Les Amis - Your truly creamy companion!

Les Amis ticked plenty of boxes in the affirmative and can be termed to be a pretty impressive place with it's assorted collection of desserts especially creamy gelatos as well as selective bakery produce. It gives such a vibrant atmosphere with it's delicately done up aesthetics and seeing the display of ice creams and all the machines churning up the mechanics of creating these creamy creations is quite a sight to behold.

They are built up over two storey's with the ground area stacked up with dessert delicacies along with cozy seating arrangements whereas the top floor has more seating space with comfortable laden cushions along with some of their coffees and savory delights holding forte. It even feels like a place ideal to bring your work around for a wee bit because the atmosphere ignites that feel as well.

We tried some of their creamy creations. The ice creams scoops we had were sicilian pistachio and a dino milo chocolate both of which were sinful and oozing with delight all over. An ice cream cone combo of raspberry sorbet and pink guava was just riveting to say the least. Cold icy taste of the sorbet went jocularly well with the milk based rich taste of guava. We even had a shot at the stroop gelato sandwich which looked appealing with the biscuit layers being stuffed with cotton candy ice cream. They also have these lip smacking popsicles in the form of radical flavors such as rose milk, semiya etc aptly titles condensed milk creamsicles.

The savory side also had loads of interesting stuff worth trying but had to give it a pass since we just consumed a heavy lunch before coming in here to satiate our creamy cravings. They also have host of other sweetened items such as cookies and the like along with a fine variety of shakes and coffees. The service is based on self service model.

Les Amis is translated as Friends in its French avatar and there certainly cannot be an acquaintance better than rich delicious desserts which this place definitely conjures with fine quality. Les Amis infuses all the right vibes and is definitely assured to capture your heart to it's fullest content.

Theobrama for the first time!

 Investing in mutual funds comes with the disclaimer "Please read the offer document carefully before investing". Similarly investing in the cakes and pastries at Theobrama requires careful consideration as it's immensely deceitful and just the looks of these jaw dropping delicacies can lure in totally to fall for them. Even if you're the mild sweet craver, this place can hoodwink you and make you fall in love with the delightful creations that they dish out.

I was here at DLF Cyber Hub and the signboard 'food of the gods" led me into this store only to be bowled over by all the colourful stuff stacked on the arrays. Theobrama is famous for their brownies and though I haven't tasted the same from this flagship, I have however had a shot at brownies of different chocolate variations in different places. The one which caught my attention was the red velvet brownie with swirls of red and white coloured rays spllashed on the rectangular piece which seemed very appealing. Hence I decided to go for this varied brownie as opposed to other luscious and exotic cakes.

This one totally lived up to it's billing and I thoroughly enjoyed slurping this up. It looked just so attractive and ignited that forthcoming look of coming to you soon. In effect it slowly lures you in and gives the sucker punch smack to the mouth with all it's vigour. I couldn't try anything else as there were too many options to try at this sprawling hub and I did want to do justice elsewhere as well. But must say it was hard to resist.

The seating space outside comprising of teal green chairs and tables feels really comfortable and laidback. No doubt a truly landmark place to involve in some indulgence.

Punjab Grill - Tantalising Tandoori!

Punjab Grill is a name to reckon with in the North Indian cuisine sector having it's footprint in most major cities of India. With the growing diaspora of up North eateries in Chennai, it was just a matter of time before the chain put it's foot forward into the city. The outlet here is located in the Phoenix Market City, Velachery having a separate spacious dining outlet all for itself.

Phoenix Mall has it's share of fine dining restaurant options and Punjab Grill surely is one of the crowning jewels if you're looking to indulge in a sumptuous North Indian fest. The place reeks of splendour and you can be assured of a rich, royal and regal experience. There is a certain grand feel about the place with the interiors glistening with bright lighting and the color palette done up pretty much with beaming orange and biege shades gives it a charming touch.

Punjabi cuisine is known to for it's creamy and sinful delicacies and Punjab Grill ensures the same in thumping style. We started our foray with the Kesar Pista Lassi and the 'Matta' which is a spiced up butter milk. Both were presented in a beautiful fashion being lined up in a holder with small glasses holding the traditional beverages. It was a perfect confluence with the kesar pista lassi having a sweet tinge to it and the Matta with herbs floating around and requisite masala giving it a salty twang. Going away from the traditional front, we had a twist in the form of a Paan Mocktail which was ravishing with heavy flavoring of Paan in an iced avatar. On the soupy side, we were served a Kumbh Pudina Shorba with a lovely essence of cardamom and Pudina with mushrooms as main ingredient.

The starters reigned supreme with the Veg Kurkure especially being the show stealer. Presented in an immaculate manner in a glass with a sweet chilli sauce at the bottom with the roll already dipped in, this one was a delight with cheese oozing out of the breaded portion and to boot variety of capsicums as condiments. The thorny crispy layer on the outside and the juicy cheesy texture on the inside proved a great combination complementing the taste buds. The Paneer Tikka Multani was another tandoor awaited with bated breath. They were buttery smooth in texture and were inviting to slice and dice the succulent piece of yellow chunk, dip them with sufficient green chutney and put them gently into your mouth. For vegetarians eating Punjabi food, getting the panneer right holds high importance and this one passed the test with flying colors. Another of the starters was the Dahi Kabab which was in the mode of a cutlet and had a creamy pasty mix inside it. It was pretty decent to taste but felt short of the former two starters.

On the main course, we had Indian breads in the form of Garlic Naan and Lacha Paratha which were well prepared. And to supplement them were the Panneer Lababdaar curry and the Punjabi Dal. The Panneer Lababdaar was extremely creamy and rich in taste although felt it could have been a wee bit on the spicier side. The Black Dal was breathtaking with the lentils simmering amidst an esculent aroma.

And to round it off was the assorted dessert platter consisting of Phirni, Chocolate Gulab Jamun and Litchi ki Tehri. The Phirni somehow didn't cut ice and felt a little off for my liking. The gulab jamun was pretty nice with chocolate squirting out of the big rotund dripping piece of Jamun. The Litchi ki Tehri was a Rabdi with juicy pieces of Litchi inset and was quite impressive. And in signature style, we finished a very satisfactory dinner with the Paan shot.

The service was warm and hospitable. They were ever ready to serve us to the best of their capacity and it felt really pleasing to dine here. As we were on an invite, it's hard to comment on the price point. But as a one liner would say it's par for the course for the culinary spread served.

On the whole, Punjab Grill really lived upto expectations and can definitely be recommended for an authentic true blue epicurean experience for the discerning Tandoori/Punjabi/North Indian cuisine loving cognoscente.