Sankranti - Annanagar

Sankranti

A 36, Block A,6th Street, Anna Nagar East, Chennai 600102. Landmark: On the lane next to P.ORR & Son

This was originally in Alwarpet and due to some issues with building approvals, it shifted to Ananagar in Oct 2014

I have tried their Singapore outlet a couple of years ago. This was in their outlet on the first floor near Mustafa shopping in Little India.. My brothers who live in Singapore usually order food from them for birthdays or other social get-togethers. And, this is how it panned out in our very own Namma-Chennai Annanagar outlet

Ambiance: Exactly a replica of what I saw in SG, white walls decorated with the framed posters of "baapu bomma" created by the legend "Baapu" The Padma Shri winner for his brilliant illustrations, paintings and memorable movies in Telugu (pelli pustakam, mr.pellam to name a few you should must watch). You can see the bangles on the ceiling sleeved over the lights and traditional silk embellishments. These first glimpses take you to your roots or your andhrite connection if you are one.  The place is maintained well  and it really gives you that nice feeling as you walk in. Being a sunday evening, not many places were occupied and there were 2 tables with guests. I have heard from my friend that he had to wait all the 4 times he went for lunch

If there was a lineup of the baapu bommalu on the wall, here is a lineup of what we ordered: Bomidayala pulusu with steamed rice, naatukodi vepudu biryani, mamsam biryani, kurma and raitha and finally Junnu

Maamsam dum biryani 240/- : Mutton biryani, was spicy tomato rice with well cooked pieces of mutton stuffed in between with a garnish of caramelized fried onions. It lacked any flavor or biryani feel. I hail from Vijayawada in AP and we have a biryani which is neither Chennai or layered hyderabadi style but something in between and very delicious. This was not close to that, may be if they worked on the masala it should work

Naatu kodi vepudu biryani 240/-: The biryani base is the same only that two pieces of country chicken plus an egg are added to this.

Bomidayala pulusu 305/- with steamed rice 95/-: This was the best dish of the night. It tasted exactly like how we make it at home. 6 pieces of this SMELT FISH has very soft bones.. so you can pick one and as you put it in your mouth and grip them with your lips and pull out the bone, it comes clean leaving the soft fish meat in your mouth. This is a bland fish with no taste and therefore the soup makes up for it. Musty try

Junnu 115/-: Colostrum milk cheese (1- 3 days milk after calving) , the milk is mixed with regular milk, jaggery, cardamom for flavor and aroma and pepper powder sprinkled on top and pressure cooked to make this yummy dish. The junnu we had was tasty too but it felt slightly artificial (like china grass one)

and finally a cup of curd 25/- was yummy and creamy

You also get punugulu, gongura, dosakaya mamsam, pappu podi and nalla karam which are traditionally andhra

I haven't tried their bhojanam priced at 199/- and a special bhojanm at 299/-. Should visit once again for it

Verdict: Ambiance is spot on, food was lill pricey but andhra dishes tasted very good. e.g., just a bomidayala pulusu (I am aware sourcing it is a big effort) and steamed rice would be 400 and would suffice a single person. Biryani could be better.

I left the place with this song on my mind pa pa pa pappu dappalam, vedi vedi annam meedha kammani pappu kachinneyi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fN__ILOVeOU&index=7&list=PLge3qZtHs3axqPNa0mq7668X3yP4PoJdc

 

Noodle King - Pallavaram

Noodle King

101, GST Road, Pallavaram

Next to Sivam lodge, opp. Indian oil petrol bunk. Pallavaram. Its on your right just after the signal if you are going from airport toward Tambaram. They also have branches in Chrompet, Perungudi SP info city, OMR, Shollinganallur, Madipakkam, Ambattur Ambit IT, Mayajal


There was a facebook request to review this resto chain at our convenience and the usual suspects obliged to meet for Monday eve dinner at the Pallavarm outlet.

Meet A2 - Aloke Totlani the COO of the brand, Arvind the Executive Chef of Noodle King. Greeted with a smile, exhcanging plessantaries and  a quick intro about the brand and their new revamped menu with an  addition of new spices. Arvind explained about how he designed the concept and introduced different items to suit customers both indian/chinese/western a

Ambiance: This typical Chinese interiors with bamboo, wall paper, the place has been there for a year now and doesn't look even a wee-bit worn out anywhere. It is maintained spic n span. There is sofa type seating to the wall and on the other side chairs with leather cushions of red and black combination. The lanterns are made of bamboo hatchwork.
 

The menu deserves designed beautifully with mouth-watering pics  dishes and explanations and there are characters Ping pong, granny wong, Speedy lee, representing each course which is innovative. The kids would love to read this

Lemon mint cooler

Welcome drink: Lemon mint cooler - The sweet, tangy, minty drink definitely eases your stomach after a heavy meal, helps to feel light, energized and mint has the property to enable digestion and  eliminates bad breathe

Starters - There are good options which don't disappoint you much, read further

Five spiced Crispy corn: Another variation of the crispy corn but didn't like the five spice taste much. I am happy with finely chopped chilly, garlic, chilly flakes, and cumin preparation

Prawn salt n pepper:  As the name suggests, it was little high on salt and it  tasted just like the dish loose-prawns which is popular in AP

Malak fish strips: Indian basa fillet cut to broad strips cooked in hot dry chilly sauce was just the way I liked it. I could eat any number of these

Don Bak Chicken: This dish is made with crushed pepper, bell pepper and onions and it hits all the right notes of your pallete. If you love spice, this is a must try


