Froyo Factory, Chennai

Without ice cream, there would be darkness and chaos. ~ Don Kardong

I am not the kind who craves desserts and ice creams, but fro-yo is a favorite. At home, there are days when i just whip up a smoothie [yoghurt+ice cubes+fruit]... So, one day last week when my friend I were catching up, we went out to dinner and decided to hop across to Froyo Factory for dessert. I had been chatting with Avanthi [one of the partners at Froyo] and was finally going to be visiting the outlet. We dint really know the location, so I got directions from her and tada, we were there. 

A small cozy outlet, the walls adorned with a few posters on health, and related elements, the place had a nice feel to it. With a few bar stool kinda chairs, it was one of those places you hop into, grab a dessert and hop away. 

We spent time reading through the menu, speaking to the man behind the counter and finally made our decision. My friend chose the Strawberry Madness, while i went for the Very Berry.

 These cute containers were filled with little treats, the guy in charge told me these were add ons for the sundaes- gems, nougat, caramel, dry fruits and so on. 

This is the Strawberry Madness [Rs100]- quite a  generous scoop of froyo with fresh strawberries and strawberry sauce - This was heavenly, esp for someone who loves the fruit.

 And this was mine- Very berry [Rs120]- Again, a generous scoop of froyo with freshly cut strawberries, some frozen blueberries and raspberries with a drizzle of strawberry sauce. - Loved it, it had the sweetness of the blueberry, tartness of raspberry and the freshness from the strawberries... 

We also got to taste the "Flavour of the day" which was "Cream & Cookies", quite nice. The best thing about Froyo desserts are the rich flavour combined with low sugar/sweetness. Also, the cup here might look small, but it is not, the portions are quite large...

If you are looking for some interesting dessert options, head straight here!! They are open till 10.30pm !! 

PS: I loved the spoons, they were different and almost like  lacrosse stick :D

Address:

Froyo Factory

#12, RajaChari Street, T. Nagar, 

Chennai- 600017

Ph- +91 9176255580

Directions: Head towards Joy Alukkas or BBQ Nation- There is a playground at the end of the roads, turn left, and then turn right along with the playground. You will find FroYo on your left, there is a bright white lit board :) 

Disclaimer:
The reviews posted on this blog are based on my personal experience. Also remember that restaurants and eat outs sometimes change with time, so does their food and service. So, kindly consider these factors while visiting the places. Remember, no two palates are the same. Bon Appétit  :-)

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The Cupcake journey

Gone are the days when cupcakes were those little plain looking miniature cakes in paper cups, where we would chew up the paper hoping to devour the last piece of cake. Today, these cupcakes have undergone quite the makeover and Chennai seems to be fast becoming a hub for cupcakes.. You never know, one day you might land in Chennai and instead of asking for "idlies" go looking for "cupcakes" :-)

Anyways, jokes apart.. The 1st cupcake, a cute little cake with pretty icing that i had in the recent years was at our Wednesday meets at Subway, during the F4 days [Face to Face Facebook friends] when Sujaya Rao brought a box of yummy looking treats. They disappeared within minutes of arriving at Subway, and were quite delicious, simple vanilla flavoured with colour icing... Soon after, another friend Preethika began making cupcakes, but alas, i am yet to taste her treats [girl, are you reading? doubt it... bah] and then came the fun part of life that opened doors to the wonderful world of Cupcakes that Chennai had to offer. Am talking about the Chennai Food Guide and the infamous thread that was started innocently by Doc Waz on cupcakes. 

 Sujaya's cupcakes... Sorry about the photograph quality, taken on Blackberry

The comment section was filled with updates from people who made Cupcakes across the city. The one that stood out was from Adonia, a small store off Harrington Road that i had been to. Why dint i see the cupcakes? well, Maaria added the cafe much after my visit and this was the 1st i was hearing of these delights. I kept telling myself that i should try them, but days just kept flying by. 

During a restaurant review, The Harried cook brought a box of three kinds of Cupcakes- Vanilla, Red velvet and  Lemon, and they were yummilicious. I fell in love with the Red velvet...   Incidently, she has just completed the 2nd workshop in Basics of Baking [ you can check out this post by Chennai Foodie on her 2nd workshop..

 As months passed by, i also got the opportunity to taste the cupcake on display at the French Loaf Cake Buffet. These were tiny chocolate cupcakes with bright colour icing, looked good, but lacked flavour of any kind.,.. big let down... 

 

Cupcakes at French Loaf

One day last week, mom & i were out on errands when a spur of the moment decision led to us heading to Adonia.. Alas, the cupcakes were all sold out.. I got home, left a message for Maaria saying "came to your store, but there were no cupcakes..." and within a few minutes, we had exchanged a couple of messages and i had placed an order for a Dozen cupcakes [assorted, including red velvet]

The dozen cupcakes from Adonia

Two boxes of 6 delightful looking cupcakes landed home Monday afternoon... Within minutes my family had gorged down a few of them, and i had to literally sneak away a few that i wanted to take for a friend. 

