Lunch Buffet at Spice Jar, The Residency

Imagine walking into a room and the aroma of cinnamon, cloves, cardamon and ginger hits you, leaving you in a whirl of flavours? That would be heaven or hell, depends on what you like or not. I remember feeling this when we walked into one of thestores in the  spice market in Kochi. 

So, when you tell someone "time to visit the Spice Jar", you invariably end up imagining the above mentioned scene unfold. I walked into Residency, GN Chetty road with this in mind. But then I saw a huge restaurant, with glass walls and a row of huge glass jars filled with different spices high up above the buffet counters.  I was here a few days ago, after a late night movie for a cup of coffee. And today I was here to try their Lunch Buffet. First order of the day was to get myself a glass of Fresh Lime Soda Salt [in fact this has become my favorite drink, and I don't mind having a glass of this very now and then].  Once we had settled down, spent a few minutes catching up on our lives, work, and sundry. Looked around to see a large crowd in the table nearby, also managed to catch a words here & there [sounded like someone was celebrating their birthday, pretty soon the entire crowd had piled around the lady and were giving out gifts, gushing wishes and yakking away]

We made a beeline towards the Buffet to check out the spread, and soon grabbed a plate each and took a sampler of sorts- bread, salads, the veg kebab and sipped on the soup served on the table. Mine was a clear veg soup with a few pieces of colour zucchini in it [was very bland]. The non veg soup looked spicy [ almost like the hot & sour]. I wish they had a similar soup for veggies.. The kebab was good and so were the salads and breads. Quite a few rolls to choose from- brown bread, herbed rolls, white bread slices and few others as well. I also tried the corn & spinach bake which was simple and good. I make this at home with variations [mushrooms, paneer, etc]. 

The place had a constant flow of people, which is always a good sign for a restaurant. I remember visiting Chin Chin, the chinese restaurant on Women's day and enjoying the lunch spread there. Suddenly, breaking into my thoughts I heard Mr Madhu introduce the Chef  [Bengali] who chit chatted for a bit about his favorites, the dishes he is in charge of and places he has worked before. 

While we were trying to order another drink, the staff mentioned there was nannari sharbat available in the buffet. Instantly, we all walked over to the table with 4-5 jugs, and tasted the nannari juice. Yumm! Alas, they dint have too much, so some of us got nannari, while others took roohafza. There was also buttermilk which I liked [ no ginger no coriander.. yayy] 

The highlight of the buffet is there were as many if not more number of Veg dishes as Non Veg. I enjoyed the garlic noodles and Red thai curry the most. Skipped the Indian dishes and went straight for the desserts. There was a payasam of sorts, a bread pudding, coconut strudel, and plain ice cream [2 flavours- Vanilla and Strawberry]... The chef brought a Caramel custard since the one in the dessert section was nearly over. It was just again lacking in flavour, but atleast did not have an overpowering eggy taste.

Overall, the food was alright, nothing over the top, but then it is value for money. 

The veg buffet is priced at Rs597 [Rs475+taxes] and the non veg at little bit more for the weekend and it is tad less during the weekdays.  [shall reconfirm on the rates]

Address:

Spice Jar

#49, The Residency, 

G.N.Chetty Road, 

T Nagar, Chennai- 600017

Ph : 04428253434 Extn 6118 / 7401204255

Pizza by the slice- Sbarro

Thanks to the unscheduled powercut last evening, friend & I decided to get out of the house, go somewhere with AC and when I mentioned not having been to Vijaya Forum Mall, that is where we headed to. From the  exterior appearance to the main entrance, I felt like I had been transported to Bangalore Forum mall [Hosur road]. The place is huge, we did spend a bit of time checking out some stores, did some shopping as  well.

 

And before leaving, decided to grab some dinner [take away]. This is when we hit the Foodcourt, and my friend mentioned Sbarro and how good their pizzas are. Though I am not a pizza fan, decided to give it a shot and was not disappointed. This is the only place [outside of that one stall in bessie beach] where I saw pizzas being sold by slice. They had about 4 kinds of Veg pizzas and 3 Non veg pizzas on display. Apart from this, I also spotted another counter with 2 kinds of pastas, different sauces and veggies. Interesting~! 

Sbarro is a chain of pizza restaurants that specializes in New York style pizza and other Italian-American cuisine. Its headquarters is located in Melville, Huntington, New York. [Source: Wikipedia]

I ordered for 2 slices of Paneer & Brocolli, while the friend ordered for Margarita, Standard Veggie and a Chicken pizza.  Took them about 10 mins to get the order ready, we grabbed our bags and got out of there. 

The pizzas are priced at Rs120 for a normal pizza and premium pizzas -Veg was Rs135 and Non Veg- Rs155

After about an hour or so, at home, we warmed the pizza in the microwave and had them. They were soft, and quite fresh [the base had not become chewy or hard].  What surprised me was I had 1 slice and was nearly full, the 2nd one I could barely finish. Friend mentioned the slices were about 30% smaller than what she got back in Doha.. *gulp*

They also served fountain soft drinks along with the food items.  And as it goes in most malls, you need one of those Food coupon cards [buy a credit card like card, load it up with cash and swipe it across restaurants, recharge if reqd] ...  

