Rhapsody, Marriott Courtyard , Anna Salai, Chennai

We picked this place, because someone said, it was a good italian food place in the city. I love italian food, well mostly the carb rich pasta, but the bread and their sauces too. And so it was worth putting this to a test. I guess every recommendation comes with a catch. Is their good, good enough for you? Or what exactly does good mean?

Chennai always known for its idli, dosai, vadai and sambar is increasingly playing host to a variety of cuisine. The most popular ones, though, are the junk food exported from the US - KFC, Pizza, etc. So a visit to Rhapsody would have been a nice distraction. Situated bang in the middle of what most people would consider the artery of Chennai - Anna Salai, our erstwhile Mount Rd, its located within the Marriott Courtyard hotel. I have been to the hotel a couple of times, a decent place, with a lot of pretense.

The same pretense shows through in their service and food selection at this restaurant too. We walked in, there were three of us, and were greeted politely by a 'lost' host. He was not sure if we were there to drink and be merry or eat and sleep. Well, you see, there is lounge bar, right there within the restaurant. A lounge bar, that played sports on a large screen TV. Thats a first. A fine dining place, that comes with a sports bar, that masquerades like a lounge bar.

Well we there for business. Food. Quickly ordered the main course, since time is always a constraint for many reasons. No soups or starters. It was easy to skip the starters, because we were served an assorted selection of bread. Many were cold. Off different varieties served, the flat bread stood out, in taste. The rest was just baked yeast. Common tea shops serve similar selection of bun. Right there, the italian restaurant failed its test. A fine italian place also serves very, i mean very very, good bread - hot, crisp and hard on the outside and soft on the inside. Or some variant of this. Never dull bread.

I dont know why. I came to eat pasta. But the menu item 'grilled salmon' caught my fancy. The many years living in the US, i had perfected my 'Grilled Salmon' (or similar fish steak) order. I was a fool to visualize the food before it arrived or at the time of the order. One colleague, ordered the pizza, since he wasnt so adventurous. The other picked the pasta dish made with angel hair pasta.

Conversations, if interesting, reduces the wait for the food to be delivered to the table. And apparently we didnt have to wait long. My friend who ordered the pasta is a globe trotter. His pasta dish arrived at the table. We had a knife and fork, the only silverware at the table. No spoon. Another test, failed. How do you eat pasta, the long kind, without a spoon? But a request, delivered an ordinary large spoon to the table. That was good enough, but not ideally suited for the pasta gumbtion. Luckily the waiter saved grace, by asking, if he wanted cheese. He then brought a big lump of cheese, grated it right on to the pasta. They seem to have got one part right. The pizza was good, and better than the fast food variety.

My fish arrived in decent shape, but it was clothed. Yes, they apparently thought it was best to grill the fish with its skin. But they choose to leave the skin only on one side, and removed it from the other. What ever side, they picked they left the skin on the wrong side. Nothing irks me more, than seeing skin on a piece of meat. The fish was cooked well, just as i had asked. But it was devoid of any spice or flavor. Thats fine, in america or europe, where it may be the desired way to consume, not here. I would appreciate a little flavor of salt, and a bit of spice. So i asked for pepper, the fresh kind, so it could be ground right over your food. Instead i was treated to the two regular spice, that is found on any average food table - regular salt, regular factory mass produced devoid of any flavor pepper. Fail again.

So without the soup, and binging on free starters, the main course and drinks set us back, a little more than two grand. It was a decent experience, i wont call the food bad. But i dont think their claim to be a fine italian restaurant is legitimate. While one can always pretend to be something, it takes diligence, and more importantly simple astuteness to mimic something thats foreign to you.

Sri Krishna Sweets, Adyar, Chennai, India

Sri Krishna Sweets is not originally from Chennai, it is based on Coimbatore, further south in TamilNadu. But soon after it set base in Chennai, it has revolutionized the sweet-meats business in the city.

Of special note is the mysurpa (or mysorepak, altho' i dont think it has anything to do with mysore). Today if i were to buy or eat mysurpa, i wouldnt get it from anywhere else, other than from Krishna Sweets. It is difficult to believe that i used to occasionally nibble on something of this kind before, because it was called by the same name, but compared to what Krishna Sweets make, that was like eating plain sugar and flour mix. The mysurpa from Krishna Sweets is in a very volatile form, you must consume it immediately otherwise it would melt in your hands. You would rather have it melt in your mouth.

