Azzuri Bay - Adyar *A CFG Feature*

One of the finest dining experiences one can truly enjoy at most restaurants is the roof-top dining. With the increase in pollution in Chennai, there has been a dearth of such restaurants. Roof top dining is very often available only in hotels and as most of them are located in the heart of the city, it often doesn’t turns into a memorable experience owing the fast and vibrant traffic that is prevalent at such locations. This was the scenario until two years ago when one such restaurant decided to open its doors to roof-top dining lovers. 

Tucked away in a very silent part of Chennai is ‘Azzuri Bay’. A restaurant that not only provides an amazing roof-top experience but also provides a gleaming view of the Adyar River and the mighty Adyar Bridge. Taking inspiration from the Adyar River and the Bay of Bengal, the restaurant was aptly named Azzuri Bay. Azzuri in Italian represents a shade of blue commonly known as Azzure and being located close to the Bay, the name could get no better than this. 

Towering 3 floors, each unique in its own way, the restaurant offers a multi-cuisine spread ranging from Italian, Mediterranean, Pan-Asian and South Indian. With a seating capacity of 140 patrons, the floors can also be completely blocked in case you decide to host a party. The vision of the owners is straight forward. One of the partners Mr. Jai Punjabi told me that their motto is “Good Décor with a Neat Ambiance serving Decent Food”. 

I am sure that by now, most of you would be wondering that Azzuri Bay is yet another multi-cuisine restaurant where justice will not be done to any particular cuisine. But your opinion will definitely change once you visit Azzuri Bay. They have indeed done more justice to the individual cuisines than most specialized restaurants do. Saying this, let me know give you a sneak peek into the amazing food that I devoured during my visit.

The first dish to be presented on the table was the ‘Rose Milk Popsicle’ & ‘Orange Popsicle’. I’m sure this would bring back old memories for most of us. Wanting to try all the cuisine, I was advised to go in for their Platters. Being an ardent foodie, I wouldn’t mind trying as many new dishes as possible but my only constraint is that food should never be wasted. Keeping this in mind, an order was placed for a Vegetarian and Non-Vegetarian platter from both Italian + Mediterranean and Asian Cuisines. While I waited for the platters to pop in, I was given an assorted variety of drinks to sample. This included a common ‘Virgin Pina Colada’, an innovative ‘Thai Ice Tea’ & a refreshing ‘San Francisco Ice Tea’. The Thai ice tea was a combination of Lemongrass, Condensed Milk and the traditional ice tea while the San Francisco ice tea was more of a black berry infused ice tea. 

(Popsicle)

(Virgin Pina Colada)

(Thai Ice Tea)

(San Francisco Ice Tea)

The first among the platters to arrive on the table was the ‘Vegetarian Asian Platter’. This consisted of Tofu Satay, Thai Spring Rolls, Crispy Corn and Cheese Wontons. This followed by the ‘Non Vegetarian Platter”. This platter comprised of Double Cooked Pepper Chicken, Fish Satay, Thai Chicken Spring Rolls and Salt & Pepper Prawns. The Tofu satay and cheese wontons were truly amazing while the Spring Rolls on both platters had a good filling and was crispy even after a prolonged time being on the table. One of the speciality dishes at Azzuri Bay is the ‘Double Cooked Pepper Chicken’ which was just too good. The chicken strips were perfectly cooked while they retained their amazing flavour.

(Vegetarian Asian Platter)

(Tofu Satay)

(Non Vegetarian Asian Platter)

With a closure on the Asian cuisine, my complete focus now was on my favourite cuisines, Italian and Mediterranean. The ‘Vegetarian Platter’ consisted of Three Cheese Rolls, Stuffed Baked Mushrooms, Vegetable Crostini and Falafel with Pita Bread. The ‘Non Vegetarian Platter’ had some of my favourite dishes, namely Stir Fried Prawns, Calamari Fritta, Chicken Shawarma and Lamb Kebabs. There cannot be a single dish amongst these two platters that I would dare to say was good rather all the dishes were just outright excellent. The three cheese rolls just melt in your mouth while the falafel was one of the best I’ve tasted in Chennai while the Shawarmas was straight forward the closest one can get to the authentic Lebanese shawarmas. The calamari fritta, prawns, baked mushrooms and the lamb kebabs all were remarkable in their own ways. 

