Test Cricket's amazing surprises!

The number of times a team has lost by an innings after securing 400 or more in the first innings in 140 years of test cricket from 1877 to 2016 before Dec'16 - Just 2 times

The number of times it has happened only in Dec'16 - Thrice with England being victim twice at Mumbai and Chennai and now Pakistan at Melbourne.

This is the reason I absolutely adore test cricket. It continues to evolve and you always have surprise elements and it all happens within the realms of the tried and tested tradition. This game and format never really ceases to amaze.

ஏழிசையாய் - A Kaleidoscope in Kambhoji!

I have always been fascinated and gone on a trance listening to this composition. The way the symphony reaches a crescendo from 2:00 onwards leading to Abhishek Raghuram rendering ஏழிசையாய் at 2:18 is like opening the doors to the celestial abode of heaven. Never heard such a beautiful transition and the way it seamlessly moves from western classical to Indian classical is simply sublime.

If you observe, the symphonic piece is in the 4 beat cycle (4/4) and switches unobtrusively to the 3 note thalam (6/8) within the flash of an eyelid and it all happens serenely without diluting the essence one blotch. The percussion bits add to the delight and the way Abhishek goes back and forth in Kambhoji is so joyous. The subtle phrases adds colour throughout establishing the beauty of the raga. The manner in which the song connects to the Pallavi of Aezhisayai, the wondrous chiaroscuro invoking the fusion and the clarity of thought in doing all this leaves you spellbound. And that signature ending traversing backward across the octave and then going frontal to give the finishing flurry is like the icing on the cake.

There are masters in Western classical music and pioneers in Indian classical music but simply no one virtually blends the two so effortlessly with nonchalant ease bringing out the virtuosity of dimensions like Ilaiyaraaja. Truly an International treasure belonging to India. 

Flower Drum - Vegetarian Chinese at its real best!

After enticing crowds down the years with it's vegetarian chinese cuisine in Egmore, Flower Drum opens shop now in Adyar. It is located in the Mahatma Gandhi main road and is perched in the same complex which houses ICICI bank.

There aren't any restaurant's serving a full on vegetarian chinese cuisine anywhere in the city. It's a given in most places to have Indian chinese stuff thrown in the mix but Flower Drum is perhaps the only one purely serving deep dish vegetarian chinese and also Thai food.

Having never tried their Egmore outlet, this was my first tryst with Flower Drum and I must say I was quiet impressed. Most of the bases were covered ensuring we had a lovely fine dining evening.

The menu is pretty elaborate and they have 4 sheets containing a Dimsum, drinks, kulfi and the main menu comprising of the food. Options are plenty and most of the items we had on the day seemed faultless.

The Dimsums were steamed well and went along nicely with the 2 types of sauces. And it was enjoyable having the broccoli and the cottage cheese version too along with the usual tried and tested veg based one. On the mocktail side, we tried a couple and won't really claim it to be their forte but nevertheless a good foil to have along with your food. The Pistachio broccoli soup in a Thai coconut avatar was pretty good but the spicy corn soup lacked a bit of the bite and seemed to be a tad too spicy. All the starters be it the corn, potatoes, mushroom, cauliflower and the panneer had the ammunition going for them with the flavouring in chinese style doing them a whole lot of good.

For main course we tried the plain rice with the yellow thai curry. We went on the offside here with the yellow curry being a little off on taste. We expected it to be a milder version of the green flavoured one but somehow it didn't sit well with us. However parity was restored on the Chinese front with the decorative Changai Noodles. These were flat and curried along with an abundance of veggies. More of the chopsuey kind but the gravy on the noodles was much more than expected and it was a perfect dish to have stand alone without any extra side dishes.

On the dessert front, we were served the Drum fruits with ice cream. This was basically a bowl of fruits embellished with strawberry ice cream. This was nothing radical and taste was on expected lines. However what really took us by surprise was the Ice Katchang. This was the show stealer of the evening. Dressed up in a kaleidoscope of colors this ice based ice cream with the essence of condensed milk had a riveting taste to it. It was almost as if the best was reserved for the last. Very unique in presentation and taste and needless to say I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Overall, it was a very satisfactory meal. The ambiance gave a nice feel. The round emclosed sofa's went well in the surrounding and dim lights are always fancy and that was the case here too. The music playing though seemed a little out of place for the setting. The service was fair. It seemed a little slow at times but nothing really worth complaining about. Flower Drum has put a step in Adyar and it looks like the footprints are going to be imprinted firmly in the days to come. The place is most ideal for family dining and lovers of Chinese food.

5 years of Andrum Indrum Endrum - Ilaiyaraaja Live in Concert

5 years ago on this very day Wednesday 28th Dec 2011, a musical tsunami swept us all away and it was such a privilege to soak in the droplets of the rain of sound. Each one of us who were present at Nehru Indoor Stadium experienced an evening to remember for a lifetime.

We were all swaying and dancing internally to the tunes being performed by the magician along with his sterling orchestra and troop of singers. That enakku ariyama mesmerising feel was just too much to take with the music captivating the siege of people assembled to witness this spectacle.

The introduction of Raaja entering in singing Janani Janani, the acoustic brilliance and the 3 hand tap thigh beat of Paruvame, violin virtuosity unleashed in Sundari Kannal, the legend Balamurali Krishna at 80+ enthralling the stage with the Reeti Gowlai based Chinna Kannan Azhaikiraan, the full octane energy blast of Madai Thirandhu to just name a few memorable moments. We didn't even mind KJ Yesudas missing the Charanam in order to hear the mind boggling repeat interlude of Poove Sempoove (napaasai max) and that most cherished moment of witnessing the 3 legends born in the 1940's IR, SPB, KJY sharing the stage together to perform Kattu Kuyilu from Thalapathi was epic goosebumps. It was one astonishing musical concert and when SP Balasubramanyam ended the show symbolically with Ilamai Idho Idho at 12 in the night, that was when it hit us that we were privy to one of the finest musical event's performed in Chennai.

I have attended plenty of concerts before and after but nothing even falls within a patch of 'Endrendrum Raaja'. The way the music unfurled on that day was marvellous and it was truly a blessing being there. It was almost 5 hours of musical hysteria and most of the audience were in sheer disbelief to know what hit them.

Raaja's music will always be a constant in life but being there experiencing live unadulterated pristine music right from the soul of the heart is an all together different experience. Kudos to the team for pulling off this great musical heist. You just didn't want this soiree to ever end. A redux of 5 years since the day the musical avalanche blew us all away. 

Pakwan - Articulately rich and royal veg fine dining experience!

Pakwan, since it's inception has been garnering rave reviews about it's food and that was enough reason to rouse the curiosity button of my taste buds. So when I heard about an invite coming my way, there was palpable excitement to grab this opportunity with both hands.

Pakwan is shrouded in T Nagar in the quiet lane of Kuppuswamy street which is off Bazullah road. You need to be a little cognizant with regard to the directions. Once you enter you are greeted with a royal ambiance encapsulating the surroundings. We were given the special room which was all lit up and beautifully decorated. It had the aura of a mughal empire and the vintage palace charm certainly seemed regal in it's appearance.

The food in simple parlance can be described as spectacular. We were literally fed a largesse of variegated items and virtually every one of the dishes made our mouths glee with ghee. Just the aroma of colors and flavours will have you hooked in and once you start laying your bites it becomes a ravenous feast by itself.

We began with a melange of mocktails which came in all iridescent colours. They had all sorts of assorted mix and match of flavours and among them the orange chaska which is an orange drink with a tinge of chilli ignited the tongue in glorious fashion. The pink hot lips was a refreshing drink and the milk based shakes also set the tone tingling the excitement. The kaleidoscopic swirl of drinks set us up for more wondrous stuff to follow.

