L’amandier – Eupropean Cafe in Chennai

L’amandier – the elegant new Bistro at the heart of Chennai is creating quite a buzz among the food circle. The mansion is as appealing from outside as is it’s interiors inside – lively, colorful, bright and spacious. There’s also a small garden sitting outside. The French word ‘amandier’ means ‘Almond tree’ – will check out with the proud owner ‘Nidhi Thadani’ on her choice of the name when I get to meet her.

Sharing this click from Zomato.

The menu is small – two A4 sheets listing selected specialties. You also have a 4-course set menu for each day (soup,salad, main-course and dessert). Apart from sandwiches or salads, there’s not much choice to start with. I am expecting a lot more additions, specially quick bites, to the menu soon.

Coming to the food, their sandwiches are quite simple – fresh bread stuffed with ample filling. I tried the croissant with chicken and avocado. No spicy affair- this dish is kept simple and delightful. Served along with french fries, this croissant is  quite filling.

 

If you love coffee, go for cappuccino. There’s one more lighter version – served in a tall glass – which I felt was too milky for my liking.

The fish fingers are really crunchy, I loved them with the tartar sauce. Being a Bong, I end up ordering  fish fingers if I find it on any menu.

Their lasagne is something you must try – its light, luscious, lots of veggies and Parmesan shavings– tickles your taste buds. The portion for lasagne was small, a little more would make this a filling serve.

The tomato and feta salad was good. A light grill, would have made the tomatoes more juicy for my taste.

 

They have herbed chicken served over a bed of rice drizzled generously with butter. Chicken was tender, mildly spiced and enjoyable with the mushroom sauce.

There was no mocktails listed in the menu, but the staff mentioned they can get me a cranberry or orange one if I like. And trust be it was a great mix – refreshing and vanished in a minute.

Their mud cake is really yummy and chocolaty. The warm brownies with ample nuts also make a good choice for dessert.

 

Service is really professional, they care to help you with the order, very attentive to your needs. The place is always full with patrons who seem fondly choosing Lámandier for get together and birthday parties as well. Prices are reasonable for the experience, for a few dishes though portions can be better.

The best part of their customer service is they really care for your feedback. After a couple of days of my visit, Nidhi called me personally to discuss on my feedback – they call everyone who leaves their number in the feedback form.

Lámadier is having a solid run as the most popular Bistro in Chennai. I loved the place, and have been there quite a few times with friends.

Valet Parking: Available

Address: 57, Chamiers Road, R.A. Puram, Chennai, 600028 

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Chao – Experience fine-dining in style

“CHAO” in Vietnamese means “Hello” or “Welcome” (don’t go by Italian Ciao meaning Good-Bye as they are really welcoming). This joint has been my favorite ever since it opened in Chennai, pretty close to my home , about a year and half back. Many visits, amazing food – but I am never satisfied. Now that they have taken a sabbatical and promises to come back with much pomp, here is my take on how the original CHAO was.

Chao is a fine dining restaurant, and the moment you step in you are in a peaceful isolation with yourself, mesmerized by the sheer brilliance of its interiors. The drums and bells, the Gautam Buddha wall hangings, the lights reflecting from the beige and brown walls, extremely comfortable and spacious seating – you have enough to look around and relax, while you place the order. The dining space is spanned across the two floors – I love the basement section more.

Chao serves Thai, Vietnamese, Singaporean and Sichuan. Their menu have some exquisite listings like Softshell crabs, Duck, Muscles; they never disappoint you stating “Mam, this is unavailable”. I have been to their sea-food festival, and they had a great array of every fascinating fishes, muscles, crabs, squids and what not.

Food is heavenly -beautifully presented, well-cooked and delicious. Both the veg and non-veg have sufficient choices, and if you donot understand from the dish name, approach the courteous staff to explain you every detail.

Soft Shell Crabs

Crabs which have recently molted their old exoskeleton and are still soft. The entire animal is batter fried to crisp and served alongside salad. Never miss this one.

