Dipping pot

 Opp. Raj park hotel, TTK Road, Alwarpet, Chennai  - 600018

The logo looked more of a dripping dot than a dipping pot, but I leave the interpretation to the individuals

We were invited to review and let them know how their original preparations tasted and what could be bettered to suit the customers taste. So it is a huge responsibility on our shoulders as our suggestions taken/implemented would be an yardstick of our abilities in gauging the Chennai palates. Hope we did justice!

Ambiance: Purple and white is the color theme. The wallpaper is of a white painted brick wall and the flooring is wooden textured (you will think its actual wood). A very cute book shelf catches your eye the moment you climb up. The actual action is on the first floor and the ground floor is with a few tables and chairs but inevitably you would prefer to be up there.

There is casual seating on one side and on the other you will find the big group seating which you might find cramped for leg space.

The coffee counter has many varieties of freshly ground and aromatic coffees. I am a no-coffee/tea person. So no comments on it

Yousuff started explaining to us the whys and hows of the concept. Fondue is basically "something that is melted" and this is the national dish of the Swiss, traditional of the French and  Italian. Would Chennai be welcoming to continental type of cuisine? The answer might be yes, if modified to taste more desi in parts. If you already have experienced this anywhere before, this could be a trip down nostalgia

Drinks: Fruit punch was a refreshing concoction of spirte, mirinda, icecream and fruit bits. Have it quick or it will fizzle out and the cream would come up settling the flat sweet drink and fruit bits below.
Lemonade was good, the typical mid-summer cooler

These are not the actual portions, most of them you see might be for two but served in one

  

Buffalo wings  with BBQ sauce: This was the stand-out dish for me, they sauce was a tad sweet but the peri-peri fries compensated for the spice quotient. The sweet, sour/tangy spicy with the fried skin crust and sauce was yummy finger-licking good

Fish Fillet:  Basa fish fillet sauteed with oil and some aromatic herbs and spices served with lemon butter. It is more of a continental style and you can go either way based on your preference. The garlic breads served along are crispy, buttery and garlicy just the way I like.

Beef steak and Chicken steak: Both meats are seared and mushroom pepper sauce added on top was  okay. There was mashed potatoes, blanched sauteed veggies (baby potatoes, baby corn, broccoli, and carrots) to accompany. The sauce lacked depth in terms of texture, sheen, the spice or flavor. Make sure you mention your spice levels and get it done right to your taste

 

Cheese fondue: Their signature dishes with the choice of your cheese explained below. If you find your melted cheese bland, you can get a spiced-up version with peri-peri powder. You get an assortment of sauted veggies, peri-peri fries, chicken nuggets, inhouse fish fingers and bread cubes. Use the long-stemmed fork to pick one at a time, dunk it in and eat. 

Cheeses: Emmental (visualize the cheese pic with big holes in them, mostly found on kids books) and Gruyere come from two regions of the same name in Switzerland. Emmental is more sharper in taste and Gruyere is slightly sweeter and earthen. You can pick the cheese of your choice

DeWine:  These are traditionally served with the wine of your choice, either red or white (non-alcoholic). So choose what you like.

Some fun/tradition while at this: If a man drops his picked up ingredient into the cheese while dipping, he has to buy a drink to the ones on his table. Whereas, the woman dropping would have to kiss the person next to her. Well, try your luck and see what you get

Medical info: The fear of  fish and cheese combination being poison is a myth.  There are hundreds of seafood dishes made with this combination. Unless you have allergies to both (histamine), indulge guilt free and have fun

Chocolate fondue:  Choose your chocoloate (dark or white). Dark chocolate fondue is served with diced cubes of apple, strawberry, banana, kiwi, wafer rolls, and eggless brownie blocks. If it is a white chocolate, they serve it with some fruit crushes like strawberry, mango etc plus the regular assortments above.

(Be it cheese or chocolate, the real good quality of both should be of that of candle wax. Liquid consistency, on dipping anything, it should cover it up entirely, and not run down, then solidify as it cools down. Leaving it to cool for a tad bit longer must become crisp/flaky)

Chocolate fountain: These two things are what kids and the kid in you will instantly like for the following reasons

• It is exclusive only to you, so no intrusions (ask for kiddie meals, they have them too)
• Not worry of it being contaminated by others as the left over chocolate is dumped and again freshly made for the next customer 

There was always this confusion of the coffee shop/resto being fully opened or not was solved when I saw this on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqFFCk_JtlU . They have officially opened on April 20, 2015 and are planning to set things right with feedback and announce it big on the food circuit shortly

Price: A lunch/dinner for 2 might cost anything between 750/- to 1000/-.
PS: In a few other restaurants, they serve the same fondue at a lill lesser price and bigger portions

Verdict: Innovated/tweaked existing concept to serve more personalized to the customer. There was Swiss, kiss and few things that were amiss . Enjoy the favorite, very own, exclusive, personalized chocolate fondue and chocolate fountain table service.

 A dipping pot with a heart, if you connect all the dot(s), you will be sought, for whats melting hot. 

Wishing you all the very best!