Chinese – Ghumta Bhukkad

Revisiting Awesomeness- Hot Pot China!

Published on July 23, 2016July 23, 2016 by Ghumta Bhukkad2 Comments

Hot Pot China is the only place in Chennai which we have visited repeatedly in last 3-4 years, only because how consistently they are serving the amazingly scrumptious Chinese.
We went early evening on a weekday and so getting a table was easy (We suggest book your table for your meals on weekends)

We were so hungry and we were so happy that we planned to have a 3 course meal.
The moment we took our place and gulped down a glass of water to quench our thirst they treated us with spicy Kokum shot, which was a perfect blend of fresh Kokum pulp with salt and pepper. That was like the perfect start to this gastronomic affair.

Meanwhile without wasting time, we quickly grabbed the menu and ordered “Sweet corn Soup”. Oh boy! Bowled over by the freshness of corn, small pieces of carrot and grated broccoli; it was making it the perfect soup. Better at Strike 2 again!

IMG_20160719_201057 — Veg Sweet Corn Soup

Pineapple Salt n Pepper was the starter.
For me it was new. Being a fan of barbeque pineapple, we wanted to try this and it was not a bad choice for sure; sweetness of the pineapple and pepper complementing it so well.
(Order only if you like taste of pepper).

IMG_20160719_201528 — Pineapple in Salt n Pepper

On our previous visits, they had always served complimentary dim sums. On enquiring, they told us that they discontinued the practice and trust me, we were heartbroken.
Being a hardcore Dumplings fan, we couldn’t miss on that. So we asked them, “What is the best dim sum they can serve us, steamed ones.
His suggestion was the Steam Pokchoy Dumplings.
It was different than what I have tried till date. It was filled with all greens. Grated zucchini, broccoli, lemon grass served with fresh pepper salsa.

IMG_20160719_204358 — Steamed Pokchoy Dumplings

Once we finished with the dim sum, it was time for the main course and we ordered “Butter Chilli Garlic Noodles” with “Four Treasure Vegetables in Schezwan Sauce”.

And with the first bite of those Noodles, I was on Cloud Nine. Picture of those noodles will speak for itself.
It was beauty. That taste of butter with Red Chilli Flakes is something I can still not forget.

IMG_20160719_205218 — Butter Chili Garlic Noodles

Four treasures with Schezwan sauce.
We were so much into the noodles but this did not failed us.
Well cooked Vegetables and in good quantity with lots of sauce.

IMG_20160719_205231 — Four Treasure Veg in Schezwan Sauce

To end it we wanted to have dessert but we were already full. So out of greed and after lot calculations and after doing permutations and combinations we ordered hot chocolate Roll will not say that was best it was the only Okay dish of the Day.

IMG_20160719_212233 — Hot Chocolate Rolls

While discussing with the manager he also told us that, they will be changing menu from next month and new menu will be covering Asian food as a whole.

Overall it was wonderful experience and waiting for the change in menu to try it again.

Another thing which we appreciated about them is the half portion they serve. That not only gives us space to try other dishes it also reduces wastage of food.

Why Revisiting? Coz we keep visiting n more so Write about it again n again!

You can check with it here-

https://ghumtabhukkad.com/2013/10/21/hot-pot-china-omr/

Hot Pot China , OMR

Published on October 21, 2013October 21, 2013 by Ghumta Bhukkad1 Comment

We went to Hot Pot China after a rigorous session of yoga and our tummies rumbling with hunger. and it was pretty close by for some light not fattening food (or so i assume Chinese food to be ! ) so after about 10 mins of waiting on a busy saturday night we were seatedThis place has the potential for zen like peacefulness with all its buddha murals and beautiful paintings on the wall and the dim hanging lamps over the tables. of course here you would have to shun out all the noise eaters and the crowd having a good time with their family and friends to take in all of the ambiance.

Once seated we quickly ordered the soup and starters before ordering the rest (remember we were dying of hunger !) For soup and starters we had :

Lemon Coriander Soup – it was a thick soup with nice flavoring of lemon in at and finely crushed/ chopped coriander leaves and vegetables . It tasted yum and it was such a welcome treat for out hungry stomach.

Baby Corn Schezwan Chilly – Crispy friend baby corn sauteed in a schezwan chilly sauce and very indo- chinese. we quite liked it 😉

it was only after our collective tummies were a little satiated that we could take in the decor of this not so big but a cosy place. we must say the service was quite fast even for a busy full house day.we then ordered the main course and endeavored to have our food by chop sticks 🙂 n there started the lessons and the determination test for the bunch of us that went there. for main course we ordered :

Sapo Tofu With Exotic Vegetables – It was a gravy dish with lots of vegetables, the typical ones that go into chinese dishes and tofu. It tasted a little spicy but went well with the other two noodle and rice dish.

