We've seen Marina! Not the beach, but the restaurant. Lovely place, isn't it?. And then there is Lagoon which is Marina on steroids! While Sri Lanka is known for sea food, didn't except a scene like this in a 5 star hotel. I mean there was a full big Sting Ray on display! Phew. 

Simply the size of the fishes and crabs on display were mind boggling. The restaurant being packed, we were happy to be seated outside by the mini stream filled with fishes and the air with fishy odour. I guess that set the tone for the dinner and the evening. One poor guy who was vegetarian for that night (or month) was stuck with us and while all of us felt sorry for him, no one wanted to give him company.  He did enjoy some Kala Kung with some green curry on his own.

Back to the plot. Our host in Sri Lanka went all out on his orders. Cuttle Fish batter fry, crabs, lobsters and prawns were on the table. I think our friend's heart was also on the table, though we couldn't see it, we all felt it. Our brains didn't, though.  He said that for the torture we were giving him and for his sacrifices, he is surely going to heaven. And he was equally sure that we were headed to hell! Like straight! 

The Cuttlefish batter fry was an instant super hit and was washed down by all! The fish had a slight squid-ish texture which was lovely for a batter fry, so while the batter had the crisp, the fish was chewy and together gave us a nice combination of textures. The prawns and the lobster thermidor were the usual with a nice garlic butter marinade for the prawn and the usual thermidor.

The next hit dish was the crab. The crab was not monstrous, but was large and the photo doesn't do any justice to the size. It was about 1.3 kg and at (LKR) Rs.700/100g, it wasn't cheap. The chilli gravy in which it was cooked had seeped into the crab and lended its flavour a little bit to the crab!

We finished off sharing three desserts, a simple chocolote brownie and two different custard puddings, one with their traditional 'Seeni Sambal' on top! The meal cost our host about Rs. 35000 (LKR) which is about Rs. 16,000 for 7 of us. Yes, expensive! 

Lagoon is at Cinnamon Grand, Colombo at one level below the lobby, by the swimming pool and fishy garden! 

  

Walking all over walking street can be exhausting. For the eyes! So as you cross the Walking street and head to the beach, the walk can be exhausting for your brains, now. Deciding where to eat is a huge huge burden. When you are on tour, you want to find the balance between not going wrong and experimenting! While Thai Express looked like a chain of restaurants, we didn't know if it was and  decided to walk in!

The menu was inviting and we ordered things that were on their best seller list. The Massaman Chicken Gravy, Thai Basil Chicken, a beautiful Thai soup and the grilled Chicken thigh! The Thai Basil chicken that came first was a stunner. It was spicy, but inviting every taste bud on the tongue and was a flavour bomb. The basil and spices were noticeable individually and all three of us loved every morsel of it!! Beautiful dish. But it was upstaged by the main course, the Massaman Chicken gravy. Oh wow, it was a stunner! Served with some roti and (we ordered separately) rice, this was a beautiful chicken gravy that was another flavour bomb.

The grilled chicken came last and the first bite I took was bland and tasteless. I left the spoon before my friend pointed to the sauce, dipped the chicken in the sauce, placed it in his mouth and let out an orgasm! I guess, the sauce was there for a reason. It was yummy, but certainly did not deserve the reaction it got from my friend!

I fell in love with the Thai Iced tea, so I ordered it everywhere. Looks like they all come from the same powder as they were all the same everywhere, but that is my go-to drink in Thailand! The meal cost us about 500 Thai Bhat, which is about Rs. 1000.

Thai Express is on Beach Road, about 200m from Walking Street, Pattaya! 

Two fantastic cricketers. One Chef. A noble intention. No ego branding. This deadly combination brings in a fantastic restaurant. The Ministry of Crabs. While it also makes it to Asia's Top 50 restaurant list, it also operates out a quaint little space in the Old Dutch Hospital in Colombo.

A picture speaks a thousand words, but some pictures speak a thousand pictures. This one prawn photo that I posted on instagram went viral (by my standards) and the one question that most people had was, "Is that shell on?" Nope. It was without the shell, but the head was intact."

So, we thought we were not going to Ministry of Crabs. After unsuccessfully trying to get a reservation for dinner, including blowing my trumpet about this blog, I was waitlisted. Our host in Colombo was able to get us a place for lunch and after nearly missing our place because of a delayed meeting, we barely made it, just before they were going to release our table. The place was full with a the board, "Sorry, the Ministry is full today." Thank God.

6 of us. 6 prawns, 3 crabs, 2 bowls of rice and two plates of bread. That's it. The prawns came first with the breads. Oh-My-God. The flavours seeped in well and the prawns were super jumbo. I mean, it could pass off as a baby lobster! Without the shell they were half a fist in diameter and the juices were flowing in the plate that was good fodder for the nice and freshly home baked kale breads. Just one piece each and we thought we were done with the mains. We almost forget the crabs, though this is the Ministry of Crabs.

