preparing it fresh every day. They have also setup selling points across the city for easy access to folks across the city.

Quality:

First impressions, the texture looked perfectly as how it should be. The Haleem had a great consistency with all the ingredients perfectly blended resulting in a gluggy feel to it which provided the right balance along with the caramelized onions and the accompanying lemon. The taste was impeccable however the Haleem as a whole had a major put off due to the presence of bones in it. Haleem is always known for its boneless texture and the bones of varying sizes made the whole experience of eating it very cumbersome. I so wished they strained the bones out as it could have easily been the best Haleem.

Price:

They serve in two sizes.

• 400ml Haleem costs ₹ 160 at the kitchen and about ₹ 180 if bought in one of their delivery centres across the city. It can serve for about 1 - 2 people.
• 2 litre Family pack costs about ₹ 750 which can cater to about 5 – 6 people.

(400 ml Pack)

Packaging:

Exceptional packaging quality. The Haleem is poured hot into a tub that insulates the warmth for quite some time. The tub is latched strongly and is in comparison to the ice cream tubs of international brands.

Rating:

• Quality – 3.5/5
• Price – 4/5
• Packaging – 5/5

The Pista House is available at their kitchen located at Al – Malick Function hall, Opp. to Wallajah Big Masjid on Triplicane High Road. They also have delivery points at Adyar, Anna Nagar, Taramani, OMR, ECR, Ramapuram, Periamet and Siruseri.

P.S: - As I didn't have my camera at hand, the pictures are courtesy my foodie buddy Chennai Soru.

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Kashmiri Wazwan Experience @ Spice Haat, Hyatt Regency - Anna Salai

The food scene in Chennai is slowly transforming into one that will always provide a choice for everyone irrespective of their preference, thanks to the numerous food festivals that keep happening round the year keeping in line with the season and festivities. But one establishment takes their food festivals a notch above the others. Rather than having the usual type of festival celebrating the broader cuisine of a place, Hyatt Regency curate festivals specializing on a specific food family within the broader cuisine of the place.

And the latest in their festivals is the ‘Traditional Kashmiri Wazwan’ experience that brings to Chennai the authentic wazwan cuisine. For those wondering what does ‘Wazwan’ stand for, ‘Waz’ means Chef who has rare culinary skills that are passed on for generations within the family while ‘Wan’ stands for shops with a large selection of meats and delicacies. The Wazwan Chef is usually someone of high regards in the society and used to exclusively cook only for momentous events and special occasions such as Marriages.

(Wazwan Traem)

To rope in the authenticity, Hyatt Regency has flown down Waza Bashir Ahmed from Kashmir who will help provide the same experience along with the chefs here in Chennai. The traditional Wazwan usually consists of 36 courses with each having its own traditions. However, the meal that we experienced was a shortened version having about 16 different dishes. 

(Traem - Sharing Plate)

(Seekh Khabab)

For the starters, we had some ‘Tabak Maaz’ and ‘Seekh Kababs’. The ‘Tabak Maaz’ is sort of a signature dish of the Wazwan cuisine and is prepared by infusing Lamb Ribs with spices and milk and finally being fried in oil or butter. The Seekh kababs need no introduction and here they have an option of meat or veggie. 

(Shirmal)

The main course comprised of several curry dishes that were accompanied with a ‘Kashmiri Pulao’ and ‘Shirmal’, the traditional Kashmiri sweet bread. The two stand out dishes were the ‘Lamb Rista’ & ‘Chicken Daniwal’. The rista is spicy paprika based red curry while there was also another subtle version of the same lamb preparation called Gushtaba which uses a yoghurt base. The Chicken daniwal as the name suggests was a preparation using loads of coriander that infused the flavour well balanced to the curry. Being an avid meat lover and having sunk in the ocean of culinary richness from the curries, I decided to forgo the veg mains and indulge in some Qahwa, the traditional Kashmiri tea.

(Desserts)

The desserts that were served helped tie all the dishes together in a celebratory style. The ‘Kesari Mango Phirni’ was truly outstanding with the flavours of mango, saffron and dairy complementing each other perfectly. The other dessert of the afternoon was the ‘Zarda Pulao’ also known as sweet rice. Had this been the only dish of the afternoon, then I would have raved but the Phirni just brought about the perfect closure to this wonderful journey of the Kashmiri Wazwan festival. 