Next up was the soup side of things. The tom yum soup was good and so was the creamy fungi broth. But what really opened the floodgates was the delightful Dal Palak shorba and the Badami shorba. I simply couldn't have enough of these 2 soups. They just had a riveting essence in them making it quite addictive. Never has a soup gotten me craving so much ever before.

Once the liquid layer of the radar got amicably done with, it was time to hit the solid state of affairs and first up were the starters. The one thing which got us all aroused were the Panneer Dum Anari. They were soft rolled up golden yellow pieces of panneer with a stuffing inside which just melted jocundly in the mouth. The chilli tikki were of the cutlet types and went well with the green chutney. The french fried type sesame potatoes with a twang of sweet chilli sauce was another winner. And for the Italian twist we had a Fungi balls with a lovely chilli mayo dip and a baguette covered in abundance with cheese and brocolli. As special request we also got served their loosened spring roll kind cheese kurkure which was remarkable with cheese oozing from those brownish tubes.

There were further condiments in the form of a palak kurkure chaat which had crispy spinach pieces garnished with curd, namkeen and green chutney and 2 fares of salads viz mexican corn and insalata caesar salad. The salads didn't appease much. They were just as how they should be but being taken on a journey ride of rich and sumptuous delicacies, the salads seemed a bit subaltern in relation to the stuff unfolding adjacent.

The main course was another breath taking feature. We had a bunch of Indian bread with jhalandri mushroom, panneer multani masala and Dal Pakhwan for company. The side dishes were marvellous especially with just the look of the pannner evincing a smirk of excitement and the black dal simmered in an buttery aromatic gravy was dal-icious. Also had a little shot at their biryani creations which seemed flavorful and rich in taste. On the Italian front, we got a Pakwan delight pizza which was scrumptious and dancing along with a bountiful blush of cheese. And also we got the baked macaroni with brocolli which again was baked to perfection containing inset pieces of brocolli and olives not to forget a gregarious coating of that melt in the mouth cheese.

We rounded off proceedings with a motley of desserts comprising of the Indian Malpua and Lichi rabdi which were so creamy and totally slurp material. And on the western side were delivered strawberry panacotta and a glass of Banofee. These felt a little short compared to the scintillating taste of the sweets from the North of India. And for ice cream we were treated to a ravishing cold scoop of pan ice cream signalling the end of one of the most sterling meals I've had in a really long time.

The service was immaculate. It was probably the most organised dinners I've ever been to. Everything was conceptualised in advance from the menu for the day with the seating arrangements to the number plates. The food was ready well on time and the meticulous planning bowled us over. Food apart, we really felt the hospitable white glove treatment in all it's splendour.

The rates are not being considered as this was over an invite. But let me tell you that for the offering in store, Pakwan will give you ample satisfaction. They are also soon to launch specially designed buffets which will be a great addition especially for the corporates.

There are few restaurant's serving vegetarian only cuisine that can talk the talk and walk the walk when it comes to the spread and taste of food on display and Pakwan certainly is one in this esteemed category. For me personally, Pakwan can be considered the torch bearer if you're looking for an articulately rich and royal veg fine dining experience.

Remembering JJ!

There are some personalities who travel parallel along your life in an unobtrusive way but you can never really take away your presence from them. JJ was synonymous in my life in some form or the other and she has always remained an integral part in the news from as far as I can remember. There was an indomitable spirit about her which was reassuring and she infused that pride in you that you have a leader who is highly intelligent, brave and waxed eloquent in her speech.

Her life is a learning lesson for the number of challenges she faced till her very last breath. I see people everyday bloating about paltry achievements, here was a woman who braved a male dominated society and knew how to take the bull by the scruff of the horn with no fear whatsoever. The rich and the powerful trembled with fear of this lady who made it to the top of the perch all by her very own from literally scratch.

Hers was a checkered career with plenty of ups and downs and she was designated by God to be a truly 'special' one. You may have loved or hated her but it was simply impossible to ignore her. She will forever be remembered in the annals of Indian history but it's just unimaginable to think she is not going to be amidst us anymore.

There was, is and will be only one Jayalalitha. The only way she can be replaced is by taking a re-birth. All sorts of eulogies will be enshrined about her but it doesn't take out the fact that she will forever be missed. A cultural icon and a legend, we can be pleased for living in Tamil Nadu during the life and times of this lioness Amma Jayaram Jayalalitha.

Abyssinian - The Ethiopian Culinary Adventure!

The restaurant market in Chennai has evolved tremendously in the last couple of quinquennials. When once anything beyond South Indian cuisine was considered a luxury, it has spread it's arms to cuisines across India and extended it's range globally to a diverse portfolio of cuisines from Pan Asian, Italian, Mexican, American, Russian and a host more. The oeuvre has widened further with the introduction of Ethiopian food from the African continent. This is like really a landmark step in opening of boundaries and a shot in the arm for the food exploring lovers of the city always on the prowl looking for something radical and off the cuff.

Abyssinian is a part of a troika of restaurant's in Venus Colony down the Poes Garden alley sharing it's footing space with brothers in arms Meena Tai (Maharashtrian cuisine) and Batlivala & Khanaboy (Parsi cuisine). It's located in a small room on the upside with a seating arrangement of around 20 pax. The place is intriguing in it's surroundings with capsules of Ethiopia captured via it's interiors. Most of the stuff have been directly imported from the land of Africa to ensure that the essence of Ethiopia is encapsulated. You have portraits of traditional Ethiopian hermits depicting the wide ranging cultures, armoury and weaponry used in wars, wide ranging Christian cross symbols showcasing the predominant religion, big sized traditional instruments, story boards highlighting folklore telling stories of King Solomon, Queen Sheba, origin of coffee and the like. The lamps are ingrained with drawings of it's tribes and you even have a board consisting of the script of the Ethiopian language 'Amharic'. If you subtly notice even the mild music playing along in the background are the rustic folk tunes from the Ethiopian diaspora.

Ethiopia emphasises on communal harmony and eating together. Along those lines is how the concept of Abyssinian works too. People congregate in large sets coming to eat from a single plate. This characterises the bond of friendship and loyalty and this whole coming together as one is termed as 'Gursha'. The entire plate is spread over with a large flat pancake bread called 'Injera'. Rolled up pieces of injera are kept on the edges of the plate and on the middle are stacked right royally with plenty of food items to be eaten along with the pieces of the Injera. For the layman, the Injera is like an intermittent version of a dosa cum appam. It resembles a Neer Dosa mildly in texture and softness. And the ideology of the food is based on the platter fare where a series of different curries are laid out for you to pick and choose with your Injera and eat along with your respective folks. A platter is usually for 4 people and can extend based on the size but the key takeaway is that this is a one of a kind bonding and eating experience which is really interesting. Another feature worth noting is that Ethiopians do not use utensils and all the eating work is placed exclusively for the hands to do it's job.

As we were a bunch of 4 veg denizens, our large plate was festooned with a beguiling potpourri of veg curries comprising of different spices and flavours. There was the 'Dinch Wot' which is a curried potato enhanced with berbere and spices, 'Yedinich Alicha' - a stew of potatoes and carrots. (This incidentally resembles the similar curry I have with my curd rice), 'Yatakilt Wot' - a curried vegetable stew of cauliflower, carrot, potatoes, cabbages and the like, 'Yeduba Wot' - pumpkin curried and simmered with spices, 'Indubay Tibs' - Sauted mushroom with essential ingredients, 'Fir Fir' - pieces of injera crushed and tossed up with spices (you can relate this to your kothu paratha), 'Shiro' - powdered chickpeas stew flavored with spices (somewhat akin to paruppa mixed with rice in local households). We also got the traditional version of a slightly spicier Dal served along. It was an absolute delight to consume the pieces of injera with the galactic spread of curries. The unique feature about it was that each of the curries were different in their own way with aromatic spices and flavours. The best of the lot was the curried potato which was simply sensational and so was the fiery lentils which seemed pretty addictive as a combination with the softish Injera. And additional condiments were laid out in the form of 'Ayib' - a mild cottage cheese to top along in order to reduce the spice content a notch and the 'Mitmita' which essentially is the spicier version of the cottage cheese consisting of birds eye chilli peppers, cardamon seeds, other spices and salt. A dollop of this is to enhance the spice quotient. Also in the fray was the 'Awaze', a raunchy spiced olive oil and berbere dip for that little extra for you to customise your food.

