There used to be a joke that was doing the rounds in food meet ups. 'I want the largest buffet with lot of non veg options with alcohol, max budget Rs. 500.' A popular stand up comedian in Chennai used this left right and centre. Food forums were flooded with these requests. In the era of the 5 star brunches priced upward of Rs. 2000 nett/, the joke may actually not work anymore. OK, not 500 bucks, but at 1300 bucks, the large Sunday Brunch at Gateway Taj is really LARGE.

It starts right at the lobby. Yep, you enter the hotel and food stares at you. Besides the large dessert section, there is a live counter doling out French Toasts and Crepes and the likes. I couldn't resist and despite recommendations from that chef to try these for dessert, I insisted on having them straight away. The cinnamon kissed French toast was fab! Unlike most places, this is a nice thick, almost French baguette that is dipped and served!! Besides the fact that few places actually serve breakfast in their brunch and serve a glorified lunch, it was nice to see breakfast stuff!!!

The problem with these large brunches is that everything tends to be okayish. You can take a couple of mouthful of everything and by the time you taste everything, you would be full! This wasn't the case here. The food was of quality and taste that is definitely better than most brunches in the city (OK, technically this is out side city, New Chennai, sort of).......

While there is no way to jot down every dish, there were some super favourites. The Broccoli Almond soup was yum. The Madurai dosa, essentially chicken/egg or both paste on the kal dosas were yum. The starters - a little cannelloni was nice. This stuffed zucchini and the grilled sweet potatoes were excellent.

Then the Indianised version of Eggs Benedict and Scottish Eggs, both with fully cooked yolks. Now that I have started enjoying the runny eggs, I thought these weren't great, but the chef said that people complained about eggs 'not being cooked properly,' so they've decided to cook them up. Can't fault that.

A smart South Indian section with rice, a yum biriyani and lots of gravies with six types of papads and four types of raithas. Really thought out well for the local population.

Disappointments? Yes. The cheese counter wasn't great. All hard cheeses and no soft cheese. The Japanese counter was extremely limited with only vegetarian sushi. Really? C'mon. But the honey glazed chicken from the Oriental kitchen (the other restaurant that is part of the Sunday brunch) was fabulous. Breads were also disappointing with not-so-great croissants and others. But with so many good things at a killer price point, one can't really complain.

Desserts are the weak links in most places and here they've made sure it doesn't happen as they have the live pancakes, crepes and toasts, so that is a safe haven. Besides, there were at least three biscuit type ones that were lovely.

You can take a dip in the pool if you want to. For free. Spa at 20% off. Considering the drive, this is like a long weekend drive up, soak up, massage up, eat up and get driven back. There is a little table for kids with an elaborate spread of finger foods, breads, mini pizzas, mini burgers for the kids.  I wasn't planning to take up the invite, but with a friend going and me not having to drive, I'm glad I went. Missed taking my swim shorts though and planning to take the family back soon.

P.S There is a live bar counter with a bar-tender who doles out cocktails and mocktails, the alcohol version is Rs. 1600 plus taxes. 

"Wel gome to Vella Maaya," she said with the classic Kerala accent. The guy smiled with a 'first time?' coming right out of him. My eyes were all inside. The courtyard was magical. A place like this could be magical at night, but in broad daylight? It was magical then too. I was walked straight into the lobby space with two nice large sofas and loungers on either side of the entry. The wooden staircase that leads to somewhere equally magical, I suppose, was a treat for the eyes.

The property was still sinking into me. The beautiful lawn. The orchids on the wall of the lawn. The pencil art on the wall on either side of the large door. Everything was magical. The toilets....oh man. The toilets were so inviting, that if you decide to stay and sleep there, you would be forgiven.

The wooden stairs that I thought was leading to some magical place actually led to the master bedroom. It had two large beds. And equipment placed in a way that you can have a full meal on the bed. The table was built onto the bed and it just rolls over to you. After the little tour of the place, we came back to our table. Order was already placed and since it takes a while to paint the food, the tour happens.

Yes, I was talking about a restaurant. What did you think?

Welcome to Villa Maya. Its a villa and maya indeed! Food wasn't restricted by cuisine, but by passion to integrate ancient and modern. This can only be called the Villa Maya cuisine.

 

The dry beef with coconut and mango. Now, both were dry. The beef was dry and the mango and coconut were dry, but when you put them together in your mouth, juices just flow from nowhere. The fact that the waiters explain every dish before they arrive/as they arrive gives you an idea of what to expect and what to do to get the best. You had to eat the beef and the mango coconut together to experience this. Every dish that followed had some tradition to it. The beef was served in jackfruit leaves, which were used as spoons during ancient times. Nice touch.

