Escape Dine

When the food court is jam packed, and the restaurants are overflowing with people, the only place to head to is Escape Dine inside Escape Cinemas in the 3rd floor in Express Avenue Mall in Chennai.

My friend and i made a beeline for a table in Dine and since then the table seems to have become our spot. Everytime we visit, we are shown to the same table [and trust me when  i say we have been there plenty of times] :)

The rich wood furnishings and glass partition wall adds to the ambiance. It keeps away the prying eyes of those who are looking for movie tickets or walking in or out of a movie and gives the guests enough privacy. There is a buffet open during Lunch , with unlimited Biryani [both veg and non veg] along with a soup and dessert for about Rs299.

And if like us you dont think you do justice to the buffet, then go for the A la carte menu.. My friend loves Desserts, so she goes straight to the Dessert page in the menu card and promptly orders one for each of us before looking at the main dishes..

We normally skip the Starters and head over straight to the Main course. I have had their Vegetable Biryani.. Panneer Tikka Masala with Parantha or plain rice, and once tried the Mushroom based pasta.. All these dishes come pipoing hot and quite yummy..

 The portions are pretty huge, enough for 2 people, especially if you are going in for a dessert.  I also quite enjoy the Brinjal curry and onion raita that comes with the Biryani... 

My friend orders either a Mutton biryani or Chicken biryani with extra spice...Going by her expressions, i would say she too enjoys the food! 

And now for the dessert.. Many a times, we pick out one or two from the menu only for the waiter to come back saying they either dont have it or have run out of it.. Apparently the desserts come from Ecstacy in Satyam Cinemas and arrive here twice a day...

The very 1st time we ordered the Hazelnut mousse served on a ginger short bread [it was from Ecstacy by Mikeal Besse] and was divine... Actually, so are all the desserts we  have had here, that come with a scoop of sinful vanilla ice cream...

 The Blueberry Cheese cake...

Dark chocolate fantasy [dont remember the exact name]

Next time you are in Express Avenue and are looking for a quiet place for a meal, march straight into Escape cinemas towards the Dine!
Psst- Sorry about quality of images, invariably whenever i am here i seem to have only my Blackberry to rely on!!


Food 8/10
Service 8/10
Ambiance 8/10
Price 8/10 [A meal for two should cost between Rs500- 700.]

Timings: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. 
Address: Escape Dine
3rd Floor [ inside Escape cinemas on extreme left]
Ph: 044 28464809 .

Cream & Fudge Factory, Chennai

So, finally the visit to Cream & Fudge Factory happened last evening. It is a fairly small place, rather narrow and long space located near Auroville and Cafe Coffee Day lounge on Khader Nawaz Khan Road.

I had read about the Cold stone concept and how they mix the ice cream with fruits and sauces before serving it to you, ergo, i was curious to taste the end result... As you walk in through the doors, the display of ice creams and waffle cones are the 1st thing you see, but not before the warmth in that area has you break out into a sweat.. it was really warm there.. but the seating area was cool/cold wherever the ac worked!. I was fascinated with the 4 kinds of waffle cones and cups on display.

Plain Waffle

Waffle coated with Chocolate sauce

Waffle coated with Chocolate sauce and colourful sprinkles and finally  the

Waffle coated with Chocolate sauce and nuts

[Pic courtesy: Cream & Fudge Factory website]

After scanning through the extensive menu card, i decided on the Apple Crumble ice cream.. They also had a choose the flavours and create your own ice cream option

I love Apple Pie, and basically anything to do with Apples and Cinnamon... :-) 

I chose the Waffle coated with Chocolate sauce and colourful sprinkles in Medium size and waited for the treat to arrive.. My Friend chose the Rocky Road in the same waffle cup... 

