Jonah's has been one of the fastest rising restaurant's in recent times with each of it's outlets offering a varied cuisine. The Jonah's goes to West coast brings to the fore the best of coastal Malabar food.
Located in Anna Nagar in a suburb, this one has a nice feel to it. Creamy fabric colors engulf the surroundings and the nice big conicular lighting atop each table adds a lovely touch. The minimal space available has been put to good space. And the thing about this resto is that it feels so laidback more in the lines of a lounge bar. It feels very comforting like a cafe where you can just sit and laze around. It certainly doubles up as more than just a restaurant serving Malabar cuisine.
On the food front, we were here to visit a fellow foodie friend who was visiting the city after a long while. And it was certainly a good spot to choose. Not only did the food taste good, but it was also a place where we got to spend ample time discussing on all the good ol things of the past. Coming to what we had, started with a velvery Mushroom soup which was blended nicely and the aroma of the crushed mushroom flavor was invigorating. Thoroughly enjoyed it. For starter we got to have a specially made panneer dish which was deep fried and spruced up with onion, curry leaves and chillies and infused with a heavy dosage of pepper. It was lingering and brought out the true essence of Keralaish food. And for main course had the Kappa Puratiathu (Tempered Kappa). Don't remember having this anywhere. Was fairly good, however the jury is still out as I don't have a past history of having this before. We rounded it iff with the smoked rice which was absolutely marvellous. Have seldom tasted better rice which could be eaten stand alone without any accompaniment for company. I don't know what it was which made the rice taste so jaw dropping but it was amazingly esculent and was the star of the day. For desserts there was no second choice but to go for the Tender coconut mousse which scores high on all factors - look, feel and taste. Having to taste it directly from the coconut gives it a nice rustic sense and also wins the brownie points on the presentation front.
The service was exceptionally good. The servers adhered to all our requests and even helped us get stuff which were supposedly not available for lunch. They were also really helpful with suggestions. The rates are a little on the higher side but again not something to squirm about. There is good enough place for parking your vehicles.
In the end, turned out to be a great decision to meet up at Jonah's as both our end objective of having a nice time and tasting good food were both satisfied.
Saturday, January 23, 2016
Friday, January 22, 2016
Barbecue brewing at Coal Barbecues
The craze for Barbecue based restaurant's never seem to be dwindling and you only find more and more of these sprouting up which doesn't seem one bit surprising. These restaurant's offering grill based food are especially a humongous hit with the corporate crowd and you will invariably find a big office set congregating this place. Come to think of it, being offered such a gargantuan wide variety of food spread at a fixed rate points towards the right direction
And Coal Barbecue happens to be the latest avatar bringing to the table the concept of grilled food. It is located on the 100 feet main road in Velachery and is housed in a big complex. The strategic location helps as not only a large residential population resides around this area but it also happens to be close to the OMR road which is home to a truckload of companies comprising an enormous stack of employees. This one sure shot will always be a marquee choice for corporate's and will be earmarked when planning for lunches/dinners.
The signature board with the wordings 'Coal Barbecues' with quirky little lighting welcomes you with extra focus on the 'C' for the Coal which ignites like fire and is strikingly bright. The restaurant is located in the second floor and the spacing is vast and the place is done up really well. There is a buzzing atmosphere about the place and the rousing fiery barbecues produced on the live charcoal grill never looks like losing it's sheen. Bricked wall settings, brownness and barbecues seem to be going hand in hand and that is largely prevalent. The area is polarized pretty well into different enclosures and the portraits with lovely little food quotes and captions adds a nice touch.
The food follows the trodden path to the 'T' and you know kind of what to expect. After the customary soup, all attention turns towards the bunch of starters being served on a live charcoal grill. For veg you are served your usual fare of Panneer, Potato, Mushroom, Grilled veg etc. And you also get to have sweetened pineapple, fried corn and creamy american style potatoes directly to your plate. They also gave us a Hara Bara Kabab which was in the form of a minced cutlet. The starters lived up to the billing and all of them were palatable and tasted fairly decent but nothing really blew you away. If you are the one looking for something unique or a dynamic taste on offer, then you will be left disappointed.
After getting done with the starters, it was time to head over to the Live Grill counter which follows the Ad Lib style where you choose your toppings and they make it up for you after adding the requisite ingredients.This one was quite a whimper as it was hardly cooked well and tasted bland. Surely expected better on this front.