The main course apart, we did begin proceedings with 'Thej' which is the official drink of this land. It consists of honey, sugar and water and is fermented in closed circles to remove the bacterial element. It tasted very similar to wine sans the kick element and were served in a tube kind of glass to ensure the flavors dissipate at the bottom. In the soup section, we got to slurp the 'Adengare Shorba' which is a light soup comprising of kidney beans along with onion and tomato. The presence of kidney beans was stimulating and it felt like a really home made boiled soup. The starters foray had Mandasi with Abe. The Mandasi were in the nature of your usual bhajji but the twist was it had Ajwain and heavy hitting garlic flavour. The Abe is a dip made with coriander and green chilli. The two of em tangoed beautifully and went jocularly well with each other. In the dessert draw, we were served 'Kita' a flat bread infused with honey, a 'Nech Azmud cake' - a sweetened essence cake but which lacked the sweetness and didn't appease much and the 'Sweet Sambussa' which were spring rolls inset with sweetened carrots, dates, nuts and honey. The Sambussa was luscious and has the necessary ammunition to give your sweet tooth a delightful workout.

We ended our sojourn with the highly rated Ethiopian coffee. This was truly a mind blowing experience. You are supposed to have this black coffee with butter and a pinch of salt and sugar and for accompaniment you have popcorn to boot. This decoction was certainly invigorating and I've never tasted a coffee anything like this before and it truly stole the show. It was all class and finesse and the most perfect way to signal the end of a traditional wholesome Ethiopian veg meal.

The decor feels a little uncomfortable and the seating is low but heck you want to ignore that as they have accustomed it as per custom. Feels a little odd when compared to the usual fine dining places but infusing the culture of Ethiopians usually sitting in low kind of stools makes it apt and you really wouldn't mind it. The service was exemplary with all questions put forth being answered in a detailed manner. It is a good sign to see the staff being well aware about the place and even with the timing of the dishes they were spot on bringing the stuff in regular interval with no delays whatsoever. The price point appears seemingly high but their signature Messob's (sharing plates) are for 4 people and considering that seems par for the course. Even otherwise shelling out a little extra buck for this Ethiopian escapade is certainly worth it.

The erstwhile Ethiopia was formerly called Abyssinia and that's how the restaurant gets it's name. Also there is an interesting connection between Ethiopia and India as the 2 countries used to trade in spices centuries ago and spices form a major feature of the cuisines of both these countries. I am a complete abecedarian when it comes to do with anything relating to the history of Ethiopia but visiting Abyssinian was quite an educative and enlightening event as I got to know many interesting facts not only about the cuisine but also about the history in general.

In essence, it was truly a remarkable experience not only getting to consume Ethiopian food but also taking cue of it's culture and tradition and chalking out a similar experience in a virtual hinterland like Chennai which has no tracings whatsoever to do with Ethiopia and it's environment. It was such a unique and one of a kind episode which I'll remember fondly. The experience in toto was truly self affirming and rewarding. Abyssinian brings to itself a distinctive dimension and it's a restaurant I strongly recommend all passionate food lovers to explore.

5 match test series returns to India!

Long grinding Test cricket battles tend to be a strength of endurance and durability. Seldom have India hosted a series involving 5 test matches and the last time it was held dates way back to 30 years ago in Mar 1987 when the hosts contested Pakistan in a gruelling 5 match tussle which also incidentally played out to be Sunil Gavaskar's farewell series and which India lost unfortunately.

The series was famous for witnessing Sunny being the first batsman to cross the coveted 5 figure mark of 10,000 runs and the 96 in his final innings on a minefield at 'The Chinnaswamy stadium' in Bangalore is well etched in cricketing folklore.

It's quite surprising and remarkable to note that Sachin Tendulkar went through an entire international career spanning close to a quarter century having not played a single 5 test match series in his home country.
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‌India are finally muscling up for a long drawn 5 test match encounter with England and 'The Chepauk' in Chennai gets to create it's own slice of history by being the privileged venue to convene the 5th home rubber in a series after virtually 3 decades

♪ ♫ ♬ 30 musical years of புன்னகை மன்னன் ♪ ♫ ♬

Today marks 30 years since the release of Punnagai Mannan (1st Nov 1986). As a movie, it didn't really set the box office on fire but the soundtrack of this film is easily one of the finest to have graced the annals of Tamizh Cinema. After showcasing his carnatic prowess in KB's earlier Sindhu Bhairavi, this was a chance for IR to portray his skills in a diverse multitude of genres and the result produced was nothing short of mind boggling.

♫ Enna Satham Indha Neram : The quintessential evergreen all time ultimate melody. Lyrics accentuate the tune further and with the Sindhu Bhairavi finesse and SPB's sonorous vocals, does one have to even say anything further?

♫ Yedhedho Ennam : A honey dripping composition suffused with an abundance of nectar sung resplendently by Isai Kuyil Chitra. The touching of alternative alien notes in the charanam's gives it so much of soul and the way it branches to the Pallavi is sheer magnificence.

♫ Vaan Megam : Just a couple of months ago in the same year 1986, was composed one of the best ever rain songs in the form of 'Oh oh Megam Vandhadhu' from 'Mouna Ragam' also starring Revathi. IR went a notch higher with this awe inspiring number sprinkling bass in profusion to give the perfect rain effect. It's pure ecstasy listening to this and by default brings your childish instincts to the forefront.

♫ Mamavukku Kudumma : One of the peppiest numbers ever. Get your dancing shoes and do the pirouette to this tribute song to Charlie Chaplin.

♫ Kavidhai Kelungal : Just absorb the reticular mind zapping this song unfurls at you. A motley of ragams, Graha bedhams (scale changes) and all sorts of mind blowing tapestries happen in this one not to undermine Vani Jayaram's proficiency in transcending vocals across octaves.

♫ Singalatha Chinna Kuyile : A foot tapping romantic melody which undergoes tremendous transitions. The seeping flute bit in the interlude is delightful and the way the song slows itself down in the charanam gives it a completely different complexion from where the original began with the jingling Jingala Jinga in full flow.

♫ Kaalakaalamaaga Vaazhum : Don't the violins just communicate everything here? Violin virtuoso in the spotlight highlighting it's veritable verve and valour.

♫ 1234 Now : A good old full on English composition with Boogie elements. Hip-hop and groove your way to glory!.

♫ Punnagai Mannan Theme song : This paved the way to open the door for 'theme music' in Indian cinema. The advent of computer music and an all time favourite ringtone. 30 years have passed and seldom has a better instrumental piece been composed.

Each of the compositions are like 'Navaratnas' etched with radiance and steeped in brilliance. It's hard to find one album rivaling this where virtually every composition is studded with 24 carat gold. It's a pity the pairing of Ilayaraaja & Vairamuthu never worked together again but what they created was their own little 'Mount Everest'.

Purely from a standalone soundtrack perspective, the sheer virtuosity and versatility of this musical ensemble called 'Punnagai Mannan' deserves every bit of extolling and can be enshrined as one of the torch bearer musical albums of Indian cinema.

Kitchen 187 - Cafe of Creperies!