(Vegetarian Italian Platter)

(Falafel with Pita Bread)

(Non Vegetarian Italian Platter)

(Calamari Fritta)

Being stuffed with all the platters, the main course was a complete pass for me. But the foodie in me did not agree. So the next adventure was on a roll. With a soft corner for pizzas, I couldn’t resist having one. I was served with a ‘BBQ Chicken Sausage, Mushroom & Oregano’ pizza. The pizza was truly mind boggling. One of the crispiest crust I’ve ever had in my life time. The toppings were absolutely fresh and was perfectly balanced with all the flavours. I just can’t wait to visit again just for their pizzas. The pizza was followed by a very typical Burmese dish known as ‘Khow Suey’. The chicken version was served along with 7 condiments. The moment this dish arrived, it stroke a chord to me that I have had this same exact dish somewhere earlier and this wasn’t the first time. I was so engrossed that I had a complete flashback of my travel over the last 3 years figuring where I had this. I had to eventually give up as it just didn’t trigger. Later in the evening, when I returned home to talk about this dish, I was enlightened by folks at home that I had tasted this dish at a place called Home and it was cooked by none other my mom. I was taken aback with my forgetfulness and had to shower the formal apologies for my ignorance. 

(Pizza)

Coming back to the Khow Suey, it is basically noodles soup meal. It consists of Noodles, a chicken gravy prepared in coconut milk and range of condiments. The chicken gravy at Azzuri Bay is similar to the Thai Yellow Curry while the range of condiments included Fried Onions, Lemon, Chopped Spring Onions, Fried Garlic, Chopped Boiled Eggs, Chopped Coriander & Chilli Flakes. The dish is served in a bowl which is first filled with the noodle followed by the curry. The condiments are added according to one’s taste and is had like a soup. This would be a great experience for tasting a dish from one of our neighbouring countries.

(Noodles and Curry)

(Noodles)

(Condiments)

(Khow Suey - Ready to Eat)

With all the mains done and just a small amount of space left to savour some desserts, we quickly jumped to the desserts section. On offering today were the ‘Tiramisu’, ‘Mud Pie’ & ‘Tres Leche cake’. The tiramisu was nice and had a good balance of flavour. The mud pie was truly and outstanding creation as it had me scooping spoons and spoons of it. But the best of the lot and my personal favourite was the “Tres Leche Cake” which in Spanish means ‘Three Milks Cake’. Being soaked in three different types of milk, this cake was super soft and spongy and had an amazing assortment of fruits to top it off. It was a perfect finish to an otherwise amazing dinner experience. 

(Tiramisu)

(Mud Pie)

(Mud Pie)

(Tres Leche Cake)

A perfect setting for some great dining experiences, a meal for two at Azzuri Bay would cost you about INR 1200/-. But the good news is that they have an array of discounts for their patrons. If you are an American Express card holder you get 20% off, for a Gandhi Nagar Club member it is 10% off and for the Chennai Food Guide members a discount is on the offering shortly. For all the women out there, be all happy as Azzuri Bay offers a 15% off for an all women table. These discounts are available for both Lunch & Dinner. What is now keeping you all back, get set go and head to Azzuri Bay for an amazing gastronomic experience.

For an earlier experience of mine at Azzuri Bay please visit http://www.foodinchennai.com/2013/01/azzuri-bay-adyar.html

Azzuri Bay is located at 13, 1st Crescent Park Rd, Gandhi Nagar, Adyar, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600020, India. For more on Azzuri Bay, follow their Facebook page at Azzuri Bay – Facebook.

This experience at Azzuri Bay was courtesy of Chennai Food Guide as part of their premium restaurant feature. For more on Chennai Food Guide, visit Azzuri Bay - Chennai Food Guide. 

If this article interested you, please share it so others may be interested too!!! Request you to also visit our Facebook page Food In Chennai - Facebook and share the page with a Like amongst your friends and also follow us on our twitter handle at @FoodInChennai

To keep yourself updated on new reviews, kindly click subscribe by email on the right hand side at the bottom of this page.