This was followed by the Spice Box. Derived from spice box, this was a melange of kebabs with just a teeny-weeny hint of different spices in each of the kebabs. From the saunf laced chicken to the saffron laced fish to the mirchi kissed prawns to the cinnamon licked galouti kebabs, this was a spice journey without the spice overpowering the originality of the dish. The slightly dry galouti kebab was the only flaw in the entire meal.

Then came the painter's platter - a platter of paneer done three ways. With chutneys served in little paint bottles, this had the pineapple and mint chutneys (that were also there in the Spice box), but an excellent new chutney, the beetroot chutney. For a non-fan of paneer like me, I could eat that all my life. Soft and succulent, this was by far one of the best paneer I've had in my life.

Then the Puttu with prawns and coconut. Brilliant. The last part of the cooking is done on your table with the sawdust oven and the chef then pushes out the puttu onto your plate. While I was full, I could notice that the puttu was going in without my approval. Flavours were just right and the fish gravy served along with it was a stunner.

Wahtalappam, a Sri Lankan specialty for dessert was a fabulous way to finish the meal. While it was as good as the ones I've had in Sri Lanka, there was a twist here, the cinnamon cream. I thought the dish was a little sweet until I was told to eat it with the cream. Magically, it was balanced.

A lot of places claim that their food is an experience and I've written about some of those places, but not until today have I really experienced the real meaning of the food experience. All 5 senses were involved, there was no cuisine to limit the creativity and there was a touch of elegance, ancient-ness (if that is even a word), modernity and flavour in the perfect balance.

Reservations are recommended during weekends and during lunch and dinner times and they are open 11 am to 11 pm, so early dinner or lunch might be the best way if you don't have a reservation.

The master bedroom I was talking about? That is also a table that is apparently sold out very often. If you're lucky you can experience that sitting on the bed with your legs folded and the table coming to you after you have settled down, but I think I would still prefer the courtyard.

A meal for two costs about Rs. 2500 and for me, it was one of the best meal experiences thus far and it came from Trivandrum!

The new found joy of stepping out on Sunday has happened and though it is not happening every week, I must say that I am enjoying this not-sleeping-late on Sundays. Yes, I said it. But then, this happens once a month and I don't know if I will walk around like a zombie if I step out EVERY SUNDAY. After Leela's brunch which was followed by two breakfast Sundays, this time the decision was easy. It was easy because I didn't have to make the decision as Taj invited me to try out their Sunday Brunch at the Verandah, Vivanta by Taj Connemara. The invite itself was inviting! Soak in the pool, eat a lazy brunch, enjoy some magic and go back refreshed, it said! With brunches now becoming the norm on Sundays, hotels are trying various things to woo the guests, but I like this 'Dip in the pool' type of wooing!

The pool opens at 1130 am and given the weather the last few days when the Sun decided to go on a hibernation, it was just about perfect! You can laze as much as you want and swim whatever you can in the four feet deep pool and just lounge. This is a  great part of the Sunday brunch and is well worth getting out of bed if you're getting into the Taj pool. There is a live grill right next to the pool, so you can smell while you swim and boy, that does stimulate your appetite. More than stimulate your appetite. 

The second part of it, the food, though good, wasn't extremely impressive. The grill next to the pool had sea food, but no meat, so we ended with a portion of grilled prawns that weren't great! The tandoor had broccoli and tandoori chicken, both of which weren't particularly impressive. The brunch is not extensive by any definition, so do not expect a huge brunch. There was an excellent bread counter with numerous choices of breads and four cheese options, though the choices of cheese weren't very impressive! Good old cheddar and Gouda and the only thing exciting for me was the Brie! There was a chaat counter which doled out some nice stuff and a momo station which served excellent momos. 

Apparently Taj has a large Anglo Indian patron base, so there were quite a few Anglo Indian dishes. The Anglo Indian fish curry was exciting with the Anglo Indian version of Coconut rice and the flavours were quite different to what I am used to. The herb grilled chicken was excellent and the live sandwich counter was excellent. I had a sandwich with chicken salami, grilled lamb and sausages and you can go crazy with your choice of meat and veggies and make it large! I did! The biriyani.....well.....

Desserts were quite impressive for me, particularly the fig halwa was a stunner! Like most brunches, dessert was a mixed bag, but the ones that were good, were very good, especially the mango stuff! The mothers day special dessert that was offered was excellent. Like most brunches in Chennai, this is predominantly lunch, so don't expect dosa, idly, pancake, waffles and other breakfast stuff. I stopped expecting and so brunches are better for me these days! The magician with his card tricks was a joy. He came to our table, distracted us completely and was enjoyed by all of us! 

Priced at Rs. 1750 all inclusive, this is a package and must be looked as a package. Go in at 1130, take a swim, relax, unwind, breathe in the smell of grilled food, stimulate your appetite, have the food, enjoy some magic and it is well worth the price. If you go there at 1 PM just for the food, you might not come back feeling good! 

Verandah is the 24 hour coffee shop at Vivanta by Taj Connemara, Egmore.