Wasabi Prawns

This one is another popular starter at Chao. Little sweet, but flavorful with the wasabi and seasme seeds.

Tempura Prawns

If wasabi is not your style, and you are in love with golden-fried prawns, then this is what you need to order. These crispy and light prawns will disappear in a minute.

Thai grilled Fish

I love Fish. And so do I love it spicy and well-grilled. The fish chunks just melts with every bite.

Stir fried Duck in black pepper sauce

Duck is not so popular due to the hardness of the meat and cooking time, but this one will make you choose it above pepper chicken.  The meat is amazingly tender, over a bed of spicy pepper sauce. The left one is Wok Fried Chili Chicken, and right one is Duck in black pepper sauce.

Assorted Starters Platter

Maggi Goreng

Hakka Noodles

Apart from these, their corn tartlets, dimsums, lamb chops, spring rolls, satays are great choice for starters. Fish in black bean sauce, wok fried chili chicken,Brocoli with mushroom and cheese, Thai curries are extremely good. The noodles are simply amazing, choose from nasi goreng or maggi goreng, basil fried rice or plain jasmine rice .

They have some good drinks and desserts as well. Berry sweetheart and Pinacola are all-time favorites. Do try the water-chestnuts in coconut milk or pumpkin custard with coconut ice-cream. Both are lovely to end your meal. They have some bubblegum, pepper ice-creams as well, but I never gave a try.

Service is top-notch here. The staffs are really professional and courteous, they give you ample privacy but are attentive to your needs before you can call them. They value your feedbacks as well.

Food is expensive here, so a 3-course meal for two will cost you minimum 1500.

Unfortunately, I am writing this review on a day when the morning newspaper advertised that Chao is temporarily closed. I know, after the read foodies who have decided to try need to wait till they re-open with a bigger surprise. I wish they retain the same quality and service. Chao, we are waiting….

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Llyod’s Tea House – No tea lover can miss this

I just love TEA! Sounds so different in the land of filter coffee? Well, it doesn’t. A cup of good tea is equally energizing-be it the morning sip or the roadside chat at a tea stall. I am grown up sipping the best tea at evening get together with my family, and samosa, pakodas to accompany over puffed rice.

Great Tea, Irresistible Desserts or Good Food, this Llyod’s Tea House house satisfies all. Don’t be surprised if you share the next table with Gautam Menon or some celebs;yes this place is equally a discussion hub for some elite Chennaites.

Reasonably warm decor, racks on the white walls stacked with tea pots, mugs, books and of course classic tea packs. Comfortable seating, spaciously laid out tables, there is only one huge couch sitting, best for a large group. The specialties scribbled on the black pillar, right next to the dessert counter with a irresistible array of cakes and bakes.

Tea menu is a separate book – so many to choose from, and each one seemingly for fascinating as you turn to the next page. You must make quite a few visits to have them all. There is tea from every corner of the world, and there are fusions – mango, wine and what not?

Masala chai – my all time favorite! A strong dose of Indian spices blended beautifully with the tea, an instant revital for all your senses. Fennel tea, very refreshing.Darjeeling and Assam brews are all time Indian favorites.

But whats more appealing is the way the tea is served. Each tea is brewed over sand time clocks – Llyod’s have interesting hourglass sets with minutes set! They get your tea pot, with the timer to your table and you can call to serve. Minutes determine the strength of the brew. A pot of tea, is sufficient to make one-and-half cup. But then a tea llover like me, don’t love to share.

Food, is lovely mix of Pasta, Pizzas, Sandwich, Salads, Burgers, Toasties and some good desserts. There is nothing you will be disappointed with.

Cottage cheese balls – Great. Cheesy balls, beautifully arranged over ketchup spots and topped with cheesy mayo.

Roasted vegetable Pizza – Great. Crispy thin crust, topped generously with cheese.

Curried Pasta – Good. The Llyods creamy curry sauce, with colored peppers and zucchini….topped over the spaghetti. Served with a slice of garlic bread.

