Gone are the days when people say, " We are going to Mahabs to visit the Shore Temple" now it has come down to " Mahabs man, Moonrakers buddy! Sea Food!  After a long gap, I was at Blue Elephant a sister concern of Moonrakers for a delicious soul filling, protein rich diet.





First to arrive was the Golden Fried Calamari, which was served with lemon sauce. My taste was, avoid the lemon sauce. Have it with tomato ketchup. The Calamari is  always fresh and  has never disappointed me. The crunchy outer texture to the squishy interior is a nice contrast. Chili Chicken was the next to arrive for my brother who is allergic to Calamari. I just sampled a piece, it was nice and spicy with a hint of tawa flavors.



Next came the Tawa Prawns, Wow!!!!!! The best prawns one could have. This dish is best with smaller size prawns as the masala infuses better into the dish and also you get more pieces. A combo of this with the Parotta is deadly. Finally the Star item the fresh Fish in Tawa Masala, The Fish had a crispy outer texture with a soft and fresh inner portion. Nothing beats this fish. If you are an ardent fish lover, this is the place to have fresh fish.

Ambiance:
Since my 1 year old niece had come along and loves to keep running around, we chose Blue Elephant over Moonrakers. Its a wise decision for families with kids. The restaurant is air-conditioned, which wins brownie points during hot summers.

Service:
The people who serve you are not trained professionally in the art of serving, but they definitely go out of the way to help you out.

Price:
The price for this meal was Rs2300/- which was for 4 people. If you do go as a large crowd do not hesitate to bargain on the price.

Food: 8/10
Ambiance : 7/10
Service: 8/10
Price: 8/10

Blue Elephant is located in Otha Vada Street, Bang opposite to Moonrakers in Mahabalipuram.

For main course the non-veggies ordered Peri-peri Chicken with rice, the same with fish for myself, Goan Fish Curry, Steamed Rice and finally Jeera Rice to go with the Mixed Vegetable Gravy. I did not sample the veg items so I would not comment on it. The Peri-Peri Chicken and Fish with Rice is a single serving main course. The flavors of both chicken and fish were similar, its a matter of personal preference. The peri-peri masala was nice, but a little off from what I had experienced at Goa. Finally the Goan Fish Curry with Steamed Rice. This is the best combo to have the Fish Curry was authentic with right amount of coconut milk and a mild vinegar taste. The combo of Steamed rice with fresh pieces of fish was just blissful. We were too stuffed to try the desserts.

Ambiance:
The place looks like it has had a small make-over to house the new restaurant. Also the number seats has definitely taken a hit. If the weather is perfect, I would strongly you to dine outdoor.

Service:
The service was pretty decent. Since it is a new restaurant, it should improve with time.

Price:
This meal cost us Rs 2750/- which is reasonable for a restaurant located on KNK Road.

Food: 7/10
Ambiance: 7/10
Service: 7/10
Price: 7/10

Goa Portuguesa is located in KNK Road in the building which used to house 5 Senses.

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Moving on to the food, we had to wait a quite a bit before the food was served. But once the food reached us, I could hear everyone going yummm!!! I must say they have a fantastic chef. Everything which was served was outstanding. I did not expect such a quality at a tea house. BBQ chicken was the first to be served. One word-awesome! Then came the Spicy Garlic Bread. It was spicy-check, it had garlic-check and yes it was on a bread! A dish which most will like.


If you are a sucker for Prawns, then Prawn Remoulade is the dish for you. Remoulade maybe a dish which was invented in France, but I bet this would pass off as an accompaniment with the Indian Ghee Rice. Now I badly want to try this combination yummmmmmy!!






Lloyds does serve up some cafe style thin crust pizzas. They may not wow you, but they certainly will not diappoint you. We, non-veggies got to sample the Roasted Chicken Pizza which was loaded to the brim with cheese.





Whether its a cafe or a tea house, they need to serve up some amazing sandwichs. At this place I got sample the Chicken Club Sandwich which was triple layered with loads of chicken and lettuce and filled with cheese and served along with fries. This was one delicious treat. Since I was begining to get stuffed at this point, I had just a spoonful of the Pasta Tuscany, which seemed yumm!! Finally we were served a  different looking dish called the Zucchini Fantasy which I skipped.