Red velvet... Lindt.... Chocolate.. Vanilla. were few of the flavours in the cupcakes... 

   

There were a few with Chocolate icing, some with white and blue, one that resembled a sunflower with bright yellow icing dolloped with chocolate, and the 2 that had white icing with sprinkles of red.. The most adorable ones were the chocolate cupcakes with 2 tiny butterflies on them, just seeing them sitting in the box made my day [Maaria, almost like telepathy- Butterflies are my favourite :-)] Its Thursday, and there are 2 cupcakes left in the box, actually 1 and a half cupcakes... ;)

So,next time you get a cupcake craving, you know where to head...

The Harried Cook - 9884008905

Cafe Adoniya- Maaria Kulsum -9840285950
F-1, 15th Avenue, Harrington Road, Chetpet, Chennai
Chetpet
Chennai- 31

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Fusion 9

Getting invited to Dine out midweek at a new swanky restaurant is definitely one way to perk up the week. I was headed to Fusion 9 in 2nd floor in Tulip Aruna Hotel, looking forward to meeting other bloggers and foodies.

The lunch started at 1.30 and went on till 4.15 or so, there was plenty of conversation, interesting discussions, and ofcourse good food.

 The main seating area

 

 The candle stand on the table

 

 Herbed bread

 Veg Dimsum

 Almond & Basil soup

 Bang Bang Mushrooms

 Veg Sushi served with pickled ginger, Wasabi and soya sauce

We were seated in a smart private room, and were given free reign to order whatever we wanted. We all decided against the Buffet and went A la carte. The last time i was here with a friend, we ordered some dishes from the menu and they were quite good.. The portions i discovered were quite large, which made the price they charged seem worthy!

Anyways, today, we were a near even split between Vegetarians and Non vegetarians... We opened with a soup- Almond and basil soup, that was served with a interesting flavoured bread stick in the soup. The soup tasted good, but was quite thick and not very hot, not really my kinda soup... We were then served a plate of Veg and Non veg dimsums...

These were quite nice, the veg dimsum had onions, garlic, ginger and few finely chopped vegetables in it.  Within minutes they were devoured and we were all set to order few more starters. In the veg category, we sampled Bang Bang Mushrooms, Chilli Paneer Sticks and Veg sushi, oh not to forget the Mezze platter.

The mezze platter had pita bread... hummus... curd mix.... small steamed samosa like things with spinach stuffing.. and then ofcourse there was the infamous Baba ghanoush...

After an hour or so, as the conversations flowed, so did the main courses we had ordered.....

 Potato Gnocchi

 Arabian Platter [Shish taouk ,kafta kabab, Samak Meghoui(fish), Grevettes Malaki(mutton)]
Info source: Chennai Food guide on Facebook]

 Parmesan Risotto

Swiss Roasti Potatoes
[Info source: Raghu on Facebook]

I quite enjoyed my Parmesan Risotto, it was quite rich and filled with flavours.. The potato gnocchi was ok, the sauce was a little runny and the gnocchi felt a little heavy... The other potato dish was yummy, especially the way the vegetables served along with it had been cooked, so light and yet a burst of flavours when they hit the mouth...

I did sneak in a few fries from Ali's plate and sampled Rocket leaves from Doc's prawn dish... It was the 1st time i was seeing and tasting Rocket leaves, and must say they have a wierd taste... :-)

For dessert, we each ordered something different, though Shalini and I ended up ordering the Apple Tart, which was good, but i dint like it enough to wipe the plate clean.. I prefer my apple pie and tarts hot , and so this tart was served cold and kinda limp.... The Brownie was divine, and so was the Caramel Custard... Dint try the Tiramisu, though the look on Ali's face said it all :)

 Creme Caramel... aka Caramel Pudding

 Apple Tart

 Brownie with Ice cream

There was one other dessert on the menu, which i had sampled during my earlier visit. it was the German Chocolate Cake, and must say it was quite divine... but a tad sweeter than what i like... was deliciously sinful... :)

German Chocolate Cake

Oh, i nearly forgot.. Towards the end of the lunch, we all ordered a glass of Lemon Iced tea- which was alright...  it was less tea, and more lemon juice..

So, the Lunch was fairly good... Food was delicious, and i felt this was a restaurant was true to its "World cuisine/multi cuisine" title, especially in Chennai.... Though its a tad expensive when compared to other restaurants, the food portions as i mentioned are large and so it works out well at the end..

The main seating area is well lit and quite spacious. There is a bar island in the center of the area, and a buffet lunch daily.

Make a reservation before landing there, especially over the weekend, have heard the place gets quite full.. The seating options are sofa and normal table chair style with plenty of natural light floating in...

Food 8/10
Iced tea 7/10
Ambiance 9/10
Service - The 1st time i was here, the service was very good- 8/10, and 2nd time was for a review, so i shall not rate the service!

Fusion 9
Tulip Aruna Hotel
Sterling Rd, Nungambakkam
Chennai, Tamil Nadu

044 42664299

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