Prems Grama Bhojanam - Adyar

Prems - Grama Bhojanam

19/90, Sardar Patel Road,Kasturibai Nagar, Adyar, Beside GRT, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600020

Ambiance: Is tucked away inside a compound adjacent to GRT jewllers. A flight of stairs to climb and you see a big hoarding with pics of the things you could order. Once you walk in, you get the feeling of being inside a "kudil" hut esp. with the wall colors and decoratives. That elusive "kolam/rangoli" on the walls leaves and some folk melody playing (flute) not there leaves me dissatisfied even after my 4th visit here. There is a sample of all the millets used in small boxes at the billing counter. Everything looks simple and neat and is well maintained over the year of its existence by the whole family of NSK Sir.

 

There is no parking unless you are on a two-wheeler. Find parking in the by-lanes or on the main road if available.

Water needs a special mention as it tastes exactly like the temple "theertham". So you get that divine feel and the ingredients (beetle leaf, edible camphor, tulsi, cardamom) helps you in many ways including digestion.

Food: The concept of health food scares the hell out of people and we have still not gotten used to these as they are long forgotten even in the villages these days. But millets are rich in fibre, minerals, micro nutrients and less on the GI than our traditional cereals of rice and wheat (ideal for diabetics and health conscious). To bring back those hidden treasures and run it as a resto in a prime location successfully is no mean feat. People are slowly realizing its value and patronizing it and make it a regular part of their diet is a welcome sign. If the place is relatively free and if you spot NSK sir around, he will be more than happy to fill-in a lot of details
PS: These millets need very less water compared to regular cereals to grow and many governments esp. telengana is providing a lot of benefits to farmers to grow the same

Millet Rasam sadam - Sampler, but tasted very good, so much so that I had to point out to my wife how rasam is to be made. I keep teasing her rasam to be "hot water" all the time.

Tumkur Thatte idli 50/- : Soft melt-in-the-mouth idli (1/2 in the pic) is the signature dish at this resto. We Chennai-ites traditionally go for idli first, then the other items like (dosa, poori, pongal etc). So the trend is pretty much the same here 

 Oothampam : The three taste oothappams were yumm with the tomato-kollu (horse gram) chutney, the peanut chutney and delish sambhar. There was also spicy aromatic channa for the rotis in the four-dish container
Kuzhi paniyaram (hot): 5 pieces per plate and we got two complimentary as he realized we couldn't finish another plate. 






 





Davanegere benne dosa: and the highlight was the Davanegere benne dosa. He specially topped it with a dollop of butter to make it yummilicious
Red rice dosa: Next up the Dosa made with red rice and absolutely no oil, wafer thin and crisp melted in the mouth in no time along with the chutneys and sambar

 

Service: Was prompt, responsive and friendly. The epitome of  service, NSK himself was at the table suggesting things to have and carefully deciding the portions so we can eat the max items and not feel stuffed.  So more of 1 by 2 of everything helped us go through many items on the menu

Dessert: A complimentary asoka halwa was mild in sweetness that comes from the use of country palm sugar and the ghee just right satiated the sweet-toothed me

The total bill was 622/- and everyone was filled to the brim. Happy tummies and we bi-adieu to the village inside the city

If NSKrshnan was for comedy.... NSKrishnamurthy is for food (village food, healthy food, homely food, millet food). If you know him too well, you will also see the comic side of him 

Hail the wellage caterers catering the village concept food from around South India!

Mana Andhra - Khadar Nawaz Khan Road, Nungambakkam

Mana Andhra

24, 18, Khader Nawaz Khan Rd, Nungambakkam, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600034

044 4210 6860

The day I saw this on CFG (Chennai food guide), I had decided to make a visit to find out if they can  satiate my craving for  "mana" andhrula bhojanam. On Monday. a quick bike ride from Ambattur to Nungambakkam in 30 mins at around 2 pm to join my foodie friends Gudduji and Nikhil of CCfame.

This resto has replaced the once popular Kryptos. Located on KNK road, you have to climb down a small flight of stairs to the basement to enter the resto.

