Dakshin-Park Sheraton(Times City Gourmet Week)

 American Express presents TimesCity Gourmet Week is the tastiest time of the year. Running from September 1st to 7th in Chennai,it features Times Food award winning restaurants offering specially crafted menus. You can check the participating restaurants here  Gourmet week .

Dakshin is known for it's south Indian offerings since a long time.A special menu with the options of veg,non veg and seafood thali is specially done by Chef Harish.We went for a non veg and a seafood thali.
The dinner beagn with Iyer's special and chutneys.Iyer's special is basically Banana dosa and adai.The chutneys were finger licking good.

Iyer's special

The soups Kozhi rasam and Kalyera rasam were amazing,chicken soup had nice tender chicken pieces in a chicken broth.Kalyera rasam had tender and well cooked lobster.

The non veg thali had a chicken starter Kozhi mundri varuval was small chicken pieces cooked with cashew nuts,mild ting of the cashews made the dish outstanding.Kadamba Varuval of the seafood thali was squid cooked in south indian style,the squids were soft and not rubbery at all.

The non veg thali had a mutton curry,prawn curry and chicken along with other veg dishes.Everything here was so well cooked,the mutton so tender just melted in the mouth,chicken was cooked in Andhara style and was the only spicy dish.

Prawn completely stood out,I have never had such tender prawns anyhwere till now.The quality was superior and cooked perfectly,they melted in the mouth with a crunch.Hats off to the chef for taking such good care of the quality.Surprisingly,that small bowl had around 8 to 10 prawns.

Just like the prawns,the crab was of superb quality and cooked so well.It was the best I have had in my life till now.So soft,had slight sweetness to it,It was served with so much care,they had mixed a bit with the curry masala.Amazing sea food,I am not much fond of sea food but this completely changed my idea about sea food.

We were so full that we almost thought of skipping the dessert,thanks to our server for pestering us to try these amazing desserts.Dakshin being quite famous for its desserts,he made sure that we try.We asked him to just get one scoop but the smart fellow got 2 scoops knowing we would ask for another :).The desserts were mind blowing,Mukkani Icecream, Elaneer Payasam and Badam Halwa.Each one is made with so much love and care.Mukkani ice-cream has three flavours banana,jackfruit and mango,I could taste all the flavours as the ice cream melted in my mouth,so creamy so soft.It is the next best thing after Natural's icecream.It's made from scratch here.The thali is complete paisa vasool,if you are in Chennai or visit Chennai anytime,this is one place you should visit for some authentic South Indian food.
Had an amazing time,enjoyed every dish- a must visit place.
Address-
Dakshin,Sheraton Park Hotel and Towers, Chennai
T.T.K. Road, Chennai 600018, Tamil Nadu, India
Tel : (91) (44) 24994101

Chronicles of Whitefield at Vivanta by taj,Chennai

Vivanta by Taj is celebrating the Madras Week and  they have got executive chef Arzooman Irani from Viavanta by Taj-Whitefield Bangalore.Chef explained us the history behind whitefield and its residents and thier cuisine.The Ango-Indian cuisine was a lot inspired by Indian cuisine.They use a lot of spices to make the dishes flavourful and not spicy.Chef has got a family recipe book handwritten by Harry Blake, one of the original settlers of Whitefield. The notebook was given to him  by his granddaughter.Chef has created the menu with recipes from this book.

They have launched a unique menu of ‘Colonial Hangover’ cocktails – a blend of European spirits and Indian spices.I had the non alcoholic version of Ginger wine,it was just splendid.The sweet and gingery ting blended well together.

 They have come up with unique names like Earl of Raj(earl grey tea, Gin , cinnamon, cardamom, sugar syrup, lime juice and bay leaf),Herbal MaryVodka with parsley, celery, ginger, tobacco sauce, Worchester sauce, tomato juice, Lime juice),Madragas Lemongrass ( Vodka with lemon, lemongrass and pineapple and Sauvignon Blanc), and Good ol Colonel (Whiskey, sesame seeds, honey, fresh pineapple, lemon juice and pineapple juice as well). Colonel Syllabub- sweet white wine, cream, sugar syrup, egg white,lime juice and cardamom.The non alcoholic versions were as goos the alcoholic version.I had the earl of raj(non alcholic version) and it was pretty amazing,the bay leaf added a unique flavour to the drink.

Earl of Raj

The dinner took off with a mulligatawny soup - a broth made with lentils and pepper.A fruity twist is given  to the soup by adding finely cut apples.It had a nice texture and was full of flavours.

 Fried masala prawns as the name suggests were slightly spicy and were tender and superbly cooked.

Mutton ball

Harry's fish curry

Country captain chicken curry 

 For the main course, there were a lot of rice varieties - coconut, tomato, cabbage - along with vegetable stew, mutton ball curry, country captain chicken curry and Blake’s signature dish - Harry’s fish curry.My favourite were the mutton ball and country chicken curry,full of flavours and not spicy.The fish curry was good too with a mustard base.

For desserts we had sooji pudding with  cardamom, coconut pudding and kulkuls.Coconut pudding was the star of the show and was loved by all.
A meal for two, without alcohol, would cost around Rs. 3,500 including taxes.
The  Chronicles of Whitefield” Anglo-Indian food festival is on from Aug22-31 at The Verandah restaurant(Vivanta by Taj-Connemara Chennai located on the Binny Road )

Chennai sappadu

Crown-Residency tower( Anniversary special menu )

Looking for a place to pamper someone or make someone special ;your search ends at the Crown.They have got all it takes to make someone special.