 I really like the setting of Kitchen 187. It gives a very languid feel and the blend of the colonial style vintage ambient with the new age brushstroke touches certainly points towards the right path. There are cafe's all over town but only some get that perfect laidback atmosphere right and Kitchen 187 falls in the affirmative. It is converted from a quaint old house and is located next to Raintree hotel in St Mary's road and it shares space with The cupcake company.

Brick walls surround the outside enclosure and on the inside is a splash of painted red walls and black sofa seating and lazy wooden chairs. The chess board style flooring adds a rather nice touch going in sync with the surrounding environment and the miniatures hanging are minimalistic and mild music is played at the background.

We were here on an invite to try out some of their offerings. We got to try various sections from their menu with different naming conventions such as All day breakfast, Salads, Sandwiches&burgers, Health bowls, Indian bites, Italia Cucina, Tex Mex, French crepes, smoothies, milk shakes, desserts, ice creams and hot&cold beverages.

The shakes and beverages were up on the mark and I personally enjoyed my Nutella chocolate milkshake having a strong essence of stirred nutella which was lip-smacking. Even the other shakes viz the hot fudge, cookie monster, nutella banana et al all were pretty good in their own sweet way. The lemonade drink in a conical shaped bottle was also quite refreshing.

In the Indian bites space both the onion rings and the Gongura potato were top notch and were stand out performers. The onion rings were crunchy and laced with a dripping of cheese and garlic aioli. The Gongura potato rolls were quite a revelation with an Andhra style mix inside a kathi roll. The salad in the form of Quinoah Tabouleh comprising of parsley, tomato and cucumbers wasn't much to speak about and on the Tex Mex side, the Nachos felt a tad too try with the cheese strangled awkwardly and but for the kidney beans by the side wasn't really too appetising. However the Quesadillas inset with mexican veggies and cheese made up more than lost ground by being remarkable. The Mexican corn on cob were pretty much your usual beach corn kinds with a mexican dressing to boot. We tried the Burmese Broth from the health bowl set and it was quite interesting. I've never tried such a thing before and I fairly enjoyed slurping this up. The fiery Mexican burger was pretty mainstream and managed to serve the purpose.

Both the pizza's we tried competed for top stakes and especially the Tomato basil pizza was one of the finest I've tasted. They nailed the spicy gravy mix which was superlative. The mushroom and cheese version was nice too. For pasta, we preferred the cream and mushroom spaghetti and though the dish was well delivered, that extra zing factor was slightly missing. The crepe lasagne was a master class and again something unique and divergent. And so was the egg in a hole under the all day breakfast category which was an interesting banter between bread, eggs and cheese. The vanilla cinnamon french toast went jocularly well with the maple syrup and the sweetened essence was tapped wonderfully.

The desserts too went in line with the high standards set by following it's predecessors. The nutella crepe with bananas is like your go to dish to satisfy your sweet cravings. Known for their crepes, it must be said they did a great job of it both on the savoury as well as on the sweetened avatars. The ice cream sandwich though hard to crack was regal and rich in taste.

The service was in adherence throughout and we never really had a long waiting time in between the items. Also they were very helpful with all our requests. Pricing is not applicable as it over an on the house. A glance at the rates would indicate they are a little on the higher side but considering the fest on offer seems a fair bet.

To adumbrate the experience at Kitchen 187, the positives far outweigh the negatives. You cannot ask for more from a place having the ideal cafe like setup with some lovely food on offer. If your quest is towards comfort and good food, Kitchen 187 will ensure to have that satisfied for you.

Cappuccino @ Crowne Plaza - Coffee never goes out of favour!

'Cappucino', the all day dining restaurant at the 'Crowne Plaza' is up and about with it's newly launched menu titled 'Unconventionally Conventional'. It's basically a twist to their existing menu along with adding selective special dishes from across the globe. Some of the stuff fall under the radar of 21 dishes to try during your lifetime. It's pretty exotic and curated to bring the best of the Western world right in front of you.

We were here on an invite to sample some of the items from the new menu. We began our journey with an immensely refreshing litchi cooler. The tall glass had a lovely frothy layer and a gulp of that sweet drink was energising. Then our tryst with food began with the super food salad in the mode of a waldorf based one with plenty of apples, berry tomatoes, strawberries, cabbage, lettuce and roasted flax seeds. It was dressed up with honey and mustard which had a subtle essence to it. The tanginess and flavour of apple diluted the spread but the taste of the salad made it's presence felt. Then we moved on to the Asian summer rolls comprising of a unique mix of crisp vegetables, ragi, vermicelli, sprouts and being covered in thin rice sheets. This seemed pretty opaque with a glassy layer and for company was the sweet chilli sauce. It felt a tad different from the regular spring rolls and lacked the usual crispiness but had a hint of sweetness to it. It's hard to classify if this will be lapped up and I personally found it pretty nice but not extraordinary by any means. Then came one of the show stealers of the day in the form of the Pesto and Garlic toast with a cup full of cheese fondue as condiment. This three cheese fondue was totally drool worthy and possessed the ammunition to melt waftly in the mouth. The breads were superlative and it was a delight squishing those crusts in that melting layer of fondue and crunching it over. Just as we were relishing our breads dipped with fondue, came the roasted garlic tomato soup which was well delivered having a lovely smoky aroma to it.

One of the highlights in the main course section was the gargantuan one metre pizza being made in a length of over 3 feet and comprising of 5 variegated toppings of both veg and non veg. It was massive in size and a major star attraction on the night. And further on main course, we tried the Orcheeti Al dente pasta. These are pocket sized pasta sheets with a saucy layer inside those conch shells and the interesting thing about them is that the sauce never remains on your plate when you eat these thumb pressed delicacies. We also had a crack at the eggplant zucchini which had a tantalising layer of cheese bottled up over a bunch of veggies with a strong odour of the egg plant.

Desserts section we literally had a ball and got to savour one after the other bombshell. The presentation was immaculate and especially the Hazelnut creme brulee and chocolate cheese cake were the silver linings and stood out from the rest of the pack. The blueberry muffin like cake was also fantabulous but the Tiramisu missed a little of the zing.

The ambiance is very coffee book style. It characterises a free open style ambiant giving it a very laid back and breezy feel. The decor is cozy and comfortable and overall it's designed in a very inviting manner. The open kitchen also adds to the mix. The service tended to be a little slow but it was because they wanted to take extra care of the proceedings and I must say we felt really hospitable dining at Cappuccino.

Taking the full ensemble into equation, Cappuccino works on a number of fronts and I can confidently say having had a fair share of the sample from their new menu that the outlook points towards the right direction. As a vegetarian, my choices were a wee bit limited but still I loved most of what I had. For the meat lovers this menu is gregarious and an absolute largesse with exquisite stuff such as Shepherd's pie, Cichetti and many more as part of the deal.

Cappuccino is a nice little restaurant to dine and can be categorised as an ideal place to have a relaxed and whole hearted meal over some easy confabulation.

Godka - Class and Finesse!

Godka impresses immensely with its ambiance and that's one of the sterling factors giving it a major head start. The interiors are intricately weaved and the vibe suggested a beautiful subtle confluence between a vintage olden style diaspora and a relatively modern quirky avatar. I found the whole place reeking of splendor and the artisan touch was pretty prevalent with the surroundings being quite artistic. Combination of music, movies and sports as themes was another well played part giving it a theatrical influence. The portraits of superstars from respective fields along with few fancy motivational quotes and places of importance definitely helped in hefting up the atmosphere of the place. Also the inherent middle eastern touch was evident with the Arabian Jewel boxes, rich flowy curtains, chandeliers, miniatures and antiques. The dim lit lighting played to the gallery and the color palette comprising hues of asparagus green with predominantly brown wooden based decor gave quite a fine imprint about the aura of the place.