For desserts I nibbled on a bit of Red Velvet Cake and Pound Cake. The cakes tasted just okay. I sure have had better desserts elsewhere. This is something which they need to improve on.

Ambiance:
 It is really bright and airy. But I really hope they add a few more couches instead of the regular chair and tables.

Price:
A meal for two cost about Rs 800/-, which seems like pretty good value for the money.


Lloyds Tea House is located in Gopalapuram opposite to Nilgiris departmental store.

After Tuscana Pizzeria, my next favorite destination to have pizzas has become Pizza Republic. Gone are the days of having Pizza from Pizza Hut, Dominos and like. Pizza Republic has become the choice when my wallet is on a diet. Until now I have suffered with the need to drive off to places which are little away from my home. Now there is an outlet slightly closer to my house, which gave me more reason to visit it. I was here in Pizza Republic on Ethiraj Salai on the day it was opened. I must say I loved the fine pizza.

Food:
Since I was dining all alone, I chose to have Chica- Chik on a multi-grain crust with normal cheese, spiciness and juiciness. Yes, I decided to add a dash of olives. Olives oh, heavenly olives, I love em!  Chica - Chik is an overload of chicken with Tandoori Chicken, Salami & Sausages with assorted veggies.The pizza was served fresh out of the oven, juicy, cheesy, crispy and yummy! A perfect pizza to satiate my pizza appetite. I did find some difference between pizzas served here in this outlet and the Taramani out-let. Not sure if it is supposed to happen. Or is it down to the pizza maker? Verdict thumbs up on the new outlet.

Ambiance:
This outlet could seat around 20 people at a time. It looks more to cater to delivery and take-away crowd and of-course the crowd from Ethiraj College. The ambiance is neat with fuss-free simple decor.

Service:
The service is fast and fresh. Period.

Price:
The price for a pizza again comes down to what you order and how you customize it. A single non-veg pizza can cost from Rs 180 to all the way up to Rs 600.

Food - 8/10
Ambiance - 7/10
Service - 9/10
Price - 8/10

Pizza Republic - Egmore is located opposite to Ethiraj College on Ethiraj Salai.

Spoonbill is one of the places which combines the street food from different parts of the WORLD to form an interesting amalgamation of street cuisine. I was here some time last year, with a couple of my  friends. We loved the food. Period!  But we did not get the opportunity to get back, simply because it was a little far away from home. CFG Showcase here at Spoonbill was a good enough reason for me to head here.









Veggies do have some fabulous dishes on the menu as well. Firstly a sandwich called Piadina, which looks like a sandwich made with Chappati instead of bread with spread made of veggies and rich creamy cheese. Then there is the Falafel salad. Falafel salad comes from the same land as the Doner Kebab but only it is the vegetarian relative. Veggies do have the Veg.Burito, but I just loved chicken version that I cannot find a case to recommend the veg. Finally my favorite among all the veg dishes was the Hara Bhara Kebab from the Indian cuisine which is made from Spinach. Just loved the taste. It is a dish even a Non-Veggie would die for.

After having some delicious treats one would definitely want to settle down to something sweet to satisfy the sweet tooth. Lip smacking heavenly delights, whether you settle down for the plain Nutella treat or an ice cream filled one, you are sure in for a treat.

As I have said in the beginning, Spoonbill is a true amalgamation of street food.

Ambiance:
A very simple decor over looking the streets of TTK Road. What more can street food joint want?

Price:
A meal for two should work around Rs 1000/-, for which you get to relish on food from around the world.


Spoonbill is located on TTK Road, above Cafe Coffee Day outlet.

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Dining options in Chennai after 11 PM is very limited and once the clock crosses 12 Midnight,  those options are even less. I remember dining as a kid in Wang's Kitchen past 11pm and the buffet rate which was normally Rs 299, dropped  down flat to Rs 100. Guess all those days are gone now. If you could find a buffet for Rs100 in this day and age in Chennai, its got to have its annoyances. So if you are looking around to eat in Chennai past 11pm and want to have a decent buffet to kickstart your weekend then your choices are down to the major star hotels in town. On this route  if you decide not to burn your pocket then the list becomes really thin. One such restaurant that makes on to that thin list is Main Street at Residency Towers.