Read More

Charminar - Royapettah *A CFG Feature*

Over the last couple of years, Chennai has witnessed the mushrooming of several new and innovative biryani places each with its own marketing technique using fancy names and associating themselves to different regions to convince their patrons on their authenticity. But none has been close to authentic in any manner. The variant belonging to the neighbouring state namely the Hyderabadi Biryani too has been in the offering for a long time yet none close to the original one's that can be savoured near the Charminar in Hyderabad. Those available in Chennai are either too spicy or too oily. They just don’t get the right combination. 

For the obvious it always seemed an illusion to authenticity whenever I see such places. My inclination was the same when I first noticed a new restaurant propping up on Lloyds Road named ‘Charminar’. I definitely believed this would be yet another marketing technique by some restaurant owners. Boy was I wrong till I met Ms. Vidya from Charminar. One of the partners of Charminar, Ms. Vidya has a professional experience of more than 5 years in the food industry spanning different categories. She believes in eating healthy so that you can enjoy your meal over and over again. According to Ms. Vidya, Hyderabadi cuisine is generally considered a healthy cuisines because of the ingredients and the way the food is processed for cooking. All the spices that are used in Hyderabadi cuisines have their own inherent goodwill. 

Noticing a dearth in authentic Hyderabadi cuisine in Chennai, Ms. Vidya took upon herself the responsibility of bringing the most authentic Hyderabadi dishes to Chennai. She revealed that they are able to replicate the same authentic taste as most of their spices are sourced from Hyderabad. Also the rice used for their signature Hyderabadi biryani is a specialized long grain rice developed by the Pusa Institute, Delhi (An agricultural research institute of the Government of India). This specialized rice when combined with their traditional method of cooking in an indirect heat, gives the authentic flavour to their biryani. As a matter of fact, the biryani is so healthy that they use only 2 table spoons of oil for every kilogram of biryani. That makes it much healthier in accordance with Ms. Vidya’s ideology.

(Pathar ka Gosht)

(Hyderabadi Chicken 65)

(Titanic Fish)

Charminar has an extensive menu that has both Hyderabadi dishes as well as a few crafted by Vidya and her team. Some of these dishes have really fancy and captivating names. The evening started with the first starters arriving on the table. The ‘Pathar ka Gosht’, a speciality at Charminar, consists of boneless slice of mutton marinated overnight and cooked on a stone tawa hence the name Pathar which means stone in Hindi. This was followed by the ‘Hyderabadi Chicken 65’, which is prepared using curd to ensure a tangy curd after taste. They were crispy and had very minimal amount of oil. The next dish had the most amusing name I’ve ever heard for a dish. The ‘Titanic Fish’ took me by a shock and created an inquisitiveness in me to try it out. Not a big fan of fish when it comes to seafood, I ventured to try the Titanic Fish and wasn’t I amused. Being the latest addition to their menu, it had a very crusty & crunchy batter coating with the fish being marinated in their signature Hyderabadi masala. 

(Loose Prawns)

(Apollo Fish)

(Banjara Kebab)

The Titanic fish was followed by yet another humorous named dish called ‘Loose Prawns’. The moment this dish arrived, I was in no mood to eat as the laughter and amusements had taken the better of me. Being yet another of their speciality dishes, the prawns are batter fried and have ingredients such as celery, garlic and oregano to give it a unique taste. The next up was the ‘Apollo Fish’ which is basically a King Mackerel a.k.a Vanjaram in Tamil, marinated with curd. With a closure on the sea food, the focus now shifted back to the ‘Banjara Kebab’ which is a mildly spiced chicken kebab that is juicy and enjoyable for those who prefer a low spice appetite. 

