Chilli's - Ready to Unleash!

Chilli's in one word can be described as kick ass. It has such a pulsating atmosphere going for it and there's an inherent buzz about the place which makes it really happening. It is located in Express Avenue and is the first non alcohol venture in the country. Located on the top floor directly opposite Escape cinema's it sizzles with suave and swankiness and has a lovely vibe going for it. Seems like the perfect outlet to chill and cool your heels.

The place is hardly weeks old and it was stuffed to the brim on a weekday evening. Just from the initial insights, looks like Chennai has well and truly lapped up Chilli's. We were here as early bird visitors for a food trail to savor the drinks and delicacies which this restobar has to offer.

Chilli's is known for it's margherita's and hence we went for a couple of them in the form of Wild Raspberry and a Chilli Mango Margerita. The former had a strong punch to it and was delivered in a huge glass. The latter was well played with the concoction of mango and chilli and the two tangoed along beautifully. The other drink we had was the Peach breezer which was immensely refreshing and a great thirst quencher.

The starters dazzled in every way you could expect. The presentation was immaculate with the stuff being lined on a plate and right in the middle was a holder holding dips of varied kinds. The ones served for veg included Cheese poppers, Quesa bites and Breaded panneer rolls and all of them rocked big time. My favorite among them all were the cheese poppers which had a pasty stuffing of yellowish cheese inside those soft brown balls. And not to forget, the dips played great sport to the starters going hand in hand in perfect sync.

For main course we went with the Santa Fe Panneer Quesadillas, another winner on the night. The Quesadillas had a glorious creamy veg mix underneath and it was delectable to say the least. The cheese Nachos had a lavish coating of cheese with a jalapeno arranged on top but somehow lacked that extra zing. However the Mushroom Jack Fajitas Panneer more than made up for the slight misgiving by being remarkable in it's own right. Served in a pan with cottage cheese and mushroom scattered all over, this is one dish you would savor to stuff your rolls with the curry leaving your mouth to do the rest.

And on the dessert front, we had a molten chocolate cake with a vanilla ice cream and chocolate lathering on top. This was soft and yummy and something which melts in your mouth. And the second one was the cheesecake served in a jar with whipped cream. The cream somehow didn't seem to gel well, but the cheesecake inside had a good taste to it with crumbled oreo slathered in and seemed to taste better as the bites got going. One thing though it was a little hard and you except your cheesecake to be soft, moist and curl as you slice them with your spoon which was missing here.

Overall, it was a really engaging evening with great food and drinks with a buzzing atmosphere to boot. The service was rapid and the staff seemed to be knowledgeable about the items in store. The price is a wee bit on the higher side but good things come with a price.

Chilli's has embarked on a really bright start and looks all set to march it's way to glory. Definitely a great addition to Chennai's ever growing F&B market.

Get Inked with Ink 303!

Let's face it, despite KNK road boasting many supreme premier restaurant's there is really no resto pub perse in this locality and this is where Ink 303 can make a difference.

We were invited to check out some of their signature delicacies as early bird visitors. The place is located in the second floor of the swanky Oyster building and the place appeals with it's interestingly done up interiors. It is divided pretty well with the entrance part more laidback and ideal to catch up for a light snack whereas on the inside you find it to be more cozy and igniting the lounge atmosphere. The color pallette adopted and lighting patterns makes it look all uber cool and upmarket. The menu too is quirky with blots of ink sprayed on each of the pages.

The food and beverages in a nutshell seemed pleasing with majority of the items turning out to be a win. The soups were different than the usual with one of their specials having white bean as the trademark ingredient. Even the mushroom soup had a drizzle of pesto in it which was lovely. Over the length and breadth of our meal, we were served a plethora of drinks and most of them passed the test with ease. I especially had an extra liking for the Strawberry Colada which mingled really well with the ice cream. The other drinks in the form of Mint Mocktail and their aptly titled Refresher with lime leaves and ginger ruled the roost.

The starters had a Water chestnut made in hunan style sauce which turned out to be a crowd pleaser. Have never really enjoyed eating chestnuts before but now that's in the past. The roasted mushrooms were fairly nice but the cheese nachos could have been better. It looked gorgeous but somehow didn't have the amunition to match the looks. The Zuchini was spiced up quite a lot but the good thing is it wasn't oily and went well with the chipotle sauce. However the best of the lot were the breads with hummus. The presentation was immaculate and so droolworthy in taste making our tongues tingle with joy. The salad was passable but what really stood out were the balls of cheese which made it stand out from the pack and made it more than just a run off the mill salad encounter.

