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Showing posts with label express avenue. Show all posts
Showing posts with label express avenue. Show all posts

The Joy of Giving... The French Loaf cake event

On the evening of CFG's 8th Anniversary Celebrations, Mr Mahadevan, one of the guests announced their Longest Photo cake event .. This was part of the Joy of Giving week. Last year, they had done the same event, except the cake was based on movies of yesteryear. This year, it was a tribute to Isaignani Ilaiyaraaja... 

Not only this, but he announced that 100kgs shall be set aside for Chennai Food Guide members, given to us for FREE... The event was slated for 2nd Oct , at Express Avenue Mall.



As decided, we all met up at the mall at the venue of the event, and were excited to see what was ahead of us.  We got to meet a few new faces, and interact with other friends as well.. In total, we were about 30 of us, we walked around the entire length of the cake, trying to spot the movies we had seen, heard of and the ones that were completely new. We waited patiently sweating away, listening to Mohan, Parthiban, Srinivas, Sriram, Mr Mahadevan, Chef Bhupesh, and Gautam Menon speak about the event. It was amazing to hear the announcements of cake being sold, people who bought them, and the money contributed to Ekam Foundation. Few members from CFG got the chance to speak to Raj TV, while the rest of us generally hung around having a good time.... 



And then, it was time to cut the cake..... Few minutes later, we were all trying to fit the huge cake box into plastic bags... but only after checking out what movie was on the piece we received. Even though it was free for us, we went ahead and made a contribution to Ekam... What a beautiful feeling to give to those in need.. Apart from the little deeds that we do, we thank Mr Mahadevan of Oriental Cuisines for this lovely opportunity as well... :-) 


 I had Pillai Nila on my cake... Not heard or seen this movie...

Subsequent to the event, the group waltzed lingered around, catching up, taking photographs, and winding up with a burppilicious dinner at Rajdhani...
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Rajdhani, Express Avenue, Chennai

The 1st time i visited this restaurant was on the day of the launch. Was at EA with 2 friends and we hopped in for dinner!! It was divine.... I enjoyed the food but felt i couldnt do justice to the number of dishes served...

The 2nd time i took my grandparents & parents here for lunch and watching them devour the food, savouring every bite was worth the visit...

3rd time, yes i've been here numerous times which shows how much i enjoy the food.. this time it was my Bday dinner with close friends... :)

And the 4th & most recent visit was on 1st Jan with entire family, we were about 10 of us. I called ahead to make a reservation, but the man who answered politely told me they dont take bookings and that waiting time is only about 5-10mins...

 The food is a fixed thali menu, one that changes everyday and is served as many times as you like.. Yes, it is unlimited. As soon as you walk towards the hotel, you can see the number of people waiting outside.. but trust me when i say the wait is no more than 10mins, no matter how big a group you are... If you notice, on the window is a shelf with a Thali displaying the Menu for the day!! :)

From the minute you are seated to the signing on the bill, it is all done so seemlessly, i was amazed the 1st time i saw the whole process unfold.. The waiters are not yelling to each other, there is no talking, heck, no calling out to others. Each one is assigned to a particular dish and they keep bringing it around. If you tell them you want a particular dish, all they do is signal in the air and within seconds you are served. From the Dhokla, Corn kachori to Kichidi, side dishes, everything is piping hot. I love their Daal, Gatte ki sabzi, rotis, mithai, and well everything else in between as well. The food is not only filling, but also light and filled with flavour....

Oh, not to forget, the thali comes at a very affordable price.. Around Rs350 per person, incl Tax!



Ambiance -4/5
Service -4.5/5
Price- 4/5
Overall Rating -4.5/5


Address
Express Avenue Mall, 3rd Floor- End of Food court on right, 
Whites Road, Royapettah , 
Chennai- 600014
Phone:  (044) 28464422 , (044) 28464433

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Escape Dine

When the food court is jam packed, and the restaurants are overflowing with people, the only place to head to is Escape Dine inside Escape Cinemas in the 3rd floor in Express Avenue Mall in Chennai.

My friend and i made a beeline for a table in Dine and since then the table seems to have become our spot. Everytime we visit, we are shown to the same table [and trust me when  i say we have been there plenty of times] :)

The rich wood furnishings and glass partition wall adds to the ambiance. It keeps away the prying eyes of those who are looking for movie tickets or walking in or out of a movie and gives the guests enough privacy. There is a buffet open during Lunch , with unlimited Biryani [both veg and non veg] along with a soup and dessert for about Rs299.

And if like us you dont think you do justice to the buffet, then go for the A la carte menu.. My friend loves Desserts, so she goes straight to the Dessert page in the menu card and promptly orders one for each of us before looking at the main dishes..

We normally skip the Starters and head over straight to the Main course. I have had their Vegetable Biryani.. Panneer Tikka Masala with Parantha or plain rice, and once tried the Mushroom based pasta.. All these dishes come pipoing hot and quite yummy..


 The portions are pretty huge, enough for 2 people, especially if you are going in for a dessert.  I also quite enjoy the Brinjal curry and onion raita that comes with the Biryani... 

My friend orders either a Mutton biryani or Chicken biryani with extra spice...Going by her expressions, i would say she too enjoys the food! 

And now for the dessert.. Many a times, we pick out one or two from the menu only for the waiter to come back saying they either dont have it or have run out of it.. Apparently the desserts come from Ecstacy in Satyam Cinemas and arrive here twice a day...

The very 1st time we ordered the Hazelnut mousse served on a ginger short bread [it was from Ecstacy by Mikeal Besse] and was divine... Actually, so are all the desserts we  have had here, that come with a scoop of sinful vanilla ice cream...

 The Blueberry Cheese cake...

Dark chocolate fantasy [dont remember the exact name]


Next time you are in Express Avenue and are looking for a quiet place for a meal, march straight into Escape cinemas towards the Dine!
Psst- Sorry about quality of images, invariably whenever i am here i seem to have only my Blackberry to rely on!!


Food 8/10
Service 8/10
Ambiance 8/10
Price 8/10 [A meal for two should cost between Rs500- 700.]

Timings: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. 
Address: Escape Dine
3rd Floor [ inside Escape cinemas on extreme left]
Ph: 044 28464809 .
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