Idli and Beer Festival at Courtyard by Marriott, Chennai

Sitting in Chennai, the only thing I do is read about the Oktoberfest in Germany and wonder if ever I would get to witness this fest.. And then came an email announcing the "Idly and Beer Festival at Courtyard by Marriott.. I was curious, I was intrigued to say the least. Above all, I am someone who is not really fond of idlis, I need some serious motivation to eat those white discs. Give me a dosa and I will be happy as a new born puppy :-) 

                                                      [Image courtesy: Courtyard by Marriott]

I do know of quite a few who love Idlis and have a few friends who love Beer and Fried idlis, but most times the combo is ordered at one of the city clubs. 

Anyways, I set aside my apprehensions and made my way to Courtyard by Marriott in Teynampet [ did take me a while to figure out the way to the hotel, not because I dont know the place, but because of all the metro rail work going on in the city]. I reached the Hotel and chose to dine at Rhapsody, the swanky restaurant with dark interiors and vintage light fixtures. 

I was told there were two options, the Veg Platter and the Non veg platter. When I dug further, I discovered the Veg platter had four varieties of idlis – Kanchipuram Idli, Fried Idli, Podi Idli and Karvaipilai Idli along with a frothy pitcher of beer. On the other hand, the Non Veg Platter had - Kozhi Koththamali Idli, Muttai Karvapilai Idli, Sea Food Idli and Kaima Ellu Idli along with a pitcher ofbeer. 

Being a vegetarian, I chose the Veg Platter and requested for the beer to be served a glass at a time and not a whole pitcher. The Veg Platter + 1 Pitcher of Beer is priced at Rs. 550 + taxes while the Non-Veg Platter + 1 Pitcher of Beer works to Rs. 650 + taxes. 

  

The veg platter with the glass of beer.. 

The Non veg platter

The platter arrived and so did my beer. It looked interesting. There were the 4 different kinds of idlis [there wwere 4-5 pieces in each kind]  and was served alongside the yummy White coconut chutney and red spicy chutney. The idlis had subtle flavours, the karuvepilai idli is not overpowered by curry leaf flavour nor are there a zillion curry leaves to deal with. The chef mentioned that the filling/spices have all been blended into the batter and then the idlis are made. I was also shown a sample Non veg platter, which looked good. Again, here too the meat and egg is blended with the batter, so there are no big chunky pieces of idli. 

While I was initially skeptical about this whole concept, I must say I walked out with a smile. Infact, I did send out messages to quite a few friends who I know will enjoy this deal. 

If you love beer.. If you love fried idli or idli of any kind- Do visit.. 

When? The festival is on till Oct 30th, 7:00 pm – 11:00 pm 

Where?  Paprika & Rhapsody, 

Courtyard by Marriott Chennai, [Opp Ramee Mall/Hyatt Regency]

#564, Anna Salai, Teynampet, 

Chennai. 

Ph No: 6676 4000

How much?- The Veg Platter [16 idlis] + 1 Pitcher of Beer is priced at Rs. 550 + taxes while the Non-Veg Platter [16 idlis] + 1 Pitcher of Beer works to Rs. 650 + taxes. 

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Sukh Sagar- Pure veg restaurant, Kilpauk, chennai

The journey began in 2012, October to be exact when Vishnu & Vinay came together and decided to open Sukh Sagar in Kilpauk. Today, Sukh Sagar is found all over the world, Mumbai, Bangalore, Mysore, Chennai, DUbao, KSA and Qatar as well. That is how popular this all veg chain restaurant is! After the restaurant in Anna nagar shut, there was a brief gap of 2 years which is when they did all the ground work necessary to open their 1^st Sukh Sagar in the city of Chennai. Vinay comes from an IT background, while Vishnu is quite familiar with the food industry, having worked as an Intern at Cream center.

Now they are the proud owners of the outlet that can do 72 covers in the 1^st floor Fine dining area, 60-70 people can stand and eat in the ground floor restaurant and then there is the Party/Banquet Hall that they let out for birthday parties and family gatherings.

