Last Friday I was part of an amazing event held at Phoenix mall, Velachery where I saw a professional "foodie" in action! Yes, they exist! One of India's most recognizable foodies, Mr. Kunal Vijayakar whose show "The Foodie" on Times Now has made him a household name and the show, "The Week That Wasn't" with Cyrus Broacha had us chuckling while focusing on relevant issues.
We have all seen Mr. Kunal interestedly querying the chef while they cook up a lovely dish on the show. This time we bloggers got to see his enthusiasm for food and cuisines first hand. And it was interesting to talk to him. Although very modest, his vast exposure to various regional cuisines makes him very knowledgeable about a huge number of cuisines and dishes.
An almost impossible schedule
At Phoenix mall, we were on a tight schedule to visit 8 places in less than 5 hours! We were skeptical if this was at all possible but 'The Foodie' led the way and blazed through them all and was still able to taste many items from every restaurant! He advices us to have smaller portions to leave space in the tummy! Good advice and wish I had followed it!
Anyway the event started off around 12:30 pm a bit later than scheduled at Punjab Grill, the first restaurant on the list. To summarize this place, it's probably one of the best places for authentic lip smacking Punjabi food in town. And no wonder, since it is a brain child of Jiggs Kalra, a legendary chef and food critic who's also responsible for establishing other renowned brands like the Great Kebab Factory and Bukhara.
Tearing off the crisp, freshly oven baked naans and pairing it with the near perfect Dhania Mirchi da Kukkad made me rue the fact that I couldn't eat everything on their menu. I ate as much as I dared. (We still had six more places to visit! ) The runny, moderately heavy base was different from the uber creamy/buttery curries more reminiscent of Punjab. Mr. Kunal was already off to cook with the chef amidst a plethora of cameras and lights.
Next on the itinerary was Noodle Bar whose Oriental themed decor was lovely and the Curried Basa dumpling from Vietnam was not just delicate to look at but also to flavor. The light Vietnamese gravy accompanying the dumplings came had a beautiful coconut flavor reminiscent of Kerala my home state.
Spaghetti Kitchen next. Both Noodle Bar and Spaghetti Kitchen are owned by the same corporate group. The place has a superb vibe to it because of the multi-textured decor that includes Italian nick knacks. The sexily plated Parmesan Cream cheese potatoes kept us engrossed here while the others got a bunch of nice mocktails (no alcohol version of course) which I unfortunately had forgotten to order. Loved the spices, sauces and flavor infused Olive oil that was placed in a wooden tray on every table for seasoning one's food.
At Jonah's Goes to Japan, the ramen was presented first to us. The faint taste of soya and perfect seasoning gave company to the special Japanese noodles in them. I am not knowledgeable about Japanese food so can't comment much. However, my personal preference here is the Beef stroganoff and the burgers they have. Here's a link to an earlier invited visit showcasing their food.
He's perfected that pose with food! ;-)
The dessert counter at Jonahs Goes to Japan is filled with goodies brought from Baker's St, Pondy!
The only fully vegetarian restaurant, Rajdhani was next on the list and the vegetarian bloggers were probably relieved and looking forward to this. Have to say this is a place where the vegetarian dishes would even impress a hardcore non-vegetarian with it's great flavors and freshness. The thali they served us was refilled by traditionally dressed waiters and there was even a guy at the entrance welcoming us. Not sure if he is just present for this event or always there.
Trying the dishes like Malai Kofta with the fresh ghee laden mini roti's I have to say the quality of the food was very impressive and I did not miss meat one bit. And the unique aspect of this restaurant? They have a roster of 22,464 dishes that they serve over 72 rotating menus! Whew!!
By now Celebrity Foodie, Kunal Vijayakar had gone ahead to the other restaurants in the list leaving us lagging. Mainland China had a lovely Whole Sea Bass which comes Steamed or braised. We had it steamed and it was tender and subtly flavored. The other chicken dish had a good flavor of black bean in it and tasted authentic.
Final restaurant on our list was the popular Nandos where we were served up their trademark Peri peri chicken with the peri peri sauce of varied spice levels. Even though I was full I managed a bite knowing that the chicken would be fresh and tender here.
Lastly we had a non restaurant stop, at Cafe Annam where Mr. Kunal gave a heartfelt talk about the role his roots had to play and his views on the food scene. He praised the street food of Bangkok where one can get great food anywhere without breaking the bank and the stringent hygiene guidelines followed at Singapore.
He also credited his "cast iron stomach" to his habit of drinking water from every locale/restaurant he visits. Well to that I say, touch wood! :D
The who's who of Chennai's food scene were present for the book launch
Cafe Annam has more than 30 rooms located right in the mall so you can visit the hundreds of shops if you just get outta your room! The design of the hallways leading to the rooms were a thing of wonder to us. They have made one hallway completely modern, "space age" even, one could say while the other is rustic in design. I wonder if they have a liquor license as well. Hope they do.
