29/02/2012

Mash Grill, Haddows Road

21:57:00





I have been wanting to tryout Mash at Haddows Road for quite sometime . One of my friends  wanted to meet me for lunch.So I did some brainwashing to convince him that we would meet at Mash on Haddows Road. I was tempted to go to Mash after seeing their ads on Terrific Trio. Anyways we decided to meet up around 12 noon at Mash.

But on reaching Mash I hit a hurdle. The parking lot at Mash was full, actually only three to four cars could be parked there. You get the picture. On top of that, the police were doing their rounds in and around KNK Road with wheel locks.  So this sent me  making three to four rounds in and around the road, hunting for a place to park my car. Finally I was fed up at not finding a place to park the vehicle and so parked it in front of the restaurant and handed the keys to my friend's driver who parked it eventually once a slot cleared up.

Finally I got myself seated in the restaurant. Our friendly waiter handed us the menu and didn't inform us about the Terrific Trio Offer and my brain was so tired after trying to get a parking slot that I forgot to inquire about it. Anyways, leaving that aside, everything was great.

We went about ordering a steak and a drink each, and as an after thought we ordered a starter. The starter which I cant recollect the name was made in lemon juice and garlic paste. It tasted fabulous. The lemon marinated chicken just tasted awesome with coleslaw and mayo. The chicken felt like it was bathed with lemon. It was tender and well made. I settled in for a Mocha-chino thanks to my sore throat and my friend for a Hot Chocolate. Both the hot drinks tasted good but not as great as a coffee shops which we are used to.

After bit of chatting and a bit of eating and also some drinking later our Steaks arrived. I went in for a Fillet of Fish Steak and my friend got himself double marinated Chicken Sizzler. The Fish Steak tasted brilliant with the thousand island or something similar to its sauce. With a drizzle of the lime on it, it tasted even better. I did not get any of the fishy smell in it. I loved it. Would recommend it to my brother who's a big Fish steak fan. I had a taste of the chicken sizzler also and it tasted brilliant as well. Somehow the sizzler reminded me of the sizzler which you get at tangerine. All in all, I loved the food here.I got a parcel for my sister in law at home as well. The food for two plus a take away costed us Rs 1500/-, which I felt was similar to Tangerine.

Food - 8/10
Service - 7/10 (Waiter dude could have informed me about the offers)
Ambiance - 8/10
Price - 8/10

Mash Grill is located in Haddows Road near Passport Office.

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Arun Unlimited, Kilpauk

19:06:00

After a hard days work if you want to unwind with a nice fruit flavored no non-sense ice cream in your hand or you just want hang out with your buddies when your pocket is a bit tight, Arun Unlimited parlour is the place to be in. Arun has been in the ice cream industry for quite some time. But they kind of had a rough patch with the invasion of Kwality Walls into the mass ice cream foray in India. But in the past 2 to 3yrs they seem to have a come back of sorts with Arun Unlimited Outlets.

After an awesome dinner at Zaitoon everyone was keen on having an ice cream. Me with a sore throat was not so keen on having an ice cream but then we ended up heading to Arun for Ice Cream joint. It was worth the visit.  We had a blast.You get maximum bang for your buck here. With Rs 45/- for a single scoop. The Single scoop is much larger than the value scoop you get in Baskin Robbins. The variety available in an outlet is also large. With around 70 different flavors available, Arun Ice Cream can cater to a variety of sweet tooth people.

My personal favourites being Mango Ice Cream, Fresh Strawberry with Strawberry Sauce and Chocolate Chips and also Queens Dessert and my all time favorite in Arun being Swiss Almond with Chocolate Fudge and Chocolate Chips. Whatever the flavour, they taste really good over here. Most Indian flavors like Kulfi , Kesar and Badam are very rich and royal. They have loads of toppings to go with your ice cream as well. It's a good place to go if you have family and especially if you have kids who hate to be in their best behavior on an outing.

Ice Cream - 8/10
Ambiance - 7/10
Price - 9/10

Arun Unlimited is located in Manikeshwari Road in Kilpauk. There are over 100 outlets in Chennai and also around 600 outlets in South India.

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28/02/2012

Zaitoon, Anna Nagar

14:09:00








I have been waiting for a while to tryout the food at  Zaitoon. It was never possible for me to convince anyone to have food in Zaitoon. Whenever I suggested that we go to Zaitoon, everyone would say its far so, much traffic to go to Adyar and so on. When I saw that Zaitoon  was opening a branch in Anna Nagar I was super happy. Its very close to my place. I love Arabian Food. I can now convince people to go there, and thats what I did. I convinced my Brother to give us his Birthday Treat in Zaitoon.

Zaitoon at Anna Nagar is built on a little smaller space compared to the Adyar Branch. It is smaller than the Sea Shells, Anna Nagar. The parking lot is also small. But good thing is that they have a Valet parking facility and there are loads of small streets around it where we can park our vehicles. We went in early as a matter of fact the 4th customers to be seated. So we had no trouble getting a parking slot. Also I had booked over phone for a table. So getting a seat for eight was also not so difficult.Ambiance is the same which we get over at Sea Shells. Guess they got the same interior designer.

