Had a very ordinary Wednesday, until I got a call asking me if I was interested in attending the CFG review of Azzuri Bay. I thought for a second and said Azzuri Bay, lets do this. Mr.Chennai Foodie and I landed a little later than the actual reporting time at the Azzuri Bay event, thanks to the traffic. Anyway's we were seated at the third floor, open air dining. The weather was fine when we sat down, but once the food started coming in, I really started to feel the heat. I am not sure if the others felt it, but I started to sweat like a pig. It was difficult to bear the heat. A point noted from this event,  if I was to head over there again, with a special someone I would sit in the Air Conditioned area during the summer. I do not want to be stinking at the end of the meal.

We had a very different welcome drink arranged for us, pineapple juice in long thin sachets. It reminded me of my childhood days when I used to buy this from a vendor outside school and sip it. Since we were late others at the table had their drinks. So I decided to go in for a Virgin Pinacaloda. This drink had all the other blogger to get their cameras out to click it, "A star studded drink". The drink was refreshing on the tongue, though I wished it had a bit more sweetness to it.

Being an invited review, the owner Mr. Jai was there to ask our preferences and allergies to any kind of food. I tried restricting myself to the Non-Veg section and leaving the vegetarians to have there dishes in peace. The first starter which I was served with was Garlic Pepper Fish. The fish was soft and flavorsome. Some people did not like it as they felt the pepper was a bit course in size, to me it was just right. Then we were served with a helping of Grilled Shrimps. My God!  these shrimps were really yummy. It had the shell removed on one side and left intact on the other side. The shrimp was wholesome with the head as well. Simply loved the way the shrimps were prepared, the dip which was given along with it was tasty as well. If you love shrimps please do try this out. After tasting the shrimp I was served with Double Cooked Chicken Pepper Strips. This dish was delightful, with a nice deep flavor to it.

After three different starters I was wondering if this day can get any better. I thought I will have a little gap before the next dish, a fellow blogger Karan told me to try out the Mutton Sukka. I just could not resist the temptation so I had some of it. The mutton sukka was terrific. It was a proper chettinad dish. After that I was served with Prawn Momos and Hummus with Pita Bread. The prawn momos were a kind of okay, but the hummus was lovely along with the pita bread. The next starter to be served to me was crispy chilli beef. To me the beef was just right, crispy, yes, chilli yes and yes it was beef. Fellow blogger the harried cook felt it was not so crispy or unevenly crispy. Maybe I just got the proper crispy ones. Just for the heck of trying, I had a Corn Wonton. I clearly do not remember the name, it looked like a wonton or a basket to me. The outer was nice crispy and the inner corn was fresh and juicy. I had it along with the peanut sauce. The sauce was amazing as well.

Pooh! I was really stuffed after a heavy load of starters. I was contemplating if I wanted to have the main course. After a quick assessment I decided I will have the main course and I  settled on  Beef Steak. I was thinking of picking the T-Bone steak, but then Karan told me that he was going to pick that one. I thought for a while and decided on  Beef Escalopes with lemon. Escalopes are supposed to be pieces of boneless meat which has been thinned out by mallet, so you get a meat which cooks faster and more tender. I had asked for mash potatoes with it. We had all asked for well done steaks. On receiving my steak I took a bite of it. The steak was juicy and sauce was brilliant as well,but the consistency was a bit too tender. The steak began to crumble into pieces when you cut. Not that I would complain about it, but it made things difficult when you tried to pass a piece to others. While I was enjoying my steak there was a battle going on right next me with Karan trying to cut through his steak. Since we had all asked for well done steak I expected Karan to be having an easy time with the steak but it happened his steak was a bit raw. Point to note, there were two T-bone steaks on his plate, thats a bit of a large portion to consume. On the other end Nishanth was running his steak knife through his Grilled beef fillet steak, he too had a tough time. I tasted a piece of his beef steak that was cooked well but not really tender to the consistency we would have liked it, also the steak felt a bit bland. That is the story of the three beef steaks. The vegetarians fared better than us and they complimented every thing they ate.

On the other end of the table Mr.Chennai Foodie had ordered for a chicken steak with red wine marinate and grilled prawns. I had a bit of his steak and I loved it. The meat was very tender and well cooked but the marinate was a little over powering. There was Chicken pizza on the table as well. But somehow I did not like it that much. I guess we had got the topping wrong. But the killer steak was the one which the harried cook had, Lamb Shin Sofrito. Lamb was so very tender and wonderful in taste and aroma. An absolute must try Steak.

We were offered desserts after the heavy main course. We decided that we would share the desserts. Mississippi Mud Pie, Double Chocolate Gelato, Apple Pie, Gentle Aphrodisiac and Chocolate and cointreau mousse. To me the winner in the desserts round was the Mississippi Mud Pie. It was divine, it had heavy dose of coffee to it. I had a bit of all the desserts. I personally do not prefer Apple Pie cause they contain cinnamon in it. Cinnamon is something which I do not like. But the apple pie was nice as well. Another must try dessert is the Double chocolate gelato, it was quite simply fabulous.We thanked Mr.Jai for having us there. After such a heavy stuffing session, we were all almost rolling when we went out.

Auzzri Bay is a fine dining restaurant and it was crowded for a wednesday night dinner.  So the food over here has got to be good maybe we just did not pick the right steaks. To me it was,  all in all, a good experience .

Food - 8/10
Ambiance - 9/10 ( Roof Top is awesome, provided the weather is good as well )
Price - 8/10

Azzuri Bay is located in Gandhi Nagar Adyar, next to the Gandhi Nagar Club.

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