Taj Club House KEFI :A CFG Show case

A serene place in the heart of  Chennai 's chaos and confusion: pollution and traffic. It is where you can unwind after a tiring day at work and enjoy a relaxed atmosphere which will rekindle the romantic person in you. Yes I am talking about Kefi Restaurant in Taj Club house. Located on Mount Road near the Spencer signal which has the maximum traffic any day. 

Kefi , is a rooftop Mediterranean restaurant serving cuisine from Greece, Turkey, Spain, Morocco 

and Lebanon.

It is a perfect spot for a romantic dinner with your wife or more perfect if you are going to propose to your girl friend. 

The dinner started off, with Musk Melon and Parsley with chocolate balsamic vinegar dressing. We were given to understand that the dish is called Amuse Bouche and is usually given to buy time for the kitchen to make the orders. It was a different blend of flavors, mildly sweet from musk melon, parsley, sweet & sour taste of chocolate balsamic vinegar. The presentation was picture perfect. 

Amuse Bouche

Cassis Reduced Melon with mint tabouleh

Two types of bread were served along with pickled olives. Breads were soft, but the dips were dominated by garlic flavor. 

Mezze Sampler

Meze or mezze /ˈmɛzeɪ/ is a selection of small dishes served in the Middle East and the Balkans as breakfast, lunch or even dinner, with or without drinks. In Levantine cuisines, in the Caucasus region, and in parts of Balkans, meze is served at the beginning of all large-scale meal

Hummus beiruti
Hummus topped with onions, tomato and parsley

Moutabel
Char Grilled Aubergine with tahina sauce

Spanakopita
Baked pastry triangles filled with spinach, feta, and pine nut

Falafel 
Deep Fried Chick pea

Of the four my favorite was Spanakopita, the blend of Spinach 
with cheese was just perfect. The pastry on top was neither too 
crispy nor too soft. Falafel was again a hit, crispy on the outside           and soft on the inside

Orange Sorbet, I was pretty much impressed with the way it was presented. 

Tasted good too ;-) 

Aushak 
Homemade leek ravioli sautéed mushroom and fennel


Ravioli, which is completely made in house.Stuffed with leek it tasted differently delectable. The Ravioli was served on a bed of mushroom and beetroot sauce and topped with asparagus.

Pollo al chilindrón 
Corn fed chicken with sweet paprika, red pepper, tomato

A visual treat, to me. Plating was done with yellow zucchini and       drumstick. The Chicken was stuffed with corn and color capsicum

Dessert Sampler

Almond Cake

Baklava

Oreo Chocolate Pie

Figs and Fruits

I loved every-bit of the dessert sampler. Each piece had a distinct and unique flavor. Figs with a fruit cocktail on it, baklava, flaky and not too sweet, something for the chocolate tooth in me. Mildly flavored Almond cake. The tastes seems to have a balance amongst them.

Drinks to Quench your thirst

Virgin Lime Mojito

Carrot Basil Vodka

Cucumber Mint Vodka

The in between drinks that we had, was vegetable cocktails and mocktail  I loved the blend of virgin lime mojito. It was very much the way I like it, that I ordered a second glass of the same.

The ambiance of the place, is extra ordinary, and the service is very courteous. The various lamps that they have used to decorate the place is unique and attractive too. 

Will I go back ? Definitely YES. 

Kefi is located at 

Taj Club House

No. 2,Club House Road

Chennai - 600002

Tamil Nadu

Chennai

INDIA

Tel: (91-44) 66313131

Charminar : The Briyani HotSpot

Charminar and Briyani are synonyms for Briyani lovers. I have heard a lot about this place from fellow CFGians. Was wanting to check the place out for a very long time, but had my own doubts as it being a predominantly non vegetarian place. When the call for review came my way, I actually double checked if vegetarians would have any options. Surprisingly, Charminar offers a wide variety of vegetarian food. On the whole the experience was good, with a little glitches that usually happens in any restaurants. 

We started off the dinner with soups and starters. Again a lot being said of their Manchow Soup, I opted for it. It was spicy and had crunchy noodles on. This would be my personal preference when I visit them the next time. You do get a non vegetarian version of this soup, which is Chicken Manchow soup. It has shredded chicken along with vegetables.

Veg  Manchow Soup and Sweet Corn Soup

We had close to 4 starters. Each one with a varied taste and flavor. 

Paneer Tikka & Achari Aloo Tikka

Both appear similar but tastes differently. I have not seen Aloo being presented like paneer before. Paneer tikka was soft and succulent with the flavors infused very well. Aloo Tikka was sour and had just the right amount of spices. The onion salad along with the tikka was very tasty.

Majestic Baby Corn

This dish was way to sour for my tongue. Some how it did not suit my palettes  I had a piece and then passed on to the next dish. But this was a hit dish, in the recent Star Vijay Awards function as told by Charminar s PR Vidya. They had made a slight variation of using Prawns to Baby Corn 

Veg Shangrila 

Vegetarian Shangrila is the meatless version of sheek kebab  Its mashed vegetables made on tandoor using skewers. Tasted like cutlets in a different form and had a predominant flavor of cinnamon. It tasted good with the mint chutney.

Lacha Paratha , Charminar Veg Subzi and Yellow Dal

When you visit Charminar, do not ever forget to order the Yellow Dal. It was just superb. Perfect for Lacha paratha and to eat it just like that. The texture, color and taste were all just perfect. 

One of their signature dishes, Charminar Vegetable Subzi was again a standout dish in the showcase. It was spicy and had a lot of veggies (psst: I always like a lot of veggies in my food)

Vegetable Briyani and Paneer Briyani

Showstopper for the whole dinner, Briyani : Spicy, flavorful and cooked to the perfect consistency. I love their Briyani, be it vegetable or paneer.