During the conversation we learnt that the place is packed to the brim on Saturday and Sunday [it was mostly Families that came regularly]. The entire Sukh Sagar brand is owned by Mr Suresh Poojani, who the duo knew through a common friend.

The place where Sukh Sagar stands today is an old house, that was empty and that which presented the duo an opportunity to revolutionize the eating scene in that part of the city. Aside from the location, what worked to their benefit was the staff that came in from the Anna nagar outlet. They now have Chefs, 80 staff members who do double shift and who give them the confidence to do outdoor catering for upto 1000 people. The place is also let out for corporate functions and events, only condition being “veg food only”.

For now, they serve a range of North Indian & South Indian dishes, and might soon be making a few changes in their menu. They are also looking to introduce combo meals on a regular basis. And with that we settled in for the evening and looked forward to a good time..

The evening opened with soup- The Lung fung soup which was good, filled with flavour and tad spicy, perfect if you have a cold. Following that we had a chance to sample their chaat- Bhel puri and Raj Kachori both of which were absolutely smashing. Then came the starters- mushroom Chilli and the mixed veg platter that consisted of Corn seek kebab, Tandoori gobi, paneer tikka and hara bara kebab. Loved the gobi and seek kebab, others were good, but nothing wow!

Between the conversations, we noticed the staff walk over to our table with plates of food, making us catch our breath. There was an assortment of Indian breads- Roti, butter naan,  butter roti and plain naan. Even after a few minutes, the roti remained soft and beautiful. We also tried their kashmiri naan which was wow… The side dishes that followed suit were Paneer labadbar and dal makhani.. They were both perfect, not over the top masala filled or oily.  While we were sampling the dishes, we felt thirsty and asked the guys to recco a drink. They promptly ordered Blossom for us, watermelon flavoured this drink is in a league of its own. You should try it the next time you are here to experience the beauty.

And finally, we were nearly done!! Yayy. It was dessert time. We were quite full and so passed up on the Rice. For dessert, we got to taste the Sukh Sagar Special, Malai Kulfi Falooda, royal Falooda and Gadbad ice cream. Each of these will have you grinning like a small child, and digging in happily with not a care in the world. Apart from these, they also have the regular kulfi and an assortment of ice cream sundaes.

If you are looking for a place to have a quiet dinner, where food does all the talking, this is where you should head to.

Wish them a very Happy 1^stbirthday and many more years to come!!

You can read my earlier review here

Address:

No 1a, Harleys Road [near Bain School], 
Kilpauk, 
Chennai - 600010 
Ph: 9940192886, 9790899430 
(044) 45500306

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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Sukh Sagar, Kilpauk, Chennai

Contrary to popular belief, veg food is quite yummy. Dont believe me? ask some of my friends who are staunch non veggies but have been enjoying the veg fare at the new line of restaurants in town. Yep, right from the horse's mouth you see. Next time I drag you to a veg joint, think twice before making a comment.. I just might let you starve while I devour some of the yumm fare. Where is this convo headed? Well, am all set to brag about one more Veg restaurant. Not new, infact they have been creating waves for quite a few years, in Chennai & Bangalore.

Infact, if you've been in Anna Nagar, or driven down the main road, you will have spotted the giant red building. That was where Sukh Sagar was. but now, they have a new address, they are on Harley's Road, Kilpauk. Woohoo, close by home, walking distance!  

Renowned for their veg fare and chaat, I was looking forward to this visit. As you walk in, there is an open floor with a kitchen on the side for the early morning hunger pangs or chaat kicks. And then you find a small stairway tucked away leading to the Fine Dining area on the 1st floor, and a floor above houses the Banquet hall. 

By the time I got to the hall, most of them troops were already there. Found a seat beside Vinay & Vishnu, the men who own the place. The evening began with a glass of chilled watermelon juice. We were told we could order what we wanted and eventually sample the main dishes.

