Pasta Bar Veneto rolls out new dishes..

When you think of something or someone, it is true that you end up seeing them often or that thing everywhere you go. Similarly, I haven’t been to Pasta Bar Veneto in ages, the 1^stvisit was years ago and in Alsa Mall. And then a brief visit to their outlet in Pondy. 2 weeks got the opportunity to visit the outlet in Burkitt Road. Who would have thought I would be back there once again. Yes it happened last evening!

Unlike earlier, these days I don’t mind going anywhere. Most places are a hop skip or jump away. It took me just about 12 mins to reach Burkitt Road from home and I was there before 7.30pm. Spotted the gang, said Hi hello, and everything else and we took a booth on the right side of the restaurant. We were greeted and shown the menu, including the new dishes that had been recently included. An interesting thing about the menu card here is that all the dishes have a code next to them.  Such a blessing, as it makes it easy for people who have difficulty in pronouncing the names to order. I shall take the G9 or E17 and your dish arrives with no confusion!!

We started the evening by ordering a few beverages. Hot chocolate, fresh lime soda salt [my standard order] and Green apple mojito. The hot chocolate came in the most gorgeous mugs and looked yumm.. I slurped my lime soda with glee and the mojito was also good [tad sweet for my liking]. With a little one to keep us smiling, we started the evening on a high note. While we flipped through the menu, our eyes locked at the Zuppa section [Soups]especially the Zuppa di Arachidi Zucca [pumpkin soup] [C3], and the other option was Zuppa di pollo [chicken soup] [C5]. I loved the pumpkin soup, but felt it was a tad salty [probably cos of the herbs that were sprinkled on top which had a bit of salt in them]..

Moving on, for starters we were served a crostini platter- two kinds- one with peas & potato[A4] and other had mushrooms & cheese[A5]. The former was a tad mushy and bland while later was good. We also tried their other mushroom starter- Funghi Saltati con pesto [ mushrooms tossed in garlic and cooked with pesto]-[A8], the pesto was very subtle in this, but being a mushroom freak, I loved it.

And then came the plates filled with more starters, 2 non veg and one more veg.. The veg was Brocolli and cheese grill [A9] which was yumm, the broccoli had been cooked just right. The non veg eaters had fish fingers[A14], pigs in a blanket except here it was chicken[A12]  and prawns batter fried. Amidst the food, we also chatted with the manager about the new dishes and asked him for recco for the main course. After much deliberation, we decided to go with 4 different dishes..

I chose the Macaroni & Corn bake  [D4], which was served alongside a slice of bread and it was quite good. It is quite a large portion and filled with corn and spinach as well, a tinge of red chilli that added to the flavours. The others went for non veg dishes- Panna con prosccuitto di pollo e piselli  [Cavatappi pasta[longer twisted version of macaroni]cooked with chicken ham and chicken sausages in white sauce], Salsa rosso con pollo  e funghi[E19]- grilled chicken, red paprika and mushroom that had been tossed in peri peri spicy sauce which was ordered with fettucini pasta and finally, the Involtini di pollo ripieno [F3] which was stuffed chicken breast on a thick tomato creamy sauce served with a side of grilled veggies. The main dishes were good….

Before we knew it, time had flown by and it was nearly 9.30. We quickly ordered desserts-   I chose the Apple Strudel with vanilla cream [I14], the others chosen were Mud pie [I6], Pizza dolce [ fruit pizza] [I2] and Poached pear in berry soup [I5]. Loved mine and the poached pear the best. The pizza was alright, dint like the texture and thickness of the sweet focaccia bread and the mud pie was confusing.

And with that the evening was done!! We had a  good time needless to say- good company, good ambiance, amazing music [yes i knew most of the songs J] and good food..

