After heavy rounds of binging on some spectacular continental food in Pondicherry, we decided to head the South Indian route before heading back home. We were done roaming by 12pm and were not hungry at all. So we decided to pick a take-away from Hotel Kamatchi and head back to Chennai and dine at the comfort of our home. Hence the pictures in photobox and white crockery.

Food:

Our take away order was simple. We picked a Chicken Biryani, Mutton Biryani, Prawn Kamatchi and finally Kaadai Roast.


Chicken and Mutton Biryani differed in colour and taste significantly. Mutton felt a bit richer and was more brown in colour, while the chicken yellowish in colour and slightly low on spice. Prawn Kamatchi and Kaadai roast were the best accompaniments for the biryani. Both very spicy and tasty. Inspite of the biryani being tasty, I would not rate them high on the scale. They were more like the biryani which we get here at Anjaapar or Ponnuswamy. The same goes for prawns and the kaadai.

Ambiance:
NA

Service:
NA

Price:
This take-away cost us Rs 600/-

Food - 7/10
Price - 7/10

Disclaimer : I paid for the meal.

Hotel Kamatchi is located on Villianur Main Road in Pondicherry. They do have multiple locations across Pondicherry.

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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.

An International food chain starting its operations in Chennai first, before looking at other metros means a lot. Chennaites can now proudly announce that we were the first to get the Manhattan Fish Market. There was a lot glamour surrounding the launch of this restaurant. They had promos on Facebook, up and running at least over a year ago which created enough buzz. Looks like social media is the way forward. If you create enough buzz before the launch of the operations it would translate it into sale.








Fried Country Mushrooms were the first to be served along with Garlic Herb Mussels. Fried Country Mushrooms were delicious. Imagine KFC popcorn but only veg here, with mushrooms. This was the first time I was having Mussels. It was more of a like or dislike kind. Chewy and soft, Few of em were great but one was distinctly not to my liking.  It had inky taste. I am not able come to a conclusion if I had enjoyed it or not. But the taste profile of the Garlic sauce was fantastic.


In between gorging on the starters we were served with the Cream of Mushroom Soup. Yes we chose to have a veg soup. Surprising Yes! Between all the Seafood we were to binge on, a veg soup was a welcome change. It had a thick creamy consistency, which was to my liking.


Zuff! the starters were done and we moved to the main course. I am a sucker for good fish and chips. My 2nd brother introduced these delicious babies to me when we were on tour in Maldives. Manhattan Fish and Chips thats what it is called here. Please do not skip this. This dish was just phenomenal. The crispy batter fried fish with the garlic herb sauce make this dish simply irresistible.


Moving along we had the Veggie Oilo - Spaghetti with sautéed mushroom and diced capsicum without even a drop of onions or garlic was a refreshing change.




Next up were the platters. We were served with Grilled Flaming Lobster Platter and the Manhattan Star Platter. My pick here will be the Grilled Flaming Lobster Platter. It had all the items I love. Flamed Lobster check, Batter fried Calamari and Fish check, French Fires check and finally the garlic herb mussels. Lobster was the item of this platter. Simply exquisite. Best lobster I have had in a long time.

 I did like the Manhattan Star Platter as well because of the spectacular Flaming Prawns. Did binge on some Grilled Calamari and some Fried Oysters. My first for both. Calamari more because of the preparation while the Oysters a definite first time. Oysters too had the same feel and taste of Mussels. I am unable to pass a verdict on the same.

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 the mains, we ordered a Butter Chicken Masala (BCM) to accompany the soft rotis. The BCM was rich perfect and the combo was fit for royalty If this was not enough, we had ordered a mixed seafood risotto. It was a blend of fish, prawns with heavenly cheese to it. The duo was simply outstanding. It was an symphony on the taste buds. We loved it so much that we ordered another portion of it.

Ambiance:
The ambiance here could be compared to Tuscana Pizzaria, but only with the added Spirits to the menu.

Service:
The waiter who served us was really patient and took care of us more like a patient. I wonder if he knew we were Doctors!

Price:
The dinner which knocked us out and which we which we most talk about, cost us Rs 2200/- for five people.

Food - 8.5/10
Ambiance - 7.5/10
Service - 8.5/10
Price - 7.5/10

Coros is located in Dona Paula by-pass road. Not sure about the location. But I pretty sure people around should be able to direct you.

After having a awesome get together with my really large group of relatives on New Year's Eve. I headed off to Mahabalipuram for New Year's Lunch to get our seafood  taste buds tingling. I guess it was a wrong day to travel on the ECR. It was like driving in city traffic conditions while  on the dual carriage way. The traffic did not  to ease at all. Finally after a tiring drive we reached Moonrakers. Moonrakers was bloody crowded. So was the Blue Elephant which is opposite to Moonrakers.The Blue Elephant is also owned by Moonrakers Group. I ended up going to Anand' Moonrakers. The new joint started by them. It had some seating in it, so we entered it.This was the 1st time I was entering Anand's Moonrakers.

The order was simple. We had two plates of Fish, One plate of Prawn, One plate of Chicken, One plate of Crab on Tawa Masala. and also a Golden Fried Calamari. Except for the Calamari, the portions seemed to be really less when compared to the Original Moonrakers. Also i am guessing they tried too much on pleasing the drinkers. The Tawa Masala was Super Spicy. It was not palatable. The prawns, the chicken and the Crab came in really spicy. So i returned the Crab and i ended up with nicely washed crab, not that i was complaining. The crab was more palatable now. The fish way too small for a medium portion. It was skinny and over done. This resulted in a spicy crispy fish.

I liked the Golden Fried Calamari's batter. So maybe the next time I head over there I will order the batter fried Prawns. All in all the food was really spicy. With different chef in this branch it meant that the end result was also different. The food was not so great as the Original Moonrakers. So maybe the next time onwards i ll wait to get seated in the Original Moonrakers.

Dont expect anything great about the service nor about the ambiance. The products are usually fresh catches of that day. You can bargain with the them if you head as a large group. There is nothing called as Service Tax. So just head over there to enjoy the food.

Food - 7/10
Service - 6/10
Ambiance - 6/10
Price - 8/10

Moonrakers is located on Othaivada Street in Mahabalipuram