Ambiance: First looks give an impression of a classy supermarket or some organic super store with racks lined up with jars of spices,  savories, condiments, pickles, dal powders et al. I loved their creativity but the concept doesn't gel with the traditional andhra resto IMHO

 

Service: It was rather slow since the newbie staffs had to keep asking their seniors about what next. Stewards were fending questions but unable to give us satisfying answers about the taste, quantity, food etc. My fellow foodies had already had a tete-a-tete with the Chef Durga prasad briefly too before my arrival

Food: We only had a choice of either biryani or thali for lunch. Most of the menu items are available only during dinner. Plus we could order from the menu of any of the starters and curries

Fish fry 190/-: Two small masala coated pieces of fresh water fish deep fried was tasty but the portion size was too less

Kamuju pitta  vepudu (quail/kaadai) 225/-: This was fried nice and crispy and tasted good but the size again of was of a little chick than a full grown bird. the reason given was they only get such a size in market.

Mutton fry 190/-: This was definitely not andhra style. It is usually pressure cooked with tomatoes onions, whole spices and masalas. Then the cooked meat is tawa roasted in oil to get it to a thick consistency

Ratham: Usually, there is this standard tray display of non-veg items in most of the chettinadu hotels. Here they have taken it to the next level with some innovative thinking of  using the dim-sum cooker to keep the curries warm and moist (electric powered). This is taken around for the customers to choose their curries.

Raju gari bhojanam  375/-: The rotu pachadi was probably old as I could see it browning on the sides and looked dry. I would have liked some vadiyalu (rice fritters) instead of the ubiquitous appalam since its andhra bhojanam. Payasam had no trace of a cashew or raisin and was pretty ordinary. Even the pootha reku was only served as a small block cut from a whole piece. A scoop of vanila ice cream with chocolate sauce was the dessert and a killi (beeda) to finish the course.  The portions, the taste leave us with a lot to be desired and Rajugaru would have definitely left wailing

This has replaced the once popular Kryptos. Located on KNK road, you have to walk down a flight of stairs to the basement

Kachi ghost ki biryani 365/-: There are two type of hyderabadi biryani availabel Kachi and pakki. I already got a negative feedback from a friend about it but still wanted to try it first hand. Seriously, if this is hyderabadi biryani.. I wonder what they eat in hyderabad is called. Even the mirchi-ka-salan was touch n go (mine had a chicken chunk sized ginger in it) I have never tasted such a bland, yellowish rice that is served as biryani. The bony mutton pieces hardly had any meat on it and only 3 pieces in the bowl with less than half an boiled egg. After the first serving, i requested for them to get me some masala to make it better, but what they got me back again was still no better. I had to innovate and mix some pappu podi to eat it like podi rice. I don't waste food and therefore took the remaining biryani as parcel to give away.

Suggestions: Please make the thali interesting as you serve only 2 things in the afternoon.

Ulava charu with freshcream instead of vatha kozhzambu, mudhapappu dhappalam instead of sambar, pachi pulusu instead of rasam, bendakai, dhondakai pakodi instead of beetroot poriyal,  vadiyalu (gummadi, regular) instead of papad. Guthi vankaya, mirchi bajji etc... change the source of pootharekulu.. get a thin one with just ghee and sugar powder (it tastes best that way)

Iguru can definitely be added to the menu as it would make the Chennai people's mouth water if prepared right. The staff could also mention the customers to mix the vepudus to rice and eat first as we do in Andhra (chennaiites dont mix poriyals in rice rather eat it as sides (thottukka) with rasam/sambar/thayir sadam)

Verdict: The price point, service, the taste, quality and quantity all are a big miss here. They need to re-look into the menu and set it right before its too late.  Having paid a heavy price I went home half hungry and would like to forget the experience soon enough

I would definitely want to try their other dishes esp their guddu pulusu (my fav) and other few dishes to see if they can make me happy... but may be after a few months

The expression says it all!

Mana andhra: there was no mana as it was their/chef's perception of Andhra which I am not familiar with

McDonals - Gandhinagar, Adyar

McDonalds

Brick house Bistro - Relaxed Lunch

BRICK HOUSE BISTRO - A simple lunch 

9, S-Block, 6th Avenue, Annanagar, Anna Nagar East,

Another Lunch experience with our gentle giant Gudduji.  We planned to pickup some pista house haleem and also pay a visit to our young budding entrepreneur Sudharsan of "The perf blend - smoothies delivery"  both of which are just a lane behind BHB. 