Thai chin Mushroom: Hoisin sauce cooked  mushrooms, if you are used to eating mushrooms regularly, the pungent spicy hoisin can overpower the mushroom taste. It could go either way for this is an acquired taste

Honey chilli cauliflower: This is a super variant of our gobi fry sauteed with spring onion, red chillies, garlic etc. and glazed with honey. Its an interesting new twist to our very own gobi 65

Golden garlic chicken soup: Clear soup with bits of roasted garlic in sesame oil, cauliflower, cabbage, carrot and boiled chicken shreds. I am not that much of a soup person, so i let it pass

Dimsums
Fortune chicken Shumai - there are open type dim sums with chicken and some veggies, they are served with 3 types of sauces to eat with.
Exotic vegetable Dim sum - These are wrapped and steamed, thin outer layer with veggie bits, pak choi (Chinese cabbage ), cabbage, broccoli, carrot,etc.

Tips to order: Do I know the different preparation from the 8 different styles of Chinese cooking and the ingredients used. Do I like spice, do I prefer dry, semi gravy or wet, am I a noodle or rice person, have I tried anything different (lemon grass, sesame oil, hoisin sauce, crushed pepper sauce, oyster sauce, etc). 

Main course (described in the pics order)
Stir-fried chicken with Spinach: One dish that I didn't even like from the look of it, is very bland in taste and you just get the taste of boiled meat.


Kung Pao chicken: Soft fried chicken chunks cooked with cashew nuts and red chillies with would have been good served dry, making it an gravy made it lose its original flavor a bit

Kwailam fish: Another gravy dish of fish slices cooked with bell pepper, onion and chilly black bean sauce was good with the rice

Mee hoon dry chilli: You will love the texture and taste of this rice vermicelli cooked with chilli flakes.

Hunan fried rice: A smokey flavored rice cooked with dry chilly, eggs and Szechuan peppers would again be more of a subjective liking to ingredients

Chow mein: Go up north in India and this is what you get almost all street food stalls, carts, restos etc. a little wet preparation of the noodles by adding a lot of sauce to get to that consistency. If you have tried chow mein before this is for you

 

Date pancake

Fried ice cream

Desserts

Fried ice cream: This is one awesome innovation which keeps you wondering how on was it possible to fry something cold without melting completely. The taste was yumm too with the sweet outer shell rolled over coconut gratings and fried

Date pan cake with ice cream: crispy fried triangles stuffed with dates paste inside and served with a dollop of vanilla ice cream. If you love dates, u will love this

Food for two: 400 - 700 approx. They are cheaper than competitor (Wangs) by 15-20%


My pick:  Mee hoon dry chilli or Corn Spinach Mushroom fried rice with either Kwailam fish, Mallak fish strips or Don Bak chicken dry.

NOODLE KING - A revamped king in the ma-king, give them a visit to see if they can rule your tongue-dom. Affordable Chinese food in your neighborhood.

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! 

Double Roti

Double roti - 4/27, Cenotaph, 1st Street, Teynampet, Chennai.

This is on the lane after SIET college, if you have ever been to MKC from mountroad side, this is 100 meters further down on the right. This is has been built up in the parking space of "illam" service apartments. A franchise of the Delhi brand and already raking up a good 4.2 on zomato.

Another attempt by the food bloggers to bring the house down was here. We planned to gather around 1:30 pm to get the max seats available. "Dabal" roti with korma is considered poor man's food but this "Double Roti" is the richer version of some angrezi-food with a desi-twist

 

Ambiance: Nicely done up ~400 sft of parking space converted into a resto. Interesting interiors with pipes hanging above, vegetable graters used as lamp shades outside, wooden chairs and tables, paint buckets on the walls, interesting reading boards, serving containers varied from a dosa pan for all your burgers, a deep-based wok for your nachos, small steel bucket for our fries with salsa or meats. flower pots for oreo shake, glass jars big/small for your juices, coffee mugs as tissue holders, little flowerpots etc

Menu: It was a school writing pad clipped with A4 menu sheets.  The menu was elaborate and exhaustive but these might tear off easily, time to change to laminated ones or keep replacing them as often as they can. Prices of menu items range between 100 - 500 plus

Veg nachos/bacon nachos: served with salsa and olives was okay but the fries with bacon strips was delish. I love the combination and it vanished in a giffy. The best thing would be to mix up, toss up all the contents first so that you can balance it all.

Milkshakes: Strawberry cucumber milk shake and the apple beet based ABC milkshake were both normal nothing much to write about. More for the diet conscious people who walk in

 Oreo milkshake: in a flower pot is slush and really thick, you would love every sip of it till the last drop

Big boy veg burger: served with feta cheese, fries with salsa and cream. Not a big fan of veggies except that the feta cheese was really good

Porker face: An amazingly soft and tender burger served with lettuce, apple slices left me wanting for more.

The best thing about hunting in packs is that you can try all those burgers and choose what suits you best, I found the illegal beef burger, Areas 69  to be yumm, a hotdog with sausage, minced beef, caramelized onions was really good. There is no dry feeling or the ground beef being either chewy or rough to eat (which is the indicator for good quality of  meat)

Amazing burgers, hotdogs, sandwiches - The juiciness, the flavor, the size, the price point were mostly spot on. So folks dabal-up or be left waiting outside without a seat!

Note to the Japtej (Resto owner): 

• Please provide some seats for the people waiting outside, it was really disturbing to see people standing for more than 20 mins
• Consider the quality of paper as it soaks up moisture, it shreds and peels off (DIY burgers suffer from this) 
• Wallet parking would be a good idea at least on weekends and busy days