The crabs came in next with the burnt garlic fried rice. The crabs were just as Oh-My-God as the prawns. I am used to having flavours on the shell and no flavour seeping through the crabs, but here, flavours of the marinade had seeped through, and with the natural flavour of the crabs, were simply awesome.

We finished off with the only available dessert, the chocolate biscuit pudding that is ubiquitous in Sri Lanka.

The meal set us back by LKR 30,000 which is roughly about Rs. 14000! For a premium experience and the size of the prawns and crabs, we thought it was justified. Actually it doesn't matter what we thought, because honestly, we didn't think about it till we got back!!! 

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I wasn't too excited about mBessy. 'What is new about another resto-bar in a small hotel?,' I thought. Its the fashion these days! Tie up with a hotel that has the required 21 rooms and start off a watering hole! Hmm! Friends insisted on going when they launched and me, though dead tired that day, tagged along! The entry was typical. And the familiarity ended there!

This was a real fine dine setting hiding behind that typical-bar-door. We were whisked away to the first floor though and apparently that's where the action is. The setting is beautiful and eclectic. Completely different from the classy looking ground floor, this was a beautiful resto-bar! While I was still recovering from the beautiful setting that I least expected, we were seated in a nice eight seater with a low table. We can go down for the main courses after we are done with drinks and starters, said Mugesh, their manager. I have known him from his days at Casa Picola and he was as surprised to see me there as I was to see him there! 

Starters and drinks were excellent. I can keep going on and on about the starters as they were simply excellent. The crumb fried prawns, a bunch of nice big prawns, dipped in a flavourful crumbs and fried till crisp, was the pick of the lot, though the others were almost as good! Prawns took the cake as they I love them in general and was happy to not have to leave the shell on the tail behind. It was all done and you had to keep eating them! The Broccoli with cheese was quite excellent with the soft broccoli being coated nicely with cheese and the bruschetta that came along with it was fantastic. The other starter, the spicy chicken skewers were quite nice and didn't stand a chance compared to the other two, but that's okay. The mezze platter was pretty nice with fluffy pita bread to go with the dips. The drinks were excellent from a teetotaller's POV. Some had theatrics like smoke coming out to flavour a drink, but the mocktails weren't too bad. My drink had smoked pop corn on top and in general things were great this far!

And then they sort of went downhill. Being a bunch of six of us, we tried quite a few dishes and really none of them stood apart. By this time we moved down to the fine-dine type place with its rich looking decor and cutlery. Sadly, the food did not live up or maybe the starters were so good that the palate didn't like the mains. Whatever the reason, the pizzas were blah. The Australian lamb felt like it was being handled without care and was rather dry and leathery. The risotto was very very blah. Stuffed chicken breast was rather inedible. Dessert was slightly redeeming. While certainly not excellent by any means, it sort of cooled off the rather bad main course. 

 But going by the quality of the starters, I guess, this place since being rather new has a lot of scope to catch up and get on track with the mains. While the choice of menu is good, it needs some work to get it to match the ambiance and the starters! 

I'll be going back in a month or so to see how things have changed. Do the mains get to appetiser quality or vice versa? Only time will tell.

mBessy is in the ground floor of the newly revampING, Estelle hotel in Adyar, near the Aavin, the first building on the Bessy road. 

When you drunk, would you like to feel like a kid again? I'm not sure, but then how would I know? Then there are those who don't get drunk and want to feel like kids again. Not just anywhere, but especially when they eat out. Like kids running around in a restaurant. I mean....yeah. Having stuff to play with. So imagine a place where you have some adult toys....ok, that did not sound right. Imagine a place where you have some toys. In adult sizes. Much better description.

Hoppipola is one such place. As soon as you enter, the giant JENGA catches your eye. If you are not sure what that is, sorry. There are other toys for you to play with. Like a mini golf that is extremely difficult even when you're sober. Actually, the place looks like a little play area and definitely not like a bar or a resto-bar or anything that has bouncers outside. Its almost like proving you're an adult to the guys outside and then becoming kids again! No stags allowed, so just like when we were kids, you need to have company. Not just any company, well you get the picture!

The only problem for me? The food wasn't great. My 'drinker' friend says that their drinks are pretty good, though, so I guess, drinks and games (not the pool but board and JENGA games) are their focus. The golden fried prawns were poorly peeled and we had a tough time negotiating it in the mouth. The crumb fried chicken breast was way overcooked. The little pieces of lamb on a small roti were alright. The pizza was blah. The banofee pie was a little too sweet and the chocolate dessert was the only one that was really nice and thats the only one name I forgot. The food wasn't bad, just the ambiance and the service and the games and everything set the expectations higher.

