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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I was at Batlivala & Khanabhoy recently, the latest entrant into Chennai's ever growing food scene. Yes! the restaurant adds another feather to Chennai's Hat - A standalone Parsi restaurant. This is a type of food I have never had. So I was really curious to find out what actually constituted Parsi Cuisine.



Food
Since it was just Mr. Food in Chennai and myself, both voracious eaters we went about ordering stuff at random. We started the proceedings with Lollypop Na Farcha which was crispy batter fried chicken. This was followed by Kheema Kebabs - juicy succulent kheema balls served with pieces of lime was simply sensational.



Moving forward we had the Kheema Pav, which was essentially Pav Bhaji in which the vegetable masala is replaced with lip-smacking Kheema masala. An absolute must have. I loved it so much that I contemplated whipping it up at home. Next up we had Chicken Maivala. This dish had me confused. It was a mix of dried fruits and bechamel sauce. I am not able to state if I had liked the dish or not. Maybe it is more of an acquired taste.


We finished our meal with Kopra Pak Shots and Santra Na Kheer. Kopra Pak Shots was a rich coconut milk with heavy loads of ghee and rose flavouring served in a fancy looking chai vaala shot glass, while the Santra Na Kheer was rich Kheer with orange beads. Both heavenly in their own rights.

Ambiance:
Simple decor dominated by a couple of fine rustic name boards.

Service:
Service was kind of slow, but the attention to detail was simply fantastic. The way the food was served was the best I have experienced so far.

Price:
This meal cost us Rs 1500 /-

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

PS: The photos were shot using Samsung S6

Disclaimer : I paid for the meal.

Batlivala & Khanabhoy is located in Maharaj Surya Road which is the same road as Tangerine.

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Food:
I visited Lotus Thai for the on-going Sea Food Festival which mix matches local produce with a contemporary Thai twist. So we started our meal with the fffantasticcc Prawn & Garlic Crackers with an assortment of dips. My favourite combo was the Prawn cracker with the Tamarind Dip - the crunchy texture with the liquid sauce accentuated the flavours.


This excellent dish was followed by the Grilled Scampi which I felt could definitely pass of as a Lobster (LOL!!). It was simply huge, I wonder where do you even get these? The general thought is, the larger the size of seafood, the more difficult it gets to infuse them with flavours. But that simply was not the case here, as it had nice lemon grass flavour to it.

To accompany this we had the Rose Lemonade and Pattaya Beach Cooler. Both were excellent. Next up was Crispy Fried Soft Shell Crab with Lemon Basil Sauce which was out of the world. I do not have words to explain the gastronomic feeling which I had when I took a bite of it. Absolute must have. I really do wish they could add this to their regular menu.

After killing through some appetisers we had Prawn Tom Yum & Tom Kha which were definitely great palate cleansers.



Moving to the mains, I must mention all the dishes were fabulous. It started with my 900g Lobster friend ( Not pictured here - do visit my insta for it) who was simply grumpy looking at us killing it. But must say he was quite well dressed with glass noodles and had a garlic and pepper perfume LOL!! Then entered the Golden Fried Anchovies - divine. Another must have and would love it if it made it to the regular menu. Following which we had Jasmine Rice with Lotus Homemade curry with seafood fabulous well known combo which worked well.

Finally we finished our meal with a Twist. Lemon Grass Ice cream and a Water Chestnuts in Coconut Milk which were decadent. The way the chef has used the water chestnuts for the crunchy texture in an otherwise sweet coconut milk deserves praise.

Ambiance:
Lotus Thai after the reboot has had amazing image makeover. New contemporary decor was simply fabulous

Price:
A meal for two should cost an upward of Rs 4000/- . Again it based on your appetite.

This food festival is on till the 28th of February 2016. Seafood lovers should not miss this.

Disclaimer : Invited Review

The Park is located on Anna Salai and it is hard to miss.

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Food:
The on-going Egg Benedict Food Festival is part of the breakfast buffet at The Dining Room, Park Hyatt which is at no extra charge. We kick started the proceedings with a top-notch Muesli which is based on special recipe known only to Hyattians!! Most intriguing part of the buffet was the honeycomb which helps the restaurant produce organic honey at the time of need. The buffet spread was decent with slight mix of Indian dishes and a whole assortment of pastries.