The main course despite having options galore is one area you seldom end up doing justice as you become too full after gobbling up all the starters and it's just basically to add up the numbers. But from whatever little I had, kind of enjoyed it. The Palak Panneer, the Nariyal Aloo and a couple more of the gravies all stood out and the Black Dal especially was way better than i thought with the lentils nicely simmered in an aromatic creamy puree. Apart from your staple fare of Indian Bread, we also got some special ones in the form of Dry Fruit Naan infused with melted cheese and a chilly black olive naan which was really good.
And then on the dessert and drinks section, there were lots and lots of options to choose from but nothing was really mind blowing. They weren't bad by any stretch but a little far off from being exceptional. From the mix of mocktails we got to savor, nothing great to write home about. The cold stone ice cream was the saving grace of the lot and a positive way to polish off the meal
The service was very quick and the starters especially were re-filled in quick time. On the rate front such a gigantic spread for dinner at 700 pax makes it great value for money. However our particular meeting was on an 'On the House invite'. Parking space is sufficient for both two and four wheelers.
Overall the experience was relatively positive. It's early days and the restaurant is still finding its footing. I would personally like to see something newer and unique from them which should help to distinguish themselves. Right now it's a bit mainstream and too much on expected lines. Hoping they 'up the ante' in the days to come and create a signature which differentiates them from the rest. Here's wishing Coal Barbecues all the very best.
And Coal Barbecue happens to be the latest avatar bringing to the table the concept of grilled food. It is located on the 100 feet main road in Velachery and is housed in a big complex. The strategic location helps as not only a large residential population resides around this area but it also happens to be close to the OMR road which is home to a truckload of companies comprising an enormous stack of employees. This one sure shot will always be a marquee choice for corporate's and will be earmarked when planning for lunches/dinners.
The signature board with the wordings 'Coal Barbecues' with quirky little lighting welcomes you with extra focus on the 'C' for the Coal which ignites like fire and is strikingly bright. The restaurant is located in the second floor and the spacing is vast and the place is done up really well. There is a buzzing atmosphere about the place and the rousing fiery barbecues produced on the live charcoal grill never looks like losing it's sheen. Bricked wall settings, brownness and barbecues seem to be going hand in hand and that is largely prevalent. The area is polarized pretty well into different enclosures and the portraits with lovely little food quotes and captions adds a nice touch.
The food follows the trodden path to the 'T' and you know kind of what to expect. After the customary soup, all attention turns towards the bunch of starters being served on a live charcoal grill. For veg you are served your usual fare of Panneer, Potato, Mushroom, Grilled veg etc. And you also get to have sweetened pineapple, fried corn and creamy american style potatoes directly to your plate. They also gave us a Hara Bara Kabab which was in the form of a minced cutlet. The starters lived up to the billing and all of them were palatable and tasted fairly decent but nothing really blew you away. If you are the one looking for something unique or a dynamic taste on offer, then you will be left disappointed.
After getting done with the starters, it was time to head over to the Live Grill counter which follows the Ad Lib style where you choose your toppings and they make it up for you after adding the requisite ingredients.This one was quite a whimper as it was hardly cooked well and tasted bland. Surely expected better on this front.
The main course despite having options galore is one area you seldom end up doing justice as you become too full after gobbling up all the starters and it's just basically to add up the numbers. But from whatever little I had, kind of enjoyed it. The Palak Panneer, the Nariyal Aloo and a couple more of the gravies all stood out and the Black Dal especially was way better than i thought with the lentils nicely simmered in an aromatic creamy puree. Apart from your staple fare of Indian Bread, we also got some special ones in the form of Dry Fruit Naan infused with melted cheese and a chilly black olive naan which was really good.
And then on the dessert and drinks section, there were lots and lots of options to choose from but nothing was really mind blowing. They weren't bad by any stretch but a little far off from being exceptional. From the mix of mocktails we got to savor, nothing great to write home about. The cold stone ice cream was the saving grace of the lot and a positive way to polish off the meal
The service was very quick and the starters especially were re-filled in quick time. On the rate front such a gigantic spread for dinner at 700 pax makes it great value for money. However our particular meeting was on an 'On the House invite'. Parking space is sufficient for both two and four wheelers.
Overall the experience was relatively positive. It's early days and the restaurant is still finding its footing. I would personally like to see something newer and unique from them which should help to distinguish themselves. Right now it's a bit mainstream and too much on expected lines. Hoping they 'up the ante' in the days to come and create a signature which differentiates them from the rest. Here's wishing Coal Barbecues all the very best.
Monday, January 18, 2016
Drive down to East Coast at Madras Square!
There aren't many things more comforting than a good ol drive to ECR and whiling away time with a set of interesting people and most importantly great food for company. And East coast is exactly that. Mushroomed near the beach side this is a perfect getaway from the hustle and bustle of the city.
