The first non-veg dish to be served was the Machi Tikka Jodhpuri. It was a deep fried chicken with deep flavors. But the best among the starters was Mutton Sheek Kebab. Move over veg Patiyala Sheek Kebab. Stop imitating the true form of sheek kebab. Nothing can come close to beating this taste. There was also a Singapore Chilli Chicken. I wonder why the name Singapore got stuck to this dish, but it was mediocre in taste. Round one of starters, our clear favorites was the Mutton Sheek Kebab.


As we were getting done with the starters we were served with Paneer Pitha Roll. Of the all the dishes served that night, this was the most disappointing. Inspite of paneer being fresh, it was unable to lend a shoulder to help this dish. The dish lacked a punchy sour cream, which was further compounded by crumbly pitha bread.


The next to follow suit was the Indian Bread Basket, which was an assorted selection of butter naan, roti puthina parathas. Each different in its make. But really soft in texture with great flavors. To compliment these we were served with Buna Gosht and Reshmi Butter Chicken. Buna Gosht which is essentially mutton pepper korma. This was really tasty with the Butter Naan. If one thought this combination was great, then the combination with Reshmi Butter Chicken was even better. The Butter chicken was clearly the winner, which was creamier, richer and definitely tastier.


Finally we were served with the last main course which was the Chicken Biryani. It was better than many restaurant biryanis by many yards. But it no way compares to Muslim wedding biryani. But this is good enough, I would say.

After binging on these items we were finally served with Kulfi. This one was really rich and creamy. In fact I had one extra.

Ambiance:
The ambiance remains the same at Crimson Chakra, Adyar. It definitely is one of the best places to dine.

Price:
A meal for two roughly equate about Rs1500 - 1800 odd. But with many fantastic dishes, one would want to try  them all i suppose.

Crimson Chakra is located in Gandhi Nagar, Adyar next to the Gandhi Nagar Club.

Next we had a choice between veg and non-veg Potato skins. I was rather happy to dig into the non-veg skins. The potato housed the chicken stuffing and a layer of cheddar cheese and baked to perfection. This is my kind of starter. It has all the rite ingredients to gain a few pounds.


Next we were served with the Chimichanga. To me Chimichanga resembles a deep fried katti roll. The flour tortilla was loaded with rice, cheese and shredded chicken then deep fried. The chicken pieces were a little small to identify, in spite of which the taste was spot on.


While I was digging into my Chimichanga, I was offered a Quesadilla. Since this was a veg Quesadilla, I thought twice before I picked a piece. The quesadilla was dominated by the use of tomato with a slight hint of onion. Overall the dish was a little sweet thanks to the obvious ingredient - tomato! The sour cream and salsa dipping were definitely A-Plus. The sour cream  complimented most of the dishes. Also the salsa dipping was top notch. Some salsa sauce feel like cheap tomato sauce, but this red sauce was perfect in every way.


After  a few rounds of starters I was beginning  to feel a little full, but there was still more to come. Then we were served with Nachos with a dollop of sour cream. The Nachos were fresh and crisp, way better than the packet nachos and it was complimented with the amazing flavors from the sour cream and diced vegetables. A must try dish for nacho lovers.


Finally came the last starter Tacos made of crispy wheat tortilla with a load of tomato & sour cream sauce. By the time I was done clicking pictures of the Taco, the tomato sauce had imbibed into the tortilla, making it a little soggy. But the flavors were spot on. Should try this out on another day when I am free to just eat  and eat.


Finally with the starters coming to the end we were served with the soup. I decided to split the non-veg Tortilla Soup with Nish! The Tortilla Soup had a nice fresh tomato soup base with loads of pieces of chicken, tortilla, green & red bell peppers and onions. I had a few sips of the soup just to get the taste of the flavors. The soup was a tomato soup with a Mexican twist to it.


After the soup we had a few minutes of a breather. Then we jumped to the main course. For main course we were first served with Chili Con Carne which is a spicy stew with chilly and beef pieces in a tomato sauce. The beef was perfectly cooked and well marinated in the tomato sauce. By this time it was becoming an over load of tomato. So I am not sure if I would give the thumbs up to this dish. Maybe with a  cleaner palate I would be able to judge it better.