Eggs are on my favourite breakfast food list. So trying out different variations of the eggs just made my day or rather the morning! First up was the original version with English muffin as the base topped up with Spinach, perfectly poached egg and finally the heavenly Hollandaise sauce. It was just perfect. Just when I thought this dish cannot be pushed any further, Chef Balaji whips up a multitude of variations to it.






No breakfast can be complete without the assortment of puff pastries. My O My! I loved the Cheese Croissant and the Chocolate Danish. These were just perfect - crispy outer and soft inner. I don't see a better way to start the day.

These amazing selection of Eggs Benedict is available till the 31st of January as a part of the Breakfast buffet. I really do wish they add these variations to the regular menu for foodies to relish.

Ambiance:
Lovely ambiance with a fantastic view. Great place to start your day.

Price:
The breakfast buffet is priced at Rs 900/- per head plus taxes. Definitely a place to head to!

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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Food:
This was more of pitstop kind of a meal, so did not carry my gear to click fancy photos. We had Cheese Burger and Lamb Meatball sandwich and finished off the meal with dessert-Ecstacy.


The Cheese Burger aka Tenderloin burger was out of the world. Yet another place which reinvents the burgers from our much loved Gallopin Gooseberries. Enjoyed the juiciness of the meat. It definitely made my hand messy. So full marks for the burger.

The Lamb Meatball Sandwich was in a different league. The meatballs served along with the Marinara sauce gets full marks in my books. The bread became a tad soggy, but I still enjoyed it.


The Ecstasy dessert was a chocolate over load. More like a Chocolava cake.

Ambiance:
Housed inside the Donut House, Tuck Shop Gourmet retains the same interiors.

Service:
This was one thing which was little disappointing. Service was quite slow.

Price:
This meal for two cost us Rs 590/-

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

PS: Pictures shot using Samsung S6

Disclaimer : I paid for the meal.

Tuck Shop Gourmet is located bang opposite to Ethiraj College on Ethiraj Salai.

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Happy New Year!!!, Happy New Year!!!! It has been a while since my last post on my blog. Been happily ambling around, enjoying!

New Year, New Blog Post, New Restaurant. No other fitting way to do it. Yes! Yes! it is about Mamagoto. A new Pan Asian restaurant which has arrived on KNK road. Boy oh boy! They have made an awesome mark.

Food:
Mamagoto has many other outlets all over the country, but a first in Chennai. We were invited as a part of Bloggers food table to try-out the food just before the opening. So we sat down to try out the dishes - me and my best friends / bloggers.





We kickstarted the proceedings with a portion Crispy Lotus Stem, Hot Basil Chicken Cups, Prawn Tempura and Honey Chicken with Bell Peppers. Firstly I am not able to lock down on the dish which I liked the most as all the dishes were spectacular. Secondly the portion sizes were generous. I really do wish they stick to these portion sizes.


To quench our thirst we had a Wasabi Mary, Pina Colada, Cucumber Basil mock-tail and a Virgin Sangria. All drinks fantastic. But my pick of the lot would be the Cucumber Basil Mock-tail.




We skipped Soups and Salads and went ahead with the mains. We had a Soggy Thai Basil Fried Rice and a Chicken Soho Pan Fried Noodles. For a change I liked the vegetarian dish better. Noodles was a bit spicy for my liking, never-the-less, tasty.



The desserts were the best of the lot. I really would not mind stepping in just for the desserts. The Banoffee Pie was simply sensational. In fact we had two portions of the same. We also had the Homemade Coconut and Palm Sugar Ice Cream and the Chunky Caramel Sponge Cake, which were delicious as well.

One of the fellow food blogger on our table had been to the Bangalore outlet and was raving about their experimental menu which they have as an addition to the regular menu. Sadly it was not available at launch. Thankfully, the Food Director informed us that they would introduce the experimental menu soon in Chennai soon.

Ambiance:
Felt more like a Hipster Asian restaurant, a mix of contemporary art with oriental asian form factor.

Price:
A meal for two should cost around Rs 2000 and upwards depending on the number of dishes you chose to order.

Disclaimer : Invited review.

Mamagoto is located in opposite to Cafe Coffee Day Square on KNK Road.

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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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