But surprisingly, we didn't come out too unhappy. Despite only one being drunk (okay partially drunk. OK, just two drinks drunk), and the other three being sober, we tried our hand at JENGA till it came falling all over us. This is a HUGE JENGA and the photo doesn't tell the real story! We tried some golf and the drinker tried a tee off shot!!!! No damage done though. The service is friendly and even when the huge JENGA came down or when the golf ball went all over, no one batted an eyelid. Maybe they are used to it. Prices are reasonable and a meal for two without drinks will come to about Rs. 1500. This place is a fun pub and when I went they had just set up, so I hope their food gets better.

Hoppipola is the new pub in the basement of the Spring Hotel, on Valluvar Kottam High Road.

Ting Ting Ting Ting Ting. The sound from the glass of Park Hyatt's GM. No response. People were too busy enjoying the pre event snacks and drinks.

Ding ding ding dang dang dong dong. The sound of the piano that was at The Apartment. Everyone turned around to see the F&B's EM taking his hands off the piano. I don't think he has played the piano in his life, but his attempt to get everyone's attention paid off!

We were told what this event was all about. Most of us already knew and we couldn't wait for it to begin. All of us were ushered in.

9 Chefs lined up. The mic was passed around. Some spoke few words, some a little more. The sommelier from Italy had the maximum attention. For his broken English and his charm. I think it was more for his charm. More attention from the ladies including from the lady who was with me! Hmmph....Anyways.

Every chef finished the long or short speech with, 'please visit my counter.' I was pretty sure I wanted to try it all. 6 months back when I was here for the first time, I was mind blown. I was expecting the same. Only this time, it wasn't the same. The counters were different. Most of the chefs were different. I then realised that the theme itself was different. Seafood.

And then a pleasant surprise. Indian Salmon. Wow. Times when Alaksan and Norwegian Salmon is what fancy hotels pride in, the Seafood theme at this year's event was involved in sourcing and promoting local foods. So Indian salmon. And Indian Sea Bass (please, not basa, but Sea Bass). And Indian Cheese, le Pondicherry.

I started with the humble idiyappam (string hoppers) at Chef Balaji, the executive sous chef's counter. Wanted to start with something familiar. There was nothing simple about it. What looked like a little idiyappam with gravy on top was a layered masterpiece. And then I saw him make it. A layer of egg, topped with gravy, topped with idiyappam. Once the egg is cooked, he turned it around. Placed some more gravy on top. Placed the quail pieces on top. Chopped coconuts and more condiments then. Slurp. Such a simple idea. Wife has already tried it at home!

And then the dish of the day! Chef Megha, who is considered a super star here, cooked up scampi. These slightly-larger-than-prawn crustaceans, were grilled and topped with a heavenly sauce that we went ooh and aahh. And ooh and aahh again. And again. And again. Right next table, the humble looking tortellini's were not humble either. I think there was a squid ink sauce, but whatever that black sauce was made of, it was delicious.

And then a little east. Vietnamese rolls, Korean Bimimbap, which I had, much to the sheer shock of the chef, without the egg. We agreed that I will have it with egg white as I am yet to, well, acquire the taste of raw egg yellow! Right now, I hate it, but I guess, I will have to acquire it real soon. The executive chef's Morrocan counter with the tagine and the rice was next!

And then the desserts! What better way to have mid eastern desserts than fly down Chef El Sayeed from Egypt and have him make it for you! Among the trillion desserts he had lined up, we loved the Basbusa and the Baklava. None of the other names could be pronounced. Luckily he didn't require us to pronounce it for us to eat it. And we finished with an unbelievable dessert table that was a piece of art. Being the first to 'destroy' that piece of art, there was some guilt, but it went away as the others destroyed more of the art! That glass table had an amazing strawberry profiterole which we just loved!

At the mother of all luxury buffets, (where we don't count the number of counters, but the quality), this quarterly event at Park Hyatt is something that I have now come to eagerly await. Every season. As I realise that the theme will change every time, my intrigue is much higher now. At 3500 per head for this quality of food, if there is only one 5 star meal I would have every quarter, this will be what I save up for! 

I know that sounds silly. Funny maybe. Weird maybe. But after a disastrous Iftar outings thus far, when we were at Phoenix, we decided to go to HRC. I love their music. I hate their burgers. Burgers in HRC Chennai that is. 3 times was enough chance. But we decided to go anyways as we were close to HRC and very close to time to break fast. Walking in Phoenix mall didn't help containing the hunger, so.....

