It has been over a year since I had updated the blog. With lot of work going into my pet project, I was unable to post anything. I was kind of active on Instagram with photo reviews.

I had recently taken a short break from work. I got to dine at The Reef at Sheraton Grand. I will try and summarize the entire experience.


Food:
For people who have become like me, impatient to read through the entire blog, the verdict is Simply Sensational.

We had gone for the dinner buffet on Pongal. The Reef was not hosting any special menu on the occasion. So my impressions are based on the regular affair served here.

We started with the soup which was a Thai Chicken Soup. One Sip of it and I was blown away by the taste. It was delicate and well balanced.




Buffet also had Veg Cream Soup which I did not get to taste. The buffet spread was quite extensive with a Selection of Salads, Make Your Own Salad, Assorted Breads with Cheese and also Live Counter for Chaat items, Pasta and Pizza.

The spread had a good mix of Indian dishes and Continental items. Paneer to Lamb Shank to Dals to Wok Tossed Noodles.


The Dessert spread was another highlight. Comprising of Indian Sweets to Cakes to Ice Creams to Brownies. All in all, loved the entire spread. One the best buffets I have had in a long time, with each and every dish being tasty. Some may not like certain dishes but my palate seemed to love em.

Ambiance:
The Reef is nestled in the spanking new property of Sheraton Grand on ECR. The property is Grand and befitting of the word GRAND.

Service:
Full marks here. We loved the service.

Price:
The buffet for a person is priced 1600 plus taxes. But if you have AMEX card you can knock 20% off the Bill thanks to AMEX alliance with SPG and Marriot group. So we ended up paying 2550/- for the two of us.

Would I visit again, 100% I will.

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

Disclaimer - I paid for the meal.

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I have been a big FAN of the food at Pan Asian. Yes Yes! I have not made post about it on my blog. But the restaurant had made me rethink the Asian style of food. Gone was the simple noodles, rice and sides. All thanks to the brilliant Chef Vikramjit. Having had two renditions with Chef where he set the bar really high for Asian fare my idea of having a simple asian meal was lost.

Yes! I know I would have loved it if Chef Vikramjit had stayed back in Pan Asian, but now that he has moved to Tian at ITC Maurya to much grander stage, Chennai was left with void which needed to be filled. Vola! ITC brings in Chef Ashish Singh to fill the space.

So I was invited to a Chef's table along with the bunch of other foodies from Chennai to pick Chef Ashish's brain over a delicious Sunday Brunch.

Food:
The brunch started off with a Fantastic Sashimi served on Bed of Ice accompanied by Salmon and Sea Urchin garnished with Shisho Leaf and Hanaho and the piece of resistance - Fresh Wasabi! There was many firsts for me with respect to this dish - Sea Urchin & seeing a freshly grated Wasabi. Sea Urchin - Big Fan!

Next to be served was the Sichuan Style Crispy John Dory. I did a small google search on the Mr. John Dory. Pictures depicted a grumpy lil fish. I wonder how a grumpy bugger became a tasty lil sucker.



Next was another first for me a Scallop and Salmon with a bit of Roe. It was an another stunner. In between all this I was served a Green Tea - Iced Matcha which was quite brilliant.



Next was Robatayaki in two forms. Veg was made with char grilled Avocado - simply brilliant. Not been a big fan a Avocado but in this form I did love it. Non-veg, the Char Grilled Black Cod was sensational.


Up next was a beautifully caramelised Duck wrapped in Nama Uba paper. Some foodies did not seem to agree with me. But I loved it. The duck was followed by a Lamb chop served with the cigar style Vanilla puff pastry. The Puff pastry was fantastic, the lamb was tender but I did not quite like the muttony taste which accompanied it.


Final dish part of the appetiser was the Tuna Sushi & Prawn Sushi both excellent and was mouthwatering plus eye watering with the wasabi.

After finishing the many courses of Appetizers I was nearly stuffed, and also I had to head back to work. So I began to inhale the mains rather than enjoying it.  For mains we were served with a bento box of sorts. I loved the Jasmine Rice served along with the yellow curry sea bass and the Wok tossed Lamb. The noodles which came with the lamb was a tad bit dry. I skipped the desserts as I headed back to work.

Overall the meal felt different with platting & presentation taking the centre stage and the antics pushed to the back burner. Looks like Pan Asian is in safe hands.

Ambiance:
It is not your regular chinese restaurant fare. Rather a contemporary mix of wood and fine lighting to go with the kind of gastronomical journey which we undergo with the meal.

Price:
This sit down Sunday brunch costs Rs 3300/-  per head.

Disclaimer : Invited Review

Pan Asian is located inside ITC Grand Chola in Guindy.

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*A review about a place holds good only for 6 months as there can be a change in quality and quantity of the food, the service and the staff, due to reasons best known only to them. So kindly consider these factors while visiting the places.

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Food:
I visited Lotus Thai for the on-going Sea Food Festival which mix matches local produce with a contemporary Thai twist. So we started our meal with the fffantasticcc Prawn & Garlic Crackers with an assortment of dips. My favourite combo was the Prawn cracker with the Tamarind Dip - the crunchy texture with the liquid sauce accentuated the flavours.


