The Winners bakery in Alwarpet has always been a trusted place of choice. They have a very good array of products and do an amazing job of whatever they dish out.
Their racks comprising of varieties of puffs, rolls, bun, sandwiches, cakes, pastries, tarts, breads etc are a sight to behold. Just a cursory glance at those layered rows will have your mouth smirk with excitement.
It is a pretty small outlet and not very convenient to have there itself. It's preferable to parcel your stuff and have at the comfort of your home. The rates are a little costlier than your usual bakery but it's well worth paying that buck extra as the quality you get is simply fantastic.
It's hard to pigeonhole and mention specifically as to what their top notch item is as most of the stuff they have on offer are top bracket draw. However personally I do have a little extra craving for their cheese n onion pie and never fail to grab a bite of that during my many visits here. The butter cream pastries in different flavors also happen to be awesome.
I've seldom been disappointed with Winners and I will keep coming here as and when I please. Easily one of the best bakeries in town.
Sunday, November 8, 2015
Saturday, November 7, 2015
Jupiter Express - Modeled on the Railways!
When I heard about this new restaurant 'Jupiter Express' modelled on the Indian railways, I was more than eager to check it out. Come to think of it, you do have cafe's pertaining to all kind of themes but a full fledged restaurant made to resemble a high end luxury train was something new and exciting. It is surely one of a kind at least in the city of Chennai.
Jupiter express is located in Gopalapuram and comes across as you take the passerby lane adjacent to Gangotree and is housed in a complex in between 'The Katti roll shop' and 'Bayleaf'. From the outset, there's no way you could imagine what you will encounter inset.
As you get upstairs to the first floor to the restaurant, you see a quirky door resembling that of a train compartment and also there is a booking counter by the side. Found it quite imaginative and attractive.
Once you enter you will be bowled by the set up. It is designed so beautifully that it gives you the feel of dining in a high styled upscale luxury coach. There is a lot of inventiveness in place with add-on's like platform, boggie, name plate of train, number and class of coach, seat and reservation list, replica of train windows, handle railing etc. There are also cartoons and wallpapers depicting passengers, luggages, porters, ticket collector, goods train and a host of other things bringing to light the cream of everything associated with the railways. It was quite exhilarating to witness all this and young kids am sure will really find favour with this train themed restaurant.
The seating is polarised into 3 fold. A massive table placed just outside where the train is situated and then a side enclosure which is your usual restaurant kind with elevated cushions and then there is the prominent coach bastion as you board the train which comprises the major portion and also is easily the most happening of the lot.
Coming to the food it is a full on vegetarian fare and they have plenty load of options spanning majorly North Indian and also quite a bit of Italian, Chinese and Continental added to the fray. The menu is very elaborate and keeps running into a number of pages. Even in a luxury train your options on food maybe limited but there is no shortage of choices here. Each of the items have a label attached to it and the categories are divided well with interesting taglines like soups are titled "The Opening Act", Salads come with the moniker of "The Insalate fix", Starters are termed as "Before the Ride" and the Main course is described as "The Masterpiece".
We decided to go Indian for the day and ordered a couple of starters viz Paneer Tikka and Veg Sheekh Kabab. The former was succulent and super soft and delicious. The latter had an a nice pasty mix to it. Didn't taste like the usual Sheekh Kabab's I've had but nevertheless was fairly nice. For main course we had Garlic Naan, Veg biryani, Peas Pulav and a couple of tandoor gravies in the form of a Paneer Makhani and Dal Makhani. The Indian bread was how it should be, both the rice items were decent enough but far away from anything remotely greatness. I liked the Paneer Makhani which had a nice twang to it but the Dal Makhani was a little watery and the quantity served especially was shocking.
We refrained from having desserts. Overall the food was pretty decent with not much to complain on the taste angle but the biggest blip was the pricing. Almost every single dish costs upwards towards the 300 range and with taxes and service charge to boot comes up to being extremely expensive. The service too was rather slow taking plenty amount of time to bring the food.
