It has been over a year since I had updated the blog. With lot of work going into my pet project, I was unable to post anything. I was kind of active on Instagram with photo reviews.

I had recently taken a short break from work. I got to dine at The Reef at Sheraton Grand. I will try and summarize the entire experience.


Food:
For people who have become like me, impatient to read through the entire blog, the verdict is Simply Sensational.

We had gone for the dinner buffet on Pongal. The Reef was not hosting any special menu on the occasion. So my impressions are based on the regular affair served here.

We started with the soup which was a Thai Chicken Soup. One Sip of it and I was blown away by the taste. It was delicate and well balanced.




Buffet also had Veg Cream Soup which I did not get to taste. The buffet spread was quite extensive with a Selection of Salads, Make Your Own Salad, Assorted Breads with Cheese and also Live Counter for Chaat items, Pasta and Pizza.

The spread had a good mix of Indian dishes and Continental items. Paneer to Lamb Shank to Dals to Wok Tossed Noodles.


The Dessert spread was another highlight. Comprising of Indian Sweets to Cakes to Ice Creams to Brownies. All in all, loved the entire spread. One the best buffets I have had in a long time, with each and every dish being tasty. Some may not like certain dishes but my palate seemed to love em.

Ambiance:
The Reef is nestled in the spanking new property of Sheraton Grand on ECR. The property is Grand and befitting of the word GRAND.

Service:
Full marks here. We loved the service.

Price:
The buffet for a person is priced 1600 plus taxes. But if you have AMEX card you can knock 20% off the Bill thanks to AMEX alliance with SPG and Marriot group. So we ended up paying 2550/- for the two of us.

Would I visit again, 100% I will.

Food -  9 /10
Ambiance - 10 /10
Service - 10 /10
Price - 10/ 10

Disclaimer - I paid for the meal.

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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:
The Sunday Brunch at Flying Elephant has always been special. I would go on to say, that it is the best brunch in the city at its price point. When something is already really good, the room to improve it further is really not necessary. But that was not the case here. Park Hyatt has taken the already excellent brunch and made it outstanding. But how? Simply decided to run an experimental fusion menu. I bet finding a person who hates the Chocolate flavour or Chocolate as such, is quite hard. Why not throw that into the dishes. Try a twist. Wolaaa!!! You get the Special Brunch.






There was this fear in my mind that the chocolate flavour will be overpowering, thus killing the essence of Indian dishes. But I must say the chefs have played with Chocolate in a very different manner. It's as if the chocolate is there, but then it's not there. It was very mild, more like an after taste which was brilliant.







One of the dishes which is etched in my mind is the Chocolate Cake with Sea Salt. Deconstructing the dish - Chocolate cake with nice grains of sea salt followed by mascapone followed by a chocolate biscuit. Now when you bite into it, you land up with the Sweet chocolate first followed by the lovely mascapone and finally the Salt which balances out the sweetness. It was simply decadent. Mind boggling to think about the way it was constructed. All in all it was a fantastic meal. I would totally recommend this brunch for its uniqueness

I must appreciate Park Hyatt for willing to try out such a daring menu and pulling it off. This special brunch was brought about by Park Hyatt along with Nitin of Chocotrait. Kudos to you guys.

Ambiance:
The ambiance here is simply stunning as always.

Price:
Non-alcoholic brunch: INR 2,295 + taxes
Alcoholic brunch: INR 3,295 + taxes
Champagne brunch: INR 7,295 + taxes


Disclaimer : Invited review

Park Hyatt is located on the entrance of Velachery High Road on 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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Main course had a blend of continental and indian. I simply avoided the Indian part of it. The best part of the main course were the Mushroom and Fussili Pasta, Beef and Spaghetti and finally the Chicken Liver Strongnoff. Each very special in its own way. Infact I went for another round.


Desserts section was a little small, but I helped myself to Vanilla Ice Cream with a small piece of Brownie, cookies and Chocolate sauce. Heavenly way to finish a neat lunch.

Ambiance:
The hotel sits right opposite to Pondy beach. It was slightly sultry so we had to sit indoors. But I think dining on the porch would have been quite a fantastic way to relax and have a killer meal.

Service:
NA

Price:
We used a friends discount card and attracted a 30% discount on the bill. This made the bill turn into Rs 630/head. Which is quite simply amazing.

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

Promenade by Hidesign is located on the Gorbert Avenue.

We started off with Wasabi Prawns. These were a mix of Mayo and Wasabi, crisp fried. It was Wow! I found it to have a perfect mix, while some others felt they would not mind a little more of Wasabi. I personally felt a small cup of the sauce would be amazing.


