A small Iftar before the ginormous dinner, this is the tale of the sandwich and Chocolate drink at Ci Gusta in Phoenix Market City.

Food:
Since this was a dash and splash stop, I ordered a Ci Gusta Special Sandwich and a Chocolate Sinful to quench my thirst. Ci Gusta Special Sandwich is a smoked chicken sandwich with tomato, lettuce and with onions. The Chocolate Sinful is dark chocolate in yogurt. The sandwich was tasty but I guess it's a little over priced for the size at Rs 199/- and the drink was fine. But better to stick to fruity flavors when it comes to yogurt

Ambiance:
This is a very small shop in Phoenix mall which could at its best seat 15 people at a time. I am betting they are counting more on people who would grab their yogurt based ice cream and move on.

Service:
This was one aspect I liked. It was really fast and swift.

Price:
This short bite cost me Rs 350/- odd. Guess it needs to be priced so that they can really pay their rents at Phoenix.

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

Ci Gusta is located inside Phoenix Market City in the ground level.

It's been raining Iftar Packs all over Chennai. Every Muslim owned restaurant in the city and even some non-Muslim restaurants have gone out of the way to woo this particular cliental this Ramzan season. Hopefully my last stop in Iftar boxes this year was at Sea Shells, Anna Nagar.

The Box Contents:
Fresh Juice - 1 glass
Bottle Water - 1 (250ml)
Dates - 1
Assorted Fruits -1
Vegetable Samosa - 1(Large)
Chicken Shawarma Roll - 1
BBQ Chicken - 1 piece
Kubbus - 1
Kerala Parotta - 1
Haleem - 1
Mutton Biryani - 1
Chicken Gravy - 1
Mayo - small container

The entire box costs - Rs 280/- plus taxes.

Two Arabian speciality restaurants fighting it out on the same side of the town this Ramadan. So the food has got to be ultra competitive.  I have already tasted from the first and this is the next.

Firstly the fresh juice served in the box was the Papaya Juice which could be the perfect start to breaking a fast. The Vegetable Samosa is really large and it kind of reminded me of the samosa's from Sree Mithai. Coming to Chicken Shawarma, this is by far the best shawarma which came out of  an Iftar pack. Really juicy and loaded to the brim with chicken. BBQ Chicken with the Khubbus was perfect. The chicken remained tender even though it was cool. Haleem in this box is the best in the city this season. If you are a Haleem lover do not miss it. Perfect soft texture, combined with great flavor beats the other haleems hands down. The negative elements of the box the Mutton Biryani was a little dry and the Chicken Gravy was a bit gingery. But overall this Iftar box is the best I have had this Ramzan Season.

One box would easily feed two!

Food - 8/10
Price - 7.5/10

Sea Shells, Anna Nagar is near the the main roundtana in Anna Nagar East.

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On my previous visit to the Kefi at Taj Cub House, I found the food to be mediocre. It could have been their off-day. I love middle eastern food and this was a little disappointing to see a specialty restaurant  under perform. So this visit I was hoping they had taken major strides in improving the quality of food.




For starters we were served a sampler of sorts. It had Hummus Beiruti which was Hummus topped with onions, tomato and parsley then there was the Moutabel which was char grilled aubergine with tahina sauce. Next was the Spanakopita which was baked pastry triangles filled with spinach, feta and pine nut and finally the non-veg Lamb Borek - fried pastry pocket stuffed with baby lamb. I must say I was clean bowled by the starters. Loved both Spanakopita and Lamb Borek. I would not mind heading back just for these two.






For the main course the veggies were served with Ausak which is Ravioli with sauteed mushroom and fennel. I have been facing this a lot of late, that is finding the vegetarian food tastier than the non-veg dish. The Ravioili was soft combined with the fresh juicy mushrooms. It was magic. The non-veggies were served with Pollo al Chillindron which was corn-fed chicken with paprika, red pepper and tomato. The chicken was juicy, every bite you take, makes you want to have more of it. The stuffing of corn is just the bit of surprise. I really did wish they had served this on my previous visit.


Finally coming to the desserts, this was a sampler with fresh fruit kiwi, almond cake, dark chocolate cake and finally the ever famous baklava. One should not leave Kefi without having the yummylecious Baklava.This is one meal which I would not forget easily. This is how a meal at a high end resto should be. Neat and filled with flavors. Hats off Taj for bouncing back to form.