Highlights about Sbarro:
1. Veg & non veg pizzas in separate shelves
2. They dont give you a bag unless you ask for one [ bags are charged Rs3 each]
3. No cutlery and so you end up eating it by hand [and you need 2 hands to hold the slice]
4. Quick service

Address:
Sbarro
Forum Vijaya Mall, Arcot Road,
Vadapalani, [opp kamala theater]
Chennai

A cookout with a difference at Dario's

I for one began cooking, or atleast entering the kitchen quite early. Mom & Gramma used to say - at the age of 3 I was making dosas and thus began my love for cooking. I began full fledged cooking in 10th or 11th Std, mainly making my own lunch and weekends/holidays would experiment.  But then today, when I see kids all around me, they not only know how to cook [a few select dishes] but are quite proficient in rattling out the most complicated names of dishes. Blame it on TV? No blame, it is a good thing~! 

After watching Masterchef Australia Juniors edition, I was all set to be blown away by kids from Chennai. And they indeed did just that. I was amazed at the amount of exposure and knowledge these kids had, especially since most of them were between 8-12yrs of age.   

The Kids cookout is a summer workshop from Dario's restaurant, spanning across 5 days. Parents had the option of signing their kids for the entire course, or pick a session and sign them in just for that. In all there were about 12-15kids in the session I attended on Monday. It was all about Desserts. The Dario's Chef and Anusha were holding fort and making sure the kids got some learning out of the sessions. There were a few, tiny ones that were lost in their own world, and while it was cute to watch, they did manage to distract the others... Kids will be kids, right?! 

I have been seeing, eating Tiramisu and Pannacotta maybe over the past 2years, prior to which I had no clues what they were, leave alone how they were made. So, watching the chef whip up the 2 desserts while the kids worked parallely was quite a sight.  

Anyways, the 1st dessert that Chef was prepping for was Panna cotta- with each step explained in detail, the kids then got a chance to pour the hot milky liquid into the little moulds they had before it was whisked away to be chilled.  Not giving them time to break out into a frenzy, the Chef moved on to the next one. Aptly called "pick me up" Tiramisu is quite a delicious dessert. But unlike in other restaurants, Dario's being completely vegetarian, the Chef was teaching the eggless version. 

While Anusha got the kids all excited in guessing what went into Fresh Cream, we were dazzled by the kids when one commented "we can make mascarpone cheese at home, right?" and another asked "where is it available in Chennai?" and one more said "I am going to make this at home one day". Kids do know a lot. It was quite insightful listening to the various explanations of the ingredients, being shown the product, the whisking of the cream to a stiff peak and following the entire process. I was amazed at how engrossed the kids were, they sat patiently waiting their turn, no screaming, no throwing tantrums. And once completed, some stylishly pulled out an iPhone 5 or the Samsung Galaxy note and clicked a picture of their creation~!

As we made our way down the stairs and headed out of the restaurant, I wondered what was in store the remaining 3 days. There was also a small twinge of jealousy , I wished  I had been born in this day and age when there were so many opportunities and exciting activities.

So, if you are interested, 2 more days remain. Sign up now and let your kid come home with some interesting recipes or inputs on dishes that you have loved. 

For the workshop:

Please call 044-49193333 | Ms. Anusha - 9841615232

URL for further details: Kids cookout at Dario's

Dario's is a Pure vegetarian restaurant, you can read my view of the place here

Address:

No. 11, Kasturi Rangan Road, 

[Take the 1st right on the road and it is the building right next to Aswene Hospital]

2nd Street, Teynampet, 

Chennai-600018

Ph-  044-49193333

Cooling your heels- Movenpick

I love the Apple pie with ice cream at Movenpick, but then they went and shut the outlet. And then I was left testing the various other apple pies around town. Disclaimer: I  am not too fond of ice creams [ find them tad too sweet and so prefer such desserts or yoghurt based ice creams if available]

Anyways, a few years passed and I was happy digging into the desserts at various other places when one evening I spotted the shimmering white board and interiors of a new place on Nungambakkam High Road. upon investigation, to my delight, it was Movenpick. Yayy!!  But then, as luck would have it, I haven't made a visit here yet.

One evening mom, gramma and granpa had gone out [temple, shopping, etc] and gramma came home with a movenpick bag.. Peeked inside and Whoopie, it contained a box of Strawberry yoghurt ice cream. I was quite impressed with the packing, there was a 2nd layer seal inside the lid as well. 

Scooped out the light ice cream and dug into it. It was sheer heaven. Fresh strawberry pieces blended with the ice cream. It was just perfect.  What a treat to beat the heat~!! 

Movenpick:

53, Nungambakkam High Road   

Nungambakkam

Chennai - 34
Ph: 044 28279300 

This 1litre tub was priced at Rs 899/-