We were here on an invite to savor some of the signature specialties dished up by this restaurant. The sabzi shorba soup had a lovely essence to it with the veggies being very finely grated. This one wasn't usually as light as a shorba and felt riveting to taste. On the mocktail front, we got to sample quite a few varieties and the one which stole the show was the Litchi based one having a flavorful punch to it. The orange + vanilla medley mix was fairly decent but the pineapple drink with several cut pieces inset seemed a dampener. The other drink was more like a mirinda fizz with thin shredded mangoes and felt a little extra sweet.

For starters, we were initially served a platter comprising of Sheekh kababs, mushrooms, panneer tikkas and cutlets. They weren't too impressive except for the minced cutlets. The Panneer Tikka and Sheekh Kababs also came as standalone starters and felt much better separately. There were also some cheesy rolls served which were breaded on the outside comprising oodles of cheese inside with french fries for accompaniments. It was lovely, just that would have loved a nice mayo to dip in those delectable rolls. In the main course side, we began our foray with Thai food in the form of rice with both green and red curry. The green curry lacked that authentic Thai flavor but the red one more than made up for it having a nice pleasing coconuty aroma with exotic veggies to boot. The veg biryani was one of the best I've tasted anywhere. It was wonderfully well curried and flavored and it was a delight consuming those colorful morsels. The Pizza comprising of a bunch of exquisite toppings was another crowd pleaser. The Roti's were soft and well prepared and the Panneer gravy which came along was passable although felt a bit too pureed and artificial. The white sauce spaghetti intermingled with olives, corn and rosemary felt slurpy and creamy. Didn't have much of a shot at the desserts, but they were really good from whatever little I could conjure up. There was a strawberry panacota, brownie with vanilla ice cream and chocolate and strawberry ice creams.

Overall, the food seemed to have passed the test with more hits than misses. The service seemed a little extra slow and there was a really long waiting time between items. However the staff seemed really courteous and more than willing to help us by whatever means. I'll skip commenting on the pricing as it was over an on the house invite. Other facilities like valet parking is very much available which is a boost.

'Godka' seems a nice little place to chill out and for those looking for an insouciant easy paced dining option, this seems such an apt and perfect place to relax over a comfortable and relaxed meal. It can also be considered a good stop over point for those heading on the ECR stretch.

30 years of Mella Thiranthathu kadhavu!

It's 30 years to the day (Sept 12th 1986) since 2 Musical Messiah's - 'Mellisai Mannar and Maestro' joined together to present a monstrous and memorable soundtrack 'Mella Thiranthathu kadhavu'. It was a melange of magnificence with each of the compositions being special in their own right.

MSV's lilting tunes embellished with Raaja's orchestral layering gave it the much desired synchronisation which has continued to haunt the listeners down the years. Everytime I get to hear the interludes in Thedum kann Paarvai makes me gobsmacked. Vaa Vennila is such an everlasting delightful melody, Kuzhaloothum Kannanukku is the quintessential evergreen romantic lullaby, Dil Dil Manadhil shows how fun waltz can be, Ooru Sanam just the initial couple of lines is enough to transcend you to another plane and Sakarakattikku gives the rustic local folk twang.

It's hard to fathom powerhouses of any kind combining for a project and this movie is indeed a significant milestone in the annals of Tamizh Cinema for bringing 2 legendary Musical Mughals to work in a movie together for the first time. And boy, they made it count by delivering a monumental musical chapter, one for the ages.

India's on & off campaign at the 2016 Rio Olympics!

Thus ends India's campaign at the Rio Olympics 2016 with a solitary silver and a bronze medal. The trio of girls - Sindhu, Sakshi and Dipa have given the country a lot to rejoice through their superlative performances. Against the odds, they proved their mettle and showed that they could compete against the World's best and made India really proud. Srikanth's almost near attempt at giant slaying the all time great Lin Dan was phenomenal. Lalita Babbar's achievements were heartwarming and so were a few others. Pullela Gopichand was the true Dronacharya propelling 2 of his proteges Saina and Sindhu to back to back bronze and silver medals in London and Rio respectively. Considering there has been just 5 Indian woman who have won medals in the 120 year history of the Olympic games puts this achievements come to light all the more being the man instrumental behind both medals (man or woman) obtained in Badminton.

The moments of joy cannot however be looked at in isolation without touching upon the disappointments and which were plenty. Shooting which has been a much sought after medal winning sport fizzled off failing to seize opportunities. Sania and Bopanna should have surely won a tennis medal and it was heartbreaking to see the way they slipped in the semifinal despite being well in control. And not showing up in the bronze play-off accentuated it further. The Paes-Bopanna spat was ugly and it compounded with them getting knocked out in the first round. Hockey, the sport which India still rules by a country mile taking history into context getting dumped out in quarters was hard to take. Reaching this stage itself was being seen as a shot in the arm looking at previous performances but being a country who has been the greatest ever in this sport with a glorious haul of 8 golds,1 silver and 2 bronze, we are just chasing lost glory and falling short every time. The treatment meted out to Narsingh Yadav, a strong Olympic hope was outrageous and the flat showing in Wrestling was like the final nail in the coffin.

This was our largest contingent ever with over 100 participants and coming back with just 2 medals as opposed to London's 6 surely indicates we have gone retrograde. The medals and near medal feats came from unfancied stars which was a silver lining but there is no hiding the fact that on a panoptic view, this has been a rather low key performance by India barring a few who salvaged pride ensuring to keep the flag waving high.

This Rio performance cannot in anyway be undermined as an alibi but this needs to be taken as a cue and things need to be set right at the core grass root level. Also by providing better facilities and infrastructure and harnessing a greater sporting culture, India should hopefully be coming back with a much richer tally at Tokyo 2020.

Prive - A vegetarian's fortress!

It isn't usually a very good sign when restaurant's pack their menu with cuisines aplenty because one really wonders what their forte is. While having an exaggerated spread is good because it gives you more options, to zero in on something and hoping it passes the test of the tongue is more out of hope. 'Prive' manages to buck that trend and in some fashion.

Prive boasts of a menu booklet running to pages and pages comprising of varied cuisines but what was really pleasing was that virtually everything on the house was resoundingly good. We tried a mix of Mexican, Italian, Chinese and Indian more of the tandoor and chaat kind along with a bunch of mocktails, shakes and desserts. It was really hard to find a blemish as more or less all the items served were really good and there were few which were exceptional.

In the mexican category, they got the Nachos and Tacos both bang on. Especially found the Tacos to be superlative bunched with a pleasing degree of stuffing inside with salsa, beans and white sauce to boot. The panneer was another area where they nailed it completely. The tandoor based one's were succulent and melt in the mouth types but what stole the show was the chinese based Chilli panneer. The pieces were super delicate and with the requisite spices as company, it just rolled onto our mouth tenderly. Perhaps one of the best manchurian based starters I've ever had. In the chaat section, the Dahi puri lorded over by being immaculate with just the right mix of curd and coverings and suited well to my liking. The puri's in the pani puri were the golgappa kind and very soft comprising a pasty mix of potatoes and were fairly nice. The North Indian array was again top notch be it the assorted Indian breads or gravies in the form of Panneer Lababdar, Babycorn Palak and Dal Makhni. The palak gravy was dynamic and the Dal Makhni with the lentils simmering in a buttered aroma was delightful. The Italian was no less in competing for top stakes. The veggie pizza was marvellous and so was the delectable Lasagne. The pink sauce Pasta was another star and it was lovely gorging over this slurpy creamy pasta. The mixed veg fried rice with a mixture of vegetables finely grated kept up the pace of brilliance and the teriyaki curry went along with it rather nicely. For drinks we had numerous choices ranging from the Blue Curacao to the Mint lemon to the Watermelon margherita to the Iced chilli slush and also a few shakes such as Ferrero Rocher and Oreo. Literally all of them hit the bulls eye with my special preference being for the watermelon drink and the slush with a twang of chilli making it really enticing. We also had desserts like the Malai Rabdi which was milky to the core and was a joy to lick every spoonful. The ice cream with chocolate fudge rounded off proceedings in sterling style.