Ambiance:
Both the outdoor and the indoor dinning ambiance are top-notch.

Price:
A meal two should cost around Rs 3000-4000/- odd. But hands down, it would be worth it.

Food - 8.5/10
Ambiance - 8/10
Service - NA
Price - 7/10

Kefi is located in Taj Club House on Mount Road.

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Al-Najeeb was once our favorite joint for a quick snack and on few occasions dinner location in the early 2000's. But it lost its charm and quality of food service during 2005-06. That was it and I have never been back to Al-Najeeb ever since. So having a take away from that restaurant recently brought back many memories and also put into perspective on how much the cost has increased over time.

Food:
Since my brother wanted to have a quick bite to eat after Iftar, we took a small take away of Mutton Sheek Kebab Roll, Veal Fry and a Chicken Kalmi Kebab. Even in so many years which have passed by, I still remember the taste very well, the flavors and finally the price. Katti roll lovers must try-out the Mutton Sheek Roll here and its best had pipping hot. The mutton mixed with the pudina chutney wrapped with romali roti is just heavenly. The mutton just melts away in your mouth. I am pretty sure that one cant be satisfied with just one. Th flavors in every bite transported me back to the early 2000's when I sat in the resto with my bro and his friends and dined and relised the flavors. Veal fry is the best I have ever had from small shack. If you have not tasted it, I very strongly recommend you to try this. In spite of it being slightly oily its really tender and worth it. Finally the Chicken Kalmi Kebab, this is one dish which I am not able relate to my previous visit here. Maybe I have forgotten, Nevertheless it was really great - soft with great flavours.

Ambiance:
If you are the kind of person who looks for the ambiance, look else where. Its a small road side shack and I am still able to remember how the shack went from few tables and chairs to many. Also how we used to wait outside on the road for a seat.

Service:
Service is their motto, and you cannot beat them at that.

Price:
4 rolls plus a veal and the kalmi kebab cost us Rs 500/- and I still remember having the same plus a couple fried rice and dosa for Rs 200/- some years ago.

Food - 8/10
Ambiance - 1/10
Service - 8/10
Price - 8/10

Al-Najeeb is located in Secretariat Colony below Abinaya Gym

The soups, the pastas and the pizza were served on the table. We went with the Lamb Shorba, which was thick, with small but pieces of lamb. It was pretty decent. We drank a half bowl as we did not want to fill our stomachs with it. For the pastas we were given an option between Cream based and Tomato based versions and also the veg and non-veg options. Since we were through breed of non-veggies, we chose the later and both the variants. One on Penne and the other on Spaghetti. Both the pastas lacked flavor. The sauce and the pastas did not gel together. Between the two, the tomato pasta faired better, since it was a bit tangy. Coming to the Pizzas, we were given the choice between veg and Chicken only. So we chose the chicken bravely. They were New York Style pizzas, cooked in traditional wood fired oven. I would rate the pizza to be decent, and this cannot be compared to standalone pizza joints. I am pretty sure we had atleast four pizzas by the end of the meal.


After a few courses of the pizza, we went over to see what else was part of the buffet. There was  a lovely selection of cheeses and couple of varieties of breads. Me being a cheese lover tried them all on the different breads. My fav among the starters was the smoked salmon salad. The buffet also had a live Aapam counter with variety of toppings, which can be best described as decent.


The main course had the usual dishes which are part of many buffets in town. There was a biryani, which can be avoided. There was also Chettinadu Meen Kolambu, which was nothing to rave about. Coming to better parts of the main course, the Crispy Fried Beef and Hunan Chicken were fabulous. With the selection of roti which was served at the table, it was top notch.

After a small breather, we had the desserts. The word HUGE, best describes the dessert spread. It had the Indian Gulab Jamun, Jelabi and what not, and the chocolate cakes and mousses and the cheesecakes. Dessert spread fit for the royalty. I was really too full to try-out all of them. The few which I had were great.

Ambiance:
A typical 5 star ambiance, and crowded to the brim on a saturday night.

Service:
When you dine at a 5 star joint you do expect the service to be perfect, but I would not say that to be the case here. There were a few lapses here and there.