Since they have a pretty gargantuan spread, I will like to visit again to try more of their offerings. It does have it's moments and am pretty sure it will attract crowds in the days to come especially young children and teenagers. At this point of time however, it's too early to give a call and time will tell how Jupiter Exprezz will embark on it's journey.
Jupiter express is located in Gopalapuram and comes across as you take the passerby lane adjacent to Gangotree and is housed in a complex in between 'The Katti roll shop' and 'Bayleaf'. From the outset, there's no way you could imagine what you will encounter inset.
As you get upstairs to the first floor to the restaurant, you see a quirky door resembling that of a train compartment and also there is a booking counter by the side. Found it quite imaginative and attractive.
Once you enter you will be bowled by the set up. It is designed so beautifully that it gives you the feel of dining in a high styled upscale luxury coach. There is a lot of inventiveness in place with add-on's like platform, boggie, name plate of train, number and class of coach, seat and reservation list, replica of train windows, handle railing etc. There are also cartoons and wallpapers depicting passengers, luggages, porters, ticket collector, goods train and a host of other things bringing to light the cream of everything associated with the railways. It was quite exhilarating to witness all this and young kids am sure will really find favour with this train themed restaurant.
The seating is polarised into 3 fold. A massive table placed just outside where the train is situated and then a side enclosure which is your usual restaurant kind with elevated cushions and then there is the prominent coach bastion as you board the train which comprises the major portion and also is easily the most happening of the lot.
Coming to the food it is a full on vegetarian fare and they have plenty load of options spanning majorly North Indian and also quite a bit of Italian, Chinese and Continental added to the fray. The menu is very elaborate and keeps running into a number of pages. Even in a luxury train your options on food maybe limited but there is no shortage of choices here. Each of the items have a label attached to it and the categories are divided well with interesting taglines like soups are titled "The Opening Act", Salads come with the moniker of "The Insalate fix", Starters are termed as "Before the Ride" and the Main course is described as "The Masterpiece".
We decided to go Indian for the day and ordered a couple of starters viz Paneer Tikka and Veg Sheekh Kabab. The former was succulent and super soft and delicious. The latter had an a nice pasty mix to it. Didn't taste like the usual Sheekh Kabab's I've had but nevertheless was fairly nice. For main course we had Garlic Naan, Veg biryani, Peas Pulav and a couple of tandoor gravies in the form of a Paneer Makhani and Dal Makhani. The Indian bread was how it should be, both the rice items were decent enough but far away from anything remotely greatness. I liked the Paneer Makhani which had a nice twang to it but the Dal Makhani was a little watery and the quantity served especially was shocking.
We refrained from having desserts. Overall the food was pretty decent with not much to complain on the taste angle but the biggest blip was the pricing. Almost every single dish costs upwards towards the 300 range and with taxes and service charge to boot comes up to being extremely expensive. The service too was rather slow taking plenty amount of time to bring the food.
Since they have a pretty gargantuan spread, I will like to visit again to try more of their offerings. It does have it's moments and am pretty sure it will attract crowds in the days to come especially young children and teenagers. At this point of time however, it's too early to give a call and time will tell how Jupiter Exprezz will embark on it's journey.
Theme of the Sea - Port Cafe
Stopped over at this new cafe in 'Kodambakkam' titled 'The Port Cafe' for some light bites and desserts. The place is themed on the sea and so you have a graffiti of a huge ship and then you find a lot of related stuff such as boats, fish nets, life jackets, oil containers and a host of other stuff.
The place is enclosed into two parts - the open arena where you get to see all the sea based stuff and an inside portion which is pretty prosaic. Though it was evening time, we were forced to sit under the closed surrounding. Frankly this area of the cafe pales in comparison to the breezy open air surrounding.
As we had already consumed a heavy lunch, we just went with a starter in the form of a Corn cheese balls which were heart shaped and infused with a dollop of cheese interspersed over the corn. It tasted pretty nice however was a tad bit salty. Then had a crack of couple of their desserts viz the Brownie with Ice cream and an Adorable Devil. The former brownie was chunky and soft and went well with the accompanying vanilla ice-cream. The latter was a crepe covered over banana and ice-cream and coated with nuts and honey glaze. It surely wasn't adorable especially because the predominant crepe was very raw and took the taste away from the covered part which was rather nice. Somehow this dessert didn't stick well and was quite pedestrian.