In between the starters we were served our soup. I had ordered the Sweet Corn Chicken Soup (SCCS) and while Mr.Srihari had ordered Clear Soup with Crab Meat (CSCM). The SCCS was actually a little bland, the corn in it did not feel fresh enough while the CSCM was fabulous, though we could find only one tiny piece of the shell of a crab .


Then came the veg starter for the only veggie in the group: Stuffed Lotus Root Fritters. This was a lotus root stuffed with potato and chilli fried to perfection and served along with sweet chilli sauce. I must say this was the first time I have ever had lotus root. It was mind blowingly delicious. I was blown away by the taste and the way it had been fried to the proper crispiness.


Next came the Chicken Yakitori, which is a relative of the Chicken Satay. The chicken is marinated in  soy sauce and was grilled similar to a satay. It had a  lovely, rich, earthy flavor. Since we all loved  duck-meat, we had Spicy Duck Roll. This had shredded duck with a good coating of chilli sauce and wrapped in  pancakes. I found the  duck really tender and fabulous.


Finally our last starter arrived. This was a TaiChung Chilly Beef. It was very similar to chilli beef served in all other chinese restaurants. The chilli heat seemed to be just right in all the dishes.


After being blown away by the stunning starters, we headed into the main course with high expectations. For the mains we decided to have a veg Kwai Teow Flat Noodles, a veg Ginger and Capsicum Fried Rice and a Spicy Crab Meat Fried Rice. Kwai Teow Flat Noodles had a slight issue of not being mixed together properly. So some of us had good flavors while others said it lacked flavors. On the other hand both the Fried Rice were mouth watering. They went well with the sides we had ordered. The vegetarian sides were the first to arrive. Of the two Bamboo Shoot and Mushroom in Chilly Bean Sauce and the Tofu gravy. I loved the Bamboo Shoot gravy. It was tasty. Again this was the first time me having Bamboo Shoots, I have only heard people say it being hard and not great. But this was soft and delicious. I would not mind to go back again and have just that with the veg fried rice. But the tofu smelt like it had been stored for while, which put me off.


Since I had loved the duck in the starters, I very badly wanted to have a duck in the mains. So we picked the Braised Duck in Hot Bean Sauce. The sauce was similar to the bamboo shoots, but the duck was cut into nice chunky pieces and cooked until it was tender and made amazing.


Also we ordered a Five Spiced Beef with Glass Noodles. This beef too was similar to the chilly beef, but the addition of the glass noodles made it very visually appealing. The beef too was cooked to perfection. Loved the taste.

Finally we had to wait a bit for our Crispy Chicken in Chiili Honey Sauce as there was a mistake in the service. But the chicken was worth the wait. I even saved it up until I had finished my rice. It was like dessert. The honey made it really sweet and the chilli in it gave a late heat to it.



Finally after the scrumptious mains, we were served with some Chocolate Cake, Elaneer Soufle and Sweet Roll which may not be a part of the menu. Of the lot it was universally accepted in our table that the Elaneer Soufle was heavenly.

Apart from a few dips, the food was fabulous. This maybe the best way for any restaurant to announce its arrival into city, filled with restaurants in every nook and corner. I sincerely hope that they can maintain the consistency of the food. If they do, I bet the other restos will  have trouble in their hands.

Ambiance:
I was simply wowed by the ambiance. It was a fine mix of Contemporary and Chinese elements, which makes it worthy of the title - Fine Dine.

Price:
Most dishes on the menu are priced around Rs 220 -350. So meal for two should cost no more than Rs 1200/-.

I give a Thumbs Up to this restaurant for its quality food.

Wok a Toque is located inside Hotel Chariot, which is opposite to Vidyodaya School, T-Nagar.

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Dining options in Chennai after 11 PM is very limited and once the clock crosses 12 Midnight,  those options are even less. I remember dining as a kid in Wang's Kitchen past 11pm and the buffet rate which was normally Rs 299, dropped  down flat to Rs 100. Guess all those days are gone now. If you could find a buffet for Rs100 in this day and age in Chennai, its got to have its annoyances. So if you are looking around to eat in Chennai past 11pm and want to have a decent buffet to kickstart your weekend then your choices are down to the major star hotels in town. On this route  if you decide not to burn your pocket then the list becomes really thin. One such restaurant that makes on to that thin list is Main Street at Residency Towers.









Last but not the least the meal completes with a small selection of desserts. All in all a decent fare. Do try this out, if you are out in the night and have run-out of options to dine at.

Price:
The midnight buffet starts at 11pm and runs all the way upto 3am in the morning. The buffet is priced at Rs 555/-.

Main Street is located inside Residency Towers in T-Nagar.