chennai – Page 2 – Ghumta Bhukkad

Azzuri Bay , Adyar

Published on October 9, 2013 by Ghumta BhukkadLeave a comment

An idea of a roof top romantic dinner with a little koi pond fountain to greet you on your way up and the serenity of the buddha statues along with the open space and roof top dining makes the place peaceful and ideal for lovely meals with your loved ones. This was the first impression of Azzuri bay for us. A very smartly designed place in Adyar, Gandhi nagar. They serve Pan Asian , Mediterrenian and Italian food and Chettinadu . Their menu is a huge list to spoil you with choice.

We went there for dinner without reservation and found a spot instantly but being only two of us we were given the high chair option where they reserved their more comfortable and prime tables for the a larger group. The food there is pretty great but so far i can only vouch for mostly pan asian cuisine and a little about their pizza and pasta i had earlier much before we went for the review .

For starters we ordered

Spicy Vegetable Thai Rolls – as the name explains it vegetables rolled in wonton wraps and deep fried served with a tiny dash decorative salad and three delectable dips. There was a sauce with red chilies finely chopped in a sweet syrupy base, a second one was a peanuty chilly sauce and a third with ripe mango sauce with seasoning , spruced up the simple fried spring roll to a whole new level.

For soup we had

Tom Kha Phad – a very thai soup with vegetable and the thai must have’s coconut milk , galangal a dash of lime and coriander. we both loved it and the portions were very filing even though we had divided one soup by two.

Now, before we move to the main course i must say we were somewhat full because along with the soup and starter we had downed it with a huge glass of blueberry milkshake and cranberry milkshake, both of which were yummy, being sweet with real fruits and a dollop of vanilla ice cream in it and therefore our going for the second glass instead of following a more traditional path to main course and then dessert. We skipped dessert altogether and stuck to just one main course instead of ordering individually .

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So, for main course we had

Burmese Curry Noodles – because it came with its own curry on the side .they made it specially vegetarian on our request. The curry on the side was accompanied with fried onions and garlic and the curry was just an extension of the sauce the noodle was made in instead of being something a little different as we had expected. Also the whole thing tasted like a version of creamy thai curry instead of a more burmese version that the name suggested. Lot of room for improvement on this dish and they could have it a more fun dish by including some more accompaniments.

Ambiance – 4/5
Service – 3/5
Food – 4/5
Price – 1000 – 1200 rupees for two(approx.)

Over all a good place and and we sure have to go again to to try the other cuisines 🙂

Note: This is not a paid review. It’s based on our experience of going there and we paid for our own meal.

Pizza republic ,Taramani

Published on September 18, 2013 by Ghumta Bhukkad2 Comments

We had heard about this Place for a long time , It was the talk of the town and It was not a planned visit , accidentally we went to Pizza republic , Taramani. We reached just before the closing time but they were welcoming and asked us to place the order of whatever we wanted (Thank you for the gesture I must say.)

When we asked for Menu , it was something new. The box in which the pizza is usually served had the menu behind it. So you have to go through the list of all the pizzas and the ingredients and put a tick in front of it . You can have your own selection of spicy/ non-spicy,normal cheese or extra cheese, in the topping they have various options to add on.There are also other options like Garlic bread , Salads, sandwiches to select from . We feel they should have more options in there menu , more varieties of pizza is fun.Once you are done with the selection of your pizza and toppings hand over the box to cashier and he will do the billing for you.
Prices were cheaper as compare to other pizza outlets in the city but the Quantity is a little less with comparison.we were invited to cook our own pizza(That is the option they give) but it was too late and we were lazy to do so (we will go next time to try that for sure).
Then we were escorted to dining area , It was designed eco-friendly place and a comfortable arrangement.

We ordered
Garlic bread :- It was good, fresh and tasty, it wasn’t like the usual Garlic bread you get everywhere , It was thin and soft.

Veg supremo :- we chose thin crust base with capsicum, onion, tomato, cottage cheese and cheese . It was tasty , cottage cheese was very soft and fresh and overall taste was excellent.

I will be going there again to try out more items from their menu and to concoct my own pizza.

