Sheraton Grand Chennai Resort & Spa, Chennai

The newest kid on the block was open to public and all set to wow guests. Am talking about Sheraton Grand Chennai Resort & Spa on ECR, right next to the Crocodile Bank... Swanky new property, it has been open for less than 5months and joins the league with the others along the coast. 

The Reception/Lobby

The Pub

[Image courtesy: Kamalika]

At the Indian Chef awards event..

 At the Reef

Was there with a friend last week for their Go Cheese Indian Chef Awards event and must say the property is quite impressive. 

The first thing you see as you get off the car is the buffalo art piece right in the middle and the eye goes all the way beyond it to the blue ocean... As you walk into the property, the high ceilings and open spaces is what catches the attention. I loved that there was enough room to not only walk, but maybe even run around without bumping into things or people. On one side is the Reception and other side houses the banquet hall. The reception area has ample comfortable seating options and a cart with two drinks- Lemon soda and Apple tea , perfect for the warm days or after the long drive. 

We walked along the corridor, enjoying the attention to details, be it on the signboards to the restroom, or the light fitting outside them. The main materials across the property are wood and copper, which has been used not just outside but on the interiors as well. We were shown the pub, which has a huge wooden door, and the decor inside is very rustic, with naked light bulbs and a long wooden slab packed with different colour & shaped bottles above the bar. Comfortable sofas, sleek high chair all of which blend together well in this space. 

The restaurant beyond the pub was called "The Reef" and again spacious, with enough walking space between tables and the buffet counters. We had lunch at the restaurant and food was good, what I liked about the place was they did not have a buffet that stretched on and on, it had few dishes but they were packed with flavour. They had sourdough bread, fresh herbs, and quite a range of salads, one of which was with Fresh figs [parmesan cheese & fish- I pushed fish aside and took the figs which were amazing.. couldn't resist em].. There was also a live pasta counter. One of the desserts that stood out for me was the Fresh Figs on pudding topped with chocolate..[The chocolate melted as it touched the hot pudding below].. 

As for the rooms, a friend who I bumped into said they were quite plush. The rooms on one side face the crocodile bank, the others to the city and the third set to the ocean... Did not get a chance to get a glimpse of the room, maybe next time! 

The Indian Chef awards event happened in the main banquet hall with chefs battling it out across counters. They were given a set amount of time, ingredients and had to whip up a starter and a main. Some of the ingredients were quite exotic, like the lobsters, while another stall had stuff I love- Shiitake mushrooms, bok-choy and more.. There were also stalls by sponsors, showcasing their products... Was overall an interesting visit..

Walking out and heading back to the city, I kept thinking how amazing it must be to do a staycation here.. Hopefully soon~! 

Address: 280 East Coast Road, Vadanamelli Village 

Next to Madras Crocodile Bank Trust, 

Tamil Nadu 603104 

Phone: 044 3342 2222

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 :-)

Kandyan King's Repast- Srilankan Food Festival at Madras Pavilion, ITC Grand Chola

Different kinds of Sambol and Pickles

The Rice options

Vegetarian main dishes..

Egg Appams

 Desserts

 The Chef with his books- the teeny tiny one and another slightly bigger book

Srilankan food to me is all about the lovely medley of flavours, the coconut roti in the road side stall, the appam stew and ofcourse Kiri Pani [ buffalo milk curd served with treacle].. At Madras Pavilion, they have brought down Chef Dr Publis Silva from Sri Lanka's Mount Lavinia Hotel to head the festival. He has spent not one or two years, but nearly 6 decades at this hotel and says this is going to be the beginning and end of his career. 

As always, I was quite curious to hear his story, his experiences and he clearly told us "after the meal, not before"  with a chuckle. Walking around the buffet spread, he told us of the various dishes, the base, the preparations... And what I discovered during the dinner was the dishes I had eaten during my Sri Lanka trip were just a teeny tiny percentage of the veg dishes. The one thing I remember from my trip was that people would blow us away with dishes the minute we mentioned "we are pure vegetarians", but we did have to mention no fried fish, cos they tend to sprinkle a generous handful on top of every dish..lol.. 

The dishes ranged from flavoured rice, unpolished rice, egg appams to koththu parota for the mains and the sides ranged from a raw mango gravy to long beans curry to a pumpkins cooked in mustard gravy. And then ofcourse there was a section of their sambol - veg and non veg versions, each one teasing our taste buds. The flavours were distinct, and we happily dug in, being greedy taking it all in. The food was cooked with simple spices, and it was interesting to note that the vegetables retained their colour and had a gentle bite to them [ just the way I like them] Chef mentioned there were 350+ veg dishes. Yam had about 56 varieties, similarly bananas and mango. So there was no dearth for vegetarian food. He also told us about the use of Goraka [Kodukkaippuli in Tamil] for many meat based dishes. The desserts were familiar flavours - vatalappam, the Kiri pani and another dish that was crisp and had a subtle flavour with every bite. We did finish off the meal with hot filter kaapi.

  

What had me fascinated apart from the lip smacking food was Chef's journey from Coal carrier to Director Culinary Affairs at Mount Lavinia Hotel. I did not visit the hotel, but remember boarding the train from the station near the place.  He has literally made his way up the ladder and has been conferred with President’s Award and, recently, the Deshabandu Award for distinguished services to the nation, by Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena. He has published over 23 books, one of which is a tiny one that found a place in the Guinness book of world records. He showed us the book that contains 40 recipes fit for a King [you need magnifying glass to read the text on it] and then there was another one slightly bigger in size. He wants the Sri Lankan food to be remembered and cherish much after his time as well, that is is only dream~! 

It is fabulous how ITC Grand Chola keeps doing new things, bringing down Chef's from specific regions thereby giving us an opportunity to not only savour different flavours, but listen to stories and experiences from world over.. 

This festival is on till the 16th September for dinner. 

Approx price is Rs2200 + tax [per person]

Address:

ITC Grand Chola 

#63, Mount Road, Guindy, 

Chennai,TN,600032 

Ph- 044 2220 0000

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 :-)