(Murg Hara Pathar)

(Paneer Sophiyan)

(Singapore Fried Chicken)

(Singapore Fried Chicken)

The next kebab on the table was the ‘Murg Hara Pathar’ which is a similar variant of Pathar ka Gosht excepting that it is the chicken version and the main marinade is based on palak. This was followed by the Sholay Murgh. Just like its name, the Sholay murgh had a tinge of spice yet a succulent base of mint to balance the spice. After a complete bombardment of meat it was time to take one last go at my favourite delicacy, Paneer.  The ‘Paneer Tikka Sophiyana’ was very soft and packed with aroma and flavours. It is quite similar to the Malai Tikka excepting that it had a bit more tinge of ginger. They just melted in your mouth. If I was served this first, then I’m sure I would have gorged an entire serving. The last to hit the table amongst the starters was the ‘Singapore Fried Chicken’ which is designed specifically with the kids in mind. The chicken is rolled in noodles and then marinated in their special sauce. This is then battered and deep fried. It was more of a fun food after the sampling of exotic dishes that was presented until now.

(Begum Nawab Curry)

(Kadai Paneer)

(Dal Fry)

With all the starters done, it was time to move to the next course. For the mains, a very unique dish was served as the non-vegetarian side. Called the ‘Begum Nawab Curry’ which means ‘Queen King Curry’, it was a combination of two sides in a single plate with a clear demarcation. This amazing dish can be ordered in a combination of your choice, be it chicken, mutton or vegetarian. The non-vegetarian dish is accompanied by a bed of sliced omelettes. The sample provided to us was a combination of Chicken and Minced Meat. From the vegetarian side, a portion of an excellent ‘Kadai Paneer’ was presented. Yet again the paneer was amazingly soft and succulent and the gravy had the right amount of spices to balance the taste buds. On a milder note, ‘Dal Fry’ was served in a very cute mini bucket. An assorted variety of breads is also available to pair with the mains.

(Hyderabadi biryani)

(Hyderabadi biryani)

(Lunch Take Away Combo)

A visit to any restaurant serving Hyderabadi cuisine is incomplete without savouring their biryani. As we waited for the grand finale to arrive, I was informed about a uniqueness in their offerings. Charminar is probably the only restaurant in Chennai where a mixture of Chicken and Mutton Biryani is served. No it is not a combination of the two biryanis after being cooked rather the biryani is itself cooked together with both meat from the initial phase. The biryani was as close to the authentic Hyderabadi biryani. This is probably because of their ingredients and the traditional method followed in preparing it. At the end of the day, there is finally a respite for some authentic cuisine here in Chennai. 

Charminar also offers interesting lunch combos in a take away plate. It is again offered in both vegetarian and non-vegetarian options. Charminar is open from 12 pm to 3:30 pm for lunch and from 7:30 pm to 10:30 pm for dinner. 

Charminar is located at 269, 1st Floor, Avvai Shanmugam Salai, Llyods Road. For more on Charminar, follow their Facebook page at Charminar – Facebook.

This experience at Charminar was courtesy of Chennai Food Guide as part of their premium restaurant feature. For more on Chennai Food Guide, visit Charminar - Chennai Food Guide. 

If this article interested you, please share it so others may be interested too!!! Request you to also visit our Facebook page Food In Chennai - Facebook and share the page with a Like amongst your friends and also follow us on our twitter handle at @FoodInChennai. You can also follow us on Google Plus at Food in Chennai - Google Plus. Please also feel free to g+1 this post so others may be benefited too.

To keep yourself updated on new reviews, kindly click subscribe by email on the right hand side at the bottom of this page.

Read More

Haagen Dazs - Khader Nawaz Khan Road

 When I was made aware that a leading international brand of Ice-Cream is all set to open their lounge in Chennai, I was curious and started my guesses. We already have Baskin Robbins 31 and Movenpick. I was hoping that the new one should be one of favourites, either Haagen Dazs or Ben & Jerry's. When my guess was confirmed, I was ecstatic to know that my favorite premium brand, Haagen Dazs was opening shortly. Where else can such a brand make a forte, yes the luxury road of Chennai - Khader Nawaz Khan Road. 

(Yummilicious...)

More good news started to pour in as the opening date was announced. Being part of the Chennai Food Guide bloggers team, we were invited for the launch. I was joyous beyond control. Then came the big thud. I had a very important engagement that day. There was no way I could have skipped it to attend the launch. Neither could I attend both as, the programme I had to attend was close to Chengalpet. With a deep sense of sorrow, I had to wait for atleast 1 more day to savor their yummy sundaes. But as it always happens, this another day never came. Was held up with some thing or the other and the days constantly grew more and more. 

