A Kryptos by Wili- A Greek Experience

Kryptos by Willi, the name had been quite intriguing for quite sometime. I had been to  KNK road in Nungambakkam infinite number of times and I used to wonder what this place was all about. I knew Willi was a name but I did not know what it was all about. When I was invited to be a part of a dinner here, I did not hesitate to pass this Opportunity up. Driving through on a weekday, that too to the traffic zone of 

Chennai can be particularly cumbersome.I was late by the time I got here, everyone was already seated and the soup was just about to be served. We started out with the Asparagus Soup. I recently discovered the health benefits and the taste of Asparagus and was quite curious to the taste of the same in Soup. And it did not disappoint. It was smooth, creamy and delicious.

Rice Stuffed capsicum, the paneer kebab and the Feta and spinach pie was simply awesome. :)The next was the Spinach Stuffed Pie.I simply loved it. Being a thorough south Indian, it did remind me of a dish that we make out of spinach but this was very different. 

The Desserts came next and the Baklava was delicious.

 The place is situated right on the main road (Knk Road) and has a lift which takes you to the basement where the restaurant is. Altogether a great place for greek food. Must say that it was my first try and I did enjoy it.

Food : 4/5
Ambience : 5/5
Accessibility : 5/5

Adoniya-The Adonis of Desserts

Located in the heart of the city in Chetpet, this cute little haunt is just what I was looking for all the time. Spaced just enough for 4 tables, the place oozes oomph with the desserts on display. Adoniya Cafe is  complete with desserts, books and coffee ( my categorization).So when the CFG showcase came up for Adoniya, I simply could not resist.

The name means the Lord is God and one of Beauty n Desire and it turns out that this place IS the God of all beautiful and mouthwatering Desserts !! Set up in a small space, its my idea of a cafe where i can come, read books and enjoy eating too. Am a member of the a food group on Facebook and when they announced the showcase for Adoniya, I simply could not resist going. I am a food lover and grew up with the smell of fresh warm cake from the oven.The smell was simply tantalising. I had ordered for a cake about a year back and I loved at the creativity that was on displayed. And since then Maaria and me have been in touch. Maaria Kulusum Tanveer started this as an offshoot to her boutique (which is adjacent to the cafe and a must visit too :) ). Since this was a visit to her Cafe, we shall stick just to that.

First up was the stuffed bun that we had. I devoured it without even asking what it was all about. The taste was good and so was the filling of the bun. Usually there is a smatter of filling in the bun but this was quiet sufficient.

I quenched my thirst with a Lemon Tea a new favorite of mine. The cutlery matched the ambience perfectly :). Started to become a Lemon Tea aficionado with this :)

The corn sandwich was another tasty yet filling fare. Slightly different from what I usually taste in a corn sandwich. Then came the Katti roll. This was totally yumm and the sauces were too good. I loved the Pudina chutney flavor on the inside. It had the right balance of everything .

Next came the platter of desserts. Everyone of them absolutely divine.I personally loved the Lemon tart and the Savory Tart. A bite of the Chocolate cup cake and the red velvet mini took me to a different world altogether. The strawberry roulade was good but the others took my heart away.Pavlova was yummm too :D

The "my favorite" part comes now. Apple Crumble, Red Velvet cake with ice cream and the chocolate sundae. I loved the Chilli chocolate Sunday. The chocolate sauce had a hint of Chilli which gave a heavenly taste to the dessert.

Oh yea.. i almost missed mentioning about the Cupcakes which were droolicious. The one in the far left was a chocolate, middle one was a vanilla and the last one was the red velvet. I unfortunately since cream is not my forte I did not taste the ones displayed above but I did sneak in on a plain vanilla cupcake and it was totally yumm.

Approach wise, there are a lot of steps to climb and I struggled at the last 2 steps but the food more than made up for all of it.

My ratings on the place as below

Ambience - 4 /5
Food - 4/5
Accessability-2.5 /5

Rajdhani- A Chennai Express

Dinner plans abound and after deciding between Darios, Dhabba Express and Annalakshmi, we went for the fourth option of Rajdhani at Phoenix mall. I was excited as I have had food at Rajdhani in Bangalore, and was all excited to go and taste the same thing. The ambience was too good. Loved the way you are welcomed with a Chandan ka Tilak (a small line drawn on your forehead with a twig or small instrument). It was refreshing. Reminded me of cold towels given in flights. The place is well lit, very accessible (Naturally as the restaurant functions from a mall). Space is a constraint. It was not very difficult to get a table for 6 considering it was a Friday evening.

Was truly looking forward to eating food there. The expectations had been set and was looking to check if this will live up to the one in Blore. But I think today was just not my day. The food was just about ordinary and did not live up to what I had tasted. Certain dishes were great but some others a complete let down. Its definitely not something that I would rave about/  It did not match what I have had before. Maybe the location change or whatever somehow I was full but was not satisfied.

There was an array of items and they serve it all one after other. They do tell what you have been served but before you can even hear what  they said, they would have moved on.

We were given a chat item first which i think is dahi paapdi chat. The curd was good but otherwise it was tasteless. There were an array of side dishes.

1. Paneer Butter Masala
2. Moong Dal
3. Daal Baati Churma
4. Palak ki Subzi
5. Three varieties of Rotis.
6. Curd Rice
7. Pulao
8. Strawberry flavored Kesari
9. Kichidi
10. Gobi sabzi
11. Semiya Payasam
12. Kadhi
13. Kichidi

The roti and the paneer was good. I enjoyed the Daal Baati churma too. I was appaled by the amount of ghee that was poured on to my plate even before i could answer if I wanted it or not. The Kadhi was good and so was the Kichidi. It was piping hot and totally yumm.