Krishna Sweets also makes a boat load of other stuff. They also have a ladoo which is supposed to be an imitation of the famous 'Thirupati' ladoo. Its close, but you will know it is an imitation. I also like the sweet and masala poli that they make fresh. Recently they introduced food and snacks, i guess keeping in line with their restaurant background. And it is pleasing offer from them.

Krishna Sweets also has something more than sweets and food to offer its patrons, music. Sometime back they introduced a concept of live music (classical kind). Although i havent visited the restaurant during a performance, i have seen the stage and all the prerequisites for such performance.

A daily event from Krishna Sweets

Hotel Saravana Bhavan, Royapettah, Chennai, India

Hotel Saravana Bhavan, or HSB as i call it now, has numerous branches. All over Chennai, there is one close to you, like finding an ATM. And now they have a few or more in other parts of the world. The hallmark of HSB, is consistency, unlike our Indian cricket team. Its like a McDonalds, only that the food is cooked fresh, unlike throwing 'boxed patties and french fries into boiling oil' fresh. The food tastes almost the same in every branch and location of HSB.

The only problem, i have, if any, is what to choose. I know HSB makes all kinds of stuff, including chinese and tandoori items, but i try to stick to our south-indian stuff. The reason, if i want chinese i would go to a chinese restaurant and for tandoor a punjabi place. I am at HSB, for their dosas, idlies, poori, and the likes. So, back to the choice, amongst this long list of south-indian stuff. Its always a tough choice, and i end up with some kind of dosa or dosai. Rava, Masala, Butter or some newer variant. If it is not Rava Dosai, then my instruction will include, soft dosai, not crisp like pappad. I hate paper dosai, what the hell, why would anyone eat it. My wife loves it, crispier the better. For me, dosai has to be crisp on the outside, kind of thick, and soft on the inside and of course flowing with butter.

HSB has started speciality restaurants, and the one i am writing about specifically here is the one on Peters Road, Royapettah, called Swathi. Go early, and you will find a place to sit, if you are any late, you will need to wait for your table, for a long time. Small place, but it can easily crowded. With all the restaurants in the city, a lot of them seem to want to wander here. For us it is place to be after a late nite movie, specially after a tiring and boring one. Its also close to the Satyam Cinemas.

The reason i stuck the logo picture (i couldnt grab a better picture), is because there are a lot of restaurants that have been using this name and passing-off as HSB. So dont get fooled about the quality when you visit a Saravan Bhavan, and find bad food, and then you realize its missing an 'a' in Saravana.

Hotel Saravana Bhavan

Mainland China, Nungambakkam, Chennai, India

Simply wow. This has to be the best, repeat, the best, chinese food place in town. I am sure there are smaller restaurants that can churn out this kind of food. But this is the best i have eaten ever, in India and in the US. I wonder if the chinese in China can cook better than this. Ok, thats carrying it too far.

I have been there many times, and is still one of the better joints to visit as a family. Its not cheap, but nor is it outrageously expensive. The environment is five-star class, and the service is great. The food service was mixed, in the sense sometimes fast and sometimes a tad-bit slow. But there has been nothing that has stuck in my head as an issue. The restaurant is spacious and restroom (i think is always a good indication of the quality of the place) is clean and well maintained.

Now the food, that is the best part. I am not so sure where to start. The starters, cripy spinach and fried corn are my favourites. There is of course the usual spring rolls and drumsticks and the unusual. In the main course, the pick is really just about anything. I have tasted a few of the chicken and veg dishes, and each one is unique and tastes great. The noodles, is one of the best i have tasted. I usually dont like noodles, but this place i recently took some, and it was awesome. I need to try somemore, the next time.

But before i finish i must talk about daarsaan and date pancake, the desserts. Each of these with ice-cream is the reason to save some space at the end of the meal. They also have a nice business lunch buffet during weekdays which offers a collection of dishes, and includes daarsaan and ice-cream. A reason to visit for lunch more often. But since i tend to skimp on food during lunch, it becomes a tough choice to go to a buffet place. There is something about buffet and over-eating. I wonder what !!

Visit to Mainland China can be pleasant experience. The hotel has also solved the car parking problem, by introducing valet parking (the new fad in town, thanks to the parking problem).

Mainland China

Suriya Sweets, Abhiramapuram, Chennai, India

Suriya Sweets located originally in Abhiramapuram is a hot stop for sweets and savouries. Fresh is the key, and the service. After initially doing just sweets and related stuff, they also have a shop next door selling fresh vegetables and groceries too. The specialty of the vegetable shop again is the freshness.

