'Tashi Delek' - Tibetian popup at Ashvita Bistro, Chennai

Food in reverse order... :-)

The dessert- Banana & oreo ice cream

The main course

Thupka- Soup

The momos

[photograph courtesy- Kamalika]

A friend pinged and asked if I would like to join her for the Tibetian popup lunch.. It was then I discovered she was referring to the three day event scheduled at Ashvita Bistro, Bawa Road... 

Chef Esha Sahor Lepcha from Bombay was here in Chennai and offering 'Tashi Delek' (blessings and good luck) through food... It was our chance to experience Tibetian food..  I have had this cuisine/dishes in the hills, during my Leh and Sikkim trips and so was curious to see how similar/different the flavours were. I quite love this cuisine cos it has very little to no spices/masala and yet packed with flavours. 

Saturday afternoon, we landed at Ashvita and waited for our meal. They had a Veg and non veg menu, since both of us were veg, we opted for the veg menu.  You get to choose between Momo and Thupka [soup], and similarly each category had two dishes. We decided to order one of each so we could try them both.  

The momos were delicious, served with spicy red chilli sauce and peanut chutney of sorts [which was out of the world, we asked for refill] , we went in for a repeat order of Momos as well.  The Thupka was good, similar to the one I tasted in Gangtok. It had noodles, vegetables, and a clear broth. Here too the Thupka was low on salt [I was told that most places serve it salt free, allowing the customer to season as they wish]. 

Following this came the main course, which was served with Brown rice. Along with the rice came a dish made with vegetables and blue cheese that I loved, a Tibetian version of Daal along with two sides - Cottage cheese fries and spicy Shogo Khatsa[baby potatoes]

All this was topped off with freshly handmade ice-cream [Banana & Oreo] for dessert. Overall, it was a good meal. This was priced at Rs599/- per pax. 

Overall experience- While we enjoyed the food, the service left us feeling blah, and after we left the venue is when we realised that we had shared one main, but had been billed for two full orders..  Friend raised this with the owner of the place who said we could claim the due on our next visit.. I wish restaurants educated their staff better... We were also told that refills on all dishes were part of the offer, again something we did not know nor were we offered the same...  Its not just the food, it is the ambiance, the service that adds to the dining experience, atleast for me! 

Address:

#11, Bawa Road, Alwarpet, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600018

Phone: 044 4210 9990

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 :-)