This being my first visit to this illustrious multi-level restaurant, I was eager to explore what the "Flying Elephant" has to offer the Chennai audience. This event was to introduce us to the new menu being brought out by the Park Hyatt team and was on an invite.
About
The interesting name is surprisingly a reference to Lord Ganesh's lore. Once you step into the restaurant, your eyes are sure to be kept busy with the variety of sights this place has to offer. The setup is eclectic and refreshing to say the least.
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Beautiful Design; tables set along the atrium's perimeter
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| The "Bedroom" - a private dining / meeting area with its own steward overlooking everything. - Available on reservation |
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| The Italian Open Kitchen |
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Indian breads being prepared
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Shakin it up!
You'll see a cozy den in a depressed alcove on the ground floor adjoining a small bar. The den even houses interesting books to check out during the quiet hours with a drink.
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The general layout is one interspersed with see-through kitchens and dining spots varying in grandeur and detail.Like the red and gold embroidered Sindoori sheesha artwork adorning one section and the high-ceilinged second level with cane basket lighting that seems to evoke the orient.
While the ground floor houses a dessert bar, the
upper level has a vibrant Italian and Indian section with chefs shimmying away, moulding the respective breads before letting the ovens take over.
NB:
Comtemporary singer Thelma Hynes is now performing every day till the 15th november after 7 pm. Was nice to hear her live rendition of both older and more recent hits during the dinner.
Appetizers
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| Set menu for the night |
The appetizers started off soon enough. We scanned the set-menu given to us and could see that the chosen dishes represented various cuisines with more steamed and braised items than fried.
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| Focaccia - a must try. |
The first item to arrive on the table was a rousing loaf-like Focaccia that reminded us how scrumptious well-made bread actually is. Warm, delicately crusted and topped with hints of Italian seasoning, we couldn't help ladling the smooth salsa onto the fresh bread slices and chomping away.
Singapore Slaw salad - crispy vermicelli, pickle ginger, taro and apricot dressing
A huge portion of this salad was mixed in front of us adding the seasonings along with some crunchy peanuts too. Most Indians would feel at home eating this vermicelli based salad with refreshing bites of the ginger julienne and apricot dressing giving a fruity sweetness. The dish had a good bit of moistness.
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| An extra large portion of Singapore Slaw Salad |
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| Table Decor |
Tandoori Tarboose - Charcoal cooked watermelon, hung yoghurt chilli marination
Seeing this item on the menu, I was eager to see how they'd pull it off. In a few minutes, we heard an approaching sizzle and the portable tandoor was placed in front of us. The hung yoghurt's thick profile helped it coat the watermelon without dripping away. The heavy smoke was also adding its own flavors to the chunks. Chef mentioned he'd incorporated a kind of chilli into the marinade too which explained the surprisingly mouth-watering spiciness emerging as I bit in. Definitely a interesting take.
Steam Pork and prawn Shumai
This soft-shelled Shumai, a Chinese dumpling with roots in Mongolia was well-made. The inside was meaty yet smooth in texture. I gobbled one in its entirety and could feel the faint crunch and fishy flavor from the Swordfish rue (eggs).
Wok fried chicken, Nonya chili sauce
This was probably the most "familiar" dish to us, chicken wok fried in Nonya chili sauce, very tender to the bite. An uncomplicated, easy-to-love Thai eat; lightly sweet and smoky with the occasional bite of lemongrass that kept things sprightly.
Cocktails
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| Sweet Child of Mine - : - Chocolate White rum, Cointreau, Triple Sec n white cream - very savoury |
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| LA Woman - : - Whisky, coconut cream expresso; note the coffee bean! |
Main Course
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| Seabass fillet within the shell |
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| Branzino in crosta di sale e erbe - Roasted Seabass |
Branzino in crosta di sale e erbe
Roasted Sea bass in sea salt and herbs, parsley baby potatoes, wilted spinach
The first dish in the main course was the healthful Roasted Sea bass whose sizeable fillet was enclosed in an outer shell and baked till nice n crisp. The pastry shell serves the purpose of keeping the moisture and flavors locked in. The fish was indeed delicious with the grits of sea salt adding to the satisfaction.
Ossobuco di agnello alla milanese
Lamb ossobuco "milanese style", saffron risotto
This Lamb Ossobuco was made from a hunk of a portion brought it from New Zealand! Slow-cooked for more than 7 hours to yield a melt-in-the-mouth texture that went well with the very creamy Saffron risotto whose flavors also served to mellow the prominent lamb flavor. More variety in the texture would have been lovely too.
Wok fried tofu with Singapore chili sauce
Silken tofu, tomato, onion, curry leaf, chili sauce
I've never had good tofu before so this was a first. The silken tofu struck me in terms of its jelly like consistency and the Singapore style curry which had lemongrass was a good match with the jasmine rice served alongside.
Zaitooni khumb achari
Pickled olives, button mushroom in pickled gravy
Seeing pickled olives in an Indian gravy definitely piqued my interest and I was expecting a standout dish here. The Zaitooni khumb achari gravy was tasteful by itself, but the briny olives were a brilliant addition to it. We had the choice to have this with the jasmine rice and the flying naan but the rice proved to more well-suited.
Flying naan
This one was more a flatbread than a typical naan. An indulgent twist to the usual placid naan, it had quite a bit of chatpata flavors with cheese added on! Beautifully risen as well. Good enough to be be had on its own!
Dessert
Warm chocolate, almond and peanut butter brownies, peanut butter ice cream
This one was simple, homely goodness; freshly made and scrumptuous. Not too chocolatey. Prepared in a cast iron skillet, it aided to hold the heat for longer yielding a nice warm brownie.
Caramelized banana cake, soft serve ice cream
This one was superb. Simple, perfectly made; moist with the pleasing flavor of banana. The flambeing gave it a nice caramel note with a bite from the leftover alcohol.
All-in-all a very good dinner with stand-out dishes! Combine this with the amazing ambiance of this place and you've got a nice evening to look forward whatever be your taste.