This place has witnessed changes from initially being christened as Ode to Gallery Cafe to the erstwhile Madras Square to now being called The East Coast. But whatever change has taken place has been for the better as witnessed from our recent experience of visiting this cafe.
The place is done up really well. Apart from the restaurant, they also have a gallery, a furniture store and a floral boutique called 'Botanical'. And from the looks of it there are also plans to have a in-house bakery specializing on different kind of bread and bun products. The restaurant is polarized three fold - with a nice open lawn setting, a laid back seating space underneath the thatched roofs and an inside bigger air-conditioned spacing.
The cafe has a nice airy feel about it and scores heavily on the feel good factor. The hanging antiques and the wall paintings adds value and it has a quaint old world vintage feel to it which I'm really fond of.
We were invited for an 'On the house event' and got to try a significant number of their offerings. And most of what we tried ticked the right boxes. We started our sojourn with the mushroom soup which was different in the sense it was sans creamy and instead blended and minced well to give the invigorating fungi aroma. For starters we were given a creole style french fries mixed with veggies and they were fairly good. We also got a shot of the Falafels which somehow didn't set the tongues rolling. In the form of smudged cutlets, they failed to appease the taste buds. But this was a minor blip in an otherwise wholesome meal. We also had 3 varieties of Bruschetta comprising of tomatoes, mushroom&feta cheese and olive&hummus toppings. Extra pointers especially to the latter which had a strong flavoring of the black oval delicacy. And then arrived what I was waiting for eagerly - the pizza's. Both the Original Margherita with buffalo mozzarella cheese and the 4 cheese pizza made up with Mozzarella,Edam,Smoked cheese and Cheddar set the tongues craving with excitement. They were thin crust and I absolutely loved the base of the Margherita pizza covered with a smattering of tomato paste garnished with basil and a dollop of cheese. We were also served the same sans the cheese and replaced with cherry tomatoes and it tasted equally good. The 4 cheese pizza was tempting and brought out the fine essence of the lipsmackingly lingering triangular delight. Then it was time for the pasta's where we got to have a crack at the Agleo e olio Spaghetti having a heavy dosage of olive oil which was passable and a pesto based penne pasta with cherry tomatoes which I kind of enjoyed. We rounded up with desserts in the form of a Theobrama and a Banofee pie both which won the brownie points. They were sinful, rich and creamy and a perfect way to end a very satisfactory meal.
The service was prompt and I felt it was very nice of the managing partner to personally come to us and make us feel at ease. We were given a little brief about the history of the cafe and also on the methods that go behind in enhancing the flavoring of the food. The feedback was well received and the minor criticism's were taken constructively.
Overall, a very pleasant dine out experience. And oh yes, highly recommended.
This place has witnessed changes from initially being christened as Ode to Gallery Cafe to the erstwhile Madras Square to now being called The East Coast. But whatever change has taken place has been for the better as witnessed from our recent experience of visiting this cafe.
The place is done up really well. Apart from the restaurant, they also have a gallery, a furniture store and a floral boutique called 'Botanical'. And from the looks of it there are also plans to have a in-house bakery specializing on different kind of bread and bun products. The restaurant is polarized three fold - with a nice open lawn setting, a laid back seating space underneath the thatched roofs and an inside bigger air-conditioned spacing.
The cafe has a nice airy feel about it and scores heavily on the feel good factor. The hanging antiques and the wall paintings adds value and it has a quaint old world vintage feel to it which I'm really fond of.
We were invited for an 'On the house event' and got to try a significant number of their offerings. And most of what we tried ticked the right boxes. We started our sojourn with the mushroom soup which was different in the sense it was sans creamy and instead blended and minced well to give the invigorating fungi aroma. For starters we were given a creole style french fries mixed with veggies and they were fairly good. We also got a shot of the Falafels which somehow didn't set the tongues rolling. In the form of smudged cutlets, they failed to appease the taste buds. But this was a minor blip in an otherwise wholesome meal. We also had 3 varieties of Bruschetta comprising of tomatoes, mushroom&feta cheese and olive&hummus toppings. Extra pointers especially to the latter which had a strong flavoring of the black oval delicacy. And then arrived what I was waiting for eagerly - the pizza's. Both the Original Margherita with buffalo mozzarella cheese and the 4 cheese pizza made up with Mozzarella,Edam,Smoked cheese and Cheddar set the tongues craving with excitement. They were thin crust and I absolutely loved the base of the Margherita pizza covered with a smattering of tomato paste garnished with basil and a dollop of cheese. We were also served the same sans the cheese and replaced with cherry tomatoes and it tasted equally good. The 4 cheese pizza was tempting and brought out the fine essence of the lipsmackingly lingering triangular delight. Then it was time for the pasta's where we got to have a crack at the Agleo e olio Spaghetti having a heavy dosage of olive oil which was passable and a pesto based penne pasta with cherry tomatoes which I kind of enjoyed. We rounded up with desserts in the form of a Theobrama and a Banofee pie both which won the brownie points. They were sinful, rich and creamy and a perfect way to end a very satisfactory meal.
