Stix - Chinese Premier!

The Stix at Hyatt Regency happens to be one of the premier Chinese restaurant's in the city. The ambiance feels very pleasant with the dim lights just about ideal for a private fine dining rendezvous. The decor is super comfortable and cozy. It is one place you can go without any inhibitions as the end result will most likely end up pleasing you.

We were here on an invite to try out the Business Lunch menu. I chose the veg option and the choices happen to be pretty good. There is no soup and we straight away got on with the starters. The good thing here is that unlike the usual expected bets, there were some unexpected twists. Lotus stem was something radical for a starter which I immensely enjoyed. It was slightly tangy and it was enjoyable consuming this which had the right juice and spice. The momos were more of the expected stuff and it tasted how it should. And on the slightly spicier side, we were provided a chilli based spring beans titled as "Dou Ban Jiang". It was nicely seasoned and pretty flavourful.

On the main course side, the 5 spiced fried rice was quite good having a strong essence of various spices and it was a little sticky in texture. The pan fried noodles was quite a meal by itself with benevolent topping of szcheuan sauce on top of the crispy noodles along with veggies for company. And for company we had a broccoli and lotus stem made in black bean sauce which went really well with both the rice and noodles. The chinese style chilli vegetables also proved to be able foil being curried nicely with plenty of different veggies.

The food was overall very good but the best part was reserved for the last with the dessert fare. We also got to sample a few from the nearby Italian neighbour Foccacia and they turned out to be absolutely wonderful. From the attic of Stix, I absolutely fell for the Fried Ice cream which was rolled like a blanket quilt with vanilla ice cream oozing from the inset with nuts and raisins decorated at the top along with a touch of raspberry jam and a maple dip for company. The whole delicacy was both chunky and crunchy. The berry cheese cake too was no slouch by being rich on taste and melting like marmalade on the mouth. It was definitely one of the better cheese cakes which I have consumed.

From the larger picture, the meal was a sure shot win. It covered most grounds and also ended up being good on most fronts. The service was amiable and friendly. They didn't take too much time in between dishes and they were ever courteous and acceding to all our requests. As the meet was over am invite, I will refrain from commenting about the prices. This business lunch is certainly a good deal put up by Hyatt and is certain to satisfy your taste buds.

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.