The main course which I sampled after that was the Fish Veracruzana. This dish too like the chili con carne, was based on tomato. The dish as such was perfect. But again I dunno if it is a thumbs up.
Then there was Chicken Fajita, with the tortilla and the chicken being served separately. This de-assembled version looked awesome and this way you save the tortilla from becoming soggy. An excellent way to serve the dish. The Chicken was a welcome change from the over dose of the tomatoes. The grilled chicken strips was heavenly with the chicken being grilled to perfection. The combination of tortilla with the chicken was rustic. I skipped the Enchiladas though they looked very tempting, but I had reached my bursting point.

Crab meat cakes were brilliant. One of the friends at the table with me, had never tasted crab meat before. So this was like wow to him!


The Yera Milagai was rich and flavorful. It vanished off the table in no time. I loved the crispy tail portion of the prawn.


Chilly Cheese Chicken Tikka was at its usual best, with loads of cheese infused into it.


Mutton Kaima Vada was not to my liking nor to the liking of people present at my table. It was hard and the flavors did not seem to gel with the flavors of other dishes.



After having some delicious starters we dug into our main course. I had ordered Chettiars Kozhi Curry to go with the Smoked Chicken Rice and Kozhi Stew to go with Appams. Since we felt it would be lacking, if we missed out on a fish dish, we chose Fried Fillets of Kingfish Maltaise. Kozhi Stew was rich in coconut milk and filled to the brim with pieces of chicken. The appam with Kozhi Stew was lip smacking. If you are a fan of appam, you must try this out. Smoked Chicken Rice was rich with flavors. It felt like a sister of biryani. The combo of Smoked Rice and Chettiars Kozhi Curry was deadly. Chettiars Kozhi Curry was similar in taste to a gravy that would be served at a Chettiar's home.  Finally I took a piece of Fried Fillets of Kingfish Maltaise. This was a beer batter fried fish full of continental flavors. Lovely dish with deep aroma. Our bellies were so full that we decided to skip the desert.

The meal for 3 cost us Rs 3200/-. We were not in the position to finish the dishes which we had ordered. So we decided to carry them home. The portions here are pretty large. So I would advice you to order accordingly. The ambiance at the Gandhi Nagar branch is better than the KNK Road branch. It has an old colonial house feel to it.

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

Crimson Chakra is located in Gandhi Nagar, Adyar, next to Gandhi Nagar Club.

I have loved the food at Crimson Chakra in its original joint at Adyar. The food always reminded me of food very close to home cooked South Indian Food. The food always had a special corner in my heart whether it is their South Indian Food or their Cornucopia Menu with the rich Mediterranean food. I have also admired the ambiance there. Crimson Chakra at Adyar had eluded my camera and my blog, since it is far away from where I live. Now that it has opened closer to my home, has brought me great joy. I was at the new Crimson Chakra at KNK road for a CFG meet. The new branch has come at the place which housed Casa Picalo in Khader Nawaz Khan Road.

Tex-Mex is a combination of Texan and Mexican food. Finding proper Tex-Mex cuisine in chennai is  really hard. I feel that Texas Fiesta does not serve pucca Tex-Mex. I am heading here, after quite sometime, maybe over a year or two. Was hoping that the food had changed from inspired Tex-Mex to authentic Tex-Mex.

We placed our order. I picked the Chicken Fajita and my friends ordered a Grilled Chicken Breast, Cheese and Onions Quesadilla and Chilli Beans Burrito. I had a taste of the Grilled Chicken Breast, the meat was nice and tender with the mild BBQ taste to it. But I felt the chicken portion was way too small for the dish, the mash potatoes were nice and creamy. Coming to my Grilled Chicken Fajita, it tasted nice but not Tex-Mex nice. It was very Indianised, sour cream on the salad tasted like curd, the mexican rice was more like tomato rice and the grilled chicken was definitely grilled but I thought this dish said it was double spicy with two chilli's on it, I just could not get any spiciness from the dish. My friend who had the burrito also felt the same about the filling. She kept saying it was very Indianised. I did not get to have the two vegetarian dishes, so my opinion is restricted to the non-vegetarian dishes. I felt the food was nice, but not authentic.

Food - 6/10
Service - 7/10
Ambiance - 7/10
Price - 7/10

Texas Fiesta is located on Shaffee Mohammed Road, above the Cafe Coffee Day.

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