I would definitely recommend the Pumpkin soup and poached pear to anyone who is curious about Pasta Bar Veneto.  J

Address:

OLD No 59,New No #32,, Burkit Road,T.Nagar  Burkit Rd, Parthasarathy Puram, Thiyagaraya Nagar, Chennai, TN 600017

Ph- 044 4212 6680

Website: http://www.thepastabarveneto.com

Directions: Get into Venkatnarayana road, and go all the way down, and take the last but one right. Within 200yards you will find Pasta Bar Veneto on your right, adj to Canara bank 

Psst- the numbers in the bracket are the code for the dishes!! :D 

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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Food Trials at Wok a Toque

Practice makes perfect, right? And this phrase applies to pretty much every aspect of life, so why food be left out. Restaurants these days test the waters before opening the doors. This is not only to make sure the food they are serving works, but is more than welcome and is well received as well. Just as at home when we make a dish for the first time, we call our friends or family to be the guinea pigs, restaurants invite people they know and bloggers to run their trials on. 

Where am I going with this? I wanted to share the experience of a Food trial I was a part of that was held recently. Wok a Toque is the name of the restaurant and it is located within Hotel Chariot on Thirumalai pillai Road, opp Vidyodaya School. 

I have seen this Hotel quite a few times but never ventured inside. So, when I was invited to be a part of the Food Trials, I took this as the opportunity to check the place out. We were received by the Manager who told us how the group has taken over the F&B in the Hotel and is opening a restaurant "Wok a Toque" and a bar/pub "Elevate" here. 

The giant door is what you see as you get onto the 1st floor, and the decor inside is beautiful to say the least. Simple oriental light fixtures, textured wall, subtle art work is all you see. The music playing is also Oriental and quite mild. The main dining area is divided between the Lobby and 1st floor, with the 1st floor offering Lunch Buffet and dinner a la carte, while lobby offers only a la carte. They also plan to launch a Breakfast menu and Midnight buffet eventually.  The tables were dark brown with a beige sofa against the wall and red plush chairs on the other side. 

Moving on to the main aspect of the evening, the food. It was Indo- chinese, as is everywhere else but the food served was quite good, I loved it.

All the tables had a plate with three bowls- pickled vegetables, peanut based snack and Kimchi, except here Kimchi had a lot of sesame seeds on it. These are again typical of most chinese restaurants [atleast the ones I've been to]. We were then handed a makeshift menu that ran to nearly 9 pages. Quite an extensive one at that, and I also noticed the vegetarian items were just as many as the non veg [earlier it was very few veg to a lot of non veg items]

I chose the Burnt garlic soup and woah, it was divine. Loved the flavour of the burnt garlic and the sweetness of the chinese cabbage in the clear broth. Moving on to the starters, I once again opted for a dish that I havent tried before- Stuffed Lotus stem fritters that was served alongside chilli honey sauce --> The fritters were sinful, there was a stuffing of sorts between two lotus stem slivers and it just melted in my mouth. 

While the non vegetarians devoured the various meaty starters, I began scanning through the menu looking for the main dishes. There it was, new ingredients yet again. While we decided to order Kwai Teow Pad Thai Wheat Noodles, and a Ginger-Capsicum fried rice, for the side dishes I chose the Bamboo Shoot and Mushroom in Chilly Bean Sauce and Mapo Tofu. The former was a hit with all, we couldnt get enough of the dish, the latter was alright- tofu is an acquired taste and not many like it. 

The non vegetarians went rampant and ordered Duck, Chicken, beef and pork. They enjoyed some while they felt others were similar to the starters. By the time they were done, it was time for me to leave, I had a movie to catch and so I skipped desserts. Did hear from the boys that there were about 3 desserts which were decent. 

The doors opened on Monday- 24th June and I wish them all the best! If the food we had during the trial was anything to go by, am sure they would be a roaring success.. 

As for the price factor, most dishes are priced between Rs 250 to 400, while items like Lobster and crab were priced higher.  Am guessing a meal for 2 should work out to about Rs 1200 - 1500. 

Address:
The Chariot
#4, Thirumalai Pillai Road, T Nagar, 
Chennai- 600017
Phone: 044 2834 1212
URL- http://www.thechariotchennai.com/

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  :-) 

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

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  :-)

reade more... Résuméabuiyad