This excellent dish was followed by the Grilled Scampi which I felt could definitely pass of as a Lobster (LOL!!). It was simply huge, I wonder where do you even get these? The general thought is, the larger the size of seafood, the more difficult it gets to infuse them with flavours. But that simply was not the case here, as it had nice lemon grass flavour to it.

To accompany this we had the Rose Lemonade and Pattaya Beach Cooler. Both were excellent. Next up was Crispy Fried Soft Shell Crab with Lemon Basil Sauce which was out of the world. I do not have words to explain the gastronomic feeling which I had when I took a bite of it. Absolute must have. I really do wish they could add this to their regular menu.

After killing through some appetisers we had Prawn Tom Yum & Tom Kha which were definitely great palate cleansers.



Moving to the mains, I must mention all the dishes were fabulous. It started with my 900g Lobster friend ( Not pictured here - do visit my insta for it) who was simply grumpy looking at us killing it. But must say he was quite well dressed with glass noodles and had a garlic and pepper perfume LOL!! Then entered the Golden Fried Anchovies - divine. Another must have and would love it if it made it to the regular menu. Following which we had Jasmine Rice with Lotus Homemade curry with seafood fabulous well known combo which worked well.

Finally we finished our meal with a Twist. Lemon Grass Ice cream and a Water Chestnuts in Coconut Milk which were decadent. The way the chef has used the water chestnuts for the crunchy texture in an otherwise sweet coconut milk deserves praise.

Ambiance:
Lotus Thai after the reboot has had amazing image makeover. New contemporary decor was simply fabulous

Price:
A meal for two should cost an upward of Rs 4000/- . Again it based on your appetite.

This food festival is on till the 28th of February 2016. Seafood lovers should not miss this.

Disclaimer : Invited Review

The Park is located on Anna Salai and it is hard to miss.

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*A review about a place holds good only for 6 months as there can be a change in quality and quantity of the food, the service and the staff, due to reasons best known only to them. So kindly consider these factors while visiting the places.

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Happy New Year!!!, Happy New Year!!!! It has been a while since my last post on my blog. Been happily ambling around, enjoying!

New Year, New Blog Post, New Restaurant. No other fitting way to do it. Yes! Yes! it is about Mamagoto. A new Pan Asian restaurant which has arrived on KNK road. Boy oh boy! They have made an awesome mark.

Food:
Mamagoto has many other outlets all over the country, but a first in Chennai. We were invited as a part of Bloggers food table to try-out the food just before the opening. So we sat down to try out the dishes - me and my best friends / bloggers.





We kickstarted the proceedings with a portion Crispy Lotus Stem, Hot Basil Chicken Cups, Prawn Tempura and Honey Chicken with Bell Peppers. Firstly I am not able to lock down on the dish which I liked the most as all the dishes were spectacular. Secondly the portion sizes were generous. I really do wish they stick to these portion sizes.


To quench our thirst we had a Wasabi Mary, Pina Colada, Cucumber Basil mock-tail and a Virgin Sangria. All drinks fantastic. But my pick of the lot would be the Cucumber Basil Mock-tail.




We skipped Soups and Salads and went ahead with the mains. We had a Soggy Thai Basil Fried Rice and a Chicken Soho Pan Fried Noodles. For a change I liked the vegetarian dish better. Noodles was a bit spicy for my liking, never-the-less, tasty.



The desserts were the best of the lot. I really would not mind stepping in just for the desserts. The Banoffee Pie was simply sensational. In fact we had two portions of the same. We also had the Homemade Coconut and Palm Sugar Ice Cream and the Chunky Caramel Sponge Cake, which were delicious as well.

One of the fellow food blogger on our table had been to the Bangalore outlet and was raving about their experimental menu which they have as an addition to the regular menu. Sadly it was not available at launch. Thankfully, the Food Director informed us that they would introduce the experimental menu soon in Chennai soon.

Ambiance:
Felt more like a Hipster Asian restaurant, a mix of contemporary art with oriental asian form factor.

Price:
A meal for two should cost around Rs 2000 and upwards depending on the number of dishes you chose to order.

Disclaimer : Invited review.

Mamagoto is located in opposite to Cafe Coffee Day Square on KNK Road.

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*A review about a place holds good only for 6 months as there can be a change in quality and quantity of the food, the service and the staff, due to reasons best known only to them. So kindly consider these factors while visiting the places.

**Want instant reviews follow me on Instagram!!

Drawbacks of clicking takeaway food when you are totally hungry? Total loss in creativity! Check pictures above. Only one thing runs in your mind. Tummy, you will need to wait for another 5 seconds. Anyways coming to proceedings, having had great burger & delicious sandwich the previous night from my current favourite (Foodycall) midnight delivery service, I was wishing to try a new joint Shaack just to have comparo of sorts. Maybe next time a shoot out between the two?? With the tasty burger from the previous night fresh on my mind, I wanted to know how this burger and sandwich fared.