The service was prompt and I felt it was very nice of the managing partner to personally come to us and make us feel at ease. We were given a little brief about the history of the cafe and also on the methods that go behind in enhancing the flavoring of the food. The feedback was well received and the minor criticism's were taken constructively.
Overall, a very pleasant dine out experience. And oh yes, highly recommended.
Sunday, January 17, 2016
An esculant Chettinadu Experience at The Raintree, Taj Vivanta
The Raintree at The Vivanta by Taj will rake in as perhaps one of the finest Chettinadu restaurant's in the city. There is such a sense of serenity and quietitude here and it is a perfect getaway to have a lovely fine dining experience. Seldom would you find such a calming influence within the city and this place is certainly an exception on that front.
It's located in the interiors of the Taj Hotel and you would have to do some walking to get there. But what you would witness will delight you. It's spread across a vast space and the outside enclosure looks like you're in the woods. There is sufficient distance between the tables and nicely divided over the large surrounding. If you're the one longing for a perfect private feel, it doesn't get better than this. The inside portion gives the vintage native olden day feel with thatched roofs and decorations depicting the vintage cuisine of down south. Whether it's the outdoor or indoor there is a lot to smile about for the ambiance lovers. There is also some nice mild classical music and the gloomy lights gives the desired feel.
As we were going about placing our order, they served some fry yums as appetizers to go along with a sumptuous spread of chutneys - coconut, tomato, onion, peanut, coriander, gongura and chilli urga. The chutneys were just lip smacking and I just couldn't have enough of them. They also gave papads and chillies as add-on.
And then we got going with the food. Listed below is a brief summary of how each of them tasted:
- Murungakka saar soup:
Set the perfect tone for the dinner. It was liquidy with an aromatic flavoring of drumstick. With the spices crushed in it gave a lovely lingering taste. Great start.
- Kalaan Milagu:
This was a mushroom starter sauteed with spices aplenty and fragranced with karuga pillai ezhai and chillies. The texture made it look more like a semi gravy but it tasted fabulous and a perfect foil for the spice loving afficionado. Definitely not recommended for the spice conscious.
- Paalkatti Pattani Mundhri Parattal:
This was a main course gravy comprising a mixture of cottage cheese, peas an cashewnuts cooked in coconut cream. It was creamy and had a tinge of sweetness to it. It was a mistake on my side to order this as it didn't really go well with the appam and idiappam. From a spiced up start, the direction changed u turn and it wasn't really welcoming.
- Egg Aapam:
It was made really well with the bulging piece of egg right at the center and spruced up with herbs. It was mellow and felt nice on the mouth.
- Idiappam:
It was as soft as a feather. Just like how you would expect to be.
The food overall packed a punch. There was nothing really to complain barring the main course dish which was more a mistake on my side for ordering something off the hook. The portions were large and felt complete. We refrained from having desserts.
The price was however one of the grey areas. To say this place is expensive is an understatement. It can literally burn your credit card hollow. The service was top notch. The servers were very helpful with our orders and had good knowledge about the food at the restaurant.
Be prepared to spend a bomb but rest assured it will end up being one of your finest ever dining experiences.
It's located in the interiors of the Taj Hotel and you would have to do some walking to get there. But what you would witness will delight you. It's spread across a vast space and the outside enclosure looks like you're in the woods. There is sufficient distance between the tables and nicely divided over the large surrounding. If you're the one longing for a perfect private feel, it doesn't get better than this. The inside portion gives the vintage native olden day feel with thatched roofs and decorations depicting the vintage cuisine of down south. Whether it's the outdoor or indoor there is a lot to smile about for the ambiance lovers. There is also some nice mild classical music and the gloomy lights gives the desired feel.
As we were going about placing our order, they served some fry yums as appetizers to go along with a sumptuous spread of chutneys - coconut, tomato, onion, peanut, coriander, gongura and chilli urga. The chutneys were just lip smacking and I just couldn't have enough of them. They also gave papads and chillies as add-on.
And then we got going with the food. Listed below is a brief summary of how each of them tasted:
- Murungakka saar soup:
Set the perfect tone for the dinner. It was liquidy with an aromatic flavoring of drumstick. With the spices crushed in it gave a lovely lingering taste. Great start.