I opted for the Veg Manchow soup, it was good, the crispy noodles on top added to the texture. What happened after the soup is a big mystery. There were plates of food that just kept arriving at the table - a wide array of starters, here goes the list [ almost reminds me of the  lyrics to We Dint start the fire by Billy Joel] lemme see if i can remember 'em all  --

Tandoori starters: Corn sheekh kebab - Small pieces of moist Kebab served alongside Mint chutney followed by the Channa se bhara khumb - These were interesting- two mushrooms stuffed with Channa flour and cooked over the tandoor. there was something sweet about this starter. I liked it, maybe cos i love mushrooms and finally the Achari Paneer tikka- amazingly soft paneer marinated with spices and cooked to perfection. 

Next up were the Chinese starters- - Veg Crispy  and Paneer Chilli- Both were good, except I couldnt tell the veggies apart in the veg crispy. Enjoyed the paneer chilli starter. 

Phew, that was a lot of food. Oh wait, we were far from done. Next up were the Chaat items, started with 
fresh Dahi Puri, we then got to sample the Pani puri and finally the Bhel puri. The chaat were all good, except I felt the Bhel was slightly soggy and not as crispy as I am used to. 

During the course of the evening, we spoke about quite a variety of topics, ranging from food to travelling to making sudden plans to drive out to Pondy that very night [ya right, I think somewhere all of us knew that wasnt going to happen, but that did not stop us from planning, plotting]

While we were busy, the staff brought out plates of South Indian eats, starting with the Idli [which I steered clear off cos I need immense motivation to eat it], but the Sambhar vada, Oh gosh, I loved it. yep! Just as I put my spoon down, a plate with a veg sandwich popped in front of me. The caramalised onions added a nice touch, and the crispy grilled layer was a pleasant surprise. 

Just when we thought "yayy, we are done" Vinay came over to tell us the main course was on its way. Jeez. We requested him to just send out teeny tiny portions and he obliged. We tried the Roti, Dal makhani, paneer butter masala and Mushroom masala. The dishes were all good, each with a unique flavour. 

Burp.. oops, pardon me! Oh no, I saw a spoonful of Vegetable Biryani land on my plate and was ready to bolt. Luckily it was a tiny mouthful and was quite nice. There was also the Pav Bhaji and Chola Batura which I passed up on [if I wanted to retain my sanity..lol]  

Bring out the drums and trumpets... it was time for the desserts and that meant we were done... yipee!! We each ordered a different dessert so we could sample them, and it worked out just fine. I chose the Gajar Ka Halwa, while others opted for the Gulab jamun, some chose different ice creams- Gadbad, sukh sagar special, choco nut sundae, kulfi  and Falooda.. Not sure if there were others.. 

To bring the evening to a close, couple of us ordered Filter Kaapi and it was A class.. The conversation about Pondy had by then wound down, we were talking a drive to marina beach and finally ended up heading home.. lol.. 

Before i forget, next time you are hungry and in & around Kilpauk, head straight to Sukh Sagar... Reasonably priced, fresh & yumm food   :-) 

Address:
No 1a, Harleys Road [near Bain School], 
Kilpauk, 
Chennai - 600010 
Ph: 9940192886, 9790899430 
(044) 45500306

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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Saravana Bhavan, NSC Bose Road, Chennai

We waited and waited... We were tired and hungry.. We had been walking for nearly 2hours and all of us had been up at 5am!! 

And then finally, a good 25mins later the plate of Pongal & Vadai with Sambar & chutney landed on our table... I dug my spoon into the pongal, blew on it and took a mouthful to realise it was COLD... Sigh.... Now i am double sure that i Still dont like Saravana Bhavan............ 

The only thing we look forward to in the morning is HOT breakfast.... and we were the only people in the hotel- about 30 of us, some in the AC rooms and a few of us outside...

 

We had finished our walk around the Mint street and part of the package was breakfast at Saravana Bhavan on NSC Bose Road, adj to the High Court. 

And then, a friend ordered a plate of mini idlies dunked in sambar, which looked good, but not sure if that was ok... The Poori & potato curry did look quite appealing...

But must give it to them- The Coffee was good- Not too sweet, not too chikkaryish, but just right!!! 

The hotel did have a good feel to it, it was an age old building with the ceiling in true Madras ceiling style, with beams running the length of the ceiling and across as well. There was long stemmed fans buzzing away.... 

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