For main course we had a butter rice with cottage cheese seasoned with indian spices. The panneer was extremely succulent and went jocularly well with the soft rice. The pumpkin pasta was another decent dish but somehow lacked the extra zing, a little bit of seasoning could surely help patch the gap. We also got to have a crack at some of their Thai cuisine but it certainly was a miss on the day. The red curry felt bitter and the green curry was extra sweet. Thai food doesn't seem to be their forte but I would like to give them the benefit of doubt as they are still new and experimenting. We rounded off with a few desserts of which the cheese cake was the best. It was soft and mellow and kudos for the decoration in the form of strawberry droplets. The lychee caramel custard and the Kulfi ice cream weren't bad, just that it felt a tad short relatively in comparison to the cheesecake.

The service was top notch with the staff constantly wearing a smile on their face and serving us to the best of their ability. The management was also very positive taking all our feedback with care and patience. The rates seems par for the course considering it's perched in the most happening food network of Chennai. It can be said that Ink 303 has already made a good start and once it obtains the liquor license, it can look forward to climb it's way further up. Here's wishing the team all the very best to establish Ink 303 as one of the go to watering hole outlets in the city.

Little Italy - A sumptuous Fest!

I can't hold back my excitement when it comes to Italian food and the buffet offering on weekdays by Little Italy was an offer too hard to resist. It's always quite a high to see your tongue getting squishy with exotic delicacies and what better way than a cheese friendly affair from the land of Italiana to make your mouth melt with happiness. So here was I on a working day taking a day off from work to soak in a lavish fair put across by Little Italy in the form of a buffet for 500 bucks net. (Inclusive of all taxes).

                                                 
The outlet is located in a small by-lane in Besant Nagar and is the road you need to take in where you see the Wordsworth bookstore right at the center tip point. It is in a residential locality and parking really shouldn't be much of a hassle. It is a restaurant converted from an olden day house which seems to be nicely done up. The ambiance inside is pleasant and neat and polarized into different enclaves which gives it quite a private feel. There is nothing over the top by any stretch and they've ensured to keep it plain and simple which works well here. You would also hear music playing at the background which is unobtrusive and doesn't hamper the proceedings in any way.

They have the buffet concept on each of the weekdays and a larger brunch spread on Sunday apart from the everyday Ala-Carte. Listed below is a brief take on the items served as part of the weekday buffet.

• Drinks:They served 2 kind of welcome drinks viz the Blue Curacao and a Watermelon based one. The former was a really lovely refreshing drink. Apt for the heat and a a great tonic to set the tone. It had a punch to it and the fact that it was unlimited made me use it as an ersatz to the usual water. I also got to taste a small glass of Watermelon juice which was the run off the mill expected stuff.

• Soup:There were 2 soups as part of the spread - Minestrone and Brocolli. I decided to go in for the Zupa de Brocolli. It was a pretty light soup and you could see the presence of thinly chopped pieces of brocolli floating along the brownish soupy water. It was decent but I felt it lacked the creaminess and ended up a bit too plain for the liking.

• Salad:I'm not much of a salad person but whatever was delivered kind of changed my perception to salad eating. It works on the ad-lib style where you need to choose your veggies of which I chose the most essential ones and then all the mixing and matching is done to produce the end product. It was dressed beautifully with the add-on of a mustard mayonnaise and the tinge of creaminess layered across gave it just the rightful feel to enjoy a great salad eating experience.
  
                    
  
• Starters:There were plenty on this front. You had a few items to pick from the table such as Caprese - a piece of cheese inset on a slice of tomato, plain garlic bread, a fondue kind of dish to eat along with bread and also Pita bread with Hummus. But what really enticed the taste buds were the ones which were brought directly to the table. The Cheese garlic bread was noteworthy with a dollop of cheese over the bread which was very soft with the inherent flavoring of garlic. I thoroughly enjoyed the garlic bread and even jocularly put a bit of the curried red chilli flakes sauce which also went very well. Then there was a portion of Fried Onion Rings which were deep fried and having the apt amount of crispiness and the added bonus of cheese at the side edges made it quite a feast. And then I cannot but shower encomiums on another show stealer - the quintessential Nachos with cheese sauce. It was quite a largesse with yellowish cheese sprayed across copiously and with a little smattering of the salsa dip, it was indeed quite a mouth watering delight.
  
