“All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt.”
Even though am not a big fan of Chocolates, the promise of an elaborate meal laced with chocolates, Jameson
Irish Whiskey and Food was enough to have me salivating!!-All three were coming together at dinner at On TheRocks, Crowne plaza.. You read it right.. These words
were all it took for me to reply with my confirmation.
The
restaurant is hosting a lavish 6 course meal, the highlight being each dish is
infused with the unique Earth Loaf chocolates and a splash of the Jameson
Whiskey as well. All this has been curated by Chef Prakash along with David
Belo [the founder of 'Earth Loaf' chocolates]. The unique thing about
these chocolates is that they are dark bitter chocolates made
with palm sugar, which was perfect cos I hate the regular
sweet chocolates.
The evening
began with an Appertivo [something to kick off the
evening with, a small teaser of sorts] called 'Jamie in Brooklyn'
(spicy homemade Vermouth with a hint of bitter orange, orange flower water,
Ladhaki Apricot Kernel syrup and Jameson Whisky- phew hope i got all the
ingredients right, i sure asked about it enough times). It was a drink
that would wake you up from the deepest of slumbers and have you raring to go.
Not to forget
their signature Focaccia bread drenched in freshly squeezed garlic
oil, brought back memories of my earlier visit to the restaurant and
how we asked for a repeat of this. The menu for the evening is quite
extensive, and I was quite surprised to see there were more Veg appetisers than
non veg, and so we asked for a portion of each.
The second
drink to arrive on our table was the 'The Mango and Capsicum Toddy- warm
and strong, it was served a small cup that had a slice of lime with a
clove in it. It sure had my taste buds doing the tango. Following on its heel
was the Roasted Squash and infused with Chilli Chocolate soup
that was simply divine, it was served in a small cup and was packed
with flavours. Pumpkin is a vegetable that hasn't yet received its due, it
is so versatile and beautiful~
Among the
starters, I fell in love with the Soft Polenta with wild mushrooms and
Creamy Chocolate Sauce and the Grilled Asparagus, Peas, Blue
Cheese with White Chocolate Hollandaise. There were two others which were
good but not wow!
As the
conversations flowed, we noticed the food kept coming.It was either
the Bitter Chocolate and Mint Sorbet -a palate cleanser of sorts or
the Sage and Berry Fizz [Jameson whiskey with flavours of Sage
, berry marmalade, mint, lemon juice and nutmeg with a hint of black pepper.
Just when we thought the bar had been set quite high with the food we had
so far, the mains came along. I was served the show stopper veg dish- Single
Origin Dark Chocolate Ravioli with Mint and Green Pea Puree with Sage Beurre
Noisette .. Oh my, every mouthful was heavenly. So much so that we asked
for a repeat serving of this dish for the others to enjoy~ There was a
mixed bag of reaction from the guys on the Non veg mains- Salmon, Lamb and
chicken based.
As my eyes
wandered around, I noticed the bar tender was doing some sort of
smoking downstairs He was smoking the glasses with a blow torch and
wood chips. Soon after, we were served the 'Smoke & Mirrors' which
had a medley of flavours- Charred Pineapple, apricot kernel syrup, lemon
juice, raisins, paprika and Jameson Irish Whisky.. garnished with smoked
Lapsang Soughing..
Before we could get on to the desserts, I spotted a table in the far corner where a drink was being made, there was fire and I could smell cinnamon.. I made a beeline to observe how the 'Jameson Blue Blazer' was being made. It was a cocktail invented back in
the 1860's and consisted of Flamed Irish Whisky taken to a whole new level with spices, lemon and
orange zests, cassia, pepper, nutmeg and apple slices. It was served with a piece of Earth
Loaf Artisan 'Himalayan Fruit and Nut Chocolate'. I was told to take a sip of the drink and a bite of the chocolate to enjoy the experience.
Are we done yet? No way.... Jameson and Chocolate Granita, a pre dessert came along bringing with it the desserts- Swiss Chocolate and Jameson Brule.. This was followed by 'Petit Fours' and 'Irish Coffee'... and with that the evening was a wrap~
Priced at INR 2999/-
per person, the festivities are on till the 26th June
Only for
dinner: 7.00 pm onwards
Address:
Crowne Plaza Chennai Adyar Park,
TTK Road,
Austin Nagar, Alwarpet,
Chennai
Ph- 044 2499 4101
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Sprinkle some flavours so I'll know you were here!