Ambiance – 4/5
Service – 4.5/5
Food – 4.5/5
Price – 300- 500 rupees for two(approx.)

Note :- They also serve pizza in slice , but that is not available in Taramani branch. Also this is not a paid review. It’s based on our experience of going there and we paid for our own meal.

Lloyds Tea House – A place for Tea lover’s

Published on August 14, 2013November 27, 2013 by Ghumta BhukkadLeave a comment

A high-end tea shop one of its type in Chennai. If you are passionate about trying different flavors of Tea (Hot or Cold),From the different part of the world with the variety of snacks to eat like pizza, pasta , sandwiches and a whole bunch of other dishes then “Lloyd’s tea Shop” is the place.

In Gopalapuram near DAV school , a small 2 storey white colored building having a small artistic board written with the name Lloyd’s tea House. when you enter the building on the right side you find an old wooden bench (Probably kept there for the people waiting ) deceives you from what there is inside the Glass door.

It was Sunday 10 ‘0 clock ( they have breakfast special on Sunday) . so We planned and went there. Place was soothing with the beautiful ambiance it will give you a feel of drawing-room of your house with the book racks, A beautiful showcase displaying antiques ,flower vase and crockery. There is different table arrangement to choose as per our comfort from sofa’s and chair . They have really worked on the ambiance of the place to give you soothing,relaxing and chill out experience.

we settled down on the sofa’s as we were really hungry and excited to taste the food and tea.The host Ms.Promilla gave us two different menus one for Tea and another was for the food items . what I like most about the menu’s is that they have worked minutely on it, for every item there is detailed description written and it is so well explained that you know exactly what you have ordered (although it can be a tad bit confusing to choose from so many too :P)

Once the fascination for the menu got over we finally placed order that is

Pancake with maple syrup :- Pancake decorated with the pieces of banana was delight to eyes , taste was okay . Maple syrup was as usual good.

Healthy breakfast (Sunday breakfast special )

Croissant with baked beans :- Both were delicious .
corn flakes with muesli and milk :- It was good .(There is place for improvement like they can try honey, strawberry with it )
Fruits and curd :- Fruits were banana,apple,grapes which were fresh and curd was exactly the way you want.

Once we were done with breakfast to our surprise we were treated with complimentary treats that of a flavored Croissant , a glazed doughnut and a cup cake they were tasty .

Now to treat ourselves with the Tea , we again got lost in the menu’s with more than 50 types of tea, From different countries like china, Vietnam,India .

After going through the menu which is self-explanatory we chose
Himalayan Rhapsody :- It was an aromatic tea with the scent of different flowers and the flavor of fruits like strawberry and peaches ,perfect for someone who wants smooth and soft taste. it was the hot favorite in our group.
Jasmine pearls scented :- one of the variety of Green tea with the aroma of a jasmine
.It is for someone who appreciates both aroma and flavor of different teas.
Himalayan wine :- As they say unusual tea from the Garden of Darjeeling for the
People who really like the bold and strong taste of a tea.

our excitement got doubled, the way they served the tea in the kettle on our table.
They poured hot water in the little pots and gave us a timer for light , medium and strong tea.

All the flavour of the tea were awesome , tastier and was more than what we expected.

After the tea , we tried their Pink pasta with a piece of Garlic bread on the side .which was recommended to us and had it despite being full and it turned out to be one of the best pasta’s we ever ate. deliciously flavored with snippets of mushroom and mildly exotic condiments, it was a true winner.

And at the last we were treated to yet another complimentary Pastry Called Opera which was a perfect finish to the whole experience . made up of a dense dark chocolate and layered with cream and coffee. it was delicious.

I would call it an experience there , It’s a place with beautiful and soothing
ambiance ,tasty food and a huge array of perfectly selected tea.

Ambiance – 5/5
Service – 4.5/5
Food – 4.5/5
Price – 500- 700 rupees for two(approx.)

we are definitely going there for the second time to try out the menu and specially the tea’s.

Note: This is not a paid review. It’s based on my experience of going there and we paid for our own meal.