Double Kaa Meeta 

Dessert was Double Kaa Meeta, bread cooked with Khoya , loaded with cashews, raisins and cherries and drizzled with generous portions of ghee. Perfect dessert to end with. 

My ratings

Service: 8/10

Rates: 8/10

Taste: 8/10

Ambience: 6/10

Will I go back? Definitely yes. Not all restaurants that concentrate on Non vegetarian food gives so many options for Vegetarians. This is the USP of Charminar. 

Charminar is located at 

Lloyds Rd, Padupet, 

Chennai, TN 600086

Phone:044 2811 1007

Spoonbill : Global food available at your vicinity

My second visit to Spoonbill and it was the CFG review group . I look forward to such reviews as it is very relaxing and completely fun filled with lots of yummy food. 

A lovely bright orange Spoonbill will welcome you as you enter the restaurant

The various pictures on the walls reminded me of the movie title " Eat , Pray and Love "

Since it was Holi time, we got to see a lot of Sweets and savories related to the festival . As we sat chatting and clicking snaps, we were served fresh fruit juices Owing to my previous visit, I knew when they say fresh fruit juice , it is fresh juice and not the flavored ones. My choice is always the cool watermelon. 

Cooking is definitely an art on its own. Is there anyone who does not agree to this fact. If you disagree, please visit Spoonbill once and see the way they make, no .. create a crepe. It absolutely artistic. The way the batter is made into a huge circle. Then filled with stuffing and rolled into a cone. Oh my. I was completed taken away by the way it was done. 

Crepes being created, yes it looked like an art 

Soft crepe filled with chicken and cheese, ready to be devoured

Steaks in the making 

Grochen : The most soft pav I have ever tasted. This

pav was served along with the non vegetarian dish ,

but was devoured by the vegetarians, It was too soft

.. as in it would melt in your mouth

Falafel Salad , had the perfect blend of spices, onions

and tomatoes

Falafel Sandwich

Empanada , looked more like sweet somasi to me , 

but here again filled with cheese. We tried to stretch 

the cheese to check its strength. Check the picture to 

see how long we had stretched it . This deep fried 

snack is delicious but sinful at the same time. 

Piadina reminded me more of Quesedilla to me, as it

had veggies,cheese and sauce what more it was cut

into wedges exactly like the ones you get in any

mexican restuarant. I liked the taste of it  , who would

not like veggies with melted cheese

Hara Bara Kebab and Paneer kebab tasted very nice. I 

guess they should be the favorites of mine when I 

visit them next. 

Nanchos and burritos tasted good , expecially the sauce on top of it. was yumm

I did not stay back for desserts. But I have had the strawberry fresh cream crepe and has literally fallen in love with it. Cant wait to go there and have it again.

Spoonbil has a cool offer. 

Happy hours 3 to 6 pm weekday 

You get 1 on 1 free. 

It is located on TTK Road Alwarpet

Just above Samsung Showroom

Thai Cuisine Simplified

 Thai cuisine is the national cuisine of Thailand. Blending elements of several Southeast Asian traditions, Thai cooking places emphasis on lightly prepared dishes with strong aromatic components. 

The spiciness of Thai cuisine is well known. As with other Asian

cuisines, balance, detail and variety are of great significance to Thai

chefs. Thai food is known for its balance of three to four fundamental taste senses in each dish or the overall meal: sour, sweet, salty, and bitter

Some facts of Thai Cuisine that I learnt

Thai and Indian cuisine have so much in common
Thai Cuisine does not use any oil, they use coconut milk instead
Thai curries are not tomato based
Basil is the leaf that is used for tempering, like our curry leaves

and 

Sara Koshy, makes any dish sound simple and doable even to people who are new to cooking.

Dishes on the menu for Thai Cooking were

Tofu Satay
Chicken Satay
Tom Yum
Tom Yum Gai 
Red Curry (veg and non veg)
Thai Fried rice (veg and non veg)
Buoroy(Peanut and Jaggery stuffed Lychees in coconut 
milk)

A lovely basket with the basic ingredients required for making Thai Dishes in display.

Our expert chef Sara Koshy, explaining what Thai Cuisine is all about to the audience

Lychees ready to be filled with Peanut Jaggery stuffing

Participants trying their hand to make small balls of peanut and Jaggery 

Stuffed Lychees

It was more of a hands on session as participants were involved in every step of the workshop

Stuffed Lychees ready to bathed in Coconut milk.

Lychees setting in the refrigerator.

Now that the dessert is done with, let us start with Peanut sauce for the Satays

Marinated Chicken ready to be grilled

Sara cutting a block of Tofu to be marinated and grilled

Marinated Tofu

Sara teaching the participants to skewer the marinated tofu

Participants skewering tofu

Skewered Tofu

Skewered Chicken

Our Grill Master, Nikhil Moturi. Making the Satays

Twisting and turning them

This is a cute age old device that is used for pounding small quantities of garlic, ginger, onion, tomato or make rasam powder. Hand pound powders and curry base has a distinct flavor and aroma to it rather than the ones that are done in a blender. I plan to buy one for myself soon.

CFG's big boss at work

Stock getting ready for the soups

Vegetarian Soup ( Tom Yum )

Hand pound onion and  red chili paste

Chicken Soup ( Tom Yum Gai )

Vegetarian Thai Red Curry

Chicken Thai Red Curry

Thai Veg Fried Rice 

Vegatarian and Chicken Thai Red Curry served for the participants

Vegetarian Thai Red Curry

Thai Chicken Fried Rice

A full plate served to participants of the workshop

It was a wonderful experience learning to make an international cuisine, from the hands of an expert. Sara Koshy continues to inspire me to learn new cuisines and try different dishes.

A huge thanks to Chennai Food Guide for organizing such a superb workshop