(The Man behind the food - Waza Bashir Ahamed)

The Wazwan experience is being held at Spice Haat in Hyatt Regency and is part of their buffet spread. One can also savour the Wazwan experience in the authentic way by ordering for a ‘Traem’ which comprises of a large plate with rice heaped in the middle and surrounded by all the other elements of the cuisine. This is ideal for groups to indulge and share the love of eating from a single plate.

The festival is on till the 21st of June and is priced at ₹ 1550 plus taxes for the buffet while the Traem will cost about ₹ 1440 plus taxes for the non veg option and ₹ 1100 plus taxes for the veg option.

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The Manhattan Fish Market - RK Salai, Mylapore

With more and more people travelling abroad now, international food chains have felt the need to start their outlets in India more so than before. I don’t know why the case is so, the irony is that Chennai never gets to witness the bloom of any international brand. More so these brands come to Chennai only after establishing at least a couple of outlets in places like Mumbai, Bangalore, etc, which can take anywhere between 6 month to a year. I’m sure there are several reasons to this equation but being an ardent foodie nothing gives me immense joy than knowing that an international chain has finally chosen Chennai as their launch city. 

After establishing a niche for themselves with over 50 outlets across half the world from Oman to Japan, the famous speciality sea food restaurant ‘The Manhattan Fish Market’ has opened up their first outlet in India in namma Chennai. Bringing us the American style of sea food cuisine, this place created quite a pre-opening anticipation thanks to the early announcement of their arrival along with some great social media buzz.

Coming to the experience of the evening, first things first. The restaurant is situated across two floors with the first floor has a live kitchen space in addition to the tables while the second floor consisted of a few tables and around 3 private dining areas. The ambiance was on the lines of the food they dish out. Once we were seated, the person waiting on us explained their elaborate menu to us. To put it in a nut shell, the seafood on their menu can be cooked essentially in five different techniques, viz. Deep Fried, Poached, Baked, Grilled and their signature Flame style. As we were in a group, we decided to order a couple of platters to experience their different cooking styles and also savour most of their offerings. As we had a vegetable loving friend, we needed to cater to her requirement too which wasn’t much difficult considering there was only about four vegetarian dishes on the menu. 

(Creamy Mushroom Soup) 

(Garlic Herbed Mussels)

(Fried County Mushrooms)

The first up was the ‘Creamy Mushroom Soup’, which turned out to be a different interpretation of the classic Mushroom Cappuccino. Nevertheless, it tasted quite good but personally felt the cream to be a bit heavy along with the saltiness of the mushroom being a dominant flavour. For starters we had ordered, ‘Fried Country Mushrooms’ and ‘Garlic Herb Mussels’. Being a very choosy seafood eater I only eat sea food that are placed on the opposite ends of the spectrum, either Sushis or Crustaceans, along with the occasional Salmon. So I gave the Mussels a miss while I thoroughly enjoyed the fried mushrooms. It had a very light batter that elevated the flavours of the mushroom right enough to strike a chord in making you forget you were consuming a vegetarian dish.

(Fish N Chips) 

(Flaming Manhattan Star Platter)

(Flaming Manhattan Star Platter)

(Grilled Flaming Lobster Platter)

With the starters done, it was time for the mains. I couldn’t go past the page that had ‘Fish N Chips’ as this was my only source of seafood protein during my stint in UK. On rare occasions that I wanted to have something different, I would head to the corner place and pick up a take away of some Fish N Chips. Just love the way, we get it in UK with the fish wrapped in a parchment paper that would drip with oil. Having made up my mind on ordering this, I left the other mains to the choice of my buddies. After some deliberations, it was decided to also order a ‘Grilled Flaming Lobster’ & ‘Manhattan Star’ platters. The Fish N Chips arrived first and on initial looks didn’t resemble my corner shop one. But it aint’ fair to expect that as I’m sure people will run screaming oil, oil if the same is served here. However the flavour of the fish and batter made it up. Probably my preferred choice now in Chennai for Fish N Chips. With regards to the ‘Grilled Flaming Lobster’, it was a visual treat to experience the way it was being served. The platter comes with a serving of Grilled lobster, some garlic mussels, Fried calamari and fish fingers. The waiting staff that brings an industrial size blow torch and turns the heat up in the room flamboyantly by flaming the lobster. I leave it to the photos to do the talking. I loved the Calamari and the lobster over the fish fingers while I chose to forgo the mussels. On the other hand, the ‘Manhattan Star’ platter consisted of a Grilled Calamari, Fried Oysters, Poached Mussels, Flaming Prawns and Baked Fish. My palate preferred the fried calamari over the grilled version while the flaming prawns was just too good that I had to fight for more portions with my friends because I had to skip the mussels. Overall the star platter provides an opportunity to savour all five cooking techniques in a single platter.