Dhaba Express – Nungambakkam

Published on August 7, 2013 by Ghumta BhukkadLeave a comment

I won’t Call this place a Wow Place ,It was okay.
If you are in Nungambakkam near Haddows road or near Income tax office then you can visit this place.
If you want to eat Chinese or Punjabi , This is the place to go.

Dhaba Express serves Buffet as well as Ala-carte.

You have to climb 3 dark and a very narrow stairs to reach this place ,It’s in aldarado Building.

Interior there is Good It’s replica of an old city Delhi , by having name of few squares on the wall.one thing which impressed me about their ambiance was the photos they were having on their wall. Later I regret why I dint click them.
Its Air-conditioned(Only for Ala-carte) as well as Non-air conditioned. When I went there day was overcast so It was good. I feel on a hot day it will be a terrible to have your lunch there.

Buffet was looking Good and seems value for money.
we were bit disappointed but then there were few things which satisfied us.

For Buffet , They were Serving Chinese, Punjabi ,sweet,raita and Salad

In Chinese , They were serving
Manchurian, Noodles which was okay , I will not rate that as one of the best.
additionally there were Potato wedges, Onion Pakoda Both of them were Disappointing as they were not Hot.

In Punjabi , They were serving
2 sabji,Palak panner and Chole which tasted good , 2 Daal , Dal Makhani and a Dal fry .Bundi ka raita was perfect.
They were serving hot Khulcha and hot Puri which made me happy and turned my experience of being there better.

For sweet they were serving Jalebi which was awesome.

Also they will be having Butter milk, Mango lassi (seasonal) and Lassi. For which you have to pay extra.It will not be included in your Buffet Charges. We selected mango lassi it was good.

Ambiance – 3/5
Service – 3/5
Food – 3.5/5
Price – 250 to 300 rupees for two

I may go there next time.

Note: This is not a paid review. It’s based on my experience of going there and we paid for our own meal.

Panipuri in chennai

Published on August 7, 2013 by Ghumta BhukkadLeave a comment

For the all the people who are in Chennai from the northern, western part of India , their craving for Panipuri will always be un-satisfied.

So here is the review for one of the best pani-puri or gol-gappa in Chennai,which I have tasted up till now.

Om madhuri chat in Thiruvanmiyur, sea ward road, near Singapore super market.

Pani puri here will have flavour of North India.
Puri will always be crispy .
Pani is one of the best I had in Chennai up till now. Pani will have pudina, bundi , chilli with the Aloo stuffing in puri.

Along with Pani-puri They also serve regular Chat like Bhel puri, Dahi puri, Dahi bhalla samosa chole and it was all satisfying.

Ambiance – It’s small shop so No ambiance score
Service – Depends on the People waiting Generally it’s Quick by a smiling Guy who serve.
Food – 4.5/5

Note: This is not a paid review. It’s based on my experience of going there.

Masala Kart Street food festival-2013

Published on August 7, 2013 by Ghumta BhukkadLeave a comment

Imagine a place where you can get food From different states of India like Gujarat, Maharashtra,Andhra,Tamil Nadu ,parathe from paratha gali and Tunde k kebab from Lucknow. yes everything at one place , that too in Chennai .

It’s masala kart Street Food Festival-2013

we were going there for the second consecutive year , Last year it was in Besant nagar which wasn’t that great as it was in a very small area (I think last year they were not expecting so many people) this time as they were claiming it to be the largest Street food fest in India, They took it to bigger Place Island Garden near Marina beach.

When we reach there I was happy that they had Good parking arrangements that was a relief. Then the real tough task was of Buying coupon. A huge Queue,Though there were 6 counters but that was not enough for the crowd which they were able to pull this year.
Entry fees were minimal, 50 rupees entry coupon and you have to take 50 rupees food coupon , which is okay.

Once you enter the place it was heaven for a real foodie.Aroma of a food and a happy faces was all around.
I was totally confused from where to start , what to eat first . This year it was better planned than last year because they had number of stalls which were selling food coupons inside which was not the case last year.

There were 6 different domes. out of which 2 were Non-vegetarian while 4 were Vegetarian.

