Fisherman's Fare, Egmore, Chennai

I have been to this place a couple of times. The names makes it seem like it only serves seafood. Well, it does predominantly serve seafood, but i guess the demand of people who simply want to eat biryani and the likes of panneer butter masala are too much to keep it of the menu.

The place is nothing much to write about. Its not jazzy and it would appear from the name. The road it is situated on is one of the more crowded ones, but there is decent parking (for about 6 cars) right in front of the restaurant. In any case these cant be held against the restaurant. But the inside appearance must surely be something, that they can do a better job off.

The most recent visit was during lunch on a working day. A colleague and i walked into an almost empty restaurant, though it was early for the usual lunch hours, which would have started an hour later at about 1pm. The place did get crowded and almost full, by the time we finished and walked out at about 2pm. Since we were early we had a choice of the entire restaurant to sit, but we were dissuaded from sitting at the one place we sought, because of some electric work possible. The person who seated us was friendly, so one cant take offense to this simple request. But it is still a bit difficult to comprehend how restaurants showcase something, only to deny you later. This happens more when it comes to items on the menu, to hear the all too frequent apology, "sorry sir, this item is not available today"!!

After a protracted view of the menu, we chose to order the combos. I chose the chicken tikka combo (well, i am not a great fan of seafood. I eat only some kinds of fish, and absolutely no shell-fish and other stuff the ocean). My colleague chose a fish tikka combo. We also got some hot pepper chicken soup, only when it arrived, it was made the chinese style, with egg-drop and all. It was good, steaming hot and helped my cold, but would have been rather ridiculous on a hot afternoon in madras. The timing of the soup was right, and we got our food just after the soup bowl was cleaned up. The combo platter was perfect for lunch. Two dishes of chicken, one dry and one with gravy, some rice, one dhal, some rotis, a bit of salad. The other combo had two dishes of fish. But i noticed that one of it was strips of fish, deep fried with batter, something i wouldnt have been too excited about. The food was good, and there was nothing to complain. Although people wanting to know about prawns, crab, squid and other seafood stuff on their menu, will have to search elsewhere.

The combo also came with a drink. Since i had a bit of cold, i asked for something warm. All their bottled softdrinks were stored cold and so not an option. The guy (waiter, server) said they have appy or frooti (both of which come in a tetra-pack). I chose the appy, only to specify that he brings it in a glass and not in the pack itself. Well, he did, only he that he brought the empty glass and tetra-pack to my table and insisted on doing the magic in front of me. I first requested him to go do it somewhere else, since we were in a serious conversation. He did a small walk and came back to the table to do it again. I again, requested but now without the please, and also showed actions, in case he didnt quite understand. He now proceeded to walk around the table, and attempted to do this, on the opposite side. I lost my cool and told him, please take it away from the table, go to the kitchen and do this. I dont think he did that, but he did take it away from my table and bring it back in a glass soon.

Overall, it was a pleasant experience. The food was good. The service was friendly to the usual nonchalant (which is pretty much common in any restaurant in the country). I guess its part of the 'it feels like home' mantra, many people try to follow. I must consider this place again, probably with a larger group, so a better choice of orders can be tried.

Dynasty, Nungambakkam, Chennai

This is an all time favourite, or used to be. Part of the Harrisons Hotel, has been in existence for a better part of my life. The old style hotel has now been torn down, and rebuilt into a multi-storey building hosting the same restaurants as before, Meenam and Dynasty. There was a time when the Harrisons Hotel opened smaller Dynasty outlets around Chennai. There were about 2 or 3 around chennai, not including another bakery called Harrisons (i think).

I have been here a few times. I specially loved the older version, because of the sprawling setup. But then, those kind of places are rare these days inside chennai. If i remember correctly, i was introduced to the 'manchurian', thanks to Dynasty. Good chinese food, meant Dynasty once upon a time. Unfortunately, while they have not gone bad, they seem to have lost their edge. The quality of the food is surely not in line with times.

The services was mixed. I must thank Mr. Jeffery (forget his last name), who seemed to care, but boys in the red suit were not as friendly or careful. Mr. Jeffery with his black coat and all, is the head waiter (if you can use that title here), and obviously was required to override decisions or rules. The lower boys were quick to say 'no' to anything, but the moment you bring it to Mr. Jeffery's attention, the issue is resolved amicably. We were a group of ten, and were at first squeezed into a table for 8, in an empty restaurant, in anticipation of a crowd coming later or because the extra table will come in the way!! The next thing that required Jeffery's attention was approval to change the channel on the TV.

We ordered starters, main course all too quickly, hungry as we were. Crispy lamb, dry chilli chicken, veg balls manchurian, and crispy chicken and fuyong. The crispy chicken leg is a chicken bone, all covered with chicken meat, dipped in a special batter and deep fried. It is unique here, most other places, offer a version of this called chicken lolipop. The fuyong was also good, as expected. However, after eating, i wish we had ordered the fuyong without chicken in it.