And we ordered a Jumbo Combo. The waiter told us that he wouldn't recommend it for two people. "Try our burgers, sir. We are having a festival," he said. "I hate your burgers," I said and he looked shell shocked. Like, "Our burgers? You hate HRC burgers?" was the look he had on his face, but didn't say anything. He managed a smile. "I've tried it thrice and your beef burgers in Chennai are dry," I said. "You can try our chicken burgers," he said. "I'd like to try your jumbo combo," I said.

And boy, wasn't I happy when it came super quick, just as we drank water to break fast. And this was a fantastic way to break fast. A bunch of onion rings, albeit oily ones, but tasty. Three rolls filled with chicken, salad and served on a salad base. Yumm! And then three boneless chicken strips, done perfectly. Gulped it down in no time. 3 super yummy baked potatoes with chicken. The menu says 'potato skins with bacon,' but they were happy to replace it with chicken for us. And then came a dish that I hate, Chicken wings, but we ate them all because they were super juicy and super yummy. Even though I don't like that cut of chicken, the coating and the flavours were super yumm!!! At Rs. 750 (Rs 600 plus taxes), this was a filling combo just right for Iftar!

I guess, I'll have to start looking at non Iftar options for a fulfilling Iftar! But I'll keep updating as I try!

The photo is not mine, so I took it off the internet from a site called Mighty Sweet! 

My friend's first reaction was, "Why aren't there places like this in Chennai?" While the three of us had varying opinions, the one thing we agreed upon is that Chennai might never get a place like this. We blamed it on the weather! Honestly, if I didn't look out from the sides of this terrace cafe, I might have mistaken the ambiance to a cafe in Greece!!!! And I actually missed my D90 that day because my phone couldn't capture the beauty of this terrace cafe!!!! After our varying points of view, we settled down to ordering our food and our primary reason for getting into a cafe was sit and have a round of business discussions! This place fit the bill perfectly!

So to get lunch out of the way, I asked for a grilled chicken with stuffed cheese, my friends ordered a chicken burger and a vegetarian lasagna. "Vegetarian. Really?" I asked the guy who is a connoisseur of biriyani! "Yes. And you are not getting any of it," he said. As it turned out, I regretted that comment as the lasagna turned out to be the best dish of the day! And I was given one bite and not a morsel more! My grilled chicken was a little dry for my liking, but the flavours made up for it, largely. A little juicier and I wouldn't have had to gaze longingly at the lasagna being gulped down! The chicken burger was quite nice and largely juicier than my grilled chicken, so I had the least tasty dish!

After an hour of chatting, it was time for tea and biscuits, so we got a little 'fondue' and tea for one of friends, while the two of us were happy with water. The 'fondue' is very misleading because the dish is just cookies with chocolate sauce! Not a fondue by any stretch of imagination, but the cookie was superb, so the name didn't matter. Nothing to talk about the tea!

Service was excellent, friendly attentive and non intrusive, which together makes a great Greek Styled Cafe!!! Located in Koramangla, 5th block, above Mainland China.

So after a rather shocking incident at a restaurant in Adyar where we had a little photoshoot for a newspaper that was doing a story on food bloggers, three of us randomly landed our backsides at L'amandier without expecting much. A couple of friends had been there and didn't have much to say about the place, but little did we expect a cafe to be packed to the brim at 245 in the afternoon. Guests were leaving a big table and it wasn't ready when we were seated but cutlery and napkins were placed quickly. But before that, the look and feel of the restaurant was super quirky and real bistro types. Everything from the chairs to the paint to the French style windows was lovely and the ambiance was just perfect.

The menu is currently a one pager, but the concept is nice. The menu has an a-la-carte option where you can choose from Starters, Salads, Main course or dessert or you can choose one from each for a meal priced at Rs. 475 (425 for veg) plus taxes. The waiters are quite honest and they tell you that the portion of the same thing served as part of the set menu is a little smaller, but so is the price difference.

Since we had a little food at Adyar, we ordered only one starter and one main course before getting ready for desserts, but both of us (the third was a veggie) loved our food. The prawn skewers were just perfect with the little basil mayo and the main course, the chicken kiev was excellent with a superbly smoky bok-choy. We finished of with a Tiramisu that was more a coffee cream than tiramisu and a wonderful apple crumble. The main course was just right in portions if you look at it as a meal and it might look very small if you look only at the chicken. It is not meant to share, but the portion was quite small.

The bill for all the above with all taxes was Rs. 805. Service was excellent even with a full house and no service charge was levied. Brilliant.

4/5 and if the portion was a little larger, I would have rated it 4.5.  I hope the owner retain the passion and quality of food and service that we had today, because Chennai has been missing a place like this forever.

L'amandier is on the same road as Park Sheraton, right next to Cream Centre, R A Puram.