Wednesday 15 June 2016

When office atmosphere is boring  we work from cafe!! And this time its brew room!!

Stone steps right in the middle of the garden lead up to the huge white wooden door with transparent glass. Tables and chairs kept outside are such that add a touch of class to the seating area in the garden. 

My first time to brew room!! Unfortunate its morning ...not just a normal morning but a bright sunny morning, so we went in...Very pleasing decor, we were very thirsty our first order was water and lemonade


As the order arrived and as we got our wifi password we started our office work, it was bliss working, eating and seeing ppl as they enter.

In an hour was feeling little hungry so we ordered mozzarella stick it was not that good but who cares it was cheesy



Ac and fan wasn’t working in the place where we sat –unfortunate isn’t it.

The drawing on the walls and the cake made us crave!! I am a vegetarian and so i ordered chocolate cake with toffee (which was another unfortunate incident, it was not available)

And then we ordered how can we not order coffee when its brew room. 
French press – a perfect blend for the afternoon (my boss fav), 



caffe  latte – smooth milky coffee(she would drink coffee all day anytime), 



irish cream cold coffee –creamy chilled coffee(i am not a coffee person) but i did enjoy it.


Then we ordered barbecued chicken sandwich – that came with photo wedge, they were very crunchy and perfect, 



cottage cheese slider – i had no idea what it was, it was a small burger with caramelized onion was crunchy and perfect in every bite.


A perfect working day in brew room.


Good service.
Ambiance – good
Food – good
Price – expensive  
Service – good
Overall 7/10.



Tuesday 26 April 2016

Romantic restaurant Chennai

Plan a fabulous date with your partner at one of these romantic restaurants in the city.

It’s even better when our passion for eating out unfolds at beautiful venues that spell romance. If there is something about an occasional romantic pampering at a rooftop restaurant or a shack close to the beach that leaves your better half weak in the knees, and hopefully, score you some brownie points – then check out our round up of the most amazing romantic restaurants in Chennai.

Spending time with your loved one on a calm romantic place, expressing.



We don’t get to spend time often!! But who wouldn't love a romantic dinner with our loved ones?  

“Once in a while in the middle of our normal life, why not a fairy tale”


Hola




Location: 6/1, 2nd Floor, 4th Main Road, Besant Nagar, Chennai
Cost For 2: Rs. 1200
Cuisine: Continental, Italian, Mexican
Specialty: Mexican

Bella ciao




Location: 4, Shri Krishna Enclave, Kottivakkam, Chennai
Cost For 2: Rs. 1100
Cuisine: Italian
Specialty: Lasagne, Pizza


Crimson Chakra




Location: 13,Crescent Road, Gandhi Nagar,Adyar,Chennai
Cost For 2: Rs. 5000
Cuisine: South Indian, north Indian
Specialty: Thakali-poondu Soup, Marinated Grilled Bbq Chicken Ferdinand, Chilly Cheese Chicken Tikka, Tangy Meen Varuval, Pan Grilled Mutton Kebabs, Chicken Tikka, Pomfret Grilled, Fish Tikka

 


Sea crest




Location: MGM Beach Resort, 1/74, East Coast Road, Muttukadu, Chennai
Cost For 2: Rs. 1200
Cuisine: Chinese, Continental, North Indian, South Indian, Seafood
Specialty: Sea View


Terrace cafe




Location: 11, Khader Nawaz Khan Road, Nungambakkam, Chennai
Cost For 2: Rs. 800
Cuisine: Italian, Continental, Thai, North Indian, Cafe
Specialty: Weekday Offers


Board walk




Location: Ramada, Gandhi Irwin Bridge Road, Egmore, Chennai
Cost For 2: Rs. 1500
Cuisine: North Indian, Continental, Cafe
Specialty: Poolside Seating



Azzuri bay




Location: 13, 1st Crescent Road, Gandhinagar, Adyar, Chennai
Cost For 2: Rs. 1000
Cuisine: Italian, Mediterranean, Chettinad, Thai, South Indian, Seafood
Specialty: Hunan Chicken Gravy, Cheese Grilled Fish, Chickpeas & Mixed Vegetable Steak