I never knew it existed until my sister-in-law shared a box of besan-ladoo, that was gifted to her, by one of her patient. I think the box had about 10-12 ladoos, and i may have eaten almost 3-4 of them in one sitting. And anything remaining was polished of the next day or so. It was then, that i set out to find this place. And even today, i think there is no besan-ka-ladoo like the ones that you get Suriya sweets.

You can add to this list, appam. It is made exactly to my liking. Soft and chewy, but a bit crispy on the outside. The only problem with the appam is the oil. Since this foodstuff is deep fried, it is inevitable that the oil has to be part of the ingredients. But this does put a dampener on the proceedings (eating). Although, i have been known to gorge through a packet before wondering the after effects of the oil and such gluttony. Even writing about this, makes my mouth water. I guess i am going to make a trip to Suriya soon.

For people in Adyar, if you thought it was chore, to go upto Abhiramapuram, you can now get the same selection on Greenways road, closer to the Adyar bridge. I guess they wanted to bring competition close to another hot spot, Adyar Grand Sweets (more on that later).

Suriya also scores on the service front. The ladies, are eager to serve and complete the ordering process, only to move onto another waiting customer. In the evenings, you can also get some chat-items, fresh-cut fruits and also a selection of sweets for instant consumption. Another good thing, is that, there is decent amount of parking for two-wheelers and cars. Although the Abhiramapuram location is in the midst of a residential area, and therefore has lesser parking. But then thats nothing new in India or Chennai.

Kalpaka, Royapettah, Chennai, India

Name: Kalpaka
Address: Royapettah
Location: Chennai (madras), India

Its been years since i have gone here. Actually not true, me and wife had picked up food recently from the place. But life after a visit and life in the US, has surely affected our ability to dine in restaurants where the food is great but the ambience not. In the case Kalpaka, the food is great, the place is decent, the area were you wash your hands (or bathroom) is the weakest link. And thats not true only of Kalpaka, its true of virtually any restaurant in Chennai, except the ones in a hotel or maybe the high class ones.

Before i spent too much about the 'nothing', let me simply start by saying the food is great. Starting with the free 'kachiya-mora' and achaar on the table during lunch time. Sit in the air-conditioned room, and order your stuff, and be ready to forget all those warnings of health and diet before you read the menu. Because this is not for the faint-hearted, nice beef curry and fish curry etc, is for the one ready to battle it out.

The restaurant like the other two i have written about so far, has limited access and parking. It, altho', is located in a very easy to find intersection, within walking distance of the Music Academy. The days when we used to frequent this place, it had more parking of the kind we wanted then (bike), and it still does allow bikes to be parked in nearby lanes. The view from the road is almost hidden, and you could easily miss this place, if you didnt know where to look and what to look for. A small steep stairway, i guess typical of homes in kerala, leads to this food place, that serves up hot malayali dishes, right in the heart of madras.

And my favourite about kerala food is the rice. Nalla goondu goondu ari (nice fat and thick rice). But it seems that no matter how much eat this rice, it doesnt fill you up. I am sure it is just a perception, but who wants to argue. Food would have been even better for me if it came served on a banana leaf, but here it is served on a nice clean and white porcelain plate.

So, briyani, fish fry, chicken kerala style, mallu parotta are all my favourite. I dont eat beef, but the options are real mouth watering. I wish the cook would be brave enough to cook up chicken the same way she/he does beef. Everything on the side plate is all kerala style too, papadam, moru-ozhicha kuttan, avial and manga-pickle, etc. Fast service, at least, the best i remember, but may also be because, i have always been here only during weekday lunch time. And in-expensive, at the end of the day. Me and wife used to frequent this place during our working days. How else to get home cooked food, when both of us were working ?

Here is a review of the place from The Hindu.

Ajnabi, Egmore, Chennai, India

Name: Ajnabi
Address: Fountain Plaza, Egmore
Location: Chennai (madras), India

Ajnabi was the haunt of my school days. Asan Memorial, my school was down the road and when FP (Fountain Plaza) was opened, it was the place to spend time. And Ajnabi among the many different shops inside the plaza served some of the best Bhel Puris, Kachoris and Samosas.

The shop is now located in a congested corner, at the rear of the shopping complex, but still commands the crowd. I guess when you make good food, people tend to wander about and taste something different, but then come back to taste the experts. I particularly like their kachoris and samosas, and do venture out to try some of the other delicacies they display on their counter.

They make most, if not all the stuff at the kitchen at the back of restaurant. And the looks of it may scare you off. But then who ever looks inside a kitchen to eat the food. If you chose to ignore some of these, then you are in for a good time. If you think not, then take out is a good option, because you can drive and park nearby, pick up your stuff and zoom out of there, to enjoy your favorites.