Yes! I am Back! after a short hiatus. This time around I took a small break and I got married. Now once more  I have this itch to get back to the blogging. Skipped many bloggers table. Also skipped posting many restaurants which I had visited. Now that I am here, it is back to bringing my blog up to speed and up to date.

My most recent restaurant visit was a blogger table at Prego at Taj Coromandel. The last time I was here I was totally floored, so when I heard that they had a new chef with a all new menu, I just could not refuse.

Chef Alessandro Bechini is at the helm of things at Prego this time around. The man behind the Maritime by San Lorenzo at Taj Lands End, Mumbai. So my expectations ran high. A brief chat with the Chef gave us an idea as to what we could expect. Back to basics - Fresh ingredients, fresh produce, keeping it simple and true to Italian taste.

I had a glance at the menu for the evening and it was quite a spread. For a second I thought we were being served the entire menu, and then when I had a look at the new menu I was awe struck as it was really very very extensive. Now coming to the meal which I had just enjoyed...



Food:
The meal started of with a Amuse Bouche - Feta Cheese wrapped in a slice of Carrot and a Salad - Insalata di Indivia, Pere al Vino Rosso e Gorgonzola which was a Endive and lollo rosso salad with red wine poached pears, walnuts, lemon gorgonzola dressing. I loved em both. The simplicity of the dish with amazing and the fresh flavors wowed me. Loved the way the Pear was pouched in wine and the texture of the other ingredients.



This was followed by the soup course. The veggies in our group were served the Minestrone Casalingo which I also got to sample, was full flavored and rich bodied. The non-veggies had their pick between Brodetto alla Marchigiana which was a Seafood Bisque and Stracciatella alla Romana - a roman style Egg drop soup. Both good in their own right. Simple yet flavorful, light yet refreshing.



Next course was flooded with Pastas and Risottos.
Fusilli al Profumo dell’Orto - Twisted pasta with fresh herbs and vegetables. A simple yet flavorful dish in which one could clearly differentiate the ingredients.


Fettuccine with Lamb Ragout - Fettuccine in minced Lamb. Rich heavenly flavor packed lamb mixed in my current favorite pasta Fettuccine. How can I not love this?


Risotto Porcini e Tartufo - Creamed Carnaroli rice with wild mushrooms and truffle infused extra virgin olive oil. The risotto was simply out of the world. My kind of comfort food with different textures and of course truffle infused olive oil.

Branzino ai Ferri con Panelle e Salsa Puttanesca - Grilled Chilean Seabass on spicy red sauce with capers and olives, with chick pea fritters and sweet/sour fresh herbs relish was my star pick. Simple grilled fish and sensational anchovies sauce and crispy polenta to go with. Simple dish yet filled with complex flavours.

Crespelle Senza Uovo con Broccoli Croccanti - Eggless crepes, filled with zucchini, eggplant, ricotta and parmesan, broiled with Provolone cheese, on tomato sauce. This dish is one of kind. Kinda reminded me of Ravioli, cheesy and darn tasty.



Finally we entered the dessert course
Tiramisù Senza uovo - Eggless & Kaluvaless Tiramisu which was simply sensational. On quizzing the chef, about the reason for this, he was happy point out that he wanted vegetarian patrons plus the kids to enjoy the dish.

Delizia al Cioccolato - Dark chocolate fondant with strawberry sorbet. The strawberry sorbet was absolutely delicate and the dark chocolate fondant combination was just the rich knockout punch we needed.

By the end of the meal one thing was quite evident - the philosophy of keeping dishes simple and going back to the roots can produce some sensational flavors which your taste-buds will love.

Ambiance:
Typical Prego affair with style, class and lot of panache.

Price:
A meal for two should be possible for around Rs 4000/- and upwards depending the spread which is ordered.
If not you can tell your preferences and the budget - let chef weave the magic for the special occasion.

Disclaimer : Invited review.

Prego is located inside Taj Coromandel on Nungumbakkam high 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.

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Food:
As soon as we entered, we went head and placed our orders. I had the Crunchy Crazy Sushi while mom settled for a Cucumber Crabstick Salad and my mom friend had the Steamed Edamame.