Food:
My regular order in a midnight delivery service is Chicken Sandwich and a Chicken Burger. Some how this seems to work best for me during the late hours. If I am adventurous I go with the beef variant of the same. Anyways here I had Chicken Burger with Chilly Billy sauce and a Grilled Chicken Sandwich. First the good news. I loved the Grilled Chicken Sandwich. If fact I thought it fared better than the one from the FoodyCall. Loads of Mayo, topped to the brim with chicken so that every bite is filled with the delicious chicken and finally fine toasted bread to finish it off. Now the bad part. The burger was a total disappointment as it was highly recommended by food affectionados. I was hoping for a grilled patty but was let down by a patty which looked like a cutlet. Also the topping, the chilly billy sauce, was not spicy to the level I had expected. Apart from this grouse, it had a great bun which did not crumble away and the veggies were just fine. I also had built this image were the juice from the meat flows all over your hand on biting the burger, which just did not happen. They do have a Sloppy Joe and Mexicana variant to the burger. I hope to give another try with the sloppy joe variant.

Service:
The service was really quick. Order to delivery in 30mins flat as guaranteed

Price:
One burger and a Sandwich cost me Rs 402/-

Food - 7/10
Service - 10/10
Price - 8/10

Shaack does delivery from 11am to 4am the next day.
Call on 044 - 8144277035

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Ahhh!! Finally, a New Town Cafe right inside the city. The one place I have been waiting to see close by and not on ECR alone. I was here for a CFG Showcase. The new outlet has opened up at the food street of Alwarpet, TTK Road.The ambiance at the new outlet is totally different from the one at ECR. Rich new age decor with amazing sound system.





The first starter to arrive was the Mezze platter. This is a cold platter with soft pita bread and hummus. The hummus was well made, in-fact one of the best. It also had some finely diced fresh veggies drizzled with lemon.


The next dish to arrive was the Asparagus and Mushroom vol au vent. For those who dont know what a Vol au vent is - it is typically a puff pastry of French origin which is circular in shape. Our Vol au vent was stuffed with a mixture of asparagus and mushroom. It was a combination of crispy outer with soft mussy filling. There was also a Refried Beans in Taco Shells. This was something which I skipped.



The starters for non-veggies started with Chicken Satay. Since I have had the same at the other outlet, I felt it still maintained the flavors. Next was the Tenderloin Teriyaki Skewers. WOW! is the word which best describes it. The beef was a really soft and full of flavors. It was served with Bok Choy. The combination was perfect. I would recommend this dish for true beef lovers.



Finally the famous Cheese Stuffed Drumstick Mughali Style. This is the best dish I have had on their menu. A piece drumstick deboned and stuffed with a mixture of chicken and cheese, served along with a Mughali style gravy. A big thumbs up to this dish. An absolute must have. The last starter to arrive was Mutton Murtabak. This dish is an stuffed parotta with a fancy middle eastern name. I have attached a close up picture of the same to show the amount of filling. This was the first properly spicy dish to be served. Point to be noted, it was well worth it.




After a half a dozen starters in my belly we moved to the main course. I skipped tasting the veg mains as I was beginning to feel a full. The veg mains served were Dry Pan Mee, Crispy noodles with 5 spice veggies, veg. grilled sandwich and finally Roti Canai with Veg Curry. I am a big fan of the Roti Canai with non-veg curry so I mixed up a little of the roti with some non-veg dish. The roti was soft and made me wish, for a non-veg curry.



The non-veg mains started with the Curry Mee. I am not a big fan noodles dunked in spicy soup, so I would not be the best to comment on it. The next was the Sago Tawa Fish. This was served along with Tandoori Aloo. The fish was fresh, spicy and tasty, the way I like it.



Next up was the Nasi Lemak Chicken Rendang. This is one dish, which I have not had before and I was surprised as to why I had missed out on this. It is best had with all the ingredients mixed together. A little of steamed rice, with kadala (nuts), boiled egg, fried chicken and anchovies. A mouth of this mixture is an absolute nirvana. Finally the last of the main was the Shell less Crab meat with Kothuparata. The crab was almost shell-less. The dish was a little on the sweeter side and I just hoped it had a bit of spiciness to compliment the parata.







After munching on various dishes, I hardly had any space in my tum to have full portion of the desserts. So I went about sampling the various dishes served to us. We were served with Roti Bomb, Orange Chocolate Mud Pie, Apple Crumbled Tart, Mango Mascarpone Pannacotta and Espresso Creme brulee.  The only dessert which I liked was the Roti Bomb, the others were just passable. Roti Bomb which is a parotta cut down to small pieces and loaded with milkmade. Felt it was the cut above the rest. Overall the entire meal was just fabulous.

Ambiance:
The Ambiance here is totally different from the one at ECR. This one has more of a lounge kind of style with superb music. A big thumbs up to the audio system here.

Price:
A meal for two should end up costing around Rs 1200- 1500.

New Town Cafe is located in TTK Road opposite to Indian Terrain and Nike showrooms.

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