Madras Kitchen Company (MKC) - Touch of fusion yet artisanal!

MKC or Madras Kitchen Company is a newly opened restaurant as part of the sprawling Westin property in Velachery. The first impression gives you an instant thumbs up with the decor being striking and the ambiance aesthetic and appealing.

It gives a very laidback as well as an insouciant atmosphere with it's signature wood work and artisanal surroundings. The menu has been created in a very crafty manner coming in the form of a large newspaper with lots of snippets thrown in not only about the food but also the city of Chennai in general. The cuisine is largely regional with a twist as there is a lot of fusion element interspersed to it. A little bit of Asian too has been added to the fray.

We were here for lunch on a lazy weekday afternoon and looking forward to what the place has to offer. The first item itself blew us away which was an amalgamation of Amul cheese and a guntur chilli spread on a bed of bread. The fill over not only looked magnificent but also tasted superlative. Next up we tried the Asian Bao's. This was an open bao stuffed to the brim consisting of juicy pieces of tofu, capsules of edamame green gram and laced with drooly layers of mayo. This was messy, junky, dunky and damn tasty. After this we tried their innovative ghee tossed podi Idly which came with a delightful kurma and a chilli coconut relish. This was served in the school tiffin style and had an old world charm about it. From the starter section, we also tried the curd rice which came with interesting concoctions which we had towards the end of our meal.

The starter section was totally top notch and no two ways about it. In the main course, we had the bombay sampler of ragda, misal and bhaji with butter pao. Though bhaji is a popular dish down south, we very rarely get to taste ragda or misal and this was a well done up 3 in 1 combo. Apart from this we also had a crack at the aloo chole with kulche. This was decent but however the chole felt a little less boiled and the taste did not come out very apparently.

We polished our meal with two gorgeous desserts. The 54℅ chocolate textures with berries had a really rich and smooth taste to it. The Madras Kitchen Sundae with a cheese cake slitted in was really yummy and mellow.

The service was friendly and the staff were very welcoming in not only answering our queries but also suggesting us on how to go about with our choices. If you're looking for regional cuisine with a sleek fusion element interlaced to it, you should certainly check out Madras Kitchen Company.

Sunset Grill - A surreal sky lit roof top dining encounter!

There is no better dining setup than a rooftop terrace with shrubs of palm trees placed evenly along with dim lit lights suffusing the oh so pleasant feel and to boot the zephyr from outside gently caressing the mind and soul. The sunset grills absolutely nails it on the ambiance front and this is one place where you will truly enjoy your dinner sojourn with peace and quietude surrounding the atmosphere. The mild music adds to the feel good factor and the passage passing across the swimming pool to get to the restaurant space of Sunset Grills makes it look all so exquisite.

Another rarity here is this is one restaurant in a star enclave specialising exclusively in middle eastern and Arabic based cuisine which places it in a different league from the rest. We were here as part of the celebrations of 'Mezze and Grill' festival where a sample few items from the Ala carte menu have been specially handpicked and re-designed as a set piece menu. The night lit ambient is just perfect to gorge barbeques and with drinks added to the fray, this becomes a superlative wine&dine option.

First up was the mezze side of things. We got inklings of fried pita bread with Maskatare - a yoghurt based dip and pickled vegetables. This was just an initial feeler as what arrived next included a platter of breads consisting of Zhatar, Iranian and soft pita breads and for able company were a delightful bunch of dips in the form of hummus, baba ganoush and burani spinach. I make no bones in saying that the hummus was one of the best I've ever had and it just made you thwack your bread with gregarious coating of it and it was quite a wonderful feeling slathering the dip jocularly over the breads. The Baba ganoush had a slight sweet tinge to it and the spinach one having hung curd was pleasantly good too but have to say it was the Hummus which stole the show on this front. We also got some very nice well made soft focaccia bread with olives inscribed on them.

And in the grill section was the main course comprising of veggie skewers and cottage cheese subzi kabab along with flavoured saffron rice and a pomegranate based veg dish. I found the skewers to be pretty routine stuff and they didn't really appease. The panneer pieces though were super succulent and melt in the mouth kinds. The rice though flavoured lacked the zing and the gravy didn't do much to help. There was romesco sauce spread out in the plate which was absolute wow stuff. We ordered a separate plate of cottage cheese and the repeat was even better than the first in terms of taste and presentation.

It would be a crime if I don't mention the intermediate and finishing stuff amidst the Mezze and Grills. The lentil soup was totally enticing with an esculent aroma of green vegetables and cumin. I was just bewitched by the soup. For drinks I was pretty content with my big glass of Hoegarrden which was quite a refresher in between consuming flavoured middle eastern cuisine. The AG47 wine from Argentina also played able foil. The little sip of the mock tails which I got to drink seemed pretty good as well. And in the dessert draw the Baklava and Omali both blew us away. The former is a specialty and they did great justice on it. The latter was an absolute revelation with the twang of sweetness prevailing long after the tongue being smacked with this delight. The service was really hospitable and it was a pleasure to enjoy a lovely dinner here. The rates don't come into equation as it was over an invite. It may seem a tad pricy but the experience will bowl you over.

On a holistic picture, Sunset Grills have pulled off this 'Mezze and Grill' festival with elan by showcasing their repertoire and playing to the gallery by bringing out a well suited set course menu going perfectly in sync with the wondrous ambiance.

Seasonal Tastes - All Day Dining!

Seasonal tastes is the all day dining restaurant at Westin in Velachery. Though they also have an ala carte spread, it's the buffet which finds much fervour. It is located in the ground floor comprising of an open space and unfurled over a large mast of area. The interiors are done up magnificently and gives that inherent feeling of dining at a hi-fi star restaurant. The lights are bright and the surrounding gives an enchanting vibe.

The options on food are gigantic encompassing a mast area of eclectic cuisines and live counters. There was an arena separately for cheese, soups, salads, pita/hummus, breads/mini pizza's apart from a widespread north indian, chinese and Italian options and additionally containing live counters making pizza/pasta and not to forget an array of desserts.

There is too much in store and you have to be extremely strategic in picking and choosing in order to do best justice. I had a shot at majority of the items and they all more or less scored the brownie points. The Indian curries were really good and the flavoured basil rice had a very nice aroma. The mix veggie pizza felt a little bland sans the extra toppings but the alfredo pasta was super creamy and nicely blended with a festooned mix of veggies floating along the white sauce surface. The desserts were a mixed bag. The number was a lot but felt they could have played the game better by being a touch extra diverse.

Overall, it's hard to pin point complaints on the food as they serve the intended purpose of a large scale buffet. It's a lovely place to have a high profile dine out and something your client will surely be pleased about.

The decor as well as the elevated glitter lighting give it a very posh and royal feel. The seating arrangement is well thought out packing the food and the tables in a very even paced manner not making it difficult for you to get up and go every time.

One factor however which sticks out as a sore thumb is on the pricing front. A dinner buffet sets you back by almost 2k and you don't have the option of liquor thrown in the mix. For paying such a high premium they should have at least factored in a drink or two but alas it was not the case. Yes, the ambiance and food are definitely good but you do expect such stuff from a classy upscale dining place. The rates make it feasible only for corporate sponsorship and relegating it to very special occasions.

The food is definitely not of the complaining kind but it would be good to have a few unique signature dishes instead of cramming it with loads and loads of options. The pricing should definitely come with a package of drinks to make it attractive. A few ameliorations could help Seasonal Tastes bridge the gap towards the positive even further.

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.

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.