We knew exactly what we were going to order, it was past 3 pm and I had already finished my lunch. but couldn't say no to a burger invite.

Food:

White sauce pasta 215/- : Enough chicken chunks, black olives, grated cheese, oregano, other herbs and a rosemary sprig for garnish and perfectly cooked penne pasta. The first dish to arrive before the burger and we were stuffed with awesomeness. One of those nice white sauces pastas I have had

BHB special burger:  Meaner, bigger burger with Lettuce,omelet, chicken sausage, beef patty was very good except  it had a few chewy bits. I would have loved more caramelized onions in it to enhance the taste. The bread was intact and not crumbly and this is a major improvement to what it was earlier (kudos for working on that)

At work: The man who never tires eating out or helping his fellow community members (resto owners n chefs alike) makes it meaningful with his valuable suggestions and feedback.

Service:Very attentive and being a non-peak hour, we had a service boy attending to us fully and helping us with whatever we needed.

And, here are some of the pics from my last visit with another bunch of foodies and a nagging photographer

(Pics Top left to bottom) Chicken wings, cheesy gooey fries, chicken sandwich, fish and chips, chicken hot dog,  our camera man nags shooting away all the food we ordered and finally "how to eat burger" lesson by our popular foodie @candids nagarajan


Verdict: Lot of improvements from the few other times I have been here and keep up the good work and maintain it

Brick house bistro, the burger holds better! 

Lloyds Tea house - Alwarpet

Llyods Tea house - The Sunday Special BF

406, TTK Road, Alwarpet

The Sunday breakfast board in front of the resto is welcoming (Timings: 8 - 11 am).The first venue we recollect is the Avvai shanmugam salai (formerly lloyds road) branch. But a new one has opened on the TTK road

Our beloved Capt.Anand V is back on ground and in the food scene after 6 months of sailing. He  invited me and an ex-shippie friend Jason Lewis for a Sunday breakfast and we said "aye aye captain". We set sail on a fortuner and Scorpio to TTK road. I was thinking that it was in Goplapuram but quickly corrected that its ONLY in the TTK road outlet (were guided by the able navigator Capt. Andy). Being a Sunday was very relaxed and you love driving on those near empty roads of the city and a breakfast/brunch is a boon anywhere

Ambiance: The whole setup looks so simple in terms of colors (there is something about this blue that it mesmerized me), loved the world map cover on the sofas, relaxed chairs with arms, the pipe lines on the walls etc. Shippies had a special mention of the toilets to be very clean too

Buffet spread 375/-(approx. 400 with taxes):  Butter n jam chiclets, onion rings, bread (brown and white, can be toasted), croissants (two varieties), cake slices, cupcake, veg potato pie, baked beans, chicken sausages, bacon strips, pancakes (with maple syrup and honey), cornflakes with milk, watermelon, musk melon, ice tea and eggs made to order.  Mushrooms made to order (special request)

Food: The onion rings were tasty but cold, we ordered for another round of them which was fresh, hot, crispy and tasty. The croissants were ok, the cup cake was soft and yumm, cocktails sausages were juicy in the tomato herbed gravy. The bacon strips were too salty to my taste (to be had with bread to balance it), pancake was nice with maple syrup (the sap of a maple tree processed into a syrup has a distinctive flavor and taste) and honey, veg potato pie and baked beans were good too. I loved the french toast. Liked the butter herb sauteed sliced mushrooms were juicy and smoky. The eggs were ordered to be omelet folded so that it could be easily cut and eaten with fork (captains idea :). Lemon iced tea was spot on

Service:  Right from the start, the boys were very courteous and were always around to help you with whatever was needed. Served water and filled it as and when empty. Knives were not at the table and had to ask for it. I appreciate the fact that one of the partners rightly found a ladle missing at the sausage tray (since picking up some tomato based dry gravy with the tongs was impossible) promptly got it placed. Clearing the plates was also spot on. They got us on the house pink french toast with strawberry preserve and some sauteed veggies beans, carrots n baby corn

Verdict: Very very satisfying heavy breakfast for a Sunday morning. If you really want to stuff your face guilt free this is one of the places to go. Hope many of us patronize this soon

Lloyds left us with no Voids!!!

