Brunch At Pan Asian, ITC Grand Chola With Chef Ashish

It is not just what you eat, it is where, how and of course who creates the dish that makes a difference.. And this is something I firmly believe in..  

Saying that, I can firmly state there are very few restaurants that get me excited, and one of them is Pan Asian in ITC Grand Chola.. Each visit has been simply heavenly and memorable. And so, last Sunday when I walked up the majestic steps towards the restaurant, I was already looking forward to the ambiance, the conversations and not to mention, the divine food that was bound to be served up!

I met Chef Ashish Singh, who has taken over the reigns a year or so ago, and through the next four hours we were there, he floored us with the dishes - each one tingling my taste buds, some with a burst of flavour and others subtle yet delicious... Here is a round up of all that I had during the relaxed Sunday Brunch [This was a sit down brunch and quite an elaborate one at that, nearly 7-8 courses] 

Soya Sauce being poured into the little plates

Fresh Wasabi being grated..

Glass of Red wine!

Tokyo Iced tea- Kiwi concentrate with lemon tea served chill

Now onwards for the food....

Zensai (salad)

Tofu wasabi Zuke(pickled wasabi)

Tamago yaki(grilled omelette)

shimeji(mushroom) Goma ae(sesame

paste)

Garnish:Shisho leaf(ooba)

Hanaho(purple flower)

Loved the Mushroom and egg omelette the most in this platter. Oh and the big surprise were the herbs/flowers which had quite a strong distinct flavour.. 

Stir fried water chestnut & lotus stem

Garlic, Chilli pepper

Absolutely loved this dish, the crunch, the subtle spice and the presentation had me going WOW with every bite!

Green tea Cappuccino

This was an interesting drink, blended with ice cream, it was something new..

Dim sum

Edamame with shaved Truffle

Shishitou Sauce

Absolutely loved this one, the truffle flavour was fabulous and the dimsum outer skin was perfect, wasn't chewy,wasn't too soft that it broke before I could pop it in my mouth. And the dramatics of dry ice was magical :) 

Bellini - Peach syrup with soda

Robatayaki

Grilled Californian Avocado

 Soy and Yuzu Lime

Poached Pears

Kuramame

I love love avocado but had never had grilled avocado and could have eaten just this and been happy. The poached pears were sweet while the sliver of lime was the zing that brought the dish together.

Cranberry based drink..

Beijing Rolls

Sliced Inari(Fried and Mirin soaked soy with Sweet Bean, wrapped in Nama Uba(fresh soy) sheet blessed with dehydrated soy crumb

The wrap was thin and the filling was light and airy. It also had a slight sweetness to it. 

From The Grill

Boletus mushroom

Vanilla puffed roll with chili mango

Garnish: Hanaho leaf

Oh this was fun to eat, the puff roll was soft and when had with the mushroom made perfect sense. The chef made sure we noticed him telling us not to eat the leaves. There was a mini debate amidst  the group about what the leaves looked like, while I said Marijuana, another said Papaya...

Sushi

Asparagus with cheese wrapped mame nori(soy sheet)

This was the first time I was having Sushi wrapped in something other than the Dark Noori sheet. It was light and very different. 

Mains

Wok tossed Monkey head mushroom, Black pepper

Spinach in Thai yellow curry,

Jasmine Rice

Stir fried Udon Noodles

This Bento box of sorts was heavenly, but quite heavy, especially all those courses we had been through. The spinach thai green curry and jasmine rice with the monkey head mushrooms were a delight to have. Not to forget the crunchy vegetables, including the lotus stem. 

Desserts

Chocolate rasberry with yuzu curd

Rasberry macarons with passion fruit ice cream [few others got Lemon macarons]

We got the opportunity to meet the young Deepti who takes care of Nutmeg, where you get quite an array of pastries and desserts. This trio was presented by her- My favourite was the tangy passion fruit ice cream. But the other two were a hit and miss of sorts..  

This sit down elaborate Sunday brunch would cost around Rs 3300/- per head.It is an experience that must be savoured and relished bite after bite.. Was in the company of good friends and so the four hours we were there seemed to fly by. We were a happy bunch by the time we left the restaurant. If you are keen on giving your taste buds a new kind of experience, combined with a few pleasant surprises make sure to visit this restaurant. Vegetarian /non vegetarian doesn't matter!! 

