Thursday, September 5, 2013

Peaches- A fruity and flavorful destination

Food is such a comfort zone for most of us. Any food be it anything as simple as a chocolate to as exotic as caviar we all derive so much comfort from it. Coming from a family who love to cook, experiment within boundaries and come up with some fantastic dishes, I truly feel blessed.

Peaches. The name stuck a bell. I was wanting to go there for a long time now and I grabbed the opportunity when CFG had announced the showcase. Been to a lot of restos but this one seems a tad different.

The name Peaches  instantly reminded me of Madagascar and all nice memories associated with the movie and the restaurant came flooding into my mind. Located in the busy 100Ft bypass road in Velacherry, this place is definitely a go to when it comes to tasting different types of food and cuisine. Located on the first floor, I found the stairs fairly comfortable to climb (And No they do not have a lift provision).The restaurant is fairly spaced in terms of walking around and can squeeze in a small wheelchair user too.

The ambience is cosy and din have the feel of a "I am in a strange place". The food ofcourse took me to a different world altogether and left me with mixed feelings :)

I found the spacing between the table and the chair/sofa to be small that I had to squeeze myself in. Once settled, I set my eyes on FOOD !!

Started off with Phuket Paneer, Cheese corn balls and Tapas Mushroom. Phuket Paneer was really succulent and the paneer was simply out of the world !! It was cooked just about right and the flavours of the spices came out really well. The mushroom was well done and had the right amount of spices. But one thing that did puzzle me was the similarity in taste of the Paneer and Mushroom. Except for the main ingredient, everything else tasted same as each other !! :). I did taste the soup but it was a bit too heavy for me. The soup was Cream of Bell Pepper.

Cream of Bell Pepper Soup




Phuket Paneer

Phuket Paneer when cut. Wish I had a closer version of the pic. It would have given an idea as to how succulent it was.




Tapas Mushroom


We were given this blue Carcao drink called Deep Blue Sea. I found it interesting as it was topped with salt on the edges just like a shot. Nothing much to say about the drink though.




The main course followed and man it was a different palate experience. First to go was the accompaniments to the Indian Breads.  Dhabewali Dal which was yummy and a plain rice to along with it would have made it the yummiest Dal Chaawal you have ever tasted.

The next was the Bharwan Mirchi Kohlapuri which is basically stuffed mushroom (Stuffing of Paneer, Kohya and Potato) in a yellow gravy. Man!! This was really yumm. No hint of the mirchi (Chilli) any where. It was soo smooth and creamy though a bit too heavy for a gravy.


The next comes my favorite the Rajasthani Bhindi Khadi. Its the comfort food that all of us in India yearn for irrespective of which part you are from. It may be called by different names and a slight variation in taste but this is the ultimate close to any home food you can imagine. And Peaches nailed it completely on this. Again like the Dal, wished there was plain rice to go with this.


The bread accompaniments were good but not great. We had three different breads to choose from too. The preference for the breads and the gravies was to complement each other. Here either the Roti's or naan's were too heavy and the gravy heavy too or it was not a match for the roti.

The Pudhina Paratha arrived and I was waiting to taste this. I have always had a special liking for Pudhina and the first look was impressive. The taste was buttery and could hardly taste the Pudhina there. I kind of moved on to the next one hoping it will be better




The next was Chilli Cheese Paratha. A heavy dish again and by the time i got to this... i was so full that I did not want to drink even a drop of water. But that definitely wasnt to be :).


I thought it was all done and over when the Biriyanis were announced. My stomach was crying out loud for filling it so much :P. But the palate wanted to taste it and said do not miss.

Then came the eternal Indian food. Rice !!! We had two different varieties served that day and both were delicious. It was tasting like home cooked food. The first one was Dum Cooked Kofta Biriyani. It was wonderful to taste with lovely flavour.




The next one however did surprise me. I have'n't had a Soya Biriyani anywhere in Chennai. The Ambur Soya Biriyani was just about right. I am a diet freak and I love foods which will help me in the diet process.This was full of flavor and yumm.


 Then came the desserts. Strawberry Pannacotta and Harlem Brownie Wonton was too good. I was tasting the Harlem Brownie Wonton for the first time and i simply loved it. The chocolate Sauce on top of the wonton with the brownie inside the wonton was really surprising. I did not expect it. Was more like a fortune cookie inside except that it was a brownie. I washed it down with the non alcoholic mocktail called Florida Sunrise which was really too good.








I would rate Peaches as below
Food : 4/5
Ambience : 4/5
Accessability : 2.5/ 5