Overall, it was a fabulous experience dining at Prive. The food just never ceased to amaze right from start to end. The service was in order and they did a good job serving the food in quick time with not too much time taken in between items. They were there right at our beck and call and it was a pleasure to be here and enjoy a sumptuous meal. As we were on an invite, it isn't appropriate to comment on the pricing. But one thing I must add having seen the rates of the menu is that for the quality of stuff served they seem fairly reasonable.

'Prive' referred to as private also wins on the ambiance front. There is a splash of red throughout and the place seems bright and professional. It is a fairly large place having capacity to seat close to 100 pax at a time. Also the space is well spread out ensuring you will get your private feel.

In conclusion, one of the best new restaurant's to hit townsville. Vegetarians will have a ball of a time and can eat to their heart's galore. Would definitely recommend it as a very high quality veg fine dining restaurant.

P.S: I had a shot at them in their Kilpauk outlet and the experience was equally good. Sharing the review below:

There are hardly few restaurant's in recent times which can place itself in the same pedestal as the much established names in the market and I would certainly certify 'Prive' in the upper echelons when it comes to a well etched vegetarian fine dining experience.

They have an extensive menu running into pages bordering across various cuisines traversing from North Indian, South Indian, Chinese, Mexican, Italian and Continental. Even street food is touched upon with a variegated fare of chaats. Also worth mentioning are their diverse portfolio of mocktails, shakes and desserts.

Getting my hands on to the real spread, it's difficult to say which is their forte as they have aced more or less all kinds of cuisines served in their attic. In the Mexican category, you should try having a shot at their Nachos and Tacos. The Nachos are beautifully laid out as elongated crispy chips flowered with cheese sauce and garnished with exotic veggies. To add to the delight are holders consisting of cheese and salsa sauce for you to customise and decorate it further. The tacos were presented out as stuffed bags punched with a pleasing degree of your quintessential mexican ingredients and dressed up with a spraying of Mayonnaise. To just make it a touch juicier, they are presented with sliders of salsa, red kidney beans and cheese sauce.

On the soup side of things, I immensely enjoyed the spinach cream based one which had a lovely aroma to it. The lemon coriander had a strong hinge with plenty of veggies inset. The tomato one was more on expected lines and the Hot n sour I felt could have been slightly better. In the chaat section, the dahi puri cracked a whip with the confluence of dahi and other requisite spices going along jocularly well. The pani puri's were ballooned up with a pasty potato mix and it was a delight to gulp this one down. The Bhel puri too was crunchy and having the desired ingredients.

Another signature was the North Indian starter fest. First up, the panneer tikka, both the regular as well as various other version were top notch. They were succulent and the flavours were hard hitting on every bite. The texture was so bang on right and it was quite a feast lingering them tenderly on to the tongue. Even the other one's on the platter viz potatoes, veg sheekh kabab and baby corn were pretty good. On the other starters, there were 2 cheese infused ones viz cheese pakoda and corn cheese balls and no much complaints there. They did the expected job being heavily loaded with cheese.

On the Indian main course side, I just got to sample a wee bit of the gravies and they were nice from whatever I had a bite at. The Dal Makhni was one of the better one's I've had with the lentils simmering delectably in a buttery aroma. Even had a crack at a panner based sizzler brewing along and the chunks of cottage cheese which were a tad roasted turned out to be super juicy and lovely to eat along with rice and french fries.

The Italian quotient was not far off from the action. The pesto panneer pizza was infused with cheese in abundance and the crust comprised of a lot of greenery. The Lasagne was another stunner with beds of veggies sponged underneath sheets of cheese. The pink sauce pasta was amazingly creamy and totally slurp slurp. And the verdure which was like a Mexican rice was rather decent.

The ending was more in line with the brilliance beforehand. You should surely try their mocktails and shakes in all sorts of colours and shapes. Some were icy, a few were milk based and some others were packed with essence of flavours. Overall it was a well rounded portfolio of drinks which were quite enticing and perfect for the heat. On Indian sweets, the Malai Rabdi was sumptuously creamy and will tingle the tongue of the sweet craving aficionado. A rainbow of ice cream scoops with chocolate fudge cake was quite a lovely way to get to the penultimate bit. And to round off the meal was a sizzling ice cream brownie. It was quite a sight to witness the chocolate brownie topped​ with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and being drizzled over with a molten hot chocolate sauce encircling and changing the entire plate to a sea of dark brown. You really cannot ask for more.

On a holistic picture, 'Prive' pressed the buttons right on almost every press on the food angle. The service was spot on and no real complaints at all on this front. They were always there at our beck and call and acceding to all our requests. Also no waiting time whatsoever with the food arriving faster than expected. The ambiance could be worked on a little bit. We were seated in a separate enclosure and it felt like more of a concierge/event based seating set up as opposed to a fine dining decor. The colour combination is more green here as compared to the splash of red in their RK Salai outlet. The pricing is not being spoken about as the event took place over on 'on the house' invite.

'Prive' is a a great addition to the roster of restaurant's serving a sumptuous vegetarian meal. Despite being quite nascent in the ever growing food circle of Chennai, they've made quite an impression and hit the bulls eye resoundingly. Would testify it as a highly recommended outlet for an ultimate vegetarian fine dining experience.

30 years of Mouna Ragam!

There are only some movies which you connect to very closely making them hold a special place in your heart. It's been 30 years since the theatrical release of 'Mouna Ragam' which hit the silver screen on Independence Day, 15th August 1986 and there is something resolutely magical about the film making you revisit it time and again.

In essence, it's just a simple tale of 2 diverse individuals facing difficulties having gotten together through the arranged marriage route but the direction is woven across so discreetly threading the finer needles of emotion. The poignancy and undercurrents facing the couple is handled with such measured care making you relate to the underlying story.

The turbulence of the female protagonist whose life changes 360 degrees from being a vivacious young lady whose joie de vivre comes to a standstill unfortunately due to circumstances beyond control to the housewife daunted with sobriety and having absolutely zilch interest towards her counterpart comes across so earnestly. The trials and tribulations endured by her opposite number trying to keep the troubled waters at bay is touched upon with restraint.

Adjacent to all the vexation brewing between the couple comes the brilliant flash back bit. The character of Manohar is perhaps one of the greatest cameo's in the annals of Tamizh cinema. It was one of the best lover boy characters and the infectious mojo he bought in was electrifyingly magnetic that it could sway even the most hard nosed girl to fall in love. Also, not to forget the smidgeon of comedy, whether it is the peals of laughter evoking 'Chandramouli' scene or the funny bone Sardar being taught to learn Tamizh (the thundering Poda Dei still reverberates) forming an indelible part adding to the memorabilia.

There are innumerable factors hefting up the movie but no showers of encomiums can be complete without mentioning about the music which really is the soul of the film. The Maestro takes over the baton, elevates it and places the movie at an all time high pedestal thanks to the inimitable tunes. The re-recording simply caresses and carries the movie on its shoulders. Be it happiness or sadness, comedy or romance, love or hate, every single emotional chord is expressed by the music playing in the background not to forget the transitions invoking the same musical pieces. The leitmotif running throughout the film continues to be a ringtone in many mobile phones even now and mothers still feed their kids pappu chaadham by showing the moon and humming lines from Nilave Vaa :).

The movie by itself was loosely inspired by the Mahendran directed 'Nenjathai Killathe' and many movies since then have tried to cater to the simple but powerful theme of Mouna Ragam but nothing has even come remotely close in terms of the deft and subtle handling which had the trademark unique precision of the director Mani Ratnam.

