ID - Contemporary South Indian Fine Dining!

ID expanded as Idli Dosa is a modern day contemporary fine dining South Indian restaurant. It had it's initial presence as part of Sathyam cinemas and has expanded it's footprints with time. The one at Phoenix Market city in Velachery is a pretty big outlet and a proper stand alone dining space a little adrift from where the movie action takes place.

It's a good place for fast food and everything here is transparent right from the inmersive kitchen where you see the waiters and cooks work in a hurry burry manner to provide piping hot tiffin based south Indian food. The ambiance can be classified as neat and perfect for a quick bite of fast food.

After some shopping at the mall, we got here to satisfy our rumbling appetite. Ordered the following:
- Cheese Cashew Appam - This had a lovely coating of cheese on the center with abundant pieces of cashew nuts sticking on to the cheese. It was pretty good and went well with the veg stew for company.

- Paneer Dosa - Droplets of yellow pieces of panneer inset the dosa. Felt it to be a little bland as I felt it should have been suffuced with a bit more masala to go with it.

Onion Rava Dosa - Very crispy and well made. It had sufficient onions and chillies in it and was spot on on taste.

Poori Masala - The usual offering. Didn't find it to be remarkable by any stretch but served the purpose. Just felt however the poori's to be a little high on the oil content.

Kasi Halwa - An item to round off our coarse. This one was immaculately sweet and quite a tongue twirler. The sweet craving afficionado's are sure to concur this in the affirmative.

The service was quick as expected and the rates fairly reasonable as each of the items are priced in and around the initial 3 digit figure of 100. If you're looking for some nice hot easy South Indian food option, ID is certainly a good bet.

Haritam - Forgotten flavours of South India!

Haritam brings to the fore the forgotten flavors of South India. The cuisine is predominantly from curated recipes of Tamil and Telugu with a skosh of North Indian too thrown into the mix. There's a lot of innovation and experimentation in what's being served which helps in distinguishing it from the rest of the pack.

It's located in the Kilpauk Garden road in a big 3 storey complex segregated into a Non AC enclosure, AC enclave and also a roof top dining hall. The ambiance isn't something to rave about but is neat, clean and concise and gives a homely and traditional feel about it. It's a veg only restaurant and is surely a plus point for the green lovers to have a stand alone restaurant serving a varied expansive spread other than the usual well associated names .

We were on an invite were served a truckload of items that almost put us on the verge of detonating. It was a delight having to taste their signature stuff put forth especially for us. We had different combination of soups ranging from Sweet Corn, Horse Gram and Drumstick. The Horse Gram with a tinge of spice was a good foil and so was the Drumstick soup which was riveting. The panneer tikka in the form of Malai and cheese were good enough with especially the panneer pieces being succulent and easy on the mouth. We also had a googly in the form of a mock fries which were brownish and made of moong dal apart from the traditional fare of the same. And one cannot forget the Mushroom fry and Kothu Parotha which again were great starter material. And in between we also had Keera vadai which was really crispy and had a lovely taste to it and Vazhapoo vadai which also followed suit. Behold there was also Rasa Vadai and Kozhukattai to try out. There was just too much to the platter and I must say the majority of the stuff passed the muster.

The main course portion was not to be left behind as we were served a plethora of items on this front too. On the North Indian side, we got a shot at a bunch of Indian breads with a Panneer Tikka masala, panneer butter masala and Dal Tadka for company. The gravies were decent enough notwithstanding a slight overdose on the oil content. The Dal however was a show stealer having a nice sweet twang to it thanks to the presence of cashew nuts. On the dosa side, tried the Kara Masala dosa and a ragi based one. Even on Idli's we had variety with smearing hot ghee podi idli's and the rotund soft Thatta Idly. Pongal also came into the equation and to round off this section we were given puri's not just the traditional one but also in the form of a ragi, palak and tomato flavored ones. It was indeed a spectacular array on offer and must say, most of the stuff passed the taste test with flying colors.

We were just too stuffed after gorging all of the above and for desserts we went a little easy with just a couple of Ice creams and a mint cooler. The fig honey was decent enough and the Coffee crunch had a lovely coffee essence to it. The mint cooler was just about right and put the curtains down on a very satisfactory meal.

The service was immaculate with the management being extremely courteous and receptive to feedback. They were also more than willing to listen and take in suggestions. Pricing is hard to comment as we were on an invite but seems to be fair and competitive. Parking is not an issue as they are located in their own complex with sufficient space available for 2 wheeler's and 4 wheeler's.

Overall, it was an extremely pleasing experience to dine here. The hospitality extended made it all the more welcoming. Haritam seems a great addition to the Kilpauk area's growing restaurant market and is also a great viable option for vegetarians looking for a refreshing change over in the form of a South Indian twist.

Square - A lavish wholesome brunch!