  

It was sinful.. The flavour of apples, cinnamon and sweetness was just perfect.. I relished it to a point where i was nearly done and remembered i have not taken a picture of the dessert :D

The ice cream no doubt was good.. but i dont really know what the cold stone did to the dessert, it tasted like someone had mashed up an apple pie with ice cream, and dolloped it. The vanilla ice cream is nice and full of flavour and so is the fudge sauce.. And another thing was we were unable to enjoy the waffle cup, it is just there, towards the end of the ice cream, i kinda squished the waffle like a dosa and gobbled it up!!

Ok, to update, i was here again in the same week when another friend took me over for a treat.. And this time, i was wise, actually both of us were- we chose the simple plain cup for our ice creams. I had the berry ice cream with Cherry pie and it was good!! There was no place to sit, so we walked around the road devouring our ice creams and catching up on our lives... Was fun!!  

Ambiance- 7/10[Ac wasnt working in the area where you place the order, but it was cool in the seating area, dont know if it was a deliberate thing]

Service- Nothing to rate here as it is self service

Food- Good 8/10

Price- 5/10 [And it is quite expensive.... Albeit, it was friend's treat, but i did notice the prices!! ] 

Karpagambal Mess, Mylapore

 So, after much hype and a zillion friends, well, i exaagerate, it was just a handful of friends and a brother in law raving about the place, i finallly managed to visit the infamous Karpagambal Mess in Mylapore one sunday morning.

My uncles were visiting from Delhi and USA, and on a Sunday we decided to rise early, head for some fun in the beach and then maybe do breakfast somewhere before returning home.  We were all promptly up at 5.30am, including a tiny tot, and managed to get our cousin out of the bed as well.. :-) We had such a blast at the Marina Beach, and all that walking and running had built quite the appetite.

After a brief debate on where to head for breakfast, one of my uncles suggested Karpagambal Mess in Mylapore. It is adj to the Kapaleeshwarar temple, and is a fairly small place that you just might miss, if you dint know of its existence.

 

The minute you walk in, the heady aromas of sambar, chutney along with halwas and the agarbathi hits you like a storm. The man behind the counter looked like he was trapped behind the little box. Surrounding him were a zillion kinds of Halwa, sweets and savories... There was a shelf near the entrance that was brimming with podis and vadams.. The place is fairly small, and apparently after the renovation, they have included an air conditioned hall, well, its more of a cubicle, you either walk in or walk out, there is no space to amble, leave alone stand... 

We parked ourselves across 2 tables, and placed the orders. I had the pongal and Keerai vadai.. Both came steaming hot, landing plonk on the banana leaf. 

There was another vessel parked on our table- it had 3 containers in it, different kinds of chutneys and then we found a bucket with sambar.. There was also a stainless steel jug filled with water on each table.

 The food was good, hot and yummy... There are no frills or fancies here, what you see is what you get!  The walls inside the AC room and outside are covered with framed images of Gods and Goddesses, literally spanning the entire length of the place...

By the time we were done with our 1st orders, the waiter was back asking if we wanted anything else. Some ordered Poori- potato, while others [including me] ordered coffee..  The poori looked a little crisp and flat, and the potato was alright... 

The coffee was good, just right amount of sugar and strength..

 

We packed some for those at home and returned home happy and content...  When visiting Karpagambal Mess, 

dont expect a lengthy menu, smart waiters or spacious interiors.. You will none of these here...  

 

Walk in... Enjoy what you ordered.. pay your bill and get out!! Everything about the place screams Madras... 

The banana leaf, the hot filter kaapi, authentic interiors and the aroma wafting in the air...  

 

Service: 7/10

Ambiance- 7/10 [cant expect anything more from here]

Food quality- 9/10

Price- 9/10 [And a meal for 2 will likely cost between Rs40 - 70!!]

 

Address:

Shri Karpagambal Mess

E Mada St, Mylapore, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600004

044 24642902

 Psst- unfortunately dint have my camera, only the Blackberry....  Took the coffee shot on uncle's HTC Sensation.. :-)

Fusion 9

Getting invited to Dine out midweek at a new swanky restaurant is definitely one way to perk up the week. I was headed to Fusion 9 in 2nd floor in Tulip Aruna Hotel, looking forward to meeting other bloggers and foodies.