One fine evening, I was determined to go on a kind of shop hopping. With a restaurant showcase event planned in Velachery, I had to spend close to 2 hours without any work as Velachery was close to workplace and made no sense to go home and come back. An idea suddenly popped and I sent an invite to all those coming for the showcase, if they would be interested in coming to visit the Phoenix Mall. Aa & Av instantly agreed and the rest had some work. So Aa, Av and myself met at Phoenix Mall and looked around this massive place finally settling in for a cup of coffee. Post which we headed to the showcase. The showcase was kind of not out of the roof and some of our palates were not sufficed by the desserts that were offered. Instantly another devilish idea, why not head some place for dessert. As different people had different routes back home, Aa, Av and myself were all one after the other. So we instantly decided to go to Haagen Dazs as Av and myself were already craving. Having gone for the launch, Aa was already looking forward to the next time at Haagen Dazs. 

(No Ice cream for poor mosquito)

Bang in two different vehicles we promptly arrive at Haagen Dazs close to 11 pm and the place was buzzing with people even though it was a weekday. First impressions, the lounge was beautiful and gave you that instant elite factor. Going through their exhaustive menu while sampling some of the ice-creams, we decided to go for a selection of 3 sundaes that formed a unique family on their menu. If i'm correct we ordered for a Strawberry Sundae for Aa, Cookies & Cream Sundae for Av and Chocolate Chip Sundae with Chocolate Chip ice cream replaced with Creme Brulee for myself. While we were waiting for the sundaes to arrive, we had to keep a few mosquitoes to ourselves for company. Av had to swat a couple of them something which we least expected to do in a place such as a Haagen Dazs lounge. Anyways, our orders were brought to us in about 10-15 mins. They were a true visual treat. They were worth every penny spent. 

As we started digging into our sundaes, Aa and myself realized something a miss. Our sundaes had been mixed up, probably because I had requested for a change in the ice cream. Aa's Strawberry ice-cream came with a chocolate sauce while my Creme Brulee came with a strawberry sauce. We immediately brought it to the staff's attention and they were apologetic for the goof up and instantly replaced the sundaes. Hats off to their customer service. I guess credits goes to the owner as well as to their manager. The ice-creams tasted divine and the sundaes were frankly self sufficient for someone like me who has a big appetite. All of us thoroughly enjoyed our experience at Haagen Dazs excepting for the mosquito menance. At a later date, I had the opportunity to speak with their owner and had explained to him about the mosquitoes. He promised to look into it on a priority and eliminate the issue. 

(Creme Brulee Sundae)

(Strawberry Sundae)

(Cookies & Cream Ice Cream)

The total bill for 3 amazing and filling sundaes came to about INR 1100/-. Aa was very courteous to extend a INR 1000/- gift voucher she received during their launch and thereby giving us such a wonderful treat. Thanks Aa. 

Haagen Dazs is located at Khader Nawaz Khan Road on the same building as Manmandir and Cascade. 

If this article interested you, please share it so others may be interested too!!! Request you to also visit our Facebook page Food In Chennai - Facebook to like and share our page amongst your friends and also follow us on our twitter handle at @FoodInChennai

To keep yourself updated on new reviews, kindly click subscribe by email on the right hand side at the bottom of this page.

Read More

Southern Aromas - Residency Towers

If you ask anyone to name a place for food in Residency Towers, the first to be named is quite often either Mainstreet or Bikes n Barrels. But tucked away in the corner of the main lobby is a less known restaurant known as Southern Aromas. The last time I remember dining here was close to 6 years ago when one fine Sunday evening we were hunting around Chennai for a place to have dinner as most places were packed. The waiting time was close to 45 mins to a hour almost everywhere. Having hopped into close to 4 restaurants, we decided to try Southern Aromas. Believe it or not, we had to wait for the same amount of time here too. Being tired driving around, we decided to wait as it was our first time. But the experience wasn't too great and didn't motivate me to visit again soon. Coming to the present, I day I get a call from the Chennai Food Guide asking me if I would be interested to take part in the Bloggers Meet at Southern Aromas. I had an instant flashback and thought this should be a good opportunity to give them a chance once again and immediately confirmed my participation.