                      
  
• Main Course: Here you need to choose from a set menu and I went for Pasta - A white sauce mushroom based one and a Pesto Pizza. The Pasta was immaculate and certainly one of the best I've eaten. It had the right dose of cream with a bevy of mushrooms, asparagus and an essence of garlic flavor and requisite flakes and seasoning. It just seemed so perfect that I didn't want to modify it by any means by adding anything extra. The Pesto pizza had a pungent taste of pesto and garlic covered up with oodles of cheese and a capsule of potato to boot. Might not be the best tongue twister but you will surely like it if you could handle the heaviness of the flavoring.
  
               
  
• Desserts: They had a variety of cheesecakes in the form of Strawberry, Mango and Black currant and the ratings go along the order of listing. The strawberry one especially was exceptional whereas the black currant felt a little bland. Also got a shot of a Panacota which was remarkable and to complete the duties ended up with a scoop of chocolate and butterscotch ice-cream with walnuts and nuts magnanimously mizzled in.
               

Overall it was quite a sumptuous fest and a really satisfactory meal. The food talked the talk and the signals from virtually every angle gave the thumbs up. The service was decent with the staff wearing a smile and adhering to requests but however it felt a little longer than expected for some items to arrive on the table. Nothing really to crib about though and can just be classified as a minor blip. It was certainly a delightful experience and the good news is that they have a host of other stuff on the anvil and I wouldn't mind paying a repeat visit to savor more of their offerings and also to have a shot at the extravagant Sunday Brunch.

The Italian human race is supposed to be bestowed with extremely good looks. I can't comment on that front but can certainly vouch for Italian food being not only alluring to look at but also possessing all the relevant features for it to taste jaw dropping and with 'Fashion' being at the fore front in Italy, it's a given to see Fashion and Food going hand in hand having quite a tete-a-tete :).

Arab Street - A mediterranean surprise!

Being a vegetarian and visiting a restaurant serving Arab cuisine, I really didn't have too many expectations but at the end of the meal, I have to concede that Arab Street well and truly exceeded expectations. There were many items taking into account the vegetarian population but more importantly they really hit the mark on the taste front.

Arab Street is perched in a lane in Ashok Nagar and it is in a 2 storey complex with the restaurant occupying the top floor. The color palette has been done in such a way to give a middle eastern feel and was truly well played. The dim tone, lighting, chandeliers, design patterns, maps inscribed on the wall etc were all lovely add-on's within the surrounding space and in it's own way depicted in bringing out an Arabian feel which was praiseworthy.

The food was pretty enticing to say the least with majority of the items marching it's way to glory. The soups whether it be the cream of Mushroom or the Lentil soup was nothing short of remarkable. The former was frothy, creamy with an esculent essence whereas the latter was smoky and flavored with spices and a perfect foil to the tongue. The Mix Mezze Platter was again top notch and it was a delight to have those fluffed up round pita breads with 4 varieties of dips viz Hummus, Baba Ganoush, Mutabal and the garlic paste. All of them went so well with the breads that it was really hard to choose the best. Another dish which was rivetting on the day was the Cheese Arayes which were grilled thin crust stuffed bread containing cheese and olives and went jocularly well with the salsa sauce. The Milano Pizza was not to be left behind in the awesome category being thin crust and stuffed with the ideal amount of toppings giving it a lovely crunchy taste. The Biryani was nice being colorful and infused with the requisite veggies. The Tabouleh salad with an abundance of parsley and shredded veggies seemed pretty flavorful. The shawarma didn't really impress much and the Falafel was the usual expected self and the Garlic bread with a slathering of cheese was decent enough. We ended our sojourn with a dessert titled 'Muhalabiya' which was soft and mellowy and possessing an exotic taste.

The service was quick with the dishes coming to our table in a jiffy. They were also patient in explaining each and every dish right from pronouncing the name to the uniqueness and specialty of the same. The prices seem nominal especially considering the spectacular taste on offer.

Overall, it was a fantastic experience dining at Arab Street and I must add a pleasant surprise too. You don't need to regret being a vegetarian walking here as they have enough and more to satisfy your palette.

Canadian Crepe Company - For the sweet craving cognoscente!

Canadian Crepe is a small eatery serving delightful crepes and is tucked in a by lane off Greams Road. It brings to light a host of crepes from foreign lands but they have also tweaked it in a way to give a local twist by adding certain flavours keeping the Indian palette in mind.

The place is little but done up really neatly and has a lovely up market feel to it. You have a live kitchen, maple leaves stickers stuck on the spacings, a color confluence of wood, grey and white which gives itself a lovely fresh and pleasant feel. There is nothing over the top anywhere and you just find a little shelf of miniatures and a small box shelf depicting Canada. The open kitchen concept works well here and the whole place gives itself a laidback easy feel about it.