Upnorth




Location: The Raintree, 636, Anna Salai, Teynampet, Chennai
Cost For 2: Rs. 2500
Cuisine: North Indian
Specialty: Corn Pulao, Dal Makhani, Butter Chicken, Kebab Platter


Aqua




Location: The Park, 601, Nungambakkam High Road, Nungambakkam, Chennai
Cost For 2: Rs. 2500
Cuisine: Mediterranean, Mexican, Lebanese, Moroccan
Specialty: Rooftop Seating


The Crown




Location: The Residency Towers, 115, Pondy Bazaar, Sir Thyagaraya Road, T. Nagar, Chennai
Cost For 2: Rs. 2500
Cuisine: North Indian, Continental
Specialty: Mushroom Palak Kebab, Badami Chicken Kebab


Basil with twist



Location: 58A, Habibullha Road, T. Nagar, Chennai
Cost For 2: Rs. 1500
Cuisine: Italian, Mediterranean, Continental, Cafe
Specialty: Mediterranean


Kipling cafe




Location: 16, L Jey Avenue, Akkarai, East Coast Road (ECR), Chennai
Cost For 2: Rs. 1800
Cuisine: Cafe, Thai, Continental, Italian
Specialty: Roasted Stuffed Chicken, Sauteed Ginger Pork, Chicken Satay


Bay view




Location:  Vivanta by Taj Fisherman's Cove, Covelong Beach, East Coast Road (ECR), Chennai
Cost For 2: Rs. 4000
Cuisine: sea food
Specialty: Grilled Prawns, Sea Food Platter


Upper deck




Location: Vivanta by Taj Fisherman’s Cove, Covelong Beach, East Coast Road (ECR), Chennai
Cost For 2: Rs. 3500
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Specialty: Candlelight dinners


 Shiraz art cafe




Location:27, Beach Road, Kapleshwar Nagar, Neelangarai, East Coast Road (ECR), Chennai
Cost For 2: Rs. 900
Cuisine: Iranian, Continental, Parsi, Biryani
Specialty: Iranian



PS:The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. 
please do share, like , comment.

Have fun with your loved ones! 

Monday 18 April 2016


Yummy South Indian Breakfast

One should not attend even the end of the world without a good breakfast."
-Robert A. Heinlein


      Breakfast is the first meal of a day, most often eaten in the early morning before undertaking the day's work. Some believe it to be the most important meal of the day. Among English speakers, "breakfast" can be used to refer to this meal or to refer to a meal composed of traditional breakfast foods (such as eggs, porridge and sausage) served at any time of the day. The word literally refers to breaking the fasting period of the prior night. It has its origin in the Christian custom of fasting from food between the supper meals of one day and receiving Holy Communion the following morning (such a Eucharistic fast is still observed by Orthodox Christians, but is shortened to one hour before Mass for Roman Catholics). Foregoing the natural craving to eat was seen as an act of self-denial that honours God, while strengthening the religious resolve and faith of the believer.
   
    Breakfast foods vary widely from place to place, but often include a carbohydrate such as grains or cereals, fruit, vegetables, a protein food such as eggs, meat or fish, and a beverage such as tea, coffee, milk, or fruit juice. Coffee, milk, tea, juice, breakfast cereals, pancakes, waffles, sausages, French toast, bacon, sweetened breads, fresh fruit, vegetables, eggs, bake beans, muffins, crumpets and toast with butter, margarine, jam or marmalade are common examples of Western breakfast foods, though a large range of preparations and ingredients are associated with breakfast globally.


    There is no standard Indian breakfast menu as almost each state in India has different specialties. However, one can broadly classify breakfast varieties in India into 2 types; North Indian and South Indian. The eastern and western parts of India also have individual breakfast items unique to their culture or state.

   A typical south Indian breakfast consists of idli, vada or dosa coupled with chutney and sambar. Many variations of these dishes exist such as Rava idli, Sambar vada and Masala Dosa. Other popular south Indian breakfast items are Pongal, Upma, and Poori.