- Kalaan Milagu:
This was a mushroom starter sauteed with spices aplenty and fragranced with karuga pillai ezhai and chillies. The texture made it look more like a semi gravy but it tasted fabulous and a perfect foil for the spice loving afficionado. Definitely not recommended for the spice conscious.
- Paalkatti Pattani Mundhri Parattal:
This was a main course gravy comprising a mixture of cottage cheese, peas an cashewnuts cooked in coconut cream. It was creamy and had a tinge of sweetness to it. It was a mistake on my side to order this as it didn't really go well with the appam and idiappam. From a spiced up start, the direction changed u turn and it wasn't really welcoming.
- Egg Aapam:
It was made really well with the bulging piece of egg right at the center and spruced up with herbs. It was mellow and felt nice on the mouth.
- Idiappam:
It was as soft as a feather. Just like how you would expect to be.
The food overall packed a punch. There was nothing really to complain barring the main course dish which was more a mistake on my side for ordering something off the hook. The portions were large and felt complete. We refrained from having desserts.
The price was however one of the grey areas. To say this place is expensive is an understatement. It can literally burn your credit card hollow. The service was top notch. The servers were very helpful with our orders and had good knowledge about the food at the restaurant.
Be prepared to spend a bomb but rest assured it will end up being one of your finest ever dining experiences.
Noodle Bar - Flavors of Asia!
Introduction:
Phoenix Market city plays host to a plethora of stand alone upmarket restaurant's and the Noodle Bar happens to be one of the premier most serving a culinary spread traversing across Far East Asia to bring the taste and flavors of Pan Asian cuisine.
Background:
It is quite interesting to note that Copper Chimney (North Indian), Bombay Blue (Multi cuisine), Spaghetti Kitchen (Italian) and Noodle Bar (Oriental) all come within the same management "Pan India Food Solutions" and it must be said the cuisines offered straddles from one end to another offering great diversity in food.This particular Noodle Bar avenue is the 5th in the country with 2 outlets in Mumbai and 1 each at Chandigarh, Bangalore and Chennai.
The menu and the newness:
The menu is categorized into the following - Classic Dim sums, Soup, Salad, Starters, Main course, Rice/Noodles, Single serves (meal in a bowl), Desserts, Beverages and Mocktails. It is predominantly an Ala-carte spread but they also have the 'Toss it up' concept which is based on the Ad Lib style where you get to decide your preparatory style (Wok or Teppanayaki), pick the kind of noodles you like along with the ingredients from a bunch of options and your preferred sauce variety and voila you end up making it your way, the way you want.
Coming to the new menu which is being operational from Dec'15 onward's, certain revamps have been made to offer a more varied and wholesome spread. They have expanded the choices of Dim sums/soups/starters/main course and also brought to the table more exotic and dynamic noodle options including the imported kind. Another notable info was that each and every item in the menu had the country name bracketed against it. Found this to be pretty inventive and unique. Not only does it showcase the diversity on offer, it also educates the customer in knowing the signature dishes of different countries. These may be small innovations but goes a long way in elevating the customer experience.
The Meet:
As part of the Phoenix Marketcity Food Bloggers meet, we were invited as a group of bloggers from Chennai Food Guide on the 30th of Dec 2015 to try some of the signature items handpicked by the team of Noodle Bar from their new menu. It was more in the form of a set course meal and each of us received a paper copy giving a brief description of the place, agenda and the special spread being served for the day. It was a pretty good heads up and a professional way of doing things.
The Ambiance:
The place has a nice feel about it. Lots of red and black in the color palette brings out the Mandarin influence. The flowery wallpaper designs gives it a lovely floral touch. The space is also polarized well and the different enclosures in which it's divided makes it look as if it's a good place to have a quiet and peaceful meal. The decor is comfortable with both wooden chairs and cushioned seating. The grilled walls, the antiques hanging across and the miniatures all give it a fine vibe and at no point does it look out of place or over the top.
The Food:
In a nutshell, I would describe the food to be a mixed bag. Being the only vegetarian in the group meant I had far lesser food to gorge on in comparison to my counterparts. Handing below a brief summary of my foodie side of things:
- Pomegranate & Basil Fresh Fruit Mocktail: This pinkish drink with green basil leaves turned out to be pretty refreshing, however would have likened it to be a wee bit thicker.
- Emperor Noodle Soup (Thailand): This one's a specialty soup from Thailand. It had a garlicy flavor and floating over were an amalgam of assorted veggies. The Thai ginger glass noodles melted well when dropped into the soup and gave a nice flavorful taste. Only minor gripe I felt was it could have been a little more spicier.
