Spice Klub - When innovation makes a lapidary leap!

It was really hard to fault the food served at Spice Club. Innovation took a new leap and presentation reached a higher order. Molecular gastronomy was honoured in all it's splendour making it a breathtaking dine in experience. It was quite hard to fathom that so much of inventions were possible in good old well known vegetarian food.

On the drinks side, the mango on the rocks lorded the show with ice chilled mango served in a beaker and cooled to perfection. The kokum Margherita with chilli too was one of a kind and zipped up very well on presentation. The fruit lassi had so much of flavour and it was simply melt in the mouth leaving a lingering taste behind even after you'd gulped the spoonful. The guava mocktail gave the punch effect and most of the coolers had a divine taste to it with the gastronomy work being done to perfection.

 The appetisers side were loaded with surprises. The vada pav was the show stealer and it was a complete camouflage as it looked anything like a vada pav but instead the buns came with a yellow pasty gravy which looked way different but only on tasting it did we realise that it was the condensed mixtured form of the evergreen aloo wala vada which was supposed to be spread molten across the softish bun pieces and had. The edible chilli packets were another win ideal to get the zesty effect. The pav bhaji with a makhni wala gravy served in the form of a fondue was quite good as well. The pani puri's were more of the usual sans the tube sized bottles holding up the green water. The Dahi puri was excellent and the aloo tikki was master class with the moist foam slurped over the cutlet pieces providing such a jaw dropping taste with the bite of aroma biting at every level. The Naanza was another experiment in the form of a pizza bread topped with cheese and scrambled panneer which was really filling by being loaded with stuffing.

The main course was not left far behind. I especially took fondness to the chilli cheese naan as well as the sundried tomato and olive naan's. The panneer tikka masala was delectable and the aromatic lentils worked it's magic in full vigour in the Dal Makhni. The corn & mushroom gravy as well as the veg makhanwala proved to be of great support.

The desserts were again an area where they unleashed a trick or two showcasing their prowess in full spirit. The flower pot was a chocolate lovers delight with the add on of even spoons being carved with chocolate. The rasgulla cheese cake was a lovely conglomeration of western and Indian with the cake on the exterior being like any other but as you keep churning it was hidden rasgulla in the interior. The volcano was another showpiece chocolate bomb of a delicacy ideal to close out our meal.

The ambiance is well developed and they have high end descriptive wall arts giving it a lovely appeal. The service was spot on and well attended to despite the heavy duty crowd. The rates are a wee bit on the higher side. Agreed, lots of techniques are used and efforts made to whip up a feast of a gastronomical show but still going purely by the items at hand, it does feel expensive on most counts.

I believe Spice Club has made a mark in Mumbai and this is it's foray in the shores of Chennai. If you don't mind pinching your pockets for a marvelous food gastronomical fiesta, this is an outlet that you'd love to visit and taste vintage cuisine in an alternative mode but guaranteed to be in spectacular fashion.

Summer House Eatery - 80% continental and 20% everything else!

The Summer House Eatery is a well crafted cafetaria which has blossomed on the by lanes of Alwarpet in a really peaceful locality. The outlet is constructed out of a residential home and shares a co working space with a couple of other ventures. There is sufficient parking space available and the place oozes fanciness in terms of it's decor and on the quirk factor.

The space is well bifurcated and there is also a lawn passage outside seating arrangement. It infuses the perfect ambiance and this looks like the kind of getaway spot to head to for cozy laidback lunch offering. It induces the rightful insouciance and appeals on every angle with the way it's done up.

The food, from the monicker can be easily made out to be continental but to widen the radar, they have added along some fusion with an Indian touch as add on. So primarily can be summarised as 80% continental and the other 20% has a mix of Indian, Mexican, Thai et al.

The outlet as such is opening very soon but we were here for an invite to savour some of their benefactors. They are still on an experimental mode and as the days pass along, you can expect a lot of interesting stuff in store.

First up on the appetiser section were the Arancini balls. These were big in size, juicy on the exterior containing dumplings of risotto rice and veggies on the inside. It was presented quite well too over a spreading of a delightful chilli mayo dip. Next up were the Avocado and corn crostini bruschetta. The bread was super soft and slashed along was an interesting slurpy dip called the mexican goddess which is made up predominantly with avacado and other dressings. Sauteed corn was garnished and this one was a winner. And then arrived the Truffle fries. This was a bit of a damp squib as the flavour of truffles didn't come across at all. Felt like eating normal crispy French fries with powdered cheese coated along. The cauliflower taco with thecha and sour cream was passable. They are still working on this one and it'll be served with a salad in the upcoming days.

On the main course section, we got a bite at their delightful savoury crepe options. Both the creamy mushroom as well as the caprese crepe with tomatoes, pesto and mozzarella were done up in sterling style with the taste of the ingredients coming out very well embedded on those loose egg beaten sheets. One area which totally ruled the roost were the pasta's. Virtually each one of them were so enjoyable to consume. If you're a pasta aficionado, the Summer House is like the ideal outlet to gorge sumptuous drool worthy pasta's to your utter delight. They have some really rare creations such as spaghetti with thai chilli jam and shitake mushrooms. This one was a bit of fusion but worked really well with the essence coming out wonderfully. The cacio e pepe spaghetti was another starlet with the garnishing of pepper and parmesan doing the magic. Their aglio e olio was easily one of the best I've ever had. The roasted garlic flavour was beautifully well played. Other than the set of pasta's, we also had a coastal based vegetable in goan coconut curry with steamed rice. This was strictly decent and nothing of the kind to get excited about.

On the dessert section, we tried a number of their sweetened crepes. Going along in line with the savoury based one's, these also passed the test with flying colours. It was just about rightly presented with the spreading of the assortments underneath the layering coming out top on taste. The nutella as well as the caramel one was much sought after. We also had a shot at a few shakes viz peanut butter, salted caramel etc. These were quite normal and lacked a bit of thickness. This is just a selective stock house of desserts and many more will be coming up really soon.

On the whole, it was a lovely lazy sunday lunch with delicious victuals for company to go along with a classy environmental sunlight surrounding. The prices have not yet been finalised and hence will refrain from commenting on that front. On a holistic picture, The Summer House Eatery is a fantastic add-on to Chennai's bustling food circle. And from initial feelers and the way things are already set up, this eatery should surely be enjoying a rosy ride from it's customer base. Wishing the team of 'The Summer House Eatery' all the very best.