There are some good south Indian restaurant in Chennai

·         Ratna cafe
·         Saravana bhavan
·         A2b
·         ID
·         Kanadasan mess
·         Mylai karpagambal mess
·         Raya’s mess
·         Kapila dasa
·         Sangeetha
·         Mami kadai
·         Nama veddu vasantha bhavan
·         Dasa dozza
·         Sathyam
·         Woodlands
       And so on

 Onion Rava Dosa




  Onion Rava Dosai, Thats my grandmother's favourite tiffin,with the onions and cashew a bite with dip on the sambar is bliss.

    It is made with a batter of semolina, rice flour and water along with cumin seeds, salt, asafoetida, diced onions, diced carrot, curry leaves, cashew nuts, black pepper, chopped cilantro and green chillies.


 Medhu Vada



   Medu Vadai, south Indian favourite snacks, you can eat it in many ways, soaked in rasam,curd,sambar,dipped in ketchup,chutneys....the crispy vada on a rainy day is bliss.

Medu vada, made with urad dal (black gram) flour. This vada is shaped like a doughnut with a hole in the middle It is the most common vada type throughout South India and the most recognisable throughout India.According to K. T. Achaya, Vada was popular among ancient Tamils during 100 BCE-300 CE. A type of vada is mentioned as "vataka" in Manasollasa, a 12th century Sanskrit encyclopedia compiled by Someshvara III, who ruled from present-day Karnataka. In this recipe, green beans are soaked, de-skinned, and ground to a paste. The paste is shaped into balls and deep-fried. Early literature from present-day Bihar and Uttar Pradesh also mentions bara (vada) and mungaura (a vada made from mung).

    Ven Pongal



   My  brother calls it sleeping dose, hot pongal with tempered cashew,curry leaves,ginger accompanied with sambar and chutney ahhh...you can sleep like kumbakarana.

Ven (white) pongal is a popular dish in South Indian homes and is typically served as a special breakfast in parts of South India, especially Tamil Nadu and southern Andhra Pradesh.

    Poori Kelangu



   Puri kelangu,you cant just stop with one.

Puri (also spelled poori) is an unleavened deep-fried Indian bread, commonly consumed on the Indian subcontinent. It is eaten for breakfast or as a snack or light meal. It is usually served with a curry or kelangu.


     Kichadi



   Khichdi a perfect evening tiffin.

   Khichdi or khichri, is an South Asian preparation made from rice and lentils (dal). Khichdi was the inspiration for the Anglo-Indian dish kedgeree, and is also commonly considered to be the inspiration for the popular Egyptian dish, kushari. In Indian culture, it is considered one of the first solid foods that babies eat.
  The Greek ambassador of Seleucus mentioned that rice with pulses is very popular among people of South AsiaThe Moroccan traveller, Ibn Battuta mentions kishri as a dish in India composed of rice and mung beans, during his stay circa 1350. Khichdi is described in the writings of Afanasiy Nikitin, a Russian adventurer who travelled to the South Asia in the 15th century. Khichdi was very popular with the Mughals, especially Jahangir. Ain-i-Akbari, a 16th-century document, written by Mughal Emperor, Akbar’s vizier, Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak, mentions the recipe for khichdi, which gives seven variations. There is an anecdotal story featuring Akbar, Birbal and khichdi.


    Uttapam



  when your bored with other tiffans its time for "uttapam" you can garnish it with anything onion,tomato,cashew,idli podi,chicken kheema,mutton ...the list goes on.

    Uttapam batter is made of a 1:3 ratio of urad dal and rice; the rice should be a combination of a boiled variety and a variety such as basmatiThe dal and rice are subsequently ground and fermented. The outer surface is crisp and the inner layers are like idli.Uttapam is traditionally made with toppings such as tomatoes, onion, chillies, capsicum and cabbage mix; other common choices are coconut or mixed vegetables. It is often eaten with sambar or chutney.it is popular in South India.




