Swirl - Indulging the Buffet Bite!

It was our third consecutive long drive road trip in as many weeks and this time we headed over to Welcome Hotel Kences which is a part of the ITC group. We sat in the lawn for a couple of drinks and were welcomed by the blow of the breeze coming right from the sea side located just across the side. It was a sight to behold and the sea breeze made it a soothing experience.

After our tryst near by the sea with drinks for company, we decided it was time to eat and headed over to their restaurant called Swirl. The last two weeks were greeted with Ala carte options which were not so resounding. This time we preferred to go the Buffet way hoping that they'll be laying out quite a lavish spread.
                                          
The setup of the ambiance was pretty nice from the outset. The outside environment greeted with a nice rich look of a small water area surrounded with plants aplenty. On the inside it appeared cozy and comfortable with plenty of seating space and the items of the buffet placed at a central space.

Normally Sunday buffets in places such as this tend to usually have a massive spread with a magnanimous serving of broadened cuisines. That however was sorely missing. The spread seemed pretty pedestrian. Things you normally associate such as a Live counter wasn't witnessed. Options of Italian, Mexican or Mediterranean were hardly available. Neither were there South Indian tiffin fare such as Dosa, Idli etc or the Indian chaat variety of pani puri, pav bhaji etc. We thought there would be something special served to the table but that wasn't the case. The kitchen area was used only for the Indian bread variety to order for and nothing else.

Though the spread was limited which was quite unexpected but however whatever that was available and tried had nothing really much to complain about. There were couple of starters in the form of a panneer 65 and corn fritters. The panneer chunks were flavorful with a dash of spices added in and the corn was crunchy. There was one pasta item with mushrooms along with a moussaka which was decent and so were the noodles. On the main course, the panneer gravy was signature and so were their Black Dal which added as able folly to the Roti and Naan consumed.

They had a drinks counter placed right at the entrance serving butter milk, mint nannari and rose litchi. Had a small shot at them all and each of them had brownie points going for them. The salad counter however was pretty plain. They had 4 varieties of ice cream in the form of vanilla, chocolate, butter scotch and mango. Filled my dessert plate with one of each and ended up finishing the meal on a high.

The service side was helpful and greeting. However they seemed a little lacked out on manpower as many a time the used plates were taken away only after we had reloaded the new ones and had to ask them many a time to clear it. The pricing at roughly about 2k bucks inclusive of taxes per person seemed on par with other buffets of similar properties.

On the whole, it was a reasonable experience. They should definitely stack up their buffet with plenty more options available. Well one could always argue as what's the point by loading up dishes all of which would be hard to be consumed by the customer. But the point is not just that as having an extensive spread gives way to more variety. The one's visiting such places are spread across all age groups and hence more options can make it more enticing and appeasing. Also gives way for a more laidback and sombre time where one could at his peril be spoonfed with options to pick and choose.

Surf Turf - Ambiance Plus Food Minus

This was our second back to back venture at a sea side restaurant across the side of ECR. After having experienced Bay6 just about a fortnight ago, we decided to try Surf Turf located at Kovalam. This is a restaurant elevated to a nice degree and beautifully overlooking the sea. It seems like an apt place to visit especially in this summer heat.

The ambiance is definitely a plus point going for this place. It gives a laidback feel and the breeze blowing across certainly adds a positive touch. The place is spacious with the center portion dealing with smirking up drinks and giving a buzzing atmosphere on the whole.

Beach side ambiance apart, the experience was pretty pedestrian on the food side. The vegetarian options were almost devoid and had absolutely nothing really noteworthy to order. There were just a couple of starters and every item took it's own sweet time to arrive at our table.

The Nachos were very plain and just run of the mill stuff. It was neither appetizing to look at nor really had anything interesting to hit the taste buds. The center portion was drizzled with melted cheese and chopped tomatoes. That was all there was to it and lacked the bite. Thankfully at least the nachos were crispy and not soggy avoiding it from being a complete whimper.

The cheesy fries also left a lot to be desired. It was again just plain fries with a tomato puree and layer of cheese sprayed over it. It didn't really go along well and it also made the fries appear drenched and not giving it the punch that it required. Certainly it could have been decorated much better and some spices and seasoning could have definitely helped.