Hear close to half an hour of unadulterated unparalleled musical bliss to savor the wonderful memories this motion picture has churned over the years. Celebrating 3 decades since the magic of Mouna Ragam!

Hamsa - Royal, Regal & Resplendent!

There is an inherent air of class about 'Hamsa'. The place bedazzles and sparkles with radiance. The whole idea of conceptualising such a place would have taken quite an effort and to see everything fall in place perfectly to the 'T' speaks volumes. It is hard not to shower encomiums about the resplendent interiors because it happens to be so bloody good and you have to witness it to believe.

The surfing of gold, silver and bronze adds glitter to the surroundings and gives it an artistic and ethnic feel. Right when you set foot you cannot but miss out the white cages decorated with lush flowers. The peacock shaped bells and the chandelier lights adds to the chiaroscuro. The shimmery silvery doors and utensils ooze in pristine fashion and glorifies the aura of the place. The comfortable cozy decor and the dim lights give just the right fine dining lift. Hamsa when translated refers to 'Swan' and the literal meaning is taken rather seriously as the place is all elegant, graceful and charming.

It is located in the Gandhinagar 4th main road and parking is not a hassle as it's situated in a private road with little shrubs by the wayside giving ample space to park vehicles. A peekaboo from the outside signifying the Swan emblem and the decorated patterns says quite a bit about what's likely to be in store.

We were here on a weekday dinner to check out what's on the deck on the food side of things. Hamsa serves a spread which is predominantly Indian curating cuisines from up north and down south to dish up a varied diverse portfolio. We got served a potpourri of items comprising of starters, mains, breads, rice and desserts.

In the starter category, the Panneer Saunfiya ruled the roost. The cottage cheese triangles with a smudgy pasty fennel mix was delightful. The other leaf enclosed panneer with a masala mix garnished on top of the slices was fairly decent. The cheese kurkure was crunchy and had a dollop of cheesy mixed paste inside and the chaat based ones especially the crispy corn one was lovely.

The melange of breads were done up well and seemed soft and soluble. On to the curries, the Panneer caught attention again in the form of Bhagirathi Meher panneer. The spicy Urlai roast in coastal style was quite enjoyable and the lotus stem gravy was a nice twist. The rice items however be it the concocted idiappam biryani or the Anar aur hari meeri ja chawal didn't pass muster.

In the dessert draw, the Anjeer aur adrak halwa was delectable, thought it was a tad too sweet. The Amrud Phirni with a heavy flavoring of Guava didn't appease much. The welcome drink in the mode of Panjamritham was a star and we had a shot of it both at the start as well as towards the end of our meal.

Overall, the majority of the items passed off with flying colors. Service and pricing goes out of the window as it was a specific dinner meet over an invite.

In a nutshell, 'Hamsa' redefines the art of fine dining. You should check it out for the awe inspiring ambiance and diverse culinary spread traversing the length and breadth of India.

Taj Bhavan - Hardcore Indian cuisine down under!

Wigram street in Harris Park is inundated with everything Indian from restaurant's to groceries to accommodation avenues. It's the restaurant's dazzling with lot of color and glitter of the Indian kind that attracts the attention. There are plenty of eateries here with traditional Indian names catering to cuisine from up north. One such fine dining place is Taj Bhavan. Quite akin to most of the other hotels lined up on this stretch,this one resembles a house converted into a restaurant.

The ambiance is pretty plain jane with nothing really eye popping. The color palette largely adopts the Indian tri color whether it be the wall paintings, portraits or even the light bulbs which are ignited with saffron, white and green. The decor is simple with just plastic chairs of green and orange colors and the tables are all white again giving an imprint of freedom and India.

It was however the food which walked the talk. Considering from the outset there wasn't anything really appealing, the food was quite a delight and ended up being way beyond expectations. We started our foray with soup and a bunch of entrees. The tomato soup was absolutely lip smacking and the smell of cream was apparent in every mouth. It's been a long time since I tasted such fine quality tomato soup. The sweet corn soup too was good however well short of the brilliance of the former. We had two varieties of chats viz Dahi puri and Bhel puri. The Dahi puri was lovely. Though it wasn't decorated with curd and masala on the plate, the inside of the puri had the ammunition to set the tongue rolling with excitement. The bhel puri was passable. It was crunchy but somehow lacked the muster. We also had a ball galloping the Achari panneer tikka, corn cheese balls and Gobi 65. The panneer made in sizzler style was especially top notch.

On to the main course, we told for an assortment of Indian breads with the Dal Bhukara and Kali Mirch Panneer for company. Be it the Naan or Tandoori Roti or the Aloo/Gobi Parathas, they passed the test with flying colors. What really elevated it were the side dishes. The Kali Mirch panneer with a twang of sweetness and hint of pepper with succulent pieces of cottage cheese floating gracefully on the gravy was brilliant. The Dal Bhukara was a show stealer. Just didn't expect the black dal to be so good in a little known place. I found it to be better than most high end fine dining restaurant's back home.

We rounded our evening with Salt Lassi and Mango Lassi. The salt lassi was flavored with tinge of masala bits and seemed a good digester however found it to be a tad watery. The mango based one was a bit too sweet for the liking though it was pretty thick.

Overall the food turned out to be quite exceptional especially pinning down some of the stuff. I thoroughly enjoyed the tomato soup, Achari Panner Tikka, Dal Bhukara and the Panneer Kali Mirch. Nothing was bad and everything was bordering from the good to excellent. The service was a mixed bag. Items came to our table in a jiffy which is a good sign but it seemed time consuming in clearing the consumed food particles thus occupying too much space on the table. The rates seem fairly reasonable for the quality of food on offer.

This was our last tryst with restaurant hunting during our short stint in Sydney and we were glad to have chosen this place which really proved to be quite a fitting farewell to our foodie escapades over the last couple of weeks. Would definitely recommend Taj Bhavan for high quality North Indian cuisine.

Indo Lankan Food Bar - Heartfelt Sri Lankan cuisine in Sydney!

Every nook and corner in Sydney seems to be deluded with restaurant's and cafe's and the Seven Hills area seems to be no different. There seems to be a number of outlets serving varied cuisines at the Boomerang place.

We went over to this Indo Lankan bar to gorge ourselves with predominantly Sri Lankan food. This restaurant seems to be around for 2 decades now having begun it's operation way back in 1996. From a small family business looks like they have spread their wings wide and are now a full fledged restaurant catering to the locals as well as the large coterie of Indian and Sri Lankan population living in the city.

We ordered a host of stuff ranging from the veg patties and Aloo Bonda as part of Entree. Also had a shot of the Mix veg Kothu Parotha and also a Masala Dosa. For main course, I thoroughly enjoyed my course of string hoppers coming along with sodhi, dal and pol sambol. Sri Lankan food is infused heavily with pepper and coconut forms the layer of most of the dishes. If you're acquired to this kind of taste, you would love whatever is being served at the Indo Lankan bar. I found the idiappams made of red flour to be especially lovely being super soft and fluffy. And it was a delight to have Lankan style Sodhi, Dal and reddish coconut pol sambol. The dosa too was pretty good with especially the pudina chutney being top notch. The veg pattties and Aloo bonda had an overload of potatoes and wasn't bad. The Kothu Paratha was ingrained with spices and masala and as authentic as they come.

Overall the food promised a lot and it was nice to have a good ol Sri Lankan meal. Service was decent but could have been a touch quicker. The rates seem fairly reasonable. There is nothing at all worth mentioning about the ambiance. It's just a fairly clean place and more like an extended mess, just that it's a lot neater. The decor is really simple and the interiors have a few pictures as part of the walls and nothing more.

