CHENNAI- SEASONS EATINGS!

Tamil love for food would beggar even the proverbial Punjabi obsession with food. The first question you will ever be asked in Tamil Nadu is “Sapadingla?” “Have you eaten?…” The Tamils need no excuse to eat. The Christmas holiday season, the best time to visit Chennai, is when travellers flock to the city pulsating with Music and Dance concerts that occur during the Tamil month of Marghazi (15 Dec-12 Jan) culminating in Pongal. It’s the season to splurge. And here are some of the city’s glitziest gourmet offerings, from the perennial classics to recently launched contemporary innovations.

1. Tao Of Peng (InterContinental Chennai Mahabalipuram Resort)

The famous restaurant’s famous pre-opening chef left to become Executive Chef at a Gurgaon 5-Star. But the restaurant reinvented itself launching a 5-course dégustation paired with New World Wines. Paris-bred, I’ve always disdained New World Wines. Yet this paring left me staggering, in more ways than one.

Supper inaugurates (the restaurant is open only for dinner, Fri-Sunday) with a crafted Tofu Cracker with Garlic Dust heralding craftsmanship. A chirpy Jacob’s Creek sparkling wine escorts the appetiser: Asparagus/Prawn Cheung Fun with Supreme Soya pairs. Revelation that Jacob’s Creek has good wines!

Twist of Tao of Peng, Spring Vegetable Tofu Roll or Peking Duck with Char Soi, brings a twist in twine, a crisp Argentinian Norton sauvignon Blanc. Mains, Crispy Lotus Stem with Edamame & Veg Fried Rice in Kung Pau Sauce, executed to perfection, weds with a lush Jacob’s Creek Cabernet Shiraz. Before supper culminates in dessert you find yourself ordering from the menu- this is a proper French-style dégustation with dainty portions whilst the wine is served Indian-sized…. Good excuse to explore the new chef’s menu.

Do sober up to relish dessert, exquisite Mango Miso, Coconut Miso, Coconut Ice Cream enhanced by a surprisingly good Sula Zinfandel Rosé.

2. Southern Spice (Taj Coromandel)

One of Chennai’s most iconic South Indian restaurants celebrates 50 years amidst crowds clamouring for tables on a Monday night! Presenting cuisines from the 4 Southern States, Southern Spice first splashed contemporary quirks upon “heirloom” dishes. A US$ 1 million facelift 12 years ago unveiled one of the most beautiful restaurants on the planet.

Besides the overwhelming aesthetic impact, decorative intricacies that weave in esoteric aspects of South Indian culture into the merest detail could inspire a book! Timeless as the restaurant is staff who’ve served you forever, like Bala who never lets you overdo the varietal appalams and exotic chutneys like ginger, tamarind etc. He is peremptory, he has a banquet arriving on the Mahavirundhu Thali!

A preludial feast of starters cedes to a thali arced in preparations accompanied by idiappan, appam, Malabar parothas etc. Sambar and rice Bala inundates with ghee, flicking up your chin beforehand, “I can’t have you seeing.” As Executive Chef Sujan Mukherjee pervades the restaurant ensuring everyone is enjoying, the regal repast apotheosises in Filter Coffee Ice Cream and Elyneer Payasam, by then you might’ve grown too large to extract from your chair.

3. C Salt (Sheraton Grand Chennai Resort & Spa)

Bay-set South Indian coastal cuisine restaurant with ‘sea to plate’ concept. Vegetarians worry not, there’s coastal plant-based dishes aplenty! Dine in a rustic-chic pavilion ensconced in lavish verdure or on the beach with your feet submerged in sand. New Executive Chef Gopal Sethi has drawn from his international experiences and interactions with foreign chefs to impart contemporary flashes to his new menu.

Starters include gorgeous Cheese Paniyaram which Chef agrees would acquire another dimension with Gorgonzola but blue cheese leave locals revolted, alas. Kothamalli Idli is a delightfully playful take on podi idli and lentil-based Triveni Sundal is subtlety incarnate whilst Palkatti Roast demonstrates attention to texture, not just flavour. Beetroot appam and deftly spiced stew make for mains.

Innovation displays in Elyneer Payasam, not the classic version but a sophisticated interpretation with toasted coconut chips and chocolate nibs. Cocktails like Wild Cherry Sour do the rest.

4. Flying Elephant (Park Hyatt Chennai)

The 5-tiered Flying Elephant, surely the most dramatic restaurant in the country, has had a makeover. Veteran Chef Balaji Natarajan, endearingly called “Chef B,’ we’ve seen wearing many hats. Around since pre-opening, he has showcased South Indian thalis of such unexpected refinement we asked if he had Michelin-starred honing.

He was then seen jumbling riotous to-beat-Bombay chaats over brunches swivelled over multiple decks at the Flying Elephant. We now see him donning -enfin!- the much-merited Executive Chef’s hat and exalting to another level the Flying Elephant’s concept of a gourmet globetrotter who brings international flavours to Chennai.

Chef Balaji’s new menu features Mediterranean ingredients in chaats and truffle oil in makhani, besides the most opulent desserts in town. But especially hats off to Chef Balaji who we’ve also witnessed taking time to make a terminally-ill regular guest (ie my father) paper-thin margarita pizzas because “That’s all Sir eats” -this during a rampaging New Year’s Eve gala. A++ for Chef B!

5. Madras Kitchen Company (Westin Chennai Velachery)

Saravanan Ranganathan, perhaps Chennai’s youngest Executive Chef, has spent less time in his native Pondicherry than on lands and seas overseas and it’s this global grounding that he brings to MKC’s new concept which now presents a “Chef’s Menu” where Asian specialities like Tofu Edamame Bao and Babycorn Skewers tango with local snacks like Thamaraithandu varuval and racy, rarefied Jackfruit Cornetto.

The motley menu seeks to capture Chennai’s cosmopolitan flavour and population acknowledging the considerable Japanese and Korean expats, besides Marwaris and Guajaratis to whom thepla and dhokla pay homage. Chef’s forte, yet, is South Indian creations like Siruthaniyam Sundal and Dakshin Combo where authentic homestyle idli, sambar vada and kal dosa manifest at your table in a traditional tiffin. Masterstroke. Veg Paya, Thenga Pal appam, Murugan Keerai Pulao, night shade berry Vathal Kuzhambu and Ghee Roast Paneer, a Chennai favourite exhibit culinary prowess.

Chef Saravanan endorses the “Vocal for Local” philosophy deploying fresh indigenous produce to support local farmers and fisherfolk. Expect millets and South Indian karupatti that in desserts like Siruthaniyam Karupatti Halwa. Fusion sneaks into Gulkhand Kunafe, Filter Coffee Petit-fours and South Indian cocktails like teasing Tamarind-coriander Inji Malli Martini.

 

Feature Photo Private dining at Southern Spice – Taj Coromandel