Address: 

ITC Grand Chola 

No., 63, Anna Salai, Guindy, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600032

Phone: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 :-)

Food Trials at Wok a Toque

Practice makes perfect, right? And this phrase applies to pretty much every aspect of life, so why food be left out. Restaurants these days test the waters before opening the doors. This is not only to make sure the food they are serving works, but is more than welcome and is well received as well. Just as at home when we make a dish for the first time, we call our friends or family to be the guinea pigs, restaurants invite people they know and bloggers to run their trials on. 

Where am I going with this? I wanted to share the experience of a Food trial I was a part of that was held recently. Wok a Toque is the name of the restaurant and it is located within Hotel Chariot on Thirumalai pillai Road, opp Vidyodaya School. 

I have seen this Hotel quite a few times but never ventured inside. So, when I was invited to be a part of the Food Trials, I took this as the opportunity to check the place out. We were received by the Manager who told us how the group has taken over the F&B in the Hotel and is opening a restaurant "Wok a Toque" and a bar/pub "Elevate" here. 

The giant door is what you see as you get onto the 1st floor, and the decor inside is beautiful to say the least. Simple oriental light fixtures, textured wall, subtle art work is all you see. The music playing is also Oriental and quite mild. The main dining area is divided between the Lobby and 1st floor, with the 1st floor offering Lunch Buffet and dinner a la carte, while lobby offers only a la carte. They also plan to launch a Breakfast menu and Midnight buffet eventually.  The tables were dark brown with a beige sofa against the wall and red plush chairs on the other side. 

Moving on to the main aspect of the evening, the food. It was Indo- chinese, as is everywhere else but the food served was quite good, I loved it.

All the tables had a plate with three bowls- pickled vegetables, peanut based snack and Kimchi, except here Kimchi had a lot of sesame seeds on it. These are again typical of most chinese restaurants [atleast the ones I've been to]. We were then handed a makeshift menu that ran to nearly 9 pages. Quite an extensive one at that, and I also noticed the vegetarian items were just as many as the non veg [earlier it was very few veg to a lot of non veg items]

I chose the Burnt garlic soup and woah, it was divine. Loved the flavour of the burnt garlic and the sweetness of the chinese cabbage in the clear broth. Moving on to the starters, I once again opted for a dish that I havent tried before- Stuffed Lotus stem fritters that was served alongside chilli honey sauce --> The fritters were sinful, there was a stuffing of sorts between two lotus stem slivers and it just melted in my mouth. 

While the non vegetarians devoured the various meaty starters, I began scanning through the menu looking for the main dishes. There it was, new ingredients yet again. While we decided to order Kwai Teow Pad Thai Wheat Noodles, and a Ginger-Capsicum fried rice, for the side dishes I chose the Bamboo Shoot and Mushroom in Chilly Bean Sauce and Mapo Tofu. The former was a hit with all, we couldnt get enough of the dish, the latter was alright- tofu is an acquired taste and not many like it. 

The non vegetarians went rampant and ordered Duck, Chicken, beef and pork. They enjoyed some while they felt others were similar to the starters. By the time they were done, it was time for me to leave, I had a movie to catch and so I skipped desserts. Did hear from the boys that there were about 3 desserts which were decent. 

The doors opened on Monday- 24th June and I wish them all the best! If the food we had during the trial was anything to go by, am sure they would be a roaring success.. 

As for the price factor, most dishes are priced between Rs 250 to 400, while items like Lobster and crab were priced higher.  Am guessing a meal for 2 should work out to about Rs 1200 - 1500. 

Address:
The Chariot
#4, Thirumalai Pillai Road, T Nagar, 
Chennai- 600017
Phone: 044 2834 1212
URL- http://www.thechariotchennai.com/

Disclaimer:
The reviews posted on this blog are based on my personal experience. Also remember that restaurants and eat outs sometimes change with time, so does their food and service. So, kindly consider these factors while visiting the places. Remember, no two palates are the same. Bon Appétit  :-)