It was my first time at having Steamed Edamame which was quite nice. A very good appetiser or in my case it was like a palate cleanser in between the sushi's.


The salad on the other hand was not a light dish, but rather a belter. Finely chopped cucumber topped off with a bucket load of Mayo followed by handful of Tobiko. Tobiko is otherwise known as Red Caviar. We had a few attempts at trying to gobble the dish with the chop sticks, but we ended up using our regular weaponry fork and spoon.


The Salad was mildly flavoured but rich thanks to the Tobiko and Mayo. Also the mayo helped to mask the slightly salty nature of Tobiko. The Crab meat was smooth and it just went down in one WHOFF!!!





Finally coming to my Crunchy Crazy which was Shrimp Tempura Roll covered with a sweet chilli sauce was simply outstanding. I bet I have never had a better shrimp roll than this. Served along with Wasabi which was just spectacular. The crunchy texture complimented the shrimp which was the icing on the cake.

Ambiance:
They had both outdoors and indoor dining. Dining outdoors with the temperature hovering around 45 degree would be just madness. Thankfully the well appointed interiors with large glass windows was comfortable to dine in.

Service:
Simple, fast and effective.

Price:
The short snack for three cost us 85 AED. Also I think I should stop converting the prices to INR to feel the impact.

I must thank my moms friend for taking me to this wonderful place. Also a couple others which I would be posting soon.

Food - 8.5/10
Ambiance - 8/10
Service - 8/10
Price - 7/10

Disclaimer : We paid for the meal.

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.

There is lot of chat about eating healthy and living healthy.  I  believe eating just salads for one meal a day everyday, should help our body detox and also give the necessary fibre content.

Since I love salads, I joined Mr. Food in Chennai for a Salads only lunch at The Dining Room at Park Hyatt. They have priced these innovative healthy salads deal at Rs 450 + taxes for each salads. To accompany the salads, they do have a selection of healthy drinks as well.

Food:
Without further ado, I ll talk about the food. The salads are normally put into single bowl and served. Here they decided to give it a twist by deconstructing it. Yes this was my 1st deconstructed salad. Also my first experience on the different preparation styles of a salad.

The Dining room wipes out the deconstructed salad in


- Roasted
which was made of baby beetroot, fennel, apple, celery, walnut, orange, arugula and goat cheese




- Blanched
asparagus, mango, snow peas, shaved carrot, scallions and toasted hazelnuts



- Tossed
made of quinoa, avocado, cherry tomatoes, parsley mint, toasted pumpkin seeds and sunflower cress



- Smashed
which contains edamame and broccoli spread, roasted garlic lemon, ricotta and pumpernickel toast


- Grilled
which was made of eggplant, chickpeas, dates, honey, chilli, feta, pomegranate, pine nut and fresh herbs.

One can top them of with the addition of non-veggies

- Smoked Salmon
- Seared Tuna
- Poached Egg
- Chicken Breast

To accompany these and wash them down, a selection of healthy drinks.



- Watermelon Smoothie
Fresh watermelon, yoghurt and honey

- Skin Tonic
Romaine Lettuce, Cilantro, Lime and Pineapple

- Spark
Almond, milk, avocado, vanilla bean and banana

- Energiser
Apple, Kiwi, Lime, Spinach, Celery and honey

&

- Bello
Banana, spinach, coconut, cashew and coconut cream

I had bit of all the salads and the drinks. Personally I have never had a blanched salad. I was pleasantly surprised about the flavours. A small amount of mango also does wonders. My personal favourite of the lot was the Grilled Salad. It had a heavy mediterranean influence. Something like the hummus. Loved it. Between the Smoked Salmon and the Grilled Chicken, I somehow ended up liking the chicken, in spite of me being a Salmon lover. Plenty of drinks to combine with the salads and my personal pick was the Bello - you cant even feel the spinach in it, which is the best part.

These amazing selection of salads are available between 21st April to 28th April for both lunch and dinner at The Dinning Room and for dinner at Flying Elephant - Park Hyatt.