- 5 Spiced Water Chestnut (China): This was a starter comprising of Water chestnut spruced up with 5 different kind of classic Asian spices. But somehow neither could you sense the spicing nor did it regale the taste buds and felt kind of bland and lacked the punch. An accompanying sauce could have helped a bit.
- Spinach Coriander and Corn Dim Sum (China): I had a lot of expectations on this one considering the extra focus on Dimsums and this one lived upto its billing. It looked pretty appetizing in a glazed opaque avatar consisting of sauteed spinach, fresh coriander and corn. It was soft and nice and went joyfully with the 3 different versions of sauces. I didn't hesitate taking some extra bites of these delightful dim sums.
- Burnt Garlic Coriander Rice (China): The rice was very good enhanced with an crushed garlic and fresh coriander. It had a subtle aroma to it and the garlic dose was pretty prevalent and flavorful. There were also Burnt Chilli Noodles another Chinese specialty and the Hokomein Noodles coming from the shores of Singapore. Since they arrived in the Non vegetarian variant, I had to refrain from having a shot at them.
- Devil chilli eggplant and tofu (Thailand): This one just didn't feel right and there was something blatantly missing on the taste angle. It was supposed to come with fresh tomato vinegar and dark soya but somehow just didn't set the tongue rolling.
- Black pepper cottage cheese (China): I was wondering what Cottage cheese was doing in an oriental set-up but this one was a deceptive dazzler. The cottage cheese were chunky and succulent and went jocularly well with the black pepper soya sauce and tinge of green onion.
- Orange Darshan (China): This one contained a scoop of ice cream besides some crispy flat noodles which were topped with orange honey reduction and roasted sesame. The ice-cream which seemed to be of a citrus flavor was creamy and had a lovely tangy taste to it but I am not sure it blended so well with the sugar coated flat noodles. It was definitely decent but quite a long way off from being exceptional.
The Other Factors:
The service was prompt especially in bringing the food at a fairly quick pace. They were also amiable in explaining to us about the spread and the different dishes available. However it lacked attentiveness during the course of the journey especially when the crowds started thronging in. Re-filling water is a fairly basic thing and that was missed many a time. A little extra care can help in covering the loose grounds. On the pricing factor, it's hard to say as we came for an invite. But looking at the menu, it seems on par with other restaurants of similar size and stature and the customer wouldn't really be complaining on this front. And parking isn't a problem since the restaurant is situated in a mall.
Conclusion:
Overall, it was a pleasant experience. There are lots of positives going for this place in terms of the decor, ambiance, price point and wider cuisine options. The expansion of the menu is a step in the right direction. The predominant Chinese influence continues to remain but bringing to the table cuisines from different parts of Asia gives the customer varied options and at the same time establishes the foot hold of the restaurant in serving a wide diaspora of Oriental cuisine. They are still new and experimenting and I guess it will take a little bit of time before they find their right footing. But they have made a start and it looks like going in the ascendancy. Some amelioration on the nitty gritty areas can go along way in elevating the experience a notch further. I wish the team of Noodle Bar all the very best and hope that their efforts yield the requisite success.
Phoenix Market city plays host to a plethora of stand alone upmarket restaurant's and the Noodle Bar happens to be one of the premier most serving a culinary spread traversing across Far East Asia to bring the taste and flavors of Pan Asian cuisine.
Background:
It is quite interesting to note that Copper Chimney (North Indian), Bombay Blue (Multi cuisine), Spaghetti Kitchen (Italian) and Noodle Bar (Oriental) all come within the same management "Pan India Food Solutions" and it must be said the cuisines offered straddles from one end to another offering great diversity in food.This particular Noodle Bar avenue is the 5th in the country with 2 outlets in Mumbai and 1 each at Chandigarh, Bangalore and Chennai.
The menu and the newness:
The menu is categorized into the following - Classic Dim sums, Soup, Salad, Starters, Main course, Rice/Noodles, Single serves (meal in a bowl), Desserts, Beverages and Mocktails. It is predominantly an Ala-carte spread but they also have the 'Toss it up' concept which is based on the Ad Lib style where you get to decide your preparatory style (Wok or Teppanayaki), pick the kind of noodles you like along with the ingredients from a bunch of options and your preferred sauce variety and voila you end up making it your way, the way you want.
Coming to the new menu which is being operational from Dec'15 onward's, certain revamps have been made to offer a more varied and wholesome spread. They have expanded the choices of Dim sums/soups/starters/main course and also brought to the table more exotic and dynamic noodle options including the imported kind. Another notable info was that each and every item in the menu had the country name bracketed against it. Found this to be pretty inventive and unique. Not only does it showcase the diversity on offer, it also educates the customer in knowing the signature dishes of different countries. These may be small innovations but goes a long way in elevating the customer experience.
