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.

I have been waiting for a while to tryout the food at  Zaitoon. It was never possible for me to convince anyone to have food in Zaitoon. Whenever I suggested that we go to Zaitoon, everyone would say its far so, much traffic to go to Adyar and so on. When I saw that Zaitoon  was opening a branch in Anna Nagar I was super happy. Its very close to my place. I love Arabian Food. I can now convince people to go there, and thats what I did. I convinced my Brother to give us his Birthday Treat in Zaitoon.

Zaitoon at Anna Nagar is built on a little smaller space compared to the Adyar Branch. It is smaller than the Sea Shells, Anna Nagar. The parking lot is also small. But good thing is that they have a Valet parking facility and there are loads of small streets around it where we can park our vehicles. We went in early as a matter of fact the 4th customers to be seated. So we had no trouble getting a parking slot. Also I had booked over phone for a table. So getting a seat for eight was also not so difficult.Ambiance is the same which we get over at Sea Shells. Guess they got the same interior designer.

Our family is a bunch of Meat freaks. We like meat more than rice. So we went about ordering the starters. First up we ordered Arabian Chicken Lollypop. Yes!!! I am back to eating chicken. The chicken lollypop was brilliant, well done and tasted awesome. Would love to have it one more time. Next up we ordered Chicken Shawarma Roll. If you are in an Arabian Restaurant you have got to tryout there Shawarmas. Shawarmas give you an idea of how good the restaurant actually is. The Shawarma was perfect. The Kuboos which was holding the stuffing inside was soft and warm. It did not crumble into pieces. So thats a top notch Shawarma. Then we ordered a Mutton Sheek Kebab, Shamak- al-Faham and a Effa Dejaj. Mutton Sheek Kebab was awesome as well. It was well done and the mutton melted in your mouth along with the Pudina Chutney. Shamak -al -Faham was not the best. The fish had a fishy smell to it. Guessing it was a day old fish which was prepared for us and not the days catch. The center of the fish was fresh and it tasted better than the sides of the fish. The fish was a bit spicy. But when mixed with Hummus and Garlic paste and taken along with the Kuboos it was perfect and not as spicy as before. Coming to the Effa Dejaj. Its my favorite dish. Every time we head over to Sea Shells there is a Effa Dejaj on our table. So when I saw it on the Menu we just had to order it. The Effa Dejaj was little less spicy than what you get in Sea Shells. The dish was perfectly executed. It tasted brilliant with the side ons.

After having a heavy dose of the starters we dint have much space in our stomach. But still we wanted to tryout the KP (Kerala Parotta). So we ordered a Kerala Parotta each and a Chicken Sakoti and a mutton dish which the waiter suggested. The KP was perfect. Soft, slim, tender, crisp, and melt in your mouth types. The chicken Sakoti too tasted good along with the KP.The mutton gravy as such was too good. But the mutton was little bit on the harder side. Nevertheless it tasted good along with KP.

So if you happen to go to Zaitoon do tryout their KP and the Shawarma. Since the place has been opened up recently they have been facing with some teething problems in the Kitchen. The Juice Counter and the Falooda Counter are yet to be opened. Nevertheless the food was awesome and we had a fun night.The prices are a around 20 to 40 Rupees more than what you have pay at Sea Shells. Our bill was Rs 2200/,  which is really good,  considering we were 8 people with big stomachs, gorging there.

Food - 8.5/10
Service - 9/10
Ambiance - 8/10
Price - 8/10

Zaitoon is located in Chintamani next to U.K. Hospital.

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