The 'Square' at Novotel will rake in as perhaps one of the most wholesome brunches I've ever been subject to. It had everything in it's arsenal to appease the taste buds and truly made for an enthralling experience. The spread was replete touching upon a medley of variegated cuisine to ensure a sumptuous feast. The food kept erupting like a lava and kept flowing in abundance. Such was the array on display that you would be virtually spoilt for choice because there was just too much to choose from and you have to take calculated risks in order to have the best of everything.

Quantity accounts for nothing if it doesn't match up with quality and this was where they were streets ahead with most of the stuff being bang on target. There were just a few solitary items which needed improvement but the majority of the coarse made the tongues tingle and crave for more. They covered good ground on all bases and it was apparent from the taste on display.

There were many specialty counters ranging from drinks, chaat, soup and dosa. The drinks section was based on the ad lib concept where you get to make your own drink with help and suggestions thrown in by the bartender to make it exactly the way you want. The chaats had your usual pani puri, dahi puri, pav bhaji etc. They had Laksa soup (A malay version) where you get to pick the type of noodles and veggies which get cooked along and I immensely enjoyed this soup which had a stong tinge of coconut cream to it. They had a plethora of dosa options on the house which were served in an inimitable manner.

The Live Counters account for just a miniscule percentage of the whole course as there were host of other options consisting of an extravagant main course spread, a pastiche of desserts, an eclectic mix of eggs, pancakes and waffles, bunch of starters, assorted salads and so much more in store. They also had fruit juices of different flavors stored in cute test tubes colorfully co-ordinated on the table to get us all set for the big picture.

Another high point of the meal was on the presentation angle. It just made our foray all the more memorable. The attention to detail paid on all fronts really deserves the plaudits. It really showed well and clear the efforts behind the scenes to orchestrate this exquisite show.

The service was top notch and they made sure the customer goes back having the pleasure of dining here. They were amiable, friendly and ever ready to take in any sort of feedback. There was hardly anything to pinpoint as even the minor blips were addressed with care and caution. As we were on an invite, I would have to refrain from commenting on the prices. But I must say for the magnanimous and lavish spread on offer, this brunch would be worth every single penny.

The location maybe a constraint as the place is located at a considerable distance from the heart of the city. But come to think of it, if you're looking for a getaway spot away from the hustle and bustle of the city and have a calm, laidback meal at your own leisure with even a dip in the pool as part of the package and to boot listen to some old school blues and jazz music you really can't complain. In essence a lovely option for brunch to satisfy your desideratum.

Bindaas Rasoi - A hidden wonder!

Bindaas Rasoi is a hidden wonder. The place is shrouded in a quite bye lane in the no man's land of Shollinganalur and is perched in a house which has been converted to a restaurant. The interiors are done up wonderfully well and the place glistens with shades of color. The chiaroscuro of the modern touch and vintage local flavor is underplayed beautifully. Some of us were apprehensive about travelling all the way to another breadth of the city but all our confusions were put to rest seeing the wondrous ambiance and laying our mouths onto the amazing food on display.

Our ravenous foray got underway with an Aam Paana served to us as a welcome drink. After that the business got underway with the expectant soups. We got to taste a mushroom version and a tomato shorba and both were delightful in their own way and thoroughly enjoyed by all of us. Next came the platter of starters consisting of a plethora of delicacies. Amongst them, the Multani panneer slices and the Dahi Kabab were truly delectable. The sheekh and hara bara kabab were the usual fare but the stuffed mushrooms and tandoori brocolli were good add-on's and elevated the starter fest served a notch higher.

For main course, we had a bucketful of Indian breads which were done up exceedingly well. Some were fluffy like how they should be and others were soluble and soft. The cheese naan especially nailed it in being absolutely rivetting and could just be had standalone as it was so yummylicious on taste. For the curries we went with a Paneer tikka lababdar where the pieces of panneer were succulent and nicely cooked in a reddish gravy and for Dal, we went a little different by going with the Paanwala Dal, the usual yellowish flavored dal with a tinge of paan which felt invigorating. As we felt the curries were a little less for the bread, as a last gap measure ordered for an Achari Aloo and boy this one rocked big time. It ticked the box on every angle - looks, feel and taste. For rice we had the Banarasi Pulao which had a greenish tinge to it as it was cooked with peas in abundance but it somehow didn't appease our taste buds. We had a bunch of desserts to end our sojourn of which I tasted just a tad and found them to be nice whether be it the Chocolate gulab jamun, Ras Malai, Gajar Halwa or Malai Phirni. In between our meals, we also had the Thandai and Banana coconutty Lassi both of which won the brownie points.

Overall, it was a delightful experience. The service was prompt and they were welcoming in adhering to our requests by even tweaking some of their stuff to bring in the best for us. As we were on an invite, pricing goes out of the window but on a cursory glance of the prices and considering the sumptuous delicacies offered and the shiz ambiance definitely feels reasonable.

This place deserves publicity and I wish the corporates situated within this vicinity look at this place with seriousness because it has all the requisite factors to impress. I am personally happy that I went all the way to experience the essence of Bindaas Rasoi. True to it's name, this place is Bindaas. Highly recommended!.