List of items they were serving were endless , more than 100 cuisines .Prices were at the higher side but that is expected so no complains. A high level of hygiene was ensured.

Few of the food items which I tried was

Pav vada – It Was good but very small .
Misal Pav – It wasn’t exactly what I was expecting So total disappointment.Even the worst misal pav in Mumbai will be better than what was served.

Dabeli – It was good , Spicy very spicy. I never had so spicy in Gujarat they would have made it better.
Ragada pattice – Total disappointment , they call it Ragada but It was Chole.

punukulu – Flashback of my Hyderabad days,It would have been better if it was hot.

putharekulu – A sweet dish from Andhra tasted for the first time and I must say now I am craving for it.

MLA Pesarattu – I must say it was the best item of the day.

Malpua – It was as expected served hot.

Ice Gola – This stall has the longest queue , It clearly shows that in Chennai we don’t find Golawala easily.

Additionally there were Dhokla, Chat items and many more to add into this list.

Looking forward to many such food festival in Chennai .
Definitely I will be the first person to be there next year.

Note: This is not a paid review. It’s based on my experience of going there and we paid for our own meal.

Ibaco – A place for Ice-cream Hungy.

Published on August 7, 2013 by Ghumta BhukkadLeave a comment

If you are real ice cream hungry and if you are on for some fun by trying different flavours with different toppings of nuts ,gems , choco chips with varieties of sauce.Then Ibaco is your place to go. With the price of 60 rupees for 100 gm, it is comparatively cheaper .

There were more than 30 flavours to try.
Usual flavours life vanilla, strawberry ,Butter scotch, orange ,chocolate .

Few unusal like choco minto, bubble gum, cookie cream,Dark chocolate secrets.

with 10 toppings like nuts , chocochips, cherry, Gems.
and more than 6 varieties of sauce on top of your scoop like chocolate, caramel , strawberry , mango.

Go there and just get lost into the taste of ice-cream with the varieties of flavours and with your own sense of amalgamation of different flavours with topping and sauce.

we ordered were Strawberry, Butterscotch,Dark chocolate secret and cookie cream.

It was awesome and I am sure I am going next time.
Go and treat yourself.

IBaco outlets are at various places in Chennai . Few I know are in Besant nagar, Thiruvanmiyur and nearly in every locality of Chennai.

For more information you can also check here website IBACO Ice-cream.

Recommendations :- Before placing your order you can taste the flavours take your time staff is supportive and helping , They will
even suggest you.

Ambiance    – 4/5
Service – 4.5/5
Food   – 5/5
Price    – 200 to 250 rupees for two

Note: This is not a paid review. It’s based on my experience of going there.

Fusion- Elliot’s Beach ,Besant Nagar

Published on August 7, 2013 by Ghumta BhukkadLeave a comment

Fusion – A place for Chinese and continental.

In search of a place which can serve us Chinese food , we landed at the place Called Fusion at Besant nagar.

It’s a small place with the varieties of sitting arrangement sofa’s to chairs. This is not the place if you are looking for some silent, private ,romantic dinner or a lunch. They have a big screen where music channel will be playing non-stop Bollywood song. So you can enjoy , Definitely a fun if you like loud places.

Chinese and continental menu was decent they have good variety of choices to make. Also they have some combo offer to serve which will be really good on your pocket if it is month ending .Also they have a list of flavoured soda to offer which i will suggest is must. Try it without fail.

We were pre determined what to order but still we change our plans after having look at the menu . It is good to see that varieties they are offering . We ordered Lung fung soup , Chilly Baby corn and vegetable crispy noodles .

Soup was good as I was trying it for the first time. Chilly baby corn they cooked the way I like to eat and disappointment was Vegetable crispy Noodles it was not what we expected but then this version of noodles was new to Try and it was okay.

At the end, we ordered soda from the list they are offering Mint pudina soda and blue berry soda both the flavours were refreshing.

Ambiance – 3/5
Service – 4/5
Food – 3.5/5
Price – 250 to 300 rupees for two

Recommendation :- Try maximum flavours of their soda it is must. you will not get everywhere in Chennai. You can go there only for
their flavour soda when you are at Beach.