Thai basil cottage cheese– Good. A bed of rice, served alongside Thai-Chinese paneer gravy.

Finger chips, burgers are great as well.

Desserts are lovely. I love their moist rainbow cake, red velvet and Bitter chocolate mousse. The mint brulee, however, is to strong minty for my liking. Tiramisu looks great, but every time gave it a skip over the others.

Service is professional, nothing to point out specifically. The menu cards however, don’t stay with you long. The staffs, will handover to you whenever you need since the place is usually crowded with patrons. Yes, there are times you need to give this place a miss, since its HouseFull.

There’s, parking space for cars but I never saw them empty.Best to ride your two-wheeler. Prices, are pretty decent and portions are good.

Llyods is definitely growing as one of the foodie hotspots in Chennai. The love for fine tea pulls me here, over and again. A cup of good tea, is a cup of peace when coupled with good food.

Lloyd’s Tea House is at 179, Lloyds Road, Gopalapuram, Chennai.

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Eden – discovering the love for vegetarian food

Eden – I am completely elated with their food and hospitality. Eden’s is a pure vegetarian joint, not everyday you can convince your NV friends to accompany you to a pure veg joint. Today, it was a easy go – only one buddy to brainwash and guess what he never regretted.

If you are staying in Chennai, and have not visited Eden’s yet – I am sure you are missing something. That’s exactly what I felt, when I visited them for the first time during my 7years stay here. But its never too late to start over, never too late to be happy over good food.

PARKING
Sufficient parking space available. They do have a valet service as well.

AMBIANCE
The restaurant is in 3rd floor. Before you take to the elevator, you will cross the breathtaking view of their chocolate creations on display. A Taj-Mahal, carefully crafted out of chocolate – just stole my heart.

The dining area is done in cream hue,mild lighting and wooden furnishings with pretty blue cushions. A peaceful setup for family dining or enjoy food with friends. The huge windows let in sufficient light through the jute curtains – the place I guess looks as pretty in daylight, as at it did at night.

THE MENU
Not very vast, but sufficient interesting choices. Continental section specially is so intriguing, that you will have a hard time choosing one. There is one page – which hosts the chef’s specialty. For desserts, there is a separate menu.

THE FOOD
Who said, there’s not enough for vegetarians?? If you didn’t get a place at crowded Cream Center, do straight head in at Edens. Continental or Indian, the chef masters the art of presentation and taste.

Honestly, I could just try two dishes today, but I am coming back again to try every single dish listed out on the menu.

Spaghetti Supreme
Just delicious. The creamy pinkish tomato sauce, fresh herbs, blended with the spaghetti al dente. The cheese balls, were a delight on the top. Mild seasonings, not so spicy for Indian taste however, as the menu claims. The bowl was licked clean in just minutes. The cheese dumplings are just mouth-melting, wanted more of them.

Mixed Vegetable Murtabak
This dish is more popular in Malaysia, with meat stuffing but the vegetarian version at Eden can be a tough competition. Crispy folded paratha, with heavy stuffing of spiced vegetables and onions. 8 big slices were served with onion raitha, and a bowl of rich cashew-coconut gravy. It is a complete meal for 1 person in itself.

PORTIONS AND PRICE
Portions are really generous, for the price mentioned. Each dish will cost you Rs200-300, quantity sufficient to fill two stomach. A three-course meal for two will cost around Rs800-900.

SERVICE
Extremely warm, yet professional. Very attentive from a distance, and knows exactly when to be at your service. Food takes approximately 10minutes to arrive.

Overall, Edens is a great place to try continental vegetarian cuisine. Indian gravies and naans, are good too.

Edens is located at Harrisons Hotel, 315, Valluvar Kottam High Road, Nungambakkam, Chennai

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The Bistro Story – a new beginning in Chennai

Feb 14 is the day we dedicate to celebrate love, in the memory of Saint Valentine. People argue, that love is not a day’s affair, and indeed it is not. But when someone takes a conscious effort to express their care for you – we feel special. Life keeps us busy with its struggle; we understand that parents, friends or spouse love us, they do care for us- but how many times do we make an effort to make them feel good? Hardly. So I take up this day sportingly – a day I ensure I communicate my feelings to every single soul who made my life meaningful and tell them “I love you”.

