Aadhirai - Shining South Indian!

Aadhirai is a new restaurant which has cropped up in a quaint location off Nungambakkam constructed out of a olden day vintage property. The first thing that strikes you is that it infuses the homely feel evidently. The handicrafts and wood work largely give it a very regional as well as authentic feel. The cuisine is largely South Indian and predominantly bordering into Chettinadu.

We were here on a weekend afternoon to soak in some of their special offerings. We started our foray with a delightful thirst quencher in the form of a Panagam Granita. The icy instincts didn't condense the taste one bit and this sweet traditional drink was as delicious as ever with the ice essence just adding an extra twist to this ever popular summer special. I had portions of the drink all through the meal and it acted as the perfect beverage.

On the soup side, the Malli Rasam soup was delightful. It had a subtle hint of flavours which worked very well. In the starter section, we were served a yam loaded nachos. To be frank I'm not a fan of Yam but this was done up in a renewed manner with salsa sauce and cream in the form of a nachos. It was bang on crispy and turned out to be a great opener. The karuvepillai panneer was simply sterling. This one was tossed and diced up in this traditional leafy powder and the essence it brought out was sensationally slithering.The Gobi ghee roast was again quite an eye turner. The pieces of cauliflower were cooked in ghee and a chilli based masala and were served on thin coin like pieces of paratha thatched with a touch of honey to slightly lower down the spice content. If you're a spice lover you'll love this and more so some of their special offerings loaded with abundance of chillies and spices. The Vazhapoo Vadai was one more starter which we tried. This was however more of the usual stuff and the paruppu flavour out did the vazha poo. Nevertheless it was crispy and bitesome.

In the main course we tried paratha with a well made up panneer peas combo gravy. Apart from this we had a crack at the trademark pulliyodhare which they served us tied in a green leaf potalam. The aroma and smear of this Puliyodhara is something I tell you. It was simply a delight to just feel the flavours hitting on you as it's slitheringly opened up from the green leaf enclosing. The Thogaiyil just enhances the taste. Seldom have I sampled a lovely version of this temple delicacy served in any restaurant.

The ending was in the form of a bucketful of desserts served in malayali style Nair wala tea glasses. 6 slurpy mousy desserts that simply butterly dutifully induces the instincts to dig in
1) Pomegranate Payasam
2) Coconut Souffle
3) Falooda
4) Kubani Ka Meetha
5) Black Forest Akkarivadasal
6) Karupatti Panacotta
Each of these not only looked appealing but had a lissom lusture to it and riveting in taste and texture. Such toothsome delights in small portions were indeed the perfect meal-ender enabling our sweet tongues to punch in pure excitement.

The service was quick with the items reaching our tables at regular intervals. The staff were very courteous explaining each dish in detail and also helping us with our orders. I must also mention the vadam which they serve with 4 different side dishes which complements so well namely a tomato thokku, mirapakaya pachadi (green chilli infused), Avakai Mayo and a garlic dip. From a holistic picture, if you're looking for exquisite south Indian cuisine done in traditional style yet throwing up innovations but not compromising on the taste, you should certainly check out Aadhirai for a rich home grown South Indian meal.

Holy Grill - Rousing Smoke!

The rousing smell of firing coal hits you as soon as you enter Holy Grill. This is another of the truck load of barbecue restaurants which are much in prominence these days. Come to think of it, it's easy eating as you really don't endure a long waiting time and get to attack straight on. And once you're done with packing your stomach to the rafters, you even have the luxury of main course being brought directly to the table. Most of these kind of restaurants serve a mix of both meat and veg but at Holy Grill it's exclusive out and out vegetarian. It ain't a bad ploy as there are always pesky sets of people who have issues dining at a place anything to do with non veg and in such cases this is an ideal foil.

The ambiance is done up decently within the available space. There are graffiti wall arts which are rather nice. A quote inscribed on the love for food is also catchy. The wood setting is apt and the black sofa seating is comfortable. The zig zag patterned lights adds a bit of fillip. On the whole, it's par for the course and nothing really over the top.