Our family is a bunch of Meat freaks. We like meat more than rice. So we went about ordering the starters. First up we ordered Arabian Chicken Lollypop. Yes!!! I am back to eating chicken. The chicken lollypop was brilliant, well done and tasted awesome. Would love to have it one more time. Next up we ordered Chicken Shawarma Roll. If you are in an Arabian Restaurant you have got to tryout there Shawarmas. Shawarmas give you an idea of how good the restaurant actually is. The Shawarma was perfect. The Kuboos which was holding the stuffing inside was soft and warm. It did not crumble into pieces. So thats a top notch Shawarma. Then we ordered a Mutton Sheek Kebab, Shamak- al-Faham and a Effa Dejaj. Mutton Sheek Kebab was awesome as well. It was well done and the mutton melted in your mouth along with the Pudina Chutney. Shamak -al -Faham was not the best. The fish had a fishy smell to it. Guessing it was a day old fish which was prepared for us and not the days catch. The center of the fish was fresh and it tasted better than the sides of the fish. The fish was a bit spicy. But when mixed with Hummus and Garlic paste and taken along with the Kuboos it was perfect and not as spicy as before. Coming to the Effa Dejaj. Its my favorite dish. Every time we head over to Sea Shells there is a Effa Dejaj on our table. So when I saw it on the Menu we just had to order it. The Effa Dejaj was little less spicy than what you get in Sea Shells. The dish was perfectly executed. It tasted brilliant with the side ons.

After having a heavy dose of the starters we dint have much space in our stomach. But still we wanted to tryout the KP (Kerala Parotta). So we ordered a Kerala Parotta each and a Chicken Sakoti and a mutton dish which the waiter suggested. The KP was perfect. Soft, slim, tender, crisp, and melt in your mouth types. The chicken Sakoti too tasted good along with the KP.The mutton gravy as such was too good. But the mutton was little bit on the harder side. Nevertheless it tasted good along with KP.

So if you happen to go to Zaitoon do tryout their KP and the Shawarma. Since the place has been opened up recently they have been facing with some teething problems in the Kitchen. The Juice Counter and the Falooda Counter are yet to be opened. Nevertheless the food was awesome and we had a fun night.The prices are a around 20 to 40 Rupees more than what you have pay at Sea Shells. Our bill was Rs 2200/,  which is really good,  considering we were 8 people with big stomachs, gorging there.

Food - 8.5/10
Service - 9/10
Ambiance - 8/10
Price - 8/10

Zaitoon is located in Chintamani next to U.K. Hospital.

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Parfait3, Kilpauk.

12:54:00


I know its becoming increasingly difficult for people to decide where to order cakes for Birthday Celebrations and other parties. There are so many options and the number  of bakeries are just increasing day by day. You get the regular commercial baker and there are also small time bakers who bake cakes from their homes and are willing to give it out for parties. In the olden days when you had a party and you wanted to order a cake, you had very few options. So it was easy. Decide the budget of the cake and then go to the shop and get your cake. If your budget was low you headed to Mc Rennett and little more budget you headed to Hot Breads & Cake Walk and if you had lot more then you had the cake shop of Taj. Simple and Easy to chose. Now there is a cake shop in every road. At times two or even three cake shops in road. Where do you head to?  I too was stuck in a similar dilemma when I wanted to order a cake for my brother's Birthday.

Since there is an increase in the  number of cake outlets, you have to decide how far you want to go to get your cake. With the amount of traffic increasing on road its advisable to go to a place which is close by if you are driving. Most places do have the delivery thingi. But  I feel there are chances you might ruin the surprise if by mistake, they happen to deliver the cake to the Birthday Baby himself. Yes it has happened to me. Given that I stay in Kilapuk, I have got quite a few options here. Hot Breads, Taj, Parfait3, French Loaf and  Jene Ferrer. I had narrowed it down to Parfait3 and French Loaf. The tipping point for me to go with Parfait3 was, I have started to like cakes they produce. I just love the Belgian Delight. The cake is so soft and moist and gooey. So i went ahead and ordered Rich Blueberry.

The cake was soft and moist. The taste of Blueberry was perfect. The important thing of all, was the presentation of the cake. It was  awesomely good. It tasted nice the next day as well.I am sure I will order  another cake from them when the occasion arises.

Taste - 10/10
Presentation - 9/10

Parfait3 is located in Manikeshwari Road in Kilpauk. They do have branches in Velachery, Anna Nagar and Thiruvanmiyur.

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25/02/2012

Spice Market, Hyatt Regency, Anna Salai.

20:41:00




Hi guys, Sorry I could not post a review for Spice Market since I fell sick. The more I saw pictures of Food, the more I got tempted. I had been to the Spice Market around a week before I fell sick with Jaundice, thats some time in early January for my Best Friends Birthday Treat. Noooo I did not fall sick due to the food, thats thanks to my work environment.