Idli




idli, the soft sponge "maliga poo" idli dippend in sambar, smashed in onion tomato chutney or made into idli upma is a perfect and light breakfast.
    

    Idli is a traditional breakfast in South Indian households. Idli is a savoury cake that is popular throughout India and neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka. The cakes are usually four to five inches in diameter and are made by steaming a batter consisting of fermented black lentils (de-husked) and rice. The fermentation process breaks down the starches so that they are more readily metabolized by the body.
A precursor of the modern idli is mentioned in several ancient Indian works. Vaddaradhane, a 920 CE Kannada language work by Shivakotiacharya mentions "iddalige", prepared only from an black gram (urad dal) batter. Chavundaraya II, the author of the earliest available Kannada encyclopaedia, Lokopakara(c. 1025 CE), describes the preparation of this food by soaking black gram in buttermilk, ground to a fine paste, and mixed with the clear water of curd and spices. The Western Chalukya king and scholar Someshwara III, reigning in the area now called Karnataka, included an idli recipe in his encyclopedia,Manasollasa (1130 CE). This Sanskrit-language work describes the food as iddarika. The food prepared using this recipe is now called uddina idli in Karnataka.The recipe mentioned in these ancient Indian works leaves out three key aspects of the modern idli recipe: the use of rice (not just urad dal), the long fermentation of the mix, and the steaming for fluffiness. The references to the modern recipe appear in the Indian works only after 1250 CE. Food historian K. T. Achaya speculates that the modern idli recipe might have originated in present-day Indonesia, which has a long tradition of fermented food. According to him, the cooks employed by the Hindu kings of the Indianised kingdoms might have invented the steamed idli there, and brought the recipe back to India during 800-1200 CE. Achaya mentioned an Indonesian dish called "kedli", which according to him, was like an idli. However, Janaki Lenin was unable to find any recipe for an Indonesian dish by this name.The Gujarati work Varanaka Samuchaya (1520 CE) mentions idli as idari, and also mentions its local adaption idada (a non-fermented version of dhokla). The earliest extant Tamil work to mention idli (as itali) is Maccapuranam, dated to the 17th century.

    Dosa



    Dosa all time favourite breakfast for everyone in south india, we have it almost everyday and never get bored of it, dipping the dosa in coconut chutney and then in sambar...wah!! what a taste.

   Dosa is a fermented crepe made from rice batter and black lentils. It is a staple dish in South Indian states of Tamil nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Telangana. It is also popular in other parts of India, and other countries like Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Myanmar, Nepal, Bangladesh, Malaysia and Singapore.Dosa is indigenous to South India; its exact birthplace in that region is a matter of conjecture. According to food historian K. T. Achaya, dosa (as dosai) was already in use in ancient Tamil country around the 1st century AD, as per references in the Sangam literature. According to P. Thankappan Nair, dosa originated in the Udupi town of present-day Karnataka.In popular tradition, the origin of dosa is linked to Udupi, probably because of the dish's association with the Udupi restaurantsAlso, the original Tamil dosa was softer and thicker. The thinner and crispier version of dosa, which became popular all over India, was first made in present-day Karnataka. A recipe for dosa (as dosaka) can be found in Manasollasa, a 12th century Sanskrit encyclopedia compiled by Someshvara III, who ruled from present-day Karnataka.
       

Puttu




   My sister is  crazy  of puttu & kadalacurry,while me on the other hand would  like to have lots of sugar on my puttu .

   Puttu  is a South Indian and Kerala breakfast dish of steamed cylinders of ground rice layered with coconut. It is highly popular in the Indian state of Kerala as well as in many areas of Sri Lanka, where it is also known as pittu. Puttu is served with side dishes such as palm sugar or chickpea curry or banana. In Bhatkal Puttu is served with side dishes such as ghee and sugar or Paya or mutton curry.

    Palaya Sadam



  Dad's favourite breakfast, he keeps telling me the bliss of eating palaya sadam with onion and thogaiyal in those days.

