7 Chefs 7 Plates at Ayna, Hilton, Chennai till 27th May

[image courtesy: The Hilton]

It fascinates me to no end when Hotels/restaurants come up with food festivals that are different from the run of the mill ones.. At the end of the day, yes, it is all about the food, but when done with difference, adds to excitement and fun. Ayna at The Hilton is celebrating the culinary diversity of India with their "7 Chefs 7 Plates". A food festival celebrating Indian Regional Cuisines from Seven different States with Chefs from across Hilton. Every State is featured for 2 days before moving on to the next one. What is the speciality of this is they have flown down Speciality chefs from across Hilton for each of these .. 

The festival opened with food from Uttar Pradesh and it was now time to celebrate the dishes from Mumbai. A state that is as diverse as it can get, be it people or the food.  I was quite thrilled cos Mumbai to me is all about the Vada Pav, the chaat at Elco and the street food across the city. The Chef for Mumbai was Chef Mangesh Ghanekar.. 

The first thing you see when you walk into the restaurant is the wall of spices and then the beautiful etched plates on the table. Glass plates with the State being featured, not to forget the staff in regional attire as well. It was quite a sight! 

As for the food, well am gonna let the pictures do the talking. The dishes were all mouth watering- familiar flavours, ingredients that were new, and ofcourse experiencing the Mumbai I have come to see over the years of travelling to the city.  

Chef Mangesh Ghanekar [Image courtesy: The Hilton]

 Different kinds of crisps served with three different condiments- Garlic pickle, mango dip and the green chutney

The Menu with my glass of Red wine

Starters- 

Parle Chi Moongachi Muthiya (Yellow mung beans dumplings steamed and fried crispy served with ghati chutney)

Dadar Cha Batata wada (Essentially the food on which Mumbai runs, spiced potatoes batter fried and served with chutney)

Ghatkopar che Veg Cutlet  (An Anglo Indian recipe which served as a snack during the afternoon tea )

Girgaun cha Sabudana Wada(Sago studded  spiced potato patties)

Three kinds of sides for the starters- Garlic powder, Peanut tomato chutney and Coconut chutney..

Chapatti (Whole wheat flat bread)

 Valache birde (Sprouted beans tempered with onions)

Lalbaugh Kale Watanaya Chi Usal  (Dried peas tempered with chillies best had with Pao)

Grant Road cha Masala Bhat      

(Mumbai’s answer to vegetable Biryani seasonal vegetables, long grain rice flavoured with cassia leaves)

We also had a taste of their Coconut Rice [ which is quite different from what we make at home..

 Puran Poli, Shrikand & Sheera... 

 Ilangovan, who took care of us through lunch standing near the entrance...

What lies ahead in the days to come.... 

Chef Shaji Kumar, Hilton Garden Inn, Trivandrum - 18 & 19 May - Kerala 

Chef Vinod Kumar, Hilton Jaipur - 20 & 21 May - Rajasthan 

Chef Akshay Deshpande, Conrad Pune - 22 & 23 May - Puneri 

Chef Rajesh Singh, Hilton Garden  Inn Baani Square Gurgaon - 24 & 25 May - Delhi  

Chef Biswajit, Hilton Chennai - May 26 & 27  - Bengali

[Psst..and if there are any dishes from the other cuisines that you would like to taste, just point to the same and ask the Staff, they will let you know if it is available or not!!! ]

A meal for one would cost around Rs1500 -1800 [depends on the dishes and of coursse beverages/alcohol chosen] 

7 Chefs 7 Plates is on till 27th May [lunch and dinner] and is à la carte format. 

For reservations, call  +91 44 2225700; +91 9500058722

Disclaimer: The reviews posted on this blog are based on my personal experience. Also remember these were just my views!! Remember, no two palates are the same. Bon Appétit :-)

Soy Soi, Kotturpuram Chennai

"Pan Asian" - the two words that have me drooling and salivating!! Well, this time around I was off to check out the newly opened Asian street food restaurant Soy Soi in Kotturpuram with a friend of mine.. After establishing Double Roti in the city, the duo Japtej Ahluwalia and Nikesh Lamba have now moved on [with Vimal Kumar (Cloud Nine Hospitality) &Vikram Mohan (VM Hospitality) ] to Soy Soi and are all set to open doors to three more restaurants in the city [around this neighborhood], one of them right next door- Savy Rasa [which was just getting ready for the launch as I walked into Soy Soi]... 

A carefully curated menu put together by the team after a  3 week trip across South East Asia, mainly Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam (they will also be including dishes from Burma in the menu]...  

The first thing that you see is the huge red wall with the name Soy Soi on it.. You walk in, and it is quite dark with a lit stairway showing the way. Quite a mystery till you reach the landing and enter the restaurant. And then, the decor, the long wooden long community table of sorts, moving on to a bigger hall with a beautiful mural on the wall and hand crafted bamboo light fittings completes the look. Loved the place..  There are a few tables in the bigger hall and along the far end are booths of sorts for families or large groups of 5-6 people. 

The kitchen  is also divided into sections- beverages, momos & satay, and the main kitchen located near the entrance. 

We settled into a table for 4 and spent a few minutes taking it all in. Had a brief chat with Chef Peter Tseng [Have heard of him from his The Park days to Chap Chay and now this venture] and gave him free reign with respect to our food. Only thing we told him was we were both vegetarians.  The next two hours flew by with us sampling various dishes from across the menu - Soup, Salad, Dim Sum, Satay, Khao Suey and dessert which had a bit of theatrics to it.  Each dish was packed with flavour, different in terms of texture and spices.. by the end of the meal we were two happy souls... 

A meal for one works out to around Rs1000/- .. But it is totally worth it..As we walked out, we were amazed that the place was packed for a weekday afternoon and quite happy to see people trying new places.. 

Address: 

2/10, Gandhi Mandapam Rd, Chitra Nagar, Kotturpuram,

Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600085

Opp AMM School. 

Phone: 044 2447 2557

Disclaimer: The reviews posted on this blog are based on my personal experience. Also remember these were just my views!! Remember, no two palates are the same. Bon Appétit :-)