Your Valentine, is the person you love. So I make a plan to celebrate this day with all my friends at office. Girls, are
an amazing company to each other – emotions, enthusiasm, chats, updates, fights and then togetherness. And they make the perfect valentine! Exactly 14 couples, we all girls choose the very new The Bistro Story(TBS), for the Valentine’s Day lunch.

Ravi, our host, is an amazing personality. When I call him to inform the plan, he politely explains the place is cosy and
small – so I might be unable to get you all a table together. He describes, the special Valentine’s menu to me with utmost
enthusiasm. And indeed, TBS has put together an interesting combo. I coyly inform him, my valentine is a lady to which he laughs and says,”You are most welcome to TBS”.

TBS opens at 12pm, but I requested for the 11.45am -1.45pm time slot due to limited lunch time on a business day.

About TBS
=========
They debuted on Feb 6,2014 at the heart of Chennai. Ravi and Vijay, who makes a perfect Valentine to each other, were
batch-mates since their management training @Park hotel. Chef Vijay, who has taken a sabbatical, works for Chef Raymond Blanc in London. The concept of Bistro is rapidly gaining popularity in Chennai, and TBS makes a pleasant addition.

Reach TBS
=========
The place is at sadasivam street right opposite to National Public School@Gopalapuram, at the basement of an apartment.

Parking
=======
Parking for 4-wheelers seemed a challenge, since the apartment parking was already occupied and the road nearby isn’t that broad enough. However, two-wheeler parking is no challenge.

Ambiance
========
Very cosy and relaxed decor, cream and brown is their theme. A live kitchen, few tables and warm hosts, TBS has the Bistro setup right. Walls have this traditional village art…Warli arts…an inspiration drawn by Ravi and Vijay! They have a
very contemporary offering, with furniture in old style and even older lamination of goddesses. Quite fascinating right?

Menu
====
TBS has got a very continental touch to its carefully selected but broad menu. I was here for the Valentine’s Special Lunch, and many a times later to catch up with the Chef over a cup of coffee and pasta.

Food
====
The place is very new, and chef is taking every effort to note the taste of Chennai to serve the best. Every dish has
balanced continental flavors, note it! The condiments, seasonings are way different from the Indian masala, which might be little bland for few. But if you like it, you know TBS has got the texture and flavors right.

Do speak to Chef, how you want your food to be and I am sure, he will be happy to get the dish tailored to your taste or
suggest you the right choice.

The VEG Fare
============
Starters:
The pita bread,freshly baked, went well with the hummus as well as Tzatziki(flavored yoghrut based Greek sauce). Hummus was coarsely ground chickpeas with garlic, unlike the smooth paste at most joints. Fatayer(stuffed dumplings, baked) was good, so was the skewers. Falafel was fresh and crunchy.

Main Course:
Tikka grilled paneer triangles, was carefully placed over a bed of green moong lentils. While the lentils went well with
Basmati pilaf, paneer was a little hard. This can be better; the cottage cheese chunks needs more tenderness and some
grilled veggies accompany it would make the meal complete.

The NONVEG Fare
===============
Starters:
Chicken basil skewer was a little bland. But with the dip(tahina mayo and chily sambal) it was a great appetizer. Chili
chicken and chicken poppers were amazing.

Main Course:
Mahi Mahi Fillet, pan fried with generous herb crumbs topping was served over a bed of tomato basil sauce. Fish was
perfectly tender, the herb crumbs added the necessary texture. The herb crumbs were really impressive, I couldn’t figure out the composition though. NV main-course was not accompanied with rice, but on request we were served extra bowl.