If you are fond of Sri Lankan cuisine and not too bothered about high quality ambiance, this is a pretty good place to check out.

Gozleme Turkish House - A specialty of Turkey in Sydney!

A 'Gozleme' is a traditional Turkish flat bread and can be somewhat equated to the Indian version of 'Chapathi' as it looks and is also made up in a similar fashion. This turkish bread is stuffed with ingredients in the center to meat it up and this fluffy bread ends up being pretty tasty holding the fillings inside.

Gozleme Turkish house is a part of the La Petite food court in the Birkenhead shopping center at Drummoyne, Sydney. It's quite a sight witnessing the making of the Gozleme live from the inception of squeezing the flour, dashing it in the pan, ornating the bread with veggies and cutting it across piece by piece and serving on the plates.

We were pretty hungry and when we barged in for a late lunch, we ordered all there was for vegetarian in the savoury section by saying one each of the cheese&tomato, veggie and potato gozleme. The combination of cheese and tomato was nailed perfectly and it was a delight crunching this one with the cheese oozing over. The latter two were pretty similar but for the strong essence of potato in the third one. Both had a doze of spinach and cheese and we relished eating them.

Each of the Gozleme's cost us 8$ and I would say it was worth it as the size was magnanimous and taste scrumptious. We also told for each of the sweets - baklava, semolina cake and the turkish delight and all of them were nice too giving a sweet touch to complement the savoury side of things. The sweets costed 2$ each but we got a deal of 5$ for the 3 of em.

Overall, a very pleasing meal. It was lovely having Turkish cuisine in the heart of Sydney. Personally, it was nice experiencing something new such as Gozleme and more so enjoying the same. Do give this place a shot when you get the chance.

Aki's - Eating by the Wharf!

The Wooloomooloo wharf is engulfed with restaurant's aplenty catering to various kinds of cuisines. It's quite a buzzing sight to see a line of restaurant's one after the other in a huge stretched surrounding. All of these eateries have seatings both at the outside as well as the inside but seating amidst the breeze on the outset overseeing some really tall buildings is what seems to appease the attention especially during the night time. All of them are dim and ideal with fire lit and lamp lit lamps.

Aki's Indian is the first restaurant in this scenic wharf area. The menu is predominantly to do with a host of tandoori dishes from the North, a skosh of traditional South Indian and bits of sea food and coastal cuisine too added to the fray.

The menu is fairly simple and divided into the following forms: Entree, Main, Sides, Accompaniments and Tandoori Breads. They also have sub sections in the entree and main category with the tag lines contemporary, classics, Tandoori, platters etc. They also have a couple of elaborate thali's within their ambit.

Under the entrée section, we ordered for a crispy dosa which was done up pretty well with onions and potato masala in abundance. The onion chutney to go along tasted nice and so was the lentil based sambar. On the Tandoori side told for a cottage cheese panneer cube starter. This was more of the traditional Panneer tikka which was nicely marinated and the tinge of chilli, cumin and fenugreek leaves added a rather nice touch. They were 4 cubes cut into 8 pieces and went along well with the green chutney. For mains had a plain naan and a garlic naan with black dal for company. The breads were done up well and the lentils were simmering in an aromatic gravy and was esculent. It went along really well with the Indian breads.

Overall, the food passed the test and we were happy with the outcome. However felt the service to be a wee bit slow as it took a lot of time for our food to arrive on the table. On the price side also felt it to be a tad on the expensive side. But blips aside, Aki's can be said to be a good Indian restaurant in an ideal setting and if you're looking to gorge on sone delicious food over a laid back environment, this restaurant and the scenic wharf ambiance works very well.

Chiangmai Thai - A Thai based restaurant at Surfers Paradise

Chiangmai Thai is an upmarket Thai based restaurant in the vicinity of Surfer's Paradise at Gold Coast. It signifies a lot of 'Thai' by the way the interiors are designed. There are a lot of Buddha statues, gold griffins, antiques hanging across, monastery miniatures, lion and elephant statues and other interesting patterns. The color pallette also tries to be in sync with the whole south east asian surrounding. The decor is royal and the place is massive in size and there is an inherent buzz about the place. They've spaced out the place really well to have maximum tables and chairs within the available space.

The restaurant is for the out and out meat lover and vegetarian food is sparse. There is hardly anything available and you would have no option but to settle for a red or green curry to go along with your rice/noodles of which variety is again exigous. Of course you wouldn't have any sort of worry if you love your meat as there are plenty of choices available.

Obviously I went with a veg fried rice and chose the vegetable green curry. There were not even soups available for veg but we requested for a tom yum vegetarian but they said they cannot make it without adding a fish sauce which forced me to politely refuse the offering. Highlighted below is an account of the vegetarian side of things.

The Veg fried Rice was more of a colored rice with plenty of fresh veggies accompanying it and was pretty nicely flavored. The green curry was almost a replica of a veg stew. Covered with a bundle of veggies over a layer of coconut cream, it was pretty nice although i did expect it to be a tad spicier. It felt a little mild for the liking.

The service was quick with the food coming to the table in quick time. Pricing seems to be moderate. I guess I am not the right person reviewing this place considering anything even remotely to do with veg is not their forte. Just from the 2 items I had and considering the ambiance scape, would term it as a reasonable fare. I suggest you avoid this place if you're a vegetarian or even an egg eater. If you like your sea food it looks like a pretty good bet as seen from the heavy crowds thronging this place.

La Porschetta - A little road side Italian delicacy at Surfers Paradise

La Porschetta is a very nice little Italian restaurant by the road side serving some great Pizza's and Pasta's. It is very simple in its appearance with nothing much on the interiors and there is just a few plastic chairs and tables underneath a roof. The place also has a small seating space inside.

It feels like a perfect getaway spot to gorge on some tantalising Italian food while shopping by the wayside. We ordered for a pumpkin based salad, veg pizza and a gnocci with pesto sauce and all of them turned out to be pretty sumptuous.

The salad was well tossed up with leafy veggies to go along with pieces of pumpkin and balls of cheese. The veg pizza was a lovely thin crust one with veggies nicely spread across. The Gnocci was another good dish to round off proceedings with the chewy potatoes floating around a lovely aromatic pesto sauce with herbs added on.

The service was fairly quick and the rates seemed reasonably nominal. A pretty nice place to have an easy laidback Italian meal.

Stitch - Good ol downtown yore!

The Stitch has an olden day flavor of yore associated with it. It seems to be more in the lines of how resto pubs used to be perhaps in the hey days.

There's lots of antique stuff in and around with specific focus on the vintage singer stitching machine. The model has it's presence throughout and no wonder the name also seems to be derived from the same in being called "The Stitch".

The place is all vintage and plays some dashing old school numbers and it has quite a kick ass retro based atmosphere to it. The staircase seems pretty daunting and you get to witness the action as you take your steps downward. It is engulfed with rustic woodwork based interiors and the inherent gloomy dark feel about it gives it quite the shiz.

On our way to the Winyard station, we wanted to finish our day with a final flourish and hence dropped in at 'The Stitch'. Just ordered for a couple of stuff viz:
- Cricketers Arms: This was a larger local Australian beer and turned out to be quite a good drink. It was a little thicker than normal with a tinge of sweetness touched upon.
- Mac n Cheese Balls: This usually comes with a bacon dip but we asked for a veg substitute and they gave us a ravioli dip. The balls as such were big in size, nicely breaded along and stuffed with cheese and you could literally feel the presence of thin macaroni pieces interspersed inside. The whole thing went along pretty well with the dip.

Overall, quite a reasonable fare. The service was well attended and we got the stuff fairly soon. The pricing seemed kinda par at $21 for both the items together.

The Stitch has a lovely buzz going for it and seems a pretty happening spot in this neck of the woods. If you're anywhere nearby, contemplate giving this place a shot.