• Cake-check,
• Bouquet-check
• Rooftop,check
• Amazing food-check
• Photograph-check

All you need to do is pick up your phone and give a call to Crown!

The menu has some mouth watering starters,main course,breads,rice and desserts.You can pick 2 starters of your choice and 2 main course from the options in the anniversary menu.

Gulaoti kebab

Veg starters

Crown has come up with a special menu called Anniversary special.They arrange everything for you at 1999 INR plus taxes.
Crown has outdoor and indoor seating.We sat outside and surprisingly it was pleasant.You get a great city view from there.

Mutton curry

Mixed veg

Paneer kalimirchi

The food was good,especially the mutton and chicken curry.The mutton was rich with flavors and had a north Indian touch to it.The chicken gravy was the typical Punjabi style.The veg was not bad either. Paneer kalimirchi had a lot of pepper in it as the name suggests.

Chicken peshawari

In the desserts they have ras malai,strawberry mousse and chocolate brownie.I liked the brownie,it was fudgy and melted in the mouth.The ras malai was good too.

Desserts

All in all its a good package for 2. If you want to spend a lovely evening with that someone special.

Simbly South,Courtyard by Marriott-Chennai

Courtyard by Marriott is hosting a Simply South fest at Paprika from 24th till 31st March 2014.They have added a lot of authentic south Indian dishes from different states. Regional flavours have been maintained by not tampering age old recipes.They have in fact got some chefs flown in from the different parts of south india to make sure the authenticity remains unaltered.
The restaurant is all decked up for the fest; you can feel the south Indian touch.The serving staff is dressed up in the traditional  south Indian attire and flowers and pots decorate the cafe.
Soups-There are 2 soups a veg and a non veg- Murugakai soup and Kozhi rasam.While we were enjoying our soups we were served some local bhajjis.

 The live counter has a whole lot of local stuff-Bajji and Sundal,Onion pakoda,Vazhakkai bhajji,kozhi vepudu,meen kal varuval and Parota .

We were then served parota with the traditional dishes.I enjoyed my mutton curry,it had the traditional touch with minimal spices used and lot of black pepper.
They have tried to incorporate dishes from all over the south,you can taste the best of the south here.Vettakoora miriyalu pulusu,malabr fih curry,nilgiri kozhi korma,vegetable chettinad,kovakkai masala,thalicha paruppu are some of the main course dishes.
For the sweet south Indian tooth you got Rava payasam and Elaneer payasam.
The regular buffet dishes are there too,so if you want to take a break and have some salad or biryani,you can do that as well.
All in all it's a melting pot of the south of India.If you love the traditional and authentic food of south,you should definitely not miss this one out.The festival is on till 31st march 2014.

Timing- 7pm to 11pm

Rate- Rs1250+taxes

Address:Courtyard by Marriott,#564, Anna Salai, Teynampet,Chennai.

Ph No: 6676 4000

The Verandah,Vivanta by Taj Chennai

The ambiance of the place is quite good with spaced out tables and the lush green courtyard..You can sit indoors or outdoors around the pool.We got a pool-view table.We were offered a lunch for 2 as a prize for the '100 by Taj' contest organized by Taj.A lunch buffet for 2.

It wasn't a great spread but it was free for us so we did not mind much.

The soups were supposed to be served at the table but they weren't there even after ten min we had to remind them.We had to ask them for breads and the live counter.They just came to clear the plates.The service was a let down.

Soups were better part of the spread.There was an option each for  veg and a non veg .The chicken soup had spinach and tiny tender chicken pieces in a clear chicken broth.Chicken was tender and went well with the spinach.The veg soup on the other hand was a peas soup it was just average, nothing spectacular.

The salads were nice albeit  a small section.Veggies were fresh and they had made some simple salads and sandwiches only. They tasted fine so no complaints on that front.

There was only one starter in the non veg section.The chicken did not seem fresh and  lacked complete  flavor and  taste.

Tandoori chicken

Lamb curry

Coming to the main course-there was one fish curry,lamb curry and beef.Fish was tender but lacked the flavors.The minced lamb in curry was good but could have been better.

Fish Curry

Biryani looked tempting but was a let down.There was no taste at all.It was such a disappointment.The live counter had Indian breads,pastas and pizzas.Disappointed with all the food they offered,we gave a miss to the pasta and pizza.

Veg section had 2 curries and dal .The malai methi matar was nice.The dal tadka was good but we have had better for lesser price.

 Cannelloni-This was the only dish which we liked and had some flavor.The spinach and cheese filling was rich with flavors.

Cannelloni

 There were few south Indian curries and curd rice.

The dessert counter continued the theme of purely-average. It was conservative choice of standard brownies and mousses. There was malpua, payasam and a Bengali sweet; to appeal to those seeking Indian sweets.

 

The place is just ok,the food is a bit disappointing for the price you pay. The food is not bad but is average what you expect from a 5 star restaurant.

A meal for 2 would cost you around 2500INR.
Food-2
Service-2
Ambiance-3.5
Address-Vivanta by Taj Connemara, 2, Binny Road, Egmore, Chennai.