The rates seem fairly reasonable and you wouldn't term any of the items to be outright expensive. The service was prompt and quick and nothing really to complain on this front.
It wasn't the best of days compounded more by not sitting at the place of preference and being unable to enjoy the breeze. Also it's too close to call and give a rating based on the very little food we tasted. But simply based on this particular outing would term this experience under the average category.
The place is enclosed into two parts - the open arena where you get to see all the sea based stuff and an inside portion which is pretty prosaic. Though it was evening time, we were forced to sit under the closed surrounding. Frankly this area of the cafe pales in comparison to the breezy open air surrounding.
As we had already consumed a heavy lunch, we just went with a starter in the form of a Corn cheese balls which were heart shaped and infused with a dollop of cheese interspersed over the corn. It tasted pretty nice however was a tad bit salty. Then had a crack of couple of their desserts viz the Brownie with Ice cream and an Adorable Devil. The former brownie was chunky and soft and went well with the accompanying vanilla ice-cream. The latter was a crepe covered over banana and ice-cream and coated with nuts and honey glaze. It surely wasn't adorable especially because the predominant crepe was very raw and took the taste away from the covered part which was rather nice. Somehow this dessert didn't stick well and was quite pedestrian.
The rates seem fairly reasonable and you wouldn't term any of the items to be outright expensive. The service was prompt and quick and nothing really to complain on this front.
It wasn't the best of days compounded more by not sitting at the place of preference and being unable to enjoy the breeze. Also it's too close to call and give a rating based on the very little food we tasted. But simply based on this particular outing would term this experience under the average category.
Friday, November 6, 2015
Parfait 3, Klpauk - More than a Bakery!
The Parfait 3 in Kilpauk is a decent little place and can be termed as much more than just a bakery. It doesn't reek of any high end ambiance nor classy decor. It's a pretty simple joint serving products you normally get in a cafe.
We were invited as a team of food bloggers to check some of their stuff out and were given items to choose from a set menu. Overall turned out to be quite a mixed bag. Penned down below is a high level summary of the items we got to taste.
Beverage: It was a mango mint smoothie and a good start to the proceedings. It had a nice punch to it and the dot of spice in combination with the mango flavoring was quite interesting.
Soup: This came in the form of a Mix veg cream soup. It was pure white in color with a frothy layer of cream and an amalgam of veggies. I like soups of this kind and a thumbs up here.
Salad: A green veg pineapple one. It was pretty ordinary and run of the mill. It just comprised of a few plain pieces of pineapple along with tomatoes and cabbages. A little bit of garnishing and dressing could have helped a bit.
Starters: Had 2 choices for veg - Brocolli Fritters and Paneer Cheese Balls. The former were golden deep fried and had a crunchy taste to it. It wasn't spectacular by any means but passed the test. The latter were brown cutlet balls infused with cheese and paneer which were fairly good. Expected a dip more than just ketchup but alas was left disappointed.
Main course: First we got a bite into their sandwich titled creamy bro cheese. They resembled the bun format and and sandwiched inside was a creamy layer of veggies melted with cheese. I kinda enjoyed it. Next we moved on to the Veg Creamy tomato pasta. It was penne made in a mixture of red and white sauce smattered with grated pieces of cheese and for me one of the highlights of the evening. It was juicy, creamy and tasty. Definitely one of the better pasta's I've had. Finally it was the turn of Butter rice with creamy veg. Nothing much to write home about here as it was just plain rice with hardly a taste of butter to go along with a creamy veg gravy and it can at best be termed average.
Desserts: This is their forte and stronghold and they showed they were the boss here. We were served a plethora of pastries via tarts, cakes and brownies. Nothing much to complain here. Most of them as expected excelled and were a win.