I was to meet with 4 other fellow bloggers for the meet and was told that we would be having an interaction with the Chef too. Southern Aromas is a south Indian restaurant serving up dishes from the 4 states in south India namely, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh & Karnataka. The best part is that they have some of the traditional dishes from these cuisines too. Arriving in time and having introduced ourselves to the team at Southern Aromas, the dishes started to arrive one by one.

(Welcome Drink)

(Papads)

(Chutney)

The first to arrive were the welcome drink and papads. The welcome drink was nothing southern at all. It seemed to be an ordinary fusion drink so didn't pay much attention to the same. The papads were brought in a very stylish cone shaped plantain leaf. It was accompanied by an array of Tomato and Coconut chutney's. The papads were crisps and the chutney's finger licking yumm. 

The first of the dishes to be served was "Malli Vada". This is one of their fast moving signature dishes. I was assuming the vada's to be the usual shaped but was taken aback when it was placed on the table. Each of the Malli Vada were triangle shaped. The Chef told us that they are steamed first so that the shape holds. Although the texture seems to look hard, the vada was super soft and was just mind blowing, no wonder it is their most selling dish. 

(Malli Vada)

The next dishes were the Mutton Roast Kerala Style and Jumbo Prawns Andhra Style. The mutton were packed with curry leaves flavour and the meat too was very soft and juicy. Mind you if you did not feel the flavors immediately as I too was wondering the same. But the moment it hits within a few seconds, it makes itself worth craving for. On the other hand you could tell from the looks on the Prawns that they were Andhra style. Rich red in color  it had a superb level of spice which complemented the prawns perfectly.  Having a prawn lover in our group, you could see a gleaming smile on him once he savored the prawns. That by itself is a strong evidence that they were amazing. This was then followed by the last starter of the evening, the Coriander Chicken Fry which incidentally is again from Kerala. The chicken had a good crispy texture to it as the main ingredient used in marination was not the Coriander powder but was the Coriander seed itself. This really changed the dynamics on the palate. 

(Mutton Roast Kerala Style)

(Andhra style Jumbo Prawns)

(Coriander Chicken Fry)

With the starters all done, next was the line up of the mains. The first to make it was the Tamil Nadu style Mini Podi Idly. Frankly, why would I order this here. Adding to it, I felt the dish tasted very similar to what we get in most places. But I guess it targeted at customers who are not from Tamil Nadu for whom it may be a wonder dish. This was followed by an array of dishes. The Chicken Kothu Parotta was something different to what I've been having all this while. It was very low in oil and had a good crispiness on the parotta. 

(Mini Pody Idly)

(Chicken Kothu Parotta)

This was followed by a continual service of Dosa, Appam and Idiyappams (String Hoppers). To complement these, the gravies that were served were Poondu (Garlic) curry, Vegetable Stew, a south Indian Dhal and a Mutton curry. The Poondu curry and Vegetable stew were a perfect combination with the dosas while the Mutton curry gave a good booster dose to the idiyappams. The last to be served was the Ambur Biryani. Having tasted the real Ambur biryani, I for once knew this was not anywhere close to the original. But on the contrary, it did have a good flavour which was very unique for a biryani. It was definitely a winning dish as it was absolutely something that had never struck me before in any form of Biryani.

(Vegetable Stew)

(Mutton Curry)

(Poondu Curry)

(Ambur Biryani)

The desserts were the finale and we were served with the traditional Payasam. Being too full with just sampling the dishes, I just had a taste of the Payasam and sure it was nice. Especially after all those spices, it was really soothing. 

(Payasam)

Southern Aroma is located at Hotel Residency Towers, T. Nagar. A complete meal for 2 can put you back by anywhere between INR 1500 - 2000. But you can be guaranteed of some good south Indian food.

If this article interested you, please share it so others may be interested too!!! Request you to also visit our Facebook page Food In Chennai - Facebook to like and share our page amongst your friends and also follow us on our twitter handle at @FoodInChennai. You also G+ this page to share with your beloved friends the love of food.

To keep yourself updated on new reviews, kindly click subscribe by email on the right hand side at the bottom of this page.

Read More