Last but not the least the meal completes with a small selection of desserts. All in all a decent fare. Do try this out, if you are out in the night and have run-out of options to dine at.

Price:
The midnight buffet starts at 11pm and runs all the way upto 3am in the morning. The buffet is priced at Rs 555/-.

Main Street is located inside Residency Towers in T-Nagar.

Food:
What do you remember about your College Canteen Food? Seven years of college in Chennai and I can safely say that I have not had 3 Dosas for Rs 18/- in my college canteen. I can vaguely remember having Ghee Roast Rs 10/- in my first year of college which was back in 2005. One thing which I like about Bangalore, which I am sure some may not like-the sweet Sambhar. Next up Ghee Roast at Rs 14/- crispy and neat. Accompanied with Sambhar and Coconut Chutney. Worth every buck. Chow Chow Bath at Rs 18/-. For some who do not know about Chow Chow Bath, it is a sweet Kesari and Upma served separately on the same plate. Wonderful combination of sweet and spicy, served along with Chutney and Korma - absolute must have. Worth every buck.

Ambiance:
Its a college canteen, so how do I write this.

Service:
Self service

Price:
6  Dosas, 1 Chow Chow Bath and 2 vada - grand total Rs 100. Perfect meal on a budget. Next step dine at Amma's Canteen.

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

The Canteen is located inside MS Ramaiah College, Bangalore.

My last visit to Pasta Bar Veneto was way before my blog happened and my source for new joints in Chennai was Mr.Chennai Foodie. I had visited their Egmore outlet and the food save the Mud Pie was a total disappointment. But this visit to Pasta Bar Veneto, T-Nagar as a part of CFG Showcase was a class apart. I think it is enough of me doing small talk and get down to the food.



The Veggies started their innings with Bruschetta topped of with diced tomato and cheese. It was crispy and fresh. There was another Bruschetta for the veggies topped with Mushroom and loaded to the brim with cheese. This was one cheesy delight


Next up, it was a round for the non-veggies. We were served with Panko Fried Chicken Wings. I have always loved Panko fried stuff and this too did not disappoint me. So far all the dishes were fabulous. No disappoints unlike my previous visit.




Next up came the Chicken Sausages in Spicy Masala. Seemed a little Indianized. I am not a big fan of Sausages, but this one was awesome. It was well marinated and was juicy with none of the side effects of cold storage. The next round went for the veggies. They had a Cheese Fritters. Cheese at its best.


Guess an Italian restaurant cannot be Italian without serving the Pizza. Please do not compare these with the one you get at Tuscana. But these were great in their own right. We were served two veg and two non-veg pizzas. I personally like the veg pizzas. They seemed to have the right balance between the juiciness and cheesiness. The non-veg pizzas were a little overloaded. At this point we were all beginning to feel a little stuffed.


Out came the Lasagnas! With two veg and two non-veg. Non-veggies had Roasted Chicken Lasagna and a Fish Lasagna. My personal fav was the Roasted Chicken. It brought back memories of dining at Red-E. At this point I was so stuffed I could eat no further.




Just when I started thinking I had, had enough of food, we were served with Grilled Chicken and Grilled Fish. Both Seemed to have the same marinate in them. I took a bite into the fish while it was fresh out of the kitchen. This turned out to be a serious mistake, it burnt my tongue. The marinade did not seem to suite the fish well, while the chicken was better. The grilled chicken and fish were served along with some freshly cut veggies and a piece of bread.




My previous visit to the Pasta Bar Veneto ended with me liking just the desserts.  So I had huge expectations on the desserts. We had Tiramisu, Mud Pie and Chocolate Mousse. Off the lot, I loved the Mud Pie and the Chocolate Mousse. Tiramisu had something a miss. All in all the entire meal was a killer and the meal wiped clean of my memory my previous experience.

Ambiance:
The T-Nagar outlet was swanky looking and in my opinion was way better in ambiance than the Egmore outlet ( one I had visited some time before ).

Price:
A dish here is priced around Rs 200 and thereabouts. A meal for two would roughly cost around Rs 1000/-.

Pasta Bar Veneto is located on Burkit Road. I used the GPS to head here so cant give you any landmarks. They do have outlets in Egmore and Anna Nagar.