The service was a little slow and it was clearly visible that it wasn't easy to manage a big set of people with little staff. But they did their job pleasingly with a smile. Though this event was an 'on the house', the rates seem quite marginal. The outlet looks a little dated. A bit of color, vibrancy and quirkiness can go a long way in elevating the joint a wee bit.
Parfait 3 does have it's share of grouses. But looking at the larger perspective there surely are more positives than negatives. A nice outlet to indulge in some light bites and confabulation.
We were invited as a team of food bloggers to check some of their stuff out and were given items to choose from a set menu. Overall turned out to be quite a mixed bag. Penned down below is a high level summary of the items we got to taste.
Beverage: It was a mango mint smoothie and a good start to the proceedings. It had a nice punch to it and the dot of spice in combination with the mango flavoring was quite interesting.
Soup: This came in the form of a Mix veg cream soup. It was pure white in color with a frothy layer of cream and an amalgam of veggies. I like soups of this kind and a thumbs up here.
Salad: A green veg pineapple one. It was pretty ordinary and run of the mill. It just comprised of a few plain pieces of pineapple along with tomatoes and cabbages. A little bit of garnishing and dressing could have helped a bit.
Starters: Had 2 choices for veg - Brocolli Fritters and Paneer Cheese Balls. The former were golden deep fried and had a crunchy taste to it. It wasn't spectacular by any means but passed the test. The latter were brown cutlet balls infused with cheese and paneer which were fairly good. Expected a dip more than just ketchup but alas was left disappointed.
Main course: First we got a bite into their sandwich titled creamy bro cheese. They resembled the bun format and and sandwiched inside was a creamy layer of veggies melted with cheese. I kinda enjoyed it. Next we moved on to the Veg Creamy tomato pasta. It was penne made in a mixture of red and white sauce smattered with grated pieces of cheese and for me one of the highlights of the evening. It was juicy, creamy and tasty. Definitely one of the better pasta's I've had. Finally it was the turn of Butter rice with creamy veg. Nothing much to write home about here as it was just plain rice with hardly a taste of butter to go along with a creamy veg gravy and it can at best be termed average.
Desserts: This is their forte and stronghold and they showed they were the boss here. We were served a plethora of pastries via tarts, cakes and brownies. Nothing much to complain here. Most of them as expected excelled and were a win.
The service was a little slow and it was clearly visible that it wasn't easy to manage a big set of people with little staff. But they did their job pleasingly with a smile. Though this event was an 'on the house', the rates seem quite marginal. The outlet looks a little dated. A bit of color, vibrancy and quirkiness can go a long way in elevating the joint a wee bit.
Parfait 3 does have it's share of grouses. But looking at the larger perspective there surely are more positives than negatives. A nice outlet to indulge in some light bites and confabulation.
Wednesday, November 4, 2015
Perungudi gets lucky with Lucky Da Punjabi
I was happy seeing a Punjabi restaurant come to this neck of the woods in Perungudi which is the home of a truckload of office campuses submerged with a stack of employees. Though there is a lot of potential and opportunity for the restaurant market here, there are hardly very few good one's within this vicinity. Seeing a full fledged Punjabi eatery was definitely welcoming.
From the outset it looks a pretty small and low key. Only on entering did I realise I had underestimated it somewhat. They have really done up the place nicely within the limited space constraints. It's pretty funky with a melange of kitschy colors and antique stuff hanging around. Big wheels of cycles adorning the brick walls and miniature versions of olden day telephones/ bicycle/ rickshaws/ wine bottles etc give it a nice twang. An olden day cot and the roof resembling hay tries to give it the vintage effect of being in a typical punjabi village. It was pretty impressive seeing the way the place is done and I surely didn't fathom all this before stepping foot.
On the food side, they have good old authentic tasty Punjabi food. We ordered for Butter Naan, Masala Kulcha and a Cheese Paratha to go along with a Paneer Makhani and a Dal Makhani. The breads were well made and big and fluffy. The panneer gravy was creamy with succulent pieces of that evergreen delicacy that the North is so famous for. The Dal Makhani too was also lovely however felt it to be a tad watery.