Semiya Payasam and Kesari are not exactly Rajasthani dishes and trust me I would have had it else where too if thats what I came there for.

Service wise.. i wasnt too excited either. The service was too fast and there was no time given to eat and relish the food. It was both a hurried and harried affair.

Disappointed but will come back later if I see more good reviews.

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

Tadka Talk- Surely the tadka does the talk here :)

My actual dinner was supposed to be a dosa or a upma. A chat and talk with a friend about dinner plans changed all that and we ended up at Tadka Talk. Been wanting to go here for a very long time and finally made it today. The ambiance was simply elegant with soft film music being played in the background. A Prior reservation helped to get a table easily. As we settled down and we ordered, I couldnt help but notice the difference about the menu card which i think was made of Handmade paper.

We first ordered our something to drink with Ambi Panna and Kesar Piste wali Lassi. The Panna was spicy but yet sweet. I couldnt tell what had gone into it but I quite liked the flavor it gave me once it was gulped down. The Lassi..ahh.. . Been a very long time since I tasted lassi like that . Nice and thick with Kesar pista topping and the malai too, it brought back memories and ofcourse a super smile on my face .

The starter was a Multani Tikkey which is basically elongated paneer cubes marinated in spices and given with 3 different varieties of sauces/chutneys. One is basically the Tamarind chutney the second is a the mango chutney (which we both loved) and the third one was mint chutney. The paneer was super soft and had the right amount of flavour and spices. The chutneys or dips as u call it was really good and blended really well with the starter.

The Main Course was plain tandoori roti with Bhartha Rawalpindiwalla and the Pind Channa. The Portions were of the right size and quantity. I loved the Channa while my friend liked the Baingan ka Bhartha. We skipped dessert coz we were too full.

There was a small issue with the roti which got sorted by speaking to the person incharge there. They also did not bill us for the entire set of rotis we ordered because of the issue we had with one small piece. I was totally surprised. And the staff were always on the toes keeping a watch if we needed anything. There was always someone available. 

On the accessibility scale, I would rate the place 5/5. The restaurant is on the ground floor and I had no difficulty at all in walking with my crutches.Shafee, I did notice the wheel chair there. Thank you so much for that !! . This is one place i would definitely go back.

Spoonbill- A Street food Experience

Spoonbill was celebrating its 1st birthday celebrations and I wanted to  go back there and see how much has changed from my previous experience. A few of my friends got together and all of us gathered at Spoonbill on TTK road for the street food experience. The ambiance was well lit and the kitchen was on the other side of the tables. This restaurant is a self serving restaurant which means you will not be waited upon. You got to place the orders and ask for regular water or pick up a bottle.

As I am a veggie, I wanted to try and taste all the items on the list. We ordered as a group and it was a mix of Veg and Non Veg.  So the order was Spanish Omlette, Empanada, Burrito,Nachos, Ragada Patties, Momos, Crepe with fresh fruit and cream and Corn on Cheese toast.

The first was the Spanish Omelette accompanied by fresh toasted bread. Spanish omelette was delicious as expected. I had seen many reviews on the same from my friends and it did not disappoint me. It was full of flavour and the filling inside with potatoes and onions was soo good. I would want to go back there and try this again.

Nachos was a good try. It perfectly captured the street food scene. I enjoyed the crisp nachos with sour cream and salad on top. It was superb. The Nachos was tangy and interesting.

Empanadas were of a completely different category altogether. I was surprised that the Jalapenos were held together by a mould of Cheese which was absolutely Chewy and delicious. The Jalapenos were full of flavor and tangy. It was hot and couldn't help finishing one whole Empanada in one shot even though I had to taste other items on the list. I can still remember the taste of it.

Ahh the Burritos :). This one was completely packed and with the Mayo oozing was completely filling. Loved the taste and flavour of it and every bite of it was interesting enough. The only grieve i would have about the burrito was that it was sticking on to the roof of the mouth but otherwise the filling was simply good.

The good old Ragada Pattice, the soul food of Bombay !! :). I would have loved a little more spice to it but i guess spice and tanginess is an acquired taste and I will have have to back to get used to tasting food with an open mind.

The momos were super tasty and i loved the accompaniments to it too.I would have expected the momos to have a little more filling inside it. A little more filling meant a little more enjoyment.

Corn and Cheese toast was simply mindblowing. I loved the taste of it but by the time this came to the table i was already full to the neck. The corn and cheese as always make an amazing combo and it was super delicious.

We had ordered different beverages to down the food. One was flavored yoghurt. My friends had ordered a Mango and a strawberry flavour. The yogurt was thick and the flavors of Mango and Strawberry was really good. The other was Thandai. Thandai had flavor but it was watery to my liking. The same goes for Ice Tea as well.

How could I miss mentioning the dessert. We ordered for Crepe with fresh cream and fresh fruits. The crepe was pretty ok. I only wish the cream wasn't watery and the mild chocolate sauce actually added to the flavor. Am not too sure if the crepe should be warm but the taste quite made up for it. The other dessert which I did not get a picture of and still chide myself for it is the muffins. The muffins were mind blowing and superb. Perfect blend of everything and it was THE dessert we were looking for. I want to go back there for the muffins atleast if not for anything else.

To sum it up, this is street food at its best. This was a better experience than my previous one. The only hassle I had was climbing up the rigorous stairs leading up to Spoonbill was tiring. However Charlie has assured that he was working with the building owner for the lift and hopefully it will be done soon.

Looking forward to visiting it once the lift facility is in place