We were here for the  "THE EAT STREET BY HOLY GRILL" festival where they dished out a few additional kababs than the usual which proved to be top notch. A special word of appreciation for the 3 items listed below;
- Dahi Chilli Kebab : I immensely enjoyed these lip smacking Dahi Kebabs. You fork it and you'll see oodles of hung curd inside. The breaded balls were baked with the right texture and with this mixture of curd and chilli, it indeed proved to be a great starter.
Hazrate Hare Ulte Tawa ke Kabab - This minced veg cutlet based starter with strong essence of green peas and a dip of mayo coated over on top was quite a winner.
Crispy Fried Yam : Perhaps my favourite starter from the street food festival taking place at Holy Grill. This crispy fried yam did encomiums to it's name by being truly crispy and having a delightful taste. A chilli mayo starter would have done it even more wonders.

Apart from the special items, the food on the whole was pretty good. In the starters, the panneer tikka stood out and by some distance from the rest of the pack. It was supremely succulent and felt like a moisturising cream and it was a delight wallowing and feeling it across the month. The pineapple one was pretty good too but the others failed to pack a punch and were just about decent. The small pieces of potato especially was a complete damp squib. The potatoes weren't even roasted properly and just for the heck of it was slathered with a sauce which felt more like a chilli mayo.

However some of the let down of the starters was made up big time by the main course. All the curries were wonderful. The panneer gravy was very creamy with soft chunks of cottage cheese, the veg kofta was very well played with the touch of tanginess and the Dal Makhni was top notch. The Pindi chole also was great and the side dishes went really well with the Indian bread. The biryani too was really flavourful and great on taste.

The dessert side was pedestrian. There was a mousse which got over even before I could have a shot of it. The gulab jamun and gajar ka halwa were quite nice. The mango ice cream was of the usual kinds. The shorba soup served in the beginning had a nice almond flavour to it. And the mocktails were pretty refreshing sans the milk based mango smoothie which needed some tightening.

The entire fare costs a touch under 700 bucks tax inclusive which isn't bad considering the widespread items on offer. No real complaints on the service as they were quick and accessible. The main course was immensely enjoyable and so were the special starters served but they should up the ante on the barbecue bit as that is supposed to be their forte. And a bit of amelioration on the dessert side will be a plus. Overall a good choice for a North Indian dine in.

Va Pho - Asian for the win!

Va Pho is delightfully Asian. The place is all bright, colourful and infused with traditional elements depicting the culture of Pan Asia. It isn't an exceptionally quiet place by any stretch and I wouldn't term it as the private setup ideal for a perfect fine dining ambiance but the buzz is kind of nice and it feels like you're right in the middle of China town especially with the immaculate surrounding local influence.

The Oriental spread traverses across a number of countries bringing to the fore chinese, thai, Vietnamese, indo, philipino, korean, burmese, Malaysian and Singapore cuisine. The menu itself is rather quirky with a mosaic of mandarin based touches. They have interesting categories like Bao's and Dim sums too in the mix.

We started proceedings by having a shot at the local Vietnamese soup titled 'Saigon Pho'. It was a light brownish soup with plenty of veggies circling in the liquid water. The flavouring was done up very nicely and left a lasting impression on the tongue.

On the starter/appetiser section, I tried the Bao's which are steamed buns with a choice of filling for which i went with the crispy BBQ mushroom. The buns were super duper soft and sprayed with mayo indicating a mexican feel but on the inside with the preparation of mushroom gave it a more south east asian touch. It went along really well forming a beautiful alliance.

On main course we tried the homemade wheat noodles which were slightly soaked and very thin in structure. It contained sauces and a bunch of ingredients making it good enough to consume by it's own. Anyways for accompaniment tasted the green curry potatoes which were both soft and crispy and touched upon with green curry sauce more in the nature of Thai cuisine.

We ended our course with the Burmese Falooda. It was pretty decent but I expected to be more filling and topped with a bunch of more ingredients. It nevertheless was good enough with the sweetened essence being largely prevalent.

Overall, the food can be termed to be a positive. If you're a meat eater chances are that you'll love to hog down this place. Another huge plus point is the rates. They are very aptly priced for the size, portions and spread which tilts it big time in it's favour. The service was done up amicably. A number of people were constantly trickling down and they were able to manage the situation rather well.

Va Pho is just in it's nascent stages but still witnessing thronging crowds which is a very good sign. They also have select offerings for lunch. Initial impressions tell me that they have embarked on a really stellar opening. Here's hoping they keep up the quality and raise the bar with time moving forward. Wishing the team of Va Pho all the very best and I hope to revisit very soon.