The Cheese Garlic bread again was garden variety.  It seemed like a home made substitute of bread coated with cheese. It wasn't bad by any stretch but you surely expect better quality in a restaurant.

On the main course, tried the Malabar Parotta with the Paneer Butter Masala for company. There were just 2 side dishes available on the veg side and had no other option but to choose this. It was pretty decent overall in taste with just the only blip being the Panneer could have been a tad softer. 

Surf Turf is clearly a case of ambiance going all right but lacking on the foremost front which is food. One ultimately comes to a restaurant for having flavourful food and experiencing variety. This was sorely missing and they certainly need to up the ante by first enhancing the menu with surely a bit more vegetarian options and secondly working on the taste factor which goes without saying. As of it's current state, it purely looks like it's only the ambience which is keeping this place stay afloat.

C Salt - Coastal Cuisine by the sea shore!

         

C Salt is a fine dining restaurant predominantly serving South Indian cuisine and located as part of the sprawling Sheraton Grand resort. You could see patches of greenery all around with the main entrance being constructed under a thatched roof like setting. It gives a laidback atmosphere and the blowing of the breeze from the beach side from just across the corner gives it the much needed tranquil environment. Sunday drives in Chennai to the serene beaches and hogging along some glorious cuisine is surely a great getaway to spend the weekend and C Salt amply caters to that requirement.

The menu is well rounded bringing the curated best of South India from 4 coastal regions covering the belts of Malabar, Konkan, Coromandel and Andhra. These areas are known to dish out supreme stuff making primary use of coconut and the aroma can be inherently felt as you step in. It is largely a limited menu comprising of an interesting array of small plates, a few combo based meals and a few mains to go along with side dishes.

Even before we could set the ball rolling, we were served some crunchy tapioca chips to go along with delightful cilantro and lemon dips. We started our foray with the button cakes which were fluffed up pieces of idly generously topped with abundant pieces of podi masala topped with layers of chilies and curry leaves for that enhanced zing. It was absolutely delicious and dwells up as a superlative cocktail based appetizer. Next up from the starter section we had a droolworthy malai brocolli. These florets were drenched along with the rightful dose of cream to get the ammunition soaring and came along with pink onions and a dollop of soya sauce. The pieces were just about perfect both in texture and taste.

                                       

In the main course section, we chose to have a combo meal in the form of a rich creamy gravy comprising of cashew nuts, asparagus and potatoes simmered in a coconut cream avatar coming along with couple of chunks of Aki Roti. It had a wonderful effervescence with the dreamy gravy being suffused with a beautiful blend of coconut cream and going along perfectly well with the rice breads made famous in Karnataka. One minor blip in the gravy was the fact that mix of the ingredients making up the curry seemed a bit one sided. An abundance of cashews made up almost a whole of the mix relegating the potatoes and asparagus to play a distinct second fiddle. Just felt the combination of the three could have been a little more judicious thus avoiding the over powering of cashew nuts in the overall scheme of things. Apart from this we also tried a paratha infused with cheese to go along with a tangy egg gravy mingled with spices aplenty to get a signature taste. The parathas were nice though not dolled up with that much of cheese and also being a little too hard on the surface. The egg curry hit all the right spots on every angle with all the add-ons elevating its taste to another level. Only gripe that was felt was on the quantity which seemed a little less from the bowl being served. We skipped having desserts as there wasn't really more space to take in any further intake.

Overall it was a relaxing meal soaked on a smooth Sunday afternoon setting with the sound of waves providing for some great company to go along with the food that was largely wholesome on substance and flavours. The service was apt and we were helped with some wonderful choices to go with. Time taken for the food seemed a bit on the longer duration but it didn't matter much as we were anyway here to just kill time and enjoy the calmness of this sea side resort. Rates seem fair for the course and definitely in line with what is served at a 5 star property. On the whole, if you're looking for a well deserved yearning weekend afternoon in Chennai wanting some unbridled peace and food to relish, you don't need to look much beyond C Salt which is certain to ensure meeting expectations with aplomb.