La Carte Blanche, Pondicherry

When in Rome, do as the Romans do. And that is what our group of friends wanted to do on a recent trip to Pondicherry. We wanted to actually sample the essence of this quaint French colony. While the prime reason of most gangs of bachelors headed to Pondy (being a Union territory, alcohol in Pondicherry isn't taxed as much and hence very affordable) is to get mindlessly sloshed in a hotel room or bar, this time we were eager to try some of the local cuisine.

Pondicherry's unique history gives it a cuisine that's an amalgamation of our own Indian and of course, the French culinary preferences. The Indian and particularly the Tamil influence is strong. And since a good friend was footing the bill this time, we tried our best to go to the best place (as far as ratings go anyway). For once, money was no object. ;-)

The main options that we zeroed in upon were Le Dupleix and Carte Blanche both in "White town." White town has a lot of history behind it and is the place where the "Whites" or Frenchmen used to live. Both seemed to be classy restaurants that served authentic Pondicherry cuisine. We spent so much time planning where to go that it was almost 2:30 pm when we headed out. And we had forgotten to make reservations anywhere. To our dissapointment, Le Dupleix said they couldn't admit us since their kitchens close from 3-7 pm. Carte Blance being quite close we decided to go there immediately. Luckily they were able to accommodate us. However, orders would have to made fast so that they could wind up the kitchens.

Ambiance

As soon as we entered, we knew this was exactly what we sought. The setting was extremely good indeed. A cool, laid-back afternoon spent exploring Tamil-French cuisine with friends in the most charming of settings- the courtyard of an erstwhile French mansion. What more could one ask for?

Carte Blanche is the restaurant of Hotel De L'Orient (literally means Hotel of the Orient) which is owned by an interesting chain- Neemrana Hotels that claim to be "non-hotel hotels." They restore heritage sites that even include palaces all over India and provide an experience that's "reminiscent" of times gone by to refer to their self-description in the menu. They seem to emphasize they don't provide luxury for the sake of it but rather that simplicity and authenticity are worthy substitutes to lavishness. And after the experience here one gets what they're driving at. They have about 13 rooms if I remember correctly each with a unique                                                                            theme from history.

 
      There was a tempting array of liquor spread out on a wooden table so rather than go through the menu, one could just check it out and order from the displayed bottles. There were olden maps of the area framed and hung on the walls adjoining the tables. Since the place was deserted (3 pm on a Saturday afternoon) we could choose any table we wanted. We avoided the exposed courtyard which would be warmer this time. Occasionally, the courtyard is host to dance and song performances.

   Service was relaxed yet not inattentive in chime with the place. The waiter was happy to answer our queries. The word "Creole" in the menu left us wondering. He said it was basically a curry that would be accompanied by a side of our choice either steamed rice/jeera rice/breads like chapati. Interesting!

Starters

For starters we ordered the Poulet 65 (Chicken 65) and the Calamari grilled with garlic and herbs, both of which came after a while. In the meantime we got started with a couple of cold pints.The Chicken 65 looked "neatly" fried and tasted good. Crunchy without the right amount of batter coating it and not overly spiced yet with some zing. And oh, the dip provided was thankfully not the same old mayo but a yoghurt based one. 

 

        The squid was an interesting experience. This was my first time eating squid that wasn't fried! So was wondering how it would taste. It looked lovely and the texture was wonderful without being chewy but the strong taste and smell of fish was surprising to me. Perhaps I should have squeezed some of that lemon juice. Still I had a few bites and enjoyed it to an extent. Will get used to this soon enough I'm sure.

Main Course

The main course didn't have a whole range of options so it wasn't hard to choose. We could try either the creole or the steaks. There was pasta too. I opted for the Creole that included chicken in creamed cashewnut and traditional spiced curry while the others had the Mutton creole in a coconut based curry and the Chicken fillet with a side of cubed potatoes(rs 370).





   In a bit the main course arrived. The Chicken fillet looked amazing with the grilled texture reaching a scrumptious shade of gold. While the cubed potatoes were grilled skin on and added that crunchiness too. My friend who ordered the chicken dish said the  meat wasn't the tenderest but very fresh and the crunchy crust made it a yummy dish to have.






The mutton creole (rs 450) ordered by the other friend was excellent he said. I had a taste and it surely was good in a different way. The combination of coconut and a tomato base made it interesting. He loved it.