Kolapasi takeaway - Adyar

Kolapasi - Takeaway

Near Golden George nagar bridge, Mugappair

 

Started late one fine afternoon to check out this place and headed straight to koyambedu to join friend Gudduji and set out to Kolapasi. Famished by the time we reached the resto, were warmly welcomed by Santhosh (owner/partner) with the sampling cups. Of their many outlets in nungambakkam, and soon to start in Adyar and OMR, we went to the recently launched Mugappair outlet

Ambiance: Simple, neat and few tables to dine in was the concept.All the items are on display in the bain-marie (separate for veg and non-veg) and you get to see and ask for a taste. A place for everything and everything in its place neatly stacked up. TV is on a loop of their nice clay-modelling ad and others

Sambar rice and veg biryani taster 

Concept: If you remember the curry points of Andhra and  the sampling in ice cream parlors, blend them together and that's Kolapasi for you. Taste, see what you like and order only what you like (lot of issues are eliminated with this)

Menu: They make sure that the food tastes like how its cooked at home.The food and cooking style is influenced by the southern side of tirunenveli and nearby places

We being who we are, wanted to taste most of the dishes they had so that we could give a honest feedback to both readers and restauranteur alike. Ended up trying only the non-veg

First up was kolapasi spl chicken: Boneless chicken pieces cooking slowly for about an hour in a gravy of small onions paste and other home made masalas was just yumm. It was a bit on the sweeter side (attributing it to the shallots) but has been customized to suit majority of the customers palettes to keep it less spicy and this is supposedly one of their best sellers

Chicken chukka: This was the spicier version with red chilly and other special masalas makes you sniffle. The spice was just right for you to wipe it clean and there is no wastage as there are no bones to leave out

Kolapasi special non-veg combo 250/-: Biryani, chapathi, chicken curry, raitha, and beetroot halwa. I am not a fan of chapathi or chennai style biryani so both didn't impress me much. The brinjal was too thick and bland (gave suggestions to thin it and make it tangy). The sweet beet-halwa was the best with the right amount of sweet and ghee.

Seafood meals 190/-: Fish soup, hot steaming rice and prawn fry (was over by the time). the little that was left was given as sample and it was the prawn shallot version kolapasi fry. Fish soup was tasty but tasted more like a vegetarian vatha-kozhambu with a fish piece added to it (fresh water one). A small sea fish would have made a world of difference as meen-kozhambu needs to have that fishy smell. I guess the complaint about more bones made way for this change

Litchie cooler 25/-: This was one refreshing fruit drink with balanced sweetness n tanginess. I am sure kids and elders alike would like. 200ml comes sealed and Santhosh was kind enough to serve us a cup more without being charged.

Service: Santhosh made sure that we kept getting everything on time and was happy to customize it since we had to taste quite a few items. The dishes were served in microwaveable plates and even if taken away and had after a few hours, we can reheat in a oven and have it hot


Avinash Naidu (one of the partners) joined us and the four of us were discussing in length (~2 hours) about the taste, suggestions to make it better, improvisations etc. The vision of  Kolapasi is "kitchen outsourcing" where any house-wife or who ever cooks is tired to cook and feels like eating home food just need to make a phone call and the food gets delivered under 20 mins. This will help save so many man hours spent on just cooking related activities which can be used for other better things

Won't we all love it? but for this to catch on is a long-way road and wishing them all the very best with their venture.

In the end we were also introduced to the "Table -pastry in a bottle" by the popular Chef Shriram Rajendran.. I picked up the carrot cake and white velvet (yes not to artificial coloring) at 180/- each.

Both were so yummy and vanished in no time, though I wished to buy again the price feels a little on the higher side and makes you rethink :(

Verdict:  Cool ambiance, warm service, brilliant concept,visionary team with the right values needed to take it further. Home-cooked style easy-on-the-stomach (no msg, vanaspathi or colors) food is hygienic, safe but the taste is subjective, you might like your dishes cooked in a certain way (how your mother makes). That's why they say try the sample, if you like it go ahead, order and come back for more

Kolapasi - pudicha rusi, vandhu pusi!