The service was quick and we were served our food in a jiffy. Having a jar of green chutney and vinegar onions always helps and that was another add-on. The utensils used for serving the curries is neat and gives that traditional essence. The rates seem affordable, just felt however the pricing of Indian bread were slightly on the higher side but for the mains they seemed apt. It's a small place with just a few tables but is well maintained and clean.
Overall the food was great and I am looking forward to come here more often. I believe it's the same management that also oversees Pind and that makes me really excited to have a crack at their Panneer Tikka and many of their other stuff on my next visit(s). Lucky Da Punjabi is a sure win!.
From the outset it looks a pretty small and low key. Only on entering did I realise I had underestimated it somewhat. They have really done up the place nicely within the limited space constraints. It's pretty funky with a melange of kitschy colors and antique stuff hanging around. Big wheels of cycles adorning the brick walls and miniature versions of olden day telephones/ bicycle/ rickshaws/ wine bottles etc give it a nice twang. An olden day cot and the roof resembling hay tries to give it the vintage effect of being in a typical punjabi village. It was pretty impressive seeing the way the place is done and I surely didn't fathom all this before stepping foot.
On the food side, they have good old authentic tasty Punjabi food. We ordered for Butter Naan, Masala Kulcha and a Cheese Paratha to go along with a Paneer Makhani and a Dal Makhani. The breads were well made and big and fluffy. The panneer gravy was creamy with succulent pieces of that evergreen delicacy that the North is so famous for. The Dal Makhani too was also lovely however felt it to be a tad watery.
The service was quick and we were served our food in a jiffy. Having a jar of green chutney and vinegar onions always helps and that was another add-on. The utensils used for serving the curries is neat and gives that traditional essence. The rates seem affordable, just felt however the pricing of Indian bread were slightly on the higher side but for the mains they seemed apt. It's a small place with just a few tables but is well maintained and clean.
Overall the food was great and I am looking forward to come here more often. I believe it's the same management that also oversees Pind and that makes me really excited to have a crack at their Panneer Tikka and many of their other stuff on my next visit(s). Lucky Da Punjabi is a sure win!.
Sunday, November 1, 2015
True Blue Thai at Absolut Thai
Thai based restaurant's seem to be suddenly springing up in a major way and most of them seem to be located within striking distance of one another. 'Absolute Thai' is one of the recent offerings bringing to the plate authentic Thai cuisine. This one is mushroomed in the Cenotaph main road in a compound which also has a Sushi restaurant and a Baker's street about to be launched soon.
The ambiance here is fairly simple with nothing over the top. Lots of red, orange and gold adorn the place perhaps in tune with the culture of South east Asia which defines a sense of peace and quietitude and in line is the minimalistic music playing at the background. The letters of the Thailand language inscribed in the wooden interiors add a nice touch. The decor comprises of cushioned seats and though they are comfortable would be good if they can elevate the height for the back to rest a wee bit.
They have done away with the traditional bound menu format and here it comes in the form of a pamphlet spread on your table. The 2 sides of which the top side consists of the detailed menu comprising roughly 80 items and the bottom half gives a descriptive look of the signature dishes forming around 30 of those making your work easier in choosing the best of the lot.
Went here for a sunday night dinner and ordered the following stuff:
Tom Kha soup (Creamy coconut soup): It was absolutely lovely. It was liquidy with a dash of cream and assorted veggies floating along. Sufficient quantity and wonderful flavoring giving an enticing taste to the mouth. Seldom have had a better and different soup than this one.
Khoa Pod Tod Namprikpow (Baby corn tossed with roasted chilli paste and serviced in rice tartlets): This one was as crispy as it gets. The rice tartlets were used as holders for holding the baby corn. A bunch of pieces of corn fitted along nicely and were spruced up with the requisite spices giving a crunchy taste. A good starter on the veg section.
Phat Bami (Stir fried Egg Garlic Noodles): The noodles were decent and nicely stir fried. It was more of the usual stuff and you didn't get the feeling of tasting something exotic and unique. The test was passed but the score was in the borderline range.