The Chicken creole with a creamed cashewnut base (rs 380) ordered by me was excellent! Subtly flavored, it reminded me of the  mutton stews that are loved in Kerala but without the taste of coconut instead with a thicker cashew one. Couldn't find a trace of cashew it was all blended in well. With the steamed rice, the curry was a delight to have. I would not have complained if there was ghee added to the rice as well!







So that's it from this visit to Pondy. The other place we visited was Zuka Choco - la which is amazing for it's chocolates. A must visit too!

Periamet Halwa Kadai

Dum ka Roat halwa and Ande ka meeta at Periamet Halwa Kadai

** This is a single review for multiple visits. **

This is a sweet shop you'll find near the Periamet mosque right opposite Hotel Khaja there. First few times I crossed this shop, I didn't even understand what they sold here since there is NO name board or anything and I didn't bother finding out. I guessed it was a small bakery or sweet shop. The place is set a little below road level.

But once I looked in and noticed something familiar looking. I guessed that this was Dum Ka Roat Halwa and asking the owner he confirmed it! I had never tasted Dum ka roat before so was happy to recognize it correctly. Also, the shop is tiny and sells very few items. Usually you will find Dum ka roat halwa and carrot halwa here along with juicy huge gulab jamuns for 15 rs each. Sometimes there is Bombay halwa (kind of halwa) sold here and some milk sweets too. And yes, you get Ande ka Meeta here too!

Price for Dum ka Roat halwa is 35 rs per 100 grams only! They are happy to give for this quantity in a sealed plastic packet.

Before this I had only heard that Dum ka roat was sold in Triplicane's Basha halwa shop, so this was a surprise find. The Halwa here is more ghee laden compared to Basha's halwa. The crust which is quite tasty if found is not as thick as Basha's but still yummy. Love biting into the pumpkin seeds amidst bites. For the price it's very good value and quality.

                               

They also sell the coconut filled circles like Dil pasand. This was pretty good with lots of sweet coconut filled in. About 30 bucks I think.

Ande ka meeta is another super dessert which you get here. It's also priced the same and has a yummy texture with almost no egg smell. Not overly sweet. Price around rs 35/100 grams

I've also tried the carrot halwa, bombay halwa here which are great too. Price ranges from 35 to 40 bucks per 100 grams again.  Gulab jamun is great but the syrup could be better tasting.

Another cool place to check out in the Central area. :)

Rajeev's Tea Shop, South Mint Street

Found a very cool place yesterday beside the entrance of Southern railway divisional office, S. Mint street. Now this isn't your average tea kadai offering tea, milk and coffee. Nope! This interesting tea shop gives you a 100 healthy reasons to visit them! Yes, you read that right: a 100 different teas!!! 

I was crossing this string of fast food and tea shops when I noticed a big blue board announcing all the names of the herbal teas being offered by them! Thought it was a typical local fastfood joint at first! The owner is Mr. Rajeev quite young but in the tea business for some time now. Earlier, he had a teashop in MMC but shifted from there to its present location. Talking to the fledgling doctors there and with help from people knowledgeable of natural treatments, he set about adding herb after herb to the menu. In fact he says his shop was featured by a few newspapers and googling him that's true! :)

Link to an article in the Indian express:Here

                                                                 Special tea

26 Herbs Tea

Enough history, about the tea now.

This place is a finicky person's nightmare, with so many options I didn't know how to even start choosing! The superb pricing helps. Only ten bucks for all the teas! So you can try many in one go. And there were plenty of herbs with traditional names that I knew nothing of! Then I saw rarely seen names like Rooibos tea, silver needle (no idea what this is some Chinese philosophical tea maybe).

Finally, decided to try the normal milk tea first. It was very good spiced with the spices nowhere to be seen. Just the right amount of sweetness. Btw, the teas here are sweetened with palm sugar only not white sugar and the difference can be easily tasted. Next I wanted to try just one herbal tea so I asked them to recommend one healthy one for me. They pointed to a tea brewing in the pot already which apparently had 26 or 28 herbs! In a few seconds he conjured up a glass with tea that looked like rasam topped with fresh coriander leaf!

Taste was damn good. He said it helps with sore throat and is generally good for health. Tasted similar to a chukku kaapi but much stronger, peppery and with a deeper flavor owing probably to the many herbs. Looking forward to trying out many more teas from this place!