Spice Market is the place to go if you are  in the mood for Indian Food. The buffet is priced at Rs 999/- which I think is quite good seeing the amount of food which is available on the spread. Spice Market comes out and wows everyone. It has a good selection of drinks like the Rooaapsaaa and so on. There is also a counter for Chat Items. Most Chat Items available here are better than your regular Shree Mithai and Gangotri. So you get the picture !! There is a lot of stuff on offer for Rs 999/-. There have been times during my college days when I thought paying Rs 475/- for Barbeque Nation Buffet was too much. Now suddenly Rs 999/- seems alright to me. Since I don't consume any spirits I have no clue if it is offered along with the Buffet.

The way the food and the ambiance blend together is really nice. My personal way of actually going about this buffet will be, have a lot of Starters, have little of the Main Course, do try the Chat Items and then head over to the Dessert Counter. The Kebabs in the buffet are really juicy and succulent. From Panner to Chicken all seemed perfect. The Main course is bit dry. None of the dishes really did standout for me. They had a good selection of Chicken , Mutton, Fish and Beef. I did try the Biriyani just to get the feel of it. The Biriyani was okay by 5 Star standards but was a bit down by Muslim standards.

I did a grave mistake by stuffing myself with the Main Course. When I headed over to the Dessert counter I was moved to tears. The Dessert Section is the biggest I have ever come across. They have large assortments of pastries and awesome Cheese Cakes and Cream Brulee. One might think how Cream Brulee got into Indian food section. They did have the Gulab Jamuns and Jellabis. The Dessert section does leave one Flabbergasted.The sheer number of Ice Cream available can leave a regular Baskin Robbins outlet to shame. Maybe the next time I head over here, I will just have the Starter and head over to the Desserts.

If you guys head over here for your loved ones Birthday Celebrations be prepared as the Hotel does not allow you to use a Cake from outside and rather asks you purchase one from them.

To me the Starter and Desserts kicked @$$ where as the Main Course really did not stand out. Maybe thats just my perception. Anyways you guys will love the food here.

Food - 8/10.
Service - 9/10.
Ambiance - 9/10.
Price - 8/10.

Spice Market is inside Hyatt Regency which is next to DMK Party Office.

Sangeetha, OMR

14:24:00



Hi Guys. Feels really nice to come back and write a  review  after a long time. Noooooo i am not dead. Nor is the blog dead. I just had a dose of Jaundice. I am still in the process of recovery.  So I am slightly picky on what I eat. I have been told to avoid Chicken and Egg, which I am trying hard to obey. I wonder who got this idea that a person affected with Jaundice should not have Chicken. Anyways I am back on Fish, Prawns, Squid, Crab and Mutton. Just waiting for the day I can have chicken.

I think thats enough about me and my health. Moving on to the review.

We were returning on home from a relatives place on OMR. On our way my aunt wanted to have cup of tea. Bammmmm !! We saw Sangeetha Restaurant and we swerved  and rode right up to it.We entered the restaurant around 5pm. It was slightly crowded, still no trouble getting a place.  The place looked a bit more upmarket than the other Sangeetha's in the city. The place had nice wallpaper in brown and gold with LED ceiling lights, and of course a TV to watch the Cricket match.

The Menu was the same extensive menu which you see in all Sangeetha's Restaurant . The variety of Dosa's and Iddly and Sandwiches also the awesome fresh juices. I myself wanted to have a Dosa and settled to have Onion Podi Dosa with Vada Curry, my mom n sister in law decided to share, they ordered Potato Bajji and Mosambi Juice. My aunt saw a nice hot Bonda going to the next table. She decided that she'll have that. We all settled in for a cup of tea.

The Dosa was awesome with the variety of Chutney's and Sambar. The Vada curry was bit down on taste. I was expecting superior quality Vada Curry like ones I had in my friends house. This Vada Curry turned out to be oily, liquid, very small in portion and a bit bland too. Dosa itself was well done, crisp and thin which melts in your mouth. I am not a big fan of masala dosa. I hate it when Crisp (Muruval) Dosa goes soggy. The Onion and Podi in the Dosa was perfect, not to spicy but just the right amount. The Bonda was good, not exceptional. It was more like Methu Vada in round ball shape. The Potato Bajji was perfect. It was not oily, not very hot that we cant put it in our mouth. It tasted awesome along with Coconut Chutney. It tasted so good we thought we'll have another Potato Bajji. Sadly the 2nd set was not that great. Oily and little under cooked, also dint taste as good as the 1st set. Tea was similar to other Veg Restaurants. The tea was served in traditional daborah sets.

Food - 7/10
Service - 9/10 ( They stand right next to you most of the time. It can be annoying at times)
Ambiance - 8/10
Price - 9/10

Sangeetha is located approximately 5minutes from the OMR toll gate.