Lastly there was a pleasant surprise waiting for me in the
Food Guide being launched at this event. Someone pointed out that an excerpt from my review on Jonah's had been quoted here!
We have all seen Mr. Kunal interestedly querying the chef while they cook up a lovely dish on the show. This time we bloggers got to see his enthusiasm for food and cuisines first hand. And it was interesting to talk to him. Although very modest, his vast exposure to various regional cuisines makes him very knowledgeable about a huge number of cuisines and dishes.
An almost impossible schedule
At Phoenix mall, we were on a tight schedule to visit 8 places in less than 5 hours! We were skeptical if this was at all possible but 'The Foodie' led the way and blazed through them all and was still able to taste many items from every restaurant! He advices us to have smaller portions to leave space in the tummy! Good advice and wish I had followed it!
Anyway the event started off around 12:30 pm a bit later than scheduled at Punjab Grill, the first restaurant on the list. To summarize this place, it's probably one of the best places for authentic lip smacking Punjabi food in town. And no wonder, since it is a brain child of Jiggs Kalra, a legendary chef and food critic who's also responsible for establishing other renowned brands like the Great Kebab Factory and Bukhara.
Tearing off the crisp, freshly oven baked naans and pairing it with the near perfect Dhania Mirchi da Kukkad made me rue the fact that I couldn't eat everything on their menu. I ate as much as I dared. (We still had six more places to visit! ) The runny, moderately heavy base was different from the uber creamy/buttery curries more reminiscent of Punjab. Mr. Kunal was already off to cook with the chef amidst a plethora of cameras and lights.
Spaghetti Kitchen next. Both Noodle Bar and Spaghetti Kitchen are owned by the same corporate group. The place has a superb vibe to it because of the multi-textured decor that includes Italian nick knacks. The sexily plated Parmesan Cream cheese potatoes kept us engrossed here while the others got a bunch of nice mocktails (no alcohol version of course) which I unfortunately had forgotten to order. Loved the spices, sauces and flavor infused Olive oil that was placed in a wooden tray on every table for seasoning one's food.
At Jonah's Goes to Japan, the ramen was presented first to us. The faint taste of soya and perfect seasoning gave company to the special Japanese noodles in them. I am not knowledgeable about Japanese food so can't comment much. However, my personal preference here is the Beef stroganoff and the burgers they have. Here's a link to an earlier invited visit showcasing their food.
He's perfected that pose with food! ;-)
The dessert counter at Jonahs Goes to Japan is filled with goodies brought from Baker's St, Pondy!
The only fully vegetarian restaurant, Rajdhani was next on the list and the vegetarian bloggers were probably relieved and looking forward to this. Have to say this is a place where the vegetarian dishes would even impress a hardcore non-vegetarian with it's great flavors and freshness. The thali they served us was refilled by traditionally dressed waiters and there was even a guy at the entrance welcoming us. Not sure if he is just present for this event or always there.
Trying the dishes like Malai Kofta with the fresh ghee laden mini roti's I have to say the quality of the food was very impressive and I did not miss meat one bit. And the unique aspect of this restaurant? They have a roster of 22,464 dishes that they serve over 72 rotating menus! Whew!!
By now Celebrity Foodie, Kunal Vijayakar had gone ahead to the other restaurants in the list leaving us lagging. Mainland China had a lovely Whole Sea Bass which comes Steamed or braised. We had it steamed and it was tender and subtly flavored. The other chicken dish had a good flavor of black bean in it and tasted authentic.
Final restaurant on our list was the popular Nandos where we were served up their trademark Peri peri chicken with the peri peri sauce of varied spice levels. Even though I was full I managed a bite knowing that the chicken would be fresh and tender here.
He also credited his "cast iron stomach" to his habit of drinking water from every locale/restaurant he visits. Well to that I say, touch wood! :D
Nina Reddy, MD Savera Group of Hotels at the launch of Phoenix Mall's Food Guide
The who's who of Chennai's food scene were present for the book launch
The unreal looking passageway to the rooms at Cafe Annam. Not sure what style of architecture this is.
Cafe Annam has more than 30 rooms located right in the mall so you can visit the hundreds of shops if you just get outta your room! The design of the hallways leading to the rooms were a thing of wonder to us. They have made one hallway completely modern, "space age" even, one could say while the other is rustic in design. I wonder if they have a liquor license as well. Hope they do.
Lastly there was a pleasant surprise waiting for me in the
Food Guide being launched at this event. Someone pointed out that an excerpt from my review on Jonah's had been quoted here!
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