The menu is to the point with just 2 sides to it comprising of a few shakes and juices apart from their signature crepes which have western and Indianised versions both on the savoury and sweetened side. We were on an invite and got to savour a majority of the savoury ones of which most were top notch. The presentation was done up beautifully giving an assured signal and the taste more or less matched the looks. The one's which took the cake were the American based one which contained mushrooms, potatoes and a dash of cheese spread across magnanimously. The Thai flavored with the Tofu, roasted peanuts and coconut cream too was appetizing and the Avacado spread in the Mexican gave it a nice touch. In the Indian genre, it was the Dhak Dhak Dilli with a panneer bhurji slathered along which mild spices which got the Indian tongue excited whereas the Madras Crepe turned out to be a poor man's (rich man's) version of a masala dosa. Also got to try a squashed juice of a real Apple juice which was truly refreshing. The shakes however didn't cut too much ice barring a couple of them and it would be good if they work on it a wee bit. The concoctions just didn't seem to go hand in hand.

Overall, it was a good experience visiting The Canadian Crepe Company. From our brief engagement, we came to know that their's going to be more varieties added to the anvil. The stuff did take some time to reach the table but were made with a lot of care and the presentation and taste justified the same. The staff were very friendly and willing in taking feedback. The rates seem to be bang on competitive. Crepe's seem a great option for a breakfast or evening snack and 'The Canadiam Crepe Company' is now a one stop shop for the Crepe craving cognoscente.

Haunted - A spooky foodie encounter!

'Haunted' as the name suggests is all about the horror genre theme. The place literally gives the creeps and induces the fear by bringing about a plethora of spooky elements to almost give you the feeling of watching a scary movie in the middle of the night.

It is a 2 story building engulfed with darkness all around and you find the spacing divided into further enclosures and there are different rooms inside such as the spider room, horror room, antique room and lock and latch room. And adding to all this you have posters of the scariest movies ever made, portraits of the most haunted locations in Chennai apart from skeletons, zombies, voodoo dolls, oujha, skulls, scarlet based miniatures, snippets of Matilda and a host of other stuff. You even have ghostly music being played in the background from memorable horror movies to increase the chills. It is appreciable the way they have pulled off this daredevilry of a paranormal theme in all it's gory. Lovers of fantasy will surely be appealed with such a ghoulish theme.

Having said all about the ambiance which richly deserves the plaudits, the food did let us down a bit. They serve a mix of North Indian, Italian, Chinese and a little bit of Arabian cuisine. We started our dinner foray with the Veg Hot and Sour soup. I would like to add an extra adjective and coin it as Hot, Sour and spicy soup. It almost felt as if even the soup wanted to petrify us by being so hot making your tongue burn with red. Nothing wrong with the taste perse, but surely needs a little cutting down on the masala front. For starters, we had the Haunted fries - a spruced up version of potato fries which was rather nice, however lacked consistency on the second serving. We also got to have the mushroom buttons which were deep fried and infused with cheese on top and was one of the signature dishes of the night. The other one we tasted was the Panneer Manchurian which had a strange texture to it with a few pieces being soft and others hard. Surely some working is required on this. For main course, tried the White sauce Spaghetti which appeared a bit too milky and overtly cheesy. It didn't seem to have blended well and could have surely been much better. The schezwan noodles standalone was nothing much to rave about and perhaps could have done better with a chinese gravy booting it. The Indian Breads however were fluffy, soluble and seemed to go well with the Kofta gravy.

The biggest disappointment of the day were the drinks served, none of which cut ice with any of us. There were some weird concoctions and heavy essence thrown in which just didn't seem to gel. I really hope something is done on this front as mocktails form an essential part of a meal. The desserts however restored some sanity by being decent albeit not great whether it were the Sizzling Brownie, Chocolate Balls or the coconut based one.

Overall the meal could strictly be considered under the average bracket. With a little more care and extra efforts, it could surely be elevated a notch further. The service was fast with food being served to the table in quick time. Also they seemed very welcoming to suggestions and feedback which is a good sign. Can't comment on the pricing as we were on an invite but at a glance seemed par for the course.

In conclusion, they have some aces up their sleeve with especially the theme being unique and one of a kind but the food really needs to improve to complement the ambiance and make the experience complete. They are still new and hope with time are able to ameliorate on the loose ends and be a force to reckon with. Wishing the team of 'Haunted' all the very best.