Price:
Priced at Rs 1700/- for the dinner buffet with many pit falls in the food and service, it would be hard to recommend, but then again it was crowded dinner service, which means I could be wrong.

Food - 6.5/10
Ambiance - 8/10
Service - 6/10
Price - 6/10

601 is located inside The Park Hotel, on the Nungumbakkam high road.

 I have been trying out the Iftar Packs from different hotels, this Ramzan. I was stuck in college with a duty upto 8pm. This gave me the opportunity to the try the Iftar pack served in Copper Kitchen, Porur. I placed the order over phone and the person on the other end of the call was more than happy to explain to me about the contents of the box. Since Shawarma was not a part of the box I decided to order one separately. Also as I was eating alone in my car, I could not take proper pictures of the entire box contents.

The Box contents:
Fresh Juice - 1 glass
Bottle water - 200 ml
Dates - 2
Assorted Fruits - 1
Kheema Samosa - 2
Shawarma Sandwich - 1 Half
Tandoori Chicken - 1 piece
Haleem - 1 container
Chicken Kothu Parotta - 1 container
Mutton Biryani - 1
Sweet Sauce - 1 very small container
Mayo - 1 small container

The entire box costs - Rs 275/- net
First this box has a different group of target audience and I feel they might have just got the box right for the intended group. The box has a mix of both old school items such as Kothu Parotta and Biryani and a blend of the new such as the Haleem and Shawarma Sandwich which could tempt people to order them separately.

Good things first, the stand-out for me was the Sharwarma sandwich, which is the shawarma chicken packaged inside a two slices of bread and toasted. This is something new to me, because I am used to having it in a roll. It was a little soggy by the time I had it, but still worth it. The Kheema Samosa was nice. It was like having samosa in buhari hotel during the early 90's. The fresh juice which came along with the package was a fresh made watermelon juice, which was perfect and refreshing. The Tandoori Chicken was really juicy and very spicy and this is the right thing to serve for Iftar. Mutton Biryani was nice considering it was hotel made. I was also happy that they stuck to serving Tamil style biryani instead of the other variations. Now coming to bad side of things, the Chicken Kothu Parotta lacked flavor and the Haleem was a disaster, it was liquidy and was more like a mix of mutton and tomato.

Other minor elements, the package even had mouth refreshers and a couple of tooth picks which is a neat addition. Is it worth Rs 275, just maybe, since the intended audience might like it.

The Chicken Shawarma which I had ordered separately was huge, in-fact the contents were  about  to spill out. The chicken was creamy and juicy but it lacked authenticity. It was more like their own version of a shawarma.

Food - 7.5/10
Price - 8/10

Copper Kitchen is located in arcot road next to porur signal.

Iftar is the time when we dine together as a community, as one family and I believe in such a practice rather than heading to a restaurant. So I picked up a couple of Iftar boxes from Hotel Blue Diamond to break my fast.

The Box comprises of the following:
Juice - 1
Nombu Kanju ( Porridge) - 1
Dates -2
Chicken Cutlet - 2
Iddiyappa Biryani - 1
Assorted Fruits - 1
The entire box costs Rs99/-

Now this at Rs 99/, is a price which many restaurants are going to find it difficult to match. If you are thinking of  ordering this for a whole bunch of people,  it is the best option available. Coming to the contents:  The Nombu Kanji ( Porridge) is heavenly. Nombu Kanji is a spicy porridge with a bit of every thing in it, rice, dhal, vegetables and non-veg pieces. Nombu Kanji has been on the Iftar menu for years and years in Tamil Nadu. One full bowl of this porridge would satiate one till the next meal. Please note: Haleem a new entrant from Hyderabad is not part of this box. Coming to the Blue Diamond Iftar Box, the chicken cutlets in it, have the right amount of spiciness. A lovely delicacy for the people who have abstained from eating the whole day. The Iddiyappa Biryani, has a south indian masala twist to it which is decent in taste. Then there is a bit of  fruit salad, two dates, a sachet of tomato sauce and a tetra pack of cooling juice to wash all this down.The entire box is true value for money and one box is more than sufficient for a person.

Food - 7.5/10
Price - 9/10

The Iftar special box is available from 5pm onwards.

Hotel Blue Diamond is located on E.V.R Perriyar Salai next to K.J. Hospital.

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