Burnt Garlic Fried Rice – Normally most chinese places offer garlic fried rice n this one gave the option of it being burnt which intrigued us enough to order it and the taste was something which made us happy enough owing to the smoky flavor of the rice along with the not too overpowering garlic tinglings. We loved this subtly flavored dish and our only wish is if only there were a tiny bit more vegetables in it.

Pan Fried Noodles in Schezwan Sauce – The noodles looked more like it was a soya sauce n not the red color schezwan sauce we are normally used to but even this tasted nice not all that schezwan-ny if you ask me but nice, the noodles although pan friend were soft and this had a lot of veggies.

By this time our endevour with the chopstick were successful by some just went back to the good old fork. We were completely full at the end of our meal with food, laughter and great friends and didn’t have any place for Desserts but we did have fresh lime sodas to wash it all down with. We would definitely go there to try their comprehensive menu. they also have a lot much more to offer for non vegetarians with a huge menu list. We enjoyed the place, food and service. Also another good thing about their menu is the half and full plate orders.

Ambiance – 3.5/5
Service – 4/5
Food – 4/5
Price – 300- 500 rupees for two(approx.)

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

That Madras Place !

Published on October 18, 2013October 21, 2013 by Ghumta BhukkadLeave a comment

This place was on our go to list and then came the Burrp event for That Madras Place , to celebrate an eclectic mix of food lovers , so we grasped the opportunity and landed up there all excited 🙂 This place was the new buzz in town , and you could actually feel that buzz around as we were there on Thursday evening and it was literally buzzing with the crowd that was there on a weekday evening. silly jokes aside 😛

Getting back to our Foodie business, as it was a Burrp event our menu was pre-decided and it was chalked down in front of us in a pretty little board that you probably chance upon a fancy broad walk. Upon entering the place a petite garden lends its a charming air instantly and then you chance upon all the black boards on top of their bar style counter where the menu is hand written and the graffiti done on the wall describing Chennai with all its “namma chennai” madness mingled along with funny and colorful cushions and chairs dotting the background.

Our Tables were arranged in a long row specially for the event and we loved the different designer pillows on every chair and the hanging lamps over the table created the ambiance for a soiree.Once all the people came and we settled down the manager introduced himself with a smile and told us what was in the menu . So we selected the vegetarian spread.

It was a pre selected soup of the day or mock-tail and we got one of each :

Carrot glazed soup :- Was creamy and it was hard to find the taste of carrot in it 😛 it was yellow in color and had a tad bit extra black pepper in it overall it was okay . Order it if you like the taste of black pepper and creamy soup.

Strawberry pineapple soda – was served in a dainty mason jar glass and tasted refreshing with just the right amount of sweetness. Left us wanting for more.

For the appetizers again we got one of each :

Parsley Garlic Fries – They severed these fries in huge quantities and was to be shared. it tasted great with the good old french fries getting a tasty twist of parsely and friend garlic bits with a little shredding of cheese which just about pops up in the mouth.

Mac and Cheese Cup – Was the traditional american mac and cheese and tasted a little bland but that is how it is had universally i suppose .(do correct us if we are wrong and mail us 🙂 ).

The main course consisted of :

Black Pepper Spaghetti – Again here we must say that we have had better spaghetti with white sauce and mushroom bits in it. Also the black pepper was more prominent than anything else . We would definitely order something else the next time we visit.

Eggplant Parmigiana – It tasted superb . Such a surprise of yumminess packed in eggplant stuffed with mozzarella and parmesan cooked in a tomato sauce base and full of flavor. my other half of ghumtabhukkad who till date had refused to eat eggplant happily lapped it up and belated realized his folly it was so deceptively delectable.

For dessert :

Opera cake – it was chocolaty but the last layer was a bit hard and we expected it to be soft as we have had better. Never the less it tasted nice.

White chocolate Blondie with vanilla ice cream – this was new to us and tasted very well specially after the full meal we had, this was refreshingly light and perfect for a dessert. we finished it record time and would definitely like to have it again.

We also have a special round of appreciation for the host Burp Chennai, They played the perfect host and all the fantastic people who were present and made the evening highly enjoyable and got us making new foodie friends.Thank you so so much.

Ambiance – 4/5

Service – 3/5
Food – 4/5
Price – 500-600 rupees for two(approx.)

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

You can like Burrp chennai facebook page or follow there twitter handle @burrp_chennai to know happening events in chennai.

Note: 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.

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.

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.