28/12/2014

Jewel Box, Hotel Blue Diamond, EVR Periyar Salai - Christmas Specials

17:11:00

Christmas & New Year is time I go on an overdrive on binge eating. My favourite is the turkey hands down. This Roast Turkey and the Turkey Biryani are the specialities of the season and every restaurant in town is serving it left right and centre. For the restaurants which do not have speciality dish for the season, they have gone the route of serving up a lavish buffet. I have found no better place to have the festive dish than the place which introduced me to Turkey!!!. I have returned here every year for the yummy, tasty turkey roast and biryani.



Food:
What happens when two foodies (ChennaiSoru and ChennaiFoodie) set their mind on having the best Christmas lunch - we end up ordering the best dishes on the menu. Our meal comprised of Turkey Biryani, Turkey Roast, Special Parotta, Fish Fingers and finally Butter Chicken Masala.


I do not think anyone even in the western world would have thought about this combination. Bringing the two elements together, Turkey Roast with Special Parotta. It is a WoW! combination. Its best had dine in, as the parotta can loose the crispiness if eaten later. My company for the meal suggested a different combination for this and we had it along with Cheese Sandwich. Stuffing the Turkey in the sandwich brings a different western perspective to the dish.


Fish Finger was soft, fresh and delicious. It has been my all time favourite since I was a kid. Next we moved to gobbling down the Turkey Biryani which is slightly mild biryani, works well. Finally we could not finish the meal without the famous Butter Chicken Masala. Another lip smacking dish.


Just to treat the sweet buds we had the Caramel Custard Pudding and Chocolate Fudge Ice Cream. An absolute decadent indulgence. It is true testament of its worth, that the restaurant has stood the test of time, managing to serve up amazing dishes .

Ambiance:
Yes it is true the ambiance is just okay and has not moved ahead with the time. But for the people such as me it brings back many nostalgic memories.

Price:
A meal for two with a mix of turkey dishes should set you back by about Rs 1000 to 1200 for two depending on how many portions you order.

Food: 9/10
Ambiance: 6/10
Price: 8/10

The Turkey specials are available only in limited portions so it is advisable to dine in at the earliest. They do have full birds of varying sizes for party orders which need a days notice.

Jewel Box Restaurant is located in Hotel Blue Diamond on EVR Periyar Salai.

PS: Thanks to Chennaifoodie for the photos. www.chennaifoodie.com
All the photos were shot using Nokia Lumia 730

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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.

07/12/2014

The Forum Vijaya Mall - Chennai Food Festival, Vadapalani

15:41:00

December is a month events I suppose. I was here at Chennai Food Festival by the Forum Vijaya Mall at Vadapalani. A food festival showcasing the various restaurants at the Via South Food Court at the mall. I have been to Forum Mall many a times. My visits here have been highly restricted to SALT save one visit to the food court. So this was more like a first visit.

The Chennai Food Festival is on from November 28th to December 14th 2014. New menu for food festival have been cooked up at joints. If they have not been able to provide a new unique dish, they have offered the existing dish at a cheaper price.


Food:
With the food court comprising of various restaurants which are not part of the Chennai food heritage, it was more like a food festival showcasing the food which Chennai has begun to love. We started sampling dishes from various joints.


The standout dishes were -

Chaat Platter from Kailash Parbat. This restaurant is known for their Chaat items, this was no different. They make some stunning Dahi pooris.

Chicken Pizza from Quiznos. This was a surprise to me. Because I am used to having Tortilla based Pizza at the other outlets. A mix between thin crust and fat crust it was. I must say it was delightful, On enquiring I found that, this is the only Quiznos in Chennai to serve this kind of pizza and also they do have Burgers and Crispy Fried Chicken apart from that.




Dragon Chicken - Wangs Kitchen. I know you would wonder how did Chinese dishes figure on to this list, but as I had mentioned earlier these are the food items which Chennai has begun to love. Dragon Chicken was surprise surprise!! loved it. You would not believe it, I actually did a mix and match with Banana Dosa :P

Banana Dosa from ID. Tasted exactly like Belosse (Banana Bhaji) which is a sweet dish from my native. Loved it. ID please make it main stream if it aint on your menu already. Kudos to the Chef!





Mayo Chicken from Arab Kitchen. Crispy Fried Chicken with Mayo, who would not love em. Tasty.
Finally Mutton and Valapoo Platter from Pandi Kadai. Both soft and delicious in its own right.

All the restaurants at the food court do have their regular dishes as well, if you feel to be a plain jane and skip the Special Menu.

Apart from the different menu, the food festival also showcases
- Cooking demonstrations
- Comedy Chef Performance
- Fusion Music Show


So head over to Forum Vijay Mall for some fun filled foodalisious activities.
Big Thanks to Forum Vijay Mall for having me over to Enjoy and Relish the Chennai Food Festival.

Forum Vijay Mall is located on the Vadapalani main road next to Hotel Green Park.

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.