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.

If you like what you are reading, Please share it with others.

*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!!

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.

You like what you are reading, Please share it with others.

*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!!