For main course, it was two kinds of fried rice, and soft noodles, both of which were just about good. But of the dishes we ordered, Lemon Chicken, made with sliced chicken, deserve a very good rating. The other dishes were just about ok, and not worth calling out or remembering. The fried rice or noodles in India, is different from what i have eaten in the US. There is very little oil used in the cooking of both these food, that it could qualify for a health food. I specially love egg fried rice here or in most chinese places, adding meat (chicken or other), seem to introduce a different flavour, making it less desirable.

We finished with some deserts, mostly ice cream, because the menu had nothing special to offer here. The date pancake was just ordinary, compared to ones we get at Mainland China, nearby. People dont seem to care about competition, they believe that crowds will come because of some old glory. One should only look at the Buhari's on Mount Rd for some lessons.

Vrindavan, New Woodlands, Chennai

This is not new, its been there for ages. This is one of the restaurants inside the New Woodlands Hotel, on Dr. Radhakrishnan Salai. This is their attempt to 'up the scale', i guess more on the monetary side, than on the service side. The restaurant is a multi-cusine vegetarian restaurant, and is also 'Jain food' friendly. I have been to this hotel a million times, but 99 times of a hundred it is to the faster 'south indian restaurant' now called Krishna Restaurant. The visit to the Vrindavan side is only when there are special 'guests' in the party, or if the other side is packed.

Food is not a problem here. It was never a problem with this or the other restaurant in New Woodlands. In fact, the name 'woodlands' has become quite generic, and i have not been disappointed visiting one of these copies or originals or branches (i dont think they are branches, but more like within the family or something like that !!, i dont know and so no judgement regarding that). It appears that if you name something woodlands, the food is decent to good.

The service on the other side is somewhere between indifferent to decent. It appears to be a common trait with all restaurants in India. It is difficult to get good quality service. This place wasnt so bad, but, i am sure there is scope to improve. We ordered Idly, Dosa (couple of different varities) and then later coffee. Well, if you go to a Woodlands, get the Idly and Dosa, not the noodles and roti/naan etc. Straying from this mantra is asking for unnecessary trouble. Not that it will suck, but hey, if you wanted roti/naan, go to a dabha. Yeah, except its difficult to find a vegetarian dabha.

I am sure they share kitchens at this hotel, because i couldnt find any spectacular difference in taste. They all tasted just as good. One thing that stands out, and caught my fancy, while sitting and eating, is the decor. There are some beautiful painting or pictures, primarily based on Krishna, but also mainly keeping with the theme of Vrindavan. I snapped the picture on the right, a long while ago using a camera phone. The reddish tinge, was because of the limited lighting inside.

One other comment about the Woodlands place, is the bathrooms. It is common to all the restaurants, and it is kept quite clean. There is a guy also standing there, watching like a hawk for split water etc., and cleaning it up fast and regularly. For that purpose alone, it is worth repeat visits. While this is great, the parking can be crazy when the marriage halls are full. So good to avoid the place when the marriage season is in full swing.

Rasam, Purashawalkam, Chennai

Rasam, is the name of a new (not so new now) restaurant started by Sri Krishna Sweets. Rasam serves food from the land called Kongu Nadu. Ok, i too was a little flabbergasted when i heard the name first, not knowing the history or geography of Kongu. The hyperlink will take you to wikipedia which has all the information you may want to know about Kongu Nadu, or the land of the Gounders.

Some of the items that were on the menu, is something you are so used to, that you dont realize where they came from. Of course to most food lovers, the history of the food and its origins are so inconsequential compared to the joy of just tasting and eating the food itself. The restaurant and the decor inside reminds you of an old home, complete with furniture and art pieces.

We landed up there on a later thursday evening, to a crowded joint. We were greeted very politely and asked to wait in a spacious waiting area, with magazines and stuff to keep you occupied. Well, the only thing on our minds was food. We didnt have to wait very long. Smiling faces amongst the well groomed staff, helped a lot, in maintaining your peace as we waited for our turn.

The ordering was tough. The food is all vegetarian. But there a huge number of choices, that it was tough to decide which to try. And i think i will not be doing justice if i tried to list the options i tried. Everything we ordered, we wiped it clean of the serving plate. We picked a bunch of appetizers, and a couple of main course items, so that we got a sampling of the menu. But yet, i think, we didnt do justice. I intend to go back again. Soon.

The only downside, is the bathroom, not the wash room. The bathroom, toilet, loo or restroom, what ever you want to call it, was hidden away in the back, by the staff quarters. I am not sure why they didnt think it was important to keep one where patrons could access it easily. Now as to why, i wanted to use it so urgently? Well, with two kids, its tough to predict when they choose to use these services, usually its when it most difficult to access or find.