The lunch started at 1.30 and went on till 4.15 or so, there was plenty of conversation, interesting discussions, and ofcourse good food.

 The main seating area

 

 The candle stand on the table

 

 Herbed bread

 Veg Dimsum

 Almond & Basil soup

 Bang Bang Mushrooms

 Veg Sushi served with pickled ginger, Wasabi and soya sauce

We were seated in a smart private room, and were given free reign to order whatever we wanted. We all decided against the Buffet and went A la carte. The last time i was here with a friend, we ordered some dishes from the menu and they were quite good.. The portions i discovered were quite large, which made the price they charged seem worthy!

Anyways, today, we were a near even split between Vegetarians and Non vegetarians... We opened with a soup- Almond and basil soup, that was served with a interesting flavoured bread stick in the soup. The soup tasted good, but was quite thick and not very hot, not really my kinda soup... We were then served a plate of Veg and Non veg dimsums...

These were quite nice, the veg dimsum had onions, garlic, ginger and few finely chopped vegetables in it.  Within minutes they were devoured and we were all set to order few more starters. In the veg category, we sampled Bang Bang Mushrooms, Chilli Paneer Sticks and Veg sushi, oh not to forget the Mezze platter.

The mezze platter had pita bread... hummus... curd mix.... small steamed samosa like things with spinach stuffing.. and then ofcourse there was the infamous Baba ghanoush...

After an hour or so, as the conversations flowed, so did the main courses we had ordered.....

 Potato Gnocchi

 Arabian Platter [Shish taouk ,kafta kabab, Samak Meghoui(fish), Grevettes Malaki(mutton)]
Info source: Chennai Food guide on Facebook]

 Parmesan Risotto

Swiss Roasti Potatoes
[Info source: Raghu on Facebook]

I quite enjoyed my Parmesan Risotto, it was quite rich and filled with flavours.. The potato gnocchi was ok, the sauce was a little runny and the gnocchi felt a little heavy... The other potato dish was yummy, especially the way the vegetables served along with it had been cooked, so light and yet a burst of flavours when they hit the mouth...

I did sneak in a few fries from Ali's plate and sampled Rocket leaves from Doc's prawn dish... It was the 1st time i was seeing and tasting Rocket leaves, and must say they have a wierd taste... :-)

For dessert, we each ordered something different, though Shalini and I ended up ordering the Apple Tart, which was good, but i dint like it enough to wipe the plate clean.. I prefer my apple pie and tarts hot , and so this tart was served cold and kinda limp.... The Brownie was divine, and so was the Caramel Custard... Dint try the Tiramisu, though the look on Ali's face said it all :)

 Creme Caramel... aka Caramel Pudding

 Apple Tart

 Brownie with Ice cream

There was one other dessert on the menu, which i had sampled during my earlier visit. it was the German Chocolate Cake, and must say it was quite divine... but a tad sweeter than what i like... was deliciously sinful... :)

German Chocolate Cake

Oh, i nearly forgot.. Towards the end of the lunch, we all ordered a glass of Lemon Iced tea- which was alright...  it was less tea, and more lemon juice..

So, the Lunch was fairly good... Food was delicious, and i felt this was a restaurant was true to its "World cuisine/multi cuisine" title, especially in Chennai.... Though its a tad expensive when compared to other restaurants, the food portions as i mentioned are large and so it works out well at the end..

The main seating area is well lit and quite spacious. There is a bar island in the center of the area, and a buffet lunch daily.

Make a reservation before landing there, especially over the weekend, have heard the place gets quite full.. The seating options are sofa and normal table chair style with plenty of natural light floating in...

Food 8/10
Iced tea 7/10
Ambiance 9/10
Service - The 1st time i was here, the service was very good- 8/10, and 2nd time was for a review, so i shall not rate the service!

Fusion 9
Tulip Aruna Hotel
Sterling Rd, Nungambakkam
Chennai, Tamil Nadu

044 42664299