5 Senses restaurant housed at The Westin at busy Velachery has lots for you to take in the moment you step in; that's once you stray past the restaurant's first section. With an undulating dragon overlooking one side of the main dining section's side and the other section a cage-like enclosure, the ethos it evokes is definitely one of the Orient. The central cage like construct hosts a few tables that draws all attention. The lighting is lovely.
Earlier a pan-Asian setup, the restaurant has decided to showcase predominantly authentic Chinese (Sinchuan in particular) cuisine and held a tasting session for the new menu which I attended.
Note: Should state at the outset that my palate isn't very nuanced in tasting authentic Chinese cuisine, but I do my best to offer an objective view of the menu.
Also in attendance was fellow blogger and talented home-chef Sara who's more knowledgeable about Pan Asian cuisine and posted her views on her blog weeks ago. As I'm late in posting this, I'd gone through her post before and echo some of her opinions as well.
Arrived early and was presented with a light and pretty looking tea based mocktail. I preferred the very refreshing cold orange drink with fresh pulp strewn in.
Being the opening night, the new menu was ceremonially unveiled after a short speech by Chef Yatendra Rawat to the waiting guests. Chef Rawat spoke about capturing the essence of the Sinchuan province with dishes that brought out defining flavours or preferences of the region.
Some of the invited guests listening to Chef Rawat explaining the menu.
Menu for the night!
The new menu's signature dishes were different from the dishes to be presented. I saw duck on the full menu and it immediately reminded me of the amazing Peking duck dishes I'd seen online. This was Cantonese roasted duck which unfortunately wasn't in today's presentation but is available for separate order.
Appetizers
After all the waiting I was raring to sink my teeth into some succulent meat! Meat was represented by Braised spare ribs and Saliva chicken! Yes, you read that right! I almost did a double take seeing that! Apparently Saliva chicken is a hit in China and it is known to make mouths water! Well, now my mouth was watering while waiting! The dish was quite different to what I expected what with the loose marinade subtly hinting of the Schezwan peppercorns' potency in a delicious way. Can see why it would get the juices going. The meat used was devoid of fat and helped mop up the juices. Spice level would be mild for the much abused typical Indian tastebud. Bold move by the hotel and Chef to highlight such a dish and it definitely pays off.
The Braised spare ribs had a healthy ratio of meat in it without too much of fat and had me chomping at it. Fork and knife lay forgotten. The meat had a little bite to it which I feel was deliberate. Not as memorable as the previous dish but was good.
By now, the vegetarian dishes were also being served and I decided to try the Tofu and Spinach dumpling and the Honey glazed lotus stem. The dumpling was fresh and moist with the predictably bland yet healthful innards which I spiced up with some assorted sauces. Honey glazed lotus stem was finger licking good! Lots of sweet, tangy crunchiness. This was the first time I was trying this vegetarian dish and it sure did surprise me.
Lemon coriander soup was light with sharp twangs of the oil floating. Not sure what the oil contained. The meal was turning out to be quite interesting!
Main Course
Main course presented itself with the Double cooked braised lamb, Salt & pepper quail, Fried snapper Sichuan style, hot garlic eggplant. Double cooked braised lamb was tender, very thinly sliced and easily eaten with just a fork! Lamb meat lovers would appreciate the lack of overpowering spices in this one.
The quail arrived and for a second I expected it to be crunchy but the preparation style was different. The outer skin was soft but tasteful with the classic taste of salt and pepper. Quail being full of bones, it was hard to get a good bite in. Not the bird's fault of course! In the end, I went full cannibal on it which Chef said later was the right approach!
Vegetarian fare that Surprises!
Again, I decided uncharacteristically to try the vegetarian dishes and was pleasantly surprised to find them impressing a non-vegetarian like me. For someone who hates eggplant, the savoury flavors of Hot Garlic Eggplant made it yum indeed and it especially went well with the Sticky rice in Lotus leaf that was served up simultaneously. Reminded me of how brinjal sides and rice go well together in desi cuisine. A Chinese twist on the Indian favorite!
First time trying Veg Hor fan noodles so unsure what to make of it. It was a bit firm to the bite. I couldn't pair it with any of the meat dishes since it came late.
Fried snapper Sinchuan style was again soft on the outside. The Snapper's fishy taste was coming through unlike the usual bland fish used in the city. Stir fried water chestnut, asparagus & shitake in rice paper cup didn't make an appearance.
Dessert
For dessert again something unexpected. It was Frozen mango yoghurt with blood orange coulis - going with the theme of the dinner, not indulgent in terms of fat but lean and healthful. Crackling mango yoghurt interrupted by the strong citrusy notes of the coulis. I lapped it up. There was something very satisfying about this one!
All in all a very well put together meal by Chef Rawat. Every dish tickled the palate and was interesting too. That said, I feel there could be more theatre to the dishes themselves since the restaurant is named 5 Senses after all. Would have been lovely if all the five senses were engaged more in some way. Will be interesting to see if they come up with something in this regard in the future.