Kaeng Kiew Wan (Thai Green Curry): It was my first tryst with the ever popular Thai green curry. Was suggested to try this and was told that it would be a good bet with the noodles. Don't know much about the history of the green and red curries but I expected it to be more thicker but it turned out to be pretty watery and soaked with a plethora of veggies. It was a little too spicy for the tongue but I kind of enjoyed the taste. It was a different experience.
They were also quite magnanimous to serve a lime ginger mocktail, betel leaves with several condiments to toss up and eat and also regular servings of lemon grass tea as complementary.
The service was amicable with the waiters wearing a smile on their face and willing to help us go about with our orders. It's not easy not knowing much of Thai cuisine and they were a great helping hand. The rates are simply put on the expensive side. It is a bit deceiving as the prices mentioned on the menu are sans 10% service charge, 5.6% sales tax and 2% VAT and your bill will end up coming higher than you envisage. Parking facilities are promptly available.
If you happen to be a vegetarian options are far and few in between. Surely not the best place to dine out if you happen to stick with just veg. It's early days yet for Absolute Thai and hoping that as time goes along they emerge to be a big time player in the Thai/Chinese food genre. Simply from my first visit here, would term it as a pretty satisfying dinner experience.
The ambiance here is fairly simple with nothing over the top. Lots of red, orange and gold adorn the place perhaps in tune with the culture of South east Asia which defines a sense of peace and quietitude and in line is the minimalistic music playing at the background. The letters of the Thailand language inscribed in the wooden interiors add a nice touch. The decor comprises of cushioned seats and though they are comfortable would be good if they can elevate the height for the back to rest a wee bit.
They have done away with the traditional bound menu format and here it comes in the form of a pamphlet spread on your table. The 2 sides of which the top side consists of the detailed menu comprising roughly 80 items and the bottom half gives a descriptive look of the signature dishes forming around 30 of those making your work easier in choosing the best of the lot.
Went here for a sunday night dinner and ordered the following stuff:
Tom Kha soup (Creamy coconut soup): It was absolutely lovely. It was liquidy with a dash of cream and assorted veggies floating along. Sufficient quantity and wonderful flavoring giving an enticing taste to the mouth. Seldom have had a better and different soup than this one.
Khoa Pod Tod Namprikpow (Baby corn tossed with roasted chilli paste and serviced in rice tartlets): This one was as crispy as it gets. The rice tartlets were used as holders for holding the baby corn. A bunch of pieces of corn fitted along nicely and were spruced up with the requisite spices giving a crunchy taste. A good starter on the veg section.
Phat Bami (Stir fried Egg Garlic Noodles): The noodles were decent and nicely stir fried. It was more of the usual stuff and you didn't get the feeling of tasting something exotic and unique. The test was passed but the score was in the borderline range.
Kaeng Kiew Wan (Thai Green Curry): It was my first tryst with the ever popular Thai green curry. Was suggested to try this and was told that it would be a good bet with the noodles. Don't know much about the history of the green and red curries but I expected it to be more thicker but it turned out to be pretty watery and soaked with a plethora of veggies. It was a little too spicy for the tongue but I kind of enjoyed the taste. It was a different experience.
They were also quite magnanimous to serve a lime ginger mocktail, betel leaves with several condiments to toss up and eat and also regular servings of lemon grass tea as complementary.
The service was amicable with the waiters wearing a smile on their face and willing to help us go about with our orders. It's not easy not knowing much of Thai cuisine and they were a great helping hand. The rates are simply put on the expensive side. It is a bit deceiving as the prices mentioned on the menu are sans 10% service charge, 5.6% sales tax and 2% VAT and your bill will end up coming higher than you envisage. Parking facilities are promptly available.
If you happen to be a vegetarian options are far and few in between. Surely not the best place to dine out if you happen to stick with just veg. It's early days yet for Absolute Thai and hoping that as time goes along they emerge to be a big time player in the Thai/Chinese food genre. Simply from my first visit here, would term it as a pretty satisfying dinner experience.
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