(Manhattan Mud Pie)

(Tuscan Tiramisu)

(Oreo Kaboom Shake)

To bring closure to the evening, we decided to order their signature ‘Manhattan Mud Pie’, ‘Oreo Kaboom’ shake and a ‘Tuscan Tiramisu’. The mud pie lived up to the expectation by being the best dessert of the evening. The shake unfortunately lacked the characteristics of a shake and felt more like an Orea Coffee flavoured drink while the Tiramisu definitely did not par to the original Tiramisu as it again seemed to be their own interpretation and had a different twist. But we fell in love tremendously with the mud pie that we decided to order another portion to offset the mild disappointment with the other desserts.

Overall, The Manhattan Fish Market would be a paradise for ardent sea food lovers looking to savour and experience the best of catches using different cooking techniques. Joining the ranks of just a handful of stand-alone speciality of seafood restaurants, I’m sure this fish market is bound to last long in namma Chennai and provide us with this differential experience.

The Manhattan Fish Market is located on RK Salai opp to Marvel Wedding cards. A meal for two should cost you around ₹ 1500 if it’s the regular fare. If lobster is a preferred choice then be prepared to splurge as the Grilled Lobster platter is priced at ₹ 2490 but is worth every penny.

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Menchies Frozen Yogurt @ Khader Nawaz Khan Road - Nungambakkam

The food scenario in Chennai has recently seen a plethora of International brands setting up outlets presenting us with their signature specialities. The latest non-contemporary brand to join this list of International brands is ‘Menchies Frozen Yogurt’ from USA with the Chennai outlet being their second location in India. FROYO (FROzen YOgurt) as it is commonly referred to is an absolutely perfect healthy substitute to those staying away from ice creams.

(Froyo Dispenser)

There are a couple of things that makes Menchies unique in comparison to other dessert places. First and foremost, you can completely opt for a hands on experience on creating your own version of FROYO. All you need to do is pick up a waffle/cone/cup and head to the froyo dispenser and dispense your choice of flavour from about 10 flavours that are changed on a daily basis. What is more surprising is that the flavours are paired as couples such that in case you need a mix of 2 paired flavours, you do not have to make the effort to dispense each flavour as you can use the middle portion of the dispenser to provide a mix of both flavours amongst the pair. There is no restriction on how much you would like to fill your serving size as the froyo is not priced based on flavour or size rather on the total weight. So feel free to have as little or as much as your palate desires.

(Toppings Counter)

Once you have picked the flavours, next is to add toppings and sauces to enhance the flavours. They have a choice of about 16 toppings to choose from and another 6 sauces to choose from ranging from fudge to Nutella to honey. Once you have created your dream combination, you just need to take it to the staff nearby who will weigh in the froyo. I honestly believe that this methodology of serving desserts gives the customer the flexibility to have a guilt free experience as they are not bound to over consume under the disguise of not wanting to waste the same.

During my visit, I got to taste a combi of Mint & Chocolate and also another combi of Mango & Vanilla. The Mint-Chocolate froyo resembled the famous chocolate “After Eight”. The lightness of the froyo made it very easy on the palate and made us wanting for more as there was absolutely zero guilt. Having sampled the other flavours (Yes!!! You can sample as many flavours as you want before you make up your mind), I wanted to try the classic combo of Mango-Vanilla which is my opinion was the most divine combo on offer that evening. The flavour of Mango was perfect to elate it in comparison to the vanilla yet wasn’t strong such that it was over-powering. Overall, Menchies frozen yogurt is truly a great replacement for those who want to avoid ice creams without compromising much on taste or texture. 