The Meet:
As part of the Phoenix Marketcity Food Bloggers meet, we were invited as a group of bloggers from Chennai Food Guide on the 30th of Dec 2015 to try some of the signature items handpicked by the team of Noodle Bar from their new menu. It was more in the form of a set course meal and each of us received a paper copy giving a brief description of the place, agenda and the special spread being served for the day. It was a pretty good heads up and a professional way of doing things.
The Ambiance:
The place has a nice feel about it. Lots of red and black in the color palette brings out the Mandarin influence. The flowery wallpaper designs gives it a lovely floral touch. The space is also polarized well and the different enclosures in which it's divided makes it look as if it's a good place to have a quiet and peaceful meal. The decor is comfortable with both wooden chairs and cushioned seating. The grilled walls, the antiques hanging across and the miniatures all give it a fine vibe and at no point does it look out of place or over the top.
The Food:
In a nutshell, I would describe the food to be a mixed bag. Being the only vegetarian in the group meant I had far lesser food to gorge on in comparison to my counterparts. Handing below a brief summary of my foodie side of things:
- Pomegranate & Basil Fresh Fruit Mocktail: This pinkish drink with green basil leaves turned out to be pretty refreshing, however would have likened it to be a wee bit thicker.
- Emperor Noodle Soup (Thailand): This one's a specialty soup from Thailand. It had a garlicy flavor and floating over were an amalgam of assorted veggies. The Thai ginger glass noodles melted well when dropped into the soup and gave a nice flavorful taste. Only minor gripe I felt was it could have been a little more spicier.
- 5 Spiced Water Chestnut (China): This was a starter comprising of Water chestnut spruced up with 5 different kind of classic Asian spices. But somehow neither could you sense the spicing nor did it regale the taste buds and felt kind of bland and lacked the punch. An accompanying sauce could have helped a bit.
- Spinach Coriander and Corn Dim Sum (China): I had a lot of expectations on this one considering the extra focus on Dimsums and this one lived upto its billing. It looked pretty appetizing in a glazed opaque avatar consisting of sauteed spinach, fresh coriander and corn. It was soft and nice and went joyfully with the 3 different versions of sauces. I didn't hesitate taking some extra bites of these delightful dim sums.
- Burnt Garlic Coriander Rice (China): The rice was very good enhanced with an crushed garlic and fresh coriander. It had a subtle aroma to it and the garlic dose was pretty prevalent and flavorful. There were also Burnt Chilli Noodles another Chinese specialty and the Hokomein Noodles coming from the shores of Singapore. Since they arrived in the Non vegetarian variant, I had to refrain from having a shot at them.
- Devil chilli eggplant and tofu (Thailand): This one just didn't feel right and there was something blatantly missing on the taste angle. It was supposed to come with fresh tomato vinegar and dark soya but somehow just didn't set the tongue rolling.
- Black pepper cottage cheese (China): I was wondering what Cottage cheese was doing in an oriental set-up but this one was a deceptive dazzler. The cottage cheese were chunky and succulent and went jocularly well with the black pepper soya sauce and tinge of green onion.
- Orange Darshan (China): This one contained a scoop of ice cream besides some crispy flat noodles which were topped with orange honey reduction and roasted sesame. The ice-cream which seemed to be of a citrus flavor was creamy and had a lovely tangy taste to it but I am not sure it blended so well with the sugar coated flat noodles. It was definitely decent but quite a long way off from being exceptional.
The Other Factors:
The service was prompt especially in bringing the food at a fairly quick pace. They were also amiable in explaining to us about the spread and the different dishes available. However it lacked attentiveness during the course of the journey especially when the crowds started thronging in. Re-filling water is a fairly basic thing and that was missed many a time. A little extra care can help in covering the loose grounds. On the pricing factor, it's hard to say as we came for an invite. But looking at the menu, it seems on par with other restaurants of similar size and stature and the customer wouldn't really be complaining on this front. And parking isn't a problem since the restaurant is situated in a mall.
Conclusion:
Overall, it was a pleasant experience. There are lots of positives going for this place in terms of the decor, ambiance, price point and wider cuisine options. The expansion of the menu is a step in the right direction. The predominant Chinese influence continues to remain but bringing to the table cuisines from different parts of Asia gives the customer varied options and at the same time establishes the foot hold of the restaurant in serving a wide diaspora of Oriental cuisine. They are still new and experimenting and I guess it will take a little bit of time before they find their right footing. But they have made a start and it looks like going in the ascendancy. Some amelioration on the nitty gritty areas can go along way in elevating the experience a notch further. I wish the team of Noodle Bar all the very best and hope that their efforts yield the requisite success.