Ambiance:
Lovely ambiance with a fantastic view. Great place to unwind after a hard days work

Price:
A lovely healthy meal for two should cost Rs 1800/- odd.

Disclaimer : Invited review

Park Hyatt is located on the entrance of Velachery High Road on Guindy.

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.

I ordered a Banger Sanger and a Cafe Latte while my friend who had accompanied me ordered a Grilled Chook Sammie and Hot Chocolate. The Banger Sanger and Grilled Chook Sammie were the first to arrive. One bite into our sandwiches was just enough to redeem the place of all our hasty presumptions which we had in our mind. I did not sample my friends sandwich but he assured me it was rocking. My Banger Sanger was simply devine, it was like A R Rahmans melody in my mouth. It reminded me of the sandwich at La Boulangerie. The Latte was a regular affair nothing special  and I would rate it on the same scale as CCD.


Food - 8/10
Ambiance - 5/10
Service- 7/10
Price - 9/10

The Koala Joe's Cafe is located in the road between Nilgiris and Indian Oil Bunk on Radhakrishnan Salai, right next to Illusions Pub.

A small Iftar before the ginormous dinner, this is the tale of the sandwich and Chocolate drink at Ci Gusta in Phoenix Market City.

Food:
Since this was a dash and splash stop, I ordered a Ci Gusta Special Sandwich and a Chocolate Sinful to quench my thirst. Ci Gusta Special Sandwich is a smoked chicken sandwich with tomato, lettuce and with onions. The Chocolate Sinful is dark chocolate in yogurt. The sandwich was tasty but I guess it's a little over priced for the size at Rs 199/- and the drink was fine. But better to stick to fruity flavors when it comes to yogurt

Ambiance:
This is a very small shop in Phoenix mall which could at its best seat 15 people at a time. I am betting they are counting more on people who would grab their yogurt based ice cream and move on.

Service:
This was one aspect I liked. It was really fast and swift.

Price:
This short bite cost me Rs 350/- odd. Guess it needs to be priced so that they can really pay their rents at Phoenix.

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

Ci Gusta is located inside Phoenix Market City in the ground level.

I wast here at Kettle, Anna Nagar along with the CFG gang for a Chennai Food Guide (CFG) Showcase. I must say, it was great to meet the gang after a very long time. Since my last CFG showcase, there has been many changes in the way we need to put up a review after a showcase. So I shall be abiding by the rules and try to incorporate changes to the method of presentation in the coming posts.





Next there was a serving of Scones. I have never had scone before, so my experience is very limited. It was served along with Butter and Jam. Must say loved it! Then came the Mushroom on a Toast and it was decent.


After that came Tomato and Basil Soup. Many found it a tad salty, but not  me. I loved the creamy nature of the soup. It was predominantly tomato with a slight hint of Basil.






Lamb Burger, which came next was a real surprise as I did not expect a near perfect burger from a tea shop such as this. Worth it!


Next we were given Mediterranean Egg White Ciabatta Sandwich which lacked flavor. I am not sure if it was supposed to taste like this. But I have had better sandwiches else where. The veggies on the other hand were served with Veg. Lasagnae. It was fantastic. Perfect filling and proper flavor were the bottom-line of the dish.


There was also a pesto paneer sandwich which I had skipped and Roasted Chicken Mayo Sandwich & Curried Pasta which were not to my liking.






There was a variety of deserts too. Of all the deserts served, I found Love for Strawberry Ice Cream, White Chocolate Raspberry Cheese Cake and Tiramisu to be great. Last but not the least the teas, Black Current Iced Tea was fabulous.  In fact I had another glass of the same tea towards the end of the meal. While the White Tea served to me was just okay. It lacked flavor.

Dishes to have:

Panko Chicken Nuggets
Tomato and Basil Soup
Hawaiian Chicken Salad
Lamb Burger
Veg. Lasagnae
Love for Strawberry Ice Cream
White Chocolate Raspberry Cheese Cake

Ambiance:
The tea joint is very up market, with contemporary interiors

Price:
Pricing is in par with most upmarket tea joints. A small snack for two would cost Rs 500/-

Kettle is located in 10th Main Road in Anna Nagar.