Desserts
========
Date pudding, with caramel glaze served along vanilla scoop. This was AMAZINGLY SUPERB. Almost, we licked the plate clean…the pudding was moist, soft and enriching toffee flavor. No matter what your age, you cant share this! A
must try, when you visit TBS.

Triple chocolate mousse crumble, was equally delightful. The choco crumble layer, chrunchy over the chocolate mousse. Balanced sweetness, and perfect to end a good meal.

PASTA, here is as Italian as it can get. Generous helping of Parmesan and Italian doze of Olive oil makes you drool over the dish. Chef has a very interesting sauce, Basil Pistachio and Parmesan perfectly blended into the penne.Hints of zucchini, carrots and the dish is complete. Simple yet outstanding.

PORTIONS AND PRICES
=====================
Prices, on the higher scale. Portions, decent if not generous.
The V-day menu is set at 999+Taxes for a couple. This review is purely on the V-day meal.

TBS is a great place, to spend quality time over good food. It has got the bcs right, and The Bistro Story is to
continue.

The Bistro Story is at 24, Sadasivam Street, Gopalapuram, Chennai.

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Valentine’s Day @ Tuscana on Chamier’s by Willi

If this V’Day, someone walks into your life and make you feel extremely special in every possible way…..crossing the threshold of falling in love suddenly makes more sense. The wish, the hugs, the right venue, rose colors, heart balloons, perfect meal and the confession over a candle light dinner – is this a dream movie sequence or reality? Well, with TUSCANA ON CHAMIERS BY WILLI…it was all a reality!

Almost every popular restaurant have been flooding the internet and newspaper with V’Day special, have been flying around for a week with the special menu and attractions. Why Tuscana? Its just my trust in them, for their amazing food and cordial service since I first visited them.

I made an early reservation, but unfortunately was late by more than an hour on the day. I called them to check if I still held my booking, to which they warmly welcomed me to visit them.

The Valentine’s day ambiance has been perfectly set at first floor – subtle lighting from scented rose candle, a vase with lovely purple and white flowers standout over the silken white tablecloth and puffed red hearts all over the place. The entire decorum was absolutely enchanting, peaceful enough to just hear the words of your Valentine.

The four-course menu hosts an appetizer, sorbet, main-course and dessert with vegetarian or non-vegetarian options. Vegetarian priced at INR 1050+taxes, Non-Vegetarian at INR 1250+taxes.

Appetizer
Torta di Smoked salmon with pistachio cream and herbed ricotta, with toasted ciabatta bread. The smoked salmon, sandwiched between the layers of fresh,creamy ricotta and pistachio cream…this dish was heavenly with the crunchy toast and assorted green leafs. The taste is still lingering in my senses.

Sorbet
Lemon and peach sorbet, was refreshing and chilling. Unfortunately, my troubling throat didn’t allow me beyond two scoops.

Main
Pan smeared chicken breast on shallot sauteed baby spinach topped with strawberry balsamic caramelized sauce and served with roasted thyme potato. The chicken breasts cooked to perfection, the glazed brown skin of it gave an amazing beauty to it. The strawberry sauce, as you can guess from its description, was a blend of amazing flavors. Potato wedges, just cant get any better.

Dessert
Mixed berry cheesecake with cherry sauce. It was outstanding, yes outstanding. Cheesecake, with fresh berries blended seamlessly into it, melted in my mouth as it vanished quickly with every spoon.

Each dish served reflected Chef’s amazing culinary skills, and also Chef’s passionate presentation. Attention to every detail of the dish made the dining experience complete. A sincere thank you, Chef !!

Service was top-notch, extremely warm and courteous, yet professional.

The night, slowly growing darker and the clock tickling that its time to bid goodbye, I thanked the staff for the amazing time I had at Tuscana. Just then, the final surprise. The red rose, a pack of shining wrapped of chocolates and the couple coffee mugs – they hand over to me wishing “Happy Valentine’s Day”.

Tuscana on Chamiers by willi is on No. 89, Chamiers Road, Chennai – 600 035 ,Tamil Nadu , India.

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