   During the time, the refrigerator didn't make its way into our homes, whenever there was left over cooked rice, boiled water was poured in the left over rice, and left overnight. The next day morning, it was mixed with buttermilk and salt. This used to be the traditional break fast, with raw small onions as an accompaniment. We call it "Palaya sadham/ Neeragaram" in Tamil. Neeragaram has amazing health benefits. Having palaya sadham for few days on an empty stomach cures stomach burns. Palaya sadham is also rich in vitamin b12. It is also an amazing body coolant and if you are a person, who is out in the hot sun a lot, try drinking this neeragaram before going out, your body will not develop heat boils nor will it get dehydrated very soon. We make palaya sadham often, though not regularly like in my grandparent’s times. But on a hot summer morning, having "Palaya sadham" is literally heaven.


PS:The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. 
please do share, like , comment.

Prasadam

We go to Temple for two things
1. Peace
2. Prasadam

Nothing can beat temples prasadam!!



  Food served in temples in India is regarded as pure and sacred. These offerings, known as ‘prasada’ in Sanskrit, are either made in the temple itself or are offered by devotees.

 “There is no love sincerer than the love of food”

  In India, temple food has always held a special place in the hearts of those who have a religious bent of mind. Paying homage in the form of food to the gods and goddesses is a practice that is commonly followed in a country of numerous rituals.
  It is believed that there are around 33 million gods and goddesses in India, so one can just imagine the number of food ceremonies that are performed in temples. Each shrine has its own special prasada and often has vast dining areas to offer food to devotees.

The famous prasadams

Puliyotharai





  Puliyodharai is a South Indian rice preparation, a mainstay in most Indian festival luncheons and dinners. It is also offered as prasadams in temples. Temple puliyodharai has a divine taste that can never be defined, the puliyodharai in the small dry banana leaf cups the thought of it makes us drool.

Chakkara pongal





 Chakkara Pongal is a delicacy made from newly harvested rice. It is cooked with jaggery, ghee and cashew nuts and is offered to sun god. Most of the festivals in south India will have chakkara pongal.And the ghee dripping, camphor taste of the temple chakkara pongal’s taste lasts the whole day.

Sundal




  Next the sundal most special during Navaratri or Ganesha Chaturthi. The little sundal in the leaf cannot be compared to anything.

Curd rice





  Perumal kovil thayir sadam. Garnish with mangoes, ginger, fried nuts and cilantro leaves. Ahhh even people who hate thayir sadam will fall in love with it.

Sambar rice





  Sai baba prasadam. Sambar rice at mylapore sai baba temple. So delicious, that we can die after eating this. The best sambar rice we could ever have.

Vadai





  Hanuman temple milagu vadai. The vadai that we get in Anjeneyar temple as prasadam has a unique taste. The blend of crispness and the spice from pepper are divine.

Kesari





  South Indian sweet which is often made for festivals or special occasions. It is as well offered to Gods as naivedyam or prasadam during navratri and other festivals and even during regular Friday puja.Mylapore sai baba temple has the best  ghee dripping yummy kesari. 
 

Ladoo





  Tirupati ladoo is one of the famous prasadam of India. In addition to the ladoo, each devotee can also buy two more ladoos. It’s good thing too because you can’t stop with one. They are giving ladoos as prasadam DATES BACK 300 YEARS. A single ladoo contains cashew, ghee, oil, sugar, raisins and almond.

Lemon rice






  The nice warm peanut, curry leaves tempered lemon rice prasadam gives you a unique divine taste.

Koozh






  Aadi Koozh is famous in Tamil Nadu in Aadi Month which is distributed as prasadam in mariamman temple throughout the Aadi month. Usually they serve aadi koozh with pickle /onion/ puli kuzhambu / karuvattu / fish kuzhambu. According to the Tamil calendar, Aadi is the fourth month of the year. The first day of this month, is celebrated as Aadi Pandigai or Aadi Pirappu, which is an important festival to most Tamils, especially newly-weds.

Ps: These are by our personal experience, please do share with us your experience in the comments below.