Saturday, January 9, 2016
The North comes to South - Curry Town, Savera
I'm always up for it when an opportunity arises to try North Indian cuisine. And Curry Town well and truly brings the flavors of North India as it's culinary trail traverses across the North Indian frontiers to bring to the table a diverse spread of Mughlai, Lucknowi, Punjabi, Kashmiri, Rajasthani, Awadhi, Peshawari, Kabuli and Delhi based food.
The ambiance brings out the best of both worlds. The inside closed enclosure depicts olden day India and the architecture is designed in a way to showcase the history and culture of India. It feels like you're in a Mughal kingdom and has a vintage old world charm to it. The outside portion is the roof top area overlooking the vast space of the city. This part of it feels more zany and new age. However the set up at places brings out the old world flavour going back to the previous centuries. The menu too has pictures of old Indian monuments and age old traditional art forms. The waiters are all clad in creamy kurtas. And the miniatures and antiques bring out the folklore of India in all it's splendour. It feels rich, classy and vintage.
And the food did not disappoint. We started our palate with a couple of starters in the form of a Multani Panneer Tikka and an Aloo Tikki Benarasi. The former were lengthy pieces of cottage cheese infused with spice and herbs and glazed in tandoor. It was succulent and felt very nice on the month. The latter was simply wonderful. They were basically potato cutlets decorated with channa dal on top of it along with a dash of curd and the requisite spices. It tasted so soft and crispy. Loved having a bite of this delicacy. For the main course we ordered a bunch of Indian breads - Rumali Roti, Tandoori Roti and a stuffed Gobi Paratha. The roti's were well cooked and went well with the side dishes. And the main curries we had included a kofta based dish which was mildly sweet and tantalised the taste buds and Dal Makhani which had a nice aroma to it.but however lacked the creaminess and coloring a wee bit. And to finish our sojourn we shared a kesar pista kulfi. It felt a little hard to cut but was nevertheless creamy and flavorful.
The service was pretty adept and they took care of all our needs. They also were very willing to help us in choosing our order. The pricing is on the higher side but again not on the shockingly alarming category. You pay the price for the food and ambiance which seems within accepted purview. Parking isn't an issue as the restaurant is located as part of the star hotel Savera.
Overall it was a pleasurable experience and a delight dining at this peaceful and calm roof top restaurant. If you're looking for rich and authentic North Indian cuisine, Curry Town will surely tick the right boxes.
The ambiance brings out the best of both worlds. The inside closed enclosure depicts olden day India and the architecture is designed in a way to showcase the history and culture of India. It feels like you're in a Mughal kingdom and has a vintage old world charm to it. The outside portion is the roof top area overlooking the vast space of the city. This part of it feels more zany and new age. However the set up at places brings out the old world flavour going back to the previous centuries. The menu too has pictures of old Indian monuments and age old traditional art forms. The waiters are all clad in creamy kurtas. And the miniatures and antiques bring out the folklore of India in all it's splendour. It feels rich, classy and vintage.
And the food did not disappoint. We started our palate with a couple of starters in the form of a Multani Panneer Tikka and an Aloo Tikki Benarasi. The former were lengthy pieces of cottage cheese infused with spice and herbs and glazed in tandoor. It was succulent and felt very nice on the month. The latter was simply wonderful. They were basically potato cutlets decorated with channa dal on top of it along with a dash of curd and the requisite spices. It tasted so soft and crispy. Loved having a bite of this delicacy. For the main course we ordered a bunch of Indian breads - Rumali Roti, Tandoori Roti and a stuffed Gobi Paratha. The roti's were well cooked and went well with the side dishes. And the main curries we had included a kofta based dish which was mildly sweet and tantalised the taste buds and Dal Makhani which had a nice aroma to it.but however lacked the creaminess and coloring a wee bit. And to finish our sojourn we shared a kesar pista kulfi. It felt a little hard to cut but was nevertheless creamy and flavorful.
The service was pretty adept and they took care of all our needs. They also were very willing to help us in choosing our order. The pricing is on the higher side but again not on the shockingly alarming category. You pay the price for the food and ambiance which seems within accepted purview. Parking isn't an issue as the restaurant is located as part of the star hotel Savera.
Overall it was a pleasurable experience and a delight dining at this peaceful and calm roof top restaurant. If you're looking for rich and authentic North Indian cuisine, Curry Town will surely tick the right boxes.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)