Traffic Jam, Adyar, Chennai

I have eaten from this place many times, since my home is about 200 yards aways. We order deliver or have the food picked up by our watchman from this place quite often. Usually its to meet an immediate need to meet the carnivorous instinct within, that craves for meat.

Its kind of weird, that how your body craves for a particular food. I guess its all in the mind. Or maybe not, its probably more in your mouth, as the saliva oozes out of each pore of the mouth, filling it with taste that you think you had the last time you ate the same food.

Anyway, the food, specially the parrotta and fish fry is recommendable from here. I havent eaten too much other than this and boneless chicken fry, which by the way is also decent. But, while i may have some doubts if i will order from this place again (i will come to the reason later), i think there are a few plus points that one must consider before completely dismissing this place.

My Family and i, decided to take stroll from our home to the Food World or Spencer's Daily as it is now called. After buying noting much, we were trying to determine where to eat, as we were passing Traffic Jam. Since we had ordered from here before, we didnt think too much about walking in. Fortunately they have an airconditioned section, which keeps the hot/humid madras air and dust from the Sardar Patel road away from your food, but fortunately they are not well lit, so you dont know if you are in for any surprise.
And we were, as we sat and were looking thru the menu, a huge cockroach, ran right through the middle of us, across the front of the table, slighting us humans and daring us to kill him. Well, since we had invaded his or her privacy, i guess it was right for such a strike back. And it worked, we ran for our lives, because my wife cannot stand roaches, not even if they are a mile away. And the fact that there was a bold fella' running around, was not good for us.

Well, as to ordering from here, i may still choose to do so. One cause, we never had a problem before with the food, two, cause it is fast, and three, what are the other alternatives?

Raaj Bhavan, Nungambakkam, Chennai, India

Raaj Bhavan is located at the major intersection in Nungambakkam, where Village Road and Nungambakkam High Rd meets. It used to be haunt for me, thanks to the easy access from the sterling road, bus stand. Even after starting work at NIIT on college rd, and the opening of Nagas (closed since then, and now some Sangeeta), Raaj Bhavan was a place to meet and eat, when the budgets were low.

Since moving out of the area, i havent visited the real Raaj Bhavan. They do have a section on top, where they serve stuff in an air-conditioned environment. Unfortunately since they serve stuff thats not in their domain (idly dosa etc), its better to skip these. Downstairs on the other hand is probably best now only for an early morning weekend visit, because the place is crowded with office going staff, like me. Except that i am now, never hitting a restaurant for weekday breakfast or lunch.

Their claim to fame if any, was again sambar. When i used to eat there, i remember that they had one of the better tasting sambars. I, off course, hadnt tasted the Ratna Cafe sambar. So now the reasons to eat here is even less, when you think of the one thing that would draw you to it. Also in my recent visit to the more 'posh' looking upstairs, left me very displeased. The place has been neglected and requires a lot of maintenance. The food is still very decent, but i think it safe to pass, considering there are other options in the city today.

Its sad, when you think of the possibilities this place had, and the start. Most important of it all, like they say in the restaurant business, location. Its quite possible that this place is raking in the moolah, and the management couldnt care less about spending additional money in its upkeep. Today the real estate price for this location will be way higher that the business potential of the current restaurant.

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

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.

Kerala Hot Chips, Chennai, India

Hot Banana Chips, sliced thin, deep fried in coconut oil. Buy it fresh and you will never want this from anywhere else. Kerala Hot Chips has about 3 locations that i know off. There's one on Usman Road, T Nagar, one in Shanti Colony, Annanagar and i recently noticed one on Tharamani Road, Velachery.

I was introduced to this tasty eat way back in my childhood, when i would spend time in kerala every summer. But before you start buying these golden yellow chips, you need to make sure that they are cooked in coconut oil, the taste is everything. Even in Kerala, people swear by chips that come from Kozhikode, Palakkad and Trivanthapuram etc. There are special points and places where you get fresh and tasty ones.

In Chennai (madras), it was always a problem to get tasty chips, specially this not being a native specialty. And for mallus, if you didnt get the ones that tasted close to what they got back from Kerala, it wasnt worth eating. I'm sure there were other places where one could get these chips before, but i dont remember it ever being consistent and having attained this popularity.

With Kerala Hot Chips, it is become easier to acquire and to indulge in this savoury every now and then, without having to wait for people or family to return from Kerala with imports. For me it is a frequent stop, every time i visit the US, to carry some to family and friends there. Timing is everything though, getting it fresh is the best. Altho' these things can be stored for a long time. Eating it as it comes out of the frying pan, leaves a different taste altogether. Its not always possible to stop by and pick them up, but the ones done and stored in the back are good too.

Kerala Hot Chips has other stuff too. Lots of other stuff, that one would usually get from bakery or more stuff that one used to make at home before, but dont have time these days. Its well worth a visit for the chips, but also for other things you may want to tack on, when at the store.