(Mint-Chocolate Froyo)

(Strawberry Waffle Cone)

(Mango-Vanilla Froyo)

‘Menchies Frozen Yogurt’ is located on Khader Nawaz Khan Road and should cost you about ₹ 150-200 per serving depending on the quantity and toppings you choose. The charge per gram is ₹ 1.30 + taxes plus any additional for waffles or cones. 

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Best Waffle place in town @ Waf O'Bel - Jagannathan Road, Nungambakkam

Those who have been following my posts over the last few years may by now have known that I'm a major dessert person. When it comes to dessert, I can gulp down anything and everything that is laid out on the table. But even I've had evenings when I really didn't feel indulging in a lot of sugar but yet craved for something sweet. My saviors on such days were 'Waffles' and occasionally the 'Pancakes' as I'd always considered pancakes a breakfast thingy. Having tasted some amazing waffles outside India, this was always a major setback for me in Chennai. There were only one or two places that served waffles that even had the right of being called waffles as most shops/kiosks/restaurants usually serve a huge chunk battery stuffs.

As I usually stick to the two trusted places, I was not so excited when I heard about 'Waf O'Bel', a dedicated stand alone waffle place opening, as I assumed it to be yet another shop claiming to serve something in the name of Belgian Waffles. But this perspective changed when curiosity got the better of me. Upon researching more about the place, I came to know that 'Waf O'Bel' has a Belgian Waffle Chef by the name of Christophe. The more intriguing aspect was the fact that they had both the types of Belgian Waffle, the 'Liege' and the 'Brussels'. This sealed the deal and I decided to visit them the same evening.

To all those thinking of a swanky place, do not expect further. 'Waf O'Bel' is located within a pizzeria and shares seating with them. They have a simple menu comprising of a selection of 'Liege' and 'Brussels' waffles along with a host of hot beverages. For those of you  wondering about the difference between the two types, 'Liege' waffles are made from brioche bread dough mixed with sugar crystals and are more denser than the commonly represented 'Brussels' waffles which is made from a light batter and hence more light and crispy. The waffles at 'Waf O'Bel' can be topped with chocolate chips, nutella, ice cream, bananas, whipped cream, fruit compote and sprinkles.

(Brussels Red Carpet)

(Liege Cool Banana) 

For the evening, I ordered for a 'Liege Cool Banana' and 'Brussels Red Carpet'. The Liege waffle as expected was dense and chewy with ample toppings of banana, nutella and whipped cream. However, the winner of the evening was definitely the Brussels Red Carpet. This was by far the lightest and the crispiest waffle I'd ever tasted in India. It was just mind blowing. I could have just sat there in oblivion downing waffle after waffle. The Red Carpet variant of the waffle had a topping of fruit compote and whipped cream. Now if anyone asks me where to head for some waffles, there are no longer multiple options, its just 'Waf O'Bel' as I'm sure if they continue to dish out waffles with such taste and consistency, they have a great demand awaiting them.

'Waf O'Bel' is located inside Eatzaa pizzeria (formerly known as Sam's Pizza) on Jagannathan road, Nungambakkam and the waffles cost about ₹ 70 for the waffle alone while with toppings it can range up to ₹ 140 plus taxes. 

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The Colony @ Hotel Raintree, St Mary's Road - Alwarpet

Gone are the days when there were only a handful of amazing restaurants located within five star hotels. With the mushrooming of several new properties every year, the existing hotels are continually looking at increasing their revenue by revamping the restaurant offerings situated within. One such chain of hotels that has been consistently great with their restaurants is Hotel Raintree. Among my multiple visits to both their properties in Chennai, I’ve never left back with a single iota of worry. So when I was told that the Coffee Shop at their St. Mary’s road hotel had been renovated, I just couldn’t wait to check the new place.

First things first, the restaurant has been rechristened as ‘The Colony’ and flows seamlessly all the way to the lobby with a different ambiance set up near the lobby and a very colonial set up with art pieces depicting the Colonial era of Chennai inside the main dining area. As I settled down into my place, I was greeted by the Executive Chef Mr. Hushmoin Patell, whose looks immediately made me feel that I’m in for a delight tonight. After brief pleasantries, Chef informed that their concept of buffet is slightly different as in addition to the spread, a few dishes are made on order and served hot and fresh right at the table.

(Chicken and Mushroom Cappuccino)

(Salad Counter)

(Cold Meat spread)

(Cold Platter)

(Grilled Prawns on a bed of Couscous)

While I waited for the soup to be served, I made a visit to the spread and was quite surprised at the same. The cold counters had an assortment of salads with a cold mezze platter too. Some of the salads that were intriguing were a ‘Salad of Broccoli, Orange & Bocconcini’, ‘Surati Fafda’, ‘Vietnamese rice paper rolls with raw Mango & Vermicelli noodles’, ‘Salad of Wine poached Pear, Asparagus and Arugula’, a delicious ‘Grilled Prawns on a bed of Couscous’ and a whole lot of dips including ‘Mustard Mayo’, ‘Hummus’, ‘Babaganoush’ and ‘Labneh’. By the time I could pick up my choice from the cold counter, the ‘Chicken & Mushroom Cappuccino’ made its way to the table. The soup had the perfect balance of both flavours and along with the biscotti made me feel as if it was a meal all by itself. The beginning was just fabulous.

(Mutton Chapli Kebab)

(Spicy Bean Fattayar & Kudamulagai Bonda)

(Prawn Pollichathu)

With the entrée’s complete, there was an order placed to the kitchen for some of the made to order items from the buffet. First up was the ‘Mutton Chapli Kebab’. Although looks similar to the Galouti, this is quite different as the texture is coarser. On enquiring, Chef informed me that the Chapli is from the Indus region and is considered to be the forefather of the Lucknowi Galouti. With the plate completely swept, I made way for some ‘Spicy Bean Fattayar’ and ‘Kudamulagai Bonda’. While the fattayar was a mix of flavour, the bonda did not fancy me much. Not wanting to stuff myself, I wanted to try out something that was unique to the restaurant. So ask the Chef and he says I’ll get you some ‘Prawn Pollichathu’. I was excited to try it out as it has always been Meen Polichathu and being a prawn lover, was expecting a burst of flavours. The presentation was cute with the prawn beautifully wrapped in the leaf served along with some crunch. However, the first bite and I was slightly confused as I couldn’t feel the taste that you get from a claypot. Upon enquiring, Chef revealed that they don’t use a claypot due to the complexities involved as this is the only dish on the menu that may require one. Nevertheless, the prawn was still amazing and great selection.

(Buffet Spread)

With different flavours playing inside my mouth, I just had a quick sneak peak of the other main courses on the spread which included a yummy ‘Badami Murgh’, a crispy ‘Kozhi Erakai Varuval’ and ‘Roasted lamb with waterchestnuts’. In addition, I also tried the ‘Shahi Paneer’ which had a very succulent paneer. With about 60+ items on the buffet menu, it was one large spread yet by the way the spread was placed didn’t look that massive.

(Dessert Counter)

(Dessert Counter)

To bring closure to the evening, I headed to the dessert counter and realized that vast variety of selection that was displayed. Being very confident that not more than a couple can be accommodated by myself, I picked up the ‘Apple Strudel’, ‘Carrot Pudding’, ‘Rasberry Mousse’, ‘Chenna Malai Sandwich’ and a ‘Mango Velvet cake’. With this done as I was just about to call it an evening, the Chef asked me if I wanted to try a speciality dessert of theirs. Me being someone who will go to any extent for desserts, was game for it.

(Madras Filter Coffee Panna Cotta)

What came next took me by a big surprise. The speciality dessert was a ‘Madras Filter Coffee Panna Cotta’. Mighty heavens it was just mind boggling. The aroma was just like our original filter coffee while the panna cotta was perfectly set and to balance the textures it was accompanied by a lime curd and peanut Florentine. This was by far one of the best panna cotta that I’d savoured during my food journey and is on the must have dish list that I’m compiling for Chennai. Truly outstanding. If you are looking for a different buffet experience with a wide variety of cuisine, then I may say that “The Colony” awaits you.

The Colony is located at Hotel Raintree, St Mary’s Road in Alwarpet with the buffet priced at ₹1,300 plus taxes.

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!!! 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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Celebrations of Sushi @ Teppan - TTK Road, Alwarpet

The first thing that hits you at the thought of dining in a Japanese restaurant is the thought of Sushi and raw a.k.a cured meat. But on the contrary there also exists a different avatar of the Japanese cuisine namely the “Teppanyaki” which will suit the Indian palate more. This style involves using a girdle to cook the food. Wiki says that “The word teppanyaki is derived from teppan (鉄板), which means iron plate, and yaki (焼き), which means grilled, broiled, or pan-fried”. Folks in Chennai are lucky in a way as India’s first stand-alone Teppanyaki grill restaurant opened here. Named “Teppan”, they have been catering to Chennaities teppanyaki needs over the last couple of years.

Having had my first teppanyaki experience in the middle east many years ago, was truly excited on hearing about Teppan opening and visited them on their first week itself for a truly fabulous experience. Was surprised when I learned that they were having a “Makizushi” festival. One thought that ran through my mind was that how can restaurant that is already well renowned for Japanese cuisine have a dedicated festival for a staple dish. This intriguing thought was set aside the moment we saw the menu as the amount of research that has gone in to designing this festival was clearly evident from the offerings that were as part of this “Makizushi” festival.

The menu was clearly divided into three sections, namely ‘Gunkan Maki’, ‘Te Maki’ & ‘Maki’.If you are wondering what these are then to put them in perspective the ‘Gunkan Maki’ is a variant of sushi that comes in big portions such that two pieces can satisfy even the biggest appetite while the ‘Te Maki’ is a cone shaped sushi equally big in portions. The ‘Maki’ is your regular sushi roll. 

(Tempura Wasabi Mayo salad)

(Palate Cleanser drink)

(Gunkan Maki)

For the evening we ordered the ‘Tori Soboro’ and ‘Kanishake’ from the Gunkan Maki section. The ‘Tori Soboro’ was a Chicken version of sushi that was seasoned with tongarashi and wrapped with sushi vinegar rice and nori. Being my first chicken sushi, I somehow felt that it did not do justice as there were confusing flavours that did not pair with each other. This re-instated my belief that sushi should never be made with anything other than seafood. The ‘Kanishake’ on the other hand was one of the best sushi’s of the evening. It was made of tempura fried crab stick tossed with spices and wrapped with sushi vinegar rice and sliced salmon. This was just mind boggling.

(Te Maki)

(Te Maki)

(Maki)

The next up was ‘Shake Sarada’ and ‘Karai ebi’ from the Te Maki section. These were humongous cone shaped sushi. ‘Shake Sarada’ was a marinated salmon wrapped in nori with avocado, lettuce, cucumber and vinegar rice while ‘Karai ebi’ was a prawn sushi seasoned with mild spicy mayo and tongarashi, spring onion, tobiko and again hand rolled with sushi vinegar rice and nori. Both of them were equally good with a subtle flavour of the meat owing to the enormous proportions of the accompaniments. From the Maki section, we ordered for some ‘Furai maguro Maki’ and ‘Takayama Maki’. The former was a seasoned tuna sushi with cream cheese, avocado then rolled with sushi vinegar rice and nori and finally deep fried with breadcrumb. This was truly outstanding as one can feel the heat of the deep fry yet savour the freshness of the sushi all at one go. The ‘Takayama Maki’ was a tempura fried sea bass with carrot, avocado, spicy mayo, rolled with sushi vinegar rice and nori then topped with tuna, sea bass and spinach. This too was equally good but my bet is on the ‘Furai Maguro Maki’.

(Tempura Fried Prawns)

(Fried Rice)

With the heroes of the festival dealt with, we decided to order for another dish which was a hard recommendation from another foodie, the ‘Tempura fried prawns’. My oh my!!! Hands down, this is the best tempura fried prawns I’ve ever tasted. It was as light as it can get while being the crispiest it can get too. It is already in my must taste dishes in Chennai list. Just to bring closure to the evening’s meal, we had some sautéed vegetables, chicken and a fried rice that was prepared right in front of us in the teppanyaki style.

(Dessert Platter)

(Wasabi Ice Cream)

One we were done with the savouries it was time for the desserts. Having savoured fresh produce all through the evening, I really wasn’t in the mood for desserts even though I’m a dessert freak. But one stop at the dessert counter and it all changed. In a short while I found myself in the company of an amazingly silky coffee chocolate mousse, a soft and crunchy nutty brownie, a delectable pie and a well-balanced Wasabi ice cream. Glad I didn’t miss the desserts as they brought about a perfect curtain closure to the amazing evening of sushi.

